The Underwood Cup is back at the Timuquana Country Club and for the first time since 2017, the professional team holds the Cup.
The 33rd edition of the matches, between a team from the Northern Chapter PGA and an Amateur team, will begin on Monday with six fourball and six foursomes matches. There will be 12 singles matches on Tuesday.
The professionals will retain the Cup with 12 points. The Amateurs, who won six in a row from 2017-2022, will have to win 12.5 points to regain the Cup.
Nine of the 12 players for professional captain Mike Broderick have previous Cup Match experience: Clint Avret, Jennifer Borocz, Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth, Taylor Davis, Jake Etherton, Hayes Farley, Aaron Russell, Blanton Tessin and Josh Wolfe. The first-time pro Cup Match players are R.J. Milford, Roman O’Rourke and Zach Vinal.
Half of the amateur team, captained by Michael Del Rocco, will be playing in their first Cup Matches: Tyler Brown, John Coultas, Sam Geise, Charles Kirk, Andrew Morris and Joe Stepnes. The veterans are Chase Baldwin, Steve Carter, Jeff Golden, Chris Henderson, Toby Ragland and Mark Spencer.
The pros won last year’s matches 14.5-9.5.
Miles Russell holds on at Deerwood
Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach survived two double-bogeys and a second-round 75 to win a Florida Junior Tour event at the Deerwood Country Club.
Russell, who shot 68 in the first round, topped Luke Balaskiewicz of Jacksonville (73) by two shots at 1-under 143. Henry Robards of Jacksonville (146) finished solo fourth and Emmet Kuhlenkamp (72) of Fleming Island tied for sixth.
Russell has won 14 FJT tournaments. He was the American Junior Golf Association Player of the Year in 2023, won the Junior PGA and became the first First Coast resident to win the Junior Players Championship.
In the girls division, Violet Robbins of Jacksonville (155) tied for sixth and Maddie Rathjen of St. Augustine (157) was 10th.
Synovus begins partnership with JAGA Amateur
Synovus will be the presenting sponsor for the Jacksonville Area Golf Association Amateur Championship. The 71st JAGA Jacksonville Amateur presented by Synovus will be July 18-20 at the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club.
“Today’s announcement is groundbreaking for JAGA,” said JAGA president Cary Helton of San Jose Country Club in a statement. “This partnership with Synovus marks the first presenting sponsorship agreement JAGA has entered into for its showcase championship. New marketing opportunities such as this one are important to our future growth and to keep pace in today’s competitive, sophisticated and ever-costly marketplace.”
Synovus provides commercial and consumer banking and specialized products and services for families, individuals and businesses across the Southeast. The bank is ranked #1 for customer satisfaction and trust in the Southeast, according to the J.D. Power 2023 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study.
The JAGA Jacksonville Amateur was first played in 1962. Among those who’ve competed in the past are PGA Tour winners Woody Blackburn (1972 champion), Mark McCumber, Len Mattiace and David Duval.
Will Davis of San Jose and a member of the Davidson College golf team won the 2023 title at his home club
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Underwood Cup matching Northern Chapter PGA vs. Amateurs back at Timuquana
Source link
