Many incoming, current and former FGCU men's golfers will be teeing it up in state amateur championships in the coming weeks, competing among some of the best amateurs in the nation.
Those FGCU-affiliated players will be competing to win the state amateur crowns in Florida, Indiana and Michigan, including current FGCU players working to better their games this summer.
Florida Men's Amateur Championship:
Rising FGCU junior Doug Smith, rising sophomore Cole Castro, recently-graduated Grant Renegar and assistant coach Austin Schultz all qualified for the 72-hole event June 21-24 at The Concession Golf Club & Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in Bradenton.
Smith shot a 68 at Heathrow Country Club to qualify, while Castro was the medalist at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club qualifying with a 69. Schultz was one of 10 players to qualify at Eagle Creek Golf & Country Club after signing for a 71, and Renegar got into the field with a 73 at the same course.
In addition to those four, 2012 FGCU graduate Brandon Pena also qualified at Eagle Creek with a 71. Pena still holds the 4th-best scoring average in program history (73.25) and was ranked as high as #79 in the nation as a junior.
All players will complete 18 holes at the Jack Nicklaus-designed Concession and 18 holes at Ritz-Carlton Members before the 36-hole cut of low 70 and ties. The final two rounds of stroke play will be held at The Concession, which hosted the 2015 NCAA Championship. Tee times have not yet been assigned as the field is not completely set, but fans can follow along with the action by visiting www.FSGA.org.
Indiana Men's Amateur Championship:
Incoming freshman Tate Heintzelman-Dee will be competing in the 72-hole stroke-play tournament at Otter Creek Golf Club just outside Columbus and about an hour east of Bloomington June 18-21.
A native of South Bend suburb Granger, Heintzelman-Dee qualified after shooting a brilliant 4-under 68 at Knollwood Country Club's West Course. He was the only player in the field to shoot a sub-par round.
Tate Heintzelman-Dee is a 2016 Indiana High School Golf Coaches Association All-State Team member from Saint Joseph's High School in South Bend. He will get his tournament underway at 9:39 a.m. on Monday. The cut will be made to low 60 and ties after two rounds.
Michigan Men's Amateur Championship:
Incoming junior transfer Logan Price will begin his quest for the title at the Country Club of Detroit on June 19, with the tournament set to conclude on June 23. The course is nestled in the Motor City suburb of Grosse Pointe Farms, and has hosted multiple United States Amateur Championships, including the 1954 edition won by the late Arnold Palmer.
A product of Grand Blanc, Mich., Price qualified as the medalist at Fieldstone Golf Club of Auburn Hills with a 66. Price has spent his first two years at Division-II Tiffin University in Ohio and will get his championship underway with a 7:50 a.m. tee time on Tuesday. Following 36 holes of stroke play, the low 64 players will advance to a match-play format to determine the 2018 winner.
MGA Public Links Championship:
Though not a state amateur tournament, rising junior Brent Fredericksen played in the 71st Metropolitan Golf Association Public Links Championship on June 13 at Griffith E. Harris Golf Course in Greenwich, Conn.
Representing Silver Lake Men's Golf Club, Fredericksen shot rounds of 74-76 (150) at the MGA Public Links Championship to tie for 8th place out a field of 61 – just three shots out of 2nd place.
