Wylie Inman (Palatka Golf Club Photo)

Inman carded rounds of 70-68 to get to 2-under heading into the third and final round.

The final group played three holes in the final round before the lightning horn was blown. After two hours of waiting, the tournament committee called it a 36-hole tournament and awarded Inman the solo leader victory.

"After my practice round, I felt that pars were so important," Inman said. "I accepted that bogeys were going to come by the challenging greens and layout. So, I mainly focused on hitting the middle of the green on holes that called for pars and attacked the pins that were a green light."

Inman added, "Taking advantage of the par-5's was also key. I would say overall, everything was on point. It was just about containing the course and giving it some respect. 

Inman is a junior at Dwyer High School and will head to South Florida in 2026. In more impressive fashion, Inman was the last guy to register, and it was his first time playing the course. He also finished T2 at the 2024 Dixie Men's Amateur.

"It's a huge confidence booster," Inman said about the win. "It shows I can compete with some really solid players doing great things in college."

Luke Balaskiewicz of Jacksonville, Fla., finished in solo second place at 1-under. Bryan Hernandez-Merejo of Kissimmee, Fla., Alexandre Vandermoten of France and Jonah Nacional of St. Augustine, Fla., all finished T3 at even-par to round out the top five.  

Palatka Golf Club was designed by Donald Ross in 1925 and borders the beautiful Ravine State Gardens. The course is only 6000 yards long from the tips, but the small Ross greens and well-placed bunkers will give your game a test. The greens are firm and fast for the tournament.

The Florida Azalea was started in 1958 as a two-man team tourney. Over the years, the field has boasted players who have gone on to greatness at the professional level. Tommy Aaron, who teamed with Dan Sykes for the 1960 Florida Azalea team title, went on to win the 1973 Masters.

And Bob Murphy, winner of back-to-back Florida Azalea titles while playing for the University of Florida golf team in 1965-66, was an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour.