August 2015 FORE Georgia Magazine

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AUGUST 2015

Towne Lake Hills remains one of Atlanta’s best Little has changed for 2 decades at popular club

By Mike Blum

he daily fee golf scene in metro Atlanta has changed significantly since the golf course construction boom that began in the late 1980s and continued for more than a decade.

A number of the top Atlanta area courses available to the public have converted to private status, others have undergone ownership or management changes and a relative handful were sold, with the land used for something other than golf.

Towne Lake Hills was part of the explosion of golf course development in the metro area in the mid-1990s, and has been the relatively rare example of a club that opened during that time period and has sailed a consistent course over the past two decades.

Over the past 20 years, Towne Lake Hills has had the same ownership and management (HMS Golf Management). Richard Staughton has been the club’s superintendent for the past 15 years, and head pro Paul Carey and instructors Chris Carlisle and Bill

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Murchison are all well established at the Woodstock club.

Towne Lake Hills’ excellent layout, the creation of renowned golf course architect Arthur Hills and his design associate Mike Dasher, has changed little over the past 20 years, with a softening of the demanding par-5 finishing hole among the few changes of note during that span.

“We’ve been open for twenty and a half years, and we’ve always been open to the public and had memberships,” Carey said. “We’re a true semi-private facility and we’ve stayed true to that model throughout.

“We’ve had constant ownership and management in HMS, and even though the daily fee market is awfully competitive, we’ve stuck with the idea that if you offer a good product at competitive prices with good service, people will come.”

Memberships at Towne Lake Hills include memberships to both Lake Arrowhead and Callahan Links, also HMS managed facilities, with the club featuring an expansive practice facility

Scenic par-3 four

th hole

and one of the better dining options you’ll encounter at a public access course – Featherstone’s Grille.

As a golf club, Towne Lake Hills has to rely on the quality and conditioning of its course to attract members and keep its daily fee players coming back.

Hills has designed top courses all over

the country, with both courses at Golf Club of Georgia and the Standard Club part of his extensive resume. He and Dasher also collaborated on Olde Atlanta, with Dasher handling the [ See Towne Lake Hills, page 6 ]

.com

Crossword Puzzle Page 16

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Instruction Fore You

P R E S E N T E D BY

Know YOUR carry distances!

By Bill Murchison

PGA Teaching Professional Towne Lake Hills GC I have played in many pro-am tournaments and done a number of playing lessons through the years, and one of the most common things I find that most amateurs could improve upon is knowing their carry distances. I have played with some of the top-ranked tour players in the world, and one common thing I see is they are always pin-high on their approach shots to the green. They know exactly how far they hit each club.

That is one of the reasons they can play as aggressively as they do. I work really hard to always be pin-high when I am playing. I will even go as far as determining external factors such as moisture on the ground or in the air, wind direction, outside temperature, and how far above sea level I am. Roughly 75% of the amateurs I play with do not get their approach shots to the green because they do not know the actual carry distance they hit their clubs and how to adjust with the different conditions at hand.

Firstly, let’s clear up one false myth: going down the numbers in your iron set does not add 10 yards to each lower number club. A large number of people think if their pitching wedge goes 120 yards, then their 9-iron will go 130 yards, their 8-iron will go 140 yards, etc...

However, that is NOT true. For a beginner golfer, I might suggest numbers like that

to simplify things, but if you have been playing for some time, it is time to know YOUR distances!

The following are my carry-yards on a typical day: Sand wedge: 90 yards Gap wedge: 115 yards Pitching wedge: 131 yards 9-iron: 142 yards 8-iron: 156 yards 7-iron: 171 yards 6-iron: 182 yards 5-iron: 195 yards 4-iron: 208 yards 3-iron: 220 yards 5-wood: 235 yards 3-wood: 250 yards Driver: 278 yards

As you can see, my distances vary. The addition is different with each number.

This is largely dependent upon the length of club, attack angle, spin rate, and launch angle that changes with each club. If a club fitter tried to adjust your lofts to get them exactly 10 yards apart, you would need more than 14 clubs in your bag, which is the maximum allowed by the rules of golf.

The following are external conditions that effect your distances:

Moisture: On average, I add 3 to 5 more yards to my number (depending on the amount of dew or grass on my ball) when playing in the morning or during a light rain.

Wind: The wind is a tough thing to judge. The wind will affect your ball differently depending on your ball flight. The higher you hit the ball, the more influence the wind has on your ball, thus you will need to hit more club if you are into the wind.

Familiarity comes with experience, so the more you play in windy conditions, the easier you will be able to determine club selection and how many yards you will need to add or subtract based on wind speed.

Outside temperature: My ball carries around 5% farther than my normal distance on a hot summer day. On an average winter day in Georgia, my ball carries approximately 5% fewer yards.

Rough: If you find yourself with a thick lie in the rough, you will not be able to carry your normal distance. On the other hand, if there is just a little bit of rough behind your ball, you may catch a flier lie, which can make the ball jump 15 or more yards farther than your typical distance.

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Bill Murchison Steve Dinberg • Al Kooistra GEORGIA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA OFFICERS

President Mark Mongell, PGA / mmongell@cherokeetcc.org Vice President Brian Albertson, PGA / bamulligan@bellsouth.net Secretary John Godwin, PGA / jgodwinpga@earthlink.net Honorary President Brian Stubbs, PGA / bstubbs@ccofcolumbus.com CHAPTER PRESIDENTS

Central Chapter President Winston Trively, PGA / wtrively@yahoo.com East Chapter President Brandon Youmans / brandonyoumans@pga.com North Chapter President Shawn Koch, PGA / prokoch@pga.com AT - L A R G E D I R E C T O R S

Sea level: When I played in the 2012 PGA Championship at Kiawah Island, the course was right on the Atlantic and at sea level; I hit the ball about 3% shorter than my normal distance. However, when I was in Utah for a Web.com tournament, the course was 4000 feet above sea level and the ball flew over 10% farther than usual.

If I didn’t adjust for that I would be overshooting every green.

Billy Jack, PGA / bjack@stivescountryclub.org Chad O’Dell, PGA / chadopro@aol.com Brandon Stooksbury, PGA / bjstook@pga.com Mark Lammi, PGA / mal9599@msn.com Brian Conley, PGA / pgaugadawg@aol.com Matthew Evans, PGA / mevans@pga.com Todd Ormsby, PGA / taormsby1020@gmail.com SENIOR DIVISION

President Mike Schlueter, PGA / mikeschlueter@comcast.net A S S I S TA N T S ’ D I V I S I O N

Forecast

INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES:

Zach Johnson wins British . . . . . . . . . 8

Dogwood, amateur round-up . . . . . . 26

Ollie Schniederjans goes pro. . . . . . . 12

DEPARTMENTS:

Will Wilcox 2nd in Alabama . . . . . . . 10

FedExCup Playoffs to begin . . . . . . . 14

White claims Berkeley title . . . . . . . . 18

Ramsey rolls in Women's Open. . . . 20

Love captures State Amateur . . . . . . 22

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Crossword puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Chip shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 Golf FORE Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 New products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

There are several ways to determine your distances. I calculate mine on a machine called Flight Scope. Flight Scope, or a similar device called TrackMan, is an awesome tool that shows you exactly how far each club carries. Your local teaching professional can help you know YOUR carry numbers. It will drastically change your ability to be pin-high on approach shots and equal to lower scores.

You can reach Bill Murchison at 404-502-3150 or visit Tlhgolfacademy.com.

President Will Bartram, PGA / will@hawksridge.com S E C T I O N S TA F F

Executive Director Mike Paull Assistant Executive Director/ Junior Golf Director Scott Gordon Tournament Director Pat Day, PGA Operations Manager Eric Wagner Section Assistant Carrie Ann Byrne FOREGeorgia is produced by Golf Media, Inc. Copyright ©2014 with all rights reserved.

Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content is prohibited.

Georgia PGA website: www.georgiapga.com.

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par-4 11th Short, perilous

Towne Lake Hill

s clubhouse

Towne Lake Hills [ Continued from the cover ]

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design work for both Bentwater and the Traditions at Braselton.

Carey says that Towne Lake Hills embodies Hills’ design philosophy of having six relatively difficult holes, six of medium difficulty and six that are more inviting.

“Towne Lake Hills is a good example of that,” Carey says. “It has a little bit for everybody, from 25 handicappers to scratch golfers. We have some big boy golf holes, but it’s very playable for the average golfer from the blue or white tees.”

At just 6784 yards from the gold tees, Towne Lake Hills is not a long course by modern standards, and several of the holes are effectively shortened due to elevated tees. Length, however, is not the major concern Hills’ layout poses.

Towne Lake Hills is one of the tighter driving courses among metro Atlanta’s daily fee layouts, with several of the more demanding tee shots not particularly favorable to those of us whose misses tend to be to the right. The treelined course also features several holes where trouble is well within reach off either side of the fairway, but there are a number of holes with more generous landing areas to keep it from being overly imposing off the tee.

“If you can keep your tee ball in play, there are some scoring opportunities because the course is not overly long,” Carey said.

Towne Lake Hills was built on some relatively rugged terrain, with the Hills part of the clubs’ name reflecting both the architect’s name and the land on which the course was constructed.

Several of the holes are bordered by hills FOREGEORGIA.COM

Par-4 15th

than can either re-direct your ball back reward the fairway or leave you with an awkward lie.

Other holes feature drop-offs along fairways to tree lines, with Towne Lake Hills also including a number of wetlands areas which are very much a factor. Hazards are in play on approximately half the holes, and help account for some relatively high slope numbers despite the overall absence of serious length.

Towne Lake Hills is rated at 73.5/144 from the back tees, with the blues measuring just under 6300 yards and rated at 71.2/137. The white tees are a comfortable 5800 with a higher slope rating (133) than you’d normally find at that yardage. The forward tees are slightly under 5000 yards and rated at 69.8/127.

With some exceptions, the greens at Towne Lake Hills tend toward the large size but are not especially undulating, although quite a few feature tiers or ridges that will impact putts if you have to come over or across them.

Carey credits Staughton for the excellent condition of the putting surfaces, pointing out that the Towne Lake Hills superintended “knows how to keep bent grass greens alive in the Georgia summer.”

At this time of year, the greens are neither especially fast nor firm, but they are rolling true. The putting surfaces are guarded by a modest number of bunkers, with a fairly healthy spread of rough adding to the difficulty of short game shots.

The heart of Towne Lake Hills’ challenge is its collection of par 4s, which present more of a test than the yardage numbers might indicate, beginning with the slightly uphill first hole. The hole features a generous landing area and a large green divided by a ridge that can make it difficult to get lengthy putts to back pins.

The toughest par 4s on the opening nine are holes 3 and 6, with the third beginning with an angled tee shot with a sharp drop-off to trouble on the right.

The sixth is not as long, but thick trees are in play down the right side, with a demanding second shot over wetlands to a tough to hit target.

Tee shot on par-4 8th

Like the first, the eighth plays gradually uphill from tee to green, with the tee shot from the back two sets requiring a carry over a pond, and trees on the left uncomfortably close from the two shorter tee boxes.

There are some similarities between the two toughest par 4s on the back, both of which begin from elevated tees and angle slightly to the right on the second shot.

