The Metropolitan: Vol. 9, No. 3 (May 2022)

Volume 9 | No. 3

The Metropolitan AMATEUR GOLF ASSOCIATION

Player of the Year Standings Pg. 16

Shogren Cup Pg. 6

The Metropolitan

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Volume 9 | May 2022

By The Numbers

MAGA

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

8 - The height in inches of the current U.S. Open championship

trophy. The original trophy, created in 1895, was destroyed in a 1946 fire at Tam O’Shanter Golf Course near Chicago. The current trophy - 18 inches high, six inches in diameter and weighs 8.5 pounds - has been in use since. The lid of the trophy is topped with a winged female figure, which represents victory.

WHAT WE DO:

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- Provide the GHIN Handicap Service to 140+ Member Clubs under the World Handicap System - Conduct ten (10) Metropolitan Championships each season

1947

- The year St. Louis Country Club hosted the U.S. Open.

The 47th edition also was the first to be televised, as Lew Worsham frustrated Sam Snead to win a playoff, which was shown on local TV in St. Louis. For his part, the iconic Snead, who had 82 PGA Tour victories, never was able to capture the U.S. Open. The championship was televised nationally first in 1954. The entire weekend of 36-hole play was not televised nationally until 1977.

And in 1982 - the year Tom Watson chipped in at Pebble Beach the national television audience was first treated to all four rounds of the championship.

- Conduct USGA Qualifying for nine (9) USGA Championships each season - Conduct the Amateur Series of Events for golfers of all ages and abilities - Provide the USGA Course/Slope Rating service to our Member Clubs - Regional authority on the Rules of Golf and Amateur Status

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- Hale Irwin’s age when he became the oldest ever to win the U.S. Open - defeating Mike Donald in a Monday playoff and capturing the 1990 championship at Medinah Country Club. A winner of two previous U.S. Opens (1974, 1979), Irwin had been winless for five years and was in the field because of a special USGA exemption. Meanwhile, the 34-year old Donald was the consummate underdog, a journeyman who had just one PGA Tour title on his resume. Finishing ahead of Donald, Irwin made a 45-foot putt on the 18th green - running around and high-fiving the gallery afterward - to card a 67 and position himself for a tie.

When Donald bogeyed 16 coming in, an 18-hole playoff on Monday was set. In overtime, Irwin rallied from two down with three holes remaining, then prevailed with a 10-foot birdie putt on the 19th hole. As for Donald, he was never in contention again.

METROPOLITAN CHAMPIONSHIPS Amateur Championship Old Warson Cup (Match Play Championship) Shogren Cup (Match Play PGA Pros vs. MAGA Amateurs) Open Championship • Women’s Amateur Championship

3. Bio/Numbers 4. Curt’s Corner 5. Welcome to the Team 6. Shogren Cup 7. Met Open Championship 10. Supe’s On

Junior Amateur Championship • Senior Amateur Championship

12. Bogeyman 15. East Side Amateur 16. POY Standings 17. Met Women’s Amateur 18. What’s Next for MAGA? 20. Normandie Update

Metropolitan Cup Matches • Four-Ball Championship 9-Hole Championship • Mid-America Junior Cup

11 -

USGA QUALIFYING ROUNDS

The hole at The Country Club which will be utilized for the 2022 U.S. Open, which has been bypassed in past championships at Brookline. Historically known as “Redan,” the par 3 is played by members as the 12th hole on the main course. For the ’22 championship, it will take the place of the par-4 fourth - and this is not the first time it has been in the mix. When a 20-yearold amateur named Francis Ouimet won the 1913 U.S. Open at Brookline, the course still consisted of just 18 holes, and the hole in question was played as the 10th. During the final round in 1913, Ouimet double-bogeyed the par 3, falling a stroke behind Ted Ray and three back of Harry Vardon. Ouimet played 1 under the rest of the way, earning a place in a three-way 18-hole playoff with Vardon and Ray. In the playoff, the three were even heading to the 10th. Ouimet’s 3, against the 4s carded by Vardon and Ray, put him a stroke ahead, a lead he never surrendered on his way to his improbable victory.

