Northeast Florida Golf News – November 2025

Constellation Furyk and Friends presented by Circle K
South Carolina’s Tommy Gainey became the 15^th player in PGA TOUR Champions history to win a tournament after successfully Monday qualifying when he did so at the Constellation Furyk and Friends presented by Circle K at Timuquana CC early last month. He also became the 23^rd player to record at least one win on the PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Korn Ferry Tour. It was Gainey’s fifth start on the senior circuit since turning 50 on August 13^th. He was four shots back starting the final round.
Locals Vijay Singh (T3) and David Duval (T8) recorded top 10s. Duval learned the game at Timuquana where his dad was head professional for 13 years. Sidelined by a hip replacement much of the year, host Jim Furyk (T70) made his 2025 season debut. Also injury riddled of late, Sea Island’s Davis Love III (T72) played in only his fifth senior event of 2025 and first since June.
After five years at Timuquana, the Constellation F&F will have a new home in 2026 – Hammock Beach Resort and Spa in Palm Coast.

Furyk and Friends host Jim Furyk with 2025 champion Tommy Gainey
Credit: Constellation Furyk and Friends presented by Circle K

JAGA Tournaments
•  The 43^rd Club Team Championship was played Oct. 27^th at King & Bear. Congratulations to Marsh Creek CC on its four-shot win. It was the St. Augustine club’s fourth CTC victory. The first three came in succession, in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Director of Golf Bryce DiPatri partnered with John Matulia, Kodi Merrell and Ashley Casey to comfortably top the 25-team field. For complete details and photos, click here.

WINNERS – MARSH CREEK: John Matulia, pro Bryce DiPatri, Ashley Casey, Kodi Merrell

•  The JAGA Fall Four-Ball was held Nov. 3^rd at Ponte Vedra Inn & Club with 25 teams competing. The gross division was won by David Anthony (Marsh Landing CC) and Alan Henderson (Palencia Club) with a round of 7-under-par 64. Four teams tied for second one shot back at 65.
In net play, Anthony Scolapio (TPC Sawgrass) and Andrew Gall posted 8-under-par 63 and won the top prize after a match of scorecards with Larry Smith (St. Johns G&CC) and Mike Vallencourt(Timuquana CC).
Forty-eight teams participated.

•  JAGA closes out its 2025 tournament season in November and December with two unique events:

• Nov. 24 – JAGA Scholarship Trust Classic at Deerwood CC…help JAGA help area college-bound students pay for college.
• Dec. 20 – The JAGA Family Championship at Jax Beach GC….JAGA’s most fun-filled tournament of the year.
• For details and to enter, click here.

JAGA News
•  Fleming Island Golf Club and owner Charles Raulerson hosted JAGA’s monthly outing in October. Two-time Florida high school player-of-the-year Tyler Mawhinney, who plays out of FIGC, shared his experiences as a highly accomplished junior golfer on the national stage.

Tyler Mawhinney and Charles Raulerson, Jr. at Fleming Island GC

•  Fleming Island GC made a $2,400 donation to the JAGA Scholarship Trust at JAGA’s October meeting.
•  Impressive showings by several JAGA scholars in the Flagler Fall Slam at Marsh Creek….Freshman Addy Vogt contributed mightily to Rollins College’s five-shot win over Daytona State with her fourth-place finish. Cambree Hodge (T5) and Emma Wells (T16) propelled Daytona State to its strong finish. Also competing were fellow scholars Morgan Wilkerson and Jenna Wilson of Savannah State and Alexandria Drum of Emory Riddle.

(L-R) – JAGA scholars Addy Vogt, Alexandria Drum, Emma Wells and Cambree Hodge.
JAGA scholars, now attending Savannah State Morgan Wilkerson (left) and Jenna Wilson.

Northern PGA Chapter News
•  First Coast assistants Bob Wallace (Palencia) and Aaron Russell (Sawgrass CC) were among the 264 who competed in the Senior PGA Professional Championship at Port St. Lucie (Oct. 23-26). Wallace (+6) and Russell (+15) missed the 36-hole cut, which came at +4 (64 players).
•  The Northern Chapter PGA is hosting a Pro-Am at TPC Sawgrass-Dye’s Valley on Monday, November 17.
•  Golf Digest’s honor roll of the top teachers in golf was announced in its Oct./Nov. 2025 issue. It included several from Northeast Florida:

• Legends of Golf Instruction – Todd Anderson (PGA TOUR Performance Center). Todd is one of 22 to hold this distinction.
• Best Teachers in Florida/2026-27 – Dan Carraher (St. Augustine); Jordan Dempsey (PGA TOUR Performance Center); Travis Fulton (Jacksonville); Jackson Koert (Atlantic Beach); Mike Shannon (PGA TOUR Performance Center); Alana Swain (PGA TOUR Performance Center)

FSGA Tournaments
•  Local leaders in October’s FSGA events:

• Ty Capps was third and Lance LaCombe tied for 10^th in the Mid-Am Stroke Play at Lakewood Ranch.
• Chris Watson and Mark Spencer were sixth in the Senior Two-Man Shootout at Black Diamond. Anthony Stirtzinger and John Lobb tied for seventh.
• Co-captain Therese Quinn, Tama Caldabaugh and Christine Hunt were on the winning North team in the 7^th Florida Women’s Cup at Mountain Lake near Lake Wales. The North beat the South 15 ½ to 12 ½ for the second time and second year in a row.

