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Jeronimo Esteve, a 39-year-old Puerto Rico native who now lives in Windermere, Florida, shot a final-round, 6-under 66 to erase a three-stroke deficit and win the 15th Carlton Woods Invitational on Thursday at the Nicklaus Course at the Club at Carlton Woods in The Woodlands, Texas.
A 54-hole mid-amateur event known for difficult conditions, the Carlton Woods saw a scoring record set with Esteve reaching 6-under 210, six strokes clear of Brad Nurski and Scott Maurer. The 36-hole leader, Chris Wheeler of Addison, Texas, had opened with a 5-under 67 but went 6 over the remainder of the tournament, including a 4-over 76 in the last round to lose his lead. The 2019 Texas Mid-Amateur champion started his final round in good form with two pars and a birdie, but back-to-back doubles ruined his chances.
That opened the door for Esteve. He started his final round going out in 3-under 33 and then added another five birdies on the back nine, including the last three holes. It cemented Esteve’s first national mid-amateur victory.
Esteve (above) moved to Miami, Florida, with his family when he was 9 years old and would go on to play college golf at Dartmouth. He turned professional for a short spell and bounced around on mini-tours, but then helped his father run their family car dealership.
After discovering a lump on his neck while being fitted for a suit, Esteve was diagnosed with Stage 1 Hodgkin Lymphoma in 2011 and had to undergo chemotherapy. He competed throughout his illness, even qualifying for the U.S. Mid-Amateur amidst radiation treatment. Esteve is now among the more respected mid-ams in the game.
In the senior division, Dave Ortego of Spring, Texas, shot 1-under 215 to clip Gordy McKeown and William Mitchell by one stroke. Billy Joe Tolliver, the former NFL quarterback, finished four strokes back in solo fifth.
The PGA Works Collegiate Championship provided a satisfying victory for Prairie View A&M men’s coach Kevin Jennings when the three-day event wrapped up Wednesday on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida.
It was the 35th playing of the event, which features historically Black colleges and universities, Hispanic-serving institutions and minority-serving institutions. The competition near PGA Tour headquarters consisted of 23 teams and 52 individual players in five divisions.
Jennings’ Panthers carded an 18-over-par 306 on the final day to overcome 36-hole leader Howard for the title. The win meant a Division 1 championship in an event with which the coach has had a long and successful history. Jennings played in the event as a high school student when it was known as the National Minority College Championship, and also competed as a collegian and coached Talladega College to a top finish in the NAIA division.
The women’s team at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earned its trophy with a 28-stroke margin ahead of runner-up Delaware State.
Individual titles at the highest division went to Khavish Varadan of Alabama-Birmingham on the men’s side and Phu Khine of UNC-Wilmington on the women’s side.
Staff and Wire Reports