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TAMPA, FLORIDA | With six holes remaining in the Gasparilla Invitational, the talk of Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club centered around whether Derek Busby’s performance would go down as the most impressive collection of rounds in not just the tournament’s history but in the 104 years of the golf course’s existence.
In the span of 48 holes, Busby reached 11-under par while only one other player in the 139-man field was in red figures. The tournament scoring record of 8 under, set a year ago by Mike Finster, appeared destined to be broken. On a 6,332-yard course that prides itself on immense difficulty and had seen particularly brutal conditions during the tournament’s windswept second round, Busby’s only scars to that point were a pair of bogeys.
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“It’s the best golf I’ve ever seen played here,” remarked one member of the more than 1,000-person gallery following the final group on Saturday afternoon.
In the end, the reigning Louisiana Mid-Amateur champion needed most of the cushion he had created to secure victory as he finished at 4-under 206, three strokes clear of Marc Dull. The lead he had built was so insurmountable that even a 7-over 42 on the final nine didn’t create much drama.
“After getting hot on Friday, it became a different challenge of whether I could focus and keep the pedal down,” Busby said. “And I did a good job of that where I had a big enough lead to kind of enjoy the back nine.”
How Busby finished wasn’t at all indicative of what preceded the final six holes. He lost several shots to the right on the final nine, including a particularly poor wedge approach that found a greenside bunker on the par-4 15th. Facing a plugged lie in the bunker, Busby attempted to play it safe but bladed the shot into the water across the green and made a triple bogey. A hole later, he hit his approach to 20 feet and four-putted, adding another double bogey to his card. He missed another iron shot right on the par-3 17th and couldn’t get up and down out of a bunker, reducing his lead to three strokes.
Unfortunately for Dull, a Lakeland, Fla., resident who was playing two groups ahead of Busby, he had made bogeys at Nos. 14, 16 and 17 to fall from 3 under to even par. A birdie at the last earned him second place, but he missed a chance to apply real pressure.
Meanwhile, 2019 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up Joseph Deraney had a frustrating day as he attempted to make a run at Busby. He birdied the par-5 third to get to within four strokes of Busby at the time, but he made five consecutive bogeys to close the front nine. When he did have the slightest glimpse of hope late on Saturday, he made a double bogey on the par-4 16th despite having just a gap wedge in from the left side of the fairway. A birdie at the last put the Mississippi resident at even par for the tournament, good for third place.
The only doubt about the outcome came on the par-5 finishing hole when Busby, who said he had checked the leaderboard for the first time a few holes earlier, hit his drive well right into an adjoining fairway. With water right of the green and out of bounds just a few yards left of a greenside bunker, Busby decided to go for the green in two and accomplished his task. He took three putts for a closing par, but by then the trophy was well in hand.
Those who played and attended likely won’t dwell on Busby’s closing holes. They’ll be more inclined to remember how the Ruston, La., resident shot a 5-under 65 in the second round when the scoring average for the day was 77.4.
That gave Busby a five-stroke lead with one round to play, and he continued masterful play to start Saturday with three birdies and nine pars through the first 12 holes.
“This is validation for me,” Busby said. “Last year I did not have a good year by my standards. I only got to play in four or five events. I watched my little guy play a lot of baseball. But when I went out, I wasn’t very competitive.
“So this season I changed pretty much all of my equipment. I went out to Fort Worth (Texas) for a few days and spent a lot of time with Mike Taylor of Artisan Golf. My equipment just wasn’t quite right and Mike got it spot on. I won the tournament from 100 yards and in, no doubt about it.”
While Busby won the regular division, Jimmy Jones of Tampa finished at 4-over 214 to capture the senior title, finishing three strokes ahead of Richard Kerper of Oldsmar, Fla.
RESULTS
Sean Fairholm