Andrew Pope holds off charges by First Coast players Derek Bard, Pete Kellermann to win Florida Open
Andrew Pope eagled the par-5 17th hole at the Bradenton Country Club on Sunday to hold off two First Coast residents and win the 76th Florida Open.
Pope, a veteran of the Korn Ferry Tour who plays out of the Orange Tree Country Club, finished with a 68 for a 54-hole total of 15-under-par 199, three shots clear of Bishop Kenny graduate and former UNF player Pete Kellermann (68) and Derek Bard (67), a Jacksonville Beach resident who was the runnerup to Bryson DeChambeau in the 2015 U.S. Amateur.
Pope earned $15,000 for the victory. Bard and Kellermann each took home $7,187.
Pope reached the green at No. 17 with a 3-wood and drained a 20-foot putt for his clinching eagle. He made a safe bogey at the last.
Bard, who played college golf at Virginia, was three-under through 10 holes but bogeyed the 11th hole in his bid to overhaul Pope. Two birdies down the stretch weren't enough to catch Pope.
Kellermann birdied four of his last four holes to catch Bard for second.
Two-time Florida Open champion J.C. Deacon (71), the University of Florida golf coach, former Jacksonville University player Michael Sakane (70) and Nease graduate Cory Howard (72) tied for fifth at 9-under.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Andrew Pope holds off charges by First Coast players to win Florida Open
