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Countryside beats rain, opponents

By DAVE THEALL
Published September 23, 2006

At Monday's rain-shortened Pinellas Men's Interclub match at Lansbrook the top team was Countryside Country Club.

The top individual was Jason Villagrana, head pro at Innisbrook's Copperhead course.

All scores were based on nine holes which everyone completed. Villagrana was 4 under with 32 at that stage. The scores were then projected out to 18 holes, putting him at 68.

Michael Schneider, Countryside's pro representative, was credited with 70 contributing to the winning team's effort. Combined with 11 amateurs, the team shot plus-5 over its quota for the lead in the monthly 10-match series.

Countryside also had the tying low two-man team of Mark Wilkins and Randy Wehling, who posted 8-under 64.

Innisbrook's Dave Garringer and pro Villagrana also shot 64, followed by teammates Jim Boosales and Fred Ostrowski.

Harley Hjerpe of the Bayou Club, with 72, and Dunedin's Ray Slattery, at 73, were the third and fourth best scores posted by pros in the match.

Countryside is looking for its fifth win this season, the 30th of the Interclub series. It previously won in 1987, '90, '91 and 2004. But last season, which ended in June, is forgettable since the 54-hole club fell to 11th in the standings among 12 ranging from Cypress Run in the north to the Vinoy is St. Petersburg.

East Lake Woodlands is the defending champion. Its team edged out Innisbrook for the 2005-06 title by 3.5 points, followed by the Bayou Club and Cypress Run.

Bob Detlor, secretary/treasurer of the Interclub, said the league was grateful for being able to play at least a partial round on Monday at Lansbrook since the opening match had already been postponed once due to unplayable conditions.

The league's second match is set for Oct. 3 at 12:30 p.m. at Dunedin Country Club.

CGA: Playing conditions were better for Monday's better ball match at St. Petersburg Country Club than they were at Lansbrook.

"After the last couple of weeks on soggy courses, you could actually see a ball bounce in the fairway again," said Ray Goodman, director of the County Golf Association.

Those conditions helped produce a two-way tie for first place.

Sharing the spotlight were Sean Martin and Claud Johston and the team of John Brandvik with Tom Smith. Both shot 1-under 71.

Senior divisions winners J.R. Robertson of Belleair and John King had a winning score of 67.

There was a tie for net honors at 62 between the teams of Buddy Smith with Randy Skelton plus George Suess and Jim Bakos Jr.

Joe Lallier didn't have a hole-in-one but his tee shot on the par-3 17th stopped at 17 inches to earn him a coveted CGA sport shirt.

COLLEGES: Brittany Jones East Lake High, a junior at Youngstown State and East Lake member, shot rounds of 76-85-161 for 11th place as the Penguins finished fifth behind winner Bowling Green. Jones plays in North Carolina this weekend in the Elon Invitational.

- Lindsey Harris (Indian Rocks Christian) is a member of USF's women's 12-member roster. She missed the cut for the Bulls first tournament of the year.

- Danny Allen (Tarpon Springs High) begins his final season at Eckerd on Monday in the Coker College Invitational in Orlando. Allen qualified for and played in the 106th U.S. Amateur, which was played in August at Hazeltine National in Minnesota.

NEW YEAR'S INVITATIONAL: Jan. 4-7 are the dates for next year's premier amateur event at St. Petersburg Country Club, reports tournament director Richard Hope.

Recent winners have asserted themselves on pro tours.

J.B. Holmes (University of Kentucky), the 2003 winner, is 44th on the PGA Tour money list through Sept. 16 with $1,420,471. He won the 2005 Q-School tournament in Winter Park. Jeff Overton (Indiana), last year's NYI winner, earned exempt status on the PGA Tour at Q-School and is 142nd on the money list.

- Brandt Snedeker (Vanderbilt), the '04 winner, is 12th on the Nationwide Tour money list. The year's top 20 advance to the Big Show.

- Ryuji Imada (Tampa Chamberlain/Georgia), the 1996 winner, is 89th on the PGA Tour money list.

- Luke List (Vanderbilt) who won in January, is still in college. Golfweek lists him as one of the nation's top returnees pegged as a third team All-American. Tournament director Richard Hope hopes to have List back, along with 2006 runnerup Jonathan Mount, a senior at the University of Tennessee.

The 2007 field will have 60-70 college players, 25 mid-amateurs and about 25 seniors, reports Terry Decker, head pro at St. Pete CC.

LPGA: Clearwater's Jenny Gleason made eight birdies in her opening round at this week's Longs Drugs Challenge but offset by seven bogeys for 1-under 71. That left her a stroke behind Annika Sorenstam and one ahead of Brittany Lincicome of Seminole.

RYDER CUP: The late Skip Alexander was the pro at St. Pete CC (formerly Lakewood CC) when he played on the winning team at Pinehurst, N.C., in 1951. He also played on the U.S. winning team in England in 1949.

CHARLES BEDFORD: Mr. Bedford, a longtime official with the Florida State Golf Association, died on Sept. 15. Born in 1929 in Baltimore, he moved to St. Petersburg in 1939 and graduated from St. Petersburg High School where he starred in basketball. He attended St. Petersburg Junior College and went on to the University of Florida where he earned a degree in mechanical engineering. Mr. Bedford was a founding member of Tampa Palms Country Club. He was a rules official at five U.S. Open Championships and six U.S. Amateur Championships, among many others.

COMING UP: The 27th annual Chi Chi Rodriguez Charity Classic will be held Nov. 12 and 13 at Clearwater's Chi Chi Rodriguez Golf Club. The event will benefit four youth programs operated by the Chi Chi Foundation.

Thomas James of Raymond James Financial is the Foundation's chairman. For registration details, visit www.chichi.org, or call Cary Stiff, senior vice president, at (727) 726-8829, ext. 202.

[Last modified September 23, 2006, 06:40:27]