JUPITER, Fla. - Billy Kennerly of Alpharetta, GA, making his first appearance on the Minor League Golf Tour, fired a pair of five under par 67's for a one-stroke victory and a check for $10,000 Thursday at Abacoa Golf Club.
Kennerly, 24, made an eagle at the par-5 10th hole, four birdies and a bogey Wednesday, five birdies in a mistake-free round Thursday, including the first of three in a row at No. 10 to start the back nine, finishing at 134.
Kennerly and Smith were tied at 9 under par with 5 holes to play. Kennerly made a 10 foot putt for birdie on #17 to pull ahead by 1 entering the final hole. After missing the green and ending up in a green side bunker, he blasted out to 15 feet. Smith narrowly missed his birdie putt from 20 feet and watched as Kennerly made the 15 foot par putt for the win. Brandon was the first one to say congratulations and well earned.
Kennerly graduated from Clemson University in May 2015 with a degree in Business Management. He earned conditional status for PGA Tour Canada a couple weeks ago at qualifying school and plans to travel and play in Canada this summer.
With 72 entries, the largest field of the year, the $10,000 was guaranteed money from the $34,560 purse. It was the second "major" of the season. Brad Gehl received $4,000 for winning a 44-player "major" in February.
Brandon Smith of West Palm Beach, FL, the first round leader with 65, added 70 for 135 and was second. He made five straight birdies after a bogey at the first hole Wednesday, and eagled the par-4 12th to highlight the final round. Then he bogeyed the 13th and parred in. Smith, 34, received $3,500, raising his career earnings to $114,653 since October, 2005. He has 32 wins, two before turning pro in January, 2010.
Minor League Golf Tour is running 4 day contests this summer where the winner will recieve a full paid entry into 2016 Web.com Q-school. The first contest in only 1 month away!
Click here to read about Web.com Q-school contests
Three 18-hole tournaments are scheduled next week: Monday, West Palm Beach GC; Wednesday, Hammock Creek GC, Palm City; and Thursday, Winston Trails GC, Lake Worth.
JUPITER, Fla. - Brandon Smith from West Palm Beach, FL, bogied his first hole of the day then proceeded to birdie 7 of the next 9. Overall he made 8 birdies and 1 bogey to lead Minor League Golf Tour's Major II by two shots.
Brandon Smith has won 3 times on the MLGT in 2016 and 32 times since he joined the Tour in 2005 as an amateur. Along with his 3 wins this year he has 13 top 5 finishes. He continued his good play during round 1 at Abacoa Golf Club making 8 birdies.
Brad Adamonis from Cumberland, RI and Billy Kennerly from Alpharetta, GA shot 5-under par 67 to enter the final round 2 shots behind Smith. Adamonis played a mistake free round that included 5 birdies. Kennerly had an eagle, a bogey, and 4 birdies.
Eight players shot 68 in the first round and enter the final round 3 shots behind.
| Score | Player | Amount | Skins | Total | Hometown | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| (134) 67 67 | Billy Kennerly | 1 | $10,000.00 | $0.00 | $10,000.00 | Alpharetta, GA |
| (135) 65 70 | Brandon Smith (a) | 2 | $3,500.00 | $490.00 | $3,990.00 | West Palm Beach, FL |
| (136) 68 68 | Dan McCarthy | T3 | $1,600.00 | $0.00 | $1,600.00 | Syracuse, NY |
| (136) 68 68 | Max Buckley | T3 | $1,600.00 | $0.00 | $1,600.00 | Rye, NY |
| (136) 69 67 | Sunny Kim | T3 | $1,600.00 | $0.00 | $1,600.00 | Queens, NY |
| (136) 71 65 | Mike Miller | T3 | $1,600.00 | $0.00 | $1,600.00 | Brewster, NY |
| (136) 72 64 | Martin Ureta | T3 | $1,600.00 | $0.00 | $1,600.00 | Santiago, Chile |
| (137) 68 69 | Ben Silverman | T8 | $1,075.00 | $980.00 | $2,055.00 | Juno Beach, FL |
| (137) 69 68 | Mark Murphy | T8 | $1,075.00 | $0.00 | $1,075.00 | Waterville, Ireland |
| (137) 69 68 | Pat Wilson | T8 | $1,075.00 | $0.00 | $1,075.00 | Andover, NJ |
| (138) 68 70 | Steven Burak | T11 | $1,012.50 | $0.00 | $1,012.50 | North Easton, MA |
| (138) 70 68 | Greg O'Mahony | T11 | $1,012.50 | $0.00 | $1,012.50 | Tequesta, FL |
| (139) 67 72 | Brad Adamonis | T13 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 | Cumberland, RI |
| (139) 68 71 | Sandro Piaget | T13 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 | Jupiter, FL |
| (139) 68 71 | Will Coleman | T13 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 | Palm Beach Gardens, FL |
| (139) 69 70 | Matt Hill | T13 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 | Palm Beach Gardens, FL |
| (139) 69 70 | Carl McCauley | T13 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 | Parkland, FL |
| (139) 71 68 | Matthew Jennings | T13 | $800.00 | $0.00 | $800.00 | Prairie City, IA |
| (140) 70 70 | Eric Hallberg | T19 | $345.00 | $0.00 | $345.00 | Castle Rock, CO |
| (140) 71 69 | Mitchell Gregson | T19 | $345.00 | $0.00 | $345.00 | Waterloo, IL |
| (140) 71 69 | Eric Cole | T19 | $345.00 | $0.00 | $345.00 | Orlando, FL |