Credit: FSGA

High School Championships
The 2025 Florida State High School Golf Championships are upon us. Each team’s goal is to advance through three levels of competition to become either state girls’ or state boys’ champions in one of the districts involving Northeast Florida teams.
Districts took place Oct. 27 and 28…see below for more details.
Regionals are Nov. 3 and 4 at various sites…see below for more details.
The State Championships for both boys and girls are Nov. 11-12 (Class 3A), Nov. 14-15 (Class 1A) and Nov. 18-19 (Class 2A), all at Mission Inn Resort in Howey-in-the-Hills.
:

District Winners
The following teams captured the top spot in their respective district tournaments:

• BOYS – Fletcher (2-3A), Fernandina Beach (3-2A), Fleming Island (4-2A), and Providence (4-1A).
• GIRLS – Ponte Vedra (2-3A), Stanton (3-2A), Middleburg/Fleming Island (4-2A), Bolles (4-1A).

The teams above, other at-large qualifiers and several individual qualifiers advanced to regionals.

Regionals Results
The following was produced with the input of Garry Smits of the Florida Times-Union:
The top two teams and the top individuals not on those teams qualified for the State Championships. The additional at-large teams and individuals were not available at press time.

Boys 

1-3A, at Twin Rivers Golf Club, Oviedo
Automatic qualifiers:

• Beachside (303): Jonah Nacional 72, Jaspreet Kondal 73, Jaden Nacional 78, Palmer Scott 80, Samuel Ha 83.
• Ponte Vedra (304): Jude Johnson 75, Cooper Franklin 76, Jake Mason 76, James Nagle 77, Easton Oliva 80.
• Individuals: Jackson Runquist (Fletcher) 72, Ambrose Kinnare (Tocoi Creek) 73.

1-2A, at Golf Club of Fleming Island
Automatic qualifiers:

• Fleming Island (290): Tyler Mawhinney 64, William McCready 74, Ryan Houck 75, Carson Moore 77, Alexander Blom 81.
• Tallahassee Lincoln (303): Bryce Matthews 74, Chase Fleischer 75, Brandon Hawkes 76, Williams Young 78, Ethan Lafuria 88.
• Individuals: Brayden Pedersen (Alachua Santa Fe) 73, Will Wiggins (West Nassau), Michael Rattigan (Wolfson), Jack Cook (Santa Rosa Beach South Walton), Dawson Wooley (Live Oak Suwannee), Turner Hersey (Palatka) 74.

1-1A, at Pensacola Country Club
Automatic qualifiers:

• Providence (292): Alexander Stewart 71, Ethan Grossman 72, Jack Cole 74, Keelan Jackson 75, Gavin Ring 83.
• Episcopal (293): Aubrey Fellows 68, Brody Tran 72, Baker Eller 75, Dylan Tran 78, Landon Pittman 82.
• Individuals: Wilmer Mitchell (Pensacola Catholic) 72, Ian Morris (Pensacola Catholic) 72.

Girls 

1-3A, at Hawkstone Golf Club, Gainesville
Automatic qualifiers:

• Ponte Vedra (296): Stella Moritz 68, Charlotte Xia 74, Nina Santiago 76, Kennedy Hronek 78, Lauren Barned 80.
• Nease (310): Hazel Peters 73, Sophia Cavanagh 74, Chloe Frank 81, Clara Capelle 82, Laney Siebert 84.
• Individuals: Sofia Rivera (Beachside) 69, Sophia Stiwich (Flagler Palm Coast) 72.

1-2A, at Quail Heights Country Club, Lake City
Automatic qualifiers:

• Santa Rosa Beach South Walton (348): Neely Knight 70, Lily Martin 71, Jordan Houston 103, Sophia Franchi 104, Marlee Owens 109.
• Stanton (353): Lily Chiang 67, Alyssa Hardy 80, Olivia Woods 96, Camille Buss 110, Sage Poor 114.
• Individuals: Akery Paing (Wolfson) 68, Ryan Donaldson (Live Oak Suwannee) 70.

