Winter Haven senior Anthony Monteleone won The Ledger’s Golfer of the Year in 2022 and 2023. But he’s never won the big Crutchfield-Hawkins Tournament.
Well, that all changed Monday afternoon at Sun ‘N Lake Golf Club in Sebring. Monteleone ― The Ledger’s two-time Golfer of the Year — was top dog at the Crutchfield tourney.
And they say if it ain’t broke don’t fix it. To stay true to that philosophy, Monteleone hasn’t done anything differently as far as routine or who and where he trains with. For the senior, it’s all about making sure his spirits stay up for the bigger tourneys in the latter stages of the year.
“It’s just getting my confidence up, knowing I won all the tournaments. It’s just confidence knowing I’m undefeated so far. I’m trying to get going for the state tournament. I’m just trying to get my confidence heading into the state tournament,” Monteleone said.
He’s been able to get his confidence up by working on what he has perceived as his weakness. Specifically, it’s been putting. Over the last couple of weeks — on top of handling his schoolwork at Winter Haven High School — he’s been augmenting his technique to bolster his putting 15 to 30 hours a week at the Country Club of Winter Haven.
The perfection of his putting paid off in the most critical time in the big tourney: In a four-hole playoff, Monteleone was able to hit it half an inch to the hole, which promptly clinched his Crutchfield win.
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This isn’t Monteleone’s first win of the year, either. He’s undefeated thus far, winning the John Ryan Memorial Invitation and the Eaglebrooke Invitational.
Meanwhile, his team placed sixth place out of 15. While Winter Haven did a little better than last year, head coach Charlie James said he needs his team to perform better to compete against some of the stiffer competition: Golf powerhouse Jupiter Community High School just moved into Winter Haven’s region.
“We need a little more, because we want to compete against big teams in district and regionals,” James said.
On the girls’ side, McKeel placed second as a team, even with one of their top five players in Caroline DeKalb being out because of competing in a pro-am tournament. McKeel is among the highest-placing Polk County teams in the tourney when it comes to individual flights.
“My expectations were to compete and do well even without her (DeKalb) there and the girls did that and I couldn’t be more proud of them,” McKeel head coach Jeremy Bohnenstiehl said. “…We beat the Academy of the Holy Names, who is now in our region for golf this year, so that’s good. Kind of looking forward to see how we play and stack up against them when we play them in regionals later on in the season. Extremely proud of them for battling it out. Huge shoutout to Georgia for posting the score that she did.”
Georgia Spence filled in for DeKalb, ultimately posting 74 and placing third overall. Spence was able to hit it down the fairway nearly every time, not getting out position. Her chipping and putting really paid off, too.
From here on out, it’s all about rounding into form for district and regional play for McKeel and other Polk teams.
The Ledger’s two-time Girls Golfer of the Year, Kathleen’s Darby Hancock, placed sixth with a 75.
And Lakeland Christian placed second as a team in a separate flight at Pinecrest Golf Course Monday.
“I am very proud of their effort and positive attitudes throughout the day today,” Lakeland Christian head coach Beth Burton said. “It was inspiring to see how all the girls maintained a positive outlook, keeping their heads up during challenges.
“…I am genuinely excited to see what the future holds for our young team. Their potential is limitless, and I believe we are just scratching the surface of what they can accomplish. The girls truly love each other and are each other’s biggest cheerleaders…”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven’s Monteleone wins Crutchfield golf tourney; local teams take 2nd
