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JULY 2015
Bright future for Golf Club of Georgia New owner returning club to lofty status
By Mike Blum
W
hen the Golf Club of Georgia opened in the early 1990s, it immediately shot to the top of the list of metro Atlanta’s finest private golf clubs, with the Lakeside course selected as the best new private course to open in the U.S. in 1991. The Creekside course followed two years later, giving the club a second standout layout that provided a decided contrast in playing style from Lakeside. In short order, the Alpharetta club hosted the Georgia Amateur, U.S. Open qualifiers, Georgia PGA tournaments, a unique pre-Masters event matching the U.S. and British Amateur champions, and a Champions Tour stop for six years. The Champions Tour event ended in 2000 due to sponsorship issues, and other than the Georgia Cup and an annual college tournament the club has hosted for the past decade, Golf Club of Georgia has not been nearly as
Golf Club of Georgia, Lakeside 11th hole
prominent in Atlanta area golf circles as it once was. Among the reasons was the departure of the club’s original Japanese ownership, which spent lavishly to help create Golf Club of Georgia’s lofty reputation. The membership operated the club for about a decade, but it eventually became neces-
sary for the members to sell. Businessman Ben Kenny, who also owns Horseshoe Bend in Roswell, acquired Golf Club of Georgia last year, and is early in the process of restoring the club’s standing in the Atlanta golf community, much as he has done in recent years with Horseshoe Bend.
Kenny invested millions of dollars in the restoration of Horseshoe Bend, with the improvements to the course, clubhouse and infrastructure coming in stages. The same outline for Golf Club of Georgia has already begun, with the Creekside course opening recently after five months of renovation work by Medalist Golf and renowned Atlantabased golf course architect Bob Cupp, who also handled the renovation at Horseshoe Bend. Improvements to the clubhouse are to begin this month and expected to take about a year to complete. The changes will include a reconfiguration of the men’s locker room and grille, an updating of the main dining room and the creation of some meeting space within the existing building. The social aspects of the clubhouse will also be addressed, with a new banquet hall and the expansion of the bar to make it an indoor/outdoor operation. Golf Club of Georgia opened as a golf club as opposed to a country club, and [ See Golf Club of Georgia, page 6 ]
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Instruction Fore You
ALL greens are the same speed! By Ted Fort
PGA Director of Instruction Marietta Golf Center If you’re a great putter, you understand exactly what I mean by the title. If you’re a bad putter, stop buying new putters and read the rest of this article. As a PGA professional, I’m invited to play in numerous charity events each year and I have the pleasure of meeting many new people. The pleasure is meeting the amateurs and getting to know something about them. But, many times, the tragedy is watching them putt. Putting is such an easy skill set and many of the skills can be learned, but few spend time perfecting the art. One of the biggest problems that I see in poor putters is distance control. It’s almost impossible to miss a 10 foot putt by 5 feet to the right or 5 feet to the left of the hole. But, how many times have you seen someone hit a putt 5 feet past or 5 feet short of the hole? (...maybe a recent U.S. Open?) We all know that greens are very different from course to course, and many will blame the speed of the greens for their poor putting. When greens are extremely fast, poor putters will decelerate in an attempt to keep the ball from going too far past the hole. When they decelerate, they lose control of the clubface, making it almost impossible to start a downhill putt on the intended line. When the greens are slow, they never get the ball to the hole. Everything comes
up short. So, how did I choose such a (seemingly) poor title for this article? For any given length of a putt, my speed never changes. Poor putters are constantly trying to adapt their speed to the new conditions. For every 10 foot putt that I have ever hit, my speed has always been the same. In other words, I have a “normal” speed that I would use to make a 10 footer. When I arrive at a tournament, I’ll make a few strokes from the flattest 10
feet that I can find. If I find that every putt travels 3 feet past the hole, the greens are 3 feet faster than my “normal” speed. Therefore, every hole on the course just became 3 feet closer to me. My imaginary hole is now closer on every putt. My target hole changes, so my speed doesn’t have to vary.