U.S. Open • U.S. Senior Open U.S. Mid-Amateur • U.S. Amateur

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U.S. Women’s Open • U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur U.S. Junior Amateur • U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur U.S. Amateur Four-Ball • U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball U.S. Senior Amateur • U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur

29 - The age of Gary Player when he won the 1965 U.S. Open

29 - (cont.) The 1965 event was the first time the championship

at Bellerive Country Club, joining Gene Sarazen and Ben Hogan as the third player to win all four major championships and capture the career Grand Slam. That exclusive club now includes Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods, while Player went on to win a total of nine majors.

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was played over four days, an 18-hole final on Sunday replacing the 36-hole finish on Saturday. However, more golf became necessary when Player and Kel Nagle tied at 2-over 282 after 72 holes. Player won the Monday playoff by three, 71-74. Afterward, he donated his entire $25,000 winner’s check to cancer research and junior golf programs.

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The Metropolitan

Volume 9 | May 2022

Curt’s Corner

MAGA STAFF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Curt Rohe - Executive Director

Curt Rohe - curt@metga.org DIRECTOR, MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS Caroline Buchan - caroline@metga.org P.J. BOATWRIGHT INTERNS

Greetings Members!

Wow, we made it through May, quite possibly the busiest month to start a season in my 21+ years with MAGA! But we made it, through the challenging weather this past month we got through it.

Parker Leavitt Jack Underwood Tanner Weberling

Two USGA Open qualifiers, the Amateur Series kicking off, Metropolitan Open Championship, East Side Amateur, Shogren Cup and Women’s Amateur all packed in to last month. We welcomed our newest staff member Caroline Buchan to the team along with our three PJ Boatwright Interns. Now we can get rolling!

2022 EXECUTIVE BOARD

The Amateur Series kicked off with 116 players at WingHaven, a great start to the season and we already have over 185 golfers registered to compete throughout the year. This month we have two events at Crescent Farms and Persimmon Woods that should be equally successful.

Officers Scott Engelbrecht, President/Treasurer Mike Marquart, Secretary At-Large Members John Bugh Stan Grossman Kelli Kirchoff Mike Marquart Rick Meyer, Jr. John Moore Mick Wellington ADVISORY COMMITTEE Scott Thomas, Chairman Tom Barry Skip Berkmeyer Chris Kovach Ryan Eckelcamp Tom Portner Curt Rohe

The 17th Open Championship, while a challenge with weather delays, stopping and starting play multiple times, was completed on Friday May 20th with Travis Trace from Jacksonville, FL prevailing. Trace led wire-to-wire and took home the $25,000 first prize. Thank you to the Country Club of St. Albans for welcoming us back! Special shout out to the four amateurs who made the cut this year, Alex Locke, Curtis Brokenbrow, Peter Weaver and Zach Walsh.

The 2nd Shogren Cup was contested at Greenbriar Hills Country Club and only one thing needs to be said...the Amateurs won! It took a great comeback on Monday in the Singles matches, but the Amateurs fought back and took the cup back from the Gateway PGA with a final tally of 15-13. Thank you to Greenbriar Hills for hosting, Titleist and FootJoy for sponsoring the Sunday evening reception and B Draddy for supplying the Amateur uniforms for the matches.

As I am writing this I am also excited to announce the launch of the new look to the MAGA website on this Monday morning, please take a look when you get a chance at METGA.org! As always, thank you for taking a moment to read the newsletter and stay tuned for our monthly editions through the summer.

Welcome to the Team!

The MAGA welcomed four new team members during May, three Boatwright interns and a new Director, Marketing and Communications. The P.J. Boatwright internship program, provided by the USGA, is invaluable to Allied Golf Associations across the country and provides opportunities for young men and women to become involved in golf.

The MAGA is excited to have each of them join our team.

New Director, Marketing & Communications Caroline Buchan

Caroline is from Monroe, Louisiana and a 2020 graduate of the University of Louisiana at Monroe. She double majored with Bachelor of Business degrees in Marketing and Management graduating with Cum Laude honors. Buchan is an alum of the USGA’s PJ Boatwright Internship program; she interned with the Louisiana Golf Association in 2021. During her time there, she gained a well-rounded perspective of working in the golf industry, including, social media, marketing, course rating, and championships.

