June 2015 FORE Georgia Magazine

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JUNE 2015

Legacy on Lanier offers beauty, challenge Entertaining layout not long, but not easy

By Mike Blum

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hen evaluating the difficulty of a golf course, one of the first aspects to consider is the length of the course in question.

At Legacy on Lanier, the yardage listed on the scorecard is one of the lesser elements of the challenge posed by one of the Atlanta area’s most visually appealing but deceptively demanding courses.

Legacy on Lanier has been around since the mid-1980s and has undergone a few name changes (originally Lake Lanier Island GC, then Emerald Pointe) along with a fairly extensive renovation in the late 2000s.

The renovation added around 240 yards to the back tees, but the course still maxes out at a modest 6,580 yards from the black tees, with the blues just under 6,200. Among the alterations to the course was a change in the bunker patterns that brings sand more into play off the tee, and the addition of an all-new par 3, which replaced a par 3 which is no longer part of the course.

The renovations have resulted in considerable changes to the Course Rating/Slope numbers, which are significantly higher than before Billy Fuller did some tweaks to the original Joe Lee/Rocky Roquemore design.

Other than the removal of the short, downhill par-3 13th and its replacement by a new par 3 located in proximity to the clubhouse and playing as the 10th hole, the changes made to the course are not obviously evident. But as head professional Brian Conley points out, “This is not Emerald Pointe. It’s short but it’s mean. The yardage is very misleading. If you don’t understand how the course plays, it can be challenging.”

It doesn’t take a great deal of understanding of visual appeal to recognize that Legacy on Lanier is one of the most scenic golf courses you’ll encounter. Of the 18 holes, 12 play along Lake Lanier, down from 13 prior to the removal of the old 13th hole.

The lake is not a serious factor on all 12 holes, but is very much in play on all but a handful of the dozen, and provides

Legacy on Lanier

one splendid view after another.

“This is probably the most scenic course in the Southeast,” Conley attests.

“There are no homes and the course sits on top of the lake.”

In addition to attracting resort guests and a local clientele that enjoys the course’s beauty and challenge, Legacy on

Lanier is a very popular site for various outings.

“The course lends itself to scramble golf,” says Conley, citing the risk/reward nature of a number of the holes and the frequent presence of hazards that can inflict severe damage to individual scorecards. [ See Legacy on Lanier, page 6 ]

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Crossword Puzzle Page 37

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Instruction Fore You

P R E S E N T E D BY

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

Five ways to improve your putting game

By Karl Gross PGA Head Golf Professional/Manager The Creek at Hard Labor

1. Practice putting with lots of balls.

Use a shag bag at the practice green.

Many practice putting with two or three balls and waste time chasing balls. Spend your time working on the stroke hitting twenty balls in sequence to the same target.

For a wrap-up of the Yamaha Atlanta Open and updates on golf in Georgia, visit

Forecast

www.foregeorgia.com

Place three tees into the green, three paces apart. Start with putts at 12 feet, 18 feet and 24 feet. Hit three balls to each tee in the ground focusing on correct speed.

Putts that end up near each tee are as easy two putts on the course.

3. On putts outside ten feet, do several practice strokes looking at the hole, feeling the club move back and thru to the hole.

Repeat the same feel over the ball to gauge distance.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE Judson Pro-Am preview . . . . . . . . . . 26

Atlanta Open preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Mitsunaga a USGA champion . . . . . 28

Nance wins at Rivermont . . . . . . . . . 10

NCAA golf championships. . 30, 32, 34

Georgians in PGA PNC . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Dogwood, SE Am previews. . . . . . . . 38

Travel: Sequoyah National . . . . . . . . 16 Kirk captures Colonial . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Scott Dunlap feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Georgians on Web.com Tour . . . . . . 24 FOREGEORGIA.COM

4. Posture and ball position.

Correct stance builds a repeatable stroke.

Your eyes should be over the ball when taking the stance. Ball position is played toward forward foot closest to the hole.

5. Use a yardstick to master three footers.

Drill a small hole in end of a yardstick.

Buy one at Lowe’s or Home Depot for one dollar. Place the ball on the hole at end of the stick. Practice putting keeping the ball on the stick. Instant results will show if you push or pull the stroke.

To keep the ball on the stick, focus on the back of your left hand. Keep it square with the clubface and follow through to target.

(Right handed golfer) Practice, Play & Win

Karl E. Gross, PGA Head Professional/Manager The Creek at Hard Labor Georgia Junior Golf Tour 706.557.3006 kgrosspga@gmail.com www.karlgrosspga.com

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 / Kristen Zeck 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 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 Catalina Montana CONTRIBUTORS

Karl Gross • Steve Dinberg Rob Matre • 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

FEATURES:

Georgia Amateur preview . . . . . . . . . 14

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2. The speed is more important than the line.

Golf Media, Inc. / John Barrett E D I T O R Mike Blum

DEPARTMENTS: Golf FORE Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 Chip shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Crossword puzzle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Need help with your game?

Visit your local PGA Professional

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.

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Legacy on La

nier

Legacy on Lanier scenic, challenging [ Continued from the cover ]

“In stroke play, it can eat you up, but it’s fun and enjoyable in a team environment. You can try to drive some of the par 4s and go for the par 5s in two.”

With two inviting par 3s of short to medium length and one of the two overwater par 3s lacking serious distance, the opportunities for a hole-in-one exist, with Conley pointing out that three have been made at Legacy on Lanier in recent events.

One of the changes made to the course that predated the renovations was the reversal of the two nines. That kept players from starting on a difficult stretch of holes that began with a dangerous par 5 and included a trio of potentially penal par 4s and the most demanding par 3 on the course.

The original back nine (now the front) is shorter than the current back nine and does not have as many holes capable of producing some ugly numbers on the scorecard. But it has a few holes where the lake is a serious concern, although there are also several holes that can be very inviting if you can hit it solid and relatively straight.

Legacy on Lanier is rated at 72.7/141 from the black tees and 71.0/137 from the blues. The white tees measure just over 5,700 yards and are rated at 68.8/128, with the forward tees around 4,850.

Because several holes require carries off the tee or on approach shots over water, the selection of which tees to play can be the difference between an enjoyable round or too many visits to your bag for a new ball. The lack of serious 6

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scorecard yardage can be an enticement for golfers to play the course from a set of tees that may be a little more than they can handle, with the difference between the blue and white tees particularly significant on a handful of holes.

If you play the correct set of tees, Legacy on Lanier is definitely capable of yielding more than its share of scoring opportunities, along with the occasional likelihood of an unpleasant number on the scorecard.

The course begins with a trio of holes that exemplify its dual nature. The opening hole is a short and relatively narrow par 5, with trouble lurking on the right, particularly for those going for the green in two. The hole takes a bit of a dip for the second shot, with an uphill third over front bunkers to an angled green with some friendly mounds to the left and rear of the putting surface, but a sharp drop-off to trouble on the right.

The second hole is an all-carry-overwater par 3, but maxes out at 170 yards from the back tee with room to miss on the right. The third also features a carry over the lake, but in this case it’s a tee shot on a par 4 with a strong risk/reward nature. Longer hitters can go directly at the green, but there is trouble left and long even if you clear the water off the tee.

The tee shot is also a challenge for those who have no prayer of driving the green, with a small landing area beyond

two bunkers requiring a precise shot that has to carry water and sand without flying too far into trees at the corner of the hole just before it makes a sharp turn to the left.

The only other serious trouble remaining on the opening nine is found on the winding par-5 sixth, with water down the left in play all the way to the green, most notably on the second shot where the fairway angles to the right.

The course turns inland for a trio of par 4s to conclude the nine, with all three beginning with downhill tee shots. The most interesting of the three is the eighth, with a trio of bunkers in the fairway forcing a decision for longer hitters to either attempt to carry them or lay up. A sharply uphill approach to a shielded putting surface requires both a solid strike and precise distance control to avoid difficult short game shots from in front of the green.

The new par-3 10th features four tees with four slightly different angles to hole locations on a large green that slopes from left to right off a hillside and is flanked by three bunkers. With the short, downhill former 13th no longer part of the course, it’s replacement is the last respite before a before a perilous five-hole stretch that does not respond well to miss-hits or offtarget shots.

The downhill, dogleg left, par-5 11th necessitates both accuracy and length, with bunkers and a drop-off left of the fairway and trees tight to the right on the second shot. Anything left of the green will plunge down an embankment into the lake or trees and a dicey lie if you choose to attempt a recovery shot rather than accept a penalty stroke.

The 12th is among the more dramatic holes on the course, with the angled tee shot having to carry a sizeable expanse of the lake to reach the fairway from the back two sets of tees. The tee shot is considerably shorter but still daunting from the white tees, but if you can keep it dry off the tee, the hole becomes much more inviting as long as you avoid the bunker that guards the front of the green with the Lake precariously close on the right.

Lake Lanier looms all the way down the right side of the 13th, but there is a little room left off the tee and a bailout area left of the green that takes some of the peril out of the hole.

The 14th is the toughest hole on the course and one of the most demanding par 4s in all of Atlanta.

The landing area for the tee shot is among the more generous on the course,

but the lengthy second offers no room to miss, with the lake below the level of the green to the right and a hill with dense vegetation on the left. For shorter hitters with a fairway metal in hand, it’s do or die, usually the latter.

The toughest par 3 at Legacy on Lanier is the 15th, with a healthy carry over the lake and a bunker to a large green, and anything right plunging down a hill to a watery grave.

Like the front, the back nine turns inland for the last three holes – a short par 4 with a green obscured from view, a reasonably long and rolling par 5 with some helpful fairway slopes and a straightaway par 4 of moderate length with one of the more adventurous putting surfaces on the course.

Even with all the hazards in play, the greens are a big part of Legacy on Lanier’s challenge, offering sufficient movement and pace to keep things interesting once you reach them.

Because of its location and scenic appeal, Legacy on Lanier’s rates are in the upper tier of metro Atlanta’s daily fee facilities, but food and drink in the clubhouse is free, with fresh sandwiches supplied daily by Blimpies.

Legacy on Lanier is one of two courses built on the island, but PineIsle, the original Lake Lanier layout, remains out of use, with Conley noting that its possible revival “is still up in the air.”

Until then, Lake Lanier will still have one of the state’s most entertaining and scenic courses, with Legacy on Lanier a joy to play even if your scorecard may have a few blemishes on it.

For information visit www.lanierislandsgolf.com, or call 770-945-8789

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Yamaha Atlanta Open back at White Columns Mason won in playoff last time club was host

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t’s been 15 years since White Columns has served as the host course for the Yamaha Atlanta Open, but it would not come as a major surprise if the three names at the top of the leader board in 2000 were contenders in this year’s tournament.

James Mason, Tim Weinhart and Greg Lee all finished at 7-under 137, with Mason winning on the second playoff hole when he parred the difficult par-4 18th for a third straight time.

The 2015 tournament will be played June 15-16, just a few miles away from Atlanta National, which hosted last year’s Atlanta Open. Hank Smith, the head pro at Frederica Club on St. Simons Island, won the 2014 Atlanta Open by three shots at 6-under 138, with the tournament barely finishing before darkness set in following a rain delay.

Smith broke away from a crowded leader board with five birdies in a sixhole stretch midway through the round, with the last of the five coming just before play was halted. In a short span of time, Smith went from four shots behind Rivermont head pro Matthew Evans to three ahead, as Evans suffered a pair of double bogeys, one when he was penalized for playing the wrong ball after he and one of his playing partners laid up on the par-5 ninth hole.

After play resumed, Smith protected his lead with some deft short game play, with Cateechee Director of Golf Jeff Gotham taking second at 141. Smith was the only player to break 70 the final

GEORGIA PGA

James Mason

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day, closing with a 4-under 68.

Gotham opened with a 68 to share the first round lead with Evans, following with a 73.

The two double bogeys left Evans with a 76 and a tie for seventh at 144.

Smith went on to win a second Georgia PGA major last year, running away from the field in the Section Championship at Sea Island Golf Club, where he once worked as an assistant.

Smith, a native of Waycross who played in college at both Georgia Tech and Alabama, was a mini-tour player for most of his golf career, working off and on at Sea Island GC before taking the job at Hank Smit Frederica. h The Atlanta Open has had a diverse group of winners in its long history, which dates back to at least the late 1920s, with Jeff Hull at Marietta CC in 2003, Bobby Jones winning in 1929 and and Weinhart won by three shots at Tommy Barnes capturing three of his Heron Bay in 2009 after two playoff five titles in the 1930s. Amateurs have losses and a few other near misses. Both won three Atlanta Opens since 2007, have contended in the Atlanta Open with Armstrong State golfer Cory since their victories, with Weinhart Griffin taking the rain-shortened 2013 placing second and Lee ninth in last tournament at Polo G&CC in a playoff year’s Georgia PGA points standings. over Stephen Keppler.

Other recent champions include The Atlanta Open is the only one of Jennings Mill assistant Seth McCain the four Georgia PGA majors that (2012 at Chattahoochee GC in a threeKeppler, the Director of Golf at Marietta way playoff that included Mason); Country Club has yet to win. He missed Brookstone instructor Craig Stevens, a playoff by one shot at Chattahoochee who shot 13-under 131 at the Frog in GC in 2012 and has had several other 2011 to win by one over Crooked Oak close calls over the years. head pro Winston Trively; amateur Also seeking his first win in the tour- Dave Womack, who won on his home nament is Sonny Skinner, who won his course at Georgia National by a shot over second Georgia PGA Player of the Year Weinhart and Hull in 2010; and amateur title in 2014. Skinner tied for seventh Bob Royak, who won by two over Hull last year at Atlanta National, with his in 2007 at the Standard Club. best chance at victory coming in 2007 at Hull, the former head pro at Port Newnan CC, where he finished one shot Armor (now Reynolds Landing) and curbehind fellow former tour player Matt rently an assistant coach on the Furman Peterson. women’s team, placed second in the tourMost of the top Georgia PGA players nament three times between 2003 and have won the tournament at some point, 2010. including Weinhart and Lee, who both Other Atlanta Open champions eventually claimed an Atlanta Open title include Country Club of the South after losing in the 2000 playoff.

Director of Instruction Shawn Koch Lee, a long time assistant at Chicopee (Dunwoody CC, 2006); Atlanta Athletic Woods who was recently promoted Club Director of Instruction Chan to head pro, won in a playoff over Reeves (Golf Club of Georgia, 2005);

GEORGIA PG A

By Mike Blum

and Ansley GC Director Golf Phil Taylor (Golf Club of

Georgia, 2002).

White Columns has hosted a number of events for both the Georgia PGA and GSGA, as well as USGA qualifiers. The outstanding Tom Fazio design has changed little since it last hosted the Atlanta Open in 2000, and remains a course that can yield some low numbers.

