Jerry Pate, who won the first Players Championship at the Players Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass, has been elected to the Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame and will be inducted at the FSGA annual meeting in Orlando, in November.
Pate will join the late Clarence Camp, an eight-time FSGA player of the year, the first president of the association when it was formed in 1913, and the founder of the Ocala Country Club; and Mary Jane Hiestand, a nine-time FSGA women’s player of the year and winner of nine state championships.
Pate, who played college golf at Alabama and spent summers with his grandparents at the Ponte Vedra Inn and Club, won The Players in 1982 to go with the 1976 U.S. Open title and six other PGA Tour victories. He won the Florida State Amateur in 1974, followed by the U.S. Amateur title at the Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey. He qualified for that tournament at the San Jose Country Club.
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“The Hall of Fame is something I’ve always looked up to,” Pate told fsga.org. “I’m just thankful for what I’ve been able to do and have a great family that supports me.”
Born in Macon, Ga., Pate was one of six children and credits his passion and love for the game to his father and grandfather.
He was a member of two winning Walker Cup teams.
Pate won The Players after starting the final round three shots off the lead. He fired a 67 to win by two shots, with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18.
Pate has designed and developed more than 25 golf courses and won two PGA Tour Champions events.
Junior Tour seasons ends
The North Florida Junior Foundation season ended last week with its Junior Tour Championship at Marsh Landing and Glen Kernan, the 36th tournament of the year.
Joshua Lay (Elite Tour boys), Brady Dougan (Rising Tour boys), Addy Vogt (Elite Tour girls) and Rain Jiang (Rising Tour girls) won their divisions.
Members of the NFJF earned more than 100 Florida Junior Tour exemptions and exemptions into the Jacksonville Area Golf Association Amateur, Azalea Amateur, First Coast Amateur, First Coast Women’s Amateur, St. Augustine Amateur, St. Augustine Women’s Amateur, NFPGA Junior Championship, Notah Begay Junior Golf National Championship and the AJGA Junior Players Championship.
The NFJF season ended with 378 members.
The next season will open Oct. 29 at Bent Creek. The 2023-24 season venues include Amelia National, Slammer and Squire, TPC Sawgrass Dye’s Valley, Sawgrass Country Club, Mark Bostick Golf Club at the University of Florida, St. Johns Golf and Country Club, Palatka Golf Club, Jacksonville Beach, Marsh Landing, Glen Kernan, Hidden Hills, Eagle Harbor, Prestwick and Palm Harbor.
For additional information, visit nfjg.org.
State Match Play at Deerwood
The 31st State Match Play Championship is being played at the Deerwood Country Club. Pool play began on Thursday with the championship match scheduled for Sunday. Area players in the field are John Houchin, Jason Duff, Jeff Dennis, Stefan Ink, Adam Waller, Sam Ohno, Landon Durham, Chase Baldwin and Andrew Morris. … Baldwin tied for second in a U.S. Mid-Amateur qualifier at UF’s Mark Bostick Golf Course, shooting a bogey-free 67 with birdies on the last two holes. He finished one shot behind Lakeland’s Logan Blondell and tied Sam Straka of Valdosta, Ga., the twin brother of PGA Tour player Sepp Straka. … Therese Quinn of Jacksonville shot 230 for 54 holes and tied for 11th in the senior division of the Florida Women’s Open, at the Grand Harbor Golf and Beach Club in Vero Beach. Tama Caldabaugh of Ponte Vedra Beach (238) tied for 16th … David Anthony of Jacksonville and Steve Sponder of Plantation (9-under 135) tied for fourth in the senior division of the State Two-Man Scramble at the PGA National Resort and Spa.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jerry Pate elected to Florida State Golf Association Hall of Fame