Florida Senior Azalea gets underway

PALATKA, Fla (Mar. 9, 2012) -- The Florida Senior Azalea Amateur gets underway today at the Donald Ross designed Palatka Golf Club in Palatka Florida. The 94 player field of senior and super-seniors includes top players from all over the county. Defending champion Chip Lutz of Reading PA is coming off a great year and is here to defend. He is the reigning British Senior Amateur and Canadian Stroke Play champion and will be the man the beat. Other top senior players include Bill Zylstra of Plymouth, MI who finished the year ranked 3rd in the 2011 amateurgolf.com player of the year standings. Zylstra is coming off a 3rd place finish at the Old Corkscrew Senior and is last year’s winner of the U.S. Senior Challenge, the Riverwood Senior Invitational and the Georgia Senior Invitational. Ted Smith of Wilkinson, IN is also playing. Smith, ranked no. 4 in 2011, finished second at the Senior Masters and had several top five finishes including the Senior Porter Cup. The winner of the 54-hole event will be awarded the Donald Ross bronze statue on Sunday.