Regional pros battle
Mike McClellan of The Meadows Country Club leads the field by a stroke.
SARASOTA -- It is not every day that the area golf club pros get a chance to play a course the high quality of The Founders Golf Club.
They came, saw, played, and you might say The Founders Golf Club, designed by Robert Trent Jones, Jr., got the best of the them.
Mike McClellan made only one bogey en route to shooting a 68 on Tuesday to take the first-round lead of the Southwestern Chapter of the North Florida PGA Championship.
However, the director of golf at The Meadows Country Club was one of only seven pros in a field of 52 to break par.
"I think the golf course won today," said nine-time winner Will Frantz, who trails McClellan by one stroke.
Ashley Hayden, Dave Hronek, Tim Beckwith, Jack McFaul and Mark Rummings share third place. All shot 71's.
Bob Irving, the head pro at The Founders Golf Club and defending champ, posted a 74.
The Chapter Championship is the year-end clash of club pros and anyone else who holds a Class A PGA card. They must work or reside within the confines of the Southwestern Chapter.
This year, they are playing for a record purse of $15,000 with the winner receiving a $2,000 check.
Undaunted by the fast greens and penal rough, McClellan rolled in five birdies, making a number of putts inside 15 feet.
"Putting is my strength," he said. "I'm not long but straight."
The lanky 37-year-old won two regular-season Chapter events but hasn't accumulated enough points to compete for the player of the year.
Brian Higgins, Frantz and Hronek are the top three in the points standings. Higgins, an assistant pro at Venetian, holds a commanding lead.
Despite the lack of sub-par scores, the 6,700-yard course yielded five eagles.
Beckwith, the director of golf at The Oaks, hit a 6-iron within 8 inches on the par 5 18th hole.
"It was almost a deuce," he said.
Hronek (Plantation) and Warren Hausmann (Longboat Key) also eagled the double, dog-leg par 5.
Mike Cummings (Capri Isles) and Gavin Darbyshire (Sara Bay) started fast, holing eagles from the fairway on the par 4 No. 1 hole.
Tee times for today's final round begin at 8:09 a.m. The leaders will go off about 10:30 a.m.
