Northeast Florida Golf News – April 2026

JAGA Tournaments

•  Paul Tesori and Chad James partnered to win the Gross title with a 9-under-par 63 in the JAGA Spring Four-Ball at Stillwater G&CC, while host course members Kevin Devine and Brad Swanson took home the net crown with a similar score of 63 in the one best ball of two format. Forty-four teams competed, with many of the golfers on hand to get a primer for the upcoming (May 3-5) JAGA Senior Amateur Championship presented by Lennar. See the following note for more on that. 

Like Tesori, James was a PGA TOUR caddie before he became a JSO officer. He is now a sergeant. Golf is his passion and he passes on his love and experience by mentoring junior golfers at the World Golf Village courses. Chad and Paul grew up playing the former Ponce de Leon course in St. Augustine and worked as cart attendants together at Marsh Creek CC. For complete Four-Ball details, click HERE

                  •  Next up on the JAGA schedule is Northeast Florida’s longest-running event, the 69^th JAGA Senior Amateur Championship presented by Lennar, May 3-5 (Sunday – Tuesday) at Stillwater G&CC. There are three divisions: Senior (3 rounds, $325), Super Senior & Grand Senior (2 rounds, $265). The latter two are Monday and Tuesday. To enter, click HERE.

JAGA News

•  Rick Froebe, a dedicated JAGA director who represented Atlantic Beach CC since 2023, lost his battle with cancer on March 9^th. He was a native of Kansas and Kansas State U. grad who spent his professional career as an architectural engineer. He was 64. The Froebe family has requested that donations in honor of Rick’s passing be made to JAGA, which the organization greatly appreciates…Donation Link

•  Scholarship Trust chairman John Tancredi presented his Annual Report to the JAGA directorship at its March meeting. The key elements were:

JAGA welcomes donations to the Trust. Thank you for considering this and to donate, click HERE

•  The final figure is in. February’s Celebration of Golf Banquet presented by Circle K and Pinnacle Financial Partners raised $11,500, with proceeds earmarked for JAGA scholarships.

•  JAGA’s next three meetings are April 7 at Deerwood CC, May 12 at Queen’s Harbour Y&CC and June 22 with the “Kid-Am” at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, before taking a break in July and August.

Northern PGA Chapter News

•  Third-round matches of the Match Play Championship are underway. Semifinal matches and the championship match will be played in April and May, respectively. For the latest match results, click here: https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5702348

•  Caddying for his daughter Annabelle Pancake-Webb at the Epson Tour / Atlantic Beach Classic was 2025 PGA Professional of the Year Tony Pancake. He is director of golf at Crooked Stick GC in Carmel, Ind. Annabelle finished T2.

•  Longtime (20 years) and now retired Palatka GC PGA professional Greg Bacon is ill and in need of financial support.  Palatka head professional Andy Hearst (386-329-0141) and fellow Chapter member Mark Blakewood (904-838-0961) are organizing a fundraising tournament on behalf of Bacon in conjunction with the Palatka GC’s Men’s Golf Association. It’ll be Friday, May 15th, with a 1 p.m. shotgun start, and $100 per player. A dinner, an auction and a raffle will follow play.

FSGA Tournaments

•  Therese Quinn of Jacksonville and Suzanne Ricard of Parkland (138) were one better than Tama Caldabaugh of Ponte Vedra Beach and Kim Keyer-Scott of Bonita Springs (139) in the Championship division of the Women’s Senior Four-Ball Championship at Stone Creek GC in Ocala.

Therese Quinn (left) and Suzanne Ricard
Credit: FSGA

                  •  Former PGA TOUR marketing executive and former Nease HS golf coach Steve Horner of Ponte Vedra Beach posted a pair of 73s, then parred the first playoff hole to edge Douglas Jones to win the Senior division of the Winter Series event at The Club at Eaglebrook in Lakeland.