P.J. Boatwright Interns Parker Leavitt - Operation

Parker attends Arizona State University majoring in Mechanical Engineering and expects to graduate May 2024. Leavitt is familiar with the MAGA having competed in the Metropolitan Junior Championship and U.S. Junior Amateur qualifiers while in high school. He continues to fill that competitive void by participating on the Arizona State Club Golf Team.

Jack Under wood - Communications

Jack attends the University of Missouri and the famed Journalism school. He expects to graduate in May 2023 with a Bachelor of Journalism in Newspaper Writing. Underwood will fill the role as communications intern and looks to use his skills as a beat writer for the Columbia Missourian to assist the MAGA with our communication efforts this season.

Tanner Weberling - Operations

THE METROPOLITAN CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Tanner is a senior of the University of Missouri and will graduate with a Bachelor in Science in Park, Recreation, and Sport degree in May. Weberling is a native to Hillsboro, MO, and has spent the last few summers working at Tapawingo National Golf Club and Paradise Valley Golf and Country Club. Weberling is interested in pursuing a career in golf.

Dan O’Neill

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The Metropolitan

Volume 9 | May 2022

SHOGREN CUP Click Picture above for Full Results Click Pictures for Full Results Kirkwood, MO – Greenbriar Hills hosted the 2 nd Annual Robert A Shogren Cup between The

Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association and Gateway PGA. The event is named for the late Robert A Shogren, affectionately referred to as “Shogie” for his contributions to MAGA and the game of golf here in St. Louis.

The two-day tournament was divided into three matches in a Ryder Cup format with fourball, foursome, and singles matches with the top amateurs from MAGA competing against the pros of Gateway.

Four-ball play was first Sunday morning and MAGA took an early deficit going down 5 to 2 conceding five of seven matches to Gateway on the day. Notable performances included the parings of Ryan Sullivan and Brad Carpenter along with Ryan Eckelkamp and Tony Gumper who were the only winners of the round for MAGA. Eckelkamp and Gumper remained one of the few bright spots for MAGA Monday morning as they were responsible for one of the team’s two wins in foursome play, with the second victory coming from Brian Lovett and Buddy Allen.

While the rest of the team were not able to claim victories in the morning pairings pairings of Christopher Ferris/Sam Migdal and Skip Berkmeyer/Max Kreikemeier wer able to force ties to keep the team within striking distance for the singles round.

MAGA came back strong in singles play later that afternoon. Out of 14 singles matches Metro was able to pull out a win in eight of them while forcing ties on two more, allowing Gateway only 4 points on the round.

This included a photo finish with four of the of the last six matches being decided by one stroke or less with Metro winning four and holding two at ties to finish the round with a 10 to 4 victory.

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP St. Louis, MO – Travis Trace of Jacksonville, FL made his first start at the Metropolitan Open Championship worth the trip to St. Albans. The 25 year old University of North Florida product has spent time on PGA Tour Canada in 2019 and 2021. This week at the Country Club of St. Albans he fired rounds of 65-66-71-202 (-11) to capture the title and $25,000 first prize.

It was a tough 3 days with Mother Nature not cooperating. Round 1 was pushed back 1-hour to start on Wednesday morning because of storms in the area and darkness prevailed with a couple holes to play on each side. With the afternoon wave being on the course, Round 2 was able to start on time Thursday morning. However, a suspension in play at 11:10am and another at 4:20pm took care of the rest of the day calling for a long Friday.

Round 2 was restarted at 7:00a with 8 groups who had not even started Round 2. Friday’s beautiful weather was welcome by the field. Round 2 completed at 12:30p, the cut was made and the final round went at 1:00pm with 44 players making the cut, including 4 amateurs. Trace led after Round 2 with the 11-under score and had a 4-shot cushion going into the afternoon.

Luke Schniederjans of Alpharetta, GA had the low round of Round 3 with a 5-under 66 to move up the leaderboard. Trace’s lead was never really threatened throughout Round 3, maintaining a 4-shot advantage most of the entire way. He would bogey 18 to win the championship by 3 over Kaylor Steger of Mt. Pleasant, WI. Four amateurs made the cut, the most in quite some time at the Open. Alex Locke, who earlier won the Old Warson Cup, would come out as Low Amateur with a 6-under par performance with 3 rounds of 69. 2021 low amateur Curtis Brokenbrow made the cut again in 2022 and finished T18. Peter Weaver and Zach Walsh were the other 2 amateur to survive the cut.

