Going deep: Brock Healy outlasts Mats Ege at Hidden Hills to capture JAGA First Coast Amateur
It was a shootout not previously seen in two Jacksonville Area Golf Association First Coast Amateurs held at the Hidden Hills Golf Club.
Brock Healy, a graduate of Kennesaw State (Ga.), birdied three of his last five holes on Monday to overtake Mats Ege of Norway and win the seventh First Coast Amateur by one shot at 11-under-par 205.
Healy, from Norcross, Ga., posted the low round of the tournament with a closing 65, while Ege, a redshirt sophomore at East Tennessee, finished with a 67. Healy came two shots away from the tournament record of 13-under held by former University of North Florida player and Mandarin High graduate Brandon Mancheno and he was 13 strokes lower than the previous best score for a winner at Hidden Hills, Stephen Shepard at 2-over in 2019.
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Healy took the lead for good with a short birdie putt at No. 17, while Ege missed from 20 feet. Ege had a 12-foot birdie attempt at the last but missed, and Healy took a safe two-putt to win.
Ege was trying to become the second ETSU player to win the First Coast Amateur. Trevor Hulbert won in 2021 at The Conservatory in Palm Coast. Ege is 157th on the world amateur rankings and tied for 15th two weeks ago in the Jones Cup at Sea Island, Ga.
Defending champion Ty Gingerich of the University of Cincinnati shot 68 in the final round and finished third at 4-under 212. He has played in all seven First Coast Amateurs.
Sam Nicholson of Atlantic Beach and Nolan Harper of St. Augustine also shot 67 in the final round. Nicholson tied for eighth and Harper tied for 16th.
Cox, Hughes win first FJT titles
Nancy Cox of Ponte Vedra Beach and Bryson Hughes of St. Johns captured their first Florida Junior Tour titles last week and they did in their respective age-group 54-hole major tournaments.
Cox shaved 11 strokes off her first-round score with a 71 at the Seminole Legacy Club in Tallahassee and held on in difficult weather conditions to finish at 16-over-par 232 to defeat Bradyn Smith of Gainesville by one shot in the FJT 16-18 major. Ralienne Nacional of St. Augustine (242) tied for seventh.
Hughes opened the FJT 13-15 major at the University of Florida's Mark Bostick Golf Course with a 69, the low round of the day, went even deeper with a second-round 65, and closed with a 72 to beat Tristan Wieland of Jupiter by two shots at 4-under 206.
Defending champion Miles Russell of Jacksonville Beach had rounds of 68-69 and finish third at 1-under 209. Joey Hage of St. Augustine tied for fourth at even-par 210.
Northern Chapter PGA honors members
The Northern Chapter PGA announced its 2023 award winners:
Players of year: Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth (San Jose), overall player of the year; Gerry James (Gerry James Golf Instruction), senior player of the year; William Rehberg (Deerwood), assistant player of the year.
Professionals of the year: Wes Tucker (St. Johns Golf Club), overall professional of the year; Hayes Farley (San Jose), teacher and coach of the year; Nicole Cousart (TPC Sawgrass), assistant professional of the year
Merchandising: Bruce Mohler (Jacksonville Beach), public course merchandiser of the year; Stefan Brunt (Sawgrass), private course merchandiser of the year; Grace Hurley (Ponte Vedra Inn and Club), resort course merchandiser of the year; Tina Wisedel (Titleist), sales representative of the year.
Other awards: Robert Davis (Deerwood), Distinguished Service Award; William Schmit (Sawgrass), superintendent of the year; Jim Poole (TPC Sawgrass), Deacon Palmer Award; Tommy Aycock (St. Johns Golf Club), Patriot Award; Jackson Koenig (TPC Sawgrass), youth player development; Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth (San Jose), player development; Brian Riddle (TPC Sawgrass), professional development; Matt Borocz (TPC Sawgrass), Bill Strasbaugh Award.
Horner on winning team
Steve Horner of Ponte Vedra Beach and Jeff Kaufmann of Tampa shot 68-69--137 at the Providence Golf Club in Davenport to win the senior division of a Florida State Golf Association Winter Series Four-Ball event.
Kaufmann birdied two of his last four holes and Horner closed with four pars in a row to win by one shot at 7-under-par 137.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Battle in the Hills: Brock Healy nips Mats Ege to win First Coast Amateur
