Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Scores Win In Girls Division CJGA Event

Dakoda Dowd wins girl division of the January 6th event. She once again tore up the competition. Check out the pictures here.

St. Petersburg's Root Records His Biggest Victory / Clearwater's Dakoda (Koda) Dowd Had The Day's Best Score (77)

Doug Root , a member at host St.Petersburg Country Club, demonstrated that in the 79th annual New Year's Invitational.

His opening rounds of 73, 73 and 73 - 1-over par each day - gave him an insecure three-stroke lead entering the final round of the Senior Division (players 55-and-over).

His closest competitors were among the best in the state - Mike Walters and Don Lucas , both of Tampa. In the third round, they had reduced Root's lead by shooting 71 and 72, respectively.

Then Root departed from consistent rounds and crafted a 3-under 69 to capture the championship trophy by six strokes over Lucas, whose final round was 72.

"I drove well all week, especially the final day when I hit 12 of 14 fairways off the tee," Root said. "Also, I had only 29 putts in that final round, which is better than average for me there on my home course.

"But in a larger sense, I've been preparing for the past year and a half for my entry into the Senior Division and going to the gym regularly to get in shape," he said. "Fitness is a big part of this game that's often overlooked."

In recent years, Root has lowered his handicap to 1.

After an eagle chip-in from 30 feet on the 465-par 5 16th hole, his sixth, Root might have thought he had a safe cushion.

But Walters proceeded to sink a 20-foot putt for an eagle to stay in contention, and Lucas birdied to keep the match interesting. Kent Whittemore was the fourth player in the final foursome, and he was in contention.

Root didn't make a bogey in the final round until No.1, his group's 10th hole, where he missed a five-foot putt.

The turning point was their 14th hole, the 328-yard par-4 fifth. Root sliced his tee shot under a tree with two trees in front of his approach shot to the green.

"I hit a low 5-iron between the trees that went 100 yards to the green, enabling me to two-putt and save par," Root said.

"That was huge. ... That and not making many big mistakes all week. That helped me win my biggest tournament ever, with its strong field and history."

NOTES: Root won the St.Petersburg City Championship in 1994, '96 and '97.

In October, he returned to Mangrove Bay and captured the Senior Division two weeks after turning 55.

Whittemore, another City Championship winner, tied for third in the New Year's Invitational with a 72-hole 300, as did Jim Holbrook .

In the Open Division of the South's oldest men's amateur, the University of Indiana's Jeff Overton came from behind with a final-round 67 to overtake third-round leader Adam Scrimenti of Sarasota by a stroke.

The Florida Gators' Dalton Melnyk finished third (278) and was followed by a tie for fourth between Jeremy Hobson (282) and 2003 winner John Holmes of the University of Kentucky.

PRO NEWS: Seminole's Brittany Lincicome , 19, has been invited to play in the Jan.29 Tim Wakefield Charity Classic in Melbourne.

Wakefield, a Boston Red Sox pitcher, and teammate Johnny Damon will tee it up in the fund-raiser. Lincicome makes her 2005 LPGA Tour debut in Hawaii next month.

WEST COAST WOMEN: Pinellas golfers won three of five flights in the association's first match of the year.

At Belleair Country Club, Cathy Moss of the Vinoy took the title in Flight A with an 81, Sue Rooney of Innisbrook won Flight B (83), and Ann Stafford of Crescent Oaks and Cindy Kahle tied in C (86).

Walden Lake's Jackie Currier had the day's best round (78), winning Flight AA.

CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP: Jim Ahern successfully defended his title at Tarpon Woods last week in the 36-hole final, 5 & 4 over Ken Fawcett .

Head pro Greg McClimans will play assistant Greg Hiland for the pro title.

LARGO GOLF COURSE: In the biweekly scramble, 13-under 49 won for the team of Grey Farrey of Seminole, Mike Kuykandahl of Clearwater and Largo's Homer Holmes and Rich Creech .

JUNIORS: Clearwater's Courtney Harter , 15, won the girls 13-18 division of the Future Collegians World Tour event at the University of Florida course in Gainesville.

A sophomore at Palm Harbor University High, Harter posted 73-74-73 for a 10-over 220 to win by three strokes.

She followed that with a tie for eighth in a FCWT event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra. In the boys 13-15 class there, Dunedin's Preston Knox tied for sixth with 72-75-147.