1-1A, at Eagle Harbor
Automatic qualifiers:

• Bolles (312): Chloe McGrath 68, Grace Brefitt 72, Riley Powell 79, Ellyn Park 93, Anya Shah 97.
• Tallahassee Maclay (334): Millie Sprague 80, Tessa Cooper 80, Trisha Patel 82, Addie Sprague 92, Reece Erwin 92.
• Individuals: Sahana Chokshi (Episcopal) 68, Peyton Johnson (Tallahassee Florida High) 70.

October NEWS Correction
The Bolles girls’ team was runner-up in the girls’ division ahead of third-place Beachside in the recent Jax Beach Varsity Invitational. The Ponte Vedra girls won.

PGA TOUR Q-School
Five PGA TOUR cards are on the line as the PGA TOUR Q-School presented by Korn Ferry is now underway. To get one, however, is a tall order. Q-School began with eight pre-qualifiers in September. They were followed by 14 first-stage qualifiers in October. First-stage qualifiers advance to one of five second-stage tournaments that take place Dec. 2-5, including one at the Conservatory at Hammock Beach in Palm Coast. Those who make it through first and second stages will play two rounds at TPC Sawgrass-Dye’s Valley and two at Sawgrass CC, Dec. 11-14. The top five will be PGA TOUR members in 2026. Those who finish sixth through 45^th and ties earn KFT membership.

Other Tournaments
•  The entry deadline for the 20^th St. Augustine Amateur is Nov. 12^th. Only a few spots remain open in the 84-player field. The event is set for Dec. 5-7 at St. Johns Golf Club in Elkton. Currently, the field includes players from 21 states, nine countries, and a number from SEC, ACC and Big 12 schools. For tournament info, registration and live scoring, go to: www.staugustineamateur.com.
•  Honorary chairman Matt Kuchar and his mother, chairperson Meg Kuchar, were outstanding hosts for the October 6th Ronald McDonald House Charity Classic at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club. The event netted $225,000, a record for the Classic. The event honored the late Peter Kuchar, who served as chairman for a decade. He passed away in February of this year.

The winners from the gross shamble format:

1 – Andrew Taussing, Greg Taussing, Carlton Forrester, Kavanaugh Tucker            61
2 – Tim Iley, Jim Loftin, Gregg Deiboldt, Tripp Morris                                                     62
3 – Matt Kuchar, Samuel Jabbour, Noah Witte, Gabriel Nachashi                               63

Ronald McDonald House Charity Classic co-hosts Matt Kuchar and his mom, Meg Kuchar.

Other News
Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach has been named American Junior Golf Association Rolex Player of the Year for the second time in three years. The 17-year-old (Nov. 1^st) was the youngest winner of the award in 2023 and is now the first two-time winner from Northeast Florida. David Duval and Kaitlyn Schroeder are other past area winners. Among his 2025 wins was his second Junior PLAYERS Championship in September at TPC Sawgrass. Russell was a guest on Golf Channel’s “Golf Central” on Nov. 5^th (see photo below).
            Tyler Mawhinney of Fleming Island joined Russell on the first team, with Luke Balaskiewicz, now a UNF freshman, making the second team.  Phillip Dunham of Ponte Vedra Beach and Lucas Gimenez of Jacksonville securing honorable mention.

2025 AJGA Rolex Player of the Year Miles Russell (right) with
Golf Channel’s George Savaricas.

•  Chandler Blanchet, a decorated NCAA Division II player (13 wins while at the U. of West Florida in Pensacola), won the season-ending Korn Ferry Tour Championship in Indiana to claim the No. 2 spot among the 20 who earned 2026 PGA TOUR cards via the Korn Ferry Tour. The three-time First Team All-American (2016-17-18) is a Gainesville native, who now resides in Atlantic Beach.

PGA TOUR-bound Chandler Blanchet

FSU graduate and Ponte Vedra Beach resident/TPC Sawgrass regular Hank Lebioda, finished sixth and will make his return to the PGA TOUR. One spot back of Lebioda was another PVB resident, Adrien Dumont de Chassart, a Belgian who played collegiately at the U. of Illinois.
Finishing outside the top 20 were other area residents Julian Suri (23), Russell Knox (No. 34), Rick Lamb (No. 37), Sebastian Cappelen (No. 49), Nick Gabrelcik (No. 54), Joe Weiler (No. 57), Tyson Alexander (No. 59), Samuel Anderson (No. 72), Carl Yuan (No. 77), Luke Guthrie (No. 92), and Travis Trace (No. 94).
•  TPC Sawgrass head of agronomy Jeff Plotts retired from his position on Oct. 8^th after 25 years of service with the TPC Network, the last ten of which came at TPCS. The U. of Georgia graduate will be replaced by his longtime assistant Lucas Andrews, a native of England who has been at TPCS for 16 years.

