- photo courtesy Palm Beach Cty G.A.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (May 3, 2009) – Reinstated amateur Gary Nicklaus and partner David Abell, two former Palm Beach County Amateur champions, beat the deadline by two days, then beat the field by a shot Sunday to win the 28th annual Arrigo Dodge-Chrysler-Jeep Four-Ball Championship.
A final round scramble score of 10 under par 62 on the Links course at Bear Lakes Country Club, highlighted by a go-ahead eagle at the par-5 17th hole, pushed Nicklaus and Abell to 21 under 195. They had opened with 67, four ball stroke play, and 66, modified alternate shots. On Sunday, they had two eagles, seven birdies and a bogey.
Tied for second at 196 were Eric Downs and Brian Fragakis, who shot 60 with two eagles, nine birdies and one bogey, and the father-son team of Daryl and Kyle Osler, who made nine birdies for 63. It was the third runnerup finish in the last four years for Downs, a junior at Flagler College, and Fragakis, a King’s Academy senior.
“He called me last week, two days before the entry deadline, and asked if I wanted to play,” Nicklaus said. Traditionally, the entry deadline for Palm Beach County Golf Association tournaments is one week before the first round, in this case April 24. “I said ‘sure’ and here we are.
We played similar games,” Nicklaus added. “We both struck the ball well, hit it solid, close to the hole. We missed a lot of putts but we made a lot of putts, too. The main thing is that we got ourselves in position the first two days to make a run at it today.”
Abell eagled the sixth hole on his own ball with driver, 5-wood and 20-foot putt. At the 17th, Nicklaus hit driver and 9-iron to the green and Abell made a 12 footer for the winning margin. Both missing six-foot par putts at the par-4 12th hole.
Nicklaus is the defending champion in the County Amateur, scheduled July 31-Aug. 2 at The Bear’s Club in Jupiter, designed by his legendary father, Jack Nicklaus, as are the two courses at Bear Lakes. Abell won the county’s Amateur and the Mid-Amateur titles in 2005 enroute to PBCGA Player of the Year honors.
Next on the PBCGA schedule: May 11, Senior Classic, Admirals Cove Golf Village, and May 16-17, Mid-Senior Four-Ball, McArthur GC. For
membership information and tournament entry, go to www.pbcga.org.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
Mark Rubin holed out his second shot with a 3-wood on Hole # 11 for a double eagle in Round 1.
Wes Freeman aced the par 3 4th Hole with a 3 iron in Round 3.
Special thanks to Jim & John Arrigo for sponsoring the event and to Bear Lakes C.C. for hosting it.
View results for Palm Beach Four-Ball
ABOUT THE Palm Beach Four-Ball
The event will consist of a 36-hole Four-Ball Stroke Play
Championship (two person teams), played over two
days. Approximately 46 teams will tee-it-up and
compete in a Better Ball format. Three Divisions: Open
/ Senior (50-59) / Super Senior (60+)
View Complete Tournament Information