The 13th is the longer and more dangerous of the two, with the tee shot having to thread its way between a chute of trees and a creek winding along the right side, with the terrain sloping towards it. The green is one of the most heavily-bunkered on the course, with the creek also in play if the approach shot strays right.

The 16th features a wider landing area with bunkers at the far end of the dogleg providing a target from the tee on the visually appealing hole. There are no greenside bunkers, but a hazard is within reach right and long.

The other three par 4s on the nine present scoring opportunities, although the short, dogleg left 11th requires considerable precision off the tee to avoid wetlands down the left side. Out of bounds is tight to the right and bunkers at the far corner of the dogleg are in play for longer hitters.

The 15th plays slightly uphill, but at 327 from the blues with an ample fairway, does not offer much resistance.

The rolling 17th features a hill right of the fairway that can obscure views of the approach shot to an extremely wide but shallow green, with pin position making a sizeable difference in the second shot.

Other than the 12th, the par 3s are on the short side, with the two on the front nine around 150 from the blues and the 14th just over that yardage from the golds. The downhill fourth is among the most scenic on the course, with a pond just right of the green providing both aesthetic appeal and danger.

A pronounced mound short of the seventh green prevents a clear look at a small-ish putting surface, with no sand on the hole but some pesky rough.

The par 5s are a diverse and interesting group, with all four capable of yielding birdies as well as scores that don’t look quite as pleasing on the scorecard.

The downhill second starts with a narrow tee shot, with a pond short and left of the green making it a risk/reward hole for longer hitters. The triple-tier green wraps around the pond, which sits below the surface. Front pin positions make for inviting second and third shots, but when the hole is cut in the upper back tier, it takes some courage to fire at the flag.

The downhill fifth is the shortest of the group, and is reachable for those who can handle an uneven lie with a fairway wood or long iron. Tree lines are within reach down both sides, but there are no other impediments to scoring on the hole.

The only trouble on the rolling 10th is a drop-off to thick grass right of the fairway, but you face the prospect of a blind or semi-blind third to a green that slopes from left to right with a friendly mound to the left aiding slightly errant approaches.

The once-fearsome 18th has been improved and softened by the removal of a creek down the right side of a fairway that sloped hard in its direction. It is still a lot of hole from the tips (559), but is well within reach from the blues at 478, with players able to go directly at the elevated fairway and green after a well-struck tee shot.

Shorter hitters play down the left side, looking to avoid the creek that is still in play for the second shot, with a sharply uphill third having to negotiate a steep hill to a green without much depth from that angle.

Downhill par-4 16th

For information on Towne Lake Hills Golf Club, call 770-592-9969 or visit www.townelakehillsgc.com.

AUGUST 2015

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7

Johnson took different career path from most stars It’s been a long way to the top for British Open champ

By Mike Blum

A

lmost all of golf’s recent and current elite players were pegged for stardom at a young age.

Zach Johnson

Tiger, Phil, Rory, Jordan, Rickie, Sergio, Adam and Jason Day were all

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STEVE DINBERG

projected as future standouts in their teens, and Dustin Johnson was barely into his 20s when he was tagged as an emerging star.

Only a handful of the game’s top performers were not identified as sure things from the moment they first walked out on golf’s national or international stage, with one of them (Bubba Watson) taking a while to harness his enormous talent.

The other two most prominent individuals to rise from unheralded young tour pros to hard-earned status as one of golf’s most successful performers are Jim Furyk and Zach Johnson, who have followed entirely different paths from Watson to get where they are today.

Johnson joined Watson as a two-time major champion when he added the recent British Open to his list of 12 career victories that includes the 2007 Masters, putting him even with the slightly more heralded Jordan Spieth in his quest for a career grand slam.

Johnson, who has been a St. Simons Island resident since shortly after his Masters victory in 2007, emerged from a crowded leader board the final day in Augusta to score a come-from-behind victory, matching the low score of the round. He followed a similar path at St. Andrews, beginning the fourth round three shots off the lead before again equaling the best score that day.

This time however, Johnson needed extra holes to capture the championship, defeating Louis Oosthuizen and Marc Leishman in a four-hole playoff.

Johnson and Oosthuizen nearly had to continue, but Oosthuizen missed a short birdie putt on the final hole that would have transformed the four-hole, aggregate score playoff into sudden death.

Oosthuizen’s miss ended what had been a stirring final round battle among multiple players on a somewhat anticlimactic note, but did nothing to take away from Johnson’s exceptional final round performance.

The previous week in the John Deere Classic, played near Johnson’s home town of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Johnson had a putt on the 72nd hole to get into a threeway playoff that included Spieth, but missed to finish one shot back.

With the British Open championship on the line, Johnson did not miss on the 72nd hole this time, and his demonstrative reaction to the putt going in was evidence of how much it meant to him.

“There was emotion there,” he said in his post-round interview. “Clearly because it was the 72nd hole and I had a good round going. That was part of it.

I missed one on 18 last week, which was frustrating because I hit a good putt.”

Johnson hit a lot of good putts the final day, leading the field with just 26 putts on St. Andrews’ massive greens. He began his birdie run with a putt of some 25 feet on the second hole, and holed one from off the green at the fourth. After missing from relatively close range for eagle at 5 and birdie at 6, Johnson birdied four of the next six holes, combining some superb tee-togreen play with his torrid putting.

“I hit good shots. I had opportunities and I actually made some putts.”

After making the trip from the Quad Cities area to Scotland after the John Deere Classic along with Spieth and other players who competed in that tournament, Johnson got off to a hot start in the opening round with four birdies on his first six holes. He was 6-under after 10, and after the same bogey-birdie finish he would record three days later, Johnson had a 66, one behind Dustin Johnson’s 65.

Following a 71 the next day, Zach trailed Dustin by three after the weatherdelayed conclusion of the second round, with Zach getting all of Saturday off. He began the third round with 13 consecutive pars, but birdied three of his last five holes for a 70 to stay within three of the leaders.

“I managed to make some birdies coming in, which was crucial just to get my round under par. It was bunched coming into today. I felt like if I can get a little bit of momentum early on in the day, then who knows what’s going to happen. And then I’m seven-under

Johnson began the day three shots behind co-leaders Oosthuizen, Day and amateur Paul Dunne, but surged to the top of the leader board with seven birdies on his first 12 holes. He quickly lost the outright lead with a bogey at the 13th, and gave up a share of first place when he bogeyed the brutally difficult Road Hole 17th.

But Johnson had wielded a hot putter throughout the final round, and rolled in a lengthy birdie attempt at the 18th to post 15-under. Leishman bogeyed the 16th to fall back into a tie with Johnson, and Spieth bogeyed the 17th to lose his share of the lead. Leishman managed a par at the 17th but missed his birdie try at 18 for the win, with Oosthuizen making it a three-way playoff when he birdied the 18th.

Both Spieth and Day had birdie tries at the 18th to get into the playoff, but neither could convert difficult putts. The miss cost Spieth a shot at a third straight major title, while Day settled for his 12th straight par to end his final round and another close call in a major championship.

Johnson quickly took control of the playoff when he birdied the first two holes, giving him nine birdies on the day.

All three players bogeyed 17, the third extra hole, with Johnson matching Oosthuizen’s par on 18th to win the playoff by one shot with a 1-under total.

through twelve.”

Johnson now has 12 wins in his 12 seasons on the PGA Tour, winning at least once in nine seasons, including eight of the last nine. His first three PGA Tour victories came in Georgia, beginning with the 2004 BellSouth Classic at TPC Sugarloaf during his rookie season. He won again at Sugarloaf three years later following his Masters triumph, and since then has won the Texas Open and Colonial Invitational twice each, and has two wins in Hawaii including the 2014 Tournament of Champions.

The Iowa native scored an emotional victory in the John Deere Classic in 2012, and followed with a win in the BMW Championship, one of the FedExCup Playoffs events, the next year.

Johnson’s career PGA Tour earnings are approaching $40 million, a remarkable achievement for someone who spent his early years as a pro scraping out a living at the mini-tour level.

From the beginning of his career, Johnson has had to gradually work his way up golf’s ladder. He wanted to play at the University of Iowa, not exactly a collegiate golf powerhouse, but had to settle for Drake, a lesser Division I program in the state.

Johnson turned pro in 1998 after graduating from Drake, and toiled in golf’s minor leagues for several years before making it to the PGA Tour in 2004. He won three times in two years on the Prairie Tour and four times in two years on the Hooters Tour, including victories in three consecutive events in 2001 en route to Player of the Year honors.

In 2000, Johnson made it to the Buy.com (now Web.com) Tour, but missed his first six cuts and barely cracked the top 175 on the money list, dropping back from Class AAA to the Class AA Hooters Tour for the next two years. He began to make his name there, enjoying a breakout season in 2001, and made his first splash at the national level the next year, again in Georgia.

Johnson played his way into the 2002 BellSouth Classic in a Monday qualifier, and came to the 72nd hole with a shot at a top-10 finish before ending up in a tie for 17th. Later that year, he again earned status on the Buy.com Tour, which was re-named the Nationwide Tour in 2003. [ See Zach Johnson, page 23 ] AUGUST 2015

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Wilcox takes second in Alabama PGA Tour event Ex-Clayton State golfer earns spot in Playoffs

he inaugural PGA Tour Barbasol Championship enjoyed a successful debut, getting good reviews all around and ending up with a winner who was the highest ranked player in the FedExCup standings coming into the Alabama tournament.

Scott Piercy won the tournament by three shots for his third PGA Tour victory, shooting 19-under 265 on the Robert Trent Jones Trail Grand National’s Lake course in Opelika. The course played as a par 71 for the tournament, with one of its par 5s converted to a par 4 and the nines reversed other than holes 9 and 18.

The tournament stressed the Alabama connection of a number of players in the tournament, with three players with Alabama ties finishing among the top 10. One of those three played his college golf at a school little known outside its location in south metro Atlanta, but Clayton State may get a little more acclaim if former golf team member Will Wilcox continues to play as well as he has in limited PGA Tour schedules the past two seasons.

Wilcox finished second in the Barbasol Championship behind Piercy at 16under 268 with rounds of 66-70-65-67.

He earned $378,000 for his runner-up showing and moved up from 128 to 92 in the FedExCup standings to clinch a spot in the Playoffs and exempt status for the 2015-16 PGA Tour.

With Piercy’s victory all but assured after he notched five birdies on the opening nine in the final round, the main competition was for second place, with Wilcox among the group. After three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the front nine, Wilcox went eight holes without a birdie before scoring birdies on the last two holes to grab second outright.

After hitting his tee shot on the 220-yard 17th to six feet, Wilcox rolled in a putt of almost 60 feet on the 18th to clinch second, and responded with an exultant reaction that was worthy of a victory celebration.

“I didn’t win or anything like that, but

T

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finishing solo second is still a big deal to me,” Wilcox said after the round. “I’ve just always gotten maybe a little too aggressively excited about stuff like that.

It was just a cool moment. Maybe if no one liked that, then they don’t like sports.

“I won on the Web.com Tour and that was cool. This is cooler than that because now I’ve locked up my card in 13 starts, so that’s something I never thought in a million years I would have done.”

This is the second PGA Tour season for Wilcox, who played three years on the Web.com Tour, winning in 2013 and finishing seventh on the money list to earn his PGA Tour card.

