Making his Mark: Spencer wins second JAGA championship in 12 months; COVID golf surge fading
Mark Spencer of Jacksonville is in the midst of a two-year roll in Jacksonville Area Golf Association events.
Spencer won his second JAGA title in the past 12 months May 15-17 at Deercreek, rolling in a 14-foot birdie putt on the first hole of sudden death to beat Mike Vallencourt of Orange Park and Bob Macmillan of Ponte Vedra Beach. The three players finished 54 holes of regulation at 1-under-par 212.
Spencer fired the tournament's low round of 67 to open, then had rounds of 72-73 while Vallencourt and Macmillan caught him.
Vallencourt was short and right of the first green in the playoff and chipped on to about 10 feet away. Macmillan missed an 18-foot birdie putt attempt before Spencer dropped his.
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Spencer won the JAGA Match Play championship last year and earlier this spring, reached the quarterfinals with two victories. In January he went 1-1-1 to help the Amateur team win the Underwood Cup.
He also finished seventh in the JAGA Amateur and fourth in the JAGA Senior in 2021.
Spencer has been especially effective at match play. In the Underwood Cup and the last two JAGA Match Play Championships, he's 6-2-1.
Three-time JAGA Senior champion John Lobb finished four shots out of the playoff at 3-over 216. Another past JAGA senior champion, Ken Moody of Ponte Vedra, tied for fifth with Tom Cregg of St. Augustine at 5-over.
Players raved about the conditioning at Deercreek, which has undergone a renovation since being purchased by a group of members two years ago.
“I hit the ball well all week,” said Spencer, who is the manager of technology for Master Bat Fitter at True Temper Sports/Baseball division. “I struggled a bit to adjust to the green speeds after Sunday’s rain. But the golf course was in perfect condition. The conditions were fantastic.”
Harry Black of Jacksonville won the super-senior division for players 60-69 years old, firing rounds of 73-75 — 148 to beat Bill Hardaker of Atlantic Beach by one shot. Black was the runner-up in 2021. Frank Perry defended his title in the grand senior division (70 and over), topping Danny Daniels of Crawfordville by one shot at 9-over 152.
Is the golf surge fading?
Golf Datatech has released its latest figures on golf rounds played nationally, and the COVID-19 boom in golf that began in the spring of 2020 may be dropping a bit.
The figures, released by the National Golf Foundation, had April rounds down 13 percent nationwide over April of 2021 and down 10 percent year-to-date. It continues a trend that showed rounds down seven percent during the second half of last year over the second half of 2020.
However, weather might be having more of an impact than any wane in interest.
The NGF reports that playable golf hours, compiled using weather data across the country, were down 14 percent over the first four months of this year, compared to the same period in 2021. The NGF also reported that club and ball sales are up 14 percent in wholesale dollars year-to-date, golf online searches remain stable and golf revenue per round us up.
And it's early. Historically, 20 percent of rounds are played nationwide in the first four months of the year and the bulk of the late spring and summer are still ahead.
Ponte Vedra juniors contend
Maxwell Morgan and Benny Ossi of Ponte Vedra Beach finished second in their respective age divisions in the Florida Junior Tour's Harbor Hills Open in Lady Lake. Morgan shot 69-68--137, but lost by two shots to Darren Zhou of Bradenton in the boys 11-12 division. Ossi (77-75--152) lost by five shots to Benny Minter of Lutz in the 9-10 division. ... Steve Powell of Jacksonville finished sixth in the Florida Hickory Open at the Bradenton Country Club, steering his old-school clubs and balls around the course at 91-88--179. ... Steve Carter of St. Augustine was among a four-way tie for first in a U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Golden Ocala, but ended up the second alternate after a playoff. Jon Veneziano of Mt. Dora and David Hronek of Port Charlotte earned the two qualifying spots in the playoff and Paul Parlane of New Zealand got the first alternate.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Mark Spencer wins second JAGA championship in 12 months at Senior Amateur
