61, no asterisk: Jacksonville's Luke Balaskiewicz shatters UGA Golf Course record in Notah Begay regional qualifier

Luke Balaskiewicz of Jacksonville, a rising sophomore at Bolles, lapped the field at a Notah Begay Junior National Championship regional qualifier at the University of Georgia Golf Course July 2-3.

How much did he dominate? Well, he could have shot even par after his first three holes and still won by five shots.

Balaskiewicz also posted a number that Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed, Harris English, Brian Harman, Kevin Kisner or Chris Kirk, among other former Bulldog players, had never equaled on their home course while at UGA.

Balaskiewicz shot 11-under-par 61 in the first round and added a 1-under 70 in the second round to win the qualifier by 13 shots over Andress Lawson of Macon, Ga., at 11-under 132.

Balaskiewicz broke the course record at a facility that has stamped out 11 PGA Tour winners who have combined for 44 Tour titles since 2008 and also shot the lowest number for a member of the North Florida Junior Foundation at any junior tournament in the organization's history.

He hit 16 greens and his only bogey, at the par-3 third hole, was on a three-putt. Balaskiewicz knocked six shots off his previous career-best, a 67 last year in a high school tournament in Lakewood Ranch.

"It seemed like I hit every green and made every putt, except for that," he said.

Beginning at No. 10, Balaskiewicz birdied his first hole on a 10-foot putt and eagled the par-5 12th after reaching the green with a 4-iron from 205 yards out to set up an 8-foot putt.

He wrapped up a back-nine 30 with birdies at Nos. 14, 15 and 18, then turned and birdied Nos. 1 and 2 before his only bogey of the day. Balaskiewicz rebounded with birdies at Nos. 4, 7 and 9, closing the day out with a 3-foot birdie putt.

With his second round at UGA, Balaskiewicz closed out a stretch of eight competitive rounds covering four events in 18 days. He began with a 71 at a Florida Amateur qualifier at Deerwood on June 15, made the cut and played all four days in the Amateur at Lost Tree and the Bear's Club in Jupiter, tying for 52nd.

He and his family then drove to Athens, arriving at 2 a.m. He had about four hours of sleep before getting up to play the UGA course in a U.S. Junior Boys qualifier, the first time he had ever seen the course. Balaskiewicz tied for medalist with a 68 to secure a spot in the Junior Boys at Bandon Dunes July 25-30, then shot his 61 five days later.

Balazkiewicz will play in the Notay Begay national finals Nov. 7-9 at the Koasati Pines course in Kinder, La. The tournament is sponsored by Begay, a four-time PGA Tour winner.

Seven other area juniors have qualified for the U.S. Junior Boys, Miles Russell, Phillip Dunham, Andrew McLauchlan, Sam Davis, Nolan Harper and Matthew French. Carson Brewer is exempt off his finish in last year's national.

Players accepting grant applications

The Players Championship is accepting applications for its "Red Coats Grants," for area nonprofit organizations with programs or initiatives focused on improving the quality of life for Northeast Florida residents.

The grant awards for the 2022 program will range from $2,000 to $12,500. Applications will be accepted Aug. 5 at 11:59 p.m. through an online process that begins with visiting theplayers.com and clicking on the "charity' drop-down menu.

Organizations must provide services in Duval, Clay, St. Johns, Nassau and Baker counties and provide services with discrimination as protected by law.

The Red Coats is a committee of past tournament chairpersons who served on The Players volunteer leadership team. Each year, approximately 2,000 volunteers support all facets of the PGA Tour's marquee championship at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass.

The 2023 Players week will be March 7-12.  Registration for volunteers will open this fall, with information available at theplayers.com/volunteer.

PXG Match Play scheduled

The second PXG Women's Match Play Championship will be Nov. 1-6 at the World Golf Hall of Fame Slammer & Squire. More than 80 women's players will compete in 36 holes of stroke play Nov. 1-2, with the top-64 moving to match play Nov. 4-6. Each segment will have its own purse, with a guarantee of at least $50,000 total.

