September 2015 FORE Georgia Magazine

FOREGEORGIA.COM

«

«

GEORGIAPGA.COM

SEPTEMBER 2015

Preview

TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Formerly endangered Lion thriving again Small town club has mixed, colorful history

By Mike Blum

ike its rolling terrain, The Lion Golf Club in Bremen has had its ups and downs since it opened in 2001, but remains one of the best courses in the state located in a relatively small community, and is enjoying one of its busiest years since making its debut 14 years ago.

The course has a colorful, if somewhat tragic history, dating back to before it opened. The course was originally designed to be a municipal facility, but local politics intervened and almost put an end to the project

L

before it could be completed.

A group opposed to the construction of the course shut off its water supply during the growing in phase, but The Lion survived thanks to the efforts of a local couple.

Ed and Jane Newbern, who had loaned the city money to get the project going, took over ownership of the course and completed its construction, but not without some personal tragedy.

Georgia-based golf course architect Arthur Davis died during the latter stages of The Lion’s development, with his son Lee overseeing the remainder of the work to get the course ready for play.

Not long after The Lion opened, Ed Newbern passed away, with his widow running the course before she died in 2010. The next few years were not the best ones for The Lion, which closed early in 2013.

Fortunately for its local and area regulars, The Lion wasn’t out of commission for long, re-opening in March of 2013 after sitting idle for just 2 ½ months. A trio of local residents assumed ownership of the club, and quickly got things

up and running.

Lion assistant professional Jake Ledford, who was with the club when it re-opened, says The Lion is having its best year since its brief interlude.

“Things are great,” Ledford said.

“Business is up, the course is in good shape and ownership is good. People around here are glad we re-opened.”

Ledford says The Lion gets the bulk of its play from the nearby communities of Douglasville and Carrollton, along with a decent amount of visitors from metro Atlanta. The course is located just a mile north of I-20 off exit 11 (U.S. 27) and is [ See The Lion, page 6 ]

.com

Crossword Puzzle Page 30

2

FOREGEORGIA.COM

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

3

Instruction Fore You

P R E S E N T E D BY

More effort on short game will produce better scores

By J.R. Ross

PGA Director of Golf Dogwood Golf Club The average golfer hits less than 6 greens in regulation. Translation, you will have 12 holes where you have less than a full shot into the green. Every day golfers spend countless hours at the practice range in pursuit of a perfect golf swing - knowing in reality this does not exist. If only the same amount of time and effort was put into perfecting your short game, you would see many strokes drop off your handicap. Hopefully this article will give you some structure and ideas on how to improve your chipping and pitching.

The Motion

In the short chipping and pitching motions there is limited time to make compensations in your swing so they demand more exactness than a full swing.

Brute strength and club head speed aren't as important as touch and feel.

The good news is that, with practice and sound fundamentals, virtually any golfer can possess a solid short game, and if you get your technique correct on the short chip or pitch shots it will not only save you strokes around the green, it will help your long game.

Remember the chip shot is just a mini version of the full swing thru impact.The chip shot requires the shortest of strokes

with minimal head and little body action which makes a sound setup crucial to producing solid shots. It's equally important that when you hit pitch shots your hands don't get overly active. However, as the shots get longer the body plays a bigger role.

On these longer shots you must use your lower body to help propel the club through the ball. Working under the ball allows your right shoulder to move almost on the same line as the right knee, helping keep the clubface square through impact.There's no scooping or crossing over motion with the hands, and the clubface never closes. With turning the chest and the lower body propelling, the hands remain passive.

Imagination

All great short game players have great imagination around the green.You will become more creative by visualizing your shot options. The general rule of thumb for short game success is to keep the ball as low to the ground as possible. In other words don’t loft the ball unless you have to. To develop better judgment on shot selection practice tossing balls underhanded to the holes on a practice green.

Experiment with different speeds and trajectories from high and soft to low and running. When doing this, notice which trajectory you need and where you have to land the ball to allow you to get it close to the hole. You can then use the results as a guideline to select the club and the type of shot you need to play.

Forecast

INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES: Tour Championship preview . . . . . 8

FedExCup Playoffs update . . . . . . 10

Love wins in Greensboro . . . . . . . . 12

College preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Cherokee caddie program . . . . . . . 26

Champions event gets sponsor . . . 14

DEPARTMENTS:

White takes Georgia Open. . . . . . . 18

Chip Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Golf Fore Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Crossword puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Web.com Finals preview . . . . . . . . 16

Georgia PGA Match Play. . . . . . . . 20

4

Mason claims Section title . . . . . . 22

FOREGEORGIA.COM

For lower shots use your lower lofted irons, for higher shots use your higher lofted irons. Not only is tossing a ball underhanded a good concept to help you develop short game creativity, it's also a spitting image to help you improve your short game mechanics. As you would do pitching a softball, on a chip shot the right-hand faces up through impact under the left hand. You're not trying to scoop the ball.The right-hand mirrors the clubface and keeping the palm face up through impact help keeps the clubface square. With the proper loft the clubface doesn't close until well into the finish of the swing. Good chipping strokes require you to nip the ball off the turf with a slight descending blow.

To help you set up properly, imagine that a tiny car jack has raised your right heel off the ground.This image will help you put more of your weight on your left side and encourage your hands to be ahead of the ball at impact. Just position the ball back in your stance and the club will automatically swing up and down, striking the ball on its descent.The idea of picking up your right heel is to help improve your chipping technique.

I often tell my students to practice chipping while standing on the left foot only.

When you pick your back foot up and encourage your chest to move forward to the ball, your impact point and the low point of your swing arc will move forward, allowing you to squash the ball.

Positioning the weight on the front foot also helps eliminate excessive lower body motion. You should focus on the feeling that the left hand leads the clubhead. This is imperative for hitting a solidly struck chip shot. Poor chippers set up with too much weight on the right side and make a “wristy” upward strike. Good chippers keep their hands ahead of the ball at impact. A cupped left wrist at impact is the cancer of the golf swing.

Spending time on these short game tips should allow you to shave a few strokes off of your handicap.

You can contact J.R. Ross at 678-598-4653 or at jrross@dogwoodgolf.org

3021 Kalah Place, Marietta, GA 30067 770-933-04GA / 770-953-6638 fax FOREgeorgia.com / foregeorgia@comcast.net Send all press releases to: info@foregeorgia.com PUBLISHER

Golf Media, Inc. / John Barrett E D I T O R Mike Blum W E B S I T E / FA C E B O O K / S O C I A L M E D I A

Jason McCullough / Carly Aronin / Rebecca Rast / Olivia Rawlings JUNIOR / COLLEGE GOLF NEWS COORDINATOR

Samantha Stone MARKETING & ADVERTISING

National Sales: Ed Bowen/Bowen Group, edbowen.foregeorgia@gmail.com Local & Corporate Sale: John Barrett/Rick Holt, foregeorgia@comcast.net • Brandy Jones, brandy.foregeorgia@gmail.com Corporate/Professional Relations: Scott Mahr A R T D I R E C T O R Lori Ors C R E AT I V E S E R V I C E S Dwayne Walker CONTRIBUTORS

J.R. Ross 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

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

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.

FORE Georgia website: www.foregeorgia.com

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

5

The Lion sports unique history [ Continued from the cover ]

just 45 minutes from downtown Atlanta and an easy drive from the Marietta area.

The Lion offers one of the more unique golf experiences you’ll encounter within such close proximity to metro Atlanta, with the layout providing a mountain course feel without the severity inherent at some mountain-style courses.

The relatively rugged terrain comes as something of a surprise to first time visitors, considering the club is located adjacent to the Bremen Industrial Park and its address is 400 Murphy Industrial Boulevard.

The location and address do not accurately reflect the setting of the course, which is completely free of development and has a natural feel, with the rolling nature of the terrain among The Lion’s strongest assets.

Davis was responsible for the design of some of north Georgia’s top daily fee layouts (Stonebridge in Rome, Fields Ferry in Calhoun and Royal Lakes in Flowery Branch) and was also involved in the design work for Berkeley Hills, a wellregarded private club in Duluth, and Pine Isle Resort at Lake Lanier, which is no longer in operation.

The Lion is a quality layout, with Davis deftly incorporating the terrain and presence of a number of wetlands areas into his design. Although the Course Rating/Slope numbers are relatively high, The Lion is not an overly demanding layout, but those making their initial visit may not expect a small town course to offer a fairly big test.

“For people playing for the first time, it can be a little challenging,” Ledford says. Wetlands areas come into play on a number of holes, but hazards are not a serious concern until you reach an out6

FOREGEORGIA.COM

standing trio of finishing holes that may be the three most memorable holes on the course.

The Lion sports five sets of tees, with a pretty sizeable gap between the middle tees (gold) and senior tees (green). The course is a very stout test from the tips (black) at just under 7100 yards and is rated at 73.7/142.

The next set (silver) measures 6780 (72.1/138), with the middle tees a playable 6446 (70.1/132). The senior tees are a very comfortable 5654 (66.6/119), with a few holes having such a disparity between the middle and senior tees that those playing the green tees may want to move back to the golds for a hole or two to make the holes play more like they were designed to play.

With a number of the holes beginning with elevated tees, The Lion doesn’t quite play its listed yardage, but there are enough uphill approaches to offset the downhill tee shots . With a few exceptions, length is not a major concern, with only one par 4 of over 400 yards from the middle tees and the 18th the lone par 5 with serious yardage.

There are a few tee shots that have to clear wetlands, but none of the carries are excessive. The Lion is reasonably open off the tee, but thick tree lines and a few red stakes off the edges of fairways will penalize errant drives.

The rolling terrain is a factor both in the fairways and around greens. You can expect to come across an uneven lie or two, with some bordering mounds capable of providing favorable kicks back towards the fairway or producing slightly awkward lies.

There are also a number of smaller mounds along the edges of the greens that impact both short game shots and the putting surfaces. The Lion does not feature a large number of greenside bunkers, but some drop-offs around the putting surfaces will require a deft touch on pitch shots, even on holes where sand is not a factor.

The Lion opens with a mostly tame group of holes beginning with a straightaway par-4 without much length. The lengthier third is among the holes without a bunker, with a slightly elevated green located in a bowl that creates plenty of movement and provides for an interesting visual. Like the third, the short fifth includes an uphill approach shot, this time over sand, with the fairway dropping off slightly to the tree line near the corner of the dogleg right.

The two par 3s on the nine (2 and 4) have wetlands areas between tee and green that are not much of a concern, but the greenside mounds give the putting surfaces some movement, with the fourth also without a bunker.

Holes 6 and 7 are the most dangerous on the opening nine, with the double dogleg par-5 sixth requiring accuracy on both the tee shot and lay-up. Red stakes are in play on both sides of the lay-up area, and a tree within wetlands on the left makes the second shot for big hitters a risk/reward with a creek just short of the putting surface.

The same creek snakes through the par-4 seventh, crossing just short of the green and guarding the right edge. The dogleg left is among The Lion’s longer two-shotters, and is the only one of the group with a hazard that seriously impacts play.

The eighth is one of the holes with senior tees pushed well forward because of a wetlands area, but with an ample fairway and modest length, is playable for shorter hitters from the middle tees.

A short, inviting par 5 closes out the nine, with both the green and gold tees a little too friendly for a hole without much in the way of defenses.

Both 10 and 11 also have considerable gaps between the gold and green tees, with the par-5 10th a better hole from the golds. The fairway on the dogleg right slopes toward the trees, with the hole gradually rising to a green guarded by a large front bunker.

