The Florida Open golf tournament has not been held in SW Florida since the Florida State Golf Association took over the Florida Open in 2010. That will change this weekend as the Bonita Bay golf club will host the annual event at its Bay Island Course at Bonita Bay in Bonita Springs, and the Cypress Course at Bonita Bay East in North Naples. The Florida Open dates back to 1942 and has been won over the years by such notables as Bob Murphy, Gary Koch, Bruce Fleisher, John Huston, Dudley Hart, and Bart Bryant. The three-day, 54-hole tournament will host 156 players and have a cut to the low 60's plus ties after Saturday's second round. The final round will be played on the Cypress Course on Sunday. Locals teeing it up on Friday include: Charles Beauregard, Joshua Brunet, Michael Cox Gene Fieger, Andrew Filbert, McDonnell, Philip Pellerito, and Jackson Stroup of Naples, Bonita Springs’ Joe Allinder, Justin Ream and Justin Smith, Estero’s Dennis Meyer, Mike Andre, Brett Blackburn, Grant Burgess, Justin McCarraher, Adam Meyer, Ric Nalyd, Tommy Stankowski of Fort Myers, and Cape Coral’s Chase Marinell. According to Bonita Bay Club director of golf E.J. McDonnell, "They took a bit of a chance to bring it to Southwest Florida because of the travel." “This is the first time they’ve done it. It's a great honor and we’re looking forward to it." McDonnell also said, "When members took over Bonita Bay Club in 2010, they put a lot of money into the club." "The result is we get to show off our club put on an event where the community comes out and embraces it." We want to offer our congratulations to the Bonita Bay Club for being chosen to host this annual event and wish all the participants the best of luck over the weekend. For more information about the 2014 Florida Open tournament and tickets visit http://www.fsga.org/