Jessica Porvasnick, who won both segments last year, is scheduled to return. She is now a full-time player on the Epson Tour.

The tournament is one of 15 official-money events on the East Coast Women's Pro Golf Tour, based on the First Coast. Its charity partner is Investing In Kids (INK!), a St. Johns County non-profit that raises money for underserved public schools and students.

The week of the tournament also will mark a return of the Generation W Links to Leadership Summit presented by Circle K and Baptist Health Jacksonville, junior clinics and community activities for the players.

Tickets are $10 per day and are available by visiting pxgwmpc.com.

The East Coast Women's Tour also has added the Georgia Women's Open to its schedule, with points available for its season-ending $5,000 bonus. The Georgia Open is July 22-24 at the University of Georgia Golf Course.

Gabrelcik shines in Switzerland

University of North Florida rising junior Nick Gabrelcik went 1-2-1 at the Golf Club De Geneve during the Arnold Palmer Cup, a mixed team event matching college players from the U.S. vs. an International team.

He capped his week by earning a draw with Ludvig Aberg of Texas Tech (Sweden). Gabrelcik shot 66 and had an albatross at the par-5 fifth hole.

Gabrelcik, a two-time ASUN player of the year, also went low playing with Stanford's Rachel Heck. The two combined for eight birdies but lost 4 and 2 to Archie Davies of East Tennessee (England) and Amelia Williamson of Florida State (England).

Gabrelcik earned a victory with Pepperdine's Dylan Menante with an eagle on the 17th hole to beat Davies and Georgia Tech's Christo Lamprecht (Soutg Africa) 1-up. He had another match with Heck, which ended in a tie with Arizona State's Josele Ballester (Spain) and Wake Forest's Carolina Chacarra (Spain).

The International team defeated the U.S. 33-27.

Heading to Pebble Beach

Jonathan Hoag and Bryson Hughes will represent the First Tee-North Florida Sept. 20-25 at the Pure Insurance Championship at Pebble Beach, a PGA Tour Champions event in which 78 First Tee members play with professionals at Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill. The participants were selected by a national panel of judges based on playing ability and their personal growth and development in First Tee programs.

Among the players who have committed to the tournament are World Golf Hall of Fame members Vijay Singh, Bernard Langer and Mark O'Meara, plus three-time Pure Insurance champion Kirk Triplett and defending champion K.J. Choi.

Play will be conducted on Pebble Beach Golf Links and Spyglass Hill Golf Course in the first two rounds. The top-23 teams with First Tee players will advance to the final round at Pebble Beach for the third round.

UNF players cited

Five players from the University of North Florida women's golf team were named to the 2021-22 Women's Golf Coaches Association All-American Scholars team.

Sara McKevitt of Ponte Vedra Beach, Daniela Gonzalez, Jessie Cai, Mindy Herrick and Christin Eisenbeiss gave UNF five selections to the team for the second year in a row. Herrick has made the team all five years of her college career, Gonzalez four times and McKevitt three times. UNF has had at least one player on the team six years in a row and nine of the last 10.

The minimum cumulative GPA to qualify for the team is 3.50.

Borocz wins section office

TPC Sawgrass assistant general manager and director of golf Matt Borocz has been elected secretary of the North Florida Section of the PGA, the fourth-largest in the country. ... Mauro Baez of Flagler College was named to the Division II PING All-America third team, which makes him the program’s first two-time All-American during the NCAA Division II era. He received second-team honors in 2020. ... The deadline to register for the 61st Jacksonville Area Golf Association Championship will be July 11. The field is full but exempt players must register and non-exempt players will be put on a waiting list. The tournament is July 21-23 at the Deerwood Country Club. Mike Smith is the defending champion.

Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Luke Balaskiewicz of Jacksonville breaks University of Georgia Golf Course record with 61 in Begay qualifier