Local golf: Austin Davenport wins E-Z-GO South Florida Open with course record
NAPLES – Austin Davenport’s first shot in the E-Z-GO South Florida Open didn’t go so well Thursday. It landed in a fairway bunker, near the lip.
Oh, it’s going to be one of those days, Davenport thought.
It turned out to be a day Davenport will never forget.
His shot with one leg out of the bunker somehow rolled onto the first green and he made birdie. The other 60 shots weren’t bad for the PGA head professional at Dye Preserve, either.
That’s right, Davenport shot a course-record (and career-low) 10-under 62 to win the E-Z-GO South Florida Open at Miromar Lakes Golf Club. He finished at 15-under 201.
“It feels pretty surreal, especially after that start,” said Davenport, a Stuart resident. “I didn’t see this coming at all. I texted my dad last night and told him five shots behind was too much against these guys. I was just hoping to go out and have a good round.”
Instead, he shot one of those dream rounds that included two eagles, six birdies and no bogeys. At the 18th, Davenport hit a 9-iron from 133 yards to 11 feet and made the birdie to clinch a two-shot victory over reigning Player of the Year Tyler Collet of John’s Island Club in the South Florida PGA’s second major of the season.
“It was kind of lucky because I had that same (yardage) number a couple times earlier in the round with the same wind, and hit good shots,” Davenport said. “I purposely didn’t look at leaderboards, but I had a feeling I knew where I was at. I knew I needed to shoot 8 or 10-under to beat these guys.”
Davenport charged into contention with a six-under 30 on the front nine that included an eagle on the par-5 eighth hole when hit a 4-iron to 9 feet. He added an eagle on the par-5 16th hole to tie Collet by making a 45-foot putt setting the stage for Davenport’s final-hole heroics.
Collet, a PGA assistant professional at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, shot a respectable 3-under 69 to finish at 13-under 203. Collet needed to birdie the 18th to force a playoff but bogeyed the final hole.
More: Tiger Woods, Port St. Lucie photographer share office, goal of pulling off the perfect shot
Nick Beddow (68) of Mayacoo Lakes was third at 12-under, a shot ahead of Justin Hicks (68) of Stonebridge Country Club and Alan Morin (69) of The Club at Ibis. Defending champion Justin Bertsch of Club Pelican Bay was fifth at 10-under.
Stan Geer, the PGA head professional at Bentley Village Golf Club, won the Senior Division on Tuesday when he beat Morin in a one-hole playoff with a par, Geer and Morin finished at 8-under 136, Morin shooting a 63 after opening with a 73.
Jerry Tucker (66-138) of Stuart was third, a shot ahead of Mark Mielke of High Ridge in West Palm Beach and Joe Kern of Hawks Nest Golf Club in Vero Beach.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Local golf: Austin Davenport wins E-Z-GO South Florida Open with course record
