Lake Nona announced today that PGA Tour player and Lake Nona resident Graeme McDowell has partnered with Bistro Concepts, LLC, to bring Lake Nona a modern tavern concept, NONA BLUE.

The group has signed a lease for a 5,618 square-foot restaurant at its retail shopping center Lake Nona Village, located on Narcoossee Road between the entrances to the renowned Lake Nona Golf & Country Club and NorthLake Park.

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Turning the car into this manicured corner of Orlando’s gated Lake Nona enclave, the rear-view mirror fills suddenly with the vision of a hulking white Mercedes S-Class. Out into the midday sun, resplendent in a signature get-up of two-tone shirt and designer shades, steps Ian Poulter.

He is talking animatedly on his iPhone. An audience with the Hertfordshire harlequin must wait a couple of minutes longer. He opens the garage, wedging the Poultsmobile neatly between wife Katie’s SUV — not so much a Chelsea tractor as a combine harvester — and a Ferrari California. Both the other motors are white, too.

Poulter, if you had not already noticed from his taste in golfing slacks, is partial to a bit of colour-coding.

The California is a beguiling beast: a muscular, streamlined convertible that perfectly captures its owner’s embrace of the sunshine lifestyle. By its sheer elegance, it stops short of outright ostentation. But should it not, to take the view of the Ferrari purist, be red? Not if you exhibit Poulter’s OCD-degree of fetish for white.

His furnishings, his clubs, his status symbols: all of them, it appears, must be white. Even the gleaming new driver from Cobra, which he takes to swishing about absent-mindedly like a wand, has a white grip.

Continue Reading: The Masters 2011: Ian Poulter’s search for perfection in countdown to Augusta is a major white-knuckle ride

Lake Nona Land Co. has plans to build a new residential community — Laureate Park — that will be designed similar to Baldwin Park, pictured above. | Orlando Business Journal

A little bit of Baldwin Park’s New Urbanism style may soon find a home in Lake Nona, opening up opportunities for additional commercial development needed to support neighborhood growth.

Developer Lake Nona Land Co. has plans in the works for a 503-home traditional neighborhood design community — also known…

Read more: Lake Nona fashions home project near medical city | Orlando Business Journal

Lake Nona residents are upset over a possible airport expansion.

Orlando International Airport wants to build on a wetlands area near the neighborhood, but residents are concerned about the environmental impact.

Hundreds of residents attended a public hearing Wednesday.

They are worried about the airport cutting down wetlands.

It’s an area they said is not only near their homes, but home to wildlife.

“When we drive down the road, we see open pasture, deer, eagles flying,” said resident Bob Wallace.

Wallace is afraid what he loves about his neighborhood will soon be gone.

The airport is in the final stages of getting a permit to expand.

OIA, which owns the land next to Lake Nona, has asked to build up two acres of wetlands, an area home to several endangered species.

“There is a lot of scrutiny,” said Carol Ann Wehle. “We dot our I’s and cross our T’s.”

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Melinda Colon woke up at around 2 o’clock Friday morning to the sound of an explosion in her Lake Nona home. She says someone purposely went inside and set it on fire while they were sleeping.

“There was nothing but flames, could see them from the bottom of the stairs so I ran to my kids bedroom.”

She doesn’t want to show her face because she’s concerned for her family’s safety. Her kids range from ages 9 to 12. All of them are special needs children, one with a growth disorder, another with mild autism and the third is asthmatic.

“I carried one at a time off the roof and dropped them slowly onto the vehicle that was awaiting below.” This 32 year old mother broke her foot climbing over the flames with her kids. “They were a little scared.”

Scared, because they’ve been targeted for the last 10 days. Melinda says it all started when someone threw bottles filled with gasoline into the windows.

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Justin Rose and Ross Fisher each collected two points Tuesday to lead Lake Nona to its third win at the Tavistock Cup.

Lake Nona defeated Isleworth, 17-13, for the club’s second straight win in the event. The victory for Nona was its first at Isleworth and ties the series at 3-3-1.

Tuesday’s format saw two players from each club playing individual matches against both players from the opposing club in their foursome.

Isleworth’s Nick O’Hern won the Payne Stewart Silver Salver Award for the low score of the day Tuesday with his 7-under 65. That helped him collect two early points, but Nona’s captain Ernie Els and Graeme McDowell both beat Brian Davis as the first group split the four available points.

Rose posted a 4-under 68 to beat Isleworth captain Mark O’Meara (69) and Stuart Appleby (72). O’Meara beat Ben Curtis, who halved Appleby to push the Lake Nona lead 10 1/2 – 7 1/2.

Charles Howell III helped Isleworth close the gap to 12-10 with wins over Retief Goosen and Trevor Immelman. Goosen beat John Cook, who halved Immelman.

Fisher bettered Lee Janzen and Arjun Atwal to extend Lake Nona’s to 14-10 and Peter Hanson won one match and lost his other match to move Nona within 1/2 point of winning the title.

Ian Poulter sealed the title for Lake Nona by beating Robert Allenby by four strokes and halving his match with J.B. Holmes. Henrik Stenson and Allenby halved their match, while Holmes beat Stenson to create the final margin.

Source: The Golf Channel

The professional golf spotlight will be shining upon Orlando, Florida, throughout the next seven days.
Two annual events run back-to-back in Orlando, featuring some of the biggest names in men’s professional golf.

First up is the Tavistock Cup, a two-day battle of posh Orlando neighborhoods – Lake Nona versus Isleworth. Pro stars representing the two golf developments will square off Monday and Tuesday at Isleworth in this team exhibition. Participants include Ernie Els, Sergio Garcia, Retief Goosen and many more.

The Tavistock is not open to the public, but the action is being carried live on The Golf Channel.

Right down the road at Arnie’s place, the remainder of the PGA Tour will be warming up for the Arnold Palmer Invitational. Bay Hill Club will open its doors to the world’s top players, featuring a golf course that players love.

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I am really excited about things at the moment. The Dubai World Championship is my last tournament of the year and I am looking forward to having some downtime to practise my golf with Sean Foley, my new coach, to working on my fitness and to Christmas. Fifteen relatives are coming from South Africa to our new house in Lake Nona, in Orlando, Florida. It will be great.

This has been a year of two halves. By the time I got to the US Open [in June] I was struggling and decided to change my coach from Nick Bradley to Sean. With such a change, you become excited and enthused and in the time since I have noticed some big improvements in my game. I have missed only one cut and that by one shot. I feel I am finishing strongly on Sundays. I have a last-round average score of 69.21, the third lowest on the tour.

I have had two chances to win lately. Greensboro [the Wyndham Championship] was the best ball-striking week I have had. I hit 67 out of 72 greens in regulation and I had 31 putts a day to shoot 14 under. That was the week I should have whipped the field.

Last week [at the Children’s Miracle Network Classic] was another really good chance to win. I finished one back but made progress the whole week. I shot 65, 69, 69, 68. Good stuff. I really hope I have brought this form with me to the desert this week.

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Tiger Woods of the U.S. and Robert Allenby of the International team are members of Isleworth in Orlando, and teammates in the Tavistock Cup. Phil Mickelson of the U.S. and Geoff Ogilvy of the International team are both members of Whisper Rock in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The guys who are supposed to be adversaries are actually friends. But that’s O.K. The same is more or less true for the Ryder Cup.

Henrik Stenson and Chris DiMarco wear the same uniforms when they play for Lake Nona at the Tavistock. Stenson and Woods are good friends. Woods married Jesper Parnevik’s nanny. Paul Casey and Phil Mickelson are Arizona State alumni and Whisper Rock pals. And on it goes.

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