High school boys and girls golf preview
Front nine (girls)
1. Five teams to watch: Bolles, Fernandina Beach, Fletcher, Ponte Vedra, Providence.
2. Five players to watch: Jacqueline Shelly, Katie Mitchell, Fernandina Beach; Irene Jung, Bolles; Courtney Cobb, Providence; Lauren Brigance, University Christian.
3. Key transfers: Mitchell, a senior, comes to Fernandina Beach from Tennessee, and she has a strong background in junior and high school golf in that state. Liz McCarthy, part of the Providence team that reached the Class 1A state tournament, has transferred to Fletcher.
4. Double duty: Brigance is the No. 4 player on the University boys team and has qualified for girls regional play the past two years. She also will play volleyball.
5. Re-Peetes: Ponte Vedra's team will include the daughters of 1985 Players Championship winner Calvin Peete, Aisha and Aleya.
6. Seasoned sophomores: Providence returns three players from the team that finished seventh in the Class 1A state tournament, and they're all in the 10th grade - Cobb, Elise Lobb and Caroline Keller.
7. Best nickname: Bolles' No. 2 player, Mia Zanghetti, about as tall as Bernhard Langer's long putter, answers to "Little Pasta."
8. Regional tournament sites: Region 1-2A, Summerbrooke, Tallahassee, Oct. 26; Region 2-2A, to be announced. Region 2-1A, University of Florida, Oct. 25.
9. State tournament sites (Nov. 2-3): Class 2A, Golden Hills Golf Club, Ocala; Class 1A, Ocala Golf Club.
Back nine (boys)
1. Five teams to watch: Bartram Trail, Bolles, Fleming Island, Ponte Vedra, Providence.
2. Five players to watch: A.J. Crouch, Bolles; John Boehme, Sandalwood; Evan Berlin, Providence; Joshua Lee, Fleming Island; Thomas Stewart, Bartram Trail.
3. Key transfer: Boehme was the Times-Union boys player of the year in 2009 at Fletcher.
4. Youth served: Boehme and Lee had the best finishes in the Class 2A state tournament among area players in 2009. Boehme, who tied for second, was a sophomore, and Lee, who finished ninth, was a freshman.
5. Power-packed region: The Class 2A state champion has come from Region 2 for the past four years, including Bartram Trail in 2008 and Nease in 2007. Area contenders in Region 2 are Bartram Trail and Fleming Island.
6. Championship genes: Among the members of the Ponte Vedra team will be freshman Taylor Funk, son of 2005 Players Championship winner Fred Funk. That gives the Ponte Vedra golf program three sons or daughters of past Players winners, counting the Peete sisters.
7. Loaded: Is there a better Class 1A district in the state than District 6? The group includes defending champion Ponte Vedra, runner-up Bolles (which went on to win the regional tournament), plus past 2A state champion Nease and Providence. The three teams emerging from the district tournament to the regional better count on going low.
8. Regional tournament sites: Region 1-2A, Panama City Club, Oct. 26; Region 2-2A, Golf Club of Fleming Island, Oct. 25; Region 2-1A, Haile Plantation, Gainesville, Oct. 25.
9. State tournament sites (Nov. 2-3): Class 2A, Juliette Falls, Dunnellon; Class 1A, Silver Springs Shores, Ocala.