Terra Cotta Invitational is Underway
2015 champion Jorge Garcia lines up a putt for Florida
where he is a sophomore
(Florida Athletics Photo)
NAPLES, FL (May 2, 2017) - For the 22nd time the Terra Cotta Invitational will be playing host to “Amateur Golf at the Highest Level” as it welcomes a field of 71 to the Naples National Golf Club. Once more, a strong field will descend upon Naples, FL, in hopes of winning one of The Majors of Amateur Golf. The 54-hole tournament will begin Friday morning and come to a close on Sunday afternoon.
Naples National Golf Club, the host course of the Terra Cotta, is a par-72 layout that can be stretched to 7,045 yards.
Last year, Tony Gil took home the title by overcoming a two-stroke deficit at the start of the final round. Tied with four others with two holes remaining Gil, now a freshman at Houston, won the title with a birdie on the difficult 576 yard par-5 closing hole. The birdie was the fifth and final one of the closing round.
PLAYERS TO WATCH | NAME | ACCOMPLISHMENTS |
| Joe Alfieri | The four-time Amateur of the Year in Florida including again last year finished sixth at the 2014 Terra Cotta Invitational. | |
| Garrett Barber | Heading to LSU in 2018, Barber won the Jones Cup Junior in December of last year and finished tied for 32nd at the Jones Cup Invitational in February. | |
| Hugo Bernard | Bernard had a breakout 2016 winning the NCAA Division II Championship, Canadian Amateur and Orlando International Amateur. | |
| Gene Elliott | One of the top players in the state or Iowa and on the national stage, Elliot finished tied for third earlier this year at the Jones Cup Senior. | |
| Jorge Garcia | The winner of the 2015 Terra Cotta Invitational, Garcia is in the midst of his sophomore season at Florida where he has twice finished inside the top-10. In 2016 Garcia recorded six top-10 finishes in AmateurGolf.com Rankings events. | |
| Cole Hammer | The first time Hammer entered the national spotlight was in 2015 when as a 15-year-old he qualified for the U.S. Open at Chambers Bay. Hammer is committed to the University of Texas and so far in 2017 he has tied for second at the Azalea Invitational and placed third at the Jones Cup. | |
| Bobby Leopold | One of the best players in New England, Leopold won the Crane Cup last year while also capturing the Rhode Island Mid-Amateur. | |
| Garrett Rank | Done refereeing the best hockey players in the world, Rank makes his competitive return to the links this week. One of the top mid-amateurs players in North America, this NHL ref won the Canadian Mid-Amateur for a third straight year in 2016 and again played in the RBC Canadian Open where he made the cut. Rank also tied for second at the Sunnehanna Amateur.
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| Todd White | A member of the 2013 Walker cup team, White tied for second a short time ago at the Azalea Invitational, an event he won in 2015. | |
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ABOUT THE
Terra Cotta Invitational
54-hole stroke play tournament with no cut.
Caddies are required. A Sponsor/Contestant
tournament is held before the event.
The Terra Cotta is an invitational. However,
they do
encourage applications and players can submit
their
golf resume for consideration.
View Complete Tournament Information