DeBonis, Bosso notch top-30 finishes in Assistant PGA Pro Championship

By Gregg Dewalt, AGN Editor

DeBonis follows up on PGA Section win

Two Alabama-Northwest Florida PGA Section assistant professionals notched top-30 finishes at the National Car Rental Assistant PGA Professional Championship this past weekend.

Leading the way was Jordan DeBonis of The Ledges in Huntsville, who shot rounds of 75-71-71-77 at the PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Florida. His 294 total was good for a tie for 20th. DeBonis started the day in eighth place, but had difficulty in rainy, windy conditions in the final round.

Earlier this year, DeBonis won the section championship by three shots over Andrew Payton and Todd Bailey to qualify for the 2023 PGA Professional Championship in New Mexico.

Christian Bosso of Pensacola Country Club closed with a 71, one of only a few sub-par rounds on the final day, and finished tied for 29th place at 298. He vaulted 24 places in the final round.

Domenico Geminiani of the South Florida Section, won the $12,000 first-place check by shooting 282. He began the final round with a five-shot lead and held on with a closing 73.

Sargent earns Walker Cup practice invite

Former Mountain Brook High School and current Vanderbilt sophomore Gordon Sargent is among 16 players invited to a practice session for the 2023 Walker Cup matches.

Sargent and teammate Cole Sherwood head to Jupiter, Florida, for three days in mid-December along with 14 other players. They were chosen by the USGA’s International Team Selection Committee.

Sargent and Sherwood will be joined by Evan Beck (formerly of Wake Forest), Michael Brennan of Wake Forest, David Ford of North Carolina, Nicholas Gabrelcik of North Florida, Stewart Hagestad (formerly of Southern California), Derek Hitchner of Pepperdine, Palmer Jackson of Notre Dame, Benjamin James of Virginia, Bryce Lewis of Tennessee, Dylan Menante of North Carolina, Maxwell Moldovan of Ohio State, Ross Steelman of Georgia Tech, Caleb Surratt of Tennessee and Michael Thorbjornsen of Stanford.

An invitation to the Walker Cup practice session does not guarantee selection to the team. Players not invited will also be considered for inclusion on the team. Ten of the 16 players from the December 2020 Walker Cup practice session competed on the USA Team in May 2021, when the USA defeated Great Britain

The 49th match will be played on the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, on Sept. 2-3. The match is played over two days with 18 singles matches and eight foursomes (alternate-shot) matches. The USA leads the overall series that began in 1922, 38-9-1.

AGA Scholarship program announces changes

The Alabama Golf Association recently announced a significant change to its college scholarship application eligibility. The AGA’s college scholarship program is now open to both male and female applicants that meet eligibility requirements.

Started in 1993 by the Women’s Alabama Golf Association and later transitioned to oversight by the Alabama Golf Association with the merger in 2010, the program has provided over $410,000 in scholarships to many young women.

Earlier this year, the AGA Board of Directors combined the AGA Women’s Scholarship Fund assets with the Alabama Golf Foundation to increase investment in both young women and men from Alabama with the aim financially assisting with furthering their higher education goals. Currently, the program is funding six scholarships for young women to pursue their college degrees.

“After years of discussion and planning, we are proud to expand our scholarship opportunities to both female and male applicants,” said Andy Priest, AGA executive director. “Through the strength of the Alabama Golf Foundation, we can now explore offering additional scholarships and higher funding amounts to make an even more significant financial impact on a young person’s ability to reach their higher education goals.”

The AGA College Scholarship is currently valued at $20,000 over the course of four years (eight semesters); recipients are awarded $2,500 per semester. Scholarship recipients must attend an accredited college or university, be enrolled as a full-time student (no less than 12 hours per semester) and meet certain academic benchmarks.

“Expanding scholarship opportunities aligns with the Alabama Golf Foundation’s vision to use the game of golf as a vehicle to positively impact an individual’s life and their communities across the state,” said Chris Marr, AGA scholarship committee chair.

To be eligible for the AGA College Scholarship program, applicants must:

● Be a graduate of an accredited secondary school and show evidence of academic excellence, good citizenship, sportsmanship, and community service.
● Need financial assistance to pursue an undergraduate education at a college or university.
● Have an interest in the game of golf.
● Be a bona fide resident of the State of Alabama.

Scholarship applications for the fall 2023 school year are open now through 5 p.m. on March 23, 2023. Contact Adam Powell, director of women’s golf, and scholarship program manager, at 205-979-1234 or email: adam@alabamagolf.org.

Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News