The 11th is the longest of the par 4s

from the silver and gold tees, but is less imposing from the much shorter green tees, with a wide, shallow green making for a tough target to hit from long range from the other three tees.

Enjoy the short, straight par-4 12th, because it’s the last soft touch left. The bunker-less 13th is a lengthy par 4 that rises to a slightly elevated green with plenty of roll from bordering mounds.

The par-3 14th is 211 from the sliver tees, with the green opening up back left behind a deep, imposing bunker. The par-4 15th lacks for length, but is among the tighter holes at The Lion and also sports one of the more sloping putting surfaces.

The terrific trio of finishing holes begins with the par-3 16th with separate tees 150 to 180 feet above the green, a wetlands area and creek short and not a great deal of room to miss. The hole has some length, especially from the left tees, but the elevation takes some of the bite out of a striking but demanding “short” hole.

The par-4 17th is among the few flat holes on the course, with the creek winding along the right side of the hole and crossing in front of the green. Trees along the right side can impede second shots from that side, with the angled second requiring precision to clear the creek and find a putting surface that offers little depth.

Few courses have a finishing hole to match the unique nature of the 18th at The Lion. A lake on the left sits between the fairway up top and the green below, with the big hitters having the possibility to going at the green in two from an angle, and everyone else advancing the ball close to the end of the fairway for a third shot in the 150-yard range and up. From the upper fairway, there does not seem to be a great deal of green, with a bunker and a bank behind the putting surface popular landing areas for those who take a little too much club.

The Lion is currently in quality condition, having survived the Summer heat, with its rates very competitive and a quality grill for a post-round bite to eat.

For information on The Lion, call 770-537-7020 or visit theliongc.com.

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

7

Tour Championship not kind to previous winner Defending champs have to earn return invitation

By Mike Blum

A

8

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Billy Horschel

STEVE DINBERG

t all but a handful of tournaments on the PGA Tour, the defending champion is one of the main attractions in the field the following year, and a victory in a particular event includes many return invitations, sometimes for the rest of a player’s competitive career.

The Tour Championship is not one of those tournaments.

Winning at East Lake one year is no guarantee you’ll be back the next. Since East Lake became the permanent host for the Tour Championship in 2004, only four of the 10 champions qualified for the event the next year.

After an unsuccessful start in this year’s FedExCup playoffs, 2014 champion Billy Horschel is in jeopardy of being the seventh winner in the last 11 years to fail to qualify for an opportunity to defend his title when the Tour Championship returns to East Lake Sept.

24-27.

Horschel, who was on the verge of elimination from the Playoffs in 2014 after the first of three tournaments leading up to the Tour Championship, produced a torrid stretch of play that resulted in a tie for second in Boston and back-to-back victories in Denver and Atlanta to claim the FedExCup title.

After a solid but unspectacular showing this season highlighted by a third place finish in the Texas Open, Horschel began the Playoffs 45th in the FedExCup standings, better than he was at this time last year.

In a recent appearance at the World of Coca-Cola promoting the Tour Championship, Horschel said he has no problem having to play his way back into the field as defending champion.

“It’s a great thing, because you know if you get to the Tour Championship, you’ve had a really solid year and you know you’re one of the best thirty players. And if you win the Tour Championship, the FedExCup may come along with it.”

Horschel won last year with an 11under 269 total, finishing three shots ahead of Jim Furyk and Rory McIlroy.

It was the third straight year the winning margin was three strokes and the fifth

time since 2006 that was the margin of victory.

With the smallest field of the 47 tournaments on the PGA Tour, the Tour Championship is a little less likely to produce playoffs or multi-player battles for victory, but has had some thrilling finishes since it was first played at East Lake in 1998.

The first Tour Championship at East Lake was one of the most closely contested of the 14 played in Atlanta, with Hal Sutton winning a playoff over Vijay Singh, and Furyk and Jesper Parnevik both one shot back.

Phil Mickelson shot a final round 66 for a come-from-behind win by two over Tiger Woods when the Tour Championship returned to East Lake in 2000, but it took until 2008 for the next down-to-the-wire finish.

In what may have been the most exciting stretch drive in tournament history, Camilo Villegas emerged from a 4-way duel similar to that of 1998, taking a playoff from Sergio Garcia, with Mickelson and Anthony Kim missing the playoff by just one shot.

Like others before and after him, Villegas was not in the field to defend his title the next year, joining Bart Bryant, Woods, Furyk, Bill Haas and Henrik Stenson on the list of East Lake winners who did not make it back the next year.

Woods was absent in 2008 after undergoing surgery, with the others simply not playing well enough to qualify the year after they won.

The last two tournaments at East Lake that went down to the final hole came in 2010 and ‘11. Furyk made a clutch par on the 18th hole in the rain to edge Luke Donald by a shot and former champion Retief Goosen by two in 2010, with Haas taking a playoff the next year over Hunter Mahan, with six other players finishing one or two shots off the pace.

The mostly international group included K.J. Choi, Aaron Baddeley and Luke Donald one back, with Jason Day, Adam Scott and lone American Charles Howell two back.

No golfer with Georgia ties has won the Tour Championship at East Lake, with former Georgia Southern golfer Jodie Mudd and ex-Georgia Tech star

David Duval winning at Houston’s

Champions Club in the 1990s. Howell, an Augusta native, was second, two shots behind Singh, in 2002 for the best ever showing at East Lake by a Georgia golfer.

Zach Johnson tied for second, a distant eight shots behind Woods in 2007, highlighted by a course record 60, and Chris Kirk tied for fourth last year in his first Tour Championship start.

Only one player has two wins at East Lake in the 14 years the Tour Championship has been played in Atlanta, with Mickelson twice coming behind in the final round to overtake Woods, who finished second both times Mickelson won.

East Lake, a classic Donald Ross layout that was re-designed in the mid 1990s by Rees Jones, has had a variety of champions since it first hosted the Tour Championship in 1998. Most of the winners (Mickelson, Woods, Singh, Scott, Villegas, Stenson) have been power players, with Goosen and Haas approaching that category.

But the tournament has also had champions at the opposite end of that spectrum, beginning with Sutton and Bryant and including players like Furyk and Brandt Snedeker, who rely more on the quality of their ball striking (Furyk) or their exceptional putting touch (Snedeker).

East Lake plays to a par 70 for the Tour Championship, with the fifth and 10th holes playing as par 4s. The course measures around 7,240 yards for the 30 players who will comprise the elite field, and has yielded consistent winning scores since the greens were converted from bent grass to MiniVerde Bermuda after the 2007 tournament.

The change was made because of the difficulty in maintaining bent grass greens in Atlanta’s summer heat, with the course virtually defense-less two of the last three years it hosted the Tour Championship before the greens were converted.

Bryant, a career journeyman who only qualified for the Tour Championship once, opened with a 62 in 2005 and won by six shots over Woods with a tournament record 17-under 273. Two years later, Woods took advantage of soft greens that enabled players to fire at the flags with impunity. His closing 66 was his only score of the week higher than 64, and he shattered Bryant’s record with a 23-under 257 total and an 8-stroke margin of victory.

After converting to MiniVerde Bermuda, which is similar to bent grass as a putting surface but can retain its firmness in the heat, the winning scores the next four years were between 7 and 9under. The winner has reached double figures under par each of the last three years, but Stenson in 2013 and Horschel last year are the only players since 2007 to break 270 for 72 holes.

Along with the large, sloping putting surfaces, East Lake’s main defense is the gnarly Bermuda rough, which can be a serious concern for players who miss fairways or greens. With the two longest par 4s (5 and 16) playing downhill, length is not a huge factor, with several wedge approaches to par 4s and one of the two par 5s (15) easily reachable by every player in the field.

Two of East Lake’s toughest holes are par 3s, with the island green sixth playing around 210 yards from a tee put in play several years ago, and the famous 235-yard 18th one of the least likely par 3s anywhere to yield birdies.

With its compact, gently rolling layout, East Lake is an inviting course to walk for the players and spectators, with much of the back nine consisting of parallel holes.

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

9

Golf’s new power trio heading to East Lake Day, Spieth join McIlroy as modern ‘Big 3’

By Mike Blum

olf has had several dominant trios dating back to Nelson, Snead and Hogan in the 1940s and ‘50s, to Palmer, Player and Nicklaus in the ‘60s and the international group of Ballesteros, Norman and Faldo in the ‘80s and part of the ‘90s.

Tiger Woods had the late ‘90s and the 2000s pretty much to himself with Phil Mickelson coming the closest to giving Woods a worthy rival. The Woods’ era ended after the 2009 season despite his attempts to revive it in 2012 and ‘13, with Mickelson also reaching the end of his long run of excellence after the 2013 season.

It’s been a while since golf has had a Cream-style power trio, but it definitely has one now with the emergence of Jordan Spieth and Jason Day this year to join Rory McIlroy, who first achieved elite status in 2012.

The three twenty-something stars will close out the 2014-15 PGA Tour season in Atlanta Sept. 24-27 at East Lake Golf Club in the Tour Championship, with all three looking to claim the FedExCup title and its $10 million bonus.

Spieth was a clear No. 1 in FedExCup standings at the end of a regular season that included wins in two majors (Masters and U.S. Open), a runner-up finish in the PGA and a T4 in the British Open where he ended up one shot out of a playoff.

Day overtook Spieth with a win in the Barclays, taking advantage of the fourfold increase in points for the Playoffs events. Day has been on an incredible summer run, winning three of his last four starts including the Canadian Open and the PGA Championship. He led the U.S. Open until he collapsed from vertigo on the final hole of the third round, and came within one putt on the 72nd hole of making it a four-way playoff in the British Open.

McIlroy was ninth in points coming into the Playoffs, missing the British Open and WGC event at Firestone due to an ankle injury. He sat out the Barclays to rest his ankle for the final three Playoffs events and dropped to 15th in the standings, having made just nine starts this season. McIlroy, who regained the No. 1 world ranking after Spieth missed the cut in the Barclays, has

Jason Day

G

STEVE DINBERG

FOREGEORGIA.COM

STEVE DINBERG

10

Jordan Spieth

two wins in his limited schedule (WGC Match Play and Quail Hollow in Charlotte), along with top 10s in his two majors pre-injury and a very respectable showing in the PGA after being sidelined for two months.

Between the three, they have 10 PGA Tour wins in 2015 and have combined to win five of the last six majors, with both Day and Spieth coming close to making it 6-for-6.

The three all have a recent history of success at East Lake, and will enter the tournament as the players to beat in the Tour Championship, with McIlroy joining Day and Spieth as a strong

FedExCup title contender if he can move into the top five in the standings after the BMW Championship.

McIlroy and Spieth have runner-up finishes at East Lake the past two years, with Spieth shooting a final round 64 two years ago to finish three behind Henrik Stenson. McIlroy shared the 54-hole last year with Billy Horschel, but shot 71 the final round to Horschel’s 68 and tied Jim Furyk for second. Day tied for fourth last year after a T6 finish in 2011.

Stenson’s 2013 victory came in his only start at East Lake, but he will back this month after moving up to fourth in the standings after his runner-up finish behind Day in the Barclays.

Bubba Watson was third after a third place showing in the Barclays, with fellow bomber Dustin Johnson sixth.

Watson has enjoyed an outstanding season (two wins including a WGC event, seven top-3 finishes, two of them in other WGCs) but missed two of four cuts in the majors with a best finish of 21st.

Johnson has also enjoyed a successful season with a WGC win at Doral and nine top 10s, three of them in majors.

But his otherwise strong 2015 showing will be marked by his three-putt at the 72nd hole to lose the U.S. Open to Spieth and his weekend fade in the British after holding the 36-hole lead.

