Florida Azalea: Lance LaCombe prevails in the Sunshine state
Lance LaCombe (Palatka Golf Club Photo)
Lance LaCombe of Jacksonville, Fla., shot a final round even par 70 to win the 2024 Florida Azalea Amateur at Palatka Golf Club in Palatka, Fla.
LaCombe finished 7-under, two shots better than Giuseppe Puebla of West Palm Beach, Fla., who finished in solo second place at 5-under.
LaCombe secured a two-shot lead at 7-under after a first-round 3-under 67 and a second-round 4-under 66. He recorded four birdies, two bogeys, and an eagle on the par-5 No. 10 in the second round. He started his round with three birdies on the first five holes but cooled off after that.
The Jacksonville native finished T9 in the 2023 Florida Azalea Amateur.
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Troy Vannucci of Marlton, N.J., finished in solo third place at 4-under. Vannucci is ranked No. 260 in the Golfweek/AmateurGolf.com U.S. Rankings.
Vannucci has had some close calls in this tournament, finishing in solo second place at this tournament in 2023 and in 2022. He also finished T6 at the 2023 New Jersey State Amateur and made the match play portion of the 2023 U.S. Mid Amateur.
Justin Burroughs of Pensacola, Fla., and Ty Capps of Palm Coast, Fla., finished T4 at 2-under, and Camden Goldknopf of Ponte Vedra, Fla., a William and Mary commit, and Jack VanderSchuur of Tampa, Fla., finished T6 at even par.
Capps, who played his college golf at the University of Nebraska, played in the 2006 U.S. Amateur Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. The U.S. Amateur returns to Hazeltine in 2024.
Alejandro Ramos of Jacksonville, Fla., Justin Sui of Lake Orion, Mich., and Henry Robards of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., rounded out the top ten, finishing T8 at 2-over.
2022 champion Cody Carroll of Jacksonville, Fla., finished T11 at 3-over.
ABOUT THE
Florida Azalea
The Florida Azalea was started in 1958 as a two-man
team tourney. The field has, over the years,
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.
The 220-man Azalea field competes in one of six
flights. The first flight is Championship, with a cut
after 36-holes. The next five flights are Net.
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