Sam Osborne in danger at PGA Tour Q-School

WFGT player Sam Osborne tees off during his victory at the Legacy Golf Club. Photo provided by the WFGT.

Sam Osborne's chances of gaining a PGA Tour card are slipping away faster than a downhiller at Augusta National on Masters Sunday.

The Englishman, who resides in Palmetto while in Florida, ballooned to a 76 in his second round of PGA Tour Q-School's first stage at The Auburn University Club in Alabama.

The death knell to Osborne's round came on the par-5 seventh.

He triple bogeyed the hole. Since he started the day off No. 10, Osborne had only two holes remaining to make up for the miscue.

He'll need two consecutive strong days to crack the top 23, which gains advancement to the second stage.

Right now, Osborne is in a tie for 43rd place.

To read more about Osborne, click the following link: "England native takes on Q-School"

Lauer and Revell missed the cut at Nationwide Tour stop

Former Lakewood Ranch High standout Seath Lauer and Lakewood Ranch resident Brad Revell didn't make the cut in the Nationwide Tour's Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open this past week at Dye's Valley Course at TPC Sawgrass.

Lauer shot a 2-over 72 in round one, before struggling to a 77 that featured eight bogeys and just one birdie.

Lauer ended up with two birdies over the two rounds, while bogeying 11 holes.

His length was there - Lauer averaged 319 yards off the tee - but he found just 60.7 percent of fairways.

Consequently, he hit 66.7 greens in regulation - not a bad number - but he had 33.5 putts per round.

For Revell, a native Canadian, he had too many big numbers.

Revell had three double bogeys in two days that accounted for his 72 and 75 in the first two rounds, and a missed cut.

Revell didn't record a birdie on day two.

His trouble stemmed from not hitting enough greens (just 50 percent over two rounds).

WFGT quartet make second stage

WFGT golfers moved past the PGA Tour's Q-School First Stage at Grasslands Golf & Country Club in Lakeland.

The first stage featured five venues last week and wraps up this week at eight other sites.

Lakeland's Travis Perkins and Sarasota's Brian Ward caught fire early in the four-day, 72-hole tournament.

They then held on to qualify for the second stage.

Meanwhile, Sarasota's Joey Lamielle and Fort Myers' Josh McCumber struggled in the opening round.

Both players posted 75s in round one.

But Lamielle, the WFGT's Order of Merit leader, and McCumber each ran off three consecutive rounds in the 60s to qualify.

The top 23 and ties made it among the original 78-player field.

Four players were disqualified or withdrew from the tournament.

For Lamielle, he got back into the tournament with a second-round 69.

Lamielle, a Sarasota Booker and Florida Gulf Coast University product, shaved off a stroke with a third-round 68 and followed that up with a 67 to gain a tie for 16th and a spot in the second stage.

McCumber carded 69s on days two and three. Then he dug deep and went low, with a final round 65 that gave him a berth in the second stage after a tie for 12th at the bomber's paradise known as the Grasslands.

The second stage runs in mid-November at various courses.

Following that, qualifiers make it to the final stage - the last hurdle for aspiring PGA Tour players have to jump to gain a PGA Tour card for 2011.

Wenck running hot as City Amateur approaches

Sarasota's Ray Wenck is the reigning Bradenton City Senior's champ.

And his form is peaking at the right time as the Bradenton City Men's Amateur looms.

The marquee amateur event in Manatee County is slated for Nov. 13-14 at River Run Golf Links.

Wenck is coming off victories at the Venice City Amateur and at the Sarasota City Men's Better Ball Championship.

The latter event just ended this past weekend.

Wenck partnered with Joe Clarkson and shot a pair of 67s, before winning in a playoff in the 38th annual event at Bobby Jones Golf Complex.

WFGT players faring well with one round left at PGA Tour Q-School

Travis Perkins, a West Florida Golf Tour participant, is still leading the PGA Tour's first stage of Q-School at the Grasslands Golf & Country Club in Lakeland.

Perkins, a Lakeland resident, shot 2-under 70 in Thursday's third round to get to 16-under for the tournament.

The top 23 and ties advance to the second stage.

Sarasota's Brian Ward, a University of Tampa product and fellow WFGT player, backed up on day three with a 74.

He's at 10-under par and in a tie for sixth.

Sarasota's Joey Lamielle continues to surge. The WFGT's Order of Merit leader has rebounded after an opening round 75.

Lamielle posted a 68 in Thursday's round, which puts him two shots behind the final qualifying spots with just one round to go.

