MEMORIAL PLAYERS TAKE ADVANTAGE OF IDEAL SCORING CONDITIONS

The scoring conditions couldn’t be any better for the opening round of The Memorial Tournament at the Eagle Ridge Golf Course and the strong field of players took advantage of it. Eighteen players out of the field of 83 players shot below par.

In the Open Division, there is a two-way tie for the lead. Jamie Morgan and Matt Giovannelli both shot 4-under-par 68s. The duo holds a slim one-shot lead on Martin Musgrave who posted a 3-under-par 69s. Asher Katz shot a 1-under-par 71.

In the Senior Division, defending champion Georgia’s Mike Zito is tied with Daniel Owen for lead. Both players posted a 4-under-par 68. In third place is Bill Knapp with a 1-under-par 71. Tied for fourth place are Paul Irvin, Scott Thul and Jeff Heinemann with 72s.

On top of the Super Senior leaderboard are a couple of Murphy’s. Mike Murphy (Tampa) and Tom Murphy (Georgia) both shot the low rounds of the day, a 5-under-par 67. They hold a one-shot lead on Tommy Lowe, who posted a 4-under-par 68. In fourth place is Kevin Macy (Tampa) with a 3-under-par 69. Tied for fifth place are Robert Parmar, Bill Zylstra, Jim Williams and Peter Guillette with 2-under-par 70’s. Also under par were Bo Craig, Rich Weber and Denis Monzon with 1-under-par 70s.

In the Legends Divsion – Newberry’s Brian Sachs fashioned a 4-under-par 68 to lead. Four shots behind are Randy Briggs and David Lee (Palm Harbor) as both posted 72s. In Fourth place is Berger Warner with a 74 and fifth is Ron Russo with a 75.

The final round gets underway tomorrow at Eagle Ridge GC with a 12:45 shotgun start.

For the entire field scores and final round pairings see TOURNAMENT/INFO/Results and TOURNAMENT/INFO/Pairings and Tee Times.

MUSGRAVE/GIOVANNELLI, DORMAN/LOCKER, SNOAP/GRIFFITH OCALA CUP WINNERS

The 2025 competitive golfing season has come to an end with the Ocala Cup, but the tournament that concluded 2025 marks the start of the 2026 race for Marion County’s Golfer, Senior Golfer, and Super Senior Golfer of the Year.

The number one and number two finishers in the 2025 Golfer of the Year, Martin Musgrave and Matt Giovannelli, paired up in this four-ball event at Ocala Golf Club to shoot a 16-under-par 128 score by posting back-to-back 8-under-par 64’s and win the Open Division title. Finishing in a tie for second place at 10-under-par 134 scores were Zach Andrews and Caden Flocker (67-67), Miles Albright and Greg Martin (67-67) and Ben Locker and Ryan Letterly (68-66).

In the Senior Division, Brent Dorman and Joseph Locker shot an 8-under-par 64 final round to win the top spot. Their 13-under-par 131 total was three better than runners-up Dewey Pachinski and Bill Knap and defending champions Paul Irvin and Bill Searcy, as both teams shot 10-under-par 134s. Finishing in fourth place were Mike Zito and Kyle Allen with 9-under-par 135 (69-66).

The Super Senior Division title went to Apopka’s Doug Snoap and Billy Griffith as they posted a pair of 8-under-par 64’s. Their 128 total was only one shot better than Robert Parker and Randy Smathers as they came in with a 15-under-par 129 total on rounds of 63-66. Tied for third at 11-under-par 133’s were Peter Guillettee and Rich Weber, Jeff Morley and Bobby Johnson and David Mears and Bill Zylstra.

For the entire field scores see: TOURNAMENT INFO/Results/FINAL RESULTS – OCALA CUP

On behalf of the Marion County Golf Association, we would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

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