DeBra, Stamberger tie for early Gasparilla Invitational leads

February 20, 2020 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff

Gasparilla Senior leader Richard Kerper fired 67 (FSGA photo)

Daniel DeBra and Michael Stamberger post 65 to take the round one lead while Richard Kerper, Jimmy Jones (67) pace the seniors

Last year at Palma Ceia Country Club, local resident Mike Finster ended a run of several runner-up events by finally leaping over the hurdle and taking the title at the Gasparilla Invitational.

Finster, of St. Petersburg, then called his bogey-free, 6-under 64 at Palma Ceia Golf Club in Tampa, Fla., "the round of my life." And this year, he started off his title defense with an impressive round of 3-under 67 on the par 70 layout. The difference between this year and last year? Three bogeys on the card, that's it.

Finster is T4, two strokes behind Daniel DeBra (Lutz, Florida) and Michael Stamberger (Briele, NJ) who both posted 65. Both DeBra and Stamberger had 5 birdies against no bogeys. Pretty impressive stuff -- Palma Ceia is relatively short but the greens are small and both players likely had some solid up-and-downs to avoid bogeys.

The duo have a one shot lead over two players, one of them being Matt Parziale of Brockton, Mass. -- the nation's No. 8 ranked Mid-Am.

Parziale started his round with 3-straight birdies, and finished it with two-in-a-row.

The other 66 was posted by Benjamin Day of Waterbury, Conn. Tied with the defending champion at 3-under are Richard Kerper (Oldsmar, FL), Derek Busby (Ruston, LA), and Evan Hernandez of St. Petersburg.

SENIOR DIVISION
Playing from the same tees as the Mid-Ams, the seniors are eligible for the overall title -- a format this website approves of especially when many of the "young seniors" can play with the younger guys.

Richard Kerper and Jimmy Jones lead that division after rounds of 3-under 67 while AmateurGolf.com's 2019 Senior Player-of-the-Year Doug Hanzel is a shot back at 2-under 68.

There are 35 seniors in the field, and just over 100 mid-ams. The 54-hole tournament continues Friday, with the final round being played Saturday.

Results: Gasparilla Invitational Mid-Am

Place	Player	Location	Pts	Scores
1	Derek Busby	Ruston, LA	400	67-65-74=206
2	Marc Dull	Lakeland, FL	300	69-71-69=209
3	Joseph Deraney	Belden, MS	200	68-69-73=210
T4	Colby Harwell	San Antonio, TX	200	70-72-70=212
T4	Philip Lee	Nashville, TN	200	69-70-73=212

View full results for Gasparilla Invitational Mid-Am

About the Gasparilla Invitational Mid-Am

DeBra, Stamberger tie for early Gasparilla Invitational leads

54-hole individual stroke play championship with a cut after 36 holes to the low 60 and ties. Good mix of Florida players and national competitors looking for an early season tune up. Played on a traditional, tree lined golf course that isn't very lo...