But after an outstanding season highlighted by a victory in the South Georgia Classic at Kinderlou Forest in Valdosta and a 59 in the final round of the Utah Championship to tie for third, Wilcox sat out the Web.com Finals four-tournament series that determined the positioning for the 50 qualifiers for the 2013-14 PGA Tour.

The players were slotted based on their finish in earnings for the four tournaments, and since Wilcox did not play, he was 50th on the priority list of the 50 players. There was no offi-

Will Wilcox

cial word on why he didn’t play after he competed in the final regular season event, played a week before the Finals began.

Wilcox’s off-the-course problems in college have been discussed in broadcast and print stories about him, including the Golf Channel telecast of the Barbasol Championship. A native of Birmingham, Wilcox was one of the state’s top juniors and began his college career at UAB, where his mom was the women’s coach.

His stay at UAB did not last long, as Wilcox was dismissed from school and the team after two DUIs. Wilcox was out of golf for a while and worked in a pizza restaurant in Auburn at one point before his father had a discussion with the Clayton State golf coach.

Wilcox was offered a scholarship to play for the Division II Lakers and played three seasons in Morrow, earning AllAmerica honors all three years and winning eight tournaments including his conference championship. He also won the Alabama Amateur before turning pro after completing his eligibility in 2009.

Among the early professional success for Wilcox was a victory on the Canadian Tour in 2010, which helped earn him a spot in the Canadian Open that year. He began 2011 with no status on the Web.com Tour, but in his first start of the year, tied for the third in the Stadion Classic at UGA after getting into the field in a Monday qualifier. He placed third again in Mexico the following month and finished the year 37th on the money list, making a one-week stay in golf’s big leagues when he qualified for the U.S. Open.

Wilcox made a run at earning his PGA Tour card in the finals of qualifying later that year, but fell short and was back on the Web.com Tour in 2012. He did not play as well as he did the previous season, but played well enough to retain his status for 2013, and responded with an outstanding year, beginSOUTH GEORGIA CLASSIC

By Mike Blum

ning with his victory in Valdosta.

A third round 63 on the long and challenging Kinderlou Forest layout opened a sizeable lead after 54 holes, and he wound up with a 4-shot victory. He continued to put up low numbers the rest of the season, adding a 62 in Boise and three 64s to go along with his closing 59 in Utah.

But after ending the season 7th on the money list, he skipped the Finals and as a result, spent much of the 2014 season on the sidelines. Wilcox was able to get into only 16 tournaments, playing in fewer than half the events available to PGA Tour newcomers. He tied for eighth in his first start in Hawaii, and was fourth in the Greenbrier, but with his limited schedule finished 142nd in the FedExCup to maintain non-exempt status for the 2014-15 season.

This time, he played in the Web.com Tour Finals, but after placing 19th and 12th in the first two tournaments, missed the next two cuts and did not finish among the top 25 on the Finals money list.

Wilcox began the 2014-15 season in a similar position to the previous year, and again played well when given a chance.

He closed out 2014 by tying for 14th in Mississippi, and began his ‘15 schedule with a tie for 18th at Pebble Beach. He tied for sixth in the opposite field event in Puerto Rico, and turned in solid efforts in the Byron Nelson (T22) and Memphis (T12) before a tie for eighth in the John Deere moved him close to the top 125 on the points list.

Since the late 2014 tournament in Mississippi, Wilcox has been under par in each of his last 11 PGA Tour starts, even the three in which he missed the cut. He was a combined 24-under in two Web.com starts, placing in the top 20 of both, and the quality of his play is reflected in his stats.

After his runner-up finish in Alabama, Wilcox was sixth on the PGA Tour in both greens in regulation and scoring average, fifth in total driving, third in ball striking, seventh in scrambling and first in sand saves. In the all around category, which factors in all the major stats, Wilcox is No. 1 on the PGA Tour, which has more than made up for some mostly average putting stats other than putts made over 25 feet, where he stands fourth.

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Schniederjans ends amateur career in style GSGA

Makes cut in 2 majors, contends in British Open

By Mike Blum

ecent Georgia Tech graduate Ollie Schniederjans ended his amateur career last month at the British Open, achieving a rare feat that put him in some elite company.

Schniederjans made the cut in both the U.S. Open and British Open, making him just the third American amateur in the past 50 years to do so. The other two are Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods.

The two-time first team All-American did more than just make the cut in the British. He shot 5-under 67 the final day on St. Andrews’ famed Old Course to finish tied for 12th, and was in position to overtake the leaders in the final round after notching seven birdies on his first 10 holes.

Schniederjans’ surge halted at that point, and his fading hopes were dashed at St. Andrews’ infamous 17th (the Road Hole). But he closed out the tournament and his amateur career in style, making birdie at the 18th after almost holing his second shot for eagle.

One month earlier, Schniederjans also made the cut in the U.S Open at Chambers Bay, tying for 42nd. He also played in the European Tour Scottish Open the week before the British Open, making the cut there for the second straight year, shooting 2-over for the tournament.

Schniederjans earned spots in those events by ending 2014 as the No. 1ranked amateur in the world, and waited until after those three appearances as an amateur to turn professional. He turned pro the day after the British Open ended, and two days later made his professional debut at the Canadian Open, playing his first round in his new status in 1-under 71 with six birdies.

The 22-year-old Schniederjans is the latest in a talented group of young Americans to turn pro in recent years, closing out his amateur career with a bang after a senior season at Georgia Tech that was not quite up to the lofty standards he set in 2013-14.

“It was a great final day,” Schniederjans said after his closing 67 at St. Andrews. “Amazing final day as an amateur. Couldn’t ask for anything more special, feeling like I belonged out here and watching my name go up on the

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Ollie Schniederjans

leader board. Extremely special day and I’m ready to go.

“My game is in the best place it’s been ever. I felt great the last two or three weeks with it, and it’s a long way from where I was in college this year. I’m proud of how I came out of it, and I’m hitting the ball really well.”

After an exceptional junior season, which included a school record five individual victories and the second lowest scoring average in Georgia Tech history, Schniederjans did not enjoy as much success as a senior, going winless after a victory in the team’s annual Fall opener in the Carpet Capital at The Farm outside Dalton.

Schniederjans’ Georgia Tech career ended on a sour note, as he played poorly in the final round of the NCAA Championship and the team narrowly missed qualifying for match play. The previous year, Schniederjans tied for first in the individual competition in the NCAA Championship, finishing second in a playoff.

“I kind of lost myself, my game a little bit,” Schniederjans said. “Just in the process I’ve gained some tools and I’ve gotten better, and I feel like I can compete at any level after playing the U.S.

Open and The Open here. Definitely a lot of confidence.”

Schniederjans entered Georgia Tech in 2011 after an outstanding junior career that had him ranked as high as fourth among all juniors. He was part of two state championship high school teams at Harrison in Cobb County, and also won the Georgia PGA Junior Championship.

From the outset, Schniederjans was a starter for the Yellow Jackets as a freshman, and emerged as a top player late in the season, tying for seventh in the ACC Championship and for 15th in the NCAA Regionals.

He recorded six top-10 finishes as a sophomore, including a tie for second in Puerto Rico and a tie for eighth in the NCAA Championship at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course. He won the decisive match in the quarterfinals of match play on the 19th hole before Tech lost in the semifinals to eventual national champion Alabama.

That summer, Schniederjans won his U.S. Amateur qualifier, reached match play in the championship event and posted a pair of top-10 showings in the Dogwood at Druid Hills and the Southern Amateur.

That fall, Schniederjans shared

medalist honors in the Carpet Capital and won the U.S Collegiate Championship at Golf Club of Georgia outright, finishing no lower than fourth in Georgia Tech’s four fall tournaments.

He closed out Tech’s spring schedule with three straight victories, the last in the ACC Championship., before placing second at Regionals, followed by his playoff loss in the NCAAs. His five titles broke the school record of four held by David Duval, Stewart Cink and Troy Matteson, and he was a finalist for two top national awards for NCAA golfers.

Schniederjans continued his outstanding play that summer, placing second in the Dogwood and fourth in the Southern Amateur, finishing one shot out of a playoff in the latter. He reached the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club, losing to tournament champion Gunn Yang 1-up.

Prior to his U.S. Amateur showing, Schniederjans made his first starts in professional events. He tied for fifth in a Web.com Tour event in Wichita, shooting 64 in the opening round and following with scores of 65 and 67 the final two days. He then flew to England and went 3-1 in the Palmer Cup, an annual event matching top college players from the U.S. and Europe. He played the next week in the Scottish Open and finished in the middle of the pack of a strong field of European and U.S. PGA Tour players.

Schniederjans made two more professional starts during his senior season at Georgia Tech, competing in the European Tour Abu Dhabi Championship and the PGA Tour event in Tampa, earning the latter spot with his victory in a college tournament at the host course the year before.

Although he posted a number of top finishes throughout his senior season, Schniederjans did not win after the Fallopening Carpet Capitol and struggled in the NCAA Championship, with the Yellow Jackets missing out on match play after qualifying the two previous years.

“It’s not fun when you have no control over your golf game,” Schneiderjans said after the British Open. “It’s fun again.

I’m not searching every day.” [ See Schniederjans, page 29 ]

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Battle for FedExCup Playoffs ends this month Top players eye East Lake; others shoot for top 125

By Mike Blum

ith just a handful of events left on the PGA Tour’s regular season schedule, most players not named Jordan Spieth, Bubba Watson or Zach Johnson are paying close attention to the numbers next to their names in the FedExCup standings.

The three key numbers in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season finale in Greensboro are 125, 150 and 200. The players who have enjoyed successful seasons and are comfortably inside the top 125 don’t have to worry about numbers until after the first Playoffs event in suburban New Jersey.

For the Playoffs, the three key numbers are 100, 70 and 30, with the field reduced to those levels after each of the first three tournaments leading up to the Tour Championship at East Lake Sept.

24-27.

The top 100 after the Barclays will play Labor Day weekend in Boston, with the top 70 after the Deutsche Bank Championship getting a week off before competing in the BMW Championship in Chicago Sept. 18-21. The top 30 then move on to Atlanta and are all guaranteed spots in the 2016 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open.

The top 125 on the FedExCup points list after the regular season finale are also fully exempt for the 2015-16 PGA Tour season. A number of prominent players were outside the top 125 with only four weeks remaining in the regular season, but most will remain exempt thanks to victories in major championships over the last five seasons or PGA Tour titles the last two years.

Among the top players not among the top 125 after the Canadian Open were Charl Schwartzel, Geoff Ogilvy, Camilo Villegas, Lucas Glover, David Toms, K.J. Choi, Graeme McDowell, Martin Kaymer, Angel Cabrera, Steve Stricker, Ernie Els, Davis Love and Tiger Woods, who was barely inside the top 200 with just two starts left on his schedule.

Schwartzel, Ogilvy and Toms were all among the top 125 on the money list, with players among the top 125 in earnings but not in points also exempt for

Matt Kuchar

Stewart Cink

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2015-16, although they will not qualify for the Playoffs.

Players who finish between 126 and 150 in the regular season FedExCup standings will retain at least partially exempt status, with Georgia residents Jonathan Byrd and Roberto Castro playing out of that category this season along with Will Wilcox, who played his college golf at Clayton State. Wilcox was outside the top 125 until a second place finish in the Barbasol Championship in Alabama moved him into the top 100 and assured him a Playoffs berth and exempt status for next season.