A stroke back of Lamielle is Fort Myers' resident and WFGT player Josh McCumber.

He matched Lamielle's first two rounds (75-69), before firing another 69 on Thursday.

Jamie Miller, whose form has been red-hot with a WFGT title at the difficult Old Corkscrew Golf Club in Naples recently, also sits at 3-under par for the tournament alongside McCumber in a tie for 35th.

Is this the PGA Tour's Q-School or a WFGT event?

Everywhere you look on the PGA Tour Q-School's First Stage leaderboard at the Grasslands Golf & Country Club, one unifying trend is found.

So many of the players inside the Top 23 have played on the West Florida Golf Tour in its inaugural season.

WFGT player Travis Perkins is leading through two rounds at 14-under par.

Perkins, who resides in Lakeland, is right at home at the Grasslands which is in Lakeland.

Sarasota's Brian Ward is also in the mix for advancement to the second stage after an opening 63 and second round 69 puts him at 12-under par for the first 36 holes.

Several other WFGT players are in the field, including Sarasota's Joey Lamielle and Fort Myers' Josh McCumber.

Both players struggled in their opening round with 75s, but rebounded with 69s to settle for a tie for 44th.

The top 23 and ties qualify for the next stage.

A couple WFGT products playing this week's Nationwide Tour stop

Lakewood Ranch resident Brad Revell joins former Lakewood Ranch High standout Seath Lauer as Monday qualifiers for this week's Nationwide Tour event.

Revell shot 32-33--65 at Marsh Creek Country Club to earn entry for the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open at TPC Sawgrass (Dye's Valley Course).

Lauer tees off No. 10 at 2:05 p.m. today, while Revell begins the tourney at 9:30 a.m. off No. 10.

Revell is playing alongside Arnold Palmer's grandson, Sam Saunders, for the first two days.

Both players have worked their craft on the West Florida Golf Tour.

Area high schoolers still in mix for a state tournament appearance

Kudos to the area high school golfers that advanced to the regional tournaments next week.

You can read about the boys Class 1A-District 16 tournament, the boys 2A-14 and girls 2A-14 tourneys in today's Bradenton Herald.

The girls 1A-16 tournament saw Cardinal Mooney and Saint Stephen's place in the top three to advance.

The Falcons' Yi Meng Zheng won medalist honors with a 71. Out-of-Door Academy's Henriette Wistorf (86) was the lone competitor for the Thunder on Monday at Placid Lakes Country Club, but she also earned one of the three individual berths into next week's regionals.

The top three individuals not on the top three teams qualify for the regionals.

Joining Wistorf was Southeast's Katherine Duffy (108) and Arcadia DeSoto's McKayla Jeter (106).

The 1A-Region 6 tournament is at the Hideout Golf Club in Naples for both boys and girls. The girls are Monday and the boys are Tuesday.

To read about where the 2A-Region 5 tourneys are held for both boys and girls, click here.

Florida wins Southeastern Challenge Matches

Team Florida won the Southeastern Challenge Matches this past weekend at the Lost Tree Club in North Palm Beach.

The biennial Ryder Cup-styled matches pit 12-man amateur teams (eight mid-amateurs and four seniors) from Alabama, Georgia and Florida.

Florida had a team total of 25 points in the two-day event to secure victory and end Georgia's five-year match winning streak.

There weren't any team members from Bradenton, with Tim Hume (Tampa) as the nearest competitor to Manatee County.

District tournaments for high schoolers set to start

District tournaments begin the postseason for high school golfers.

The Bradenton Christian boys team was out practicing at River Wilderness in Parrish on Friday ahead of Monday's Class 1B-District 16 tournament.

They're a favorite to advance to the regional tournament.

The top three teams and top three individuals not on a qualified team advance closer toward a state title.

Check out Monday's edition of The Herald for the scoop on the district golf tournaments for both boys and girls teams from the area.

Bradenton golfers to invade Charlotte County Open

A couple Bradenton-based golfers are playing in this weekend's Charlotte County Open.

Jon Bullas and Stephen Sowards tee off at 12:10 p.m. Saturday in the opening round of the two-day tournament. Bullas goes off No. 1, while Sowards is off No. 10 in the first round held at Kingsway Country Club in Lake Suzy.

The tournament is in its 11th year, and it was just two years ago that Derek Lamely walked away with the crown.

Lamely is a PGA Tour player and won his first Tour event this year.

