Brett Schell may be first UNF golfer to make a hole-in-one in competition

Schell makes three eagles and posts sixth career top-10 finish

• University of North Florida golfer Brett Schell made a hole-in-one on his way to tying for ninth place at the General James Hackler Championship.
• The Flagler College women’s golf team has moved up to second in the Scoreboard national rankings.
• Veteran First Coast golf equipment designer Jim Laudenslager shot his age from the back tees twice in one week.

University of North Florida golf coach Scott Schroeder has been in the program as a player and coach for a combined 23 years and he couldn’t remember a player doing what senior Brett Schell did on March 17 in the second round of the General James Hackler Championship at the Dunes Golf and Beach Club in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Schell, a Bartram Trail graduate and the 2018 Times-Union First Coast player of the year, made a hole-in-one in competition, using a 9-iron from 183 yards out at the ninth hole of the Dunes Club. It was one of three eagles he made in the tournament (only one other player did that) and Schell went on to tie for ninth at 5-under-par 211, seven shots behind winner Brendan Valdes of Auburn.

Schell posted under-par rounds all three days and finished with the fourth-best 54-hole score of the season for the Ospreys. It was his sixth top-10 finish and his 69 in the third round was his 16th score in the 60s as a college player at Ole Miss and UNF.

The Ospreys finished 13th as a team. Their final regular-season tournament will be April 14-15 in the Lewis Chitengwa Memorial, hosted by the University of Virginia at the Birdwood Golf Club in Charlottesville, Va. The ASUN Championship will be April 22-24 at the Kinderlous Forest Golf Club in Valdosta.

Flagler women back to No. 2 

The Flagler College women’s golf team has risen to second on the Scoreboard national rankings behind Anderson College (S.C.). 

The Saints were second earlier this season and had dropped to third. Flagler begins its final regular-season tournament on March 31 at the Lynn Invitational in Boca Raton. 

Three players are among Scoreboard’s top-100. Stella Jelinek is sixth, Henriette Stranda seventh and Jordyn Hodgson 24th.  

Flagler, the NCAA Division II stroke play champions last year, won its last tournament, the Emerald Coast Collegiate, March 10-11 in Destin. It was their ninth tournament victory in 18 events since the fall 2023 season. 

Two scores for the ages 

Jim Laudenslager has broken his age a few times but not in a way he wanted to claim. 

“I wasn’t going to count it unless I did it from the back tees,” said the veteran First Coast golf equipment designer and former Jacksonville University player. “I’ve done it from the senior tees playing with friends but to me, I had to do it from the tips.” 

He finally did it on his terms — twice, and at two ages. 

Laudenslager shot 70 from the back at Royal St. Augustine on March 12 to match his age. A week later, on his 71^st birthday, he posted a 71 at the Folkston (Ga.) Golf Club. Both times came from the tips. 

He had to pull off some hero stuff at Royal St. Augustine. Laudenslager needed to play his final three holes at two-under to match his age and did it with one shot at the short par-4 16^th. He hit his drive into the left greenside bunker, then holed out with a sand wedge. 

The ball hung on the edge of the cup and after Laudenslager raked the trap, it dropped in while he was walking to the hole. He then parred the final two holes. 

Laudenslager missed the last two greens short at Folkston, then got up-and-down for pars, making 4-foot putts each time. 

Coming close at Deercreek 

Therese Quinn of Jacksonville and Lin Culver of Palm Coast finished second in the championship flight of the Florida State Golf Association Women’s Senior Four-Ball March 17-18 at the Deercreek Country Club. They combined for a 5-over 149, six shots behind winners Mary Jane Hiestand of Naples and Adrienne MacLean of Tequesta. 

Defending champions Tama Caldabaugh of Ponte Vedra Beach and Kim Keyer-Scott of Bonita Springs (150) finished third and Christine Hunt of Ponte Vedra and Shauna Snyder of Fernandina Beach (160) were 10^th. 

Donna Fiedorowicz of Ponte Vedra Beach and Joy Passalacqua of Palm Beach Gardens won the Super Senior Flight by 14 hots at 1-over 145. 

Liz Breza and Xiaolin Jones of St. Augustine (156) won the Senior Field Flight. Susie Fonde of Jacksonville and Sarah Phillips of Ponte Vedra (161) were fourth. Jane Rollinson and Tricia Eger of Ponte Vedra (177) were third in the Senior Field First Flight. 

In Ocala, Richard Ames and Abner Davis of Orange Park shot 13-under 131 with a second-round 64 to finish third in the FSGA Senior Mid-Amateur Four-Ball at the Stone Creek Golf Club. 

Florida Junior Tour area results 

James Nagle of Ponte Vedra Beach shot 71-74—145 to tie for third in the FJT Santa Lucia Exempt Only tournament at the Santa Lucia River Club. Charlie Hipp of St. Johns (146) tied for fifth. … Evan Raynor of Jacksonville tied for second in the boys 16-18 division of the Palm Harbor Non-Exempt tournament in Palm Coast, closing with a 69 to finish 1-under 143. Barton Abstein of St. Johns (144) tied for fourth. Sophie Cavanaugh of St. Augustine (159) tied for ninth in the girls 13-15 division. … Chloe McGrath of Jacksonville (152) tied for fourth in the girls 13-15 division of the Stonybrook West Open in Winter Garden. 

Menendez tournament enters second decade 

The Menendez High School Golf Fundraiser will be played for the 10th time at St. Augustine Shores on April 5. Registration is 8-8:45 a.m. and 25 foursomes will tee off at 9 a.m. 

The donation before the tournament is $75, and $100 on the same day. The format will be a scramble, with lunch and awards from noon to 1:30 p.m. 

Registration can be done at the Shores pro shop or online at falconboosters.hometownticketing.com/embed/event/516.