Neither player has established much of a track record at East Lake, with both having a best Tour Championship finish of fifth -- Watson in 2012 and Johnson the next year.

Two players with considerably better histories at East Lake are Justin Rose and Furyk, who were 8th and 11th respectively after the Barclays. Rose has finished second, sixth and fourth at East Lake the last three years, and has enjoyed a terrific stretch of golf since tying for second in the Masters. He won his next start in New Orleans, lost a playoff in the Memorial and had a recent run of four straight finishes of sixth or better, including the British Open, WGC Firestone and the PGA. After an opening 77 in the Barclays, he followed with scores of 65 and 63 the next two days.

Furyk has made 15 career starts in the Tour Championship, winning at East

Lake in 2010 after a runner-up finish in ‘06. He also tied for second behind Horschel last year and shows few signs of slowing down at the age of 45. Furyk, who still struggles when leading late in tournaments, won a playoff at Hilton Head this season, coming from well back with a final round 63.

Watson, a former Georgia Bulldog, and St. Simons resident Zach Johnson will be among the contingent of players with ties to Georgia in the Tour Championship field. Johnson was fifth in the standings after the Barclays, where he continued his consistently excellent play this season, highlighted by his second major title in the British Open. Johnson has nine top 10s in 2015, including five in his last eight starts. He has three top 10s at East Lake in eight appearances, tying for second in 2007 thanks to a course record 60 in the third round.

Former Augusta State golfer Patrick Reed and ex-Georgia Bulldog Kevin Kisner have locked up spots for the Tour Championship, ranking 12th and 13th after the Barclays. It will be the second appearance at East Lake for Reed, who won the 2015 opening Tournament of Champions in a playoff and lost a playoff to Spieth in Tampa, but has not had a top-10 finish since March.

After three uneventful seasons, Kisner has emerged as a top player on the PGA Tour this year, getting into playoffs in Hilton Head, the Players and the Greenbrier. He turned in outstanding final round efforts in all three but the tournament winners beat him with playoff birdies on all three occasions.

Kisner, a native of Aiken, S.C., has contended several other times, including last year’s McGladrey Classic, and will play in the Tour Championship for the first time and make his Masters debut next April.

In addition to those four, 15 other Georgians made it to the second Playoffs event in Boston, with Stewart Cink making bogey on the 72nd hole in the Barclays to lose a spot in the top 100.

Veteran Jason Bohn advanced from 33 to 24 with a tie for ninth in the Barclays, and is looking to qualify for the [ See FedExCup, page 12 ] SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

11

No Love for a while on Champions Tour Win in Greensboro reverses career path

By Mike Blum avis Love became eligible for the Champions Tour in April of last year, but unlike most other PGA Tour members who have turned 50, he has resisted the transition to senior golf.

Love competed in only two Champions Tour events in 2014, both after he completed play on the PGA Tour for the season, and just two more this year. He was prepared to make at least one more start on the over-50 tour this year, but a surprising outcome forced Love to change his immediate plans.

After three unproductive years on the PGA Tour, Love was nearing the point of having to reconsider his decision to continue competing against players half his age. But an outstanding round of golf in one of his favorite events on tour changed all that.

With his recent victory in the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, N.C., Love is again a relevant player on the PGA Tour at the age of 51. He became the third oldest player to win a tournament in tour history, and his come-from-behind triumph included a host of perks that will keep Love fully occupied until his role as U.S. Ryder Cup captain for 2016 begins to consume most of his time at some point next year.

Love was scheduled to play in a Champions Tour event the week after his appearance in Greensboro, but his victory qualified him for the FedExCup Playoffs for the first time since 2012. He jumped from 186 to 76 on the points list, and was guaranteed at least two starts in the Playoffs, three if could move up just six spots on the list prior to the BMW Championship.

The victory also gets Love back into the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii for the first time since 2010 and earns him invitations to two tournaments he has dearly missed the last few years – the Masters and Players Championship. He last played in the Players, an event he has won twice, in 2013, and his most recent trip to Augusta was 2011.

“It kills me the last couple of years not to play in the Players Championship,” Love said after his victory. “My friends at home assume I’m in the Players because I

D

12

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Davis Love

won it twice.

That one and the Masters are kind of crushing that you don’t get in there.”

The way Love had been playing the past few years, there was little to suggest from his record that he still had the game to compete close to the level that made him one of the game’s top players for more than two decades.

A variety of physical ailments have made the last few years particularly difficult ones for Love, who has undergone neck and foot surgeries that took him off the course for lengthy stretches. He was out for 2 ½ months this year after foot surgery, with the rehab process taking a little longer than he anticipated.

“The neck surgery went pretty smoothly. This one (foot surgery) went smoothly, but the rehab didn’t come around as fast as I wanted. You just wonder, is the body going to wear out?

“I’m very fortunate I bounced back from this. I really felt great this week. My foot is probably going to hurt the rest of my life, but it’s not going to stop me from playing. It’s getting better and better.”

Ordinarily, Love’s first victory since late 2008 would have been the dominant story line for the tournament, but it was overshadowed by the return of Tigermania. Tiger Woods played Greensboro for the first time in his career, and was among the tournament leaders for 54 holes before falling from contention the final day, making a late rally to tie for 10th after a mid-round collapse.

Love’s victory at the age of 51 took

second billing to Woods’ rare weekend appearance on the leader board, with his sizzling surge on the front nine not drawing that much broadcast attention until it had concluded.

After opening with scores of 64 and 66, Love was only one shot off Woods’ lead after 36 holes, but fell four back after a third round 69, one-under on the par 70 layout at Sedgefield CC. His final round did not start especially well, as he missed the fairway off the first tee and made bogey.

Love responded with birdie putts of 14, 6 and 15 feet on the next three holes, and after smashing a 345-yard drive on the par-5 fifth, hit his second shot from 188 yards within five feet for an eagle. He closed out a 5-hole stretch of 6-under par with a 10-footer for birdie at the sixth, but his momentum stalled when he three-putted the seventh from long range for bogey.

A par at the eighth was his first of the day, and was followed by six more pars in succession. Love sat on 15-under during that stretch, just behind leaders Jason Gore and Augusta native Scott Brown.

It only took Love one hole to grab control of the tournament. After a 318-yard drive on the par-5 15th, he ripped a long iron from 211 yards to within 12 feet of the pin. He holed his eagle putt to take the lead, and after back-to-back bogeys on the back nine by Brown, Love had the outright lead for the rest of the day, finishing one ahead of Gore and two in front of Brown.

There was a great amount of attention heaped on Woods and his effort to get

FedExCup

[ Continued from page 10 ]

Tour Championship for the first time after the best season in his career. Matt Kuchar (27) was also in the top 30 and is attempting to make it to East Lake for the sixth straight year.

Chris Kirk fell from 29 to 39 after missing the cut in the Barclays, his first start in more than two months after breaking his hand. Fellow ex-UGA golfers Alex English (41), Brendan Todd (47) and Russell Henley (49)

into the Playoffs with a win at Greensboro, with Love coming into the tournament with no eyes on him, even though he was one spot in front of Woods in the standings.

“I had really not been playing for points or for position,” Love said. “I’ve been trying to get my game back through a couple of setbacks.”

The victory was the 21st for Love in his PGA Tour career, with 14 of his titles coming in events he has won multiple times, and 13 of the 21 in his native South.

Love was born in Charlotte and spent much of his youth in Atlanta while his father was head pro at Atlanta Country Club. He then moved to St. Simons Island with his father and returned to St. Simons after attending college at North Carolina.

Among his victories are five at Hilton Head, one of the tournaments he was forced to miss this spring, three at Greensboro and two each in the Players, at Pebble Beach and the International, which was last played in 2006. His other Southern victories came in New Orleans and tournaments at Callaway Gardens and Disney that no longer exist.

The biggest win of Love’s career was the 1997 PGA Championship at Winged Foot in suburban New York, and he came tantalizingly close to victory in each of the other three majors, twice finishing outright second in the Masters.

Love will celebrate his 52nd birthday next April, a few days after the Masters ends and a day before the tournament in Hilton Head Island begins. The celebration will begin at least a week before his birthday and continue for several days after.

were among the top 50, of former Georgia Tech golfers Cameron Tringale (51) and Bryce Molder (58). Former Bulldog Brian Harman was 62nd after making two holes-in-one in the final round of the Barclays, with six other Georgians in danger of not advancing past the second Playoffs event.

Charles Howell (74), Scott Brown (84), Will Wilcox (89), Davis Love (90), Hudson Swafford (93) and Chesson Hadley (97) all needed strong showings in Boston to move into the top 70 and qualify for the BMW Championship.

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

13

Mitsubishi Electric takes over as Gwinnett sponsor fter three years without a full-fledged title sponsor, there was some concern that the future of the Greater Gwinnett Championship was in some doubt of continuing as a Champions Tour event.

An announcement last month ended any worries about the immediate future of the tournament, as Mitsubishi Electric will assume title sponsorship through 2020.

The tournament will be known as the Mitsubishi Electric Classic and will remain at Duluth’s TPC Sugarloaf, which previously hosted an annual PGA Tour event from 1997-2008. The tournament will also retain its post-Masters dates, with next year’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic scheduled for April 15-17, the weekend after the Masters.

Mitsubishi Electric also extended its

A

14

FOREGEORGIA.COM

sponsorship of the Champions Tour’s season-opening event in Hawaii. That tournament serves as the tour’s Tournament of Champions and has been played at Hualalai Golf Club since 1997.

Only one other event on the Champions Tour has been played at the same course longer, a tournament in Newport Beach, Calif., that has been played at the same course since 1996.

This will be the first time since 2008 that the Champions Tour has had two tournaments sponsored by one company on its schedule since 2009.

Ironically, the company that sponsored two tournaments that year was AT&T, which dropped its sponsorship of the PGA Tour event at TPC Sugarloaf the previous year after acquiring long time tournament sponsor BellSouth.

The Champions Tour has played at four metro Atlanta courses over the past

three decades with three different title sponsors.

Pepsi sponsored an event at Horseshoe Bend Country Club in Roswell from 1986-88, with two of the three tournaments shortened to 36 holes due to rain.

The one year the event went the full 54 holes, former Atlanta resident Larry Mowry was the winner.

The Champions Tour

returned to the North Fulton suburbs in 1991, with Country Club of the South in Alpharetta hosting the Nationwide Championship for four years. The tournament moved to Golf Club of Georgia in 1995 and remained there until Nationwide Insurance ended its sponsorship in 2000 to become title sponsor of what is now the Web.com Tour.

The Atlanta area was without a Champions Tour stop until 2013, when the Greater Gwinnett Championship was played at TPC Sugarloaf for the first time. Mitsubishi Electric served as presenting sponsor for three years before assuming a title sponsorship role beginning with the 2016 event.

Like the first Champions Tour event in the state at Horseshoe Bend in the late 1980s, the tournament at TPC Sugarloaf has endured its share of bad weather in its first three years as host. The first round of the 2013 tournament was delayed four hours by inclement weather, and the opening round the next year was played in cold, rainy conditions.

Both tournaments completed the full 54 holes on time Sunday, but last year’s event was not as fortunate. The first round could not be completed due to afternoon showers, but with decent weather Saturday, tournament officials were able to get the first round completed in the morning and the second round late that afternoon.

Sunday’s scheduled final round never began, as heavy overnight rains made TPC Sugarloaf unplayable, with Atlanta’s fickle April weather continuing to plague the course in its role as tourna-

ment host of a tour event.