Like many Fazio layouts, White Columns is reasonably generous off the tee with the exception of some well-positioned fairway bunkers, some of which are particularly penal. Measuring 7,050 yards from the tips, White Columns is not especially long, with only a handful of holes featuring significant length.

At least two of the par 5s are well within reach in two shots, with none of the four falling into the risk/reward category, and at least three of them offering excellent birdie opportunities.

Six of the par 4s top out at under 400 yards, and also offer scoring chances to players who are precise with their positioning off the tee and with short iron approaches.

Three of the par 3s measure more than 200 yards from the back tees, with the long, downhill 17th one of Atlanta’s best and most scenic, with a creek fronting a wide green that appears to have very little depth from the back tee, which is 235 yards away.

The hole is part of an outstanding stretch of six finishing holes, which includes two par 5s, one long and one short, and an interesting trio of par 4s of varying lengths, all with hazards in play.

Three of the six offer hopes of birdie (or in the case of the par-5 16th, an eagle), with the other three more likely to yield bogeys (or worse), including a long and demanding par-4 18th.

The large, undulating putting surfaces are one of White Column’s primary defenses, but the greens have lost a little bit of their slope since the club last hosted the Atlanta Open 15 years ago.

Entry into the tournament is on a first come, first served basis, with qualifiers no longer required for nonexempt players.

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Nance takes title in Rivermont Championship Moves past leader Martin in final round Travis Nan

By Mike Blum

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bogeyed the 17th. Martin came up short with his approach on the par-4 16th and made bogey, but regained a share of the lead with his birdie at 17.

Cartwright, who posted back-to-back scores of 70, tied for 2nd at 140 with Martin, who shot 4-over 39 on the back nine for a 73, and seventime Georgia PGA Player Tim Weinhart, who also shot a pair of 70s. Weinhart, an instructor at the Standard Club, had three birdies on the back nine the second day, but bogeys at 12 and 15 stalled his comeback effort.

With neither Nance nor Cartwright yet to achieve Class A status within the PGA, Weinhart wound up with first place points and is looking to break a tie with Gregg Wolff and earn his eighth Player of the Year title.

Rob French, an instructor for PGA Tour Superstores, finished 5th at 141 with scores of 70-71, with a bogey at the 18th costing him a tie for 2nd and a share of first place points with Weinhart.

Nicol was 6th at 142 after a final round 70, with three bogeys on the front nine stalling a round that began with birdies on the first two holes.

Tying for 7th at 143 were Potts, Highland Country Club head pro Todd Ormsby and Sonny Skinner, who left immediately after the tournament to compete in the Senior PGA Championship, which began two days later in Indiana.

Ormsby closed with a 67, matching the low score of the tournament, shooting 3-under 32 on the back nine, where he started his second round. Potts shot himself out of contention with a 40 on the front nine, playing the back nine in 1-under with a birdie on the par-5 10th followed by eight straight pars.

Like Nicol, Skinner began his final round with birdies on the first two holes, but managed only one more birdie the rest of the round and shot 70.

Evans was among a group of players tying for 10th at 144. He shot 4-under on the front nine the opening round with five birdies, but settled for a 2-under 69 and fell back with a 75 the second day, including a costly double bogey at the A GEORGIA PG

hroughout the final round of the recent Rivermont Championship, Travis Nance thought the best he could do was finish as low pro in the Georgia PGA tournament.

Nance, an assistant at Coosa Country Club in Rome who lost in a playoff in the inaugural Rivermont tournament last year, began the final round three shots off the lead in a tie for fifth. Nance closed with a solid 69 to finish the tournament at 3-under 139, but with first round leader Erik Martin 7-under for the tournament after 29 holes, Nance had all but conceded the victory to Martin, an amateur and a former Rivermont member.

But Martin struggled over the last seven holes after playing his first 11 holes of the final round in 3-under without a bogey. Over his final seven holes, Martin made four bogeys and a double bogey, managing a par and a birdie on the two par 3s on Rivermont’s back nine.

Martin, who opened with a 4-under 67 to lead by two shots, held a comfortable lead for most of the final round, but played holes 12 through 16 in 5-over to fall one behind Nance as he was playing the dramatic downhill par-3 17th.

Martin rolled in a nice birdie putt to regain a share of the lead, but suffered his second three-putt on the incoming nine on the 18th for a bogey to hand Nance a surprise victory, his first win of consequence in almost a decade.

When asked when he first knew that he had a chance to win the tournament, Nance replied, “Not until I finished. I thought I was tied for low pro. No joke.”

Nance was non-committal about not knowing where he stood in relation to the overall lead coming down the stretch.

“It wouldn’t have made any difference as aggravated as I was with my putting.”

Nance holed an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-4 third and rattled in a putt in the 20-foot range on the difficult par-5 seventh. He missed from just outside tap-in range on the 10th, but managed two more birdies on the short, par-4 11th and the par-3 14th, holing a putt of similar length to the one he made on the third hole.

The birdie on the 14th followed a bogey on the previous hole, and Nance

ce

ended his round with four pars, playing “pretty steady” after the birdie at 14 got him back to 3-under for the tournament.

Nance had an excellent chance to win last year’s tournament at Rivermont, but missed short birdie putts in the final round at 16 and 17 and three-putted the 18th to end in a tie at 6-under with Chris Nicol of Georgia Golf Center, who won on the first hole of a playoff after Nance could not find his errant tee shot.

“It feels better to be on the other side, for sure,” he said. “It hasn’t set in yet. It’s hard to believe I won.”

Martin, who was in the first group off the first tee in the opening round, was in control of the tournament from the outset. He birdied four holes on his first nine and ended the day with a 67 to lead by two shots over Country Club of the South instructor David Potts, Brunswick CC instructor Mark Anderson and Rivermont head pro Matthew Evans, who was looking to win on his home course.

When Martin pitched within a few feet for an easy birdie on the short 11th the second day, he was 7-under and four shots clear of the field. But he threeputted the 12th from long range, bogeyed the 13th after hitting a tree with his second shot and made double bogey on 15 after topping his tee shot into the thick native grass in front of the tee.

That dropped him in a tie with Nance and West Pines pro Chris Cartwright, who dropped out of the lead when he

par-3 sixth.

Also tying for 10th were Gary Miller, the head pro at the Oaks, Cherokee Town & CC assistant Peter Jones, Towne Lake Hills instructor Bill Murchison, and amateur Gus Wagoner, who played on the Georgia State golf team this past season.

Murchison made a big early surge with consecutive birdies at holes 2, 3 and 4, but went bogey-double bogey on holes 5 and 6 and made another double on the 14th. Miller closed with a 69, with his only bogey of the day coming on the 18th.

Nance, who took home $2,200 for his victory, shot 70 the first round, with a bogey at the ninth, his final hole of the day. Nance has broken par in all four rounds at Rivermont the last two years, shooting back-to-back 68s in 2014 highlighted by a pair of eagles on the drivable par-4 11th.

Prior to joining the staff at Coosa, Nance played nine years as a tour pro, mainly on regional mini-tours in the Southeast. He played one season on what is now the Web.com Tour, and enjoyed some success as a tour player, winning twice on the 2006 Hooters Tour, including the Tour Championship at St. Marlo, ending the year sixth on the money list.

Less than a year later, Nance was done as a tour pro, and has worked at Coosa for five years, making the adjustment from full-time player to occasional participant.

“I don’t have my time to put into my game that I used to. In my head, I can still make shots, but I physically can’t.

I’ve learned to accept certain shots, and being older, wiser and more mature, I understand my limitations. “ Nance still has plenty of game, particularly from tee to green. Although he has played a limited schedule in recent years, he has recorded top-5 finishes in both the Atlanta Open and Championship at Berkeley Hills, and has several solid showings in recent Georgia Opens against fields that include current minitour pros.

Nance said that Coosa head pro Brian Albertson and club members “have been asking when are you gonna win one?

This trophy is something I can put in the shop for the members.”

The Rivermont Championship was presented by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

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Familiar names missing from PGA PNC field Weinhart, Stevens fall short of qualifying

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he Georgia PGA will have seven of its members in the field for the 2015 PGA Professional National Championship later this month in Philadelphia, but the Section’s two most successful players over the past 15-plus years will not be among the state’s representatives.

Tim Weinhart has played in the PGA PNC – the national championship for the country’s club professionals – each of the past 15 years, but that streak will be broken this year. Craig Stevens, who had qualified for the PNC almost every year along with Weinhart and made a total of 17 appearances, also missed out in qualifying for this year’s championship.

Weinhart and Stevens have a combined 11 Georgia PGA Player of the Year honors since 1999, but both came up a few shots short of qualifying for the 2015 PNC in the Georgia PGA PNC, which was played last Fall at the Legends at Chateau Elan.

This year’s Georgia PGA contingent in the PNC will include Phil Taylor, who won last year’s qualifier at the Legends, and 2014 Player of the Year Sonny Skinner, who has been a fixture in the event since he joined the Georgia PGA in 2006.

Joining them in the 2015 PNC, which will be played June 28-July 1, are Brian Puterbaugh, Kyle Owen, Gary Miller, Clark Spratlin and Hank Smith, who earned his spot in nationals by winning last year’s Georgia PGA Championship at Sea Island Golf Club.

Those seven players will compete along with more than 300 other PGA members at historic Philadelphia Cricket Club, with the tournament broadcast on Golf Channel. The club’s 1922 A.W. Tillinghast design will be the primary host, with a course built in 2002 serving as co-host for the first two rounds.

Taylor, the Director of Golf at Ansley GC, qualified for the PGA PNC four times in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, with his

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Clark Spratli

Pointe in Albany, has split his playing time in recent years before Georgia PGA and national PGA events, as well as the occasional start on the Champions Tour.

Skinner competed on both the PGA Tour and what is now the Web.com Tour during his years as a tour pro, playing primarily in Section events since 2006.

Since becoming a full-time PGA member, Skinner has qualified for nationals every year, but did not compete in 2012 when he got into a Champions Tour event. Skinner finished second in the PGA PNC in both 2008 and 2010, nearly winning the ‘08 event at Reynolds Plantation. He also tied for ninth in 2013 to earn a third trip to the PGA Championship based off his finishes in the PNC. Skinner has also been a regular in recent years in the Senior PGA Championship, and is one of four seniors among the Georgia PGA contingent in the PNC along with Taylor, Puterbaugh and Spratlin. Skinner tied for 31st in last year’s PNC at Myrtle Beach highlighted by a third round 68 that had him in the top 10 with 18 holes to play.

In addition to twice earning Georgia PGA Player of the Year honors, Skinner has also been named PGA Professional and Senior Professional of the Year based on his play in Section and national PGA events.

Skinner, who made the cut in the recent Senior PGA Championship, tied for third in last year’s Georgia PGA PNC along with Owen and Miller, who both made their only PNC starts in 2012 in California.

ROB MATRE

Phil Taylor

most recent appearance coming in 2012 in northern California. Taylor has three Georgia PGA titles spread out over 20 years, winning the Griffin Classic in 1994 and the Atlanta Open at Golf Club of Georgia in 2002.

Taylor won a Section event for the first time in a dozen years last Fall, posting a 2-over 146 total on the challenging Legends layout to win the event by one shot. It was a particularly sweet victory for Taylor, who had let a chance to qualify for the Senior PGA PNC slip away several weeks earlier at Settindown Creek, one of Ansley’s two courses.

Finishing second at the Legends was Puterbaugh, the Director of Instruction at the Hooch in Duluth. This will be the second start for Puterbaugh in the PGA PNC, with his first coming at Reynolds Plantation on Lake Oconee in 2008.

Puterbaugh won the Georgia PGA PNC at Cuscowilla on Lake Oconee in 1999, but at that time, there were Regional qualifiers in between Section events and nationals. Puterbaugh led his regional after the first round that year, but was unable to advance to nationals, later losing a playoff for a spot before finally making it in 2008.

The battle for the spots in the PNC behind Taylor was very competitive last year, with Puterbaugh nailing down his berth with three birdies on the final four holes in the second round at the Legends.

Skinner, who plays out of River

ROB MATRE

By Mike Blum

n

Owen, the head professional at Dunwoody Country Club, made a run at a top 20 finish in the 2012 PNC, which would have earned him a spot in the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island later that Summer.

Prior to joining the PGA, Owen enjoyed some success as a mini-tour player, and has been a competitive player in Georgia PGA events in recent years, winning at Chicopee Woods last year for his first section title.

Miller, the head pro at the Oaks in Covington, also played in the 2012 PNC in California, but was not 100 percent physically that week, and is looking forward to getting another shot at the national level.

In last year’s Georgia PGA PNC at Settindown Creek, Miller shared the opening round lead with Taylor and was still tied for the lead late in the second round before a double bogey at the 17th derailed his hopes for winning the event.

With neither Weinhart nor Stevens qualifying this year, Spratlin has competed at nationals more than any of the Georgia PGA players in the field, and will be making his ninth PNC start.

Spratlin, the Director of Golf at Currahee Club in Toccoa, has come close several times to a finish in the PNC that would earn him a spot in the PGA Championship, but has yet to make it into one of golf’s four majors.

Spratlin has won seven Georgia PGA titles, including the Match Play Championship three times and the Section Championship in 2008, and recently joined the Georgia PGA’s growing roster of successful career club professionals who have reached the age of 50.

To earn his spot in the 2015 PNC, Spratlin had to hole a 40-foot birdie on the first hole of a four-man playoff in the Georgia PGA PNC, with only one spot available for the playoff participants.

Smith, a relatively recent addition to the Georgia PGA’s list of members, made a splash in his first year of playing in Section events in 2014, winning the Atlanta Open and Section Championship, two of the Georgia PGA’s four majors. Smith played on the minitours and worked as an instructor at Sea Island Golf Club before taking over as head pro at the Frederica Club on St. Simons Island.

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Georgia Amateur heading to the state’s coast Famed Seaside course to host event in July

By Mike Blum

T

FOREGEORGIA.COM

David Noll

GSGA

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Walker Cup appearances and five PGA Tour victories among them. David Denham began a six-year run of current or former UGA golfers to win the GSGA Championship in 2004, but the tournament has also had winners from state colleges with lower profiles.

Colleges represented over the past two decades include Georgia Southern (Adam Thomas, 1995), Georgia State (Jack Croyle, 2000), Augusta State (Michael Webb, 2001), Kennesaw State (Jimmy Beck, 2013) and Columbus State (Robert Mize, 2014).

Beck is the most prominent college player to win the GSGA Championship since Henley in ‘09, but his participation in 2013 was largely predicated on the tournament being played at Pinetree Country Club, the home course for Kennesaw State.

