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Dalton Melnyk rebounded from a worrisome start to his final round at the Timuquana Cup on Sunday, making two birdies and three pars in his last five holes to secure a four-stroke victory against his close friend, Tyler McKeever.
The tournament for mid- and senior amateurs has been played at Timuquana Country Club in Jacksonville, Florida, dating to 2012, and this year’s strength of field earned high marks. If the name Melnyk sounds familiar, the event chairman and driving force behind the event is Steve Melnyk, father of Dalton and author of an outstanding playing career that featured a U.S. Amateur triumph in 1969 and finishing as low-am at the 1970 Open Championship and the 1971 Masters.
The younger Melnyk, 40, played golf for the University of Florida from 1998 to 2003 and is now the vice president of USI Insurance Services in Atlanta, Georgia. While he competes in a handful of amateur events each year and recently won a U.S. Mid-Am qualifier in 2019, his last tournament victory came in his mini-tour days more than a decade ago. He’s played a significant role in helping grow the Timuquana Cup to the respected tournament it has become, so conquering the course’s firm, Donald Ross turtle-back greens came with great emotion and excitement.
“It feels very satisfying, that’s probably the best word,” Melnyk said. “It’s a crescendo to my experience at this event. It’s the event my dad runs, it’s where I grew up … it has a lot of sentimentality. I’ve always wanted to win it.”
Melnyk came out blistering hot in the opening round when he shot a tournament-low 5-under 67 despite making bogeys on three of the course’s shorter par-4s. A second-round 70 set him up with a six-stroke lead coming into the final day. When Melnyk bogeyed the par-3 13th, he had started 4 over for the final round and watched McKeever – his teammate at last week’s Georgia State Four-Ball Championship – get into the clubhouse at 1-under 215 just two strokes back of Melnyk.
Checking the scores as he went, Melnyk hit a wedge to 6 feet on the 14th to make birdie and provide a comfortable cushion. He would birdie the final hole to finish at 5-under 211.
“Winning is hard because it does so many weird things to your mind,” Melnyk said. “I knew it was going to be super difficult all day. Fortunately, I’ve put myself in contention a few times recently and I knew my swing would hold up. I was a little off today, but I knew it was in there and I wasn’t falling apart or anything. I just focused on aggressive swings at conservative targets, but that is hard to do out there.”
The senior division, which had four of the top five players in the country, was won by Doug Hanzel at 8-under 208. Gene Elliott finished one stroke behind while Bob Royak earned third place.
RESULTS
Sean Fairholm
Brad Tilley won the Richardson Memorial Championship on Saturday, defeating Colin Dolph, 1 up, in the 18-hole final match at Wheatley Hills Golf Club in East Williston, New York.
Tilley earned his trip to the final with a 4-and-2 victory against Darin Goldstein in Friday’s quarterfinals and another 4-and-2 victory against Colby Anderson in Saturday morning’s semifinal matchup.
In the Senior division, Alan Specht defeated Tom Yellin, 2 and 1. Competing at the event’s senior level for the first time, Specht earned his way to the final by eliminating Troy David in the quarterfinals and Jim Romaniello in the semis.
Staff and Wire Reports