Sugarloaf suffered through some nasty weather during its 12 years as the host course for the PGA Tour’s annual Atlanta stop, most memorably in 2005 when the tournament could not begin until Saturday after torrential rains washed out the first two days. Sleet halted play for 90 minutes Saturday, with the first round not completed until Monday morning.

The tournament managed to get in 54 holes, with Phil Mickelson winning a 5-way playoff, one of his three career victories at Sugarloaf.

The decision by Mitsubishi will keep the Champions Tour in Georgia for the next four years after the loss of three tour events from 2001 to 2013.

Green Island in Columbus hosted a Champions Tour event in 2003, less than a year after the PGA Tour played for the last time at nearby Callaway Gardens.

Green Island had been the original host of the Southern Open, which moved to Callaway Gardens and was sponsored for a number of years by Buick, but the Champions Tour event did not survive past its first year.

That tournament was one of two Champions Tour events to make its debut in Georgia in 2003, with the Club at Savannah Harbor beginning a decadelong run as host of the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf, the tournament that led to the creation of the Champions Tour in 1980. The tournament remained in Savannah through 2013, when Liberty Mutual ended its sponsorship of the tournament after more than 30 years.

The Champions Tour found a new sponsor for that event, which has moved to Missouri.

Olin Browne won the rain-shortened 2015 Greater Gwinnett Championship, shooting 12-under 132 over the first 36 holes. Browne shot a tournament record 64 in the second round, with Bernhard Langer matching the 64 minutes later to finish second, one shot behind Browne.

Langer has finished first or second in all three years TPC Sugarloaf has been the host course, winning in 2013 and placing second behind Miguel Angel Jimenez last year.

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

15

Georgians pursue PGA Tour in Web.com Finals Kizzire ends regular season No. 1 on money list

istorically, Georgians have enjoyed considerable success on what is now the Web.com Tour, extending all the way back to its origins as the Ben Hogan Tour in 1990.

With one notable exception, however, the 2015 season was not an especially successful one for the Georgia contingent on the Web.com Tour, with just one player among the 25 who have already earned a spot on the 2015-16 PGA Tour.

Two others finished among the top 75 on the money list to gain entry into this month’s Web.com Finals, which will send 25 more players to the PGA Tour for the upcoming season.

Patton Kizzire, who played his college golf at Auburn and is now a St. Simons Island resident, enjoyed one of the finest seasons in tour history and ended the regular season as the leading money winner.

Kizzire earned over $518,000 in 19 starts, $175,000 ahead of the No. 2 finisher on the money list. He scored a pair of wins in August in Utah and Knoxville, was second twice including a playoff loss in North Carolina, and added finishes of third, fourth, fifth and sixth along with three other top 10s.

Prior to this year, Kizzire was just another mini-tour player who had been unable to advance beyond that status since turning pro after graduating from Auburn in 2008. He reached the finals of Q-school in his first attempt, but finished near the bottom of the standings and made it into just four Web.com

H

Vaughn Taylor

16

FOREGEORGIA.COM

events the next year, missing the cut in all four.

Kizzire made just two more starts on the tour over the next few years, and went five years in between starts on the PGA Tour after getting into one tournament in both 2008 and ‘09. A strong effort in the finals of Web.com Tour qualifying last year earned him status on the tour this year, and he came through with a spectacular showing that earned him exempt status for the 2015-16 PGA Tour season.

The 2015 season is not yet over for Kizzire, who will join the other top 75 money winners from the Web.com Tour and players 126-200 on the FedExCup points list in the Web.com Finals. They begin Sept. 10 in Fort Wayne, Ind., and conclude Oct. 4 with the Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Jacksonville.

Kizzire is assured of exempt status on the PGA Tour next year regardless of where he finishes on the Web.com Finals money list. But the other Georgians in the field will have to finish in the top 25 in earnings among the players who did not finish in the top 25 on the regular season Web.com Tour.

The two other Georgians among the top 75 on the Web.com money list are recent Augusta State standout Henrik Norlander and Luke List, who grew up in north Georgia before playing in college at Vanderbilt.

Among the players in the 126-200 category on the FedExCup standings are former Georgia Tech golfer Nicholas Thompson, Augusta’s Vaughn Taylor, St. Simons resident Jonathan Byrd and Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro, like Thompson a former Yellow Jacket.

Thompson has played seven seasons on the PGA Tour since 2006, twice finishing in the top 60 on the final points list but placing outside the top 125 the other five years. He was 123 coming into the final event of the season in Greensboro, but missed the cut and fell to 132. He will have some PGA Tour status for the upcoming season even if he doesn’t finish in the top 25 in Finals.

Taylor played well on both the PGA and Web.com Tours this season, but got into just 12 PGA Tour events as a past champion and despite making 11 cuts with six top-25 finishes, was 151 on the

RA AL KOOIST

By Mike Blum

Luke List

points list. Taylor, a former Augusta State golfer with two PGA Tour wins and a spot on the 2006 U.S. Ryder Cup team, will be looking to regain exempt status on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2012.

Byrd has five wins in his 14 seasons on the PGA Tour, but has struggled the last three years after undergoing wrist surgery early in 2013. He played respectably for much of the 2014-15 season with six top 25s, but his best showing was a tie for 18th in the season-ending event in Greensboro.

In just his second season on the PGA Tour in 2013, Castro qualified for the Tour Championship at East Lake and finished 21st on the points list, but slipped to 135 the next year and 188 this season.

He made 11 of 16 cuts, but a tie for 40th in Memphis was his best finish in a PGA Tour event offering full FedExCup points. He finished one spot out of the top 25 in the Web.com Finals last year.

Both Norlander and List have played on the Web.com Tour the last two years after competing as rookies on the PGA Tour in 2013. Norlander, a member of Augusta State’s back-to-back NCAA champions in 2010 and ‘11, was 47th this season, slipping down the money list after a pair of top-5 finishes in the first four events of 2015.

Like Norlander, List played his best golf early in the season outside the U.S. and ended up 64th with only two decent showings after April. List, a highly touted amateur, has enjoyed just one big

season as a professional, winning in Valdosta and placing second three times on the Web.com Tour in 2012, ending up fourth on the money list.

Georgia almost had another Web.com Finals qualifier, as Augusta’s Scott Parel was 76th on the money list after coming into the final tournament 74th. Parel finished $4,500 behind the player in 75th, and would have needed to tie for 26th in Portland to get into the Finals.

Parel, who turned 50 in May, will have limited status next year, but will likely turn his attention to Champions Tour qualifying after competing on the Web.com Tour since 2003.

Also finishing in the top 100 to earn limited status for next year are former Georgia Tech golfers Richy Werenski (79) and Matt Weibring (87), and ex-Georgia Southern Eagle Aron Price (100). Finishing outside the top 100 were Savannah’s Mark Silvers (105), Atlanta resident Casey Wittenberg (113), former Tech standout and two-time PGA Tour winner Troy Matteson (119), ex-Georgia Bulldog Bryden Macpherson (126) and Duluth native Brent Witcher (134).

Former Roswell resident and ex-UGA golfer Justin Bolli, who played four seasons on the PGA Tour after winning tournaments in four different seasons on the Web.com Tour, did not play on the tour after May and finished 179 on the money list.

Heath Slocum, who lives in the North Fulton suburbs, was 211 in the FedExCup standings after the poorest season in his two decades as a pro and did not qualify for the Web.com Finals.

With four career PGA Tour wins, Slocum should have full status on the Web.com Tour next year and limited status on the PGA Tour as a past champion.

Pre-qualifying for players new to the pro ranks was played early this month, with Brunswick CC hosting one of them Sept. 9-11. The first stage of Web.com Tour qualifying will be played in October, with Callaway Gardens among the hosts Oct. 6-9. Second stage qualifiers are scheduled two weeks in November, with the finals to be played Dec. 19-13 at PGA National in south Florida.

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

17

Late birdie run lifts White to narrow victory First amateur to win Georgia Open since ‘89

he Georgia Open has lacked for late tournament excitement in recent years, but Davin White and Eddie Lee delivered plenty of fireworks at last month’s tournament at Pinetree Country Club neared its conclusion.

Lee, who finished in the top five in the three previous Georgia Opens, broke away from a crowded group of leaders in the fourth round with three birdies in a five-hole stretch of the final nine.

The three birdies gave Lee a two-shot lead at that point, but White closed out his round with three straight birdies, capping a run of four birdies in the last five holes.

White’s sizzling surge down the stretch gave him a one-stroke victory at 8-under 280, the first win for an amateur in the event since future PGA Tour player Franklin Langham won his first Georgia Open in 1989.

It was the second victory in a Georgia PGA tournament for White in the span of a month, following his win in the Championship at Berkeley Hills. White, who completed his college career at Georgia State this spring, also won that tournament with a strong final round, shooting 66 the last day at Berkeley Hills to win by one over college teammate Nathan Mallonee.

White and Lee were part of a five-way battle for the lead early on the final nine, but the two combined for seven birdies over the last seven holes, with the other three contenders unable to keep pace.

Lee finished second at 281 to take home the Tilted Kilt Georgia Open first place check for $8,000. Matt Nagy, a former Kennesaw State player from Buena Vista who tied for third at Pinetree last year and was outright second in 2012, was third at 283. Jin Chung of Duluth and recent Mercer golfer Trey Rule, making his pro debut, were fourth at 284.

White, a Locust Grove resident, said winning the Georgia Open “means a lot.

It’s a great honor. I’m still at a loss for words.”

With the victory, White joins a distinguished list of Georgia Open champions that range from Tommy Aaron, Hugh Royer Jr., DeWitt Weaver and Larry Nelson to Tim Simpson, Bob Tway

Eddie Lee

GEORGIA PGA

By Mike Blum

T

FOREGEORGIA.COM

GEORGIA PGA

18

and Gene Sauers. Langham, Matt Peterson, Justin Bolli and Roberto Castro all made their way to the PGA Tour after winning the Georgia Open, and White expects to begin that process early in 2016, if not sooner.

White plans to attempt to qualify for the PGA Tour-sponsored LatinoAmerica Tour, but is considering turning pro earlier to give himself some professional experience prior to making that effort.

White began the final round at 5under, one shot ahead of Nagy, two in front of West Georgia golfer Barrett Waters of Dallas and three better than Lee and Chung. Rule was next at 1under, four off the lead.

The leaders all began their final rounds on the 10th hole, with White holding at least a share of the lead until Lee moved past him early on the final nine. Nagy pulled even with White twice early in the round with birdies at holes 11 and 13 around a bogey at the 12th, with both making birdie on the short, par-5 16th.

Rule, playing in the group ahead along with Lee, briefly took the outright lead when he eagled the 16th, his second eagle on the opening nine and fourth in two days. He made two eagles in a third round 65 to move into contention after shooting 78 the day before, achieving the exceedingly rare feat of playing the four par 5s in the same number of strokes (14) as the four par 3s, scoring birdies on the other two par 5s while making his only two bogeys on par 3s.

Rule and Nagy lost their share of the lead with bogeys at the difficult par-4 18th, with Nagy and White both taking bogey at Pinetree’s first hole, the 10th of

Davin White

the day for the leaders.

Chung moved into a tie for the lead at 5-under with birdies at 1 and 2, with Lee joining him at the top when he birdied the third. Consecutive bogeys at 2, 3 and 4 dropped Rule out of contention, with his second shot to the par-5 second ending up out of bounds by inches. He was 11-under on the other par 5s the last two days with four eagles and three birdies, but the bogey at the second proved extremely costly.

