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Golfers qualify for amateur event

By DAVE THEALL, Times Correspondent
Published September 8, 2007

Three Pinellas golfers, headed by David Doing of St. Petersburg and Rick Kerper of Safety Harbor, were among a group of 10 qualifiers Tuesday in Valrico who advanced to the 26th State Mid-Amateur Championship.

The tournament for amateur men 25 and older will be played Oct. 4-7 at St. John's Island Club in Vero Beach.

The qualifier, played at River Hills Country Club, produced 5-under 67 by Tampa's Jack Hinton. Paul Royak of Tampa finished second with 70. Stanley Kinnett of Clearwater finished in the top 10 with a 73.

In last year's championship, played at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto, Bret Voisin of Orlando defeated Noi Chay from Land O'Lakes 2 and 1.

CGA: Jeff Neugebauer of Odessa tuned up for Wednesday's Mid-Am qualifier in Haines City Southern Dunes with a sterling round of 2-under 70 at last week's County Golf match at Mangrove Bay. The highlight of Neugebauer's round was an eagle on the 520-yard par-5 14th hole, where his 185-yard approach shot with a 6-iron settled within 6 feet of the cup.

"I hit it pretty well all day," said Neugebauer, 37. "It helped that the course was in great shape, especially the greens. They do a good job at Mangrove Bay."

Neugebauer qualified for the State Am Championship last year in Lecanto, where he advanced to match play among the top 32 qualifiers and said he hoped his tuneup round at Mangrove would carry over to Wednesday's qualifier.

It didn't happen. He missed the cut of 75 at Southern Dunes.

MORE CGA: Marshall Ames of Clearwater and Terry Firsdon of St. Petersburg tied for second at Mangrove Bay with rounds of 73.

In net scoring, Shane Sherwood of St. Petersburg prevailed with 65 on a handicap of 8.

Bill Higgins won the senior division with 74, one stroke up on Wayne Mateer of Dunedin. Leo Parisi and Rick Lind shared net honors with 66s.

Vivian Marra's 62 with a 25 handicap was the top women's net score.

COLLEGE STANDOUTS: Sophie Dembroski, a member of the 2004 Northside Christian state Class A championship team, returned to Anderson (N.C.) University this fall, where she's a key member of the Division II team.

Amber Pedersen (Pinellas Park High) is at Florida Gulf Coast University in Fort Myers. Pedersen developed through the St. Petersburg First Tee program. As a freshman last season, she was a consistent top-three finisher for the Eagles.

Laura West (East Lake High) plays for Belmont Abbey in North Carolina.

Note: A larger group of former Pinellas high school players were reported on last week. If any were omitted, please e-mail dttimes@knology.net

COLLEGE PREVIEW: Golfweek's Division II preseason rankings have six Florida women's schools among the nation's top seven. They are Florida Southern and Rollins, 1-2, plus Lynn, West Florida, Nova and Barry, 4-7.

The men's rankings have Barry, Florida Southern and West Florida at 1-3, plus Nova, where Countryside High grad P.J. Kolosvary competes, No. 5.

JUNIORS: The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) held a three-day tournament at Innisbrook's Copperhead course during Labor Day weekend. The field was limited to some of the nation's top 12- to 15-year-old players.

Michael Cromie of Cary, N.C., prevailed in the boys division, aided by a final-round 4-under 67 for 215. He won by three strokes over a field of 50. Ian McConnell of Riverview was the top area finisher, 74-78-75-227, tying for 15th.

Hannah Collier of Birmingham, Ala., led the girls, shooting 71-78-74-223.

Simen Feng of Orlando finished third (225), followed by Dunedin's Michelle Butler, 15th with scores of 82-78-80-240 and Northside Christian teammate A.J. Newell of Tampa at 243 (81-87-75). Butler opened strong with birdies on two of her first three holes but finished with more bogeys than birdies.

- Michael Holmes of the First Tee of St. Petersburg program excelled at last weekend's Wal-Mart First Tee Open, a Champions Tour event in Pebble Beach, Calif. Playing with veteran pro Massy Kuramoto of Japan, Holmes' missed the 36-hole cut on the challenging Pacific surfside course.

PGA teaching pro Rick Waltman of Mangrove Bay, the First Tee program director and Holmes' instructor, traveled with him to Pebble Beach and served as his caddie both days.

For information on the open First Tee of St. Petersburg program, go to www.firstteestpetersburg.org.

PINELLAS INTERCLUB: Innisbrook (Highland course) will host the 2007-08 season's first monthly match at 1 p.m. Sept. 24. For further details, call association secretary-treasurer Bruce Thomas at 204-4983.

POSTPONEMENT: The St. Petersburg Country Club's Skip Alexander Pro-Am will be Oct. 1. The LPGA's Brittany Lincicome is scheduled to play after her return from the Solheim Cup in Sweden. This weekend she's playing in the NW Arkansas Championship along with eight other members of America's 12-member delegation.

[Last modified September 7, 2007, 21:05:14]