While not all of the state’s top college players have played in the Georgia Amateur in recent years, the tournament fields have not lacked for talented participants from Georgia, Georgia Tech and all the other Division 1 schools from the Peach State.

Georgia Tech’s Anders Albertson and Seth Reeves both had top-5 finishes in

GSGA

he GSGA Championship returns to the Georgia coast for the first time since 1998, and the event, scheduled for July 9-12, has changed markedly since it was last played at Sea Island Golf Club in 1989.

The last time the Georgia Amateur was played at Sea Island GC, Allen Doyle was nearing the end of his 13-year reign as the state’s top amateur, winning six times and finishing second four times between 1978 and 1990.

Danny Yates won the ‘89 Georgia Amateur at Sea Island GC, making the Yates family 3-for-3 when the GSGA played its championship event on St. Simons Island. His father Dan and uncle Charlie won the GSGA Championship in the 1930s at the pre-renovation Sea Island Golf Club, with this year’s Georgia Amateur the first one played on the extensively re-designed Tom Fazio Seaside layout.

Doyle won his sixth and final Georgia Amateur the next year, but the success the state’s mid-amateurs had enjoyed in the event did not end with his departure from amateur golf in the early 1990s.

Carter Mize won back-to-back GSGA Championships in 1992 and ‘93, and Yates captured the title for a third time in ‘95, with all three of his victories coming in different decades.

During the post-Doyle 1990s, the tournament champions were almost equally divided between mid-amateurs like Mize, Yates, Bill Roberts and Rick Cloninger and college players, at least two of whom are still playing professionally (Paul Claxton and Tim O’Neal).

Roberts and Cloninger won back-toback in 1998 and ‘99, with Roberts surviving a three-way playoff at Sea Island’s Ocean Forest course with fellow mid-am Jeff Knox and future PGA Tour player John Engler.

Since Cloninger’s victory, the state’s collegiate contingent has taken control of the tournament, winning all but a handful of times over the past 15 years.

Many of the college-age winners were already well known in Georgia amateur circles and have gone on to successful pro careers at a young age.

That group includes current PGA Tour players Brian Harman (2005),

Harris English (‘07) and Russell Henley (2008, ‘09), who have four

Robert Mize Lee Knox (Jeff’s son) won in 2010 and ‘12 while a member of the golf team at Alabama, but unlike all but a handful of the other college players who have won the tournament, did not turn pro almost immediately after graduating.

Harman, English and Henley were either about to enter Georgia or early in their college careers, with Harman and Henley both GSGA Junior champions.

All three were already among the state’s most prominent amateurs when they won the tournament. But a number of other recent and current high profile college players from the state have focused their Summer schedules more on national amateur tournaments, opening the door for players from smaller schools or those with less impressive resumes.

2011, and Georgia’s Sepp Straka has back-to-back top 10s the past two years, with UGA freshman Zach Healy in the top 15 both years prior to enrolling in Athens. Mercer (Trey Rule) and Kennesaw State (Kelby Burton) both had players tie for second last year at Idle Hour in Macon, with Georgia Southern also represented in the top 10 (Matt Mierzejewski).

The depth of the state’s college talent was evident last year, when a player from a Division II school won. Armstrong Atlantic has had players contend in recent tournaments (Travis Williamson, Ridge Purcell), with the state’s top junior golfers also figuring prominently.

Will Chandler was part of a four-way tie for second last year, with several other players yet to begin their college careers playing well enough to finish in the top 15, guaranteeing spots in this year’s field.

Since Cloninger moved to South Carolina following his win in 1999, the most consistent contender among the state’s mid-am contingent has been Dalton’s David Noll, who won in 2003 and 2011, was runner-up in 2005, ‘09 and ‘12 and has been out of the top 10 just once in the tournament since 2002.

Noll was unable to play in the recent GSGA Mid-Amateur Championship due to a hand injury, and his status for the Georgia Amateur is uncertain.

Although the only other mid-am player to win the GSGA Championship since 2003 is Bill Brown in ‘06, they have not been absent from contention.

Georgia Southern golf coach Carter Collins was part of the four-way tie for second last year, and Bonaire’s Stan Gann had the lead going to the final round.

Augusta’s Jeff Knox has been a frequent contender over the years, tying for third as recently as 2013, with runner-up finishes in 1998 at Ocean Forest, 2006 and ‘07. Chris Waters, Billy Mitchell, Matt Russell and Mark Strickland have also had top finishes in the tournament in recent years, but have been unable to hold off the charge of the talented and deep group of college players from the state.

Ten qualifiers were scheduled for the tournament in June, with members of the state’s top college teams among the entrants. The list of qualifiers include Georgia’s Greyson Sigg and Parker Derby, Kennesaw State’s Chris Guglielmo, Wyatt Larkin and Buster Bruton, Georgia State’s Nathan Mallonee, Damon Stephenson and Gus Wagoner, Georgia Southern’s Henry Mabbett and Mercer’s Austin Connelly.

Scott Wolfes, the top player on Georgia Southern’s team in recent seasons and a St. Simons resident, is exempt for the tournament and will be among the favorites. Wolfes, who has completed his college career, won the GSGA Junior Championship in 2009 on Sea Island Golf Club’s Retreat course, and repeated his title the following year in Columbus.

Layne Williams, the GSGA’s Senior Director of Rules and Competition, says the par-70 Seaside course will play to its full distance of over 7,000 yards, [ See Georgia Amateur, page 38 ] JUNE 2015

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Sequoyah National a challenging beauty N.C. course offers best of mountain golf

By Mike Blum

G

eorgia golfers looking for not too distant getaways that offer a strong attraction other than golf have both beaches and mountain resorts within easy driving distance.

The mountains of North Carolina have an added bonus with the presence of Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort for those who enjoy a little gambling away from the golf course.

Sequoyah National Golf Club is located within close proximity to Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort, and is owned by the Eastern Band of the Cherokee Indians. The course, designed

by Robert Trent Jones II with a consulting assist from PGA Tour player and broadcaster Notah Begay, is a scenic beauty that takes full advantage of its location in the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains.

The course offers the splendid views you expect from a mountain course and then some, but along with its visual appeal, Sequoyah National presents the type of challenge that is typical for layouts in a mountain setting.

Measuring just 6600 yards from the back tees and 6250 from the next set, Sequoyah National lacks for serious length, but the mountain nature of the layout lends itself to some expected penalties if you stray too far with your tee shot or approach.

The course is rated at 71.7 with a slope of 140 from the back tees and 69.8/138 from the golds. The silver tees are 5810 yards (67.6/129), with two shorter sets playing 5325 and 4692.

Sequoyah National is managed by Atlanta-based Sequoia Golf, now a part of ClubCorp, with the conditions of the course improving markedly since Sequoia assumed management of the facility last Fall.

With bluegrass fairways and fescue rough, the maintenance staff at Sequoyah National is challenged to keep the course in top shape throughout the year, but after some recent neglect, the course has been restored to quality condition with better days ahead.

The bent grass greens are not especially fast, but given the challenge of the course, they don’t need to be. They roll true and offer the possibility of holing a 16

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Sequoyah National

few putts if you can solve their subtle nature.

Sequoyah National is a comfortable and pleasant drive of about 2 ½ hours from metro Atlanta and is located directly along U.S. 441 just outside the Cherokee Indian Reservation. Asheville is less than an hour to the east.

The wonderful views of the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park are present throughout the course, beginning from the deck just outside the clubhouse to the practice area and the elevated first tee, which provides an early taste of what’s to come. The hole turns right past a fairway bunker and narrows as you near the green, with a hazard and thick tree line all the way down the left side.

The par-5 third bears some similarities to the opening hole, but the main trouble is along the right side from tee to green, with a sharp drop-off just to the right of the long, narrow putting surface.

The nine closes with a third par 5, with the hole also turning right but with a more generous fairway. Trouble again lurks right of the green, which is guarded short and right by sand, with several bunkers also in play off the tee and on the lay-up.

There are also three par 3s on the nine -- two short, one long and trouble within reach on all three. The second hole requires a carry over a scrub area well below the tee and green, which is protected in front by a rock wall. The putting surface is extremely shallow and a serious test to your distance control ability.

The sixth measures 234 and 219 from

as you near the green, which is fronted by a rock-walled creek and flanked by bunkers on three sides.

The carry to reach the fairway on the 12th is not as long, but the hole is the lengthiest of the par 5s, with the sharply uphill third having to clear a front bunker that swallows up many underclubbed approaches.

The two par 3s coming in both are 200-yards-plus from the back two tees, with thick grass left and bunkers right on the 13th, and a long, narrow green producing some potentially long distance putts for those capable of hitting it off the tee on the bunker-less 17th.

After getting past the 10th, the remaining par 4s are much friendlier, with three of the four under 360 yards from the tips. Bunkers surround the green on the 14th and are in play at the corner of the fairway on the dogleg right 15th, which offers one of the more generous landing areas from the most elevated tee at Sequoyah National.

The short and open 16th presents one of the best scoring opportunities you’ll encounter on the day, with the finishing hole including an array of fairway bunkers followed by an approach over sand to an angled green with trouble lurking just off its left edge.

With the possible exception of holes 10 and 11, Sequoyah National is not an overly demanding mountain-style layout for players of modest ability, but those who struggle to break 100 can expect to lose a few golf balls, although you may find even more during your searches.

Given the quality of Jones’ layout and the beauty you’ll experience throughout the course, the rates are reasonable, and a friendly staff headed up by General Manager Kenny Cashwell helps make your visit an enjoyable one.

With various stay and play packages, the casino and an area rich in native American culture, there is no lack for activities other than golf, but Sequoyah National is worth a visit strictly for the golf experience it offers.

the two back sets of tees and requires a partial carry over water, with a creek left of the green. There is no elevated tee to effectively reduce the yardage, but the hole has a little room to miss to the right, and may not quite earn its status as the No. 1 handicap hole on the course.

Like the second, the par-3 eighth is on the short side, with thick native grass and a creek left of a long, narrow green with bunkers on each side.

The first two par 4s are both in the 350-yard range from the back tees, with trouble down the left side of both but relatively ample landing areas if you play up the right side away from the slight doglegs. The fourth features one of the more adventurous greens on the course, with all sorts of movement at the back of the putting surface.

The seventh has a little more length, along with a rolling fairway that will likely determine how well you can handle an uneven lie.

The front side is the tamer of the two nines, with the back beginning with the longest and most difficult of the par 4s.

The 10th is 416 from the tips and a very healthy 390 from the middle tees. The uphill second shot has to clear an area of heavy vegetation, and shorter hitters face a likely lay-up, with the fairway sloping down towards the ravine, making for a demanding uphill third that is all carry.

The tee shot over a ravine on the par-5 11th is among the most For information, call 828-497-3000 or visit intimidating on the course, but www.sequoyahnational.com. For local is not as long as the obscured information, visit www.visitcherokee.com. view of the fairway makes it appear. Things don’t get any easier

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Colonial a special place to Georgia’s Kirk Former Bulldog claims 4th PGA Tour title

C

hris Kirk has had an affinity

for Colonial Country Club and the Ft. Worth, Tex., area since he was a junior at the University of Georgia.

Kirk came to Ft. Worth after a stellar junior season on the Georgia golf team, hoping to win the Ben Hogan Award, which is presented to the nation’s top collegiate golfer. He intended to turn pro and forego his senior season, but had a change of heart after Matt Every won the award.

After an outstanding senior season, Kirk was back in Ft. Worth as a Ben Hogan Award finalist, and this time returned home to Georgia with the trophy.

Kirk took home another trophy from Ft. Worth recently, capturing the Colonial Invitational for his fourth PGA Tour victory.

After holing a clutch par putt on the 72nd hole to prevent what would have been a 4-way playoff, Kirk reflected on the role the Hogan Award and Colonial have played in a career that has him in the top 20 in the World Ranking after placing second in 2014 in the final FedExCup Playoffs points list.

“I had been planning on turning pro after my junior year,” Kirk recalled. “I had a great year that year, thinking OK, what else am I going to accomplish my senior year? So after I came here and did the whole deal and had the ceremony and I didn’t win, it sort of motivated me.

“So I went back to Georgia for my senior year and had a great year and came back and won the Ben Hogan Award.

Those experiences, those two years coming here and getting to play the golf course and just seeing the incredible history of this place really, really made me love it.

“And then once I got on tour, I found that it was a course that really, really suited my game, and I’ve always enjoyed the town of Ft. Worth. So all those things combined has made it my favorite place to come year in and year out. So to win it for all those reasons is really just beyond belief.”

Kirk became the first Hogan Award winner to win on Hogan’s home course, shooting 65-66 the final two rounds after trailing Kevin Na by seven after 36 18

FOREGEORGIA.COM

holes. Kirk was still three back going to the final round, but made a quick move up the leader board when he hit his second shot on the par-5 opening hole to 14 feet from almost 250 yards and holed the putt for eagle.

After a bogey at the seventh hole resulting from one of several missed fairways in the final round, Kirk birdied three of his last 10 holes, two of them from inside five feet and the other on an 18-footer. He also saved par three times on the final five holes, capped by the clutch 7-footer for the win at the 18th.

“I’m kind of surprised to be sitting here with y’all at the moment,” Kirk said in his post-victory press conference.

“Every other time that I’ve either won or been in this position, I’ve felt really great about pretty much all aspects of my game.

“To be able to do it when I didn’t really feel like I quite had it is a huge step for me. “ Kirk had a similar feeling two weeks earlier in the Players Championship. He was not entirely satisfied with the quality of his play for 54 holes, but led going to the final round, playing what he described as “really efficient golf.

“I didn’t really feel great with my swing there. I was getting the ball up and down, making putts and hitting good iron shots when I had to. So to go in there with the lead going to the final round and not win, I really wasn’t that hard on myself.”

Kirk admitted that he did not expect to win Colonial coming into the week, and said he was “probably more nervous today than any of my previous three wins coming down the stretch,” owing to his uncertainty with his ball striking.

“I’m a little bit surprised but very proud of myself that I was able to do it.”

Kirk was one of a large number of players who had a chance to win the tournament, including recent Masters champion and local favorite Jordan Spieth, Brandt Snedeker and Jason Bohn, like Kirk an Atlanta area resident.

Bohn and Spieth had both posted 11under totals with Kirk standing at 12-under late in his final round.

Snedeker had a birdie putt on the final hole that would have gotten him to 12under, and after he missed, Kirk rolled in the tournament-clincher to avoid a playoff.

STEVE DINBERG

By Mike Blum

Chris Kirk

Kirk claimed the winner’s check of $1.17 million, which will come in handy with he and wife Tahnee about to close on a house in Athens. Kirk grew up in Woodstock in Cherokee County and after graduating from Georgia in 2007, settled on St. Simons Island.