The 126-150 FedExCup finishers will get a chance to elevate their status in the Web.com Finals, which begin Sept. 10 in Indiana and include four tournaments in as many weeks, concluding Oct. 4 at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville. The top 25 money winners from that series will earn PGA Tour cards for 2015-16 along with the top 25 finishers from the Web.com regular season money list.

The 50 qualifiers from the Web.com Tour and Finals money list will then be ranked on their earnings in the Finals from 1-50. The field for those four tournaments will consist of the top 75 players on the Web.com money list and players 126-200 in the FedEXCup standings, with players 151-200 beginning the 2016 Web.com season with exempt status. Players outside the top 200 will have to compete at Q-school to retain status on the Web.com Tour next year.

Byrd (165), Vaughn Taylor (156) and Castro (185) were all in the 151-200 category with four weeks left in the season, with several other golfers with ties to Georgia outside the top 200.

Taylor and Castro had chances for top finishes in the Canadian Open. Taylor was second after the opening round and Castro was tied for 20th after 54 holes, but neither finished among the top 40.

Blake Adams played this season under a medical extension following hip surgery, but had almost exhausted the number of starts he was awarded in an attempt to regain his exempt status.

Heath Slocum and former Georgia Tech golfers Troy Matteson and David Duval, who have 19 PGA Tour wins between them, were also outside the top 200, but will have limited PGA Tour status next season as past champions.

The big battle over the final few weeks of the PGA Tour season will be for spots in the top 125, with a veteran Georgia pro on the bubble at 125 going into the Canadian Open. Stewart Cink has been a fully exempt player since his rookie season of 1997 and has a major championship among his six wins, along with a combined nine Ryder/Presidents Cup appearances.

The last five years, however, have not been the best for Cink, who has struggled since winning the British Open in 2009.

He had gone more than two years without a top-10 finish, but responded with his best showing in that span in the recent Canadian Open, tying for fifth to jump to 103 in the FedExCup standings.

Two former Georgia collegians were just inside the top 125 with five weeks to play. Also locking up a spot in the Playoffs was former UGA golfer Erik Compton, who tied for 11th in Canada to improve from 119 to 104. Nicholas Thompson (Georgia Tech) is on the bubble for a second straight year at 117. He did not qualify for the Playoffs last year, but finished in the top 125 on the money list to remain exempt.

Among the most prominent players uncomfortably close to 125 in the FedExCup standings were Vijay Singh and Luke Donald. The 52-year-old Singh (126) has been reluctant to take his game to the Champions Tour, and can play the PGA Tour as long as he feels he is competitive. Donald (124) seems to be recovering his missing form after some lean times the past few seasons.

Three golfers with ties to the state were in the top 10 with four weeks to play, with Zach Johnson vaulting from 31st to 7th after his British Open triumph. Bubba Watson was second following his runner-up finish in Canada and Patrick Reed was ninth, with all three virtually assured of a spot in the Tour Championship field.

The top-ranked player in the FedExCup standings who has not won a tournament this year is previously littleknown former Georgia Bulldog Kevin Kisner (13), who suffered his third playoff loss of 2015 last month at the Greenbrier.

The biggest surprise among the top 10 was 2014 McGladrey Classic champion Robert Streb, who has quietly played his way into the sixth spot in the standings.

The biggest question among the players in the top 10 is when Rory McIlroy (8) will return after injuring his ankle playing soccer.

The only other Georgian in the top 25 was Chris Kirk (23), who is also sidelined after an injury suffered off the course. Kirk suffered a broken hand while playing with one of his sons and missed the British Open.

Matt Kuchar, one of the PGA Tour’s most consistently successful players since 2010, was in the unusual position of [ See Playoffs, page 23 ]

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15

Crossword PUZZLE

P R E S E N T E D BY

Across

16

Down

1 Lost to Spieth on the 18th at the

26 Another word for hook,

US Open 2015 5 Middle school math teacher who became Spieth’s caddie 10 In the rough, your ____ can be dicey 11 Famed European Tour golfer who became a top analyst, 2 words 13 One key factor successful putting 14 Gear collection 15 Observed 17 FedEx Cup scoring measurement 21 It was a real challenge to stay under it at Chambers Bay 22 Padraig’s native land 23 Fluency 24 Word used before par 25 Winner of the 2011 US Women’s Open, So Yeon ____

as in a golf shot 28 Check, in chess, abbr.

29 Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson, for example 32 Short (of) 34 A long way 36 Getting a hole in one 38 German golfer who won the US Open in 2014, first name 40 Energy 41 New England’s Cape ___ 42 Winner of the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2010 45 NY village, with Harbor 46 Beyond, the green for example 47 Augusta state, abbr.

48 Deer species 50 English pro golfer, Paul ____ 51 Tour in the East

FOREGEORGIA.COM

.com

Bobby or Trent?

It’s a worse insult than “duffer” Opposite of firm, for a green He won 11 consecutive tournaments in 1945 5 Sound after a missed putt 6 1997 U.S. Open winner 7 Edge of the cup 8 First name of a golfer who has won tournaments on every major continent 9 2016 contest being held at Hazeltine National in Minnesota, 2 words 12 Relating to motion 16 Hole at Royal Troon named “The Postage Stamp” 17 Youngest player to win the Women’s US Open 18 Perfect 19 Place for a nice drive 1 2 3 4

20 Bunkers 21 Play the ____, for lower scores 27 Pro golfer “KJ” 30 After D in the alphabet 31 It often goes with fortune 32 Drop in usual performance level 33 Hole distance measurement 35 First name of one of the top women

golfers of all time 37 Strong winds 39 Popular 43 Headgear often with a sponsor’s name on it 44 Overtime, for short 47 First word of ‘America’ 49 Golf prodigy who holds the record for the youngest qualifier for the US Women’s Open, Lucy ____

Answers at: www.foregeorgia.com/puzzle AUGUST 2015

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17

White captures Georgia PGA event at Berkeley Hills Edges Georgia State teammate Mallonee by 1 shot

By Mike Blum

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Davin White

final pairing the next day with a birdie at the ninth.

Mallonee began the final round with birdies on the first two holes after a pair of precise approach shots to expand his lead to four. But his scorecard recorded pars on his next 14 holes, while playing partner White played those holes in 6under to take a 2-shot lead. Mallonee curled in a birdie putt at the 17th to break his par streak, but White answered from closer range, and chipped close for par at the 18th to hold off his teammate, who closed out his round with a second straight birdie.

White said his intent at the start of the round was to “try and put some pressure on Nathan early, but it happened the other way around.”

Having played Berkeley Hills countless times during his career at Georgia State, White had a definite idea of how he planned to play the course, which typically allows for aggressive play, but has several holes that present risks along with rewards.

While Mallonee played the par-5 third conservatively and made par, White went for the green in two, but his second shot flew long into the hazard beyond the green. He saved par with a deft pitch shot and began cutting into Mallonee’s 4-stroke lead with a birdie at the par-3 fourth.

The key hole of the day was the seventh, the longest of Berkeley Hills’ par 5s.

From 268 yards, White launched a big

is off to a strong start this year, also earning first place points in the Rivermont Championship, where he tied for second behind Travis Nance, who has not yet achieved his Class A PGA status to become eligible for Player of the Year.

Getting first place money and points “is a nice bonus,” Weinhart said. “But a win is a win. I got beat by two guys.”

Weinhart birdied five of his last eight holes for a 68 in the opening round, and enjoyed another fast finish the next day with birdies at 15, 17 and 18.

“I played well,” he said. “They played better. I’m very happy how I golfed both days.”

For the first time in some 15 years, Weinhart missed out on a trip to the PGA Professional National Championship, the No. 1 event for the country’s club professionals. Weinhart has been an annual participant in the tournament since 2000, but did not qualify this year.

“It was odd. Very odd,” Weinhart said of not playing in the recent PNC in Philadelphia, with his goal of making it back to the PGA PNC in 2016 right up there with his effort to win Player of the Year for the eighth time.

Finemore turned in his second straight strong showing, following up a tie for seventh in the Atlanta Open. He shot [ See White, page 29 ] GEORGIA PGA

he Georgia PGA held its annual tournament at Berkeley Hills Country Club last month, but the final results more resembled a Georgia State intra-squad match.

Griffin’s Davin White, a recently graduated Georgia State golfer, won a head-to-head duel with Nathan Mallonee, his teammate the past two seasons. Berkeley Hills serves as the Panthers’ home course, and the two used their knowledge of the layout to carve it up.

Mallonee, a rising junior from Lexington, took the first round lead with a 65 to lead White and Big Canoe head pro Joe Finemore by two shots.

White matched Mallonee’s 65 in the second round to finish with a 12-under 132 total, with Mallonee second at 133 after a closing 68. Tim Weinhart, an instructor at the Standard Club, earned low pro honors, shooting 66 in the final round to place third at 10-under 134.

Finemore finished fourth at 138.

It was the third straight year an amateur won the tournament. Gus Wagoner was the first amateur winner in 2013, scoring his victory while he was in the process of transferring from Armstrong Atlantic to Georgia State. Like White, Wagoner completed his eligibility after the 2014-15 season.

The top four finishers all drew afternoon pairings the first day, with Mallonee and Finemore in the same threesome. They were paired again the next day along with White, with Weinhart playing in the group in front of them. No other player shot better than 140 for the 36-hole event.

Mallonee began his first round on the 10th tee and birdied four of his first six holes, then added three more in succession at 18, 1 and 2 after suffering his lone bogey of the day on the 16th. An eighth birdie at the short, par-4 sixth gave him a 65 and the lead at the end of the day.

White turned in 35 after bogeys at 8 and 9, but an eagle on the par-5 10th and two more birdies got him into the last group for the final round. Finemore eagled the risk/reward par-5 third in the first round, helping to offset two bogeys as he also shot 67, earning his spot in the

3-wood that landed on the green and left him about 20 feet for eagle. He rolled in the putt to close within one of Mallonee, who drove left and had to play up the 13th fairway.

“That was a big momentum swing,” White said. “I knew I needed to hit a really good 3-wood.”

White pulled even with a birdie at the 10th after clipping a tree with his tee shot, leaving a longer third than he is accustomed to on the easily reachable par 5. He took the lead with a birdie on the short par-3 11th, while Mallonee continued to struggle to take advantage of his birdie opportunities.

On the 13th, the longest and most difficult of Berkeley Hills’ par 4s, White got what he referred to as “some cart path love,” with his tee shot down the right side taking two big bounces off asphalt down the hill and bouncing back towards the fairway before winding up about 50 yards short of the 455-yard hole. White pitched close and holed his slippery downhill birdie putt to go ahead by two.

When asked if he viewed his competition with Mallonee as a match play-type situation, White replied, “not really. I just wanted to keep a clear mind.”

White said he did not have a particularly good tournament track record at Berkeley Hills, which hosted an annual college tournament for the Panthers.

“It was good to finally play some solid rounds on my home course for college. It was my first win in a while.”

White said he plans on playing as an amateur for the rest of the year and turn pro in early 2016 with the hopes of qualifying for the PGA LatinoAmerica Tour.

Mallonee was able to take his narrow loss in stride.

“I played really well both days. I didn’t make any bogeys today. But Davin played some phenomenal golf and I missed some putts I could have made.”

Losing to someone he described as “one of my best friends” took a little sting out of his close call, Mallonee said. “This hurts a little bit less.”