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Golf Media, Inc. / John Barrett E D I T O R Mike Blum W E B S I T E / FA C E B O O K / S O C I A L M E D I A
Jason McCullough / Kristen Zeck JUNIOR / COLLEGE GOLF NEWS COORDINATOR
Samantha Stone
In these pictures, you’ll see that I have created white, imaginary target holes for my eyes. In the 1st picture, I have found that the green is rolling 3 feet faster that my “normal” speed. So, I have created a new hole at 7 feet, and I can make a “normal” stroke to my 7 foot target. When I think that it’s going to stop at the 7 foot mark, it rolls another 3 feet to reach my 10 foot hole. In the 2nd picture, I have found that the greens roll 3 feet slower than my “normal” speed. So, I have created a new target hole that is 3 feet past my 10 foot target. When I am preparing for the speed of my putt, my eyes become focused on my new, imaginary target instead of the hole. If your eyes get distracted by the hole, you’ll lose your distance control. Additional accommodations must be made for uphill and downhill putts, but those must be made after you have made your initial adjustment. Having a downhill 10 footer on the fastest greens, the target hole could be 3 feet away from you. I’ll always be aggressive or accelerating to my target hole, although that target may be well short of the hole. When you are able to visualize an imaginary hole and are able to distract yourself from the real hole, you will find an amazing ability to control distance.
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Ted Fort • Steve Eubanks Steve Dinberg • Al Kooistra GEORGIA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA OFFICERS
President Mark Mongell, PGA / mmongell@cherokeetcc.org Vice President Brian Albertson, PGA / bamulligan@bellsouth.net Secretary John Godwin, PGA / jgodwinpga@earthlink.net Honorary President Brian Stubbs, PGA / bstubbs@ccofcolumbus.com CHAPTER PRESIDENTS
Central Chapter President Winston Trively, PGA / wtrively@yahoo.com East Chapter President Brandon Youmans / brandonyoumans@pga.com North Chapter President Shawn Koch, PGA / prokoch@pga.com AT - L A R G E D I R E C T O R S
Billy Jack, PGA / bjack@stivescountryclub.org Chad O’Dell, PGA / chadopro@aol.com Brandon Stooksbury, PGA / bjstook@pga.com Mark Lammi, PGA / mal9599@msn.com Brian Conley, PGA / pgaugadawg@aol.com Matthew Evans, PGA / mevans@pga.com Todd Ormsby, PGA / taormsby1020@gmail.com SENIOR DIVISION
President Mike Schlueter, PGA / mikeschlueter@comcast.net A S S I S TA N T S ’ D I V I S I O N
Forecast
INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES:
Georgia Open preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Atlanta Open wrapup. . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Georgians in PNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Ga. Women's Open preview . . . . . . . 14
FedExCup update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Travel: Maggie Valley. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Judson tournament wrapup . . . . . . . 22
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Roberto Castro feature . . . . . . . . . . . 24 FOREGEORGIA.COM
Lee McCoy ponders future . . . . . . . . 26
PGA Tour event in Alabama . . . . . . . 28
Planterra Ridge renovation. . . . . . . . 29
DEPARTMENTS: Golf FORE Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Chip shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 New products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
If you have any
questions about this article, feel free
to contact me at
fortifiedgolf.com
President Will Bartram, PGA / will@hawksridge.com S E C T I O N S TA F F
Executive Director Mike Paull Assistant Executive Director/ Junior Golf Director Scott Gordon Tournament Director Pat Day, PGA Operations Manager Eric Wagner Section Assistant Carrie Ann Byrne FOREGeorgia is produced by Golf Media, Inc. Copyright ©2014 with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content is prohibited. Georgia PGA website: www.georgiapga.com. FORE Georgia website: www.foregeorgia.com
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Golf Club of GA [ Continued from the cover ]