When White bogeyed the third hole after driving into a fairway bunker, Lee had the lead by himself. Lee, who has lived in the Atlanta area for about five years after playing professionally in Japan, birdied the short, par-4 fifth, but White matched the birdie minutes later when he drove the green and had a serious look at eagle.

Lee also birdied the seventh, the other short par 4 on Pinetree’s front nine, hitting his second shot within three feet. White had only 73 yards left for his second shot, and “from the middle of the fairway, I expected to get it inside ten feet.”

Instead he left himself about a 20footer, but holed it to stay within one of the lead. Lee had a chance to post 8under, but his short birdie try at the par-5 ninth lipped out. White pulled even when he hit his tee shot on the par3 eighth behind the hole in the 20-foot range and again holed his birdie attempt.

White went for the ninth in two and like Lee did in the group ahead, missed the green just to the left. Unlike Lee, White was able to hole his short birdie putt after a deft chip to claim the title.

“That was one of the best finishes I’ve

had in a tournament,” White said. He felt it was especially good considering “I was out of the lead by two shots after the 13th. To finish that well is the best feeling in the world.

“I actually went out and won it and I know I earned it.”

Lee had mixed feelings after his runner-up finish, but came away with first place money and said he was “happy with how well I played today.”

The missed birdie putt at the 18th stung Lee a bit, but he left the tournament with the realization that he didn’t lose it. His 67 was the low round of the day as he carded six birdies after taking bogey on his opening hole.

“He deserved to win,” Lee said of White. “To close out a tournament like that, good for him.”

Lee, who plays out of Laurel Springs, has been playing and “teaching a little bit,” but said he plans “to focus more on my game and maybe go back on tour.”

He is considering returning to play in Japan and also might attempt qualifying for the European Tour.

The first time Lee made an impact in the Georgia Open was 2012 at The Legends at Chateau Elan, placing third, three shots behind Jonathan Fricke. He was one shot out of second the next year at The Legends and tied for fifth at Pinetree last year, also finishing at 7under 281.

After the consecutive bogeys at 18 and 1, Nagy carded seven straight pars before a closing birdie at the ninth gave him a 71 and a tie for third for a second straight year at 283.

Rule shot 69 and Chung 70 to tie for fourth at 284. Chung stayed close to the lead before a bogey at Pinetree’s tough par-4 sixth, while Rule rallied with birdies at 5 and 9 after the three straight bogeys. Rule, from Eatonton, enjoyed a successful career at Mercer and won the 2014 Dogwood Invitational.

Waters closed with a 73 to tie for sixth at 286 with Statesboro pro John L. Smith, who shot a final round 70.

Buford’s S.M. Lee, the GSGA Junior champion, was eighth at 287, followed

by Bradley Smith and Emmanuel Kountakis at 288. Smith, an instructor at Eagle’s Landing, was low among the club professionals in the field. [ See Georgia Open, page 23 ] SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

19

Anderson captures title in Match Play hree of the top five seeds in the Georgia PGA Match Play Championship reached the semifinals, which were played at Peachtree Golf Club for a second straight year.

Top-seeded Sonny Skinner, the 2006 Match Play champion, was among the four semifinalists, as was second-seeded Tim Weinhart, one of just two Georgia PGA members to win the event three times. Neither player made it to the finals.

Matthew Evans, the No. 5 seed, rallied on the back nine to defeat Skinner 1-up in his semifinal match, with Mark Anderson, the lowest seed of the four players at No. 22, getting past Weinhart 2&1 in the other semifinal.

That set up a championship match of two veteran Georgia PGA members who have been frequent contenders over the years, but between them had just one victory in a Section points event, that coming 12 years ago in a tournament that has not been contested for more than a decade.

Anderson, the owner of the one Georgia PGA individual title among the two finalists, added a second career victory, outlasting Evans on the 19th hole of a tightly-contested championship match.

Anderson led for only three holes during the match, which was all square for most of the back nine.

Evans won the first two holes, but his lead was gone by the sixth hole. He won only two more holes the rest of the day, taking a 1-up lead at the ninth, but that advantage did not last long. Evans threeputted the par-5 10th for a par from relatively close range and never led again.

Anderson took his first lead when he almost holed his second shot on the par4 13th for a conceded birdie, with Evans pulling even when he reached the par-5 16th and two-putted for a winning birdie.

The last two holes were halved with pars, with both players missing par putts in the 5-to-6-foot range on the 18th.

That sent the match to the first hole and sudden death, with neither player having much success on the hole earlier in the day.

Anderson bogeyed the hole to start both his matches, while Evans was

T

20

FOREGEORGIA.COM

GEORGIA PG A

By Mike Blum

GEORGIA PGA

Needs 19 holes to edge Evans in finals

unable to keep his tee shot out of the trees right of the fairway.

He found the trees for a third straight time in the playoff, and this time he clipped a branch with his second shot, coming up well short of the green.

Evans hit a deft pitch shot to a similar range as the putt he missed at the 18th, with Anderson also missing the green before chipping to Mark Anderson approximately the same distance as Evans. After Matthew E vans Evans missed his par and lost control of the match.” attempt, Anderson holed Evans quickly went 2-up in the title his to score his first Georgia match. He scrambled for a par on the PGA victory since the 2003 Lake Oconee deflated” that first hole after an errant tee shot, and won Classic. he did not win the match in regulation, the par-5 second with a two-putt birdie.

Anderson had lost in a playoff in April but added, “I was no worse off than I was He came close to going 3-up after three, in the Georgia Senior Open. Considering at 18. It was sudden death after we but his approach shot on the par-4 third that and his struggles on the opening reached 18.” spun down the slope and well away from hole, he said he was “not overly excited After his off-target approach on the the hole after landing within a foot of the going there for extra holes.” first playoff hole, Anderson’s short game cup on the fly.

Things did not look good for Anderson pulled out the victory, and he said, “That Anderson holed a birdie putt in the after he pulled his second shot well left up and down was as good as I could do. 15-to-18-foot range on the par-3 fourth, and long on the first playoff hole, but That was my first par in four tries on and the two players matched two-putt Evans was having problems of his own number one,” including his practice birdies on the par-5 fifth. Evans had to before putting the pressure on Anderson round for the tournament. scramble for a bogey to tie Anderson on after his precisely played pitch shot, Anderson credited Frederica head pro the par-3 sixth, and lost his lead when he Anderson said one of the main reasons Hank Smith for some swing help missed the green and was unable to save he was able to win his two matches at Anderson says has his game “moving for- par at the seventh. Anderson stayed even Peachtree was that “I did not let bad ward. I’m on the right track and I’m with a nice par putt at the eighth, but shots bother me.” He faced a delicate longer at 55 than I’ve ever been.” missed the green again at the ninth for a Prior to this year’s Match Play bogey to fall behind for the last time in third shot on the playoff hole, but hit his chip the perfect speed coming down the Championship, Anderson had enjoyed the match. slope to get inside Evans’ third and given little success in the tournament other Both players hit superb second shots to than 2004, when he reached the finals at reach the par-5 10th, but after Anderson himself a second chance to win.

On the final hole of regulation, Settindown Creek before losing to Clark made his birdie, Evans said he “got too Anderson had a putt to win, but his par Spratlin, who won the event for the aggressive” with his eagle attempt from attempt spun around the lip to send the third time in four years. above the hole, and three-putted for par With an improving game, Anderson to give up his lead. match to extra holes. Given a second chance to close things out, Anderson will take his second shot at qualifying for Anderson took his first lead with a came through to end a long day for the the Champions Tour after failing to get birdie at the 13th, but Evans pulled even past the first stage last year. finalists. when he hit the par-5 16th in two and Evans, the Director of Golf at lagged his eagle try close enough for a Because of heavy rain the previous day, the two players had to walk 36 holes Rivermont G&CC, is still looking for his conceded birdie. Anderson drove in the with a caddie, as Peachtree’s cart paths do first victory in a Georgia PGA Section rough and was forced to lay up short of a not cover the entire course. Anderson felt event after a number of close calls. He has pond, leaving a long third shot that fatigue was a factor, but both players held a solid track record in the Match Play resulted in a par. up well in the championship match, Championship, reaching the quarterfiEarlier in the day, Anderson had failed shooting right around par for the round nals twice and the semifinals once over to clear the pond with his second shot on a difficult course with some of the the last five years. He came within one from the rough, but was 3-up at the time most demanding greens complexes in the match of making it to Peachtree last year, and closed out his match with Weinhart losing in the quarterfinals to eventual on the next hole. state.

Anderson, an instructor at Brunswick champion Brian Dixon.

Weinhart, an instructor at the “This is definitely disappointing,” Country Club who previously worked in the Atlanta area, said he was “a little Evans said. “I missed a couple of putts [ See Match Play, page 23 ] SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

21

n James Maso

Mason captures 4th Georgia PGA Championship

By Mike Blum

F

22

FOREGEORGIA.COM

“It feels great,” Mason said of his victory. “It solidifies that I can still compete. We play golf courses that are pretty long and tough, and I’m ecstatic I’m still able to play with ‘em. It gives me a reason to get up and still practice.”

Although many of the Section’s top players like Keppler, Brannen, Sonny Skinner and Craig Stevens are also seniors, Mason is the oldest of the group. While he remains one of the Section’s top players – he’s second behind Weinhart in the Player of the Year standings – Mason can see the effects of aging in his game.

“At Berkeley Hills, I played with a guy who was out-driving me by 90 yards,” Mason offered. The winner of the Section Championship is ordinarily offered a spot in the PGA Professional National Championship, but as a non-active Life Member, Mason is not eligible for an exemption to nationals.

That’s OK with Mason, who says the courses they play at the PNC “are 7200 and 7300 yards and that’s a little long for me. I can still play 7000-yard courses and I look forward to playing in the Senior PNC. But it’s getting harder for me to compete.”

Mason tied for second in last year’s Senior PNC in south Florida to earn a spot in the 2015 Senior PGA Championship, and hopes to make a return to the senior major next year if he can play well enough in the Senior PNC next month in California.

With an exemption into the finals of Champions Tour qualifying, Mason is considering making a trip to Arizona to play at TPC Scottsdale, but won’t decide until shortly before the tournament.

This was the second time since 2009 that the Section Championship was reduced to 36 holes by the weather, but unlike 2009, the tournament was completed on schedule. The 2009 tournament was not completed until December, some three months after it began.

With bad weather in the forecast, Georgia PGA officials hoped to get in 36 holes the first day and complete the tournament the next day. But the first round was delayed four hours and the scheduled second round was washed out. What A GEORGIA PG

ifteen years after his third victory in the Georgia PGA Championship, James Mason added a fourth title, winning the recent rain-drenched event at Sea Island Golf Club’s Plantation course.

Mason finished the rain-shortened, 36hole tournament at 6-under 138, two shots in front of former champion Tim Weinhart. Tommy Brannen, also a former champion, was third at 141, with Kyle Owen fourth at 142.

The 64-year-old Mason played the Champions Tour for more than a decade after winning a tournament in New Jersey as a Monday qualifier in 2002, but has played only a handful of tour events in recent years. He is playing primarily in Georgia PGA events, winning the Georgia Senior Open earlier this year and turning in top-10 finishes in two Section

events before his victory in the Section Championship, which is sponsored by E-Z-GO and presented by TaylorMade/adidas Golf/Ashworth/Adams and the PGA Tour.

Mason became the second Georgia PGA member in four years to win the Section Championship for a fourth time, 15 years after his third title in the event.

Mariette Country Club Director of Golf Stephen Keppler accomplished that feat in 2011 and tied for fifth this year, the first time he has been outside the top three since 2004.