Once he and his wife started a family, the Kirks moved back to the Atlanta area to be closer to relatives. But with their two young sons now old enough to travel, they decided to return to the college town where they both went to school.

Although he was a national-caliber junior, Kirk did not emerge as an elite player in Athens until his sophomore season, when he won twice and helped lead the Bulldogs to an NCAA championship along with fellow PGA Tour winner Brendon Todd and Kevin Kisner, who has made several runs at his first PGA Tour victory the past few months.

Kirk won two college tournaments as a sophomore, two more as a junior and three as a senior, placing second individually in the NCAA Championship as a junior and tying for ninth as a senior, when the Bulldogs finished second as a team. He was second team All-American as a sophomore and first team as a junior and senior.

After completing his college career, Kirk played in the 2007 Walker Cup on the U.S. team that included Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler, Webb Simpson and Billy Horschel, and defeated the GBI team led by Rory McIlroy.

Kirk spent three years on what is now

the Web.com Tour, playing respectably in his rookie season in 2008 highlighted by a playoff loss in Knoxville. After struggling through a poor sophomore season as a pro, Kirk reclaimed his playing privileges for 2010 and enjoyed an outstanding season, winning twice, finishing second twice and ending the year second on the money list after having to miss the Tour Championship with a hand injury.

In Kirk’s final appearance before his injury, he tied for 15th in the inaugural PGA Tour McGladrey Classic at Sea Island GC, playing on a sponsor’s exemption. In his second start as a PGA Tour member two months later, Kirk tied for seventh in the Bob Hope Classic, and came close to a victory the week before the Masters, tying for second in Houston when he shot 67 in the final round but lost to Phil Mickelson’s 65.

Kirk captured his first PGA Tour title later that season, winning in Mississippi in a tournament played opposite the British Open.

Although he played steady golf in the 2012 and ‘13 seasons, placing 49th and 34th in the FedExCup standings, Kirk was winless for more than two years before capturing the McGladrey Classic at the outset of the 2013-14 season. That win began an outstanding season that included a runner-up finish in Hawaii, top 20 showings in his first appearances in the Masters and British Open, and a victory in the Playoffs event in Boston.

That win gave Kirk a chance to win the FedExCup last year and he tied for fourth in the Tour Championship at East [ See Chris Kirk, page 31 ] JUNE 2015

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Dunlap finally sheds status as journeyman Champions Tour win in ‘14 a career changer Scott Dunlap

By Mike Blum

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

AL KOOISTRA

F

or almost his entire professional career, Scott Dunlap has been a textbook example of the quintessential journeyman tour pro.

Dunlap literally fit the journey part of that description, playing in South Africa, Canada and South America along with a 6-year stint on the PGA Tour from 19962002 and a career-length stretch on what is now the Web.com Tour that spanned a quarter century and included membership under all five title sponsors.

During that time, Dunlap won tournaments in six countries, but just one of his wins came in the U.S. With the exception of one season on the PGA Tour at the age of 48, Dunlap spent the entire decade of his 40s on the Web.com Tour, not the best place for a veteran player who wasn’t that long off the tee and was never an especially skilled putter.

Dunlap remained a reasonably competitive player throughout his 40s, and like tour pros of a certain age, had his calendar circled for one particular day, in his case, August 16, 2013. That was the day Dunlap turned 50 and the day his career was about to take a different direction, although not immediately.

The day he turned 50, Dunlap was competing in a Web.com tournament in Knoxville and played well enough to make it to the weekend, but not well enough to make much of a check ($1,485). He took one last shot at the PGA Tour, but played well only one out of four weeks in the Web.com Finals and fell well short in his attempt, a disappointing end to a season that began with promise. Dunlap was in the top 25 on the money list midway through the season, but did not finish as strongly as he started.

As he did frequently late in the year, Dunlap set his sights on the qualifying tournament for the following season, but this time it was qualifying for the Champions Tour. To get a little tournament action in, Dunlap entered a Monday qualifier for the final regular season event of the season, played his way into the field and tied for 15th, earning more than one-third as much money ($32,300) in one weekend as he had the entire season on the Web.com Tour ($95.000).

One month later, Dunlap was playing

in the finals of Champions Tour qualifying and for 54 holes, was looking good for one of five exempt spots for the 2014 season. After shooting 69-64-66 the first three days, Dunlap closed with a 73, recovering from an early triple bogey with a string of birdies before a 3-putt on the 72nd hole sent him into a 5-way playoff for the final two spots.

Several of Dunlap’s fellow competitors had a tougher time the last day than he did, and that continued in the playoff.

Dunlap parred the first extra hole and three of other four players made bogey or worse. Dunlap exited the playoff with exempt status on the Champions Tour for 2014, and about a year-and-half later, has a much healthier bank account and a less stressful professional outlook.

Dunlap finished his rookie season 10th on the money list with $1.1 million, the most money he has made in a year as a tour player. The highlight of his season was a victory in the Boeing Classic in Seattle, part of a career-changing twomonth stretch of golf that changed Dunlap’s journeyman status to frequent Champions Tour contender.

During that stretch, Dunlap had top-

10 finishes in the U.S. and British Senior Opens, his win in Seattle, and consecutive runner-up finishes in Quebec and Hawaii, an appropriate geographical pair considering his career travels.

Dunlap was among the players competing in the recent Greater Gwinnett Championship at TPC Sugarloaf, a home game for Dunlap, a long time Duluth resident. It was not a particularly profitable week for Dunlap, who tied for 31st and collected a check for $11,400, which left him 17th on the money list six tournaments into the 2015 season.

After he completed what turned out to be the final round of the rain-shortened tournament on Saturday, Dunlap reflected on the change in his career since he turned 50.

“This is a nice gig if you can get out here. It’s a tough start to get a shot at with five spots in qualifying. And if you don’t have much of a year and not play well, it’s all gone. You’ve got to stay in the top 30, and hopefully I’ll be able to do that again.”

Players like fellow Atlanta area resident Billy Andrade, who won four times on the PGA Tour and earned more

than $12 million in his career, are exempt on the Champions Tour as soon as they become eligible, and remain that way because of their career earnings.

Dunlap’s career earnings from the PGA and Web.com Tours are under $4 million, and even after his successful rookie season last year, he is less than half way to the total needed to earn exempt status off his standing on the career money list.

The way Dunlap has been playing in his first year-plus on the Champions Tour, he may not have to worry about dropping out of the top 30 any time soon.

“The last two years I’ve played the best golf of my life at 50 and 51. I have the same length, but I was never a bomber.

It’s more about not making mistakes.

When I’m playing the way I can, I’m capable of some good, low rounds. My good is still really good.”

As an example, Dunlap cited last year’s season-opening Champions event in Boca Raton, Fla., his first appearance as a tour member.

“I shot 63-67-76. I had a good couple of rounds and then I shot 76, which is golf’s version of throwing up on yourself.”

The occasional poor final round was Dunlap’s main concern during his first year on the Champions Tour, and almost proved costly in two events that had a sizeable impact on his first-rate rookie season.

Dunlap had to compete in sectional qualifying to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open and needed a birdie on his final hole to avoid a playoff. He was tied for 2nd in the event after 54 holes at 4-under 209, but shot a 77 the final day to tie for 9th at 286 with Bernhard Langer, who also closed with a 77.

Fortunately for Dunlap, his finish was high enough to get him into the Senior British Open without having to qualify, and he again played well in one of the tour’s majors. A third round 65 moved him into a tie for 4th, but he fell back with a 75 the next day and tied for 6th.

He still beat Tom Watson (77) and Fred Couples (78) that day, with both also among the leaders going to the final round.

Those two efforts enabled Dunlap to take a nice move up the money list and set up him for his August/September run JUNE 2015

which included a win and two runner-up finishes in a span of four tournaments.

A third round 63 gave Dunlap the lead at 12-under 132 going to the final round in Seattle and he closed with a 68, playing his last 11 holes in 5-under with an eagle on the 8th and three birdies on the back nine. Mark Brooks birdied six of the last seven holes to force a playoff, but Dunlap won on the first extra hole when he hit his second shot on the par-5 18th close to the hole and tapped in for a winning birdie after missing his eagle putt.

Two weeks later in Quebec, Dunlap shot 66-64 the last two days, with his final round including a pair of eagles and two birdies over the final 10 holes.

Dunlap eagled the 18th to take the lead, but Wes Short shot 29 on the back nine and also eagled the 18th to edge Dunlap by a shot.

Dunlap finished tied for 2nd in his next start in Hawaii, shooting 65 the final day to finish one behind Paul Goydos, who birdied four straight holes late in the round.

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During his tenure on the Web.com Tour from 2003-13, Dunlap scored a pair of wins, but both times he said, “My game went into the crapper for about a year. This time I followed a win up by finishing second two times. Usually I don’t do that after I expend so much energy winning. “ Until Dunlap won a Web.com event in California late in the 2004 season, all his victories had come outside the U.S. He won twice each in Canada (1994 and ‘95) and South Africa (1995 and ‘99) and five times in South America between 1996 and 2000, twice in Argentina and three times in Peru. His play in Canada and South Africa led to appearances on the PGA Tour and a spot in the British Open, with Dunlap’s strong 1995 season worldwide paving the way to his qualifying for the PGA Tour for the first time later that year.

Dunlap’s best season on the PGA Tour came in 2000 when he finished 44th on the money list with just over $1 million, contending in both the Players Championship and PGA. But he lost his

status after the 2002 season and did not make it back to the tour until 2012, by which time he was closing in on 50.

“After I fell off the tour, I bottomed out and spent ten years on the Web.com Tour. My good was good, but there was not enough of it. I played good maybe one-third of the time.”

Dunlap added a second Web.com win in Panama to open the 2008 season, but did not play well enough the rest of the year to earn a return to the PGA Tour. He ended up 37th on the money list, his best showing in 13 seasons.

At the outset of 2014, Dunlap had status on both the Champions and Web.com Tours, and initially planned to compete on both. But after a few successful showings against players closer to his age, he bid farewell to the tour that had been his home for more than a decade.

Dunlap made more in his rookie season on the Champions Tour than in his entire Web.com career, and quickly scrapped his plans to split his schedule.

“It didn’t take a finance major from

Florida to do the math,” said Dunlap, who was his high school’s valedictorian and a 1985 graduate from the U. of Florida with a finance degree.

Dunlap is enjoying his new-found success on the Champions Tour and has gained confidence from his excellent play. But his career has taught him that nothing is guaranteed in golf.

“I’m a year-to-year guy. It’s never easy out here; you have to prove yourself every year. That’s the way it should be. But I’m a whole lot better off at this stage than I was last year.”

Despite his lack of sustained success during his two decades on the PGA and Web.com Tours, Dunlap felt he was capable of holding his own on the Champions Tour.

“I knew if I played like I could play, I’d do all right. I didn’t know if I was going to win, but last year I played good enough three times. This tour has no cuts and you’re guaranteed to make a check, but you can’t get by finishing 30th every week. Then you’re 75th on the money list and you’re out of a job.”

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List among players off to strong Web.com starts Kizzire, Norlander also among top 25 on money list

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Luke List

the Web.com Tour last year, finishing 50th on the money list.

Thanks to finishes of fifth in Panama and a tie for second in Brazil, Norlander was 20th in earnings this season with more than $75,000. His lone PGA Tour start last year came in the U.S. Open after he earned medalist honors in the Sectional qualifier at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek.

Luke List was a highly touted player as a junior golfer in Georgia and his amateur career included a runner-up finish in the U.S. Amateur and appearances in the U.S. Open and Masters, where he made the cut in 2005. But his professional career has not matched the potential he displayed as an amateur other than the 2012 Web.com season.

List placed fourth on the money list that year, winning the former tour stop in Valdosta and finishing second three times. But his rookie season on the PGA Tour in 2013 was a bust, and he did not play well on the Web.com Tour last year. List has gotten off to a much better start this year, tying for fourth in Colombia and for sixth in Mexico, and was 28th on the money list.

The 30-year-old List is one of the tour’s longest drivers, averaging 321 yards through nine tournaments this season.

Augusta’s Vaughn Taylor won twice during his 10 years on the

Roberto Castro

STEVE DINBERG

he 2015 Web.com Tour is almost halfway through its regular season, and three players with Georgia ties are in line for top 25 finishes on the money list, which would result in PGA Tour membership for the 2015-16 season.

Two other Georgians were among the top 75, and would be eligible to compete in the four-tournament Web.com Finals series, with the top 25 money winners from those tournaments also qualifying for the 2015-16 PGA Tour. A number of other golfers form the state were in position where one strong showing would move them into a spot in the top 75.

Patton Kizzire, a former Auburn golfer who has settled on St. Simons Island, has already locked up his PGA Tour card for next season after an outstanding stretch of play that included five top-10 finishes in the span of seven starts. Kizzire was fourth on the money list with $162,000 after last month’s tournament in Greenville, S.C., and will finish among the top 25 even if he doesn’t make a cent the rest of the season.

After graduating from Auburn in 2008, Kizzire earned limited status on the ‘09 Web.com Tour in the finals of Qschool, but made only four starts that season and played in just two more tournaments on the tour over the next five years. He tied for 21st in last year’s qualifying event for the Web.com Tour, and started this season with a terrific stretch of golf on the early season swing through South America.

Kizzire tied for fourth in Colombia and for ninth in Brazil before a tie for second in Mexico vaulted him near the top of the money list. Since the tour has returned to the U.S., he’s finished fifth in Evansville and 10th in the BMW ProAm in Greenville. Kizzire made his first cut in three PGA Tour starts last Fall after receiving a sponsor’s invitation to the McGladrey Classic at Sea Island GC. Henrik Norlander was one of the top two players on Augusta State’s national championship teams of 2010 and ‘11 along with Patrick Reed and is in his second season on the Web.com Tour after making it to the PGA Tour for the 2013 season. Norlander played respectably as a PGA Tour rookie, but was unable to retain his playing privileges and played

PGA Tour and was a member of the 2006 Ryder Cup team, but has not been an exempt member of the tour since 2012.

Playing off past champion’s status, Taylor has made five PGA Tour starts this season, highlighted by a tie for 10th at Pebble Beach.

Taylor has three top-25 finishes on both tours so far this season, but has not had a Web.com top 10 in 2015. He shot a 64 in Colombia and a 63 in the Louisiana Open, but with a best finish of 12th in five starts, was 64th on the money list. Taylor had a win and two runner-up finishes on the tour in 2003 to play his way onto the PGA Tour, and was 47th in earnings last year.

Michael Hebert has settled in the Atlanta area after playing his college golf at Auburn, and was 69th on the money list on the strength of a recent tie for fifth in Evansville. Hebert made six starts as a Web.com rookie in 2014 and made five cuts, closing out the year with a solid showing at Q-school to earn status for this season.