As the low pro in the tournament, Weinhart came away with first place money ($1500) and points, as he continues his effort to win Georgia PGA Player of the Year honors for an eighth time. He and Gregg Wolff have both earned that honor seven times. Weinhart

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Ramsey romps to Georgia Women’s Open title Wins by seven with 12-under score at Brookfield

uring her career in junior and amateur golf, Ashlan Ramsey was among the country’s elite players on the road to what appeared to be a successful professional career.

But for most of her first year as a pro, things did not go exactly as planned for the former Milledgeville resident, who spent the 2013-14 college season as part of the women’s golf team at Clemson.

Ramsey has struggled to find a tour to play on as a pro, but may have solved that problem with a strong showing in early July in a Symetra Tour event.

Less than two weeks later, Ramsey scored her first professional victory, taking the Georgia Women’s Open at Brookfield Country Club in Roswell in dominating fashion.

Ramsey had no problems handling Brookfield’s rolling layout, which hosted an LPGA Tour event in the late 1970s and early 1980s, shooting 12-under 132 for 36 holes to win by seven. She fired a 7-under 65 the first day to lead by three, and followed with a 67 to increase her winning margin.

Since playing at Clemson, Ramsey and her family have settled in Greenville, S.C., but she was eligible to play in the Georgia Women’s Open thanks to a change in tournament regulations last year that allowed players from out of state to enter.

Ramsey competed in the tournament once as a junior, placing fifth in 2011 at Summer Grove. She returned to the event last month and put on a spectacular display of golf over two days. She birdied her first hole of the tournament and added consecutive birdies at holes 4, 5 and 6 to quickly get to 4-under.

Three more birdies on the back nine gave Ramsey a 65 and a 3-shot lead over defending champion Karen Paolozzi, an assistant at Druid Hills Golf Club, and Auburn signee Melanie Talbott of Woodstock.

Birdies at holes 2 and 4 expanded Ramsey’s lead to five, but Paolozzi closed within three with birdies at 8 and 9.

Paolozzi had a chance for a third straight birdie at the short par-4 10th, but missed the putt. Ramsey hit a pair of precise approach shots into 12 and 13 and birdied both par 4s to boost her lead back

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to five, and when Paolozzi threeputted the par-5 14th for par and pulled her tee shot into the water on the par-3 15th and took bogey, any doubts about Ramsey’s victory were settled.

Ramsey scored her fifth birdie of the day and 12th of the tournament on the 16th, coming within inches of holing her wedge approach to the par 5 on the fly. She did not make a bogey in two days and did not come close to one in the second round.

“It’s been a rough year-and-a-half game-wise,” Ramsey said after her victory. “But I stayed patient and was able to turn it around.”

Through 2012 and ‘13, Ramsey enjoyed a run of outstanding golf that landed her at the top of the world amateur rankings. She won three times during the summer of 2012 and was second twice, including a loss in the finals of the U.S. Public Links Championship.

Ramsey won a succession of tournaments in the summer of 2013, including the Women’s Western and Eastern Amateur titles, the Georgia Women’s Golf Association Championship and the GSGA Women’s Match Play Championship. She entered Clemson later that summer and in her first three college tournaments had a runner-up finish and two victories.

Although she was winless during Clemson’s spring schedule, she notched a second and a third and was named third team All-American. She was selected to the U.S. Curtis Cup team last year, going 1-1-1 in an American victory.

Ramsey turned pro after the Curtis Cup, but did not play especially well in four starts on the Symetra Tour and was hampered by an ailing back during qualifying for the LPGA Tour. She began 2015 with very limited status on the Symetra Tour and got into her first tournament over the July 4th weekend, shooting 69-71-66 to tie for 11th with a 10-under 206 total.

That result should get Ramsey into more Symetra events later this season, and give her a chance to display the promise she showed as a junior and amateur.

“It’s been a little more challenging that I thought,” Ramsey said of her first year as a pro, citing the amount of travel and planning required, along with the GEORGIA PGA

By Mike Blum

Ramsey was supported by several generations of family in the Georgia Women’s Open, with her grandparents traveling from Milledgeville, where Ramsey grew up. She collected $1600 for her victory.

Paolozzi, one of the country’s top female club professionals, was part of a three-way tie for second at 139 with scores of 69-70. Also shooting 139 was pro Jessica Welch of Lavonia and low amateur Jessica Haigwood of Roswell, one of three members of the Augusta State team to finish among the top seven.

Welch closed with a 69, playing her last 10 holes in 5y se Ashlan Ram under capped by an eagle at the par-5 18th. Haigwood, who played her high school golf at Brookfield, absence of a tour she can regularly com- was second for the third straight year, posting scores of 70-69. She shot 2-under pete on.

Ramsey was competing in the 33 on the front nine the final day with Michigan Women’s Open when she four birdies, but had just one birdie and learned she was going to play her first eight pars on the back nine.

Recent Vanderbilt golfer Kendall Symetra event of the season, which was also played in Michigan a few days later. Martindale, a rookie pro, was fifth at “I caught a break and played well,’ 140, with Augusta State’s Teresa Ramsey said. “I shot 69-72-66, and Caballer Hernani sixth at 141 after shooting those scores on a difficult course opening with a 69. Evans’ Eunice Yi of Evans, the third Augusta State golfer in definitely gave me some confidence.”

Ramsey admits she “has not played as the top 10, tied for seventh at 142, after well as I wanted to since I turned pro,” also shooting a 69 in the first round. She and her confidence has suffered as a was 2-under after 13 holes the second day, but made double bogeys on 14 and result.

After her play in the Symetra event in 16, both par 5s with hazards in play.

Also tying for seventh at 142 was Michigan and the Georgia Women’s Open, Ramsey has regained some of her Atlanta’s Emilie (Burger) Meason, who won the tournament in 2010 while lost confidence.

“Going into this week, everything was she was a member of the UGA women’s going where I was looking,” she said. “I team. Meason played briefly as a pro and always try to stay positive, and when you has since regained her amateur status. start with four birdies on your first six She shot 69 the second day without a bogey. holes, that relaxes you a little bit.”

Three-time champion Margaret Ramsey said she hit 17 of 18 greens in both rounds at Brookfield, “and that was Shirley of Atlanta tied for ninth at 143, huge for me. I’ve only been hitting 10, shooting a 70 the final day with birdies 11 or 12 greens a round, and it’s not easy at holes 10 and 18 along with 16 pars.

Shirley, the Executive Director of Atlanta to shoot good scores when you do that.”

Ramsey is also relieved that her back Junior Golf, is the 2014 U.S. Women’s issues have abated, and is looking for- Mid-Amateur champion.

Also tying for ninth at 143 was ward to LPGA Tour qualifying later this year. She received an invitation into the Alpharetta pro Melissa Siviter, who 2013 Kraft Nabisco and made the cut as played her college golf at Georgia State. an amateur, but has not played on the Former LPGA Tour player Angela Jerman-Ormsby of LaGrange made a tour as a pro.

“I know what I’m capable of and I return to competition after a few years absence, and was 11th at 70-74-144. won’t stop working until I get there.”

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Love wins Georgia Amateur at Sea Island GC Long birdie putt on 5th playoff hole earns title

By Mike Blum ru Love had several things

going for him coming into the 2015 Georgia Amateur Championship.

Love is the current club champion at Sea Island Golf Club, which hosted the Georgia Amateur on its Seaside course.

Russell Henley (Idle Hour, 2008) and recent Kennesaw State golfer Jimmy Beck (Pinetree, 2013), had recently won the event on their home or college course.

Lee Knox, a recent member of the U. of Alabama golf team, won the Georgia Amateur in 2010 and 2012. Love is a current member of the U. of Alabama team.

Both Knox and 2014 Georgia Amateur champion Robert Mize have fathers who are well known in Georgia golf circles. Love is the son of St. Simons resident Davis Love III. Love won the recent Georgia Amateur, becoming the third player in eight years to win on his home course, the third U. of Alabama golfer in six years to take the title and the fourth winner in that span with a famous golfing father.

It took Love 77 holes to win the tournament, as UGA golfer Greyson Sigg of Augusta battled Love for five holes in a playoff before Love holed a lengthy birdie putt on Seaside’s first hole to claim the championship.

Love, Sigg and Dalton State golfer Sean Elliott, a Sandy Springs resident and the recent NCAA Division II individual national champion, all finished at 8-under 272 for 72 holes. Elliott was eliminated from the playoff after making bogey on Seaside’s demanding par-4 18th, the first extra hole.

Both Sigg and Love parred the next three playoff holes – Nos. 1, 17 and 18 – before they returned to No. 1 for a second time and Love rolled in his long putt for a winning birdie. Sigg almost won the playoff two holes earlier, but Love scrambled for par on the par-3 17th and Sigg missed his birdie try from just outside 10 feet.

The 17th almost cost Love the title in regulation. Leading by two shots with two holes to play, Love hit his tee shot into tall grass in the sand dune long and right of the green and made double bogey after having to hit his second shot sideways.

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Dru Love

Love led the tournament from the opening round, taking a one-shot lead after an opening 66, expanding his advantage to two after a second round 67 and carding a third round 69 to lead by three.

Sigg and UGA teammate Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners were tied for second after 54 holes along with future UGA golfer Will Chandler of Atlanta. Sigg and Healy shared the lead at some point in the final round along with Elliott, who matched the low round of the tournament with a closing 67.

Healy and recent Mercer golfer Trey Rule of Eatonton tied for fourth at 273, one shot out of the playoff, with Chandler sixth at 274.

Love maintained the solo lead for most of the final round, but the tournament turned into a six-way battle for the top spot when Love started his round with 14 straight pars.

Healy and Chandler notched four birdies each on the front nine to close within one of Love’s lead. Healy pulled into a tie for first with a birdie at the 10th, but after making five birdies to that point, did not make another.

Chandler, who tied for second in the Georgia Amateur last year at Idle Hour, again closed within one when he birdied the 11th, his fifth in eight holes after beginning the final round with back-to-

back bogeys. He had six birdies on the day, but also had five bogeys and never got closer than two shots of Love down the stretch.

Elliott pulled even with Love and Healy with a birdie at the 14th, his fourth in seven holes and sixth of the day.

He parred in from there and was the first player to post 8-under, but trailed Love by two after the rising junior at Alabama ended his par streak with consecutive birdies at 15 and 16.

The two birdies got Love to 10-under, two ahead of Elliott and Healy and three in front of Sigg, Rule and Chandler. Like Chandler, Rule tied for second at Idle Hour last year, but appeared to shoot himself out of contention at Seaside when he made double bogey on the 10th to fall six shots behind Love.

Rule responded with a sensational fivehole stretch of golf highlighted by a hole-in-one on the long, par-3 12th. The ace and birdies at holes 11, 14 and 15 got him to 7-under for the tournament, but three straight pars left him with a 66 and a tie for fourth.

The 17th turned out to be a pivotal hole for most of the contender. Love’s double bogey cost him the outright lead, but Chandler and Healy both bogeyed the hole. Healy shot 68 and Chandler 69 the final day, with Love settling for a 70 with no bogeys.

The one player to take full advantage of Love’s late slip was Sigg, who birdied the 17th to erase a three-shot deficit on one hole. It was his fifth birdie of the day and gave him a share of the lead and a 67 after a par at the 18th.

