Jake Sherwin dominates and wins the Florida Mid-Amateur

The 43rd edition of the Mid-Amateur took place this week. 88 players traveled from near and far to South Beach to La Gorce Country Club. La Gorce was a great host this week with perfect conditions, difficult greens and scorching winds. After 119 grueling holes in the heat, Jake Sherwin defeated Ty Capps in the championship game 2 and 1 to be crowned Mid-Amateur champion. That's how it happened.

Stroke play seeding

In the first round, four players secured the lead after strong winds created difficult scoring conditions. Among them were Jake Sherwin, Carl Santos Ocampo, Jordan Elsen and Anthony Brodeur. Although these players dominated the field on the first day, they were only focused on getting to the match play portion of the tournament after the second round. Sherwin's round of four birdies and two bogeys put him in a comfortable position to reach match play.

The second day consisted of the second round of stroke play, followed by the division into 32 players who moved on to match play. Sherwin continued to fire on all cylinders with a bogey-free round of 67 (-4). However, the morning's round was brought to you by Sherwin's eventual championship opponent, Ty Capps, who scored 66 points. Ty Gulliksen, who finished within the cut line with a 67 points, jumped 40 places up in the rankings.

Round of 32

When match play began, the fun was just beginning. Jake Sherwin lost his first hole to Cameron Hedge. It was the only time Jake Sherwin trailed in a match all week. He won the second and third holes and it was just the beginning of his dominance. A 5 & 4 win took him to the round of 16.

Another highlight match was between defending champion Jay Halverson and Mike Finster. Finster, a seasoned FSGA veteran, rallied and defeated the defending champion over 21 holes, although he missed a short putt on the 20th hole to end the game.

Ty Capps also had a difficult round of 16 against Jonah Wasserstrom. Wasserstrom was no match for the Palm Coast Bomber, who won 5 and 3.

2023 amateur champion Marc Dull was defeated by Michael Basinski 5 and 4.

Round of 16

Jake Sherwin and 2007 Amateur Champion Matthew Galloway hit the golf course at 7:30 Friday morning. As noted, Sherwin has never trailed after the first hole of his first hole in a match, but this was as close as it could be. The two players traded back and forth the entire front nine, but Sherwin managed to steady the ship by halving every hole starting at the 12th.

Ty Capps competed against Jordan Elsen in a 20-hole match. Unfortunately, Elsen's tee shot on the second playoff hole landed out of bounds, causing Capps to hit in and win the hole with a bogey to move on and face a familiar opponent.

Quarter finals

Tyler Gulliksen and Ty Capps, 2023 and 2024 two-man shoot-out champions and 2023 and 2024 four-man shoot-out champions, know each other's games very well. On Saturday afternoon they had a chance to put it to the test. Capps took his best friend Gulliksen the distance after hitting four straight birdies from 10-13 to win 4 and 3.

“It’s hard to play your best friend,” Capps says. “You want them to succeed, but you also want to beat them.”

Jake Sherwin's dominance continued with a 5&4 victory over Frank Alafoginis. Sherwin's continued excellence on the front nine gave him a four-nine lead, where he was able to stroll into the clubhouse to prepare for his semifinal game against Austin Collins.

Semifinals

Sunday morning turned around and the field was scheduled to be cleared from four to one by the end of the day. Jake Sherwin took on Austin Collins while Ty Capps took on Alex Slaton. Arguably the best game of the tournament, Sherwin vs. Collins, ended on the 18th hole, although Sherwin had a 4-7 lead, they were all over the course on the 18th tee. Despite building momentum to get the ball back on the course, Collins' tee shot hit a tree left on 18, forcing him to lay up short of the green. Sherwin made a quiet par and made it to the final, where he waited for his opponent.

Capps' match against Alex Slaton was much more one-sided than the one before them, with Capps winning 3 and 2. With a two-up lead on the fairway 15, Capps hit his second shot on the par 5 to about 7 feet, enough to concede after Slaton found the penalty box. All he needed was a par on 16 and he was headed to the championship game against Jake Sherwin.

championship

With only two players left, the tournament was close to being decided. After four grueling days of golf, Jake Sherwin and Ty Capps faced off. Sherwin got off to a fast start, with a birdie at two, a 15-footer for eagle at three and a bomb at four for birdie, giving him a three-four lead. A three-putt from Capps on the 7th gave Sherwin a familiar lead heading into the morning game. After Capps narrowly missed his birdie on 8, they went to the 9th, where Sherwin hit his approach into the front bunker and headed to the back nine with a 3 lead.

A birdie on the drivable par-4 12th gave Sherwin back his four-up lead. However, Capps won two of the next three games and did everything he could to fight his way back. After halving the 16th hole, it came to 17 where Capps couldn't make his long birdie putt. All it took was two putts from 15 feet and he was crowned the 43rd Mid-Amateur champion.

“It means a lot to me, it’s a really cool event. I came close a few years ago at Match Play and the Mid-Am. Winning this is a special feeling,” says Sherwin. “My son Wyatt is eight months old, which is the longest I have been away from him. I’m looking forward to getting him some hardware.”

Not only did Sherwin fall just one hole back, he fought from start to start to become a medalist. This week was a truly dominant performance from the Estero native as he won his first FSGA Championship.

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