Former Clayton State golfer Will Wilcox enjoyed success on the Web.com Tour from 2011 to 2013, winning in Valdosta in ‘13 and shooting a final round 59 in Utah to finish third, ending the year 7th on the money list to earn a spot on the PGA Tour. He placed 8th in his first PGA Tour start in Hawaii and later added a 4th place showing in the Greenbrier and three other top 25s, but

AL KOOISTRA

By Mike Blum

got into just 16 tournaments and did not earn enough points to qualify for the FedExCup playoffs.

Wilcox has limited PGA Tour status this season and has one top 10 and two other top 20s in seven starts, but again may not get into enough tournaments.

He tied for 16th in the recent Web.com event in Greenville, and with an earlier T12 in Mexico, was 80th on the money list after making just three starts on that tour.

Richy Werenski, a 2014 Georgia Tech graduate, made it to the Web.com Tour in his first attempt and was 95th in earnings after making five of the first nine cuts with a tie for 18th in Mexico his best showing. Werenski’s biggest achievement thus far as a pro was winning Golf Channel’s Big Break Palm Beaches, defeating fellow ex-Yellow Jacket Kyle Scott in the finals.

Atlanta area resident Casey Wittenberg has played either the PGA or Web.com Tour every year since 2008, with this season his sixth on the Web.com. He led the tour in earnings in 2012, but after playing on the PGA Tour the next season, was back on the Web.com last year and finished 71st. He was 96th as of late May this year, with a tie for 12th in Mexico his top finish.

Matt Weibring and Troy Matteson, both former Georgia Tech golfers with PGA Tour experience, were 103 and 114 respectively on the money list. This is Weibring’s 10th season on the Web.com Tour, with last season (32nd) one of his best. His best showing this season is a tie for 20th in Evansville.

Matteson has two wins on the PGA Tour, including one as a rookie in 2006, and was 45th on the money list as recently as 2012. But after back-toback seasons in the 160s on the FedExCup points list, he is back on the Web.com Tour for the first time since 2005, when he topped the money list with one of the best seasons in tour history. He has made four starts on both tours this season, with one finish on each tour just outside the top 20.

Augusta’s Scott Parel celebrated his 50th birthday last month, but continues to play on the Web.com Tour, [ See Web.com Tour, page 33 ] JUNE 2015

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

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Format for Judson tournament being expanded Five days of golf to follow Leadership Conference

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

RICK SHARP

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he Judson Collegiate & Legends Pro-Am Challenge returns to Country Club of Roswell this month, with the tournament expanding to five days of competition with a complete day added for the Women’s Leadership Conference that has become an integral part of the event.

This year’s tournament will be played June 25-29, with the conference scheduled for June 24 at Georgia Tech’s McCamish Pavilion.

During the first three years of the event, the tournament consisted of four days of golf, beginning with a pro-am that featured one LPGA Legends member, one collegiate player and two amateurs per team. The Legends players competed the next day along side two college players, with the Legends field playing for a first place prize of $15,000 from a purse of $120,000.

The college players began their 54hole competition along side the LPGA Legends, and had the tournament to themselves for the final 36 holes.

This year, there will still be two days of pro-am play, but they will not be part of the college portion of the tournament.

The collegiate players will compete over 54 holes, playing the three days after the pro-am competition concludes.

The pro-am teams will consist of one Legends player, one collegian and three amateurs, with several competitions being held simultaneously. The Legends players will be competing for the professional purse, and also teaming with their collegiate partners in a best-ball competition.

There will also be pro-am team scores, with the amateurs competing in a modified scramble format (shamble). Part of that competition will be an inter-club challenge that tournament officials hope will attract three-member teams from area clubs. For information on pro-am participation, contact Dianne Kaseta at 404-217-1740 or at diannekaseta@jcifoundation.org.

The Legends portion of the first three tournaments at Country Club of Roswell was held over 18 holes, with two of the lesser-known players on the Legends Tour coming away with victories.

Alicia Dibos won each of the first two

Judson Pro-Am tournaments. She shot 3under 68 to win by one over Sherri Steinhauer in 2012, and won again the following year, defeating Nancy Scranton on the second playoff hole after both players shot 70. Dibos, a nonwinner during her decade on the LPGA Tour, is the Director of Instruction at the famed Winged Foot Golf Club.

Dibos again wound up in a playoff last year after matching the 68 she shot in the inaugural tournament in 2012. This time she lost on the second extra hole to Barb Moxness, who left the LPGA Tour after a short but relatively successful stint in the early 1980s to be a stay at home mom. Moxness worked as an instructor before returning to competition when the Legends Tour was launched in 2000.

Moxness ranks among the top 10 money winners on the Legends’ all-time list, with her victory at Country Club of Roswell last year her second on the tour, the first one coming a decade earlier.

Dibos and Moxness won against fields that included many of the legendary names from the heyday of the LPGA Tour in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s. Among the players who have competed at Country Club of Roswell the last three years are Amy Alcott, Pat Bradley, Beth Daniel, Laura Davies, Rosie Jones, Betsy King, Nancy Lopez, Liselotte Neumann, Hollis Stacy and Jan Stephenson, with Helen

Alfredsson and Michelle McGann expected to make their first appearances in the event next month.

In addition to Jones, a long time Atlanta resident and the tournament host, the Legends Pro-Am has featured several other players with local ties, including Atlanta area residents Cindy Schreyer, Jenny Lidback and Luciana Bemvenuti, a member of the Country Club of Roswell golf staff. Tifton native and former UGA golfer Nanci Bowen, who will be inducted into the Georgia Hall of Fame in 2016, also competed in the tournament last year.

Jones has been the tour’s most consistently successful player in recent years, winning at least one tournament in each of the last three years and has seven career Legends victories after capturing 13 LPGA Tour titles. One of her LPGA victories came in the 1988 Nestle World Championship at Pine Isle Resort on Lake Lanier, and she is looking for her first Legends win in her adopted home town after close calls each of the last three years.

The Judson Collegiate Invitational had a local winner last year, with Roswell’s Jessica Haigwood finishing nine shots ahead of her closest pursuers.

Haigwood, who recently completed her sophomore season at Augusta State, trailed by five shots after opening with an even par 71, but broke away from the field with scores o 66-69 the final two days to finish at 7-under 206.

Golfers representing the Ohio State and Illinois teams shared second place.

Haigwood is part of a strong local contingent of college players entered in the event. Alpharetta’s Amira Alexander and Cumming’s Isabella Skinner are both members of the Georgia women’s team.

Georgia resident Hannah Mae Deems plays on the golf team at Mercer, and will be joined in the Judson field by incoming Mercer freshman Payton Schanen of Milton.

Other Georgians in the field include north Atlanta area residents Kayla Jones (Florida State), Emee Herbert (Coastal Carolina) Emily Kurey (UNC-Greensboro) and

Michaela Owen (Auburn) signee, and Carrollton’s Sydney Needham

(Samford).

The Judson Collegiate & Legends ProAm Challenge began in 2012 to honor the lives of Beth and Jim Judson, active members of the Roswell Catholic and philanthropic communities. The Judsons died in a private plane crash coming back from watching daughter Lauren compete in a college tournament for Southern Mississippi, and Lauren Judson and her brother Dean helped create the Judson Foundation as a way to help further their parents’ support of women’s participation in college athletics and women’s leadership development.

The inaugural Judson Women’s Leadership Conference was held last year and has been significantly expanded this year into a full day event with speakers from a number of different fields.

“The leadership aspect of the event has grown,” says Jackie Cannizzo, the tournament’s Executive Director and a member of the golf staff at Country Club of Roswell. “This is not just a golf tournament, and it’s cool for me to be involved in stuff other than golf.”

Jessica Haigw

ood

GEORGIA PG A

Barb Moxness

By Mike Blum

For more information on the tournament and the Women’s Leadership conference, go to www.judsongolf.com or www.jcifoundation.org.

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Mitsunaga shares title in first USGA event Part of winning team in Women’s 4-Ball

By Mike Blum

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Rinko Mitsunaga

(left) and Mika Li

u

with a par and the par-3 17th with a birdie to force extra holes.

They won with a birdie on the par-5 12th, the third playoff hole.

Mitsunaga and Liu won 3&2 in the semifinals against the No. 9 team that had defeated the qualifying medalists in the quarterfinals. They got off to another fast start with five birdies in the first seven holes to take a 3-up lead, and lost just one hole after that, playing 16 holes in 7-under par.

Ree and O’Sullivan easily won their first four matches to reach the finals, including a 10&8 victory in the first round when they won all 10 holes.

Carter, from Blackshear, and Lightfritz, from Cumming, tied for seventh in stroke play qualifying at 6-under 138. They won their opening match 2&1 over Rachel Carpenter of St. Simons Island and Angela Stewart from North Carolina. Carter and Lightfritz were 1-up after 12 holes in the second round, but lost three of the next five and were eliminated 2&1.

Carter and Lightfritz earned a spot in the championship by placing second in a qualifier at the Oaks course in Covington. Also qualifying for the championship were Brenda Pictor of Marietta and Sue Rheney of Greensboro.

Ralston, White lead U.S. Open qualifiers Golfers with Georgia ties earned 11 of 14 spots from two U.S. Open local qual-

ifiers played last month at the Legends at Chateau Elan and Golf Club of Georgia.

Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston, one of the state’s top junior golfers, shot 5under 67 to earn medalist honors at the Legends. Ralston had seven birdies on his round, including five in a six-hole stretch on the back nine after starting on the 10th hole.

Jimmy Beck of Columbus, the 2013 Georgia Amateur champion, was second at 68. Beck, who recently completed an outstanding career on the Kennesaw State golf team, was 5-under in a 5-hole stretch beginning at the seventh, including an eagle on the par-5 ninth.

Qualifying on the number at 69 were Anders Albertson of Woodstock, a senior on the Georgia Tech golf team, Web.com Tour player Michael Hebert, who played his college golf at Auburn, and mini-tour player Richard Swift of Tucker. Albertson birdied three of his last five holes to qualify. Also qualifying were pros Paul Apyan of Chattanooga and Adam Hart of Columbia.

Shad Tuten of Elberton won a six-way playoff for first alternate after shooting 70, with UGA signee David Mackey of Watkinsville the second alternate. Also shooting 70 were pros Blake Palmer of Dawsonville, David Kalpak of Greensboro and Kyle Scott of Decatur, who lost in the finals of the recent Big Break competition to fellow ex-Georgia Tech golfer Richy Werensky.

Recent Georgia Tech golfer James White of Acworth shot 6-under 66 the

[ See USGA qualifiers, page 31 ]

James White

GEORGIA TECH

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USGA

oswell’s Rinko Mitsunaga, a 2015 signee for the Georgia women’s golf team, was part of the winning team in the first ever U.S. Women’s Four-Ball Championship, played last month at Oregon’s Bandon Dunes Resort.

Mitsunaga teamed with Californian Mika Liu, with the two both attending a sports academy in south Florida.

Mitsunaga previously attended Centennial High School in Roswell.

The two players barely made the entry deadline, signing up with just minutes to spare. Mitsunaga was one of seven Georgians to compete in the event, including fellow high school age players Lauren Lightfritz and Megan Carter, who won their opening round match.

Mitsunaga, 18, and Liu, 16, won 4&3 in the finals against fellow teen-agers Robynn Ree of California and Hannah O’Sullivan of Arizona, who placed second in stroke play qualifying.

Mitsunaga and Liu tied for 10th with a 5-under 139 total for 36 holes and were seeded 13th among the 32 teams to reach match play.

The 4&3 margin in the championship match was the largest for Mitsunaga and Liu in the tournament, with the winning duo 8-under par for 15 holes. After losing the first hole to a birdie, Mitsunaga and Liu birdied six of the next seven holes, winning 6, 7 and 8 with birdies to take a 3-up lead. Mitsunaga all but clinched the victory when she holed out from 88 yards for eagle on the par-5 12th to put her team 4-up with six holes to play.

Mitsunaga and Liu won their first two matches 2&1, with their second round opponents including 2014 U.S. Women’s Open sensation Lucy Li. Mitsunaga and Liu birdied the first four holes and five of the first six, and finished the day 8-under through 17 holes. They led 3-up after seven holes, but Li and her partner won holes 8 and 9 with birdies before Mitsinaga and Liu answered with winning birdies at 11 and 12.

The toughest match for the winning team came in the third round, when they needed 21 holes to get past the fifthseeded team. Mitsunaga and Liu were 2-down after 13, but won the par-3 14th

next day at Golf Club of Georgia’s Lakeside course with eight birdies to earn medalist honors. Reid Edstrom, a veteran mini-tour pro who grew up in the Atlanta area before playing on the Auburn golf team, birdied his first three holes and took second at 67.

Qualifying with scores of 68 were Georgia Tech senior Drew Czuchry of Auburn, former Georgia Tech golfer JT Griffin of St. Simons and Brookfield Country Club instructor Michael Parrott. Franco Castro of Alpharetta, who has turned pro after completing his college career at Charlotte, got the final spot in a playoff after shooting 69, carding birdies on five of his last 10 holes. Also qualifying was pro Jason Perry of Myrtle Beach.

Among the players falling short was Atlanta Braves Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who was 2-under after nine holes and finished with a 72.

A number of Georgians advanced from local qualifiers held outside the state, among them Savannah’s Tim O’Neal, who shot 63 in nearby Okatie, S.C., to win by five shots over Werensky, who is a rookie on the Web.com Tour. Fellow Web.com member and former Big Break champion Mark Silvers of Savannah is first alternate after shooting 69.

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Bulldogs reach semifinals in NCAA Golf Tech falls just short of making match play Zach Healy

By Mike Blum

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USGA

Lee McCoy

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

USGA

eorgia’s surprising showing in the NCAA Golf Championship came to an end in the semifinals, as the Bulldogs lost 3-1-1 to LSU. Coming into the NCAAs, the Bulldogs were ranked 28th and 33 in the two main national polls, and were seeded 26th out of the 30 teams to qualify for the championship, which was played at Concession GC in Bradenton, Fla. The Bulldogs had the lead after three rounds of stroke play, finishing in a tie for third to join seven other teams in the match play portion of the tournament.

Georgia, seeded third in the eight-team field, defeated tournament host South Florida 4-1 in the quarterfinals, but lost later that afternoon to LSU after leading midway through the match.

Georgia played well from the outset of the tournament, shooting even par 288 the first round to end the day in second place, two strokes behind eventual stroke play winner Illinois.

