Florida Azalea Amateur: Kocolowski Prevails
3/23/2009 | by
see also: Florida Azalea Amateur, Palatka Golf Club
Matt Kocolowski of Apopka, FL and Julian Suri of St. Augustine, FL duel all day before Kocolowski finally prevails on the third playoff hole
PALATKA, Fla. (March 22, 2009)--Playing in the second-to-last group on the final day, Matt Kocolowski (Apopka, FL) and Julian Suri (St. Augustine, FL)
turned the 52nd Florida Azalea Amateur into a two-man duel that didn't end until the 21st hole of the day.
In the end, Kocolowski prevailed on the 3rd extra playoff hole to give the high school senior his first win in a big amateur golf event.
Going into the final round, there was a three-way tie for the lead at 3-under among Max McKay (St. Augustine, FL), Shun Yat Hak (St. Mary, FL) and Tom Sykes (Palatka, FL). But on a windy day when only five players in the field broke the par of 70, the lead group struggled and allowed Kocolowski and Suri to surge ahead with rounds of 66 and 67. Only McKay stayed within three shots of the eventual winning score, closing with a 72 finish at 1-under 209.
Final results of the Florida Azalea Amateur, played March 20-22, 2009 at the Palatka Golf Club in Palatka, FL:
Going into the final round, there was a three-way tie for the lead at 3-under among Max McKay (St. Augustine, FL), Shun Yat Hak (St. Mary, FL) and Tom Sykes (Palatka, FL). But on a windy day when only five players in the field broke the par of 70, the lead group struggled and allowed Kocolowski and Suri to surge ahead with rounds of 66 and 67. Only McKay stayed within three shots of the eventual winning score, closing with a 72 finish at 1-under 209.
Final results of the Florida Azalea Amateur, played March 20-22, 2009 at the Palatka Golf Club in Palatka, FL:
| 1 | Matt Kocolowski, Apopka FL | 73-67-66-206 |
| 2 | Julian Suri, St. Augustine FL | 72-67-67-206 |
| 3 | Max McKay, St. Augustine FL | 69-68-72-209 |
| 4 | Shun Yat Hak, Lake Mary FL | 68-69-74-211 |
| 4 | Michael Hebert, Orlando FL | 70-70-71-211 |
| 4 | Tommy Mou, Bradenton FL | 70-70-71-211 |
| 4 | Tom Sykes, Palatka FL | 69-68-74-211 |
| 8 | Eric Beatty, Memphis TN | 71-70-71-212 |
| 8 | Christian Blanchet, Gainesville FL | 74-66-72-212 |
| 8 | Jed Dirksen, Orlando FL | 67-73-72-212 |
| 8 | Nick Mullhaupt, Bradenton FL | 69-74-69-212 |
| 8 | Tom Murray, Ponte Vedra Bch FL | 69-69-74-212 |
| 13 | David Palm, Jacksonville FL | 75-66-72-213 |
| 14 | James Fox, Dublin, Ireland | 73-70-74-214 |
| 14 | Kevin Grabeman, Columbus OH | 76-69-69-214 |
| 16 | Duke Butler, Ponte Vedra Bch FL | 69-72-74-215 |
| 16 | Chun Hung Chan, Bradenton FL | 72-71-72-215 |
| 16 | Tyler Hock, Ocala FL | 71-71-73-215 |
| 16 | Chris Mullhaupt, Bradenton FL | 72-68-75-215 |
| 20 | Billy Mitchell, Roswell GA | 72-73-72-217 |
| 21 | Chris Burke, Jacksonville FL | 74-70-74-218 |
| 21 | Samuel Chavez, Hillsborough CA | 72-71-75-218 |
| 21 | Paul Park, Wayne NJ | 69-72-77-218 |
| 21 | Doug Snoap, Apopka FL | 72-70-76-218 |
| 25 | Jackson Beindorf, Vero Beach FL | 69-75-75-219 |
| 25 | Gavin Cambre, Jacksonville FL | 72-72-75-219 |
| 25 | John Fritz, Charlotte NC | 75-76-73-219 |
| 28 | Christian Martin, Jacksonville FL | 74-70-76-220 |
| 28 | Brad Schneider, Valrico FL | 74-73-73-220 |
| 28 | Devin Spies, Orlando FL | 73-72-75-220 |
| 28 | Tanner Tipton, Palatka FL | 77-74-69-220 |
| 32 | Ryan Smith, Ardmore OK | 78-70-73-221 |
| 33 | Brain Mulvin, Tallahassee FL | 78-69-75-222 |
| 33 | Kevin Phelan, St. Augustine FL | 74-74-74-222 |
| 33 | Jim Ross, Fernandina Beach FL | 75-74-73-222 |