that aspect will not change. However, for families that want swim and tennis facilities along with the great golf the club offers, Golf Club of Georgia members have access to those at Horseshoe Bend, which has long been wellregarded for both and formerly hosted an ATP tour event, Jacqueline Welch, the vice president for both clubs, describes the work being done at Golf Club of Georgia as “a total transformation. Golf Club of Georgia had an amazing reputation and we want to capitalize on that reputation. We’re making a lot of changes to bring it to the next level.” In addition to the renovation work on Creekside and the improvements to the clubhouse, one of the aims of the club’s “transformation” is to make it a more inviting place for families. Without swim and tennis, Golf Club of Georgia operated as mainly a guys’ club, but with more of an emphasis placed on junior clinics and camps, the familyoriented direction the club is heading in is already evident. Kenny’s efforts to upgrade the entire facility at Horseshoe Bend have been well received by its membership, who spent many years hoping for a return to its 1980s status as one of the Atlanta area’s top private clubs. According to Welch, Kenny is bringing the “one vision, one direction” approach he used at Horseshoe Bend to turn around the declining status there to Golf Club of Georgia. After more than a decade of being a membership-operated club, not everyone was on board with the change in direction, but as Welch pointed out, “It’s hard to make everybody happy.” Welch says there was also some initial skepticism at Horseshoe Bend after Kenny acquired the club and informed the membership of his plans for it, but after the sizeable amount of money he spent to improve it, the skepticism has been replaced by appreciation. Kenny’s goal for the members of his clubs is simple, Welch says. “He wants you to enjoy yourself.” For more than two decades, the members at Golf Club of Georgia have enjoyed a pair of outstanding but contrasting courses, but have enjoyed one more than the other. Lakeside, the first of the two to be designed by acclaimed architect Arthur Hills, was built on the prime golf course land on the property, with much of the back nine winding along Lake Windward. Creekside was constructed on 6
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a site not as ideal for a golf course, with a considerable number of wetlands areas impacting the layout and the terrain not nearly as gentle as that used for Lakeside. While Lakeside offered a traditional, tree-lined setting with its large, undulating greens responsible for much of its challenge. Creekside was more of a modern, targetstyle course, with the wetlands areas requiring a number of forced carries. Over the years, some of the areas that required shots to have to carry from point A to point B have become fairways, and a few others are either having some of the high native grasses mowed or being sodded to add some definition. John Huban, who took over as Golf Club of Georgia’s head professional about a year ago, says member play was largely oriented towards Lakeside. “They sort of avoided Creekside. It was hard and a little too demanding.” Among Cupp’s changes was the removal of a sizeable percentage of bunkers, mostly along the fairways, with little work done to the greens complexes. Some new tees were added to reduce the length of some of the forced carries, and a new set of senior tees are being introduced to make it a little less intimidating for members who can’t hit it as far as they once did. Huban said the initial response to Cupp’s efforts to soften Creekside a bit was positive, but it remains a serious challenge, just not quite as daunting as it was previously. The removal of many of the fairway bunkers has made Creekside a less demanding course off the tee, but there are still plenty of holes that will not respond kindly to miss-hit shots. If you can hit it reasonably solid off the tee, Creekside is not an overwhelming test, although there are several stout par 4s and a pair of demanding par 3s that will require your best efforts to avoid damage to your scorecard. Creekside’s more inviting front nine offers a number of scoring opportunities, beginning with a narrow, rolling par 5 that features one of the more sloping greens on the course. For the most part, the excellent putting surfaces on Creekside are gentler than those on Lakeside, but they have sufficient movement and speed to put your touch to the test. Both par 3s on the outgoing nine are short and on the tame side, with a pair of
Golf Club of Georgia
undersized par 4s also offering scoring opportunities. The ninth still requires a modest carry over a hazard, but with the right side fairway bunkers removed is a much more receptive hole. ole #6 Lakeside H There are three standout holes on the nine, starting with the narrow par-4 third, one of several with sizeable hills along the fairway that can be friend or foe depending on how it re-directs shots that land on them. The toughest hole on the course, and one of the most difficult you’ll Creekside Hole #11 encounter anywhere, is the long par-4 eighth, with a creek short of the green requiring a lay-up for shorter hitters or much else. those whose tee shots are a bit errant. A Lakeside is not as potentially penal as long, narrow green presents a tough Creekside, but has more than its share of target from long range, with fall-offs water in play, along with some greens that along the edges making for some testy can get very quick with plenty of break. short