Southeastern Challenge Match Team Set
- site of the 11th Southeastern Challenge Matches
TAMPA, Fla. (September 7, 2006) - Jon Veneziano, 2006 Public Links Champion and 2005 Mid-Amateur Champion, leads a group of 12 amateur golfers selected to represent Florida in the 11th Southeastern Challenge Matches against teams from Alabama and Georgia. The Georgia State Golf Association will host the 2006 Matches at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Georgia on October 14-15.
The Southeastern Challenge Matches are a biennial Ryder Cup style match play competition pitting twelve man amateur teams, eight Mid-Amateurs and four Seniors, from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The Matches consist of four-ball, foursome and individual matches over two days, with one point awarded to the winning team for each match. One-half point is awarded to each side for halved matches.
The top five Mid-Amateurs from the FSGA Two Year Points List are automatically selected to the team. Jon Veneziano, ranked first on the Two Year Points List, captured this year’s Public Links Championship as well as last year’s Mid-Amateur. Next on the points list, Paul Melson, of Plantation, won the 2006 and 2003 Mid-Senior Championship as well as this year’s Four-Ball Championship with partner Edward Kenny, also named to the team. Another Mid-Amateur Champion, Steve Carter, of Jacksonville, is set to play for Florida. Carter, ranked fourth in the standings, won the Mid-Amateur in 2004 and the 2005 Four-Ball Championship after setting a new tournament record. The 2005 Player-of-the-Year Kelly Gosse, of Inverness, was named to the team after winning the 2005 Amateur Match Play Championship and advancing to the semifinals of that same Championship this year. Two-time Public Links Champion, Robert Parker, of Sanford, completes the top five Mid-Amateurs in the points standings while the Committee selects three additional players. Melson’s partner in the Four-Ball, Edward Kenny, of Lake Worth, was named to the team with a second place finish in this year’s Amateur Championship. Peter Dachisen, of Wesley Chapel, a three-time Gasparilla Invitational winner, and an additional member of the team will be named after the US Mid-Amateur and/or the State Mid-Amateur will round out the Mid-Amateurs to represent Florida.
The Florida team features four senior players including the top two Senior players from the FSGA Two Year Points List. The 2005 Senior Player-of-the-Year Rick Woulfe, of Fort Lauderdale, is tied with Melson for second on the points list and will be playing in his 6th Southeastern Challenge Matches. Woulfe has won five State Championships including this year’s Mid-Amateur Four-Ball South. Also joining Woulfe is Bruce Scamehorn, of Winter Haven, the 2004 Senior Amateur Champion. Scamehorn was runner-up in this year’s Senior Amateur Match Play Championship and won the 1995 State Match Play, 1993 Mid-Amateur and 1992 Mid-Senior Championships. Highly ranked seniors in the GolfWeek rankings, Steve Earsley, of Hobe Sound, and Tim Miller, of Venice, were selected by the Committee to complete the team.
Georgia won the Matches in 2004 with 28 points while Florida and Alabama tied with 17 ½ points each at The Club at TwinEagles in Naples. Florida leads the series with 5 wins, Georgia has four wins and Alabama won the Matches once.
Courtesy Florida State Golf Association