Two local players finished seventh and Williamson of eighth. Travis Brunswick, who played his college golf at Armstrong Atlantic and has been a frequent contender in the Georgia Amateur in recent years, was seventh at 276 with a final round 67. Scott Wolfes of St. Simons, who recently concluded an outstanding career at Georgia Southern, tied for eighth at 277 after closing with a 66.

Wolfes, among the pre-tournament favorites, was 8-under for his last 33 holes, but could not get anything going the first two days and got off to a rocky start in the third round.

Also tying for eighth was Tim Arnoult of Decatur. Tying for 10th at 278 was Savannah’s Doug Hanzel, the state’s top senior amateur, and junior Benjamin Shipp of Duluth. Tying for 12th at 279 were UGA golfer Parker Derby of Columbus, Roswell’s Shea Sylvester, recent Georgia PGA Junior champion Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs, and Duluth’s Gus Wagoner, who recently completed his college career at Georgia State after playing previously at Armstrong Atlantic.

Recent GSGA Junior champion S.M. Lee of Buford was next at 280, with twotime Georgia Amateur champion David Noll of Dalton tying for 17th at 281.

Noll closed with a 64 that included birdies on seven of his final 11 holes, including the last four in succession.

David Kleckner of Johns Creek, a 2014 U.S. Amateur qualifier at Atlanta Athletic Club, also tied for 17th.

Georgia State golfer Nathan Mallonee of Lexington tied for 19th at 282, beginning the tournament two days after placing second in a Georgia PGA event at Berkeley Hills. Mallonee shot 66 in the second round after an opening 76.

Also tying for 19th was Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston, one of the state’s top junior golfers, and Jake Fendt of Suwanee.

Defending champion Robert Mize of Columbus was next at 283 along with Billy Johns of Johns Creek.

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Love took the opening round lead at 66 by shooting 31 on the back nine with an eagle on the par-5 15th helping offset a double bogey on the seventh following an errant tee shot. Derby was 4-under after six holes and shot 67, with Williamson and Kleckner next at 68.

Sigg, Mize and Schniederjans were among those at 69, with Schniederjans leading after the morning wave.

After beginning his second round with 10 straight pars, Love birdied four of his last eight for a 66 to take the second round lead at 7-under 133. Healy was next at 135 after a 64, shooting 30 on the front nine with an eagle at the seventh. A bogey at the 18th cost him a possible 63.

Shipp was third at 136 after a 66, with Rule matching Healy’s 64 for a 137 total along with Sylvester and Lee, who both shot 67. Chandler carded a 64 and was

Zach Johnson [ Continued from page 8 ]

This time, Johnson was more than ready to compete at the Class AAA level, and responded with one of the best seasons in the 25-year history of the PGA Tour’s developmental circuit.

Johnson placed third, first and fourth in his first three starts of the season and went on to lead the tour in earnings with two wins, four runner-up finishes (including three in consecutive weeks) and a trio of third place showings. He made almost $500,000, a tour record that stood for a number of years, and quickly established himself as a PGA Tour rookie, winning the BellSouth

Playoffs

[ Continued from page 14 ]

being outside the top 30 before a tie for seventh in Canada moved him up from 34 to 27.

Four other Georgians were in the top 50 and in position to make a run at earning a spot in the field at East Lake.

Jason Bohn, who has never finished in the top 60 in the final FedExCup standings, was 36th thanks to a pair of runner-up finishes this season.

Three ex-Bulldogs were also among the top 50, with Russell Henley (42) and Brendon Todd (46) looking to return to East Lake for a second straight year. Harris English (43) is looking for his first Tour Championship appearance, narrowly missing each of the past two years, ending up 31st in 2013 and 32nd last year.

Just outside the top 50 was Phil 2015 AUGUST

tied for seventh at 138 with a group that included Sigg, Kleckner and Schniederjans, the lone player in the top 10 after 36 holes who did not play in the late Thursday/early Friday half of the field.

Love went out in 2-over in the third round to fall into a tie for the lead with Sigg, but regained control of the tournament after three birdies in a four-hole stretch on the back nine. His 69 gave him a three-stroke lead over Sigg and Chandler, who both shot 67, and Healy, who matched par of 70. Wagoner was next at 206 after a 66, with Rule, Arnoult, Sylvester and Schniederjans, who shot a third straight 69, next at 207.

Elliott moved into contention with a 65 and went on to shoot 129 the final two rounds after opening scores of 74 and 69.

Classic in his ninth start in 2004.

In the first eight seasons of the FedExCup, Johnson has been among the final top 10 three times and the top 20 three other times. His British Open title moved him up to sixth this year, and was his eighth top 10 of the season, including a T9 in the Masters.

Johnson is virtually assured a spot in this year’s Tour Championship at East Lake, where he holds the course and tournament record with a 60 in 2007.

Off the course, Johnson is known for his charitable work in his home town of Cedar Rapids, and played a key role in the creation of the PGA Tour event in his adopted home town of St. Simons Island.

McGladrey, one of Johnson’s sponsors, is the tournament’s title sponsor.

Mickelson, the only player to win twice at East Lake. Mickelson missed the Tour Championship for the first time last year since the FedExCup was introduced in 2007. He was no lower than 15th in each of the first seven seasons of the FedExCup, but was 68th last year.

The remainder of the Georgia contingent was in good shape late in the season, but will need a strong finish to make it past the first few Playoffs events. Among that group was veteran Charles Howell (76), who is in danger of missing all four major championships. Howell was not in the PGA Championship as of the end of July, and was around $200,000 behind the 70th spot on the money list used to determine the remaining spots in the tournament field.

Players like Keegan Bradley, Hunter Mahan, Adam Scott and Lee Westwood were outside the top 60 with four weeks left, with Westwood outside the top 100.

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Chip Shots

Rivermont head professional Matthew Evans was the first player to reach the semifinals of the Georgia PGA Match Play Championship, which will conclude August 24 at Peachtree Golf Club.

The four semifinalists will play that morning, with the winners competing for the championship that afternoon, with Standard Club instructor Tim Weinhart joining Evans in the semifinals. Two quarterfinal matches had yet to be played as of early August. Players had until August 14 to play their quarterfinal match.

Evans, seeded fifth in the 64-player field, reached the semifinals with a 4&3 victory over 2010 champion David Potts of Country Club of the South. It was the easiest match of the tournament for Evans, who needed 19 holes to get past Brian Corn of Peachtree GC in the second round and won 1-up in the third round over No. 12 seed Michael Parrott of Brookfield CC. This will be the second time Evans has reached the semifinals. He has made it to at least the quarterfinals four times the last five years, losing in the semifinals at the UGA course in Athens in 2011.

Evans will play either top seed Sonny Skinner or No. 9 Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods in the semifinals. Skinner won the bracket of Georgia PGA members from the Central chapter, defeating No. 16 Todd Ormsby of Highland CC in LaGrange 1-up in the third round. After winning his first two matches easily, Lee needed 21 holes to get past No. 8 Clark Spratlin of Currahee Club, who has won the tournament three times.

Skinner won the Match Play Championship at Callaway Gardens in 2006, the first year he began competing full-time in Georgia PGA events. He has gotten past the quarterfinals just once since, reaching the semifinals in 2010 at UGA before losing to Potts.

Lee won the Match Play Championship in 2007, also at Callaway Gardens, and lost in the championship match in 2001 and again last year. He has reached the semifinals three other times, losing to eventual champion Weinhart in 2005 and ’11.

Weinhart, a three-time champion including back-to-back titles in 2011 and ’12, is seeded second and defeated

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Evans advances in Match Play

Sonny Skinner defending champion Brian Dixon 4&3.

Weinhart reached the quarterfinals with a 2&1 win over Danny Elkins of Georgia Golf Center in the third round. Dixon, an instructor at Fox Creek, got past former champion Gregg Wolff of Willow Lake on the 19th hole in the first round, and defeated Eric Reeves of Capital City Club 2&1 in the third round.

In addition to his three tournament titles, Weinhart has reached the finals twice and the semifinals on two other occasions. Dixon had lost in the third round eight straight years before winning last year at Peachtree, defeating Evans in the quarterfinals, former champion Craig Stevens in the semifinals and Lee in the championship match.

The other quarterfinal matched 19th seed Bill Murchison of Towne Lake Hills against No. 22 Mark Anderson of Brunswick CC. Murchison won 3&2 in the second round over No. 14 Seth McCain of Jennings Mill and knocked out thirdseeded Kyle Owen of Dunwoody CC 1-up in the third round. Anderson won the East Chapter portion of the bracket, edging Drew Pittman on the 19th hole in the first round and defeating Patrick Richardson of Wilmington Island Club 3&2 in the third round.

Murchison has made it to at least the third round each of the last five years, reaching the semifinals in 2013. Anderson lost in the finals to Spratlin in 2004, but did not make it to the third round again until this year.

Skinner a winner in Bent Tree event Sonny Skinner won a Georgia PGA senior Division event last month at Bent Tree CC, posting scores of 67 and 71 for a 6-under 138 total and a 6-stroke victory over Georgia Golf Center head pro Danny Elkins.

John Crumbley of Mystery Valley, Steve Ridge of West Pines and amateurs Bill Leonard and Ernie Venet tied for third at 145. Ridge and Venet were tied for second behind Skinner after opening with scores of 69. Amateurs Scotty Scott, John Foster and Hal Lamb tied for seventh at 146, with Craig Stevens of Brookstone G&CC 10th at 147 and fifth among the pros.

Skinner made recent appearances in two of the Champions Tour majors, narrowly missing the cut in both the U.S. Senior Open and British Senior Open.

White, Reeves win at Callaway Gardens

The SwingThought.com (formerly Hooters) Tour played several recent events at Callaway Gardens, with two Atlanta area residents and recent Georgia Tech golfers winning separate tournaments.

James White of Acworth shot a 66 to win a one day event, finishing one ahead of Jay McLuen of Forsyth and two in front of Seth Reeves of Duluth.

Reeves, White’s former teammate at Georgia Tech, shot 64 to win a scheduled 36-hole tournament that was reduced to 18 holes due to inclement weather. White was fourth at 68 and McLuen tied for fifth at 69 along with Charlie Martin of LaGrange.

Former Auburn golfer Will McCurdy won a 54-hole tournament at Callaway Gardens, shooting 17-under 199 highlighted by a second round 59. Chris Wolfe of Warner Robins was second at 205, with Savannah’s Drew Aimone tying for third at 206. Recent UGA golfer Keith Mitchell tied for fifth at 205 and Reeves was seventh at 207.

In a recent SwingThought.com event at Achasta GC in Dahlonega, recent UGA golfer T.J. Mitchell of Albany shot 16under 200 to win a 54-hole tournament.

Mitchell was tied for the lead after 36 holes with opening scores of 68 and 64, and shot 68 the final day to win by one over Aimone, who shot 64 and 67 the final two days.

Mitchell birdied holes 13, 14, 15 and 16 in succession each of the final two rounds after three straight birdies at 13, 14 and 15 in the opening round. For the tournament, Mitchell had 11 of a possible 12 birdies on Achasta’s four par 5s.

Rookie pro Anders Albertson of Woodstock was third at 202, closing with scores of 66 and 65. The recent Georgia Tech graduate birdied four of the last five holes in the final round. Keith Mitchell tied for seventh at 208 along with recent UGA golfer Mookie DeMoss of Duluth and Bryan Fox of Roswell.