Other Tournaments

•  17-year-old amateur Miles Russell made his first PGA TOUR cut in five tries at the recent Puerto Rico Open. He made the cut on the number, then placed T50 after completing rounds of 71-71-71-70-283 (-5). The fall 2026 FSU commit plays out of Atlantic Beach CC.

Later in March, Russell Monday qualified (9-under 63; medalist among 121 entries) for the Korn Ferry Tour’s Club Car Championship in Savannah and made his second KFT cut in five starts dating back to 2024. A final-round 67 (tied for low round of the day) moved him 43 spots up the leaderboard to a T15 finish, bettering his previous best KFT finish (T20 / 2024 LECOM Suncoast Classic).More on Miles….the only two-time winner of the AJGA Junior PLAYERS Championship played at TPC Sawgrass/Stadium, he became the first back-to-back winner of another prestigious title, the Junior Invitational at Sage Valley in South Carolina on March 14^th. Firing rounds of 64-70-72-67—273 (-15), the left-hander led after the first, second and final round, topping Tyler Watts (276) of Huntsville, Ala. and reigning U.S. Amateur champion Mason Howell (281) of Thomasville, Ga. Three shots off Watts’ lead, Russell’s final-round rally was propelled by eagles on Nos. 4 and 15. Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island finished T9. First played in 2011, PGA TOUR winners Scottie Scheffler, Akshay Bhatia and Aldrich Potgieter are past champions at Sage Valley.

                           Asterisk Talley of California became the first female to win the title twice. Russell was scheduled to caddie for his friend Talley at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur (April 1-4) but the plan changed when his top-25 finish in Savannah secured him a spot in that week’s LECOM Suncoast Classic.

Jacksonville Beach’s Miles Russell successfully defended his Junior Invitational at Sage Valley title.
Credit: Junior Invitational at Sage Valley

•  The First Coast Women’s Amateur Tournament Committee – Susan Fonde, Melissa Gotfredson, Kaitlyn Price and Courtney Cobb – remind ladies that the 2026 FCWA is July 20-22 at Jacksonville G&CC and entries open May 20^th on the JAGA website.•  Brad Rollinson of Ponte Vedra Beach posted rounds of 73-74-67-214 (-2) to finish third in the Moot Thomas Invitational “Super Seniors” division at Ocala GC, six shots out of a two-man playoff.

•  The behind-the-scenes man who brought the TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course to fruition, Vernon Kelly, will be the honoree of the third John Tucker Memorial Tournament at San Jose CC on April 13^th. Kelly, who worked very closely with Mr. Tucker when the latter was executive director of THE PLAYERS, went on to lead the development of the TPC Network of courses throughout the U.S. Net proceeds will benefit Alco House, JAGA and Moore-Myers Children’s Fund.

Deane Beman (left) and Vernon Kelly

Other News

•  Two area icons who played instrumental roles in the development and growth of golf on the First Coast have passed away – Henry Tuten and Paul Fletcher.

Tuten died at the age of 97 on March 7^th. A highly skilled competitor who qualified for both the U.S. Amateur and U.S. Senior Amateur Championships, he won the 1971 JAGA Jacksonville Amateur, was chairman of the 1973 Greater Jacksonville Open, and president of the Jacksonville Area Golf Association (JAGA) in 1964 and ’65.  Tuten also put considerable support behind area junior golf. The Savannah native revived the annual Gator Bowl Pro-Am, which later on added his name to its official title.

Henry Tuten
Credit: Tuten Family

                     Paul Fletcher and his deceased brother Jerome (2021) were the visionaries and developers of the 1,100-acre master-planned community that is known as Sawgrass Players Club. The key to the development’s success was a 1979 deal they struck with then PGA TOUR commissioner Deane Beman by which the TOUR paid $1 for 400 acres. In the 1980s, the community would become home of the PGA TOUR, the world-renowned Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass and THE PLAYERS Championship. The Jacksonville native passed on Feb. 26 in Hendersonville, N.C.