| (140) 72 68 | Jimmy Lytle | T19 | $345.00 | $0.00 | $345.00 | Ocean Ridge, FL |
| (140) 73 67 | Jon McLean | T19 | $345.00 | $490.00 | $835.00 | Weston, FL |
| (141) 68 73 | David M. Smith | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Ruston, LA |
| (141) 70 71 | Matt Dubrowski | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Bergenfield, NJ |
| (141) 71 70 | Ryan Linton | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Lake Forest, IL |
| (141) 71 70 | Jason Parajeckas | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Woburn, MA |
| (141) 71 70 | Alexander Hicks | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Cape May Court House, NJ |
| (141) 72 69 | Mike Ballo | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Stamford, CT |
| (141) 73 68 | Matt Springer | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Gary, IN |
| (141) 76 65 | Spencer Mellon | T24 | $160.63 | $0.00 | $160.63 | Oakmont, PA |
| (142) 70 72 | Greg Reilly | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | New Canaan, CT | |
| (142) 75 67 | Jesse Larson | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Mendon, VT | |
| (143) 70 73 | Justin Bryant | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | St. Louis, MO | |
| (143) 70 73 | Alex Medinis | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Fort Myers, FL | |
| (143) 71 72 | Justin Peters | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Stuart, FL | |
| (143) 71 72 | Eric Beringer | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Philadelphia, PA | |
| (143) 72 71 | Jamie Sindelar | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Horseheads, NY | |
| (143) 73 70 | Colin Biles | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Columbus, OH | |
| (144) 70 74 | Jeb Buchanan | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Loudonville, NY | |
| (144) 70 74 | Joachim Altonen | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Helsinki, Finland | |
| (144) 74 70 | Ian Thimble | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Hyde Park, MA | |
| (144) 74 70 | Blake Morris | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Waterbury, CT | |
| (144) 75 69 | Hugo Leon | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Santiago, Chile | |
| (145) 68 77 | Patricio Salem | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Lima, Peru | |
| (145) 71 74 | Olin Browne Jr. | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Hobe Sound, FL | |
| (145) 71 74 | Brant Peaper | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Tequesta, FL | |
| (145) 72 73 | Sean Gaudette | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | South Hadley, MA | |
| (145) 73 72 | Mason Jacobs | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Metropolis, IL | |
| (146) 70 76 | Brendan Lemp | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Westerly, RI | |
| (146) 71 75 | Morgan Dobbins | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Jackson, OH | |
| (146) 74 72 | Nick Marcoaldi | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Holliston, MA | |
| (146) 74 72 | Horacio Leon | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Santiago, Chile | |
| (146) 75 71 | Rasmey Kong | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | North Haven, CT | |
| (147) 72 75 | Josh Hart | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Jupiter, FL | |
| (147) 75 72 | Brian Fister | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Lexington, KY | |
| (148) 72 76 | Michael Schachner | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Libertyville, IL | |
| (148) 74 74 | Noah Ratner | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Asheville, NC | |
| (148) 76 72 | Nelson Hargrove | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Haverford, PA | |
| (148) 71 77 | Charlie Winegardner | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Lothian, MD | |
| (149) 72 77 | Michael McGowan | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Southern Pines, NC | |
| (149) 74 75 | Steven Delaney | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Delray Beach, FL | |
| (149) 75 74 | Joshua Eure | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Crofton, MD | |
| (150) 71 79 | Philipp Muller | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Waldmohr, Germany | |
| (150) 77 73 | Lucas Duperre Vanden Hecke | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Montreal | |
| (155) 77 78 | Clint Keown (a) | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Evansville, IN | |
| (155) 81 74 | Blanton Farmer | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Lexington, KY | |
| (156) 81 75 | Matt Gallant | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Nashville, TN | |
| (156) 83 73 | Ryan Prasad | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | The Woodlands, TX | |
| (158) 78 80 | Andrew Park | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | Seoul, South Korea |