As the final parings finished up their rounds everyone looked on with bated breath with a convoy of golf carts driving up and down the 18 th hole to watch. At the end of the tournament Metro finished with 15 points, enough for a two-point upset over Gateway.

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The Metropolitan

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The Metropolitan

Volume 9 | May 2022

Supe’s On

Supe’s On Green Aeration, the Necessary Evil Adam Lewis

Mississippi Valley GCSA - Director

St. Louis, we love our city and its rich golf tradition. When it comes to golf we are very blessed with many outstanding courses in this region and a community with a hungry appetite for golf. Golf course maintenance staffs throughout this thriving area work diligently providing quality playing conditions and continue to help grow the game.

St. Louis is located in the transition zone. The transition zone is a belt of land sandwiched between warm and cool growing regions, where turf experiences both scorching summers and freezing winters. This makes it challenging to select the grass that won’t burn up in the summer or freeze in the winter. The transition zone is one of the most difficult areas in the country to grow grass. We like to call it the Heinz 57 zone. Everything will grow here, but nothing grows well here. That’s why in St. Louis you have Bermuda, Zoysia, Fescue, Bluegrass, Ryegrass, Poa Annua, Bentgrass and on and on.

Every year we hear the comment “Just when the greens are getting good, they poke holes in them and ruin them.” Why can’t you do it earlier in the spring, when no one is playing?” Well the reason no one is playing then is because it is too cold, everything is brown, and nothing is growing! You can’t poke holes in a green that is sleeping and expect it to recover quickly. It is a labor intensive massive undertaking, and it would be great to not have to do this. Although players think of it as a huge inconvenience, it is must do for the health of the greens.

When selecting your aeration dates, there are many things to consider. As the courses begin to wake up in the spring, the first grass to wake up is Poa Annua. If you choose to aerate too early, the bentgrass is not growing yet, and that aeration is benefiting the Poa and gives it the upper hand on taking over your greens. Also, if you poke holes too early before the bent is actively growing, it can take a month or more to recover. You are looking at holes and sand for a very long time. If you go too early you are promoting Poa and not your turf of choice, bentgrass.

Selecting a later aeration date, late April or early May, has many benefits. The bent is healthier, and in better condition to endure the physical trauma of core removal. The bentgrass is actively growing and will recover more quickly. The later you aerate in the spring the more benefit the greens will see getting through the difficult St. Louis extreme summer heat.

When planning your maintenance schedule for cultural practices such as aeration, it is important to concentrate on what grass you are promoting. Whether you are aerating greens, fairways or rough, it is important to choose a time when the grass is healthy and not under stress before aerification. Select the time that will most benefit the turf of choice. Common sense tells us do not aerate rough in august or you will burn it up, and not aerate Zoysia or Bermuda in the winter, as it is dormant, and will cause severe damage.

Do your greens a favor and hold off on the urge to pull the trigger too early. Select your aeration dates according to what is best for the greens. The results will be that your greens will recover faster, and your greens will perform better during the summer months.

When it comes to putting greens, bentgrass is the grass of choice here in St. Louis. To properly manage bentgrass greens they must be aerated. Aeration, relieves compaction, removes excess organic material, provides a sand channel for improved water infiltration, and gas exchange to the root system.

Assistant Golf Course Superintendent Old Warson Country Club

Enjoy the Golf Season!

Adam Lewis

Many clubs ask the staff to undertake this necessary evil as early as possible to minimize the interruption of play, and the inconvenience to the players. Many clubs try to squeeze it in early before the season picks up. However, timing of your aeration is critical to the long term success of your turf.

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The Metropolitan

Volume 9 | May 2022

W h e r e i t G o e s f r o m He r e i s Ha r d to S ay .

SUV afterward.

The Bogeyman Dan O’Neill

(Editor’s note: This story appears courtesy of Morning Read (www. morningread.com) Where it goes from here is hard to say.

How can you predict what Tiger Woods will do next when what he is doing now makes no sense. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for Woods playing golf again, hope he makes a successful comeback, understand that playing golf is what he does and there are things that go with that.

