Hayes Brown overcomes a rough start to his final round to win the Gasparilla Invitational.
the back of the range
TAMPA, FLORIDA | Hayes Brown surged through a crowded leaderboard on Saturday to capture the 71st Gasparilla Invitational at Palma Ceia Golf and Country Club, sealing victory with a spectacular up-and-down birdie at the last hole.
The reigning Georgia Mid-Amateur champion leaned on a relaxed, never-say-die attitude to overcome a tough start to his final round. Brown played his first three holes in 3-over par, an unwelcome continuation of his 5-over finish across the last five holes the previous day.
The Friday stumble left him two strokes behind overnight leader Christian Cavaliere. But despite a challenging final-round setup, the Atlanta golfer remained undeterred.
“I was like, ‘Just chip away,’” Brown said. “It’s hard for everybody.”
After his disappointing start Saturday, Brown stepped on the gas to play his next 13 holes in a bogey-free 3-under par. With the final group struggling directly behind him, Brown arrived at the par-3 17th with a chance to seize the tournament.
“I just told myself, ‘You have a 6-footer to win the tournament.’ See what you're made of.”
Hayes Brown
After hitting the green with his tee shot, Brown was the beneficiary of a near-perfect read from Logan Blondell, his playing partner and a past Gasparilla champion. Settling over an almost identical putt, he knew he had to give it a chance.
“I told myself, ‘It goes in, incredible; if not, we ain’t leaving it short.’” Brown said.
Brown took advantage of Blondell’s teach and cashed the slider. He went to No. 18 tied for the lead with Ohioan Peyton White, who had caught fire early in the day to post a 1-under 209 total. A birdie on the back nine’s lone par-5 would win Brown the tournament.
After a fairway-splitting tee shot, Brown was caught in purgatory with his club selection. Considering the swirling breeze, he elected to go with the longer option – a dangerous proposition considering the back-right hole location.
“I tried to go with an extra club and baby it – next thing I knew, I absolutely flushed it,” said Brown. “Adrenaline is a hell of a drug.”
The ball sailed directly over the stick, striking a gallery member square in the thigh and ricocheting to the adjacent 10th tee. This impromptu pinball left Brown with a 20-yard pitch through a gap in the palms, short-sided with less than four paces of green to work with and water lurking left. Summoning his hands, Brown drove the ball low with a wedge, checked it into the fringe, and watched as it trickled to 6 feet. The Georgian would have a chance to end it in regulation.
“I just told myself, ‘You have a 6-footer to win the tournament,’” said Brown. “See what you're made of.”
Hayes Brown holds the winner’s trophy after his fourth attempt at the Gasparilla Invitational.
The putt was in all the way. With that clutch up-and-down, Brown finished at 2-under 208 and claimed the title by a single shot over White, with Florida residents Blondell and Michael Buttacavoli sharing third place at even par. This year was Brown’s fourth run at a championship he sees as one of mid-amateur golf’s greatest tests. The event, staged at Palma Ceia every February since 1956, has long been a mecca for top mid-amateur players.
“I deem this like a mid-am major,” Brown said. “This is one that everyone circles.”
Brown took a rather unconventional approach to his tournament prep. His regimen the previous week was relatively short on range balls and long on leisure.
“I had a buddies trip to prepare me,” Brown chuckled. “Played no practice round, showed up, and just did my best to kind of keep that flow going. No expectations.”
This year’s event was the first held since the completion of Phase II in Palma Ceia’s restoration project spearheaded by architect Bobby Weed. Sometimes called the hardest 6,300 yards in America, Palma Ceia offered competitors a fully regrassed, rebunkered and revitalized course with major strategic tweaks implemented on Nos. 4 and 18 – both of which Brown birdied en route to victory.
“Palma Ceia is only 6,350 or 6,400 yards, but really plays a lot longer,” said Kyle DiGiacobbe, director of men's golf for the Florida State Golf Association. “The membership likes to make it a good test.”
Regardless of his lax pre-tournament prep, it’s the grit and determination required to pass Gasparilla’s examination that Brown will take with him into the future.
“[Gasparilla] solidifies you,” said Brown. “It proves that you can show up in big events.”
RESULTS
Daniel Polce
