*** COMPLETE RESULTS ***
FORT MYERS, Fla. – In the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Division II Men's Golf Championship five weeks ago,
Jacob Huizinga shot a career-best round with a 65 to help UWF advance into the medal/match play part of the event. On Thursday, he opened play at the Florida Amateur with that same score of 65 en route to a 72-hole score of 272 as he captured the 99th Florida Amateur Championship at Fiddlesticks Country Club.
Huizinga, a rising sophomore out of Orlando, completed play with rounds of 65-67-69-71 for a 5-shot victory.
"The whole week I just wasn't nervous," Huizinga said after completing the wire-to-wire victory. "The only time I was really nervous was the first six holes on Saturday. Everything just went so slow. Most of the time when I'm playing in tournaments, everything just goes fast."
He is the first UWF men's player to win the state amateur crown since Matthew Galloway in 2007. Ty Harris also won the event in 2002.
Blake Dyer finished second at 277, followed by Logan Lanier and Michael DeMorat at 278.
The 168-player field split the first two rounds between Fiddlesticks and Miromar Lakes Golf Club before a 36-hole cut trimmed the field to 75 – with the low 70 and ties. The final two rounds were at Fiddlesticks.
By virtue of winning the championship, Huizinga earns a lifetime exemption into the championship, along with exemptions into the next five Mid-Amateur Championships, the next three Amateur Match Play Championships and the next two Florida Open Championships.
Fellow UWF rising sophomore
Christian Bosso also competed in the event, finishing in a tie for 30th with an even par score of 74-76-66-72 – 288.
Started in 1914, the Florida Amateur Championship is the oldest continuous sporting event in the state as well as the largest amateur event in Florida. Past Amateur champions include Bob Murphy, Jerry Pate, and PGA Tour players David Peoples, Chris Couch, Barry Cheesman and Blayne Barber.