Freshman Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners led the Bulldogs with a 70, with Duluth senior Mookie DeMoss next with a 71. Junior Lee McCoy of Clarkesville, the team’s No. 1 player, opened with a 73, making bogey on the 10th hole along with 17 pars. Sam Straka, a junior from Valdosta, had the other counting score for the Bulldogs with a 74.

The Bulldogs shot 293 the second day for a 581 total, seven shots behind USC

and four in back of Illinois. Straka led the way with a 70 and Healy added a 72 to finish 36 holes among the individual leaders. DeMoss shot 74 and the Bulldogs had to count a 77 by McCoy, who was 4-over early in the round after a triple bogey on the third hole.

Georgia moved into the lead after the conclusion of the weather-delayed third round, shooting 2-under 286 to move three shots in front of USC and six ahead of Illinois. Healy and DeMoss both shot 2-under 70, with DeMoss carding four birdies in a five-hole stretch before play was halted late in the day. Augusta sophomore Greyson Sigg was 3-under after 14 holes and settled for a 72, with McCoy shooting a 74 after being 3under after seven.

The Bulldogs shot 291 the final

day, the fourth best score among the 15 teams that made the 54-hole cut. Illinois and Vanderbilt both closed with underpar team scores to move past the Bulldogs, with Illinois finishing first at 3-over 1155 and Vanderbilt placing second at 1157.

Alpharetta’s Zack Jaworski shot par or better in three of four rounds for Vanderbilt and tied for 11th in the 156player field at even par 288. Vanderbilt lost to LSU in the quarterfinals, with Jaworski’s match not completed after it went to extra holes with LSU already having won three matches.

Georgia and Texas, which also shot under par the final round, tied for third at 1158.

McCoy, who was selected first team All-American after stroke play wrapped up, had his best round of the tourna-

ment, posting a 2-under 70. He tied for 33rd at 294. DeMoss shot 73 and had the best finish in the tournament among the Bulldogs, tying for 11th at 288. Sigg contributed for the second straight day with a 73 and Straka added a 75, as Healy struggled for the first time in four days with a 77. He still finished tied for 16th at 289.

The Bulldogs drew sixth seed South Florida in their match play opener and scored a decisive victory, winning the only three matches played to their conclusion.

Healy won the first match out 2&1, taking a 2-up lead with birdies on the first two holes and losing only two holes after building a 3-up lead after eight. He halved six straight holes after Trey Valentine cut his lead to one hole, ending the match by winning the 17th.

Straka also started fast, taking a 2-up lead after four holes, before Chase Koepka pulled even after seven. Straka recovered to win three of the next six holes and score a 3&2 victory.

McCoy provided the winning point in the anchor match, playing 15 holes in 8under par to win 5&3. McCoy was 3-up after four holes with two birdies and an eagle and did not lose a hole.

DeMoss was 1-up after 15 holes and Sigg was 1-down after 16 when both matches were halted with the final outcome already decided. DeMoss trailed in his match after 11 holes, while Sigg jumped out to a 3-up lead after three holes before falling 2-down after 11. He pulled even after 15,, but lost the 16th hole just before McCoy clinched Georgia’s victory.

McCoy was the only Bulldog to win in the afternoon against LSU, defeating Stewart Jolley 2&1 in the anchor match. McCoy won three of the last four holes on the front nine with two birdies and an eagle to take a 2-up lead, and parred the last eight holes to remain in control of the match.

Straka was 3-up twice on the back nine and was still 2-up with two holes to play, but bogeyed the last two holes. He was playing the first extra hole when LSU won its third match to advance to the finals.

Healy was 1-up after 11 holes in his match, with Georgia ahead in three matches at the time. But LSU senior Ben Taylor applied the pressure down the JUNE 2015

stretch, winning three of the last seven holes and matching Healy’s birdie at the 17th. A superb approach by Taylor on the 18th led to a conceded birdie and a 2up win over the Georgia freshman.

Sigg won only one hole in his match and lost 4&3, trailing 3-down at the turn. DeMoss lost four straight holes early and was 4-down after five, losing 7&6.

It was the third time the Bulldogs made it to match play since the tournament format was changed in 2009. The Bulldogs have made it to at least the semifinals each time, reaching the finals

in 2011 when they lost 3-2 to Augusta State and former teammate Patrick Reed.

Georgia Tech narrowly missed qualifying for match play, finishing ninth in stroke play with an 1175 total, three shots behind eighth place UCLA. It was a disappointing finish for Atlanta area seniors Ollie Schniederjans and Anders Albertson, who each managed just one good round on the demanding Concession layout.

The Yellow Jackets were tied for sixth after an opening 293, with Albertson notching six birdies and shooting a 69.

USGA qualifiers

Amateurs Jack Larkin of Atlanta and Doug Hanzel of Savannah qualified along with teaching pro Danny Elkins

[ Continued from page 28 ]

Drew Aimone of Savannah was medalist at Amelia Island, Fla., with a 66, with St. Simons’ Scott Wolfes, who recently completed his college career at Georgia Southern, qualifying with a 67.

Qualifying in Ninety Six, S.C., were Hunter Hamrick of St. Simons, who was second with a 65, and Dykes Harbin of Augusta, who shot 68 and won a three-player- for-two-spots playoff.

Kyle Mueller of Athens, a member of the golf team at Michigan, qualified in East Lansing, Mich., recent UGA golfer Joey Garber qualified in Vero Beach, Fla., and Canton’s Kyle Beardslee shared medalist honors in Fort Collins, Colo., with a 68, Ten Sectional qualifiers will be held June 8, with one of them at Hawks Ridge in Ball Ground.

3 Georgians earn Senior Open spots Three Georgians shot 1-under 71 at Cherokee Town & CC and survived a 5man playoff to earn spots in this month’s U.S. Senior Open.

Chris Kirk [ Continued from page 18 ]

Lake, but finished second in the final standings behind Tour Championship winner Horschel.

Kirk began his 2014-15 season with a tie for fourth in the McGladrey Classic, and shot 62 and 64 in the final rounds of the first two tournaments of 2015 in Hawaii, but went five months between top-10s before a tie for eighth in San 2015 JUNE

of Roswell. Larkin birdied the first playoff hole and Hanzel and Elkins made pars to advance. Pro Sid Corliss of Cumming is first alternate.

It was a contested battle for the three qualifying spots, with Georgia amateurs Bob Royak, Jack Hall, Doug Stiles and David Maddox all shooting 72 along with club pro Charlie King.

Also qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, which will be played June 25-28 in Sacramento, Cal., was pro Sonny Skinner, who won a multi-player playoff for one spot in Illinois.

U.S. Women’s Open: Druid Hills Golf Club hosted a qualifier for the 2015 U.S. Women’s Open, with two LPGA players earning the two available spots.

Jane Park, who lists Woodstock as her residence, shot 68-68—136, with Chattanooga’s Brooke Pancake next at 70-68—138.

The top Georgia finishers were Newnan tour player Jean Reynolds and Riverdale’s Mariah Stackhouse, a member of the Stanford team that recently won the NCAA Championship.

Both players tied for fifth at 4-under 140, with Reynolds shooting 67 in the second round and Stackhouse 69.

Chris Petefish, one of two freshmen in the starting lineup, shot a 72 with a 33 on the back nine and fellow freshman James Clark of Columbus contributed a 76 with a late triple bogey. Schniederjans was even par after 15 holes, but was 4over on the last three and also shot 76.

Tech stayed in the top eight after two rounds, shooting 295 for a 588 total to stand seventh after 36 holes. Sophomore Vince Whaley was low for the Jackets with a 71, carding five birdies.

Schniederjans shot 74 and Clark and Albertson both turned in scores of 75.

Albertson had two 7s on his scorecard, including a costly triple bogey on his 17th hole.

After three rounds, Tech was tied for eighth with UCLA after a 290. Whaley came up big with seven birdies and a 68, and Schniederjans had his best round of the tournament, shooting a 70 with five birdies. Petefish turned in a solid 73, but the Yellow Jackets had to count Clark’s 79 as Albertson shot 85 with three 7s, two of them triple bogeys.

Clark shot a clutch 2-under 70 the final day, but the next best Tech score was 74, as the Jackets had a team total of

297 to come up three strokes short.

Albertson closed out his college career with a 74 and Whaley carded a 76, finishing tied for 33rd at 294, playing the last there rounds in 1-over. Petefish shot 2-under on the back nine, but carded a 77 after a difficult front nine.

The big disappointment for the Jackets was the play of Schniederjans, whose final round for Georgia Tech was a non-counting 78. Schniederjans was 1under after five holes, but was 7-over after that and finished tied for 49th at 298 after losing in a playoff for medalist honors in last year’s NCAA Championship.

Schniederjans was selected first team All-American for a second straight year, but had a much better junior season when he made a strong run for Player of the Year.

Tech had qualified for match play four of the last five years, failing to make it to the NCAA Championship the other time. Three of those visits to match play ended with losses to the eventual champion, two to Augusta State and once to Alabama in 2013 at Atlanta’s Capital City Club Crabapple Course.

Antonio two weeks before the Masters.

With his win in the Colonial, Kirk moved up to 14th in the FedExCup standings and to 17th in the World Rankings, and is in position to make a second straight appearance in the Tour Championship. After being considered but passed over for a Ryder Cup selection last year, he was fourth in the Presidents Cup standings and is likely to make that team, which plays later this year in South Korea.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

31

Stackhouse leads Stanford to NCAA title

By Mike Blum

R

iverdale’s

Mariah Stackhouse lifted Stanford

to the NCAA Women’s Championship in Bradenton, Fla., winning the decisive match on the 19th hole to give the Cardinal a 3-2 victory over Baylor.

The two teams were tied 2-2 with Stackhouse’s match against Hayley Davis the only one left on the course.

Stackhouse was 2-down with two holes to play after Davis won the 16th with a birdie following a terrific second shot from a muddy area within a hazard.

Stackhouse won the par-5 17th when she reached the green in two and twoputted for a birdie, and sent the match to extra holes after another birdie on the par-4 18th, holing a 15-foot putt.

Stackhouse, a junior, parred the first extra hole and Davis, a senior, missed a short par putt to give Stanford its first ever NCAA women’s golf title.

Stanford, seeded fourth among the eight teams in the match play field, won its quarterfinal match 4-1 against No. 5 Arizona, with Stackhouse winning her match 2-up over Arizona’s No. 1 player.

Stackhouse had six birdies and won the 13th and 14th holes after the match was all square with six holes to play.

Stackhouse lost her next match later that afternoon to the No. 1 player from top-seeded Southern Cal, but Stanford won three of the other four matches for a 3-2 victory. Stackhouse won the first two holes, but struggled the rest of the way and lost 6&4, dropping eight of the last 12 holes.

In her match in the finals against Davis, only two holes were halved, as each player won eight holes. Stackhouse lost four holes in a five-hole stretch on the front nine to fall 3-down after eight.

She won holes 9 and 10, but the two players went back and forth from there, with Davis winning holes 11, 13 and 16 to go 2-up after Stackhouse won the previous holes.

Davis was on the verge of taking control of the match after driving the short, par-4 12th, leading 2-up. But Stackhouse chipped in from just short of the green for a winning eagle when Davis missed her eagle putt.

After fighting a losing battle with an extremely severe green on the 13th, Stackhouse played flawless golf over the 32

FOREGEORGIA.COM

next six holes, carding four pars and two clutch birdies in her winning comeback.

“I actually thought a lot about it last night,” Stackhouse said after her championship match. “It felt kind of silly, but I envisioned some kind of crazy finish with me having to hit huge shots. I knew I was going to be down and have to do something crazy to come back.”

It was an up and down week for both Stackhouse and Stanford, which was tied for the lead in stroke play after shooting 293 the first day, but fell 16 back at the tournament’s midway point following a second round 323, the highest score by

any of the 15 teams over four days.

Stackhouse shot 68 the first day to take the individual lead, but fell back with a 78 in the second round. She was still the team’s low scorer that day, as none of her teammates broke 80.

Stanford moved back into contention with a 296 in the third round, with Stackhouse contributing a 75. The team moved up to fourth with a final round 287, the only under par team score for the tournament. Stackhouse closed with a 70 to finish at 3-over 291, sixth in the individual competition.

The final day heroics capped what had

been the least successful of Stackhouse’s three seasons at Stanford.

Stackhouse was a first team AllAmerican as both a freshman and sophomore, winning two tournaments both years with a string of other top finishes. One of her wins as a freshman came in a tournament hosted by Stanford, with Stackhouse shooting a record-setting 61 en route to her victory.

She finished third in the Pac-12 tournament, and played well along with her team for 36 holes in the NCAA Championship at the UGA course in Athens. But Stanford fell back the final

Coastal Georgia repeats NAIA title; Dalton duo wins Coastal Georgia repeated as NAIA men’s golf champions, while Dalton State golfers took home both men’s and women’s individual titles, with the women’s event played at Savannah Quarters.

The men’s event was held at LPGA International in Daytona for a second straight year, but was played on a different course. The Mariners finished with a 7-under 1145 total for 72 holes, sharing the lead after an opening 282 and leading by six shots after 36 holes and by 16 after 54, ending up 11 in front of their closest pursuers.

Coastal shot 289 the second day, 283 the third round and preserved its lead with a final round score of 291. Two Coastal golfers tied for fourth at 5-under 283, including senior Hunter Cornelius of Ringgold.

Cornelius lowered his score each day, shooting 74-72-69-68. Also tying for fourth at 283 was Alastair Tidcombe, whose opening 65 matched the low round of the tournament. He followed with scores of 73-70-75.

Allen Bradford, a senior from Elberton, tied for 13th at 290 with scores of 70-73-74-73. All three players were first team All-America selections.

Trevor Smith, a junior from Newnan, shot 71-70-75 the last three rounds, while teammate Alan Barnhardt contributed a final round 73. Both were third-team AllAmerica.

“It’s amazing,’ said Coastal Georgia coach Mike Cook, a long time instructor at Sea Island Golf Club.”I never thought this when we started the program five years ago. The goal from the beginning was to recruit the best players possible and try to win a national championship. Now, we’ve won two in a row. That’s just special.”

Coastal Georgia won eight of its 10 tournaments on the season, finishing second in one event and third in the conference championship, which was won by Dalton State.

The Mariners had to come from behind to win last year, coming from six shots back after 54 holes to win by four. Bradford, Cornelius and Smith were all starters on that team along with Dylan Freeman of Athens and Chase Miller of Dalton, who were both seniors.

Sean Elliott of Dalton College captured the men’s individual title by eight shots with a 16-under 272 total. Elliott shot 68-6965-70, leading by just one shot after 36 holes and by six after 54 thanks to his thirdround 65. Elliott is a sophomore from New Jersey. Dalton finished 13th in the team standings with an 1184 total.

