Fort Lauderdale’s TJ Shuart beats odds to win FSGA Match Play
TJ Shuart of Fort Lauderdale entered the Florida State Golf Association’s 25th Annual Match Play Championship, one of the state’s top golfing events, as the 25th seed.
Nearly 350 golfers tried to qualify for the tournament at Turtle Creek Club in Tequesta, and when it was all over Shuart was proudly hoisting the trophy, claiming his third FSGA title.
In the semifinal, Shuart used a birdie-birdie finish to defeat Rohan Ramnath in a tight 1-up match. Then, in the championship match, Shuart had an easier time of it, winning the title 4 and 2 against Michael Demorat.
Shuart is also a three-time winner of the Broward Amateur.
ELSEWHERE
▪ D.J. Burnham, 18, an All-Dade golfer from Miami Palmetto High as a senior this past season, captured the individual title of the Daytona Beach Junior Golf Championship. Burnham shot 72-75-147.
▪ Former Barry University women’s golfer Nancy Vergara and rising senior Nicky Ferre combined to win the Florida Women’s Four-Ball Championship at River Wilderness Golf & Country Club in Parrish. Vergara, a Key Biscayne resident who graduated in May, and Ferre, a native of Weston who played for Plantation American Heritage High, shot 6-under-par 66 on the 5,949-yard course in an event that was originally planned for two days, but was cut to 18 holes because of rain.
▪ Barry senior golfer Berry Jole was named an All-American Scholar by the Golf Coaches Association of America. Jole graduated in May with a degree in finance. He was named to the Dean’s List (3.5 to 3.9) in the spring after being named to the Athletic Director’s List (3.0 to 3.49) in the fall.
On the course, the Netherlands native had three top-10 finishes, including a tie for third at the Warner Invitational, and seventh-place finish at the NCAA South/Southeast Super Regional as he shot 75-67-72--214. His second-round 67 was a career-low.
Jole had a 73.53 stroke average in 12 tournaments in 2014-15. He made 96 birdies and two eagles in 12 appearances.
▪ Nova Southeastern University men’s golfer Oscar Lengden of Sweden was honored as an All-American Scholar to close out his career at the school. Lengden helped the Sharks to their second Division II national championship, playing to a 72.6 stroke average this past season. He put together a 3.34 cumulative grade-point average during his four-year academic career. He was also previously chosen as a second team PING All-American, and finished No. 9 among all Division II players in the individual national rankings.
On the women’s side, Nova’s Liliana Cammisa (Argentina) and Jamie Freedman (Miami Beach) were named to the 2014-15 All-American Scholar team, as awarded by the Women’s Golf Coaches Association. The Sharks’ duo was among the top three golfers on this past season’s squad. Cammisa has completed her four-year career at Nova, and Freedman will return for her sophomore season in the fall.
THAT’S A FACT, JACK
The Claret Jug, the winner’s trophy at the British Open, has been filled up with many things by the winner over the years. Wine, beer, milk, champagne, etc. However, Zach Johnson, this year’s winner, came up with the most bizarre thing to fill up the jug.
Johnson, who hails from farm-friendly Iowa, posed for a picture with an ear of corn in the jug.
“Our sweet corn, we take pride in,” Johnson said. “It’s a corn-fed state. I thought it would be a cool little picture.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 8:11 PM with the headline "Fort Lauderdale’s TJ Shuart beats odds to win FSGA Match Play."