Before he turned 50 in 2001 and made it to the Champions Tour the next year, Mason won the Georgia PGA Championship three times in a four-year stretch from 1997-2000, and did not compete again in the event until 2012.

He tied for second last year, a distant 10 shots behind Frederica head pro Hank Smith.

turned out to be the final round was halted by lightning, and play was completed just minutes before heavy rains hit the waterlogged course.

“Sea Island did a tremendous job of getting the course in shape,” Mason said, noting that the area had three or four inches of rain the previous day. “They did a hell of a job to get in 36 holes.”

Mason, who lives at Sky Valley and teaches and plays out of the Orchard, shot a bogey-free 68 the first day with birdies on his first (18) and last (17) holes in the shotgun start. He hit 16 greens in regulation to lead Dunwoody CC head pro Kyle Owen by a shot, with Ocean Forest assistant Michael Ferguson next at 70, and Weinhart, Skinner and Cartersville CC head pro Bill Hassell the only other players under par at 71.

With four birdies on his first six holes in the final round, Mason built a comfortable lead, making three in a row at holes 4, 5 and 6 shortly before the lightning delay. Mason was coasting after play resumed until hitting his second shot on the par-4 12th over the green and into the water for a double bogey, and had to scramble for bogey on the 13th.

No one was able to make a serious run at Mason, who settled down with four pars and a birdie at the 18th for a 70 and a 2-stroke victory at 138. Weinhart, an instructor at the Standard Club, birdied five of his last 10 holes for a 69 after a double bogey on the par-3 seventh.

Brannen, the head pro at Augusta Country Club, overcame a triple bogey at the fifth with seven birdies and shot 69 to finish third.

Like Weinhart, Owen made double bogey on the seventh and shot 73 to take fourth. Ferguson tied Keppler for fifth at 143, shooting 73 after a slow start and fast finish, highlighted by an eagle at the par-5 18th. Tying for seventh at 144 was Eric Reeves of Capital City Club and Brookstone CC instructor Stevens.

SEPTEMBER 2015

Georgia Open [ Continued from page 18 ]

Kountakis, who lives just outside Augusta, played at Mercer the last two seasons with Rule, but has transferred to Augusta State.

Veteran amateur Bob Royak of Alpharetta, a former Atlanta Open champion, led by a shot after an opening 68 that included five birdies on the front nine and an eagle on the 16th. Mini-tour pro Ryan Chitwood of Gainesville, who finished 11th at 289, was the only other

Match Play

[ Continued from page 20 ]

Standard Club, was making his seventh appearance in the semifinals, including wins in 2005, ‘11 and ‘12 and losses in the finals in 2000 and ‘10. His semifinal with Anderson went back and forth early before Anderson won four holes in a sixhole stretch beginning at the seventh, three with birdies.

During that stretch, Anderson also holed a putt of some 40 feet for a par and

2015 SEPTEMBER

player to break 70, carding a 69. Waters, Nagy and Champions Tour player James Mason were among a group at 70, with White shooting 71 with four birdies.

White took the second round lead at 139 with a 68, one of just two scores below 70 that day. He ended the day with a 4-shot lead over Waters and Chitwood, the only other players under par for 36 holes. Smith, Chung, Royak and Lee were fourth at 144. Smith shot 72 with six birdies while Chung was 3under over his last three holes for a 69, highlighted by an eagle at the 16th.

Royak also eagled the 16th, but that was his lone highlight in a 76. Lee rallied for a 72 with four birdies on the back nine.

While White settled for a 72 and a 54hole total of 211, Nagy and Rule made big moves. Nagy played his last five holes in 6-under for a 30 on the nine including an eagle at the par-4 fifth. He finished with a 67, the second best score of the day behind Rule’s 65, which featured five birdies on his first nine and eagles on holes 2 and 9. S.M. Lee had seven birdies in his 69 to end the day tied for sixth at 1-under .

The tournament was played without its defending champion, as Jay McLuen, who also won in 2011 at Barnsley Gardens, got a sponsor’s invitation into the PGA Tour event in Reno that week.

Recent Kennesaw State player Jimmy Beck, who was second behind McLuen last year on the course where he played his college golf, had to miss the tournament because of an ailing hip.

Fricke was a late addition to the field, but the two-time champion played poorly the first day and missed the cut.

a half, and admitted he was the beneficiary of a few good breaks that turned less-than-quality shots into successful ones. He also holed his share of putts, building a 4-up lead after 12 that was too much for Weinhart to overcome.

Evans was 2-down after nine in his semifinal against Skinner, who has had a busy summer with trips to Champions Tour majors in California and England and an appearance in the PGA Professional National Championship in Philadelphia.

Skinner still had the lead midway

through the back nine, but hit his tee shot in the water on the par-3 13th and bogeyed the 15th before Evans took the lead with a birdie at 16 after reaching the par 5 in two.

Anderson came out of the Georgia PGA’s East Chapter bracket, winning his first three matches against players from the southeast corner of the state. He needed 19 holes to win his first match over Drew Pittman from Forest Heights in Statesboro before closing out his next two matches on the 15th and 16th holes.

He edged Bill Murchison of Towne

Lake Hills 1-up in the quarterfinals.

Evans had tough matches in the first three rounds, needing 19 holes to get past Brian Corn of Peachtree GC in the second round and taking his next match 1-up over Brookfield’s Michael Parrott.

He won his quarterfinal match 4&3 over 2010 champion David Potts of Country Club of the South.

Weinhart won his quarterfinal match 4&3 against defending champion Dixon, while Skinner defeated 2007 champion Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods 2&1 in the other quarterfinal.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

23

Veteran Bulldogs look to be best in state Other Georgia teams lost best players

By Mike Blum

or most of the state’s Division 1 golf teams, the outlook for the 2015-16 season may not be quite as bright as last year following the loss of a talented senior class.

One of the few exceptions is 2015 NCAA semifinalist Georgia, which returns four of its top five players, providing senior Lee McCoy elects to remain in Athens for the entire season.

McCoy, who will be a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team, could turn pro this month, but indications are that he will remain with the Bulldogs.

Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Southern and

Lee McCoy

USGA

F

COLLEGE Preview

Mercer all lost senior standouts, with Mercer also having its top returning player transfer to Augusta State.

Among the highlights of the 2015 Fall schedule is a new match play event at East Lake, which will bring together the semifinalists from the 2015 NCAA men’s and women’s championship events.

Among the teams in the field are the Georgia men and Stanford women, with Riverdale’s Mariah Stackhouse the top player for NCAA women’s champion Stanford.

Georgia Tech will host two annual Fall events – the Carpet Capital Collegiate at The Farm Sept. 11-13 and the U.S. Collegiate Championship at Golf Club of Georgia Oct. 16-18.

Kennesaw State, which will be in the Carpet Capital field, will host its own event at Pinetree CC Oct. 19-20, with Berkeley Hills the site of an annual Fall tournament hosted by Georgia State.

Mercer will play in both tournaments.

Georgia

After reaching the NCAA semifinals last year and returning four of their five starters, the Bulldogs begin their Fall schedule as one of the country’s top teams, contingent on McCoy’s return.

McCoy, a senior from Clarkesville, matched the school record of four wins in a season, held by current PGA Tour 24

FOREGEORGIA.COM

standouts Chris Kirk and Russell Henley. Three of those victories came in succession last Spring, two in the state, and McCoy was a first team All-America selection, going 2-0 in Georgia’s two NCAA matches.

Duluth’s Mookie DeMoss was the only senior starter for the Bulldogs, who fielded a team of five Georgia residents in the NCAAs. Also returning from a team that won three tournaments and placed second three times are sophomore Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners, junior Greyson Sigg of Augusta and senior Sepp Straka of Valdosta.

Healy was Honorable Mention AllAmerica as a freshman, with both Sigg and Straka turning in a number of solid efforts. Among the candidates for playing time are redshirt freshmen Jack Larkin of Atlanta and Matthew Beringer of Macon and incoming freshman David Mackey of Watkinsville.

The Bulldogs will be a well-traveled team this Fall, with tournaments in California, Oregon and Hawaii, along with stops in Nashville and Atlanta.

Georgia’s first two Spring starts are in Puerto Rico and Mexico before playing four straight tournaments in the state.

Georgia Tech

The Yellow Jackets will be without the standout duo of Ollie Schniederjans and Anders Albertson for the first time since the Spring of 2011, with the two

leading Tech to four wins and three runner-up finishes as seniors.

Their stellar careers, however, ended on a disappointing note, as Tech narrowly missed qualifying for match play at the NCAA Championship after making it four times in the previous six years.

Tech returns three starters and three others with varsity experience, but the Jackets enter the season in the rare position of being without a dominant player. The Georgia Tech golf program has sent a steady stream of future stars to the pros, but begin the 2015-16 season lacking the reputation of past stars like David Duval, Stewart Cink, Troy Matteson, Matt Kuchar, Bryce Molder, Roberto Castro and Schniederjans.

Leading the way among the returnees are junior Vincent Whaley and sophomore Chris Petefish, the lone non-Georgians on the team’s 8-man roster. Whaley was co-medalist in a tournament at Ohio State, with Petefish and Columbus sophomore James Clark both starting in most of the matches as freshmen.

Junior Michael Hines of Acworth was a frequent starter as a freshman in 201213, but after redshirting in 2013-14, played sparingly last season. He is in competition for a spot in the lineup along with sophomores Jacob Joiner of Leesburg and Michael Pisciotta of Alpharetta, and freshmen Tye Waller of Griffin and Tyler Joiner, Jacob’s younger brother.

Jacob Joiner had several respectable showings as a freshman, and is part of a young team that consists of two juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

Kennesaw State

The Owls have to replace their top player – Jimmy Beck of Columbus – along with veterans Austin Vick and Kelby Burton of Evans, with the trio having nine years as starters among them.

A pair of international players tops the list of returnees, with Sweden’s Fredrik Nilehn winning twice as a freshman and junior Terremoana Beaucousin turning in a second straight strong season.

There will be plenty of competition for the remaining spots in the lineup. Junior Chris Guglielmo of Cumming played extensively as a freshman two seasons ago, but after a tie for fifth as an individual last Fall at Kiawah Island, made only one more start. Wyatt Larkin of Morganton made seven starts as a freshman, with redshirt sophomore Buster Bruton of Dallas also looking to break into the lineup after seeing little action his first two seasons.

Freshmen Jake Fendt of Cumming and Zack Zediker of Macon will be part of a roster that consists of five golfers from Georgia and five from outside the U.S. The Owls will also have a new coach, as Cartersville native Bryant Odom takes over for Jay Moseley, who took the head coaching job at Ohio State.

Odom has been head coach the last two years at Western Carolina, and played his college golf at Georgia. He played professionally on the Nationwide (now Web.com) Tour and among his professional wins was the 2008 Georgia Open.

Georgia State

The Panthers return four of their top six players from a team that won the Furman Intercollegiate and had second and third place finishes last Spring. One of the two departing seniors is Locust Grove’s Davin White, who has won two Georgia PGA events, including the Georgia Open, since he completed his college career in May. Georgia returns senior J.J. Grey, the team’s top player, who is coming off a strong Spring showing which included a win and two runner-up finishes in the span of four tournaments.

Junior Nathan Mallonee of Lexington, the runner-up to White in the Georgia PGA event at Berkeley Hills, Georgia State’s home course, also returns, along with sophomore brothers Aleander and Max Herrmann, who both played well after breaking into the lineup as freshmen.

