Woodman and Scotland win at TPC Sawgrass

Winning Professional Zane Scotland (left) with John Hooper and Guy Woodman (right)

Former European Tour player Zane Scotland, and PGA South Region star Guy Woodman finished tied in The Pro-Am Tour's prestigious Sawgrass Classic Pro-Am at TPC Sawgrass just 6 days after The PGA Tour’s PLAYERS Championship.

Many competitors watched the final round of Webb Simpson's dominant victory over the iconic TPC Sawgrass PLAYERS Stadium Course on the Sunday, enjoying the fantastic spectator facilities and the convenience of being able to walk to the course in under 5 minutes from the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort, the host hotel of the Pro-Am.  Without doubt the Tiger Woods pairing was the star attraction with most people taking the opportunity to follow the previous champion around "Golf's Greatest Stadium" with many commenting how easy it was to follow the action, and to get close to the players.

After practice rounds on Monday The Sawgrass Classic Pro-Am was played on four superb courses in the Ponte Vedra Beach area with the final round at The PLAYERS Stadium Course.

The opening round was staged at TPC Sawgrass Dye's Valley Course, which although not quite as famous as its neighbour, provided an excellent layout and fantastic course conditions.  Cooden Beach Professional Paul Nessling who was defending his Sawgrass Classic Pro-Am title opened with a two under par 70 which was matched by French professional Julien Gressier, and Rochford Hundred Golf Club's Michael Vandenberg.

Despite most competitors completing their second round at the exclusive Ponte Vedra Inn & Club Ocean Course, afternoon thunderstorms prevented last few groups finishing and Glen McPhee, the PGA Rules had to cancel the round for the professionals. 

Better weather returned for the next round at the King & Bear Course and despite a short weather delay for a lunchtime thunderstorm Guy Woodman would shoot a superb 68 to take the lead.  A few of the competitors visited the nearby World Golf Hall of Fame.

The final round saw the competitors experience the tournament condition of the extremely challenging PLAYERS Stadium Course with the grandstands still in place.  Many considered it to be the best course they had ever played, and certainly one of the toughest!

Despite a birdie at the famous 17th hole, Woodman would take a double bogey at the last for a 73 to set a target of 5 under par for the tournament.  In an extremely exciting finish both Nessling & Gressier would come up one shot shy of the target.  However. Zane Scotland would shoot the round of the day, and possibly the round of the week, with a sensational 68 to tie Woodman for the title.

In the Pro-Am team event, after a steady start, Andy Raitt's team of John Webb, Stephen Johnson & James Hardwick would establish a large lead at the King & Bear Course and would cruise to victory in the final round at TPC Sawgrass.  Paul Nessling’s team finished in second place on countback from Giles Velvick's team.

Winning Team (L to R) Andy Raitt, John Webb, Stephen Johnson & James Hardwick

During the event a Challenge Day was also held at the PLAYERS Stadium Course where tournament organiser, John Hooper, challenged the professionals to break 80 from the back “TPC” tees. Successful professionals were rewarded with a $200 bonus, and at the end of the day eight professionals broke 80: Andy Raitt, Giles Velvick, Paul Nessling, Michael Vandenberg, Julien Gressier, Guy Woodman, James Davies & Matt Stables.  Andy Raitt also won the separate stableford competition on the day with a superb 38 points.

Once again all the competitors were wowed by the experience of playing one of golf's most iconic courses, presented in mint tournament condition, straight after The PGA Tour's PLAYERS Championship.

In his winner's speech, Zane Scotland thanked the Pro-Am Tour for their fantastic organisation during the event, and thanked all the amateur golfers for supporting The Pro-Am Tour and allowing professionals to compete at some of golf's finest tournament venues.

In 2019 The PLAYERS Championship moves to March with a change to The PGA Tour’s “Florida Swing”. The Sawgrass Classic will follow the move, 18th – 24th March, again with the option to extend the trip to include attending The PLAYERS.

The Sawgrass Classic Pro-Am is just one of several Pro-Am Tour events organised by The American Golf Holiday, others events include: The Arizona Classic Pro-Am, The California Classic Pro-Am, The Scottsdale Classic Pro-Am, The Pinehurst Classic Pro-Am, and The Pro-Am Tour at Pebble Beach, plus golf packages including admission to The US Masters at Augusta, The Players Championship, and The Ryder Cup.

Further information can be obtained from The American Golf Holiday, Tel. 023 8046 5885, or visit The Pro-Am Tour’s website at www.pro-amtour.com