2024 The Meadows Country Club Tournament Results

Amateur Players Tour of Southwest Florida Tournament Recap 

The Meadows Country Club – August 17, 2024 

Despite taking on 20 inches of rain from tropical storm Debby 2 weeks prior to our event, and having their clubhouse flood during that time, we had 34 players show up to take on The Meadows Members course in Sarasota.   The course was in excellent condition for our members to face a stiff test of golf.  Highlights of the day included: 

• Division 1:  Chase Bertrand jumped to an early lead on the front nine carding a 3-over 39 and leading Michael Smith by just 1-stroke.  Bertrand was cruising along until he got to number 16 where an untimely triple bogey cut his 6-shot lead to 4!  Smith parred in from there, but even a double bogey at the last allowed Bertrand to hang on for the win!   

• Division 2: Nick Westbrook took a 1-stroke lead at the turn over Daren Green, Scott Dennis, and 2 strokes over John Baez. Westbrook, Dennis and Aystin Martinez all turned in2-over 38 on the back!  However, it was not enough to overtake Green’s even par back nine and he held on for a 1-shot win over Westbrook and avenging his playoff loss the previous week.     

• Division 3: In his first tournament of the season, Chris Scott took a 2-shot lead after the front nine over Waymon Fuselier and 4 shots over Marcus Clifford.  On the back, Clifford was able to stay even with Scott, but couldn’t quite catch him.  Fuselier improved on the back, but wound up tying Clifford for second, and Chris Scott would earn his first win in his first event!   

• Division 4:   Jay Shockey turned in a very solid 42 on the front to take a 4-shot lead over first-time player Matt Cruz.  On the back, Cruz slowly chipped away at Shockey’s lead.  Shockey hit a rough patch coming how with 2 doubles and 2 triples to finish in a tie after 18 holes!  In the playoff, both players hit good drives and wound up with matching bogies.  Both hit solid drives on the next hole, but Cruz would flair one to the right and off the cart path out of bounds.  This opened the door for Shockey to chip on and 2-putt for the sudden-death victory.   

• Division 5: This division went back and forth all day between Greg Gastfield and Mike Abbott.  Gastfield held a slim 2-shot lead at the turn over Abbott.  The back saw both players have good stretches, but by 17, they were tied!  On 18, Abbott finished with a triple, opening the door for Gastfield, but he tripled the last as well!  On to our second playoff of the day!  Both players would bogey the first hole and get off the tee well on the par 5 second.  Gastfield’s second shot found the fairway bunker and took 2 shots to get out opening the door for Abbott.  Mike Abbott knocked his third shot on the green and 3-putted for the 1-shot victory, his second win in a row!   

• Senior Net: 11 out of the 18 eligible players participated in the Senior Net game.  For the first time this year, our Net winner was not a division winner!  Michael Smith took home the big prize and his first win of the season, while Daren Green (D2 winner) took the second-place honors!   

A huge thank you goes out to Jarrad Welikonich, Sue DiCicco,  and the entire staff at The Meadows for even having the course in such fantastic condition and figuring out how to accommodate our scoring at their tennis club house!   

Our next event is at Spring Run in Bonita Springs, and it will be on Saturday, August 24.  Remember, the more players we get, the bigger the payouts!  Sign up now for your spot to play!  Registration closes on August 18!