game shots. Water is a serious factor on about half Creekside’s target nature is perhaps the holes, including an exceptional trio best exemplified by the reachable par-5 of par 3s that rate high for both beauty fifth, which sports a large, island fairway and challenge. Both nines finish with followed by an angled second shot over a risk/reward par 5s with water guarding wetlands area that is being re-sodded. the greens, and the par-5 11th offers Trouble and trees left of a narrow strip of some glorious views with a green green and a thin row of trees are in play perched along Lake Windward. to the right for those who bail out. The par fours are a diverse group, with There are no soft touches on the four on the short side and only one with lengthier back nine, with the only short serious yardage numbers, with its downhole among the group the par-4 13th, hill nature reducing the effective length. which begins with a carry over wetlands Most of the fairways are on the generous to a fairway that runs out for those who side, with the greens complexes prohit more club than they need. Even if viding much of the challenge on a you find the fairway, a tree short left of course, that like Creekside, is superbly the green can impede approach shots. conditioned. The remainder of the nine features two lengthy par 3s with hazards in play, a par 5 with a creek that winds through the fairway and impacts both the second For information on Golf Club of Georgia, and third shots, two more par 4s call 770-664-8644 or visit requiring carries to reach the fairway www.golfclubofgeorgia.com and a pair of strong par-4 finishing holes that lack hazards but not J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Georgia Open returning to Pinetree McLuen looking for third title in event
By Mike Blum
ot all golf tournaments produce down-to-the-wire excitement, with the outcome not decided until the
final hole. For most of the past decade, the Georgia Open has only had a handful of competitive finishes, with the winning margin seven shots in three of the last four tournaments. Two of those three runaway victories belong to Jay McLuen, who scored his first win in the tournament at Barnsley Gardens in 2011 and won again last year at Pinetree Country Club, the first time the event was sponsored by Tilted Kilt, a sports pub with several metro Atlanta locations. Jonathan Fricke also won by seven in 2013 at the Legends at Chateau Elan, his second straight tournament title after scoring a narrow victory the previous year, also at the Legends. McLuen and Fricke are part of the state’s contingent of tour players who have taken home the majority of winners’ trophies since the event began in 1954. Winners in the 1960s and ‘70s included PGA Tour members Tommy Aaron, Hugh Royer, Jr., DeWitt Weaver and Larry Nelson, with Tim Simpson and Gene Sauers winning three times each in the 1980s. Aaron, Steve Melnyk, Lyn Lott, Bob Jay McLuen
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the tournament as amateurs prior to turning pro on the way to stints on the PGA Tour. But once the purses on that tour skyrocketed beyond those offered by the Georgia Open, the state’s PGA Tour contingent ceded control of the event to tour players competing at levels below golf’s major leagues. No amateur has won the tournament since Langham in 1989, and the Georgia PGA has had only four winners since Gregg Wolff in 1991 – Stephen Keppler in 1994 and ‘95, Tim Weinhart in 2004 and Jeff Hull in 2007. Several of the winners of the event over the past 25 years used their victories as springboards to careers as tour players that included the PGA Tour, including Langham in 1992, Matt Peterson in ‘93, Justin Bolli in 2003 and Roberto Castro in ‘09. Former tour players who won the Georgia Open after competing on the PGA Tour or what is now the Web.com Tour include two-time champions Dave Schreyer (1996, 2001) and Dicky Thompson (1998-99), along with Tim Conley (2005) and Bryant Odom (2008). Fricke and McLuen are still both competing on various tours, as is 2010 winner Samuel Del Val. The Georgia Open, which will be played August 6-9 at Pinetree in Kennesaw, has played at various sites around the state since leaving Savannah, where it was based for a number of years, in the early 1990s. The tournament has made stops at courses on Lake Oconee (1994-96) and at Jekyll Island (19972000), playing primarily in metro Atlanta since making a visit to The Frog in 2001. The Legends has served as host five times, three of those between 2002 and ‘05 and again in 2012 and ‘13. Other host courses include Settindown Creek (2003), Reynolds Landing (‘06), Augusta’s Champions Retreat (‘07) and Savannah Harbor (2010), with Barnsley Gardens, the Legends and Pinetree all hosting the event multiple times from 2008 through this year. McLuen, a Forsyth resident who has limited experience on the Web.com and PGA Tours, found Pinetree to his liking last year, winning by seven with a 19under 269 total. McLuen plays primarily on regional tours in the Southeast, and
