Weaver's runnerup finish helps Florida State roll to team title as the host in Seminole Intercollegiate

 

   A year ago, Florida State rolled to the team title in the NCAA’s Tallahassee Regional as a two seed on its home course, the Seminole Legacy Golf Club, behind individual champion Luke Clanton.

   The Seminoles came up agonizingly short of a third straight appearance in the match-play bracket in the NCAA Championship, ending up in ninth place in the stroke-play qualifying, a shot out of eighth at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

   Clanton would turn pro not long after, a completely logical decision on his part. So, the hugely successful Clanton era was over in Tallahassee.

   Florida State, an Atlantic Coast Conference representative, was back on its home course at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club in Tallahassee, Fla. this week and the Seminoles were the only team to finish under par, cruising to a 19-shot victory in the Seminole Intercollegiate, which wrapped up Tuesday, St. Patty’s Day to those who celebrate it.

   Three of the players who were in the lineup when Florida State captured the team title in the Tallahassee Regional last spring were in the lineup in its victory in the Seminole Intercollegiate.

   Florida State is No. 30 in the Scoreboard, powered by clippd, rankings following its win in its home tournament, but this team may be just starting to find itself at just the right time.

   The Seminole Intercollegiate was scheduled to be single rounds Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. With that weather system that wreaked havoc from the upper peninsula of Michigan to the Gulf Coast approaching, the decision was made to try to get in as much golf as possible Sunday.

   They didn’t quite get in a double round Sunday, but they were able to complete the second round late Monday, spring having given way to one last shot of winter chill.

   Florida State had opened with a 1-under 287 over the 7,509-yard, par-72 Seminole Legacy layout and added a 3-under 285 in a second round that started Sunday and was completed Monday to take a commanding 12-shot lead over Southern Mississippi, out of the Sun Belt Conference, into the final round.

   Florida State battled the difficult conditions of Tuesday’s final round better than anyone, closing with a 4-under 284 for an 8-under 856 total. It was the second straight win in the Seminole Intercollegiate for Florida State and the third time it has won its home tournament in the last four years.

   Leading the way for Florida State was Tyler Weaver, a junior from England and No. 10 in the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR) who was the runnerup in the individual standings, a shot behind Eastern Kentucky’s Anders Larson, a senior from Pine Island, Minn.

   After matching par in the opening round with a 72, Weaver carded a solid 4-under 68 in the second round that left him two shots behind Troy’s Lee Poppell, a junior playing close to his Tallahassee home, and a shot behind Southern Miss’ Matthew Javier, a sophomore from Canada, going into the final round.

   Weaver closed with a 2-under 70 that gave him a 6-under 210 total.

   Weaver was a member of the Great Britain & Ireland team that fell to the United States in a Walker Cup Match at the Cypress Point Club on northern California’s Monterey Peninsula that was much tighter than the 17-9 margin of victory for the U.S. would indicate.

   Weaver went 3-0 in match play in Florida State’s run to the NCAA Championship’s Final Match two springs ago when the Seminoles lost to Auburn at La Costa.

   Florida State got another strong showing from Carson Brewer, a redshirt sophomore from Ponte Vedra, Fla. who was also in the lineup for the Seminoles in their victory in last spring’s Tallahassee Regional.

   Brewer finished in a tie for fifth place with Southern Miss’ Supakorn Amornchaichan, a junior from Thailand, each landing on 1-under 215.

   Brewer was steady in the changing conditions, opening with a 1-under 71 before matching par with back-to-back 72s in the final two rounds.

   Wilmer Edero, a junior from Sweden, gave Florida State a third top-10 finisher as he finished among a foursome tied for seventh place at even-par 216 that included Stetson’s Matthis Lefevre, a graduate student from France, Jacksonville State’s Tyler Neidel, a freshman from Austin, Texas, and Loyola of Maryland’s Eli Spaulding, a sophomore from Freeport, Maine.

   Edero sandwiched a 2-under 70 in the second round with a pair of 1-over 73s in the first and final rounds.

   The third returnee from that lineup that rolled to victory in last spring’s Tallahassee Regional, Jack Bigham, a senior from England, finished just outside the top 10 in the Seminole Intercollegiate in the group tied for 11^th place with a 2-over 218 total. Bigham opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 3-over 75 in the second round before closing with a solid 2-under 70.

   Eastern Kentucky’s Larson seemed unbothered by the difficult conditions of Tuesday’s final round as he closed with a sizzling 6-under 66 to capture the individual crown with a 7-under 209 total.

   Larson opened with a 3-under 69 and took a step back with a 2-over 74 in the disjointed second round.

   Came across Larson’s name when he finished in a tie for fourth place in the individual standings in the Babygrande Donald Ross Collegiate Classic at the Mid-Pines Golf Club in Southern Pines, N.C. earlier this month. He’s playing some really solid golf.

   Southern Miss, behind Javier and Amornchaichon, was solid in earning runnerup honors with an 11-over 875 total, 19 shots behind Florida State.

   The Golden Eagles, No. 66 in the Scoreboard rankings, opened with a 6-over 294 and added a 2-over 290 in a second round over two days before closing with a 3-over 291.

   Javier was just a shot out of the individual lead going into the final round after he added a 2-under 70 in the second round to his opening-round 69. Javier closed with a 1-over 73 to finish two shots behind Florida State’s Weaver in third place with a 4-under 212 total.

