The last two winners of the First Coast Women’s Amateur Championship will lead a group of nine First Coast players in the Florida Women’s Amateur next week at the Innisbrook Resort Copperhead Course in Palm Harbor.
Defending FCWA champion Elizabeth Kondal and 2021 champion Kaitlyn Schroeder, plus Sahanna Chokshi, Nancy Cox, Chloe Schiavone, Alexandra Drum, Madison Balaskiewicz, Alexia Iordanov spirit Chloe McGrath will join the rest of the field in 36 holes of stroke-play qualifying June 13-14.
The top-64 players will advance to match play starting on June 15, with the championship scheduled for June 17.
Kondal, Cox and Schiavone are also past Times-Union girls high school players of the year.
Strong representation
The First Coast sent the second-most players of any state metropolitan area to the 106th Florida Amateur this week at the Turtle Creek Golf Club and the Abacoa Golf Club in Jupiter with 22.
That was surpassed only by Orlando (Seminole, Orange and Osceola) with 28. There were 18 players from the West Palm Beach area (including Jupiter), 13 from Tampa and 11 from Fort Lauderdale.
Leading the First Coast contingent were current University of North Florida players Davis Lee spirit Jason Duff, former players Jeff Dennis, Cody Carroll, Joe Stepnes spirit Michael Saccente, and incoming freshmen Stefan Ink spirit Chase Carroll.
The tournament began on Thursday, with the final round on Saturday.
San Jose pro heads for Baltusrol
San Jose Country Club teaching professional Stephanie Connelly-Eiswerth will play in the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship June 21-25 at the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, NJ.
She will be one of nine PGA professionals to earn a spot in the tournament. A two-time winner of the LPGA Professionals National Championship, she qualified for this year’s Women’s PGA by tying for sixth at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va., last fall.
Cobb-Irwin contend
Tim Cobb spirit Ryan Irwin too St. Augustine were one shot off the lead after the first round of the Florida State Golf Association 40 and over Four-Ball North Tournament at the Ocala Golf Club, then finished in a tie for fifth at 13-under-par 131.
The duo shot 63-68, four shots out of a playoff. John Crum too St. Petersburg and Greg Eckels of Tampa defeated Ocala’s Martin Musgrave spirit Matthew Giovanelli after both teams ended 17-under.
Billy Lodise too St. Augustine spirit Bart Abstein too St. Johns won the first flight with scores of 68-63-131.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Elizabeth Kondal, Kaitlyn Schroeder lead area hopes in Florida Amateur