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Tway and Franklin Langham all won
Pinetree’s scenic par-3 12t
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has made two 2015 starts on the Web.com Tour, with his professional highlight a tie for 16th in the PGA Tour Mayakoba Classic in 2013. After 36 holes last year at Pinetree, McLuen trailed Eddie Lee, a contender in the tournament each of the last three years, by three shots. After opening with scores of 66 and 72, McLuen pulled away from the field with scores of 66-65 the final two rounds to finish seven shots ahead of Jimmy Beck of Columbus. Third place was a distant 11 shots off the lead, with Matt Nagy and Kelby Burton tying for third at 280. Beck, Nagy and Burton were all playing on familiar turf. All three played on the golf team at Kennesaw State with Pinetree, the home course for the Owls. Both Beck and Burton were still members of the Owls’ team this past season, with Beck recently joining Nagy in the professional ranks. Beck, who had a top10 finish on the eGolf Tour in his pro debut, won the Georgia Amateur at Pinetree in 2013 and also won a college event hosted by Kennesaw State at the course. Lee tied for fifth at 281 after placing third in 2012 and tying for fifth in 2013. Also tying for fifth last year was Chris Nicol of Georgia Golf Center, who was low among the Georgia PGA contingent in the field. McLuen has a history of success in the Georgia Open. He lost in a playoff at Reynolds Landing in 2006 tied for fourth in ‘07 at Champions Retreat and was third at Barnsley Gardens in ‘08. He won
by seven shots at Barnsley in 2011, and was sixth and eighth the next two years at the Legends. Nagy made an impact on the tournament for the first time in 2012, finishing one shot behind Fricke at the Legends, the only time since 2007 the Georgia Open has had a tightly contested finish. Nagy was 10th the next year before posting his second top-3 finish in 2014 at Pinetree. The last Georgia PGA member to win the tournament was Hull in 2007, who edged future PGA Tour player Luke List by a shot, with amateur David Noll, McLuen and former PGA Tour player John Engler of Augusta also contending for a victory. Hull was formerly head pro at Port Armor (now Reynolds Landing) and has since left the Georgia PGA Section for the Carolinas Section. Since Hull’s win, the top finishes by Georgia PGA members have been ties for fifth by Bill Murchison in 2008 and Craig Stevens in ‘09, ties for sixth in 2011 by Murchison, Keppler and Clark Spratlin, and Nicol’s tie for fifth last year. Keppler, who won back-to-back tournaments at Lake Oconee in 1994 and ‘95, finished one shot out of a playoff there in ‘06 along with Sonny Skinner, with Hull two shots back in sixth on the course where he spent two stints as head pro. Weinhart, a seven-time Georgia PGA Player of the Year, had a strong three-year run in the tournament from [ See Georgia Open, page 12 ] J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Skinner scores victory in Yamaha Atlanta Open Takes a liking to White Columns in initial visit
By Mike Blum
ntil the Yamaha Atlanta Open Pro-Am, which was played the day before the tournament teed off, Sonny Skinner had never played a round of golf at White Columns Country Club, the tournament host. Skinner shot 65 in the Pro-Am to claim low pro honors, then followed with a 65 the next day to lead by two strokes after the opening round. After making 14 birdies in those two rounds, Skinner began the second and final day of the tournament with 11 straight pars, falling into a tie for the lead at that point with playing partners Bradley Smith and J.P. Griffin, both new to the Georgia PGA. Just like the pro-am and opening round, Skinner spent the final round hitting fairways and greens and giving himself birdie opportunities on most of the holes. Unlike the previous two days, the putts did not fall for Skinner. He missed two short birdie attempts early in the round and never made a putt of any consequence the entire day. But thanks to one superb tee shot on a par 3 and a deft pitch for a near tap-in on a par 5, Skinner did not pull off a final round Faldo (18 pars), carding two birdies against 16 pars. That proved to be just enough to produce a narrow victory, as Skinner’s final round 70 gave him a 36-hole score of 9under 135 and a 1-shot margin over Smith, who closed with a 69 to take second at 136. Griffin made a bogey on the final hole for a 71 and tied for third at 138 with Kyle Owen. “I thought I had been here, but I did not remember one hole, and I always remember holes from courses I’ve played,” Skinner said. White Columns, an excellent Tom Fazio design, proved to be a perfect fit for Skinner, who drives it straight but not especially long and hits lots of quality iron shots, but does not hole a sizeable percentage of his birdie efforts. Skinner said he liked the way “the trees framed the fairways. It fit my eye on every hole and I could hit a good driver or 3-wood. The greens were holding, so you could hit it where you looked, and I hit a lot of greens.” The veteran pro from Sylvester teaches