I don’t understand why he is playing golf now, why he is conducting this sympathy tour or what it’s trying to accomplish. Woods was in a horrific car crash a little over a year ago. His injuries were severe and significant. They suggested he might not be able to play again, certainly not compete on the biggest stages.

He has made significant - some say remarkable - progress in his recovery. Everyone was surprised to see how he swung the club at the PNC Championship in Orlando last December. Between rides in the golf cart, he hit some terrific shots, although the critical eye would suggest his son Charlie was the more impressive player.

But how does that parent-child outing translate to teeing it up in the Masters your next time out?

If you’re as good as you’re going to get on the physical end, then OK. Give it all you got. But if there is still recovery ground to cover, if you’re still not there yet, no one begrudges it, no one expected otherwise.

So why the hurry, what’s the point? For the violins? For the accolades? Really?

Tiger Woods - the most universally recognized and celebrated sports figure of our time - needs that?

The Lazarus references, the Wayne’s World “we’re not worthy” bows, the hosannas and superlatives are not on a deadline. We all saw the Genesis GV80

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Through his career, Woods has never fancied himself a ceremonial figure. He’s always in it to win it, he insists, or not in it at all. Yet here we are, not just ceremonial but sympathetic. Woods is now Muhammad Ali overcoming Parkinson’s to light the Olympic torch in Atlanta. Woods is the gimpy Kirk Gibson in the 1988 World Series, going up to hit on one leg.

But one moment doesn’t make the magic happen in golf. It takes numerous swings with the bat, numerous trips to the cauldron, many hours and several days.

Woods isn’t truly “back” from his accident, not yet; the standards have changed. Suddenly, it is enough for him to simply tee it up, to walk the course, to make the cut. The praise is piled on thick, the adoration profound and none of it has anything to do with golf acumen.

But the stark reality is Woods finished 47th with the worst Masters performance of his career last April - 13 over par, back to back 78s and 23 shots behind winner Scottie Scheffler. Again, this isn’t to say that, given the circumstances, playing four rounds at Augusta National was a commendable display of determination and resilience. His performance certainly was noteworthy for a diminished figure - is that what this is about?

Then came the PGA, and more of the same. People were suggesting Woods might be more robust at Southern Hills, more capable with one post-accident major under his belt. Again, reverence and brownie points were flying when he carded a second-round 69, rebounding from an opening 74. But the weather got windy and chilly, and Woods got increasingly burdened.

In the third round, he shot a 9-over-par 79, his worst score ever in a PGA, and promptly withdrew. Not exactly the glorious exit he enjoyed in 2018 at Bellerive.

Woods would enjoy a more level playing field - figuratively and literally.

The course is a good walk, unspoiled by dramatic elevations, and a veritable airport runway. Woods twice (2000, 2005) has triumphed there, setting scoring records, hitting “stinger” irons off tees, taking his unpredictable driver out of the equation.

If a still-fragile Woods might thrive anywhere, it might be at St. Andrews.

But if he is not physically capable, if all of this is just symbolic, if he is little more than a sideshow, a WD waiting to happen, that seems unlikely. The Old Course is flat, not feckless. The weather at a British Open can make the worst day at Southern Hills a postcard. Brittle and achy doesn’t do wet and chilly, medical trailers and therapists notwithstanding.

And if Tiger Woods is not physically up to it, then what are we doing here? I don’t get it.

So now what? The U.S. Open is June 16-29 at The Country Club, no doubt the 46-year old Woods wants to engage in the battle at Brookline. The historic course is not especially difficult to walk - not like Augusta National. But it is arguably more taxing than Southern Hills.

After that, the British Open is July 14-17 on the Old Course at St. Andrews, the event some of us anticipated might be Woods’ first restoration attempt, coming almost a year and a-half after the crash. After all, St. Andrews, is where

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The Metropolitan

Volume 9 | May 2022

2022 USGA Championship Qualifying Click on the image for Full Results

Competeing on June 2-5 at Pine Needles

Competeing in Final Qualifying on June 6 14

East Side Amateur Results 108 players signed up for the 19th East Side Amateur at Gateway National Golf Links, with 81 in the Open Division and 27 in the Senior Division. Over the course of two rounds, these players battled it out to be the champion. In the Senior Division, Paul Neeman of Persimmon Woods Golf Club shot a two-under par to take the prize with a four-shot lead over David Bremer of Persimmon Woods Golf Club. In the Open Division, it was a real fight to the finish. Tony Gumper of Old Hickory Golf Club, Zachariah Shirley, and Marcus Deckert finished their rounds at two-under par, forcing a playoff. Marcus Deckert lost out on the second playoff hole, while Zachariah and Tony continued on. On the third playoff hole, Tony Gumper finished in four shots, beating Zachariah who finished in five shots.

