Richardson hits hole-in-one

Conor Richardson didn’t leave with a trophy, but the West Palm Beach, Fla., resident had the shot of the day.

Richardson made a hole-in-one on the 189-yard No. 11.

“I didn’t see it go in,” Richardson said, noting the back pin location was obscured from the tee. “Some guys up at the green said it took two bounces and rolled right in.”

Richardson used a 5-iron for the shot, which was his second ace.

“It’s my first in a tournament,” he said. “I made one the day after my 14th birthday last year at home.”

He plays at Bear Lakes Country Club.

He admitted it was a great shot on an otherwise frustrating day. He shot a 75 Saturday.

“I was just coming off a double bogey at 10,” he said. “At least I had one highlight.”

Moving forward: The low round of the day was a 3-under-par 67.

Brett Patterson shot that to make the sudden-death playoff.

But Michael Ulmer of Fairhope and Caulder Moore of Isle of Palms, S.C., also shot 67. Ulmer started the day tied for 52nd and finished tied for ninth at 215. Moore started tied for 76th and vaulted into a tie for 15th.

Major Lee of Montgomery and Tyler Shellnut of Franklin, Tenn., both shot 2-under-par 68. Lee finished a stroke out of the playoff at 1-under 209. Shellnut tied for 23rd at 219.

Falling back: Future Masters champion Stewart Jolly played in the final group with Tyler Klava, Charles Silverfield and Trey Mullinax.

Each struggled at times in the final round.

“Our whole group was not playing the golf they have the capability of playing,” said Silverfield of Tampa, Fla. “We were all just trying to hang in there. I just didn’t make the putts I needed to make.”

“I just couldn’t get the ball close enough to the hole,” said Klava of Pace, Fla. “I never made a birdie — 14 pars and four bogeys. Had a couple bad drives. ... It was fun. It’s always a learning experience. But I wanted to play a little bit better.”

Mullinax has already committed to Alabama as he prepares for his senior year at Gardendale High. He made two early birdies to gain a share of the lead. He bogeyed 7 and 8 and double-bogeyed 9 to fall behind.

Still, he made a 40-foot putt for birdie on the 18th hole, and jokingly tossed his putter away as if to say, “Where have you been?”

“I couldn’t score today,” Mullinax said of his 75. “I had it early and I blew it. But it’s a learning experience. But I take a lot away from it. You can never give up, keep battling. One stroke can take you up 10 spots.”

Wrong ball: Max VanDresser kept things interesting to the end Saturday.

The Alpharetta, Ga., resident went to mark his ball on the 18th green and realized it wasn’t his.

“I drove into the rough and came up on the ball I thought was mine,” he said.

Facing a bad lie, he advanced the ball 100 yards or so but stayed in the rough. He then hit his third shot onto the green. Only then did he realize that wasn’t his ball.

“I walked back toward the tee and found my ball in the rough,” VanDresser said. “It was a lot better lie than the other one.”

He finished the hole and made a bogey with his original ball. After a rules consultation, he was given a two-shot penalty for playing a wrong ball. That turned his
5 into a 7. He finished with a 76.

Recruiting talent: Sure, college golf coaches visit the Future Masters fairly routinely. Dr. Ernest Lanford was also looking for talent.

Not for the golf team, but for potential students in Florida State’s Professional Golf Management program.

Part of the Dedman School of Hospitality in FSU’s College of Business, the golf management program prepares students for golf careers away from the PGA Tour. The program is one of only 20 accredited nationwide by the PGA.

Lanford said the program isn’t for everyone.

“It’s almost a double major — a business degree and PGA Class A Golf Professional status,” he said. “It’s tough. Getting a business degree is a handful, but you also have to be a pretty fine player.”

In fact, the program requires candidates to be a 12-handicap or better, but the PGA requires an 8 handicap or better to get through the program.

But program graduates have 100 percent employment — and most of those have three or four job offers from which to choose.

“We’ve got paid interns at some of the best clubs and resorts in the country,” Lanford said. “The head pro at Pinehurst is one of our graduates and he’s 27
years old. He’s responsible for Pinehurst No. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.”

Lanford said FSU interns are working at Medinah, Pebble Beach, The Breakers in Florida, The Broadmoor in Colorado and Westchester (N.Y.), to name a few.

“It’s a complete program,” he said. “By the time they get through, they’ll have done everything you can do in the golf industry.”