TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla. – Battling wind and length yesterday Feb. 21, Leroux Ferreira from Kingwood, Texas outlasted the field over the challenging 6,400 yard Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club. Playing with clubs dating back to 1910 or earlier, Ferreira was the only golfer able to break 80. David Frost of the Champions Tour finished in second with 81 and Jon Benson from Wesley Chapel, Florida took third with 83.
The United States Professional Hickory Golf Championship is the brainchild of Mike Stevens, teaching pro at MacDill Air Force Base and the reigning National Hickory Open Champion. The field of 24 golfers from around the country competed with original hickory shafted golf clubs provided by Dr. Jay Harris of Pinehurst, North Carolina.
The competitors were playing for $5,000 purse and the John Shippen Cup which honors America’s first professional golfer. The championship is dedicated to preserving and honoring the history of early golf in America. The Temple Terrace golf course was chosen because it hosted the original Florida Open in 1925 and remains true to its 1922 Tom Bendelow design.
Results:
Leroux Ferreira 79 $1,500
David Frost 81 $1,000
Jon Benson 83 $700
Sean Frost 85 $500
Lee Chill 86 $400
Mike Stevens 87 $250
Tom Doozan 87 $250
Brian Schuman (A) 88
Joe Gutterman 90 $125
Kody Kirchoff 91 $75
Tom McCrary 91 $75
Greg Vogelsang 91 $75
Jim Cocchi 93 $50
Ed Travis is a well known golf journalist and writes the monthly Player's Perspective column appearing in New England Golf Monthly. He carries a 1-handicap and with his wife lives on a water hazard in suburban Orlando.
