Kozan plays his way to Florida Match Play title in hometown
Andrew Kozan (FSGA/Twitter photo)
Andrew Kozan prevailed in the Florida Amateur Match Play on Sunday with a championship-match victory over Jordan Batchelor at Old Marsh Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. It’s the first FSGA title for Kozan, a rising junior on the Auburn men’s golf team and a West Palm Beach local.
The 20-year-old entered match play as the second seed after finishing the stroke-play qualifying round at Old Marsh in a three-way tie at 2-under 70. The No. 1 seed went to Derek Hurwitch while defending champion Nicholas Gabrelcik, 17, took the No. 3 seed.
Kozan cruised through the bracket to eventually meet Batchelor, a Jacksonville native who recently finished his redshirt senior season at the University of North Florida, in the final match. It started out as a back-and-forth battle, but Kozan took control with an eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and a par on the eighth hole. He turned with a 2-up lead.
Kozan made his second eagle of the day on the par-5 12th hole to increase his lead by one. A par on the par-3 14th hole gave Kozan a 4-up lead heading into the finishing holes. The final match ended on the 15th hole with a birdie from Kozan, which set up a 5-and-3 victory.
View results for Florida Amateur Match Play
ABOUT THE Florida Amateur Match Play
Prequalifying to determine a championship field of
64
players. 18 holes of stroke play to determine
seeding
for the match play bracket. Open to male amateur
golfers with a valid USGA handicap index not
exceeding
11.4. Must be a member of the FSGA.
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