   After opening with a 1-under 71, Amornchaichon matched par in each of the final two rounds with back-to-back 72s that earned him a share of fifth place with Florida State’s Brewer at 1-under 215.

   Stetson, an Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) representative, finished another six shots behind Southern Miss in third place with a 17-over 881 total.

   After opening with a 3-over 291, the Hatters, one spot behind Southern Miss in the Scoreboard rankings at No. 67, added back-to-back 7-over 295s in the final two rounds.

   Lefevre, who reached the quarterfinals of the Royal & Ancient’s Amateur Championship at the Royal St. George’s Golf Club last summer, led the way for Stetson as he closed with a solid 3-under 69 to join the group tied for seventh place at even-par.

   Lefevre had opened with a 1-over 73 and added a 74 in the second round.

   Arkansas State, a rival of Southern Miss in the Sun Belt Conference, was another five shots behind Stetson in fourth place with a 22-over 886 total.

   The Red Wolves opened with a solid 1-over 289, but struggled a little in the second round with a 302 before closing with a 7-over 295.

   Penn State, the lone Big Ten team in the 21-team field, and Lipscomb, a rival of Stetson in the ASUN, finished in a tie for fifth place, each ending up five shots behind Arkansas State with a 27-over 891 total.

   The Nittany Lions, coming off a tie for 13^th place in a 15-team field in The Johnnie-O earlier this month at the Sea Island Resort’s Plantation Course on St. Simons Island, Ga., had three straight 9-over 297s at the Seminole Legacy Golf Club.

   I’ll round up how the Penn State lineup fared in the Seminole Intercollegiate and take a brief look back at The Johnnie-O later in this post.

   The Bisons opened with an 8-over 296, fell back a little with a 300 in the second round and finished up with a 7-over 295.

   Rounding out the Florida State lineup was a third Englishman as junior Jack Whaley finished among the group tied for 14^th place with a 3-over 219 total. After opening with a counting 1-under 71, Whaley added a 4-over 76 in the second round before matching par in the final round with a 72, again a counter.

   Redshirt freshman Drew Jones, a home boy from Tallahassee, Fla., competed as an individual in Florida State’s home tournament and finished in a tie for 93^rd place with a 236 total. Jones added a 7-over 79 in the second round to his opening-round 77 and closed with an 80.

   Jacksonville State’s Stanley Campbell, a junior from England, competed as an individual and made a pretty strong statement for a spot in the Gamecocks’ first five as he finished alone in fourth place in the individual standings, a shot behind Southern Miss’ Javier with a 3-under 213 total.

   After struggling to a 4-over 76 in the opening round Campbell tallied a sparkling 5-under 67 in the second round before closing with a solid 70.

   Neidel, Campbell’s Jacksonville State teammate, matched par in the opening round with a 72, added a 1-over 73 in the second round and closed with a 1-under 71 to join the quartet tied for seventh place at even-par.

   Jacksonville State, a Conference USA entry, finished in 13^th place in the Seminole Intercollegiate with a 45-over 909 total.

   Behind Larson’s individual victory, Eastern Kentucky, another ASUN representative, shared seventh place with Florida Atlantic, out of the American Athletic Conference, each ending up with a 29-over 893 total.

   Rounding out the foursome tied for seventh place at even-par was Loyola of Maryland’s Spaulding as he opened with a 1-over 73, added a 1-under 71 in the second round and matched par in the final round with a 72.

   Loyola of Maryland, the reigning Patriot League champion, finished in ninth place in the team standings in the Seminole Intercollegiate with a 30-over 894 total.

   Leading the way for Penn State was Alex Creamean, a junior from Winnetka, Ill. who finished among the group tied for 14^th place with a 3-over 219 total. Creamean added a 2-over 74 in the second round to his opening-round 73 before matching par in the final round with a 72.

   Junior Tim Peters, a two-time PIAA Class AA qualifier at St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy who transferred to Penn State after a couple of strong seasons at Millersville, and Andres Barraza, a senior from Parkland, Fla., were among the trio tied for 29^th place at 7-over 223.

   Peters posted back-to-back 2-over 74s in the first two rounds before finishing up with a 75. Barraza sandwiched a solid 1-under 71 in the second round with a pair of 4-over 76s.

   Jackson Saroney, a freshman from Syracuse, N.Y., finished among the trio tied for 39^th place for the Nittany Lions with a 10-over 226 total. Saroney sandwiched a 6-over 78 in the second round with a pair of 2-over 74s.

   Freshman Nick Werner, a back-to-back PIAA Class AA champion in 2023 and 2024 at Wyoming Seminary, got a shot in the Penn State lineup, but struggled. Werner added a 7-over 79 in the second round to his opening-round 80 before closing with an 86 as he finished in 109^th place with a 245 total.

   Will Preston, a sophomore from Grand Rapids, Mich., competed as an individual and also had trouble solving the Seminole Legacy Golf Club layout as he finished in 104^th place with a 242 total. Preston posted back-to-back 81s in the first two rounds before closing with an 80.

   Saroney had a really encouraging performance in leading the way for Penn State in The Johnnie-O at the Sea Island Resort.

   Saroney was in red figures in each round with an opening round of 3-under 69 at Sea Island’s Plantation Course followed by a pair of 1-under 71s as he finished in a tie for 33^rd place in the individual standings with a 5-under 211 total.

   The Nittany Lions put together a team score of 9-under 855 to get their share of 13^th place in a tough field that gathered for The Johnnie-O, hosted by Big Ten rival Rutgers.