Clearwater's Dakoda Dowd had the day's best score (77) in the final round of a recent Canadian World Tour event on Innisbrook's Copperhead course.

The Northside Christian player finished one stroke out of first.

Dowd's Mustang teammates, Danielle and Mo Jackson , key members of last fall's state Class A titleists, are focusing on basketball this winter.

Dunedin's Dana Turker won the girls 15-19 division of the Plantations Junior Tour at Innisbrook earlier this month. Her scores were 87-83-170.

FLORIDA STATE GOLF ASSOCIATION: The state Two-Man Shootout Championship is scheduled for May 14-15 at Westin Innisbrook Resort. Entries close April 20.

Innisbrook will host on May 11 a U.S. Open qualifier, which will enable the top finishers to move on to a sectional at Old Memorial in Tampa on June 7.

Dunedin Country Club will have a U.S. Mid-Amateur (25-plus) qualifier Aug.15. Entries close July 13.

Largo High Star Rolls To Junior Tourney Win

A young golfer from Belleair, Andrea Messer , overwhelmed the field at last week's Innisbrook Christmas Junior Classic.

Messer, 14, captured the girls 14-18 division of the 54-hole tournament by 10 strokes. Playing the famous Copperhead course, she put together rounds of 1-over 72, 80 and 73 for a 225.

The field included a couple of nationally ranked juniors from the state, including runnerup Jessica Yadloczky (36th) of Casselberry and defending champion Dolores White (43rd) of Lakeland, who finished fourth with rounds of 80-78-80-238. Messer's high school teammate and practice partner, Evan Jensen , took third with rounds of 76-82-78-236.

Messer said the key to her win was driving accurately and hitting irons onto the undulating greens.

"That first round of 72 did a lot for my confidence," said Messer, a homeschooled ninth-grader who played on the boys team with Jensen at Largo High. "I didn't get nervous knowing I was in the lead. I didn't feel any pressure." Messer, a Times all-county second-teamer this past season, and the other players ran into cold and windy weather on the second day. But even with the 80, which included a quadruple bogey, Messer increased her lead from four strokes to six. "I really wanted to shoot well that last day to prove I was better than an 80," Messer said. "I went for the pin on Monday (the final day) and was able to make three birdies. But I'm going to have to work more on my long putts. I missed a couple of them badly, which led to three-putts."

Messer has elevated her game during the past four years while working with Jim Slattery , the head pro at Belleair Country Club. The emphasis of his instruction has been on her swing.

Largo High coach Bill Schroeder , who attended two of the three rounds, said Messer takes the game seriously and is intent on doing well.

"Both Andrea and Evan are very businesslike in their approach to the game," said Schroeder, who has been coaching for 36 years. "They don't like to make mistakes. Another thing that helped Andrea is her fondness for the Copperhead course.

"That positive attitude helped her throughout. That and the fact that playing on the high school boys team, where she was the No.2 scorer, was also beneficial." Messer said she plans to continue practicing almost every day at her club, Belleview Biltmore, with her new Cleveland clubs with a goal of having a better year in 2005.

"I hope to qualify for the state tournament next year and make the Times all-county first team," Messer said.

"I'm having a lot of fun with the game. I'm glad my dad (Dennis) got me into it."

Clearwater's Dakoda Dowd , a member of Northside Christian's state championship team and a Times all-county first-teamer this past fall, tied for second (79-77-156) in the girls 13-18 division, ahead of Seminole's Rachel Edwards , a second-teamer for the Warhawks, (78-74-162) and Dunedin's Justine Knox (87-79-166).


David Palm of Jacksonville won the boys 14-18 division by six strokes over Cameron Knight of Dade City. Palm sandwiched a 2-under 69 between rounds of 73 and 74.

Linzy Clark III of Tarpon Springs also won at the Junior Classic. He shot a first-round 76 to take a three-stroke lead then held on despite shooting 81 in Sunday's bad conditions.

MORE JUNIORS: Dunedin's Preston Knox tied for second at the Florida State Golf Association's Christmas Classic at the Plantation Inn in Crystal River, posting rounds of 76-75-151.
He finished two ahead of Clearwater's P.J. Kolosvary , the Times 2004 county player of the year. Knox earned 120 points for the season to win the 12-14 age division.