Sarasota Golf News

There are many changes at Sabal Trace Golf and Country Club in North Port. The course has already had and will undergo even more extensive renovations. Casino gaming machines are being installed, but the real headliner is head professional Cathy Edelen, who has returned to the club after a two-year absence.
      
“I’ve kept a villa on the golf course and always planned to come back,” she said.

Put Calusa Lakes Golf Club on your list of one of the must-play courses.
      
When she isn’t selling property in Stoneybrook of Sarasota or Heritage Oaks, realtor Nancy Casey likes to play golf. She came away impressed with Calusa, which just re-opened Sept. 1 after being closed for several months for the installation of new greens.

Attention low-handicap golfers: Here is your chance to play The Concession.  However, there are only 20 spots available for the third annual Concession Cup to be played Dec. 4-6 at the exclusive club in East Manatee County.
    
This is an elite men's amateur event which features two-man teams played at scratch with one better ball.  The teams will compete in a 36-hole, stroke-play competition. The deadline to enter is Nov. 20.

Sarasota National Hosts Callaway Golf

Sarasota National in Venice is hosting a Callaway Club Fitting and Demo Day on Oct. 30.
                 
The Callaway Club Fitting van is the same one the company uses during PGA Tour stops, so it is a great opportunity to get fitted correctly and to experience how sophisticated club fitting has become: swing speed, ball speed, launch angle, spin velocity and even the proper ball for your game.
       
Golfers are urged to visit Sarasota National on Oct. 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or set up a time by calling 941-493-5192.

Remember Barry Cheesman? Many amateur golfers in the Sarasota area do.
      
The former minor-league baseball player started playing amateur golf in Sarasota at Rolling Green Golf Club with a group called the “Animals.” Cheesman became their hero. He went on to win the Florida State Amateur, qualified for the Nationwide Tour and eventually the PGA Tour.

Nova Southeastern won the University of South Florida Invitational at Waterlefe Golf and River Club on Tuesday. The competition was fierce, with some 16 college women’s teams from around the country in contention for the championship.

The University of South Florida's Jennifer Neville shot a 220 for 54 holes. Neville is from Bradenton. Ericka Schneider of Lakewood Ranch fired a 232, competing for Daytona State College. 

Organizers for this weekend’s 10th Smuggler’s Charlotte County Open like to boast that two of their former entrants have qualified for the PGA Tour. George McNeil is one. Derek Lamely is the other. McNeil is on the PGA Tour and Lamely just qualified. Lamely is a two-time winner of the Charlotte County Open.

“As the success of players like Derek Lamely and George McNeill have demonstrated, the Charlotte County Open has become one of the elite events on the Florida golf calendar,” said Brian Gleason, chairman of the Smuggler's Charlotte County Open. “We attract some of the best mini-tour players and club pros each year and see many of them go on to achieve great things on larger stages.” 

Kudos to Larry O’Brien, who blew away the field in winning the City of Venice Men’s Championship last weekend at the Lake Venice Golf Club. It was the second consecutive City of Venice title for the former club professional, who regained his amateur status. The other flight winners at Lake Venice were Brian Hedman, Lee Bennett, Scott Alexander, Tyron Ramadhar and David Lenosky.

Evidently, the work Beth Bader has done with Rolling Green’s Joe Mann is starting to pay off. Bader finished tied for sixth last week in the Navistar LPGA Classic and won over $39,000. 

Sean Jacklin, a senior at Manatee High School, has verbally committed to a full golf scholarship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Jacklin is the son of Tony Jacklin, who won the 1969 British Open and the 1970 U.S. Open. He also co-designed The Concession Golf Club along with Jack Nicklaus. The Jacklins live in Manatee County. 

The students at Bradenton Prep know Byeong-Hun “Ben” An, but they know him as a good student.  He doesn’t play for the school’s golf team so he won’t be playing the high school district tournaments or the upcoming Donald Ross Invitational at Sara Bay Country Club.
    
In August, the former IMG Leadbetter student became the youngest ever champion of the U.S. Amateur, defeating Ben Martin 7 and 5.  The victory has given An elite status. He's already received a call from the Masters committee to play Augusta National this fall and a verbal invitation to the 2010 Masters. Also, the U.S. Amateur win gave him an automatic exemption into the U.S. Open and British Open. 

Photo (from left to right): Concession's Director of Golf Gary Geiger, U.S. Amateur Ben An and Tony Jacklin