The Dalton State girls tied for second at Savannah Quarters with a 1233 total, 22 shots behind Northwood (Fla.). Dalton State was only one behind Northwood after 54

Sean Elliott and Ju

lia McQuilken

holes, but shot 317 the final day while Northwood turned in a tournament best 296.

Julia McQuilken, a junior from Tampa, shot 4-over 292 to win the individual competition by four strokes. McQuilken shot 74-70-71-77, taking the lead for the first time after the third round.

Caroline Griffin, a freshman from Sycamore, was sixth at 301 with scores of 73-74-75-79. Rachel Rebne, a sophomore from Ft. Oglethorpe, and Taylor Marie Griner, a freshman from Moultrie, were also in the starting lineup for the Roadrunners at Savannah Quarters.

Both Elliott and McQuilken work with Atlanta area instructor Ted Fort.

JUNE 2015

Web.com Tour [ Continued from page 24 ]

where he has played since 2003. Parel made a run at a top 25 finish on the money list and a spot on the PGA Tour in both 2012 and ‘13, but has struggled since and was 116th on the money list this year. Monday qualifiers on the Champions Tour may begin appearing on Parel’s well-traveled schedule.

Savannah’s Mark Silvers, a former Big Break winner, has full time status for the first time on the Web.com Tour this year, but after making just four of nine cuts with no finishes better than 49th, was 133 on the money list.

Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro was 21st on the FedExCup points list in 2013 and earned more than $2 million, but after finishing outside the top 125 last year, has only limited status on the PGA Tour.

The former Georgia Tech standout has played primarily on that tour this season, but without much chance of getting into more than a handful of events the rest of the year, may have to look to the Web.com Tour for playing opportunities.

Castro played well on that tour in 2012 and ‘13, but was 136th on the money list after making just two starts this year.

Former Roswell resident Justin Bolli has enjoyed a successful professional career for someone who had to make the Georgia golf team as a walk-on. But after playing full time on either the Web.com or PGA Tour since 2004, Bolli is struggling to gain access to Web.com events this year. He was a distant 139th on the 2015 JUNE

Mariah Stackhouse

AJGA

two days, while Stackhouse suffered through a difficult final round.

Stackhouse again won two tournaments as a sophomore and was a first team All-American for a second time.

She led her regional after 36 holes and finished 11th and turned in a steady performance in the NCAA Championship.

After four wins her first two seasons, Stackhouse was winless as a junior, with a runner-up finish in the Stanford tournament she won as a freshman her only finish better than eighth. She played well in just one round in both the Pac-12 tournament and NCAA Regional, but found her game in time to lead Stanford to a national title.

Prior to enrolling at Stanford in 2012, Stackhouse put together an outstanding junior career while winning a host of tournaments in the state against adult competitors. She won the Georgia Women’s Amateur Championship and GSGA Women’s Match Play twice each

and the Georgia Women’s Open the only time she played it.

Stackhouse made the first of her two appearances in the U.S. Women’s Open prior to her senior year in high school, and was a member of the winning U.S. Curtis Cup team last year. money list after playing in five of the first nine tournaments this year, just one after dropping well down the priority list after the first re-shuffle that rewards players who are among the leading money winners.

Bolli has four wins in his six full seasons on the Web.com Tour, finishing between 8th and 11th on the money list each year he won to earn his four PGA Tour seasons. But he has not played well since enjoying his best PGA Tour showing in 2013, with a missed cut last month in Greenville, where he has settled with his family, the latest in a string of disappointing showings over the last two seasons.

Fellow ex-Georgia Bulldog Bryden Macpherson made just two of his first nine cuts in his first full year on the Web.com Tour and was 151st, with Duluth’s Brent Witcher 152nd after beginning his third Web.com season with the same limited status that produced just a total of 19 combined starts in 2012 and ‘14. Witcher finished T23 in his first start of 2015 in Louisiana to get a second appearance in the next event, but missed the cut and is again on the outside looking in.

Former Web.com player Jay McLuen of Forsyth, a two-time Georgia Open champion, made the cut in Greenville on a sponsor’s exemption, but his only access to the tour is through Monday qualifiers.

With only one more tournament on the remaining schedule in the Southeast, Monday qualifying will be a difficult proposition for the state’s players competing primarily on regional mini-tours.

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33

Tech, Georgia earn spots in NCAA Championship Other state teams fall short in regional events

G

eorgia and Georgia Tech have been the state’s dominant golf teams for decades, but the two teams were joined in the 2014 NCAA Championship by newcomer Kennesaw State and Georgia State, both of whom scored runner-up finishes in regionals last year, Both the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets returned to their accustomed spots in the NCAA Championship, but they were the only schools representing the state in the national championship, as Kennesaw State and Georgia State both came up short at regionals, along with Georgia Southern and Augusta State.

Georgia Tech and Georgia both won their regionals last year and qualified for this year’s championship by placing third and fourth respectively in the San Diego Regional. Oklahoma won by 20 shots, with Arizona State second and Virginia fifth. The top five teams from each of the six regionals qualified for nationals.

The Yellow Jackets were third at 5over 869, with the Bulldogs fourth at 6-over 870. Tech was outside the top five after shooting 299 the first day, but came back with scores of 287 and 283 to advance to nationals for the 23rd time out of 25 years they have competed at regionals.

Tech was in danger of finishing outside the top five until a late surge the final day moved the team up in the standings, with the Jackets finishing seven shots

GEORGIA TECH

ahead of the team that placed sixth. Leading the way for Tech were seniors Ollie Schniederjans of Powder Springs and Anders Albertson of Woodstock.

Schniederjans shot 7569-70 to tie for seventh at 2-under 214. After also opening with a 75, Albertson shot 72-70 the next two days and tied for 14th at 217.

Freshman Chris Petefish also tied for 14th at 217, opening with scores of 72 and 70. Fellow freshman James Clark of Columbus closed with scores of 72 and 73 after the team had to count his opening 77.

Georgia qualified Ollie Schniederjans for the NCAA Championship for the 17th time in the 19 years Chris Haack has been the team’s head coach. the way up to fifth place. The Bulldogs Georgia has won two national champi- inched up the final day to finish fourth onships and finished second twice under with a 3-under 285.

Haack.

Junior Lee McCoy of Clarkesville shot Things were not looking good for the 73-70-69 to place fourth at 4-under 212.

Bulldogs after they shot 307 in the first Senior Mookie DeMoss of Duluth tied round and were 12th in the 13-team for seventh at 214 with scores of 73-69field, as three of the team’s five players 72. Freshman Zach Healy of Peachtree failed to break 80. But Georgia recovered Corners rebounded from an opening 80 to shoot 278 the second day, the second with scores of 67 and 73 to tie for 23rd at best score of the tournament, to move all 220. Augusta sophomore Greyson Sigg shot 73-71 the final two rounds, with the team playing so well the second day that Sigg’s 73 did not count. Valdosta junior Sepp Straka contributed a second round 72.

Kennesaw State was tied for fourth after two rounds in the Chapel Hill Regional, but the Owls shot 293 the final day and fell to sixth place at 866, seven shots behind Clemson in fifth. The Owls were under par each of the first two days with scores of 287 and 286, and finished at 2-over for the tournament.

Columbus senior Jimmy Beck wrapped up his outstanding career for Kennesaw, tying for fourth with scores of 71-70-69 for a 6-under 210 total.

Fredrik Nilehn shot 68 the first day and closed with a 72, but had a non-counting 77 in between.

Anders Albertson

34

FOREGEORGIA.COM

USGA

By Mike Blum

Seniors Kelby Burton and Austin Vick, both from

Evans, contributed scores of 71 and 69 respectively in the second round, but each shot 76 the final day, with both scores counting.

Burton, who opened with a 73, finished with a 220 total, with Vick shooting 221 for 54 holes. No 2 player Teremoana Beaucousin did not shoot lower than 75 in any of the three rounds.

Augusta State was ninth in the regional at 871 with scores of 292286-293.

Robin Petersson was low for the Jaguars, tying for 23rd at 217. Mercer senior Trey Rule competed in the regional as an individual, but finished well back with a 224 total.

Georgia State was 12th out of 13 teams in the Lubbock Regional, falling back the final day with a score of 300.

The Panthers shot 287 and 284 the first two days and were seven shots out of fifth place after 36 holes. Senior Damon Stephenson shot a second round 68 and finished 22nd at 213, with junior J.J. Grey opening with scores of 67 and 71 before a final round 77. Nathan Mallonee, a sophomore from Lexington, contributed scores of 71 and 74 the final two days.

Georgia Southern was 10th in a regional in Indiana, with St. Simons senior Scott Wolfes closing out his college career with a tie for 11th. Wolfes shot a 78 that counted the first day, and came back with scores of 67 and 71 to finish the tournament at even par 216.

No other Georgia Southern golfer placed in the top 40, with a pair of 73s the first day by Kim Koivu and Archer Price the Eagles’ only other scores below 75. Matt Mierzejewski, a senior from Cumming, struggled all three days, with a final round 79 his only counting score.

JUNE 2015

Louis Yu

Lasseter a winner at Legacy on Lanier Nick Lasseter of Cumming won a Georgia PGA Junior Tour event at Legacy on Lanier last month, shooting 2-under 70 in the second round for a 147 total to finish four ahead of Connor McKinnon of Johns Creek.

Lasseter won the 14-15 division by seven shots over Davis Smith of Dalton, with McKinnon taking first in the 16-18 division at 151, two ahead of Richie Popkin of Kathleen. Marcus Reynolds of Milledgeville shot 164 to finish two in front of Ryan Davidson of Flowery Branch in the 11-13 age group.

The girls winner was Louise Yu of Duluth, who posted scores of 73-78--151.

In the most recent GPGA Junior Tour event played at Cateechee, Eli Scott of Hartwell was the boys winner with scores of 71-79—150. Jake Harvard of Blackshear was the boys 16-18 winner and overall runner-up at 152, followed by Chris Stowe of Carnesville at 157. Ryan Hogan of Gainesville was 2nd to Scott in the 14-15 age group at 159.

Peyton Balent of Cumming shot 7775—152 to win the 12-13 division, with Anna Grace McCurley of Canton first among the girls.

Upcoming Georgia PGA Junior events include Stone Mountain (June 30-July 1) and the UGA course (July 7-8).

Ralston claims 2 Southeastern titles The Southeastern Junior Golf Tour played three events last month in Georgia, beginning with a tournament at Chattahoochee GC in Gainesville Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston won on his home course, shooting a 7-under 65 in the second round for a 9-under 135 total, 2015 JUNE

Nick Lasseter

finishing six shots ahead of Gainesville High School teammate Nathan Williams in the 16-18 age group. Logan Perkins of Locust Grove was 3rd at 143.

Will Kahlstorf of Athens won the 14-15 division and was 2nd overall with scores of 71-68—139. Four Georgia juniors tied for 2nd in the age group at 147. Andrew Hughes of Dawsonville won the 12-13 age group in a playoff over Will Stakel of Duluth after both players shot 151.

Alejandra Ayala of Alpharetta closed with a 69 for a 150 total to win the girls division by four shots over Alison Crenshaw of Suwanee. Emily Haigwood of Roswell shot 158 to win the 12-14 division by 12 strokes.

Alex Shead of Appling shot 69-69— 138 at the UGA course to win a SJGT event by one over Jacob Bayer of Lawrenceville and Nicolas Cassidy of Johns Creek, the 14-15 age group winner.

Bayer was 2nd in 16-18 with Austin Fulton of Villa Rica 3rd at 140.Cassidy shot 69-70—139 to finish eight ahead of Suwanee’s Preston Topper in the 14-15 division. Tanner Brown of Moultrie was 1st in 12-13 at 145, four shots in front of Will Spivey of Douglas.

Megan Sabol of Augusta shot 77-72— 149 to win the girls division by seven over Karson Stone of Thomasville.

Ralston scored a second victory in less than three weeks, shooting 18-under 126 over 36 holes at Orchard Hills with scores of 62-64. Steffen Smith of Alpharetta shot 70-66—136 to place 2nd in boys 16-18, 10 behind Ralston. Chandler Eaton of Alpharetta and Bill Sharpe II of Albany tied for 3rd at 139.

Cassidy was the 14-15 winner and took 2nd overall with scores of 66-68—134.

Bradley Plaziak of Alpharetta was 2nd in the age group at 137, with Daniel Fienemann of Peachtree City 3rd at 138.

Luke Dasher of Macon shot 146 to win the 12-13 age group by four.

Golf FORE Juniors

Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City won the girls division by 13 shots with scores of 68-69—137. Ayanna Habeel of Decatur shot 156 to take the 12-14 age group.

In the most recent SJGT event, played at the Georgia Club, Austin Mancilla of Lawrenceville shot 69-67—136 and won a playoff over Eamon Owen of Madison (68-68) in boys 16-19. Jake Lawson of Atlanta was 3rd at 139.

Grant Sutliff of Suwanee was the 14-15 winner with scores of 72-70—142, one ahead of Dustin De Mersseman of Athens. Sam Barrett of Thomasville was the 12-13 winner at 149, with Lindsey Cordell of Rome and Spivey 2nd at 151.

Ashley Brown of Alpharetta was the girls winner in a playoff over Heather Kipness of Alpharetta, with both players posting 155 totals. Mary Hunt Murray of Augusta was the 12-14 winner.

Idle Hour in Macon will host the Peach Blossom Junior June 15-16.

Chong, Fienemann Hurricane winners The Hurricane Junior Golf Tour made two stops in the state last month, playing at Bartram Trail in Evans and Canongate I. Andrew Chong of Grovetown was the Bartram Trail boys winner with scores of 70-72—142. Alex Wells of Evans was 2nd at 143. Will Chambless of Culloden shot 153 to win the 13-14 age group by one over Jason Quinlan of Cumming and Owen Whitehead of Augusta.

Woo Wade of Dunwoody shot 158 to win girls 11-14 by 11 over Charli York of Johns Creek. Christyn Carr of Johns Creek was 2nd in girls 15-18 at 157.

Daniel Fienemann shot 5-over 221 to win a 54-hole event at Canongate I, with Connor Coffee of Peachtree City 2nd at 224 and Luka Karaulic of Decatur 3rd at 225. Gavin Noble of Ringgold won the 1314 age group by eight shots, finishing at 2-under 214 with scores of 74-69-71. Jake Peacock of Alpharetta shot 227 to take first in the 11-12 age group by one over Brice Murphy of Johns Creek.

Christine McDonnell of Suwanee shot 234 to win girls 15-18 by two over Lizzie Reedy of Marietta. Michelle Cao of Duluth was the 11-14 winner at 240, seven ahead of Liza Eubanks of Peachtree City.

