2025 Double Down at French Lick Tournament Results

The Amateur Players Tour spent the last weekend of July in the hills of Southern Indiana at the luxurious French Lick Resort for the APT Double Down – the final signature major of the 2025 season.  French Lick Resort has two historic courses on property – a classic Donald Ross design that hosted the 1924 PGA Championship won by the great Walter Hagen and Pete Dye’s masterpiece that currently hosts the Korn Ferry Tour Finals in October.  Day 1 was held at the historic Donald Ross course, a classic layout that features undulating and treacherous greens with a defense based on classic green complexes and dramatic elevation changes.  Monday’s final round was held at the Dye course – which can stretch out over 8,100 yards and features tight fairways and difficult doglegs that will test even the best ball-strikers.

In Division 1, the tournament would come down to the back 9 as Josh Earnest (Kentucky), Blake Claycomb (Indianapolis) and John Masotti (Carolina Triad) were battling it out for the final major crown of the 2025 season.  At the end, a par would be all that Josh Earnest would need on the difficult par-5 finishing hole to earn a one shot victory and a two-day total of +10.  Blake Claycomb and John Masotti finished in a tie for 2^nd at +11 just one-shot back, while Dylan Davidson (St. Louis) finished in 4^th place at +14.

In Division 2, extra holes would be needed as Curt Bressner (Phoenix) and Jeff Carnacchi (Cincinnati/Dayton) would battle back and forth during Monday’s final round at the Dye Course.  Both players made clutch par putts on the 18^th hole to force a playoff.  Both players would make par on the first 2 extra holes, which set up for some drama on the par-5 3^rd hole.  Bressner converted a birdie putt to earn the victory with both players finishing at 11-over par.  John Wayne Parrish (Carolina Triad) finished in solo 3^rd place at +13, while Brian Vance (Iowa) finished in solo 4^th at +14.  Travis Wartluft (Charlotte) and Eric Schaetty (St. Louis) rounded out the top-5 with a 2-day total of +16.

In Division 3, Dauffus Jackson (St. Louis) had a goal heading into the 2025 season – win a major.  After making his APT debut in 2023 in Division 5, investing in his game and working hard to improve, Jackson had worked his way up to Division 3 but still had yet to win the elusive major and the Double Down at French Lick was his last chance in 2025.  Coming down the stretch, Jackson had no margin for error as Adam Dean (Central Illinois), Chris Turner (St. Louis) and Tom Leonard (Birmingham) were all chasing him down.  A birdie on the difficult par-3 16^th would seal the deal as Jackson would earn his first major and a 3-shot victory at +23.  Adam Dean finished in the runner-up position with a 2-day total of +26, while Chris Turnerfinished in solo 3^rd at +27.  Tom Leonard finished 4^th at +28 while Steve Beckstead (Utah) and Andrew Banks (Charlotte) rounded out the top-5 at +29.  Richard Nota (Myrtle Beach) and Jeff Morgan (St. Louis) finished in a tie for 7^th at +30.

In Division 4, Bob Witt (Iowa)and Jim Nichols (St. Louis) got off to the early lead on the difficult Ross course with rounds of 88, but were followed closely by Jerry Anderson (St. Louis) and Nicholas Crouse (Iowa). Monday would turn out to be Jerry Anderson’s day, as back-to-back 89’s on arguably the two most difficult golf courses on tour would be enough for a one-shot victory over Nicholas Crouse and his first major victory at +36.  3^rd pace would go to Bob Witt at +38, while John Sans and Jim Nichols would round out the top-5 in a tie for 4^th at +40.

In Division 5, Zachary Jackson (Indianapolis) would have a day on the Dye course on Monday.  Jackson would play his career best round, firing an 89 to earn a 7-shot victory over a field made up of players who had travelled all over the country at +48.  Runner-up honors went to Mike Eames (Utah), who shot 97-100 to finish at +55.  Jeremiah Cassidy (Central PA) finished in 3^rd place at +56.

The Open Net competition provides an opportunity for players under 50 to “double-dip”, play against their APT handicap and compete in a separate prize pool.  Dauffus Jackson (St. Louis) took advantage of his great play to take home the Open Net title, shooting a net 69 to finish at 4-under for the tournament and earn a 3-shot victory over Joe Christ-Kim (Seattle) who finished at 1-under par.  3^rd place went to St. Louis’ Eric Schaetty who finished at 1-over par for the event.  Josh Brooks (Kentucky) finished in 4^th place at +2, while Chase Burbank (Las Vegas) finished in 5^th place at +4.

The Senior Net competition provides the same opportunity for players over 50, and Jeff Carnacchi utilized the double dip to earn the victory, max out with $1,000 in prizes for the weekend after finishing at 5-under par for the weekend.  2^nd place went to Brian Vance (Iowa) and Chris Handy (Northern California) who both finished at -1.  John Wayne Parrish (Carolina Triad) finished at even par to finish in solo 4^th, while Richard Nota (Myrtle Beach), Tom Leonard (Birmingham) and Shawn Larsen (Utah) finished in a tie for 5^th at +1.  Andre Banks (Charlotte) finished in 8^th position at +2, while Jeff Morgan (St. Louis), Travis Wartluft (Charlotte), Larry Weilbaker (Indianapolis), and Matt Walters (Kentucky) finished in a tie for 9^th at +3.