Florida Team Selected For 2006 Southeastern Challenge Matches

Jon Veneziano, Florida’s 2006 Public Links Champion and 2005 Mid-Amateur champion, leads a group of 12 amateur golfers selected to represent Florida in the 11th Southeastern Challenge Matches against teams from Alabama and Georgia. The Georgia State Golf Association will host the 2006 Matches at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga., October 14-15.

The Southeastern Challenge Matches are a biennial Ryder Cup style match play competition pitting 12-man amateur teams, eight mid-amateurs and four seniors, from Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The matches consist of four-ball, foursome and individual matches over two days, with one point awarded to the winning team for each match. One-half point is awarded to each side for halved matches.

The top five mid-amateurs from the FSGA Two Year Points List are automatically selected to the team. Veneziano, ranked first on the Two Year Points List, captured this year's Public Links Championship as well as last year's Mid-Amateur. Next on the points list is Paul Melson of Plantation, who won the 2006 and 2003 Mid-Senior Championship as well as this year's Four-Ball Championship with partner Edward Kenny, also named to the team. Another Mid-Amateur champion, Steve Carter of Jacksonville, is set to play for Florida. Carter, ranked fourth in the standings, won the Mid-Amateur in 2004 and the 2005 Four-Ball Championship after setting a new tournament record.

The 2005 Player-of-the-Year, Kelly Gosse of Inverness, was named to the team after winning the 2005 Amateur Match Play Championship and advancing to the semifinals of that same championship this year. Two-time Public Links champion, Robert Parker of Sanford, completes the top five mid-amateurs in the points standings while the committee selects three additional players. Melson's partner in the Four-Ball, Edward Kenny of Lake Worth, was named to the team with a second-place finish in this year's Amateur. Peter Dachisen of Wesley Chapel, a three-time Gasparilla Invitational winner, and an another member of the team to be named after the U.S. Mid-Amateur and/or the State Mid-Amateur will round out the mid-amateurs to represent Florida.

The Florida team features four senior players including the top two players from the FSGA Two Year Points List. The 2005 Senior Player-of-the-Year, Rick Woulfe of Fort Lauderdale, is tied with Melson for second on the points list and will be playing in his sixth Southeastern Challenge Matches. Woulfe has won five state championships, including this year's Mid-Amateur Four-Ball South. Joining Woulfe is Bruce Scamehorn of Winter Haven, the 2004 Senior Amateur champion. Scamehorn was runner-up in this year's Senior Amateur Match Play Championship. He’s won the 1995 State Match Play, 1993 Mid-Amateur and 1992 Mid-Senior championships. Highly ranked seniors in the GolfWeek rankings, Steve Earsley of Hobe Sound, and Tim Miller of Venice, were selected by the committee to complete the team.

Georgia won the Matches in 2004 with 28 points, while Florida and Alabama tied with 17½ points each at The Club at TwinEagles in Naples. Florida leads the series with five wins. Georgia has four wins and Alabama has won once.

Organized in 1913, the Florida State Golf Association is a not-for-profit organization that governs amateur golf in the Sunshine State. In addition to conducting 22 championships for amateur golfers in the state, the FSGA is responsible for more than 40 qualifying tournaments for U.S. Amateur and the Florida Junior Tour. The FSGA also maintains the USGA Handicap System, performs course ratings throughout Florida and assists in junior programs and scholarships.