City of Sarasota Junior Championship full results

Please find the full results from this past weekend's 12th annual City of Sarasota Junior Championship:


Bobby Jones Golf Club
2010 Jr City Championship
Final Standings
Sat. Score
Sun. Score
Total

Championship

Sherwin, Jake 67-72--139
Baldwin, Connor 72-72--144
Visacki, Michael B. 69-76--145
Miller, Jordan 67-80--147
Johnson, Cole 71-79--150
Lee, Austin 75-77--152
Lynch, Connor 77-75--152
Shi, Jeff 82-79--161

Girls 14 and under

Polivchak, Nicole 108-117--225
Allen, Jordan 141-118--259
Romeo, Terese 0-0--0

Boys 14 and under

Burke, Bryce 70-73--143
Miller, Landry* 70-74--144
Sun, Charles 72-72--144
Knowles, Philip 75-71--146
Reith, Hunter 70-78--148
Sun, Kelly 76-75--151
Fujii, Yuki 74-78--152
Lee, Garrett 75-77--152
Liggins, Ajani 76-78--154
Celestino, Jacques 82-76--158
Barrett, Cole 86-86--172
* Won play-off

Girls 15-18

Opfer, Madison 68-69--137
Adruzova, Anastasia 77-78--155
McKenney, Katie 81-86--167
Kim, Sarah Kathleen 84-90--174
Harper, Justine 83-102--185
Fujii, Yumi 93-93--186
Hancsak, Raver 104-95--199

Boys 15 - 16

Colgate, Michael 68-73--141
Sagar, Hunter 69-73--142
Kosko, Drew 73-73--146
Fox, Mason 74-74--148
Kosko, Luke 75-73--148
Seat, Matthew 77-71--148
Benson, Kyle 75-74--149
Davis, Alden 80-74--154
Pecor, Bailey 76-78--154
Butler, Robert 74-82--156
Dill, David 79-79--158
Guthrie, Addison 78-82--160
Shi, Ken 84-87--171
Tatko, Alex 89-95--184

Waite's window closing

Grant Waite, the former PGA Tour winner, recently played in a West Florida Golf Tour event.

He's tuning up for the second stage of Q-School, where he's exempted to due to his status as a former Tour winner.

Waite said if he doesn't get back to the PGA Tour this year, he'll probably start thinking of doing something else.

That includes teaching, since Waite said he knows so much about the golf swing and the game of golf.

However, the 46-year-old New Zealand native is just four years shy of qualifying (age-wise) for the Champions Tour.

And Waite says he wouldn't rule that out or anything else, since he can't read the future.

To read the full story on Waite from Tuesday's edition of The Herald, click here.

Waite visits Manatee County for a WFGT event

The West Florida Golf Tour's stop at the Legacy Golf Club on Friday attracted a decent-sized field.

And among the players on the east Manatee County track was none other than former PGA Tour winner Grant Waite.

The New Zealand native resides in Ocala and ventured down to Lakewood Ranch to play the WFGT in preparation for the upcoming grind at Q-School.

2010 Manatee County Championship full results

Here are the results from last Saturday's Manatee County Championship (boys high school):


2010 MANATEE COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
Rosedale Golf and Country Club
Host: Lakewood Ranch Oct. 2, 2010

Front Back 18

Bayshore Record: N/A
Tim Williams 69 67 136
Cameron Powell 61 64 125
TOTAL: No Team Total

Bradenton Christian Record: 16-5
Jack Lyerly 36 37 73
Jordan Miler 36 37 73
Philip Knowles 39 37 76
Landry Miller 44 40 84
Johnny Weichel 48 44 92
Duncan Sikkema 55 57 112
TOTAL: 155 151 306

Braden River Record: 10-9
Austin Acklin 36 44 80
Tony Osborn 42 45 87
Ryan Hintze 56 49 105
Alec Neuzal 44 39 83
Tyler Coleman 47 43 90
Dakota Bosch 58 52 110
TOTAL: 169 171 340

Lakewood Ranch Record: 23-4
Danny Walker 38 40 78
Ramsey Touchberry 34 37 71
Connor Baldwin 37 38 75
Kyle Benson 38 38 76
Dylan Hogan 41 44 85
Mitch Blanco 42 42 84
TOTAL: 147 153 300

Manatee Record: 7-8
Nick O'Neil 41 42 83
Adam Smith 49 40 89
Sai Gadam 40 50 90
Brett Rocklein 55 45 100
Jonathan Woods 44 44 88
Matt Stephens 49 59 108
TOTAL: 174 171 345

Palmetto Record: 4-9
Ben Durrance 64 58 122
Ryan Bell 50 62 112
Mike Berky 60 51 111
Tony Berky 58 59 117
Tyler Free 63 63 126
Matthew Pletcher 66 71 137
TOTAL: 245 231 476

