There is something about the Mid-Amateur Stroke Play Championship for Joe Alfieri, he always plays great! Joe won the title in 2013, finished second behind Don Bell in 2014 and then took the first round lead after a stellar 69 in 2015.
Joe was one of the 139 men 25 years of age and older that teed it up this week at the beautiful Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers. The course was in fabulous condition and the greens were running very fast. Some heavy winds prevented many under par scores.
Through the first 36-holes, Alfieri had eight birdies and just one bogey to post rounds of 69-68--137 (-7) and took a four shot lead heading into Sunday's final round. A more difficult course setup, combined with heavy winds Sunday morning, made for a challenging final round. Tyler Gulliksen got off to a hot start making birdies on three of the first four holes. After Joe made bogies on the 5th and 6th holes, Tyler found himself just one stroke back. Joe would then birdie the 7th and 8th holes to extend his lead, but his approach shot on the 9th found the water and he walked away with a bogey 5. Tyler then found trouble on the back nine and fell out of contention.
The final nine 9 holes were full of excitement. Tim Hume was playing in the second to last group and slowly crept closer to Joe Alfieri all day, but Hume made a untimely double bogey on the 15th. Hume came to the par 5 18th needing eagle to give himself a chance. He found the green in two, but had a lengthy putt for eagle. His 50 foot eagle putt just missed and he tapped in for birdie.
Playing in the group behind Hume, Alfieri came to the 15th tee with the title basically wrapped up and then he proceeded to hit two balls in the water hazard off the tee and made a quadrouple bogey 8 to bring Hume and fellow-competitor Thad Hudgens back into the mix. Alfieri then parred the 16th and hit his tee shot on the par 3 17th to 6 feet. A calm stroke resulted in a birdie which gave him a two stroke lead heading to the final hole. A routine par on the last locked up his second Mid-Amateur Stroke Play title in the last three years.
Fiddlesticks Country Club - Long Mean Course, Fort Myers, FL
Joe Alfieri, Lutz, FL 69-68-75--212
Thad Hudgens, Longwood, FL 72-69-73--214
Tim Hume, Crystal River, FL 73-69-72--214
Bob Campione, Palm Coast, FL 73-68-77--218
Davis Miller, Tampa, FL 74-71-73--218
Tyler Gulliksen, Daytona Beach, FL 72-70-77--219