Competing for the fifth spot in the lineup will be Hayden Poole of Johns Creek, who saw limited action as a freshman, and a trio of incoming [ See College Preview, page 26 ]

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

25

Cherokee Town & Country Club: A First-Rate Caddie Program

GROWING the

Game

addies are a tradition as old, honored and enduring as the game of golf itself. The caddie is “his patron’s guide, philosopher and his friend, his instructor when he (is) off his game, and co-arbiter with the opposition caddie in all disputes,” Robert Browning wrote of the earliest days of the game in his “History of Golf.”

A quality caddie program distinguishes a fine private golf club, and is often the difference between a good and great golf club. By providing access to the game as it was designed to be played and is most enjoyed, caddies enhance the experience for players. And caddie programs serve to introduce the game to youngsters, inspiring a new generation with a passion that will last their lifetimes. For these reasons and many more, quality caddie programs play a vital role in growing the game of golf.

The caddie tradition thrives today at Atlanta’s Cherokee Town and Country Club, where the golf program historically has been committed to a first-rate caddie program. Each year, the staff trains and develops young men and women as caddies with the goal of teaching them to learn and respect the game, and to develop in them an appreciation for how it is played and for the camaraderie and companionship among those who play.The club’s commitment has resulted in a program that is roundly supported by the members. This summer, 124 caddies will loop at the two Cherokee courses, most of them young men and women who will look back on their summer work as an extraordinary experience and opportunity.

In 2008, Cherokee introduced a program designed to further encourage more members to experience playing with a caddie. This initiative -- the Caddie Circle – provides caddies Thursday thru Sunday till 3:00 p.m. daily for just $25 a bag. Caddies receive their usual full pay for the rounds, the difference subsidized by participating members, which has grown to 235 this year. The program has

C

26

FOREGEORGIA.COM

helped Cherokee grow its total to what will be nearly 14,000 rounds supported by caddie loops in 2015.

In 2000, Cherokee Town and Country Club established a Caddie Scholarship Fund. Fifteen years later, The Cherokee Caddie Scholarship Foundation has 159 club members donating monthly to the program, which will provide a dozen scholarships to local universities.

Cherokee’s scholarship caddies are students at the universities of Georgia, Georgia Tech and Georgia State, out-ofstate institutions including Notre Dame,

College Preview [ Continued from page 24 ]

freshmen – Nick Budd of Woodstock, Nathan Williams of Gainesville and Sam Asbury of Atlanta.

The Panthers will again host a tournament at Berkeley Hills this Fall, with the Auto Trader Collegiate scheduled for Oct. 12-13.

Georgia Southern

The Eagles lost four starters from the their 2015 Sun Belt Conference championship squad, including No. 1 player Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island, who had a win and four other top-3 finishes in an outstanding senior season.

Charlie Martin of LaGrange and Matt Mierzejewski of Cumming are also gone, along with Kim Koivu, the team’s No. 2 player behind Wolfes.

The lone returning starter is sophomore Archer Price, the only returning player to post a top-10 finish last season.

Henry Mabbett, a senior from Griffin, has been in and out of the lineup during

Penn State and Villanova, and in varied, focused programs like those of Southern Poly Tech. Since its beginning the program has produced more than 80 college graduates. These young people are new ambassadors of the game. One of the caddie corps from 2002 is now a Cherokee member.

Cherokee’s robust caddie program has been a win for everyone involved.

Members enjoy the game as it was meant to be played and their courses as they were meant to be experienced. Caddies earn good pay as they learn valuable life’s

lessons the game teaches. And Cherokee enhances its reputation as one of America’s finest private golf clubs.

As the golf committee chairman wrote to members in 2008, “We believe strongly that an excellent caddie service program will result in more walking rounds, attract new members, enhance the Club’s national reputation and provide a golf experience like no other.”

That’s good for the club, good for the players and caddies, and good for the future of the game we love.

his three years with the Eagles, and is looking to make a bigger impact during his final season.

Senior Andrew Klasing, who was in the starting lineup for the Eagles’ appearances in the Sun Belt Championship and Regionals, also returns along with sophomore Jake Story, who had the team’s third lowest scoring average as a freshman.

Caleb Morris, a senior from Metter, has played sparingly since his freshman year, but will be looking for playing time along with freshman Steven Fisk from Stockbridge and two transfers into the Georgia Southern program.

PGA Tour member Blake Adams, who played at Georgia Southern, will serve as a volunteer assistant for the Eagles this season when he is not out on tour.

The team’s other three starters included a freshman, sophomore and junior, but none had scoring averages below 75 and combined for just two top 10s in 33 starts.

Mercer

The Bears will be without their top two players from last year, as Eatonton’s Trey Rule graduated after an outstanding career and sophomore Emmanuel Kountakis, an Augusta area resident, transferred to Augusta State.

Augusta State

The Jaguars return their entire squad from a team that enjoyed a number of solid finishes and closed out the 2014-15 season by easily winning the MEAC Championship. The Jaguars were competing in that conference for the first time, becoming the only school with a national caliber golf program in the MEAC. Leading the way are seniors Maverick Antcliff and Robin Petersson, the team’s top two players last season, and fellow starters Jake Marriott and Viktor Edin. Jackson Stroup and Broc Everett also saw significant action, with Marietta’s John Yi playing sparingly as a freshman.

The Jaguars have also added Augusta area resident Emmanuel Kountakis, the No. 2 player for Mercer last season as a sophomore.

SEPTEMBER 2015

Chip Shots

Karen Paolozzi of Druid Hills Golf Club won the Georgia PGA National Car Rental Assistant Championship last month at Laurel Springs, defeating Brent Whitehead of Capital City Club in a playoff.

Both players shot 4-under 138, with Paolozzi posting consecutive scores of 69 and Whitehead firing a 64 in the afternoon round of the one-day event. Both players qualified for the national Assistant Championship, which will be played Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Also qualifying for nationals were Travis Nance of Coosa CC, who was 3rd at 72-67— 139 and Chris Cartwright of West Pines, who was 4th at 69-71—140. Cartwright won a playoff over J.P. Griffin of Cherokee T&CC, who closed with a 67 for a 140 total.

Senior Division: Amateur Jack Kearney won a Georgia PGA Senior Division tournament at Cateechee in Hartwell last month, posting a 141 total to edge fellow amateur Bill Leonard by one shot.

Clark Spratlin, Director of Golf at Currahee Club, was 3rd overall and low pro at 143, with pro James Mason of Dillard 4th at 144. Mason led after an opening 67 but slipped to a 77 the next day. Amateur Doug Stiles was 5th at 145 after shooting a 69 the first day.

Mueller wins 2 in U.S. Amateur

Kyle Mueller of Watkinsville, a member of the golf team at Michigan, had the best showing of Georgia golfers in last month’s U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields in Chicago, reaching the third round before being defeated.

Mueller was the lowest seeded player among the 64 who qualified for match play, getting the 10th and final spot from an 18man playoff at 3-over 143 after a birdie on the fourth playoff hole following three pars.

He followed that with a 1-up victory over Australia’s Brett Coletta, the qualifying medalist at 7-under 133.

Mueller won three of the first five holes to go 2-up. He was 3-up after 11 holes and held on despite losing two of the last four holes. In the second round Mueller defeated Alex Burge of Illinois 2-up, winning four holes with birdies. He birdied the first hole to go 1-up and never trailed, finishing out the match with a birdie at 18.

In the third round, Mueller fell 3-down after three holes against Japan’s Kevin 2015 SEPTEMBER

lying from 3-down with four holes to play.

Kennerly earned his spot in the U.S. Amateur by winning the Canadian Amateur the week before, shooting 12-under 275 for a 6stroke victory. Kennerly shot under par in all four rounds with scores of 68-68-69-70.

Other Georgians to qualify for the U.S. Amateur but fail to reach match play were Atlanta’s Chris Harris, Savannah senior Doug Hanzel, Kennesaw State golfer Chris Guglielmo of Cumming, Elberton’s Shad Tuten, Georgia Tech golfers Tye Waller of Griffin, Chris Petefish and Vincent Whaley, UGA’s Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners, Georgia State’s Jake Fendt of Cumming, and Valdosta State’s Jake Karen Paolozzi Harpe of Griffin.

U.S, Women’s Amateur: UGA Konishi and lost 2-up. Mueller was 4-down freshman Bailey Tardy reached the third after five before winning holes 7, 8 and 9 to round of last month’s U.S. Women’s get back in the match. He lost holes 12 and Amateur in Portland, Ore., winning two 13 to go 3-down, but won holes 14 and 16 tough matches before losing 2&1.

Tardy, from Peachtree Corners, rallied to take the match to the final hole.

UGA golfer Sepp Straka of Valdosta from 3-down after four holes to win her reached the second round before losing to opening match 1-up, but pulled even after Derek Bard, who lost in the finals to 10 holes and birdied two of the last five to Bryson DeChambeau, who also won the take the lead. She also trailed 2-down after NCAA individual title. Straka tied for 8th in nine holes in her second round match qualifying at 138 and won his first match against the No. 4 seed, winning on the 19th 3&2 over Canada’s Garret Rank. Straka was hole. Tardy won holes 10, 11 and 12 to take 2-down after four holes, but pulled even the lead before her opponent birdied the after seven, and won holes 14, 15 and 16 to 17th to take the match to extra holes.

In the third round, Tardy was all square take the match.

Also reaching the second round was after eight holes before losing the ninth Augusta State’s Maverick Antcliff, who and 10th holes to birdies. She never got shot a second round 65 in qualifying to tie closer than 1-down after that.

Also reaching match play was Riverdale’s for fifth at 137. Antcliff won his opening match 1-up after being 3-down after five Mariah Stackhouse, a senior at Stanford. holes. He was still 1-down after 15 before Stackhouse was 1-up after 16, but lost the winning holes 16 and 17. Antcliff lost 5&4 in last two holes in a 1-up defeat.

Qualifying for the event but missing the the second round to Stanford’s Maverick cut were Roswell’s Rinko Mitsunaga, McNealy.

UGA golfer Lee McCoy of Clarkesville former UGA golfer Emilie Burger Meason, lost to a tough first round opponent for a Rachel Dai of Milton, Katy Harris of St. second straight year, falling 3&2 to Simons and 2014 U.S. Mid-Amateur chamVanderbilt’s Hunter Stewart, who survived pion Margaret Shirley. the 18-for-10 playoff. McCoy was seeded fourth after shooting 136 in qualifying, and led 2-up after five, but Stewart won the next four holes, three with birdies, and added birdies at 12 and 13 to go 3-up.

Also losing in the first round was Savannah’s Doug Hanzel and Augusta’s Alpharetta’s Billy Kennerly, a recent Laura Coble defended their titles in recent Clemson graduate. Kennerly also survived men’s and women’s GSGA Senior the massive playoff and was the first of the Championships.

Hanzel won by 13 shots at Brickyard GC 10 players to advance. He lost 1-up to South Carolina’s Matt NeSmith, almost ral- in Macon with an 11-under 205 total, GEORGIA PGA

Paolozzi captures title in playoff

Hanzel, Coble repeat GSGA Senior titles

posting scores of 70-69-66. Marietta’s Mel Mendenhall was 2nd at 218, followed by Roswell’s Mark Nickerson at 219 and Jack Hall of Savannah and Jack Kearney of Peachtree City at 220. Hanzel has won the tournament three of the last four years Coble shot 77-73—150 at Reynolds National to finish two shots ahead of former tournament winner Brenda Pictor of Marietta. Cheryl Grigg of Sea Island was 3rd at 157, followed by Roswell’s Leslie Elkins at 160 and Greensboro’s Sue Rheney at 162.