Click Pictures for Full Results

Tony Gumper Open Division Champion Old Hickory Golf Club

Paul Neeman Senior Division Champion Persimmon Woods Golf Club 15

The Metropolitan

Volume 9 | May 2022

Player of the Year Points Standings 1 2 3 4 5 6 T7 T7 T9 T9

Men’s POY

Name

Affiliation

Alex Locke Peter Weaver Curtis Brokenbrow Tony Gumper Zach Walsh Jason Landry Marcus Deckert Zachariah Shirley Kevin Jeske Michael Becker

Metropolitan eClub Bellerive Country Club The Quarry at Crystal Springs Old Hickory Golf Club Forest Hills Country Club Greenbriar Hills Country Club Metropolitan eClub Metropolitan eClub Aberdeen Golf Club Glen Echo Country Club

No. Events

No. Wins

Total Points

Pts Behind

2 1 2 1 1 2 1 1 2 2

2 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0

900 550 350 300 250 207.5 187.5 187.5 137.5 137.5

350 550 600 650 692.5 712.5 712.5 762.5 762.5

Senior Men’s POY 1 2 3 4 T5 T5 7 8 T9 T9

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 T10 T10

Name

Affiliation

No. Events

No. Wins

Total Points

Pts Behind

Paul Neeman Buddy Allen David Bremer Pat O’Neill John Hughes Tom Portner Tom Pruden Brian Lovett Brian Hall John Todd

Persimmon Woods Golf Club Metropolitan eClub Persimmon Woods Golf Club Metropolitan eClub Persimmon Woods Golf Club Green Hills Golf Club Persimmon Woods Golf Club Bellerive Country Club Persimmon Woods Golf Club Lake Forest Golf & Country Club

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

200 150 125 100 72.5 72.5 60 50 35 35

50 75 100 127.5 127.5 140 150 165 165

No. Events

No. Wins

Total Points

Pts Behind

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

725 525 425 375 350 325 300 275 250 112.5 112.5

200 300 350 375 400 425 450 475 612.5 612.5

Women’s POY

Name

Affiliation

Gracie Piar Madison Derousse Madeline Larouere Avery McLaughlin Momo Kikuchi Morgan Gindler Tina Jones Catherine Salem Grace Stafford Lindsey Byer Melanie Wolf

Gateway PGA Jr Golf Club Metropolitan eClub Metropolitan eClub Bellerive Country Club The Quarry at Crystal Springs Greenbriar Hills Country Club Aberdeen Golf Club Whitmoor Country Club Country Club of St Albans Old Warson Country Club Bogey Hills Country Club

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30th Metropolitan Women’s Amateur

After a beautiful day for the First Round of the 30th Metropolitan Women’s Amateur Championship, Mother Nature changed her game for the Final Round. With rain through the night and into the day, the course was dampened, and the players were forced to battle discontinuous wet weather. The heavier showers in the morning caused a delay in the starting tee times by 1 hour, with the first pairing going off at 9:00am. Sporadic showers and sprinkles continued throughout the round until the sun came out at the end.

Madison Derousse had a one-stroke lead over Gracie Piar in the Championship Division coming into the Final Round. Through nine holes, Madison Derousse and Gracie Piar were tied up at five-over par. A tough second nine for Madison and two birdies in three holes at the start of Gracie’s, put Piar in the lead. At five-over par and a six-stroke lead, Gracie Piar is the 30th Metropolitan Women’s Amateur Champion. When asked about how the rain factored in to her round, Piar said “I actually prefer playing in the rain because not a lot of people can do it, and I can, so it’s an advantage.”

In the Net Division, Peggy Shamleffer of Annbriar Golf Course led Flight A and Jeanette Vogt of the St. Louis Women’s Golf Association led Flight B coming into the Final Round. In Flight A, Vickie Ressler of Meadowbrook Country Club shot five-over par today to take the lead over Connie Bredensteiner by three-strokes. Vogt was able to hold on to her lead and win Flight B by one-stroke over Renie Compton.