The tour has four tournaments scheduled in August, including Aug. 19-22 at the River Club in North Augusta, S.C., which is directly across the Savannah River from downtown Augusta. The tour also plays at Okefenokoee CC in Waycross Sept.

23-26. eGolf Tour: Augusta’s Dykes Harbin placed second in a recent eGolf Tour event in Concord, N.C. Harbin shot 63-69-70 for a 14-under 202 total to finish four behind the winner and earn $7215. Chase Parker of Augusta tied for ninth at 208, and recent Georgia Tech golfer Bo Andrews tied for 11th at 209 with recent UGA golfer Michael Cromie.

Reynolds in top 25 on Symetra Tour

Newnan’s Jean Reynolds is 24th on the Symetra Tour money list after a recent string of strong showings. Reynolds placed fifth in a tour event in Michigan last month, her fourth finish of 12th or better this season, highlighted by an earlier tie for second in Sarasota, Fla. Reynolds shot 64 in the final round of the Michigan tournament to finish three shots behind the winner, and was two shots out of first place in Sarasota.

Reynolds has two victories during her years on the Symetra Tour.

Lacey Agnew of Jonesboro also has a runner-up finish on the Symetra Tour this year and was 33rd on the money list as of late July. Agnew shot 10-under for 54 holes in a tournament in Asheville, N.C., in May to tie for second in that event.

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Armstrong takes Dogwood; Healy ties for fifth

D

awson Armstrong, a soph-

omore at Lipscomb College in Tennessee, lost in a playoff for the final qualifying spot in last month’s Dogwood Invitational, but got into the field as an alternate.

Armstrong took advantage of his opportunity, winning the rain-shortened tournament by two shots with a 16under 200 total. Armstrong posted scores of 67-66-67, taking a one-shot lead after 36 holes and maintaining his slim advantage with seven birdies over his final 12 holes.

Ashton Van Horne, who also plays his college golf in Tennessee at Belmont, was second at 202, also closing with a 67.

Van Horne was 7-under after 15 holes and led by one, but made double bogey

at the short, par-4 16th to drop behind Armstrong, who clinched his win with a birdie at the par-5 18th.

South Africa’s Paul Boshoff and incoming Oklahoma freshman Brad Dalke tied for third at 203, with Boshoff’s 65 the low score of the final round.

Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners, a member of the UGA golf team, birdied three of his last six holes for a final round 68 and tied for fifth at 205.

Tying for eighth at 208 were Druid Hills member Phillip Verlander, Georgia State golfers Damon Stephenson and Davin White and Sandy Springs’ Sean Elliott, who won the NCAA Division II Championship for Dalton State.

Verlander shot 66 in the final round, playing his final nine holes in 6-under with consecutive birdies at holes 14, 15, 16

AMATEUR Roundup

and 17. Stephenson closed with a 67, with Elliott and White shooting a final round 69. White, from Locust Grove and a recent Georgia State graduate, won the Georgia PGA Championship at Berkeley Hills a few days after the Dogwood ended.

Atlanta junior Will Chandler and Alpharetta’s Zach Jaworski, who plays his college golf at Vanderbilt, tied for 15th at 208. Chandler was 7-under over his last 12 holes and shot a final round 66. Jaworski opened with a 65 to trail Van Horne and recent Armstrong Atlantic golfer Shad Tuten by one after 18 holes, but was only 1-under par the final two days.

Healy was tied for fifth at 66, with recent Georgia Southern golfer Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island next at 67.

Wolfes ended up tied for 20th at 209 with Watkinsville’s Kyle Mueller, a member of the golf team at Michigan.

Armstrong was the second round leader at 133 after a 66, with Dalke second at 134. Mueller, Healy and Jaworski were tied for sixth at 138.

The scheduled third round was rained out, with the final round played on July 4th.

Georgians qualify for U.S. Amateur

USGA

Zach Healy

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Eight Georgia golfers earned spots in this month’s U.S. Amateur Championship, which will be played August 17-23 at Olympia Fields in Chicago.

Chris Guglielmo of Cumming, a member of the Kennesaw State golf team, was medalist at the Capital City Club’s Crabapple Course, posting a 9under 131 total with scores of 65-66.

Suwanee’s Jacob Fendt, an incoming freshman at Kennesaw State, was second at 64-68—132.

Jake Harpe of Griffin, who plays at Valdosta State, shot 66-67—133 to take third, with Georgia Tech golfer Vincent Whaley fourth at 69-65—134. Zach Jaworski was the first alternate with scores of 67-68—135. Buford’s S.M. Lee, one of the state’s top juniors, lost a playoff for second alternate after scores of 70-66—136.

Kyle Mueller was the medalist at Horseshoe Bend with scores of 70 and 65 for a 7-under 135 total. UGA golfer Sepp Straka of Valdosta was second at

65-71—136, followed by incoming Georgia Tech freshman Tye Waller of Griffin and Zach Healy, who both shot 65-72—137 to get the final two spots.

Several Georgia golfers earned medalist honors in qualifiers outside the state. Shad Tuten of Elberton was first at Amelia Island, Fla., with a 134 total, Clemson golfer Billy Kennerly of Alpharetta also shot 134 to finish first in Rockville, Md., and Chris Harris of Atlanta was the medalist in St. Louis at 141.

Also qualifying out of state was Georgia Tech’s Chris Petefish in California and Augusta State’s Maverick Antcliff in North Carolina.

Clark captures Eastern Amateur

Georgia Tech golfer James Clark of Columbus won the recent Eastern Amateur played in Portsmouth, Va., scoring a birdie on the 18th hole of the final round to get into a playoff, which he won with a birdie on the second extra hole over New York’s Danny Yustin, who shot a final round 62.

Clark finished with a 12-under 198 total, leading by two after 36 holes with scores of 68 and 64. He closed with a 66, making his only bogey of the tournament on the 16th hole before his clutch birdie at the 18th.

Southern Amateur: Georgia Southern senior Henry Mabbett of Griffin and recent Georgia Tech golfer Drew Czuchry of Auburn were the top Georgia finishers in the recent Southern Amateur at Old Waverly in Mississippi.

Both players shot final round 69s for a 5-under 279 total to tie for 12th, six shots behind winner Taylor Funk. Zach Healy tied for 18th at 280.

Tardy takes title in North & South

Incoming Georgia freshman Bailey Tardy of Norcross won the recent North & South Women’s Amateur in Pinehurst, N.C., defeating three of the top four seeds in the final three rounds.

Tardy tied for seventh in stroke play qualifying at 225, shooting 71 in the final round. She won her opening match 3&2, and scored a 2&1 victory in the quarterfinals against the No. 2 seed, who AUGUST 2015

Bailey Tardy

AMERICAN JUNIOR GOLF ASSOCIATION

was the 2014 runner-up.

In the semifinals, Tardy defeated the No. 3 seeded and 2013 North & South junior champion, and won the championship match on the 20th hole against Californian Bethany Wu, the No. 1ranked junior and an incoming freshman at UCLA. Tardy was 2-down with two holes to play, but won both with pars to force extra holes, and holed a 15-footer for par on the second extra hole for the win.

Riverdale’s Mariah Stackhouse, a senior at Stanford, and Roswell’s Rinko Mitsunaga, like Tardy an incoming

2015 AUGUST

freshman at Georgia, also qualified for match play, but both lost in the first round.

Tardy also reached match play in the Women’s Western Amateur in Nashville, winning her first two matches 3&2 and 1-up before losing 1-up in the third round. Mitsunaga reached the second round of match play, while St. Simons’ Mary Ellen Shuman qualified for match play, losing her opening round match 1-up.

Women’s Amateur qualifying: Laurel Springs hosted a recent qualifier for the US. Women’s Amateur, with Georgia golfers earning six of 11 qualifying spots for the Championship, which will be played August 10-16 in Portland, Ore. Bailey Tardy was the medalist with a 5-under 66, followed by Rinko Mitsunaga at 68. St. Simons’ Katy Harris and Milton’s Rachel Dai tied for third at 69, with Amanda Doherty of Atlanta fifth at 70. Emilie (Burger) Meason of Alpharetta shot 72 and won a 5-way playoff for the final qualifying spot. Janet Mao of Johns Creek is the first alternate, and Sydney Needham of Villa Rica and Payton Schanen of Milton also shot 72.

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Golf FORE Juniors Madison among GPGA Jr. winners The Georgia PGA Junior Tour held three tournaments last month at Stone Mountain GC, the UGA course and Doublegate CC, along with a pair of one day events at TPC Sugarloaf and East Lake.

K.J. Smith of Sandy Springs shot 7371—144 to win the boys title at Stone Mountain’s Stonemont course. Alexander Quinn of Grayson shot 70-76—146 to place 2nd in the 16-18 age group. Candler Murphy of Bishop was the 14-15 winner at 77-71—148, with Wesley Heston of Atlanta 2nd at 150. Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek was 1st in the 11-13 division at 73-78—151 followed by Will Stakel of Duluth and Michael Dotson of Cumming at 156.

The girls winner was Christine McDonnell of Suwanee at 75-76—151, four ahead of Alpharetta’s Alejandra Ayala. Tori Owens of Chatsworth shot 169 to take the 11-14 division.

Cole Madison of Evans was the boys winner at UGA with scores of 70-74—144.

Tanner Merck of Gainesville and Corey Chrzanowski of Suwanee tied for 2nd in the 16-18 division at 149. Isaac Samples of Loganville (75-72—147) edged William Kang of Suwanee (73-75—148) in boys 14-15. Stakel (73-76—149) won the 11-13 age group by three over Cumming’s Peyton Balent.

Carol Pyon of Macon shot 77-70—147 to win the girls division by 10 over McDonnell and Emily Haigwood of Roswell.

At Doublegate in Albany, Charles Stroud of Macon was the boys winner, shooting 71-77—148, with Blackshear’s Jake Harvard 2nd at 155. J.W. Griffin of Moultrie was the 14-15 winner at 158, with Brantley Baker of Albany the 11-13 winner with scores of 83-78—161.

Graham Phillips of Albany and Tyler Cotton of Atlanta tied for 2nd at 165.

Kiely Morrison of Woodstock shot 72 to win a one-day Summer Series event at Sugarloaf, with Ryan Hines of Woodstock and Jaden Hall of Newnan tying for 2nd at 75 in the 16-18 age group. Samples was the 14-15 winner with a 74, one ahead of Kang. Deven Patel of Locust Grove shot 73 to win 11-13 by two over Liam Shinn of Norcross and Bruce Murphy.

Buford’s Tess Davenport shot 76 to place 1st among the girls, three ahead of Duluth’s Louise Yu. Madison shot 2-under 70 to win the

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Cole Madison

Carol Pyon

one-day event at East Lake. Quinn and Hudson Huber of Tyrone tied for second at 72. Walker Hinds of Midland and Walker Winslette of Canton tied for first in the 14-15 age group at 78, with Jack Vajda of Canton 3rd at 79. Stakel was the 11-13 winner with a 71, seven ahead of Patel.

Allie Fletcher of Cumming won the girls division by nine shots with a 79, with Sanders Hinds of Midland the 11-14 winner at 89.