Noble also won his age group in

Knoxville by five shots with a 150 total, with Avondale’s Dougan Annan the 15-18 division winner by two with a score of 153.

Jackson Toole of Vidalia was the 13-14 winner in Bluffton, S.C., with a score of144.

Ty Hutson of Metter was 2nd in the age group at 152.

Perkins captures AJGA tournament Logan Perkins of Locust Grove won an American Junior Golf Association Preseason tournament at Chateau Elan, shooting 2-under 140 on the Chateau course to finish one ahead of the runnerup.

Perkins had scores of 71 and 69, carding four birdies in the second round. Will Kahlstorf was 4th at 145, with Ryan Robichaud of Peachtree City tying for 5th at 146 and Peachtree City’s Hunter Hester T9 at 148.

Skylar Thompson of Buford was 3rd among the girls at 147, three shots behind the winner. Kate Owens of Suwanee tied for 6th at 152.

Pre-season tournaments give juniors access to AJGA tournaments with the possibility of getting into Open and Junior All-star events with top finishes.

Jay Mobley of Waynesboro and Benjamin Shipp of Duluth tied for 4th in an AJGA open event at the Auburn University course with scores of 1-under 143. JonErik Alford of Roswell tied for 11th at 146.

In the girls division, Sabrina Long of Alpharetta tied for 4th at 148, with Milton’s Payton Schanen tying for 6th at 149.

Alissa Yang of Norcross tied for 10th at 153.

Incoming UGA freshmen Bailey Tardy of Norcross and Rinko Mitsunaga of Roswell turned in strong effects in recent national junior events.

Mitsunaga won the Kathy Whitworth Invitational in Ft. Worth, Tex., shooting 146 and taking a playoff. Mitsunaga played the tournament with borrowed clubs after her clubs were lost in transit.

Tardy shot 3-under 213 at Grayhawk GC in Scottsdale, Ariz., tying for 2nd in the Thunderbird International, one shot behind Californian Mika Liu, who teamed with Mitsunaga to win the recent USGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

35

Chip Shots Reeves, Whitehead win Pro-Assistant

Joe Finemore scored a major upset in the early stages of the Georgia PGA Match Play Championship, knocking off fourthseeded Craig Stevens 1-up in the second round. Stevens is a three-time Georgia PGA Player of the Year and has won the Match Play Championship twice, reaching the finals in 2012 and 2013 and the semifinals last year.

Finemore, the head pro at Big Canoe, plays Country Club of the South instructor David Potts, the 2010 Match Play champion, in the third round.

Also advancing to the third round were top seed Sonny Skinner, No. 3 Kyle Owen of Dunwoody CC, No. 5 Matthew Evans, No. 7 Brian Dixon of Fox Creek, the defending champion, and No. 8 Clark Spratlin. Evans, the head pro at Rivermont G&CC, needed 19 holes to get past Brian Corn of Peachtree GC, and Spratlin, the Director of Golf at Currahee Club, won 1-up against Country Club of the South’s Shawn Koch in a battle of former champions.

Skinner plays No. 16 Todd Ormsby of Highland CC in the third round and Spratlin takes on No. 9 Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods, last year’s runner-up, in what should be one of the best matches of the tournament. Evans plays No. 12 Michael Parrott of Brookfield CC and Owen will face No. 19 Bill Murchison of

36

GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM

GSGA

Finemore scores upset over Stevens

Jack Hall

GEORGIA PGA

The Capital City Club duo of Eric Reeves and Brent Whitehead teamed up to win the Georgia PGA Club Car Pro-Assistant Championship at Athens Country Club, shooting 13-under 95 in the 27-hole, best ball event.

Reeves and Whitehead won by two shots to take home $1,500. Tying for second at 11-under 97 was Mark Avery and Craig Stevens of Brookstone G&CC and Stephen Keppler and Michael Berning of Marietta CC. Head pros were able to team up with multiple assistants, with Reeves and Keppler also part of teams that tied for fourth with scores of 98. Reeves teamed with Dakota Mincey and Keppler paired with Eric Croux to tie for fourth with the teams of Mark Mongell and J.P. Griffin of Cherokee Town & CC and Danny Elkins and Chris Nicol of Georgia Golf Center.

Brent Whitehead & Eric Reeves

Towne Lake Hills, who defeated No. 14 Seth McCain of Jennings Mill 3&2.

Other second round winners included No. 18 Danny Elkins, who got past No. 15 Jeff Frasier of Chicopee Woods 3&2, and Patrick Richardson of Wilmington Island, who reached the finals of the 8-player coastal Georgia portion of the bracket.

Richardson won 1-up against Chris Leake of The Landings, who upset No. 6 Hank Smith of Frederica Club in the first round.

Richardson plays Mark Anderson of Brunswick CC in the third round.

Two other second round matches had yet to be played at the end of May. North Chapter Championship: West Pines head pro Chris Cartwright won the Georgia PGA North Chapter Championship at Achasta GC, shooting 5under 139 for 36 holes to edge James Mason by one stroke. Brandon Cissom of Dalton G&CC was third at 141, with Marietta Golf Center instructor Ted Fort fourth at 142. Brent Whitehead and Chris Nicol tied for fifth at 143, with Clark Spratlin, Greg Lee and Eric Reeves seventh at 144.

Senior Division: In a Senior Division event last month at Summit Chase, Craig Stevens shot 70-70—140 to win by two over a trio of amateurs. Tying for second at 142 were Mel Mendenhall (75-67), Jack Kearney (74-68) and Dave Nichols (73-69).

Amateur Tim Brewer was fifth at 144, with amateur John Foster and Collins Hill GC head pro Scott Hare sixth at 145. Pro Sonny Skinner closed with a 68 to tie for eighth at 146 with amateur Rusty Strawn.

Robby Cole of Bent Tree was 10th at 148.

Jack Hall takes GSGA Mid-Am Savannah’s Jack Hall, one of the state’s top senior amateurs, added the GSGA Mid-Amateur Championship to his list of statewide tournament victories, winning the event recently at Marietta CC. Hall shot 70-67-68 for a 5-under 205 total, finishing one ahead of Kennesaw’s Christian Raynor, who posted scores of 68-69-69. Bobby Brent of Columbus and Chad Branton of Cartersville tied for third at 210, with Billy Mitchell of Roswell and Stan Gann of Bonaire fifth at 211.

Senior Match Play: Frank Remmes of Lilburn defeated Chris Hall of Mableton 2&1 in the finals of the GSGA Senior Match Play Championship at Forest Heights in Statesboro. Remmes defeated Larry Vaughan of Greensboro 1-up in the semifinals while Hall got past Jack Hall (no relation), 4&2.

Don Marsh of Johns Creek won the Super Senior final 1-up over Frank Costanzo of Savannah after defeating Atlanta’s Dick Van Leuvan 2-up in the semifinals.

Witcher second at Chattahoochee Duluth’s Brent Witcher, a Web.com Tour player, finished second in a SwingThought.com (formerly Hooters) Tour event last month at Chattahoochee GC in Gainesville.

Witcher shot four rounds in the 60s and

posted a 17-under 271 total, five behind Canada’s Adam Svensson, who followed an opening 66 with three straight 67s.

Svensson also won a recent SwingThought.com event in Tallahassee.

Recent UGA golfer T.J. Mitchell of Albany tied for seventh at 275 with fellow Albany native Josh Broadaway, a Web.com Tour veteran. Mitchell shot a final round 65 and Broadaway closed with a 66. Tying for 10th at 276 were Blake Palmer of Dawsonville and Savannah’s Tim O’Neal.

Chris Wolfe of Warner Robins and recent Alabama golfer Trey Mullinax, now living on St. Simons Island, tied for second in a SwingThought.com event in Ocala, Fla., one shot behind the winner. Recent UGA golfer Joey Garber and Bobby Wyatt, an Alabama teammate of Mullinax and also a St. Simons resident, tied for second in Tallahassee behind Svensson.

Garber also tied for second at Savannah Lakes in McCormick, S.C., a long-time host of the Hooters Tour, and is seventh on the SwingThought.com’s money list.

Jay McLuen, a two-time Georgia Open champion, tied for seventh at Savannah Lakes.

Former Kennesaw State golfer Jeff Karlsson placed second in the most recent SwingThought.com event in Fayetteville, N.C., with Wolfe finishing third, O’Neal fourth and Chip Deason of Evans fifth.

Augusta’s Harbin wins eGolf event Dykes Harbin of Augusta, a former member of the golf team at South Carolina, won a tournament in High Point, N.C., recently on the eGolf Tour. Harbin birdied the last two holes in the final round for a 68 to win by one shot with an 11-under 205 total. He earned $14,500 for the victory.

Harbin also finished sixth in another eGolf Tour event in North Carolina, with Cory Whitsett, one of several recent Alabama golfers living on St. Simons Island, tying for second. Recent Georgia Tech golfer Bo Andrews was seventh and 2015 Kennesaw State graduate Jimmy Beck of Columbus tied for eighth in his professional debut.

In an earlier eGolf Tour event at Forest Oaks in Greensboro, N.C., Alpharetta’s Franco Castro tied for sixth, with former Georgia Tech golfer Kyle Scott of Decatur 12th.

JUNE 2015

Crossword PUZZLE

P R E S E N T E D BY

.com

Across

Down

1 Tried to challenge Spieth at the

26 It's the point that determines

1 Australian golfer in the top 10

Masters 2015 but could not catch him (2 words) 5 Bottom of the club 8 Hit the ball with the hosel of the club 9 Davis Love ____ 10 Henrik Stenson is one 11 Trump National Golf Club, Colt ___, New Jersey 12 Jordan Spieth, in college 15 Morning tee time 16 Trims the green 17 Youngest player to be ranked No. 1 in professional golf 18 Move too much laterally during the swing 23 ___ roll (playing well) (2 words) 24 “Big” name in Callaway clubs

which pro golfers go onto the next round 27 It's come to mean a calm attitude, also a type of Buddhism 29 Top PA golf course that will host the US Open in 2016 31 Adam Scott, Peter Thomson and Greg Norman, for example 32 Shank a shot, e.g.

34 Curving to the right or left, as a putt, due to the slant of the green or the wind 36 ____-down: shot with a low trajectory, used to combat high winds 38 Bismarck's state 39 Resume, in a way 41 Lays out a new course, for example 42 All-time great women's golfer, first name

of the PGA rankings (2 words) 2 Position of the feet at address 3 Signs, as a contract 4 Chris Como is Tiger's ____ coach 6 Pebble Beach vista 7 US golfer who won the PGA Tour’s Arnold Palmer Invitational in 2014 and 2015 9 They are the clubs of choice for approach shots 10 AKA stroke 13 Top course at Mamaroneck, NY, Winged _____ 14 Fall off 17 US golfer, winner of the RBC Heritage in 2014 19 Rory McIlroy's ex 20 Jerks or pulls 21 Very risky type of golf shot

2015 JUNE

22 “That's just the way ___” (2 words) 25 Holds the flag stick for another

player 28 Hit a short, high shot, designed to land softly 30 Course that hosted the 2014 Senior Open, Oklahoma’s ___ Tree National 33 Initials of the US PGA tour golfer who is one of the longest drivers 35 Overnight stay place 36 Car company that sponsored an LPGA Tour Classic in March 2015 37___ -starter 40 Pro golfer Kevin

Answers at: www.foregeorgia.com/puzzle

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Top Ga. amateurs to play in Southeastern, Dogwood

Georgia Amateur [ Continued from page 14 ]

although tees may be adjusted from day to day depending on the wind conditions, always a major factor along the Georgia coast.

Seaside, which hosts the annual PGA Tour McGladrey Classic along with the SEC Championship, features mostly generous fairways and is not especially long by modern standards. But the ocean breezes, abundance of marshes, hazards and sand dunes in play and some demanding greens complexes will test the state’s top amateurs.

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MERCER

The annual Southeastern Amateur and Dogwood Invitational tournaments are on the June/early July calendar this year, with many of the best amateurs from Georgia competing in both events against fields that include top college players from outside the state.

The Southeastern Amateur will be played June 17-20 at Country Club of Columbus, with the Dogwood set for July 1-4 at Druid Hills Golf Club.

Grant Hirschman, who started as a freshman at Oklahoma, is the defending champion in the Southeastern Am, with Eatonton’s Trey Rule, the 2014 Dogwood champion, recently completing his college career at Mercer.

Hirschman won in a playoff last year in Columbus against recent Armstrong Atlantic golfer Shad Tuten of Elberton, with both players back in the field for this month’s tournament.

Also in the Southeastern Am field are Georgia Tech golfer James Clark and UGA’s Parker Derby, both Columbus residents. Clark’s Georgia Tech teammates in the field include Michael Hines of Woodstock, Jacob Joiner of Leesburg, Michael Pisciotta and Drew Czuchry, both of Alpharetta, and Vince Whaley, with UGA’s Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners also competing.

Other current and recent college golfers in the field from Georgia include Emmanuel Kountakis, Henry Mabbett, Justin Cho, Jared O’Kelley, Emerson Newsome, Joe Lewis and Davis Parker, with several of Hirschman’s Oklahoma teammates among a strong group of out-of-state players.

Joining Rule in the field for the Dogwood, which will be played July 1-4, are Clark, Hines, Joiner, Chris Petefish

Trey Rule

and Whaley from Georgia Tech, Healy and Valdosta’s Sepp Straka from Georgia, Davin White, JJ Grey and Damon Stephenson of Georgia State, and Scott Wolfes and Mabbett of Georgia Southern. Rule, Kountakis and recent graduate James Beale will represent Mercer.

Billy Kennerly (Clemson)and Kyle Mueller (Michigan) are Georgians who competed in the recent NCAA Championship, and will play in the Dogwood along with several standouts from smaller colleges, including NAIA champion Sean Elliott of Dalton State, D-III standout Anthony Maccaglia of Oglethorpe and 2014 Georgia Amateur champion Robert Mize of Columbus State.

Three of the top members of the state’s 2015 high school class who will be college freshmen this Fall are also in the field, with David Mackey heading to Athens, Steven Fisk to Georgia Southern and Ryan Stachler to South Carolina.

Two players from NCAA champion LSU will compete along with other players from top college programs, with the tournament scheduled to conclude on July 4th.

The course is capable of yielding relatively low scores, but with only two par 5s, neither of which is easily reachable in two, players have to earn their birdies with precise approach shots and a deft putting touch. A quality short game is also required, as the greenside bunkers are deep and many of the putting surfaces are bordered by run-offs to chipping areas that provide several options.

The greens are generally on the large side with plenty of slope, and Williams says the typically quick putting surfaces “will be as fast as they need to be,” although he admits he will be “very careful” about green speeds and hole locations if the wind kicks up.

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2015 JUNE

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JUNE 2015