Saint Stephen's Record: 8-9
Sean Kelly 38 41 79
Oliver Vaidas 40 40 80
Eddie McQuisten 40 43 83
Jack Cen 41 39 80
Ethan Hill DNS
Jarred Delrose 50 50 100
TOTAL: 159 163 322

Southeast Record: 7-9
Ryan Wolfe 40 37 77
Nick Lowery 46 41 87
Bryan Robinson 54 49 103
Matt Fenske 45 49 94
Matt Hardy 52 60 112
Nick Fenske 61 62 123
TOTAL: 183 176 359

TEAM WINNER: Lakewood Ranch - 300

INDIVIDUAL WINNER: Ramsey Touchberry

TEAM RUNNERS-UP: Bradenton Christian

ALL-COUNTY TEAM:
1 Ramsey Touchberry LR 71
2 Jack Lyerly BCS 73
3 Jordan Miller BCS 73
4 Connor Baldwin LR 75
5 Kyle Benson LR 76
6 Philip Knowles BCS 76

Hally Leadbetter wins a Leadbetter Tour event

Bradenton's Hally Leadbetter won the girls 15-18 year old age division in the recent IMG Leadbetter Junior Golf Tour stop at the Naples Grande Golf Club.

Leadbetter, whose world-renowned teaching father David, took down the 36-hole tourney with a 148 total.

The left-hander edged Gemma Dryburgh by a shot.

Leadbetter matched Dryburgh with four consecutive pars to end the tournament after back-to-back bogeys on Nos. 13 and 14 put a dent in her lead and jeopardized the chance to win the title.

However, the strong finish coupled with Dryburgh's inability to birdie any of the final four holes sealed a one-stroke victory for Leadbetter, whose father's name is attached with the tour.

Dublin, Ireland native Keagan Cummings blitzed the boys 15-18 year old division with a 5-under par 137 total.

Cummings carded a final round 65 for a seven-shot win.

Bradenton's Rigel Fernandes finished in third in that age division.

There was a boys 11-14 and girls 11-14 age division, which featured two and three competitors in each, respectively.

Some final thoughts on the Ryder Cup

Apologies to loyal blog followers for not getting this out sooner, but here are my final thoughts on the Ryder Cup that ended Monday:

1. Let's not stage the Ryder Cup so late (October) in the United Kingdom again.

The biennial matches ultimately had to be finished on Monday for the first time ever, since constant rain halted action on the first day, which set the entire schedule back a bit.

2. Get adjusted faster.

The old cliche is putt for dough and drive for show. That's never more evident than at big-time tournaments, where the winner is usually decided by who has the hot hand with the flatstick.
The United States is a team built with PGA Tour players, who are all accustomed to fast greens.
Since it was Europe's turn to host, Celtic Manor's greens looked as fast as a shaggy carpet.
To be fair, it's hard to get the greens lightning quick in Wales in October (see No. 1 for this issue). But that doesn't mean the American players can't get themselves adjusted and acclimated better and quicker.
One of the things, aside from consistency, that separates PGA Tour pros from other golfers is the ability to adapt to different conditions on the fly.

3. Kudos to Rickie Fowler

The PGA Tour rookie has zero career wins, yet he was selected with a captain's pick to join the team.
For the first few sessions, his inclusion on the team looked like a complete bust.
But then something remarkable happened in the singles match on Monday, and the United States benefited by having a chance at the end to escape Wales with the Ryder Cup in tow.
It was a coming-of-age moment for the phenom Fowler, where he closed with four straight birdies, stealing a crucial half point like the way John Dillinger used to rob banks.

4. Amazing finish

After Fowler's unfathomable comeback to garner a half point, Hunter Mahan had all the weight on his shoulders for Team USA.
Graeme McDowell had it on his for the Europeans.
Who would buckle first?
It didn't hurt that McDowell was 2-up with two to play, but the Northern Irishman turned it on just enough – thanks to a gravity defying putt that snuck in the bottom shelf on No. 16 – to down Mahan and regain the Ryder Cup for Europe.
Not a bad finish for anyone playing hooky from school or work that was able to watch.
And I must admit, that McDowell sure looked like he wanted the pressure.
Boy, did he thrive. I guess that's what happens when you play near-mistake free golf en route to a United States Open victory at the famous Pebble Beach Golf Links.

5. Speaking of that finish...

... I could, and have, done the same exact thing as Mahan with that chip shot.