•  The four generations of PGA TOUR leadership were on hand March 17^th when the TOUR dedicated space inside the global headquarters at Ponte Vedra Beach in honor of its first commissioner, Deane Beman, and his lasting impact on the organization and the game of golf. Located on the first floor, the space celebrates three defining phases of the World Golf Hall Fame member’s remarkable career – decorated amateur, four-time PGA TOUR winner and transformational commissioner. Joining Beman (1974-1994) were Tim Finchem (1994-2016), Jay Monahan (2016-) and CEO Brian Rolapp (2025-). A year ago, the TOUR paid tribute to Finchem when it dedicated the Commissioner Tim Finchem Library inside the clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass.

(Left to right – Brian Rolapp, Deane Beman, Tim Finchem, Jay Monahan
Credit: PGA TOUR

•  In its March newsletter, the National Golf Foundation reported that golf is experiencing a resurgence that would have been difficult to predict. It said the game’s “participant base has grown by 41% over the past six years (2019 to 2025)” and “more than 48 million Americans hit golf balls with a golf club last year (traditional on-course facilities, green-grass introductory efforts, indoor simulators, golf entertainment venues and tech-enabled driving ranges).”

•  The American Junior Golf Association’s top-ranked player, Aphrodite Deng, hit the ceremonial first tee shot to kick off the Epson Tour’s Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf at Atlantic Beach CC on March 5^th. The 16-year-old’s most prestigious win to date is the 76^th U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship in Atlanta last summer. Deng was the first Canadian to win the event. She is currently No. 11 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for women. She is a contestant in the April 1-4 Augusta National Women’s Amateur.

PLAYERS Championship

              Cameron Young leaped 11 spots to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking after his one-shot victory in THE PLAYERS Championship on March 15^th. Deadlocked with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, Young finished birdie-par on the difficult 17^th and 18^th holes at TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium course to overtake the 2022 U.S. Open champion and capture his second PGA TOUR title (2025 Wyndham Championship).

Young’s career has been guided since the age of four by his father, David, the long-time and now retired head golf professional at one of the premier clubs in the golf-rich New York City suburb of Westchester County, Sleepy Hollow CC. A PGA Master Professional and accomplished Met Section PGA member, he served on the PGA of America’s Rules Committee for 18 years. Cameron’s mom, Barbara, played professionally for a brief time, then ran a mini tour for 13 years for aspiring female professionals before focusing on young Cameron’s golf aspirations. Father David continues to be his son’s lone instructor.

Cam was more than a young golfer growing up. He developed his athletic skills playing several sports, with golf, hockey and baseball at the top of his list, up until high school. Then golf took center stage.

For a look at the final PLAYERS leaderboard, click HERE

2026 PLAYERS Champion Cameron Young and family
Credit: Getty Images

Epson Tour / Atlantic Beach Classic

Isabella Fierro of Mexico got her 2026 Epson Tour season off to an ideal start with a four-shot win in the Atlantic Beach Classic presented by Access Golf at Atlantic Beach CC. The 25-year-old former Oklahoma State player recorded a three-day score of 13-under-par 200 in the opener of the Epson Tour’s 19-event season. She collected $37,500.

Three players tied for second – Kaitlyn Papp Budde, Annabelle Pancake-Webb and Fiero’s fellow Mexican Maria Fassi, the 2019 NCAA individual champion from the U. of Arkansas and Augusta National Women’s Amateur runner-up. Jacksonville resident Jessica Porvasnik, whose husband Sam Giese has played for the amateur side in recent Underwood Cups, placed T5.

                 At season’s end in October, the top-15 money earners will be awarded LPGA cards. If Fierro is among them, she will be making a return to the LPGA, where she was a member in 2024 following her ninth-place Epson Tour finish in 2023.Fierro finished 119^th on the LPGA in ’24.

Auburn and World No. 1 Win The Hayt

College golf’s then No. 2 ranked team (per Scoreboard), Auburn University, scratched out a two-shot victory in the UNF-hosted “The Hayt” tournament at Sawgrass CC on March 7^th. The Nick Clinard-coached Tigers topped a stellar field that included eight top-25 teams with a tournament-tying team score of 28 under (Vanderbilt/2023). The four Auburn individual counting players finished 1^st, 16^th, 20^th and 26^th.