Lucas Andrews (left) and Jeff Plotts

•  Mike Giammeresi has been elevated to general manager at Glen Kernan. Bill Hughes, former GM at TPC Sawgrass, was in that role the last ten months to lead the club through change of ownership and renovation.

College Golf
Here are October results for colleges of local interest. Listed is each team’s finish and the total number of teams in each event, plus any top-five individual performances in bold.
•  UNF Men – 13 of 16 teams in Quail Valley Invitational at Vero Beach, FL….T9 of 19 teams in Ka’anapali Collegiate in Hawaii.
•  UNF Women – 5 of 12 teams in Evie Odom Invitational at Virginia Beach, VA; Kaitlyn Schroeder, T2.
•  JU Men – 7 of 10 at West Bay Collegiate Invitational in Estero, FL; Brandon Lohr, T4….T5 of 16 at Florida Atlantic Invitational at Palm Beach Gardens.
•  JU Women – 10 of 15 at ECU Pirate Classic in Greenville, NC….6 of 8 at Mercer Invitational in Macon, GA.
•  Flager Men – 9 of 17 at D2 National Preview at Boulder City, NV…17 of 17 at Cooperhead Championship at Palm Harbor, FL….4 of 14 at Citrus Intercollegiate at ChampionsGate, FL; Nick Eberhard, 5^th.
•  Flagler Women – 4 of 18 at St. Simons (GA) Intercollegiate; Olivia Meinecke (3^rd), J. Gonzalez Howard (T4), Thalia Perez Vieco (T4)….10 of 11 at St. Leo (FL) Invitational….3 of 12 at Flagler Fall Slam at Marsh Creek CC; Henriette Stranda (1^st) and Tabitha Hanely (T5).
•  UF Men – T3 of 14 at Marquette Intercollegiate in Wisconsin; Jack Turner, 2^nd….1 of 15 at Williams Cup in Wilmington, NC; Luke Poulter and Zack Swanwick, T3….Won the East Lake Cup in Atlanta, defeating UVA 3-2 in the championship match.
•  UF Women – 1 of 14 at OU Intercollegiate at Prairie Dunes in Kansas; Megan Propeck, 1^st…1 of 15 at The Ally in Mississippi; Addison Klonowski, T3.
•  FSU Men – T5 of 11 at Hamptons Intercollegiate on Long Island, NY….7 of 14 at GC of Georgia Collegiate in Alpharetta, GA.
•  FSU Women – 2 of 14 at Jim West Challenge in Denton, TX….4 of 4 at East Lake Cup in Atlanta.
•  UGA Men – 1^st of 11 in Hamptons Intercollegiate on Long Island, NY; Carter Loflin, 1st….8 of 14 at Fallen Oak Collegiate in Mississippi…3 of 19 in Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii.
•  UGA Women – 3 of 12 at Evie Odom Invitational in Virginia Beach, VA.; Maria Eidhagen Harrouch, T4….1 of 10 at The Robbie in Huntsville, AL; Maria Garcia (1)   Karoline Tuttle (2), and Sydney Givens (T5).

Here are the Scoreboard rankings at the conclusion of the Fall tournament season (Nov. 5^th):
Men                                                    Women
No. 10 – UF                                      No. 8 – UF
No. 33 – UGA                                   No. 28 – FSU
No. 39 – FSU                                    No. 60 – UGA
No. 144 – UNF                                 No. 126 – UNF
No. 173 – JU                                    No. 204 – JU
No. 33 – Flagler (Div. II)                   No. 14 – Flagler (Div. II)

In four Fall tournaments, the UF women have finished 3^rd, 2^nd, 1^st and 1^st.

Ponte Vedra HS grad and Florida Atlantic sophomore! Nancy Cox recorded her best finish as a collegian, a T3 at the ECU Pirate Classic in Greenville, NC. She followed it up with a T5 at the Mercer Invitational in GA.

Rising Florida Gulf Coast University star from St. Augustine Nolan Harper recorded another top finish, a 4^th at the Ka’anapali Classic in Hawaii. The sophomore was 2024-25 ASUN Freshman of the Year and a First-Team All-SUN selection.

Chi Chi Rodriguez – Always having fun….
“I’d forgot I had something there!” Check out this short, funny clip featuring World Golf Hall of Fame member Chi Chi Rodriquez. https://www.youtube.com/shorts/hN-k-QJzxTI

Did you know?
JAGA is an all-volunteer organization comprised of 42 member clubs from the greater Jacksonville area. Each member club is represented by up to six “directors”, who serve as a conduit between JAGA, their club and the Northeast Florida golf community. JAGA conducts up to 12 tournaments a year and currently supports 61 students with college scholarships through its JAGA Scholarship Trust program.