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Merry May gives way to a promising June

By DAVE THEALL
Published June 2, 2007

With a successful month behind her, aspiring pro Jenny Gleason, 26, of Clearwater has a full slate of seven tournaments on her schedule for June.

In her last two May outings Gleason shot par 72 at Imperial Lakes in Naples at a local qualifier for the U.S. Women's Open, which starts June 29 at Pine Needles, N.C.

Last weekend at the LPGA Corning Classic, Gleason survived the second-day pressure of making the 36-hole cut, crafting 3-under 69 to go with her opening-round 73. She closed with rounds of 73-71 for 2-under 286 and a check of $3, 584.

"I was outside the cutline after Day 1, " Gleason said in a phone interview en route to this weekend's Futures Tour event in Wisconsin. "I knew I had to play well to make the cut and was able to do so with my first bogey-free round of the year. Overall, I played well but not as well as I would have liked.

"Still, making the cut and finishing in the money was important to me."

Gleason's 2007 season got off to a good start with three Women's Hooters Tour wins in January and early February. Gleason earned prize money in the $3, 000 range.

Last month, Gleason put it all together at the Women's Open qualifier, finishing tied for third out of 120, shooting par 72. She'll try to complement that effort at a second-stage qualifier in Chicago on June 11.

"What helped me at Naples was having Ryan Gildersleeve, my Clearwater High classmate, caddying for me, " Gleason said. "He (former NCAA All-American at South Alabama) knows my game better than me. And what helped me at the Corning Classic was working closely with my instructor, Lew Smithers at Innisbrook, the week before on my swing and then seeing it on camera. He's fantastic."

So far this season, Gleason has a higher "batting average" on the LPGA Tour than last year when she made the cut in four of 12 starts. This year the UNC-Greensboro graduate is 1-for-1 and scoring better overall. She plays off the main tour with conditional status.

MORE WOMEN'S OPEN QUALIFIER: Meghan Chapman of Seminole High made the cut at Naples. The Times' 2006 girls player of the year found herself in a nine-way tie for the final four spots. By parring the first playoff hole, Chapman advanced with Madison Pressel, Morgan's younger sister.

MEN'S OPEN QUALIFIER: Former Belleair Country Club assistant Tim Polce of Zephyrhills shot 71 at Brooksville on May 21 to advance to a sectional qualifier with Rusty Stocker of Homosassa. ...At Bradenton, former Nationwide Tour player Dan Stone of St. Petersburg shot 1-under 71, missing the cut by a stroke.

ST. PETE CUP: The annual dual between Mangrove Bay and St. Petersburg Country Club saw the municipal team retaining the cup based on a tie score of 24-24 after 36 holes over two days. A key second-day singles match saw Mangrove's Blair Campbell rally to tie Bubba Paris to salvage a critical half point.

St. Petersburg City Champion Andy Boggini of SPCC and Mangrove's No. 1 player Dave Girouex played the match of the day. Boggini had to make an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 17 to stay 1 up, then saved par on 18 to win.

In key two-man team match, Mangrove head pro Kenny Betz teamed with assistant pro Steve Stergeos to defeat SPCC pros Tony Goff and Troy Rubottom for a critical point to halve the match and retain the Cup.

Former Wisconsin Badger Dan Ness of Mangrove is the only player to win all three possible points in both years of the annual intracity match.

COUNTY LEAGUE: Jeff Pett teamed with Mike Sanderson in a better-ball match at Countryside for 4-under 68 and a three-stroke win over the team of George Leone and John Ladd. Lyle Mosier and Wayne Mateer won the senior division (67) to win by three over Dick Stafford and John King of Tampa.

COLLEGES: Rachel Edwards (Seminole High) helped Daytona Beach CC finish third at last month's National Junior College Women's Championship at Daytona Beach's LPGA International. Under cold and wet conditions the first two days, Edwards shot 86-80 but rebounded with rounds of 74-77 to tie for ninth among 82 players.

- Jeremy Evans (Palm Harbor), playing for Emory University, shot 314 in the Division III Championship in Carmel, Ind. The team finished 14th; St. John's of Minnesota won.

JUNIORS: The First Tee of St. Petersburg held its first annual Bobby Grace Classic at St. Petersburg Country Club last month. The program, under the overall direction of Jeff Hollis of Mangrove Bay, serves 1, 000 youths in the community. Gross scramble winners were Ray Faulkner, Randy Pickering, John Stuart and Rick Nolte with 59. Net winners were Burke Hedges, Peter Zlatony, Jorge Valiente and Jason Keene. PGA Tour pro Ted Tryba, currently out with an injury, was a special guest who put on driving clinic.

- Andrea Messer of Largo tied with Chapman for second (222) at the Florida Junior Tour's Memorial Day weekend tournament in Naples. Casey Kennedy (74-73-70-217) of Venice won. Evan Jensen of Belleair took fourth with 223.

Tyler Wilkins of Clearwater was the top (221) Pinellas boy followed by Mike Baskovich, also of Clearwater, with 232.

- Emily Swidock of Pinellas Park has started making eagles early in her career. At Twin Brooks last month, the 10-year-old used her driver to reach the 130-yard No. 8 hole and see her ball drop off the green's surface.

Asked if holes-in-one are a matter of skill or luck, Emily was quick to answer: "It takes skill and sometimes luck. You have to first learn the skills, then practice to apply them." Emily, who just completed fifth grade at Sacred Heart Catholic School, is a member of the First Tee of St. Pete, taking lessons from teaching pro Tom Charlton at Twin Brooks.

COMING UP: Monday's Pinellas Men's Interclub Match, the finale over the past 10 months, will decide the runnerup. Countryside, with 65.5 points, is out of reach of the other 11 clubs. Cove Cay, Dunedin and Seminole Lake, under the leadership of Bob Detlor, are the only teams in the mix for the second trophy to be presented at the awards banquet at Cypress Run.

The Vinoy Club won the May match at Countryside. The team was led by Randy Wehling and Mark Wilkins, who shot a better-ball 59, followed by teammates Clint Fehr and Glenn Ruediger, tying (62) with Lansbrook's John Doyle and Glen Myers.

Innisbrook's Jason Villagrana led the pros with 1-over 73.

[Last modified June 1, 2007, 23:12:57]