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three feet, but Smith answered when he reached the par-5 13th in two for a tying birdie. Skinner broke the tie when he birdied the short par-5 15th while Smith had to settle for par on the hole. Smith almost forced a playoff when his birdie pitch from a mound bordering the 18th green narrowly missed. Skinner closed out his round with two solid pars, two-putting from relatively long range on both 17 and 18. Like Skinner, Smith began his professional career as a tour player, competing on tours in his native Australia, Asia and the Latino America Tour before a bad back led to a switch from playing to teaching. While a junior in Australia, Smith had a chance meeting more than a decade ago with Skinner, who was playing in a Buy.com (now Web.com) Tour event at Smith’s home club. Smith said he told Skinner that story and wanted to see if he remembered it. Smith went on to play college golf in the U.S. at UAB, and has played well in a handful of starts in Georgia PGA Section and Assistants’ events, beginning with a third place finish last year in the Assistants’ Championship. In three starts this year prior to the Atlanta Open, he teamed with Matthew Evans of Rivermont to tie for second in the ProPro Scramble, won an Assistants’ event at Augusta Country Club and tied for second at Orchard Hills. Griffin played at the mini-tour level after completing his college career at Georgia Southwestern, and has joined the staff at Cherokee Town & Country Club as an assistant. He had three top-5 finishes in Assistants’ Division events earlier this year and another top five in the Pro-Assistant Championship before his strong showing at White Columns. A back nine 30 in the opening round shot Griffin into contention, and he moved into a tie for the lead the second day with back-to-back birdies at holes 10 and 11. But he pulled his tee shot on the par-3 12th into a tough lie and made double bogey. Birdies at the two par 5s on the back nine kept him within range
part time at River Pointe in Albany and plays a heavy tournament schedule, competing in both Georgia PGA and national PGA events, along with occasional appearances on the Champions Tour. “I think I only missed two greens yesterday and only one today,” Skinner said. “And in the pro-am, I only missed two.” Skinner also enjoyed the pastoral drive through the North Fulton suburbs to White Columns, and jokingly offered that he might leave his long time home in south Georgia to move somewhere close to the course, while wondering if White Columns head pro Mitch Cook might have some part-time position on his staff available. Skinner built his first round lead on the strength of seven birdies and no bogeys, notching birdies on four of White Column’s most inviting holes (11, 15, 16 and 7) and three of the most difficult (14, 2 and 4). The 65 put him two ahead of Smith and Griffin, and the three battled it out the final day, with Owen and Chris Nicol also contending. Nicol, an assistant at Georgia Golf Center and a two-time Georgia PGA tournament winner, shot 70 and tied for fifth at 139. Also tying for fifth was 2007 Atlanta Open champion Bob Royak, who earned low amateur honors. Smith, the Director of Instruction at Eagle’s Landing, had three birdies and no bogeys in his second round, pulling within a shot of Skinner with a birdie on the opening hole and tying for the lead when he holed a birdie putt at the short par-4 seventh. Skinner regained the lead when he hit his tee shot on the par-3 12th to about
of Skinner, but he went left off the 18th tee and had to chip out of the trees, resulting in a bogey Owen, the head pro at Dunwoody Country Club, closed within one of Skinner with consecutive birdies at holes 4, 5 and 6, but parred the next 12 holes for a 70 and a 138 total. A birdie at 14 got Nicol within two of Skinner’s lead, but he made double bogey at the short par-4 15th, and went birdiebogey-birdie on the final three holes. Royak, a member at St. Ives, had six birdies the second day and shot 68 to share fifth with Nicol at 139, winning low amateur by three over Mark Nickerson of Atlanta National, Erik Martin of Golf Club of Georgia, Sean Murphy of Druid Hills and Lilburn’s Ted Moon, a former runner-up in the Georgia Open who recently completed his college career at Belmont. Moon and Murphy were contenders after opening rounds of 68, but both suffered double bogeys on the front nine