Ralston wins 2 in U.S. Junior

Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston reached the third round of last month’s U.S. Junior Amateur, with Atlanta’s Will Chandler also winning a match before losing in the second round. Alpharetta’s Chandler Eaton, who shot 65 in the second round of stroke play qualifying to tie for 19th at 144, lost his opening match.

Ralston tied for 31st in qualifying at 146 and won his first two matches by scores of 2&1 and 3&2. He birdied his first three holes in the opening round to go 2-up, and then won holes 15 and 16 after his opponent had tied the match. He scored a pair of early birdies in the second round to lead 3-up after 4, and pulled away with birdies at 12 and 14 after his lead was reduced to one hole.

In the third round, Ralston battled back from 3-down after seven, winning holes 15 and 16 to square the match before losing 1-up when he lost the 18th hole to a local golfer who lost the championship match on the first playoff hole.

Chandler, who had to survive a playoff to advance from stroke play qualifying, won his opening match 2&1 before losing by the same score in the second round to the eventual champion. Chandler was all square after eight holes but never led in the match.

David Mackey of Watkinsville was also in the playoff at 150, but did not make it to match play.

Milanowski, Hogan win AJGA events

Jake Milanowski of Peachtree City won an American Junior Golf Association tournament at Jones Creek outside Augusta , scoring a birdie to win on the first hole of a playoff. Milanowski hit his second shot to three feet on the difficult par-4 18th for

a winning birdie minutes after a poor drive on the hole led to a double bogey that cost him a victory in regulation.

Milanowski, who was 3rd in the E-Z-GO Vaughn Taylor Championship last year, shot 70-70-74 for a 2-under 214 total.

Daniel Fienemann, also from Peachtree City, was one back after 36 holes but matched Milanowski’s closing 74 to place 3rd.

Andrew Chong of nearby Grovetown tied for 4th at 216, with a double bogey at the 17th costing him a possible spot in the playoff. Also tying for 4th was Albany’s Bill Sharpe, who led by three after a 67 in the opening round and shared the lead with Milanowski after 36 holes. Sharpe made double bogey on the 16th the final day.

Roswell’s JonErik Alford closed with scores of 69-71 to tie for 7th at 217. Local golfers Hunter Dunagan and Alex Shead tied for 11th at 219 with Canton’s Kevin Burns, who was one shot off the lead after a second round 69.

Alissa Yang of Norcross tied for 3rd among the girls at 224, four behind the winner. Elizabeth Reedy of Marietta and Madison Barnett of Mableton tied for 4th at 229, and Amanda Doherty of Atlanta and Lauren Lightfritz of Suwanee tied for 6th at 230. Local golfer Sarah Harrison of Martinez tied for 9th at 236.

Doherty placed 2nd in an AJGA event in Oak Ridge, Tenn., shooting 8-under 208 with scores of 71-66-71, finishing one behind the winner.

Thomas Hogan of St. Simons Island won an AJGA Junior All-Star event in Columbia, S.C., by six shots with a 4-under 209 total, posting scores of 71-70-68.

Hogan trailed Andy Mao of Johns Creek by two after the first round, but moved ahead by three after 36 holes and expanded his lead the final day.

Preston Topper of Suwanee tied for 3rd at 216, with Mao rebounding from a poor second round to shoot 71 the final day and tie for 7th at 217. Also tying for 7th

was Nicolas Cassidy of Johns Creek.

Jenny Bae of Lawrenceville placed second among the girls at 219, two shots behind the winner. Bae led by one after scores of 71-71 the first two days, but fell back in a final round in which no player shot lower than 73. Skylar Thompson of Buford, who qualified for the U.S. Girls Championship but did not advance to match play, finished 8th at 228.

Leiko Niwano of Duluth tied for second in the girls division of the Davis Love Junior at Sea Island Golf Club’s Plantation Course, finishing five shots behind the winner with a 2-over 218 total. Austin Fulton of Villa Rica, who won an AJGA event the previous month, was 5th among the boys at 3under 213, four behind the champion.

Hunter Dunagan tied for 9th at 217.

Fulton also tied for 7th in Oak Ridge at 7-under 209, four behind the winner.

In other recent AJGA tournaments: Three Georgians tied for 5th in Owensboro, Ky., with totals of 5-under 211, four behind the winner. Connor Coffee and Jackson Lawlor, both of Peachtree City, shot matching 67s in the final round, while Mao closed with a 69. Keagan Dunn of Buford was 6th among the girls at 226.

Brady Keron of Canton tied for 6th and Robert Shaw of Cumming tied for 8th in Huntsville, Ala. Thompson was 9th in the girls division.

Golob, Floyd win Harbor Club event

Jake Golob of Nicholson and Crockett Floyd of Bogart were the winners of a Southeastern Junior Tour event in July at the Harbor Club.

Golob shot 72-71—143 to win the boys division by two over Caleb Jensen of Woodstock, who led after an opening 69.

Takefumi Shimoji of Suwanee was the 14-15 winner at 74-72—146, one ahead of Atlanta’s Owen Burden. Sam Barrett of

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Thomasville shot 74-72—146 to finish two in front of Gainesville’s Joe Carter in 12-13.

Floyd was the girls winner at 83-78—161.

Nicolas Cassidy shot 70-69—139 to win the boys 14-15 division in the Junior Dogwood at Druid Hills GC. Cassidy was 2nd overall among the boys. Preston Topper was 2nd in 14-15 at 141 and Ben Huckaby of Bishop was 2nd in 16-19 at 143. Isabel Rijos of Columbus was 2nd among the girls at 153.

Georgia juniors win at Pinetree, UGA

Georgia juniors scored victories in two Hurricane Junior Tour events last month at Pinetree CC and UGA. At Pinetree, Connor Pollman of Cumming shot 69-74—143 to win the boys division by one over Wesley Hanson of Macon, Hunter Fry of Dacula and Zack

Schniederjans [ Continued from page 12 ]

With the exemptions into two of golf’s four majors, Schniederjans delayed turning pro for about six weeks following the completion of his senior season.

“I really wanted these experiences in two majors,” he said. “I’m absolutely thrilled that I decided to do that. I think it’s developed my game. I think it’s developed me, incredible experiences.

I’ve become really comfortable around all these guys.”

After the British Open ended on Monday, he flew to Toronto and made his debut as a pro on Thursday. He shot 1under 71 in the opening round, rallying with four birdies on the front nine for a 3-under 32 after shooting 2-over on his opening nine with four bogeys. He was outside the cut line after 10 holes Friday,

White

[ Continued from page 18 ]

himself out of contention early in the final round with a pair of bogeys, but was 3-under over his last 15 holes for a 71.

Tying for fifth at 140 was pro David Ward of White Columns and amateur Ted Moon, who recently completed his college career at Belmont. Ward closed with a 67 highlighted by eight birdies, with Moon among the first day leaders at 68. After a rough first nine the final day, he carded four birdies coming in.

Georgia PGA pros Mark Anderson of Brunswick Country Club, Brian Dixon 2015 AUGUST

Zediker of Macon. Noah Zediker of Macon shot 152 to win the 13-14 division by one over Dacula’s Shyam Joshi. Jake Peacock of Alpharetta was an easy winner in the 11-12 age group.

Heather Kipniss of Alpharetta shot 161 to win the girls division, with Liza Eubanks of Peachtree City the 11-14 winner at 156.

At the UGA course, Alex Ross of Atlanta shot a second round 68 to win the boys division by one over Caleb Jensen with a 145 total. Noah Zediker was the 13-14 winner by eight at 147. Myles Jones of Suwanee won a playoff in 11-12 at 149 over Bruce Murphy.

Louise Yu was the girls winner at 154, three ahead of Kelly Strickland, Tess Davenport and Emily Haigwood.

Strickland also won a HJGT event last month in Muscle Shoals, Ala., with a score of 153. Adrian Hopkins of Lawrenceville was the 11-14 winner at UGA with a 163 total.

but birdied three of his last seven for a 69 to make the cut by two at 4-under 140.

Schniederjans moved into contention with a third round 66, surviving back-toback bogeys on the back nine that could have derailed his efforts. He was 5-under after 11 thanks to a hot putter and a few quality par saves, but an errant drive and a 3-putt led to the bogeys. He closed out his round with a 2-putt birdie on the par5 16th, followed by two more birdie putts on 17 and 18, and was just outside the top 10 going to the final day.

With four birdies on his first six holes Sunday, Schniederjans was 13-under for the tournament and within a few shots of the leaders before bogeys on his next four holes dropped him down the leader board. A double bogey and a bogey followed later on the back nine, but he got up-and-down for birdie on both the par 5s for birdies coming in, salvaging a 73 that included seven birdies, six bogeys

East team takes GSGA Sectional

Catherine McDaniel, W, and Rillian West, NW, 73. Girls 11-U: Emma Chen. E, and Audrey Davis, W, 82.

The East team won the GSGA’s annual Junior Sectional Challenge Match, played last month at Southern Hills in Hawkinsville. The team had 58 points to finish ahead of the West team (48.6) and the Southeast team (48.3). Southwest (45) was 4th followed by the team from the Middle section with 39.8. The Northwest and Northeast teams were 6th and 7th.

Age group results: Boys 12-13: Taylor Sweat, SE, 77-67— 144; Henry Jones, E, 69-76—145. Boys 14-15: Brent Hamm, M, 74-72—146; Isaac Samples, NE, 76-73—149. Boys 16-18: Andrew Duffie, E, 75-74—149; Hunter Courtney, SW, 73-80—153. Girls 14-18: Carol Pyon, M, 67—67—134; Elizabeth Funderburk, SW, 79-71—150.

(9-holes) Boys 11-U: Ballou Phillips, M, 66; Reed Lotter, SE, 71. Girls 12-13: Mary

Teams representing the GSGA split the Georgia-South Carolina Challenge matches, with the boys winning 8 ½ - 7 ½ in Bluffton, S.C., and the girls losing 12 ½ 11 ½ at Palmetto GC in Aiken, S.C. JonErik Alford went 2-0 for the GSGA boys, with Luukas Alakulppi, Will Chandler and Ryan Hines going 1-0-1.

Hunter Dunagan split his two matches and Grant Sutliff halved both his matches.

Payton Schanen led the GSGA girls with 5 ½ points in her two matches. Lauren Lightfritz, Alissa Yang and Melanie Talbott totaled two points each.

and a double, which resulted from a missed green and a 3-putt from 20 feet.

Schniederjans finished tied for 22nd at 9-under, earning $46,200 and 43.5 FedExCup points. To qualify for the Web.com Tour Finals, which will give him a chance to earn a PGA Tour card for

the 2015-16 season, Schniederjans will need to finish the season with a little more than 100 points and finish among the top 200. Schniederjans tied for 15th the next week in suburban D.C. to earn $114,000 and 55 points to move into the top 200.

GSGA teams split with S. Carolina

of Fox Creek and Chris Nicol of Georgia Golf Center tied for seventh at 141, Anderson shot a final round 68 while Nicol, a former winner of the event, and Dixon both opened with 68s.

Five players tied for 10th at 142, including Berkeley Hills member Hector Cora. Also finishing at 142 were Highland Country Club head pro Todd Ormsby, Chris Cartwright of West Pines, Brett Whitehead of Capital City Club and Champions Tour member James Mason. Ormsby closed with a 69, Cora and Cartwright both shot 70 the final day and Mason had an up-anddown 72 that included four straight birdies from holes 9 to 12.

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2015 AUGUST

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