Play gets underway with the 19th Annual Ocala Open 2024 on Candler Hills Golf Club   

Story and Photos by Greg Wise

Has it really been 19-years since the inception of the Ocala Open?

Time flies what you are having fun!

Rick Hendershot, co-founder of the Florida Professional Golf Tour and Kenneth Colen, President of On Top of the World Communities came to the agreement that On Top of the World Communities, a 55+ Gated Community in Ocala would host the annual event on their newly built Candler Hills Golf Course, that truly boasted a quality track that would test the up-and-coming professional golfers.

The dates for the original Ocala Opens were set around the same weekend at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hills, so if you didn’t get an invitation to Arnie’s event… Ocala Open was the next best place to place with the added purse money from On Top of the World.

Over the years, Candler Hills Golf Club has marketed with a tag line of “Where the Pro Play.”

And in Ocala, when you look back over the past 18-years of the Ocala Open… I would have to agree.

The Ocala Open seems to have groupings of 2-time winners… but they have not yet had a 3-time winner.

Two-Time PGA Professional Player of the Year, Rob Perry, from Port Orange was obviously the first two-time winner with back-to-back championships.

Two-time winner, Ted Potter, Jr., in 2011 had Eric Cole the leader heading in the to the final round. But Potters hole-in-one on the 17^th hole, ended Cole’s chance for victory. Cole was the 2022-2023 PGA Tour Rooke of the Year. During that same year, battling through the field were Sam Saunders, Grandson of Arnold Palmer… Keegan Bradley… and the Borja brothers.

Dan McCarthy had his second win in 2016. During the check presentation, President of On Top of the World Communities, Kenneth Colen, mentioned his back-to-back wins and commented, that he should come back and go for the “three-peat.” I’ll never forget Dan’s comment. “With all due respect sir, I appreciate the thought… but I hope I don’t come back next year.”

The First Round is complete, and it seems to shaping up for yet another Barn-Burner finish again this year.

1	Peter Creighton Buffalo, NY	-8	F	-8	63
T2	Will Chandler Atlanta, GA	-5	F	-5	66
T2	Wesley Hunter Birmingham, AL	-5	F	-5	66
T2	Willie Mack III Flint, MI	-5	F	-5	66
T2	Tripp Kinney Charlotte, NC	-5	F	-5	66
T2	AJ Crouch Jacksonville, FL	-5	F	-5	66

PAST WINNERS

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