FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Florida Senior Games golfers took to the links on Wednesday morning under clear blue skies. They returned to the clubhouse after completing 18 holes with a light rain falling.
Winners in the 18-hole competition and leaders in the 36-hole event on scoresheets posted in the Jacaranda Golf Course Clubhouse featured some very familiar names of Florida Senior Games past.
The overall low score of the day was posted by Edward Scheid, of Bradenton, who shot a 77 in the 18-hole competition to win the 75-79 age group gold medal. Scheid, who’s round featured 10 pars and no holes over a bogey, has been playing in the Florida Senior Games since 2002 when he won a 55-59 age group bronze medal. He was the National Senior Games gold medalist in the 2003 and 2005 Games in the 60-64 age group.
Scheid’s total topped silver medalist, Larry Rule, of West Palm Beach, by six strokes. Rule also has a long history in the Games winning his first gold medal in the 65-69 age group at the 2005 Florida Senior Games. Rule and Scheid’s foursome also included Richard and Lionel Pepin, of Lakeland, also long-time Florida Senior Games golfers.
The top women’s score was turned in by Lisa Hartley, of Clearwater, with an 81, to win the 75-79 age group gold medal. Hartley, who also had the women’s longest drive on Wednesday, has won gold medals in six of the last seven Florida Senior Games. Hartley’s round featured seven pars and a birdie.
While not playing a practice round at the Jacaranda Golf Course, Hartley had a virtual view of the course via Google Earth to prepare for the Games.
“The course played very well, and the greens were true,” Hartley said. “The shots on the green rolled very nice and I won the Longest Drive contest by about three feet.”
The 36-hole competition featured a continuation of competition between two of Florida’s top Senior Games golfers in the 60-64 age group, Martin Black, of Clearwater and Broward Sapp, of Crawfordville.
Black finished two strokes ahead of Sapp at the 2019 National Senior Games and Sapp won the 2018 Florida Senior Games gold medal by a tiebreaker.
In the first 18 rounds, Sapp shot an 80, one stroke ahead of Black’s 81. Not too far behind in the age group is Greg Jones, of Tallahassee, and David Hodges, of Jacksonville, both with a score of 83.
“Today, we learned the course in order to have a better round tomorrow,” said Broward Sapp. “We figured out where to hit and where not to hit the ball.”
In the 80-84 age group, William E. Jones, of The Villages, William McCullough, of Nokomis, and Gary Pearson, of The Villages, all finished with scores equivalent or lower than their age. The 83-year old Jones was two strokes ahead of his age with an 81, as was 82-year old McCullough, who shot an 80. Pearson, 80, equaled his age and he and McCullough lead the age group after one day of play with Jones, a stroke behind.
Derrick Terrell, who leads the Men’s 50-54 age group in the 36-hole event after day one, was the Men’s Longest Drive winner. George E. Ringham, who won the 18-hole gold medal in the 85-89 age group, was the Men’s Closest to the Pin winner and Kathleen Brown, playing in the 36-hole, 65-69 age group, was the Women’s Closest to the Pin winner.
On the tennis court, the final day of play for Men’s and Women’s Singles competition was temporarily halted by a downpour and then moved from the Cypress Park Tennis Center to the Tennis Center of Coral Springs. After an hour-and-a-half lightning delay also delayed matches at the alternate locations, players returned to the court to wrap up their tournament play.
In the lone women’s final of the afternoon, Martha Poitevent, of St. Augustine, captured the gold medal in the 70-74 division with a 6-4, 6-1 results against Joanne Collier, of Mulberry. The two will switch being opponents and foes to being teammates and friends starting Thursday as they team up for doubles action.
The final three brackets of men’s singles saw champions crowned in the 60-64, 75-79, and 80-84 age groups. Jim Norfolk, of Kissimmee, worked his way to the 60-64 gold medal with wins over Steven Boshears (6-4, 6-1) and Jeffrey Nykerk (3-6, 6-2, 10-7). In the 75-79 division, Jonathan Bortner, formerly of Valrico, stood on top of the podium with a 6-0, 6-1 victory in the championship match again Rao. Earl Maslin, of Sebring, outlasted Russell Cumbie, of Carrabelle, to win gold in the 80-84 age group. The two split the first two sets 3-6, 6-4, having to end the match in a 10-point tiebreaker where Maslin won with a 10-4 showing.
Day seven of the 10-day competition sees the third day of the six-day Tennis championships that carry through Sunday, December 15. Thursday and Friday will be the men’s and women’s doubles competition while mixed doubles take place Saturday and Sunday. At Jacaranda Golf Club, golfers will tee off for the final time of the 2019 Games as the second day of the 36-hole tournament closes out its competition. The Games also welcome the start of the three-day Pickleball championships that run through Saturday.
All events of the 2019 Florida Senior Games are free and the public is encouraged to attend.
Thursday, December 12 – Schedule of Events
Tennis: Cypress Park Tennis Center, Coral Springs | 8 a.m.
Pickleball: DS Sports Plex, Deerfield Beach | 8 a.m.
Golf: Jacaranda Golf Club, Plantation | 8:30 a.m. (shotgun start), day 2 of 36-hole tournament
The 2019 Florida Senior Games is an annual program of the Florida Sports Foundation, presented in conjunction with the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau.
For the latest information on the 2019 Games, visit our website: http://www.FloridaSeniorGames.com. Follow us on social media via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily images and reports highlighting the 2019 Games.
About the Florida Senior Games presented by Humana
The Florida Senior Games presented by Humana are presented annually by the Florida Sports Foundation (FSF), the state’s lead sports promotion and development organization, and a division of Enterprise Florida, Inc. The Foundation works in conjunction with a variety of local sports industry partners to present the different competitions. The Florida Senior Games, presented by Humana, an annual amateur sports tradition in Florida, is part of the state’s $57.4 billion sports industry that accounts for 580,000 jobs statewide.