OWEN WINS 26th MARION MASTERS SENIORS

Daniel Owen won the 2026 Marion Masters Seniors but the win didn’t come easy. Owen, who had a one-shot lead over Scott Thul going into the final round at Ocala Golf Club, found himself in a great head-to-head match for the championship trophy. After the regulation 36 holes, Owen and Thul found themselves tied for the lead. The duo headed to the 18th hole for a sudden-death playoff. Both players hit the green and had good looks at birdie. Thul went first and at the last second his birdie putt veered off the hole. Owen stepped up for his 15-foot birdie putt and rolled it in to give him his fourth Marion Masters Seniors title. Both players finished the tournament at 5-under-par 139. Owen did it on rounds of 69-70 and Thul on rounds of 70-69. Finishing in third place was Jim Sprung behind a strong 3-under-par 69 finish with a 148 score. Fourth place was Drew Ditty at 149 (75-74), fifth was Michael Crews with a 150 total (76-74).

Thul’s 2139 score gave him the top spot in the Silver Senior Division. Finishing second was Sprung at 148. Third was Mike Kemp with 151 (76-75). Fourth place went to Dan Ogen at 152 (79-73) and fifth place belonged to John McLeod with a 154 (76-78).

There was another nose-to-nose battle for the Super Senior Division championship. Jeff Faulkner started the day just one-shot ahead of Ken Godwin. They went back and forth all during the final round and both players ended up shooting identical 2-under-par 70s which gave Faulkner a one-shot win for the title. Finishing in a tie for third place, at 148, were Dave Falcone and Jeff Morley. Falcone shot 70-78 and Morley 77-71. Tied for fifth place were Jim Williams, Bill Zylstra and Bruce Woodall at 151.

The Golden Senior Division was won by Laurie Harrison as he closed the tournament with a 1-under-par 71 which gave him a 1-under-par 143 total and a three-shot win over Smyke Ells and Jim Fuller as they both finished with 146 scores. Smyke shot 71-75 and Fuller 73-73. Alone in fourth place was Berger Warner at 150 (74-76) and fifth place went to Bo Craig at 151 (78-73).

Tom Gaver came from behind to capture the Legends Division by two-shots with a 156 score (76-80). Tied for second were Tom Stephenson and Paul Miranda with 158 totals. Stephenson shot 73-85 and Miranda 77-81. Tied for fourth were Mike Roth and Ron Russo, as both shot identical 80-81 scores for the event.

For the entire field scores see TOURNAMENT INFO/Results/FINAL RESULTS – MARION MASTERS SENIORS.

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MUSGRAVE, THUL, MURPHY, SACHS MEMORIAL WINNERS

Even though Mother Nature didn’t present the golfers at The Memorial with the favorable scoring conditions she did on the first day at Eagle Ridge GC, the winners managed to handle the gusty winds that she threw their way to claim their division titles.

In the Open Division, defending champion Martin Musgrave shot a 5-under-par 67 to go with his opening 69 to finish the event at 8-under-par. The 136 total was four better than Matt Giovannelli who finished the event at 4-under-par 140 (68-72). Finishing in a tie for third were Asher Katz and Ryan Borruso at 2-under-par 142. Katz shot two rounds of 71 and Borruso shot 72-70. Finishing in fifth place was Jamie Morgan at 146.

Scott Thul came from behind to win the Senior Division with a 3-under-par 141. Thul shot the only under-par round in his division a 3-under-par 69 which propelled him to a one shot win over last year’s champion Mike Zito and Daniel Owen. Zito and Owen both finished the event at 2-under-par 142. Bill Knapp ended up in fourth place on rounds of 71-72 for a 1-under-par 143 total. Paul Irvin ended up in fifth place with a 146 total..

Mike Murphy (Tampa) continued his dominance of Super Senior golf as he won the SS Division by posting rounds of 67 and 68 for a 9-under-par 135 score. Only two shots off the pace was Robert Parmar as he shot a 5-under-par 67 final round and finished the event at 7-under-par (137). Tied for third were Tommy Lowe, Bill Zylstra and Tampa’s Kevin Macy with 5-under-par 139 totals. Lowe shot rounds of 68-71, Zylstra 70-69 and Macy 69-70.

In the Legends Divsion – Newberry’s Brian Sachs went wire to wire to claim the top spot. Sachs shot rounds of 68-74 for a two-day score of 2-under-par 142. Coming in second was Berger Warner with a 149 total (74-75). David Lee (Palm Bay) finished third with a 72-78 – 150 total. Randy Briggs finished in fourth place with a 153 and Ron Russo was fifth with a 156.

For the entire field scores see TOURNAMENT/INFO/Results/FINAL RESULTS – THE MEMORIAL

MUSGRAVE/GIOVANNELLI, DORMAN/LOCKER, SNOAP/GRIFFITH OCALA CUP WINNERS

The 2025 competitive golfing season has come to an end with the Ocala Cup, but the tournament that concluded 2025 marks the start of the 2026 race for Marion County’s Golfer, Senior Golfer, and Super Senior Golfer of the Year.

The number one and number two finishers in the 2025 Golfer of the Year, Martin Musgrave and Matt Giovannelli, paired up in this four-ball event at Ocala Golf Club to shoot a 16-under-par 128 score by posting back-to-back 8-under-par 64’s and win the Open Division title. Finishing in a tie for second place at 10-under-par 134 scores were Zach Andrews and Caden Flocker (67-67), Miles Albright and Greg Martin (67-67) and Ben Locker and Ryan Letterly (68-66).

In the Senior Division, Brent Dorman and Joseph Locker shot an 8-under-par 64 final round to win the top spot. Their 13-under-par 131 total was three better than runners-up Dewey Pachinski and Bill Knap and defending champions Paul Irvin and Bill Searcy, as both teams shot 10-under-par 134s. Finishing in fourth place were Mike Zito and Kyle Allen with 9-under-par 135 (69-66).

The Super Senior Division title went to Apopka’s Doug Snoap and Billy Griffith as they posted a pair of 8-under-par 64’s. Their 128 total was only one shot better than Robert Parker and Randy Smathers as they came in with a 15-under-par 129 total on rounds of 63-66. Tied for third at 11-under-par 133’s were Peter Guillettee and Rich Weber, Jeff Morley and Bobby Johnson and David Mears and Bill Zylstra.

For the entire field scores see: TOURNAMENT INFO/Results/FINAL RESULTS – OCALA CUP

On behalf of the Marion County Golf Association, we would like to wish you a wonderful holiday season and a prosperous New Year.

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