| 33 | Patrik Sterner, Bradenton FL | 73-72-77-222 |
| 37 | Nate Mosby, Jacksonville FL | 77-70-76-223 |
| 37 | Will Sprague, Jacksonville FL | 77-73-73-223 |
| 39 | Peter Sterner, Bradenton FL | 72-75-77-224 |
| 40 | Seth Parmer, Bowden GA | 74-76-75-225 |
| 40 | Roscoe Staples, Jacksonville FL | 76-76-73-225 |
| 40 | Robbie Van Riper, Tallahassee FL | 80-70-75-225 |
| 43 | Will Beard, Bowling Green KY | 77-68-81-226 |
| 43 | Johnny DelPrete, Palm City FL | 76-76-74-226 |
| 43 | Kevin Kinsella, Jacksonville FL | 72-79-75-226 |
| 43 | Matt ParzialeBrockton MA | 76-72-78-226 |
| 47 | Carlos Ferraez, Miami Beach FL | 74-78-75-227 |
| 47 | Jason Gandy, Knoxville TN | 76-73-78-227 |
| 47 | Tommy Kayworth, St Augustine FL | 76-75-76-227 |
| 47 | Joshua Lee, Orange Park FL | 80-74-73-227 |
| 47 | Nick Lerner, Playa del Rey CA | 75-75-77-227 |
| 47 | Butler Melnyk, St Simons Island GA | 76-77-74-227 |
| 47 | John Milton, Jacksonville FL | 77-73-77-227 |
| 54 | Zeyu He, Bradenton FL | 78-74-76-228 |
| 54 | Brendan Iler, Gainesville FL | 76-78-74-228 |
| 54 | Michael Knight, Calgary Alberta Can. | 77-74-77-228 |
| 54 | Joe Latkowski, Port St Lucie FL | 80-76-72-228 |
| 54 | Jamey Salmon, Jacksonville FL | 71-80-77-228 |
| 54 | Chad Wade, Jacksonville FL | 77-79-72-228 |
| 54 | Copeland West, Palatka FL | 76-71-81-228 |
| 61 | Thomas Stewart, St. Augustine FL | 74-73-82-229 |
| 61 | Brock Wilson, Beaumont TX | 78-78-73-229 |
| 63 | Chandler Gruenemeier, Jacksonville FL | 72-76-82-230 |
| 63 | Michael Hirsch, Orlando FL | 78-75-77-230 |
| 63 | Ronnie Tumlin, St. Augustine FL | 71-76-83-230 |
| 63 | Warren Wilhite, Palatka | 78-77-75-230 |
| 67 | Will Flynn, Atlantic Beach FL | 78-78-75-231 |
| 67 | Jay Jennison, St. Augustine FL | 72-75-84-231 |
| 67 | Scott Jones, Orange Park FL | 77-75-79-231 |
| 67 | Brendan Sheehan, Ft. Myers FL | 76-78-77-231 |
| 71 | Eduardo Chavez, Hillsborough CA | 79-77-76-232 |
| 71 | Jim Murray, Ponte Vedra Beach FL | 77-79-76-232 |
| 71 | Brad Stainsby, Lakeland FL | 76-74-82-232 |
| 74 | Jan Vincent Jaro, Jacksonville | 79-75-79-233 |
| 75 | Doug Parigian, Lowell MA | 80-82-72-234 |
| 76 | Jim Keeley, Palatka FL | 79-81-78-238 |
| 77 | Thomas Brennan, Jacksonville FL | 83-73-84-240 |
| 78 | Andrew Kayworth, St. Augustine FL | 82-79-80-241 |
| 79 | Drew Bell, Roswell GA | 83-77-82-242 |
| 79 | Nicholas Szem, Wall NJ | 78-77-87-242 |
| 81 | Tony John Parkerhurst,Jacksonville FL | 79-79-85-243 |
| 82 | Patrick Commins, Fairfax Station VA | 82-79-83-244 |
| 83 | D.A. Riggins, Middleburg FL | 82-81-82-245 |
| 84 | Michael Harrison, Fernandina Beach FL | 83-77-86-246 |
| 84 | Rashad Wright, Orlando FL | 79-82-85-246 |
| 86 | James Kelley, Port Orange FL | 78-89-82-249 |
| 86 | Bill Osmun, Fernandina Beach FL | 84-80-85-249 |
| 88 | Rhett Mobley, St. Augustine FL | 84-83-84-251 |
| 88 | Joseph Moseley, Palatka FL | 77-88-86-251 |
| 90 | Kyle DeVries, Jacksonville FL | 90-82-81-253 |
| 91 | Austin Bacon, Palatka FL | 85-91-89-255 |
| 92 | Brendan McKinney, Parkville MD | 78-73-WD |
| 93 | Brent Everson, Palatka FL | 72-80-WD |
| 94 | Ed Waller, Ponte Vedra Beach FL | 80-WD |
| 95 | Chris Douglass, Ponte Vedra Beach FL | 84-WD |
About the Florida Azalea
The Florida Azalea was started in 1958 as a two-man team tourney. The field has, over the years, boasted players who have gone on to greatness at the professional level. Tommy Aaron, who teamed with Dan Sykes for the 1960 Florida Azalea team title, w...
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