Golf’s top-ranked amateur (per World Amateur Golf Ranking) Jackson Koivun got it up and down for birdie from about 40 yards on the final hole, the par-5 18^th on SCC’s West Course, to eke out a one-shot win in the individual competition. With five birdies and no bogies in his final round, Koivun demonstrated why he sits atop WAGR and has for the last 104 weeks. He shot 68-70-67-205 (-11). It was the Chapel Hill, N.C. resident’s third collegiate win over a four-tournament stretch and eighth overall.

The runners-up at 206 were William Love (68) of Duke and Seb Cave (69) of Charlotte, who parred the 18^th playing with Koivun. Love in an earlier threesome bogeyed No. 18. A record 43 players broke par over the three rounds.

With Ludvig Aberg, Texas Tech’s most decorated golfer ever, in attendance, the 11^th ranked Red Raiders grabbed runner-up honors (-26), two back of Auburn. Second-round leader UNC-Charlotte stumbled on the final few holes but hung on to finish in a tie for third with LSU at 23 under.

The U. of Virginia, who came in as the No. 1 ranked team, placed sixth, two back of Auburn, with its star player and 2021 Junior PLAYERS champion Ben James placing T4.  Struggling host UNF finished 12-over par in 16^th place.

Auburn’s win jumped them ahead of UVA into the top spot in the Scorecard college rankings.

14 of the 16 participating teams stuck around Ponte Vedra Beach one extra day to take in THE PLAYERS Championship as guests of the PGA TOUR.

2026 The Hayt championship team, the Auburn Tigers

The Hayt champion Auburn Tigers’ winning scores

                  •  Sweden’s Max Bengtsson, who won the JAGA First Coast Amateur in January, was co-champion of the Michael A. Marino Classic hosted by his school, Coastal Carolina U., on March 17^th. He was propelled by a second-round 63.

                  •  Fleming Island HS grad Colton Swartz won the individual title by five shots in leading Florida Southern to a four-shot team victory in the Shark Invitational in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. It was the junior’s third college win. He was a D-II PING First Team All-American in 2025.

•  Former Florida Gator and 2023 NCAA national championship team member Ricky Castillo earned his first PGA TOUR win at the Puerto Rico Open on March 8^th, a one-shot victory over Gainesville native Chandler Blanchet.

Spotlight

Ponte Vedra Beach resident and businessman Jerry Sarvardi was JAGA’s guest speaker at its March meeting at Eagle Harbor GC. An accountant by trade who spent a number of years running aviation fuel businesses in Texas, he has lived in Ponte Vedra Beach since 1992. In 2002, he became intrigued with the idea of building a golf course in Scotland. It “only” took six years from the initial conversations to its opening, but Renaissance Club in East Lothian, on property that shares boundaries with the storied Muirfield Golf Links, finally came to fruition. And 2008 was not the best time to open a golf club anywhere with the world’s economy in a tailspin. Sarvadi and his five partner brothers persevered, and Renaissance Club has grown to become one of Scotland’s most respected and admired new golf clubs. That respect level has only been elevated in recent years with Renaissance hosting the DP World Tour / PGA TOUR co-sanctioned Genesis Scottish Open.

A truly great American success story, Sarvadi, 77, is the second youngest of nine children from Cleveland who were born to parents with Romanian roots. His introduction to the game as a caddie at Aurora CC came at the age of 10. His second love was running, which led to a track scholarship at the U. of Kentucky.

For more on Sarvardi’s life venture, click here to read this July 2024 Golfweek feature:

JAGA’s March guest speaker, Jerry Sarvardi, owner of Renaissance Club and host of the Genesis Scottish Open

TOUR Players who call TPC Sawgrass home

TPC Sawgrass is home to 24 PGA TOUR members who reside in the area: