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David Anthony of Jacksonville nearly rallied from a big deficit in the championship match of the Florida State Golf Association Senior Match Play on June 19 at the Legacy Golf and Tennis Club in Port St. Lucie.
But R.J. Nakashian of Palm Beach Gardens held on and won the title 1-up, denying Anthony once again in a statewide match-play tournament.
Anthony, who won four matches to get to the championship, lost in the semifinals of the FSGA Super-Senior Match Play earlier this month. Nakashian also denied Anthony his 15th statewide championship.
Nakashian was the No. 1 seed after winning the stroke-play qualifier at 5-under 139.
Anthony beat William Mallon of Vero Beach 1-up; Brian Kennedy of Highland Beach 5 and 4; Chad Abbotson of Sanford 4 and 2; and Michael Kelly of Tampa 2 and 1.
Four other First Coast residents qualified for the round of 32 in match play. Jeff Kaufman of Ponte Vedra Beach (150) tied for 12th in stroke play, Chuck Kirk of Middleburg (151) tied for 18th. Anthony and John Lobb of Jacksonville (152) tied for 21st and Ken Moody of Ponte Vedra Beach (153) tied for 25th.
Moody and Lobb both won two matches. Kaufman beat Kirk 5 and 4 in the first round and then lost to Kelly 2-up.
First Coast Women’s Am field almost full
The First Coast Women’s Amateur field is nearly at its limit of 78 players for the July 22-24 tournament at The Plantation at Ponte Vedra Beach.
The competition will be 54 holes for the championship and senior championship divisions and 36 holes for the senior and super senior divisions. The championship divisions offer World Amateur Golf Rankings points.
The entry deadline is July 10 and information can be obtained by visiting jaxareagolf.org.
The tournament was first played in 1990. Brooks Rehabilitation is returning for the ninth year as the FCWA’s presenting sponsor. The FCWA also raises money for the Moore-Myers Children’s Fund, the JAGA Scholarship Fund and North Florida Junior Golf Foundation.
The Jacksonville Area Golf Association provides operational and tournament support.
JAGA Amateur deadline near
The entry deadline for the Jacksonville Amateur July 18-20 at the Jacksonville Golf and Country Club is July 1 by 5 p.m. Players can get information and register by visiting jaxareagolf.org.
Players must have a certified USGA handicap index of 2.4 or less and be older than 16 and younger than 59 as of July 18. The field will be maxed out at 96 players.
Sub-par age-shooters
Two of the area players who beat their age last week did it with under-par scores.
Bob Dickson shot 6-under 66 at the TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley Course, 14 strokes behind his age.
Bob Hammel posted a 2-under 70 at the San Jose Country Club, bettering his age by three shots.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville’s David Anthony still stuck on 14 statewide golf titles