Is anyone going to catch Marc Dull in the 106th Florida Amateur?
Dull, a Lakeland resident and one of the most prolific amateur players in Florida, has one bogey in his last 39 holes and with a third-round 67 on Saturday at the Turtle Creek Club in Jupiter, stretched his lead to four shots over Jonah Wasserstrom (67) of Hollywood at 15-under-par 201.
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Dull, a past Florida State Golf Association amateur of the year and mid-amateur of the year, shot 3-under 33 on the back nine and held off a trio of contenders that included Providence graduate Sam Nicholson of Atlantic Beach, a senior at the University of South Florida.
Nicholson (68) bogeyed his last two holes to drop into a tie for third at 9-under with University of North Florida sophomore Cooper Smith of Tampa (68) at 9-under. Nicholson and Smith were two of eight players among those in a tie for 10th or better to shoot in the 60s, but no one put a dent in Dull’s margin, which began at 3-under at the start of the round.
“It is really easy to make birdies when everybody is hitting good shots,” Nicholson told fsga.com about playing with Smith and Wasserstrom.
But Dull isn’t going anywhere.
“He is playing really good right now,” said Nicholson, who birdied four of his first six holes. “I am going to try and make as many birdies as I can to catch him.”
Bartram Trail graduate Brett Schell (71) rallied from a difficult start to shoot 3-under with no bogeys on his back nine to tie for eighth at 5-under 211. Matthew Soucinek of Lake City (71) is among six players tied for 10th at 4-under and Jason Duff of Elkton (69) and Sam Ohno of Pont Vedra Beach (71) are tied for 16th at 3-under.
Dull knows he’s being chased by a group of fearless college players such as Nicholson, Smith and Schell (Ole Miss).
“These kids aren’t going anywhere,” he told fsga.org. “They are not afraid.”
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sam Nicholson, Brett Schell continue to chase Marc Dull in Florida Am