Derek Busby goes wire-to-wire at the Crane Cup
11/5/2017 | by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: View results for Crane Cup, Floridian National
2013 champion Patrick Christovich finished second and five shots behind winner Derek Busby
PALM CITY, FL (November 5, 2017) - With a 2-under 69 Derek Busby finished 11-under and as the five-stroke winner of the Crane Cup Invitational hosted by the Floridian. Busby saw his four shot lead after the first round trimmed to two heading into the final round before pulling away on Sunday.
Busby took the lead in the first round with a 9-under 62 before holding serve on Saturday with a second round level-par 71. The victory for Busby, from Ruston, LA, picked up his first AmateurGolf.com Ranking event win of the season to go along with with a run to match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, the quarterfinals at the Crump Cup while also finishing third at the Carlton Woods Invitational.
2013 champion Patrick Christovich, ranked ninth in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings, finished second at 6-under, Ryan Abbate was third at 3-under, Skip Berkmeyer ended up fourth at 1-under while in fifth it was the even-par Doug Albers Jr.
Defending champion Bobby Leopold finished tied for eighth at 4-over.
ROUND TWO RECAP
Derek Busby followed up his first round 9-under 62 with a second round level-par 71 and at 9-under for the tournament he will carry a two-stroke advantage into the final round.
So far this year Busby has put together a solid resume reaching match play at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, the quarterfinals at the Crump Cup while also finishing third at the Carlton Woods Invitational.
Busby began the second round at the Floridian with a four-stroke lead but saw his lead shrink as 2013 champion Patrick Christovich put together a 3-under 68 to move to 7-under and second-place. Christovich, ranked ninth in the AmateurGolf.com Mid-Amateur Rankings, started the day five off the pace and in third place before moving up the leaderboard and into the mix on Saturday.
The native of New Orleans, LA will be in search of his second AGC ranking win of the season after he won the Timuquana Cup in May. Christovich has also finished tied for second showing at the George C. Thomas Invitational and tied for eighth at the Birmingham National Invitational this year.
Alan Coshatt dropped back a spot into a tie for third after carding a 2-over 73 and at 3-under he is sharing third with Darin Goldstein (71-68).
Defending champion Bobby Leopold shot up the leaderboard with the round of the day, a 5-under 66, and he is now tied for fifth at 1-under. Leopold started the round 4-over and tied for 29th.
Joining Leopold in fifth are inaugural champion Robert Funk, Joseph Deraney and Ryan Abbate.
Of Note: David Hall (+6) carded a hole-in-one on No. 4.
ROUND ONE RECAP
On a pleasant day for golf Derek Busby of Ruston, LA came out guns blazing firing a 9-under 62 to take a four-stroke first round lead at the Crane Cup.
Alan Coshatt is in second place after a 5-under 66 on Friday at the Floridian, 2013 champion Patrick Christovich is third at 4-under, inaugural 2012 champion Robert Funk is 3-under in fourth while Daniel Young, Johnny DelPrete and Joseph Deraney are tied for fifth 2-under.
Defending champion Bobby Leopold is currently tied for 29th following an opening 4-over 75.
Results: Crane Cup
| Place | Player | Location | Pts | Scores |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruston, LA | 400 | 62-71-69=202 | |
| 2 | New Orleans, LA | 300 | 67-68-72=207 | |
| 3 | Weston, FL | 200 | 70-71-69=210 | |
| 4 | Town & Country, MO | 200 | 70-72-70=212 | |
| 5 | Leawood, KS | 200 | 70-72-71=213 |
About the Crane Cup
**Will not be held in 2019 54-hole scratch stroke play event with Mid-Amateur and Senior Divisions, hosted by the recently redesigned (Tom Fazio) Floridian in Palm City, Florida. Tournament Director Kevin Marsh is a USGA Mid-Amateur champion and has ...
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