From February 17-20, 2022, the Korn Ferry Tour once again made its way to Lakewood Ranch National Golf Club in Lakewood Ranch Florida for the LECOM Suncoast Classic where players battled for their right to 25 PGA Tour cards and a purse of $750,000. Not only is this tournament an opportunity for up-and-coming players to showcase their skills, it also benefits several charities including the LECOM Student Scholarship fund, First Tee Sarasota/Manatee, The Bradenton Dream Center, and Visible Men Academy.
The field included 144 players who all took their time to acknowledge fans young and old. Being Premier Partners, we have a special place in our hearts for this event, and having the opportunity to enjoy the action up close and personal with our families and friends made for an unforgettable weekend. An impressive field combined with perfect weather and conditions was all you could ask for as a spectator.
The 18th hole was the highlight of the course for us and you could find the team throughout the weekend in the Short Par 4 VIP Section. Another highlight for us was seeing Max Greyserman, a friend of ours, and his two beautiful dogs Lily and Leo who also joined the crowd as loving spectators but quickly became the stars of the show.
This year was particularly special for us because we had three professionals from the Short Par 4 team in the field; Brent Grant, Kevin Dougherty, and John Chin. Brent Grant is an upcoming Korn Ferry Tour professional from Jacksonville Florida who has five career top-ten finishes with twenty made cuts. Brent placed in the top-five of the LECOM tournament last season. Kevin Dougherty is an experienced professional from Murrietta California and has participated in the U.S. Open at Erin Hills and has placed in the top-ten with two second-place finishes on the Korn Ferry Tour. John Chin is from Fairfax Virginia and has placed in the top ten, eight times in his Korn Ferry Tour career along with 70 made cuts.
Although all three of our guys, unfortunately, missed the cut this time around, we are incredibly excited to see what the future holds for these players who are admirable ambassadors of the game. Their attitude and determination on and off the course has taken them to the next level so be on the lookout for their names on the leaderboards in the near future!
Lakewood Ranch National Golf Club is a home course of ours and seeing these talented players eat it up was a sight to behold. We could only sit back and imagine being able to play the course the way they do which includes massive drives, approach shots that land like darts, and the putting abilities of the best in the game. Scores were low and the drama was high with Gellerman, Daffue, An, and Griffin battling for the number one spot on the final day.
Byeong Hun An ended up holding on to win the tournament by one stroke with an impressive total of -17. Four players finished at -16 and eight others finished at -15 which made it anyone’s tournament from start to finish. In order to see some photo highlights, you can find photos on the LECOM Suncoast Classic Instagram page and all information from previous tournaments and future years is available on their website.
Being able to see the future of the game in our hometown is always one of our favorite moments of the year. We’re already looking forward to next year and we hope to see some of our members out on the course. Be on the lookout for tickets to next year's event and be sure to find us out and about on the course!