MERCHANT, GRANT, HUMPHREY HAVE OUTSTANDING FINISHES OUTSIDE OF FLORIDA

Justin Grant, Steve Humphrey and Sydney Merchant ventured out of Florida to participate in some very prestigious events and all three were successful.

Justin Grant and former Ocalan Joel Durrance went off to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY and won the 62nd John R. Williams Mid-Am Four-Ball Championship. In the 3-day event, Grant/Durrance shot rounds of 65-72-68 for a 5-under-par 280 total which put them in a four-way tie for the championship. It took no time to break the deadlock in the playoff as Grant was the only golfer to make a par on the difficult first hole to claim the championship.

Humphrey, who just turned 70 and is now competing in the Legend’s Division of the golf tournaments he enters, just capped off a fantastic run winning three tournaments in a row. Humphrey started his journey by winning the FSGA Legends title in Naples. Humphrey then drove to Georgia to play in the Reynolds Plantation Senior Invitational to win the Legends Division. Humphrey shot rounds of 70-73-71 for a 2-under-par 214 giving him a 2-shot title win. No rest for the weary as Humphrey came home and then drove to Lufkin, Texas to compete in the 7th National Super Senior Championship. The event was played at Crown Colony Country Club and saw Humphrey, playing under adverse conditions, shot a three-day score of +6 – 222 which gave him a 5-shot victory and the Legend Division title.

There’s a new professional golfer in Ocala, her name is Sydney Merchant. Merchant competes in the Professional Long Drive competitions where she is currently ranked eighth. In the recent 2026 World Long Drive Championship in Reno, Nevada she utilized her prestigious length to make it through the first five rounds. Sydney ended up finishing fifth overall with her longest drive measuring 354 yards. Sydney lives in Ocala with her daughter Lily and works and teaches at Ocala Golf Club.