Final Results

Flickr Photos

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The Metropolitan

Whats Next for MAGA in June?

MAGA

Event

Date

30th Metropolitan Women’s May 31-June 1 Amateur

Entries Close

Award-winning dining, a booming craft beer scene and exceptional year-round golf on courses along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail await you in Alabama. Plus, with Jerry Pate’s Kiva Dunes and Arnold Palmer’s Craft Farms in Gulf Shores, from the mountains to the coast you can take it all in.

Closed

34th Metropolitan 9-Hole Championship

June 25

23rd Metropolitan Junior Amateur 13th Metropolitan 4-Ball

June 27-28

June 15

July 10-11

June 29

U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur

June 21

May 18

U.S. Junior Amateur

June 21

May 25

U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur

June 23

June 8

June 15

www.GolfAlabama.org

USGA Qualifiers

Amateur Series

Event #2 - Crescent Farms Golf Club

June 13

Event #3 - Persimmon Woods Golf Club

June 20

Championship Information metga.org Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa on the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail, Birmingham

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The Metropolitan

Metropolitan Golf Foundation Completes Purchase of Normandie

The Metropolitan Golf Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association along with Beyond Housing have officially purchased the property known as Normandie Golf Course (Normandie).

This marks another step in the vision becoming a reality to renovate the facility to a become a platform for social change. As previously announced Jack Nicklaus, the greatest champion in the history of golf, and his renowned Nicklaus Design firm agreed to join the philanthropic effort to renovate Normandie.

Nicklaus Design will lead the project and Mr. Nicklaus will donate his services for the renovation of Normandie, which was built in 1901 and is one of the oldest public golf courses west of the Mississippi. Nicklaus will not only lead the design effort and will support aid in the group’s fundraising efforts for facility construction of the project.

Upon completion of the project, Normandie will become a Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course.

“The appeal of this project to me was to be involved in an effort that could serve as a catalyst to change needed in our country today, beginning with this region of St. Louis County,” Jack Nicklaus said. “Restoring Normandie for a community in need will have a long-lasting positive impact on the lives of youth in St. Louis.”

Nicklaus was introduced to the Normandie project in late 2020 by friend Tom O’Toole, Jr., past USGA President and MAGA Founder. He was quick to lend his support to the revitalization effort.

“The appeal of this project to me wasJack toNicklaus be involved in ProjQuote on Normandie an effort ectthat could serve as a catalyst to change needed in our country today, beginning with parts of St. Louis County.

Restoring Normandie for a community in need will have a long-lasting positive impact on the lives of youth in St. Louis.”

“Our fundraising efforts to date have allowed us to continue to move forward, but there is much work yet to be done” O’Toole said. “With Jack’s involvement, this is an effort that the businesses who thrive here as well, as the community at large can get behind to forever change the lives of youth in our region. We want to thank those who have already joined our efforts through donations, and we encourage all others that believe in our metropolitan region to join our efforts as well.”

This project is so much more than the renovation of a historic public golf course. It is about retaining a community asset for the benefit of a region by being a catalyst for socio-economic change in an under-served community.

“Once a community loses an asset of this magnitude, seldom is it regained, we now have the real estate which was key to assuring that does not happen” said Chris Krehmeyer, CEO of Beyond Housing. “This project expands and compliments the successful projects BH has developed in this region. No commitment is too small and businesses as well as individuals are asked to become part of this unique and impactful project.”

Once additional funding is secured for construction, the plan is to begin by year’s end. It is important to note, the golf course will remain open and continue to be operated by Walters Golf Management through the 2022 golf season. Information on how you can make a donation is available at https://www.metga.org/nicklaus-and-normandie-donations/ For more information on or to support of the Normandie Golf Course project contact Curt Rohe, Executive Director, MAGA at curt@metga.org or (314) 567-MAGA.

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- Jack Nicklaus on his involvement in Normandie GC project

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Volume 9 | No. 3

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Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association

Metropolitan Amateur Golf Association MAGA

Phone: 314.567.6262 Email: info@metga.org Web: metga.org

11724 Lackland Industrial Dr St. Louis, MO 63146