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Highlands Today

Ryder Cup Qualifier On Tap

Mark Pinson/Highlands Today

Val Patarini of Wauchula helped the professionals win last year's Highlands County Ryder Cup event at Highlands Ridage North. The amateurs lead the series 9-3-1.

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By Mark Pinson Highlands Today

Published: September 23, 2008

SEBRING - With the professional Ryder Cup fever having reached its peak over the weekend with the American's upsetting the European team, it's time for the Highlands County version of the unique golf event.

The Highlands County Ryder Cup, which pits the local professionals against the best amateurs in Highlands County, is set for Nov. 15-16 at Sun 'N Lake Country Club.

The professional team's lineup is pretty much decided, but the amateurs will hold an open qualifier to determine who represents their team in the annual two-day event.

The one-day, 18-hole qualifying round is set for Oct. 11 and will be played on the demanding Deer Run course.

Cost is $50, which includes green fees and cart.

The players that qualify for the Ryder Cup will not incur any more costs to participate.

"We're going to have one set of tees and we're going to set the course up so that it's a fair test of golf," said Sun 'N Lake assistant professional Andy Kesling. "There were some problems last year with having different sets of tees for qualifying and for the Ryder Cup competition.

"We're going to eliminate that by having everyone play from the same tees and the course will be set up at around 6,500 yards."

The amateurs lead the overall series 9-3-1, but the professionals rolled to a resounding victory last year and the amateurs are looking for some talented players to reclaim the coveted Ryder Cup.

"Some of the top amateurs didn't try to qualify last year," said renowned player and six-time Ryder Cup participant Mike Browning. "That's not to take anything away from the pro team because they played well and deserved to win.

"We did not play at the same level as the pros last year and we're hoping the best players at least try to qualify this year so that we can field a competitive team."

The Highlands County Ryder Cup is based on the same principal as the professional version with best-ball and alternate-shot matches on the first day of competition and the 12 singles matches on the second day.

"This is one of the most fun events of the year and it's a blast to play in," said Browning. "I'm looking forward to trying to qualify and helping the amateurs win the cup back."

Kesling, who was a member of last year's winning professional squad, said the Ryder Cup competition was set up for the amateurs to enjoy.

"The Ryder Cup was set up so the amateurs could play against the professionals in a fun, competitive environment," Kesling said. "The pros won last year, but the amateurs have dominated the event and proved that they can play some excellent golf.

"I've played in a number of these competitions and they are a lot of fun and we're hoping for a large turnout for the qualifier."

For more information call the Sun 'N Lake pro shop at 385-4830.

Mark Pinson can be reached at 863-386-5837 or mpinson@highlandstoday.com

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