The players returned to finish their first round on Saturday where play was again suspended at 4:19 p.m. Joe Alfieri, of Lutz, and Marc-Olivier Plasse, of Champions Gate, were tied for the lead at even-par after the first round. Mike Andre, of Fort Myers, and Martin Cancino, of Boca Raton, followed one-stroke behind tied for second.
Sunday made for a long day of golf with the players finishing their second round and playing their final round.
Alfieri, the 2015 Amateur Player of the Year, rose to lead by one-stroke heading into the final round after a steady second round of 1-over-par 73. Alfieri, who finished second in the Florida Amateur Public Links Championship last year, was looking for a different result in 2016. After carding three birdies in a row on holes 3-5 and one more birdie on the 7th, Alfieri made the turn at 2-under-par in his final round. Five birdies on his last nine holes sealed a victory for Alfieri with a final round of 6-under-par 66 and a tournament total 211 (-5). Eight shots back in second place was Casper Howells, of Fort Myers, who posted consistent rounds of 74-72-73—219. Austin Schultz, of North Port, carded an impressive final round of 67 to advance to third place with a 220 tournament total.The Florida Amateur Public Links Championship is open to bona fide public course players who are not members of a private club and also do not have a handicap index any higher than 6.4. Competitors play 18 holes of stroke play on each of the three days.