Players, British Open champion Cameron Smith leads star-packed field for Gator Bowl Pro-Am

Six PGA Tour winners lead the field for the 48th Henry Tuten Gator Bowl Pro-Am Dec. 16-17 at the Sea Island Club on St. Simons Island, Ga.

Cameron Smith of Ponte Vedra Beach, the 2022 Players and British Open champion who is now a member of the LIV Golf League; and active Tour players Russell Knox of Ponte Veda, and Davis Thompson and Keith Mitchell of St. Simons Island will be among the pros on 30 teams that will play the first round at the Sea Island Seaside Course and the second round at the Plantation.

Both rounds will begin at 10 a.m. with all-tee starts.

Past Tour winners Frank Lickliter of Ponte Vedra and Jason Gore will also lead teams. Players with PGA Tour status scheduled to compete include two former First Coast college players, Philip Knowles (North Florida) and Raul Pereda (Jacksonville), plus Taylor Dickson and Rob Oppenheim.

Dillon Board of Jacksonville and Jared Wolfe of Ponte Vedra are Korn Ferry Tour members in the field. Board is the defending champion.

The Gator Bowl Pro-Am teams are one pro and three scratch amateurs who will play a gross best-ball format. Past competitors in the event have included major champions Vijay Singh and David Duval and past Players champions Mark McCumber and Fred Funk.

Horner, Anthony come close in Winter Series opener

Steve Horner of Ponte Vedra tied for second in the senior flight and David Anthony of Jacksonville finished third in the super-senior flight in the opening Florida State Golf Association Winter Series event at the PGA National Estates Course in Palm Beach Gardens

Horner shot 76-71—147 and finished five shots behind winner Danny Turbide of Port St. Lucie. Anthony posted scores of 72-72—144 nd was two shots behind flight winner Kevin Macy of Tampa.

Keith Bratton and Steve Pitts of Ponte Vedra both shot 153 to tie for eighth in the senior flight.

Abstein-Lodise contend in state Four Ball

Bart Abstein of St. Johns and Billy Lodise of St. Augustine shot 70-66—136 to finish solo fifth at 6-under in the FSGA Senior Four Ball, eight shots behind winners Brian Keenan of St. Petersburg and Mike Finster of Tampa.

Three area duos tied for 11^th at 5-under: John Farnsworth and Kevin Sullivan of Ponte Vedra, Steve Bugg of Fernandina Beach and Brian Tennyson of Amelia Island and Clayton Brewer and Ken Moody of Ponte Vedra.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Cameron Smith, Davis Thompson, Keith Mitchell lead Gator Bowl Pro-Am field