U.S. Senior qualifying: Atlanta’s Jorge Cora earned medalist honors in a U.S. Senior Amateur qualifier at Berkeley Hills, shooting 69 on his home course. Mark Burden of Atlanta and Bill Leonard of Dallas tied for 2nd at 71, with Marietta’s Jeff Belk getting the 5th and final spot with a 72. He won a playoff over Roswell’s Philip Beaty and Sandy Springs’ Gary Unell, who are the two alternates.

Wolfes in top 10 in eGolf finale

Scott Wolfes of St. Simons, a recent standout at Georgia Southern, tied for eighth in the final eGolf Tour event in Lake Wylie, S.C., last month. The tour was acquired by the SwingThought.com Tour, which previously took over the Hooters Tour.

Recent UGA golfer Michael Cromie won the next-to-last eGolf event in North Carolina, winning by one with a 14-under 202 total to earn $11,000. Augusta’s Dykes Harbin finished the year fifth on the money list with almost $45,000, winning once and placing second twice.

In recent tournaments on the SwingThought.com Tour, former UGA golfer Adam Mitchell of Atlanta lost in a threeway playoff in the annual Kandy Waters Memorial event, shooting 22-under 262 at the River Club in North Augusta, S.C. Rookie pro Anders Albertson of Woodstock tied for ninth at 269, with Augusta’s Chase Parker T12 at 270, and Harbin and rookie pro Trey Rule of Eatonton T17 at 273.

Recent Georgia Tech golfer Seth Reeves tied for 5th in Elgin, S.C., at 14-under 270, two behind the winner. Former Norcross resident Reid Edstrom tied for seventh at 271, with Savannah’s Tim O’Neal and Acworth’s James White T15 at 273.

Wolfes tied for ninth in a SwingThought event in Knoxville, shooting 63 in the final round to finish at 10-under 274. Decatur’s Kyle Scott was 12th at 274 and Reeves was T13 at 275.

GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM

27

Golf FORE Juniors Fry, Park win GPGA Jr. events Dacula’s Hunter Fry was the boys winner of a Georgia PGA Junior Tour event last month at Sea Island Golf Club’s Retreat course, finishing with a 3-under 105 total for 27 holes, with the tournament unable to complete 36 holes due to rain.

Fry led by three shots after an opening 71 and shot 34 for nine holes the next day to expand his margin to four over Newnan’s Nathan Garner. Tristan Cooper of Gainesville was 3rd in the 16-18 age group at 110.

Chase Weathers of St. Mary’s won the 14-15 division winner at 111, with Ben Carr of Columbus and Carter Pendley of Dalton tying for 2nd at 113. Lindsey Cordell of Rome shot 113 to win in 11-13 by one over Drew Soupiset of Kennesaw.

The girls winners were Maggie Sullens of Cumming (15-18) at 130 and Josie Arant of Tifton (11-14) at 126.

Buford’s Sanghyeon Park shot 74-72— 146 at Callaway Gardens to win the boys division by one over Newnan’s Jaden Hall.

Andrew Register of Dawsonville was 3rd in 16-18 at 150.

Pendley was the 14-15 winner at 76-72— 148, two ahead of Woodstock’s Garron Terrell. Duluth’s Will Stakel of Duluth shot 72-74—146 to win 11-13 by eight over Alex Colligan of Evans and Peyton Balent of Cumming.

Skylar Thompson of Buford was the girls winner at 77-72—149, with Sanders Hinds of Midland 1st in 11-14.

The next two Georgia PGA Junior Tour events are at the Georgia Southern course in Statesboro Sept. 12-13 and Oct. 10-11 at Chattahoochee GC.

Eaton captures SJGT Championship

Alpharetta’s Chandler Eaton won the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club last month, shooting 3-under 141 (73-68) on the Highlands course to win by one stroke.

Grant Sutliff of Suwanee was 2nd in the 14-15 division at 145, one behind the winner, with Nicolas Cassidy of Johns

Sanghyeon Park Creek 3rd at 147. Connery Meyer of Marietta shot 8-under 64 the first day and won the 12-13 age group by one at 139.

Sam Barrett of Thomasville was 3rd at 146.

Decatur’s Ayanna Habeel was 3rd in girls 12-14 at 159.

Elizabeth Funderburk of Moultrie won the girls division at Doublegate in Albany by five shots with scores of 76-74—150.

The tournament was the first on the SJGT’s 2015-16 schedule.

Barrett was the boys 12-13 winner by a whopping 23 strokes, shooting 74-68— 142. Joseph Kim of Martinez was 2nd at 145 in 16-19, one behind the winner, with Bill Sharpe of Albany 3rd at 147. Ben Carr was 2nd in 14-15 at 151, two back of the winner.

In a SJGT event at the Furman University course in Greenville, S.C., Will Kahlstorf of Athens was the boys winner by two with scores of 73-69—142. Sutliff was 1st in 1415 at 74-69—143, with Brendan Patton of Alpharetta 2nd at 145. Alison Crenshaw of Suwanee was 2nd among the girls at 151.

Perkins, Pyon take Hurricane titles

Logan Perkins of Locust Grove and Carol Pyon of Macon won Hurricane Junior Golf Tour titles last month at Heron Bay, one of three Georgia courses to host events on the tour in August.

Perkins shot 70-66—136 to win the boys division by three over Dacula’s Peter Chung. David Bartels of Peachtree City was 3rd at 141. Brandon Cho of Suwanee shot 146 to win the 13-14 age group by two over Jason Quinlan of Cumming, with Andrew Garger of Sharpsburg the 11-12 winner at 148.

Pyon shot 70-69—139 to finish 1st by 10 shots among the girls. Liza Eubanks of Peachtree City shot 156 to win the 11-14 division by five over Macon’s Eujin Pyon.

At Flat Creek, Peachtree City’s Daniel Fienemann shot 69-70—139 to take 1st among the boys, two ahead of Perkins.

Liam Shinn of Norcross turned in the low

28

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Skylar Thompson boys score, winning the 13-14 age group with scores of 68-70—138. Beck Burnette of Blairsville was 2nd at 144. Carol Pyon was 2nd in the girls division at 152, with Thienna Huynh of Lilburn winning a playoff over Eubanks in 11-14 after both finished at 158.

Ryan Hines of Woodstock shot 71-71— 142 at Forest Hills in Augusta to take the boys division by seven over Augusta’s Michael Stallings and Newnan’s Carson Whitten. Greg Smith of LaFayette won the 13-14 division by 13 at 76-71—147.

Kendall Smith of Martinez was the girls 1114 by 16 at 78-74—152, with Woodstock’s Tyler Dawson 2nd in 15-18 at 159.

Grenville-Wood 2nd at Norman Academy

Joshua Grenville-Wood of Peachtree City was 2nd in the American Junior Golf Association’s Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy Championship at the Barefoot Resort in North Myrtle Beach, S.C. He shot 1-over 214 to finish one behind the winner, sharing the first round lead with a 68, matching the low score of the tournament.

Seong Lee of Leesburg was 9th at 218, closing with a 69. Tying for 12th at 222 were Dougan Annan of Avondale Estates, Jake Lawson of Atlanta and Jacob Bayer of Lawrenceville. Leiko Niwano of Duluth tied for 7th in the girls division at 227, with Louise Yu of Duluth 9th at 230.

In other AJGA tournaments last month: Sam Barrett shot 2-under 214 in Rogers, Ark., to tie for 3rd, with St. Simons’ Thomas Hogan 5th at 215 after a final round 67.

Tommy Su of Johns Creek tied for 9th in Centreville, Va., and Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs was 8th in Kannapolis, N.C., with a 1-under 209 total, closing with a 67.

Luka Karaulic of Dacula tied for 13th at 212.

Anna Buchanan of Athens tied for 5th in Shreveport, La., at 227, with Marietta’s Elizabeth Reedy T8 in Powhatan, Va., at 234.

SEPTEMBER 2015

2015 SEPTEMBER

GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM

29

Crossword PUZZLE

P R E S E N T E D BY

Across

30

.com

Down

1. The Tour Championship sponsor,

25. Most successful Ryder Cup

1. Name of the sterling silver

2 words 5. The Tour Championship is the finale of this Cup’s Playoffs 9. Is the most strokes under par, or fewest strokes over par 10. Winner of the Tour Championship in 2007 11. Edge of the cup 13. Participate in a golf tournament 14. The PLAYERS Championship winner in 2015 16. Initials of the winner of the PLAYERS Championship in 2012 17. Number of strokes an eagle is under par 18. First name of The Tour Championship winner in 2009 19. Former Tour Championship winner, Tom ____ 23. Winner of the 2013 PGA Championship, _____ Dufner

captain, ____ Jacklin 26. Canadian golf Hall of Famer who won The PLAYERS Championship in 2006, Stephen ___ 28. This hole is a par 5 at East Lake GC 31. Fails to be 32. First name of the FedEx cup winner in 2008 34. Tied 35. Signal 36. Medical show 37. East Lake GC’s signature hole 39. At the Masters, it’s the Carolina Cherry hole 43. Lie in a sheltered spot 45. Payne ____ Award, presented to the current or former PGA Tour player who exemplifies professionalism, integrity and commitment to public citizenship 46. Spanish for “two” 47. Drain of energy

commemorative putter given by East Lake Golf Club to the winner of The Tour Championship, 2 words 2. Golf club where The Tour Championship was held in 2003 3. One of the top Central American golf courses is at the Fairmont Hotel in _____ Rica 4. Rules 6. Atlanta golf course hosting the Tour Championship, 2 words 7. Use of the wrong club, for example 8. The PGA’s ____ has a golfer on it 12. The Tour Championship winner in 2001, ____ Weir 15. Bobby Jones’ original putter has a ____ degree lie, 2 words 16. State that is the home of Belgrade Lakes golf course, abbr.

18. Golfer’s target 20. First name of the 1987 Tour Championship winner

FOREGEORGIA.COM

21. ____ victory from the jaws of defeat!

22. Jordan Spieth won this sports award for best male golfer in 2015 24. British ____ tournament 27. Overall term describing golf tournaments 29. “____ bought a new putter” 30. Great golfers control their ___ in tough situations 33. East Lake is the home course of this legendary golfer 37. Viewed from Pebble Beach Golf Course 38. The Honors Course in Ooltewah is a top golf course in this state 40. Chicago locale 41. It’s turned during every swing 42. ____ Open Championship 44. For this reason

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

tĂŶƚdĞĞdŝŵĞƐ.ĐŽŵͬ ƚůĂŶƚĂ

ĂƐLJ ŽŶůŝŶĞ ƚĞĞ ƟŵĞƐ Ăƚ LJŽƵƌ ĨĂǀŽƌŝƚĞ

ƚůĂŶƚĂ ĂƌĞĂ ĐŽƵƌƐĞƐ ǁŝƚŚ ŶŽ ŬŝŶŐ ĨĞĞƐ͊

Ͳ ¥ ãçٮĦ Ͳ

Ù® ¦ D®½½ 㫽 ã® ½ç

d« ,®¦«½ Ä Ý ÊçÙÝ ã > » ÙÙÊó«

dÊóÄ > » ,®½½Ý 'ʽ¥ ½ç

ÊĽ®Ä ÊÊ»®Ä¦ ͮ Ϯϰͬϳ ͮ Ý® Ù ã« Ä ò Ù ÊĽ®Ä ÊÊ»®Ä¦ ͮ Ϯϰͬϳ ͮ Ý® Ù ã« Ä ò Ù 2015 SEPTEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

31

32

FOREGEORGIA.COM

SEPTEMBER 2015