the next day to fall back. Tying for seventh at 140 were Joe Finemore of Big Canoe, Charlie King of Griffin Golf Course and Champions Tour member James Mason, who won the Atlanta Open in 2000, the last time it was played at White Columns. Finemore was 7-under for his round after 17 holes the final day, shooting 31 on the back nine with an eagle on the 16th and adding two more birdies on the front before a closing double bogey at the par-5 ninth. King and Mason both shot back-to-back 70s. Tying for 10th at 141 were Todd Ormsby of Highland Country Club in LaGrange, Stephen Keppler of Marietta Country Club, Clark Spratlin of Currahee Club in Toccoa and Evans. Ormsby parred his first 10 holes in the second round, went 5-under on his next six with an eagle on the 13th, but finished bogey-bogey for a 69. Keppler has won three of the Georgia PGA’s four majors and owns 14 individual Section titles, but has yet to win the Atlanta Open. He shot 33 on his final nine for a second round 68. Mark Anderson of Brunswick Country Club was 4-under for the day after 10 holes and one shot behind Skinner, but made back-to-back double [ See Atlanta Open, page 12 ] J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Skinner has top Georgia PGA finish in PNC
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hole. He was 1-under after 14 holes the next day, but bogeyed three of his last four holes and shot 2-over 74. Smith did not make a birdie in the third round and shot 77, closing out his round with three consecutive bogeys. Failing to make the 36-hole cut were Clark Spratlin of Currahee Club, Kyle Owen of Dunwoody Country Club, Gary Miller of the Oaks course, Phil Taylor of Ansley Golf Club and Brian Puterbaugh of the Hooch. Spratlin and Owen both shot 7-over 149 to miss the cut by two. Spratlin had scores of 75 and 74 and Owen shot 7475. Spratlin tried to rally with a pair of birdies on his final nine in the second round, while Owen was 1-over for the tournament early in his second round, but did not make a birdie over his final 16 holes. Miller shot 75-76 for a 151 total,
Georgia Open [ Continued from page 8 ]
2002-04, tying for third in ‘02, losing a playoff to former PGA Tour player Bolli in ‘03 and winning at the Legends in ‘04 by one shot over Kris Blanks, another future PGA Tour player. Entry deadline for the tournament is July 17, with the state’s top club professionals and many of the top amateurs exempt from qualifying. Other than past champions and top-10 finishers from last year, mini-tour players have to qualify to get into the field, with six qualifiers scheduled from July 20-27, three in metro Atlanta and one each in Rome, Savannah and Albany. Both the SwingThought.com (formerly Hooters) and eGolf tours are playing that week in the Carolinas, which will keep some of the state’s minitour players out of the field. Several players with Web.com Tour status have played well in the Georgia Open in
Atlanta Open [ Continued from page 10 ]
bogeys at 12 and 13 to tie for 15th at 142 after a second round 70. Skinner played on the PGA Tour for four years in the 1990s and spent 10 full seasons on what is now the Web.com Tour between 1993 and 2004. He
while Taylor rebounded from a tough opening round to shoot 73 the next day, beginning his second round with nine straight pars. From 2005-13, the Georgia Section had 10 players qualify for the PGA Championship, sending at least one player to the major championship every year in that stretch except 2007. Tim Weinhart and Craig Stevens, who have eight PGA Championship appearances between them and have been fixtures in the PNC for the past 15 Hank Smit years, both failed to h qualify for the event this year.
GEORGIA PG A
or the second straight year, no member of the Georgia PGA qualified for the PGA Championship, with none of the seven Section members competing in the recent PGA Professional National Championship managing a top 20 finish. The top 20 finishers from the PNC qualify for the 2015 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. The top finish by a Georgia PGA member was a tie for 39th by recent Yamaha Atlanta Open champion Sonny Skinner, who completed a busy week at the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Skinner also competed in the U.S. Senior Open in Sacramento, which ended the day the PGA PNC began. Because Skinner missed the cut in the Senior Open – by just one shot – he was able to play in the PNC two days later after flying cross country. Of the other six Georgia PGA members in the PNC, the only one to make the 36-hole cut was Hank Smith, who failed to make the 54-hole cut. Skinner, who plays out of River Pointe in Albany, has made it to the PGA Championship three times since 2008, twice finishing as runner-up in the PNC. He played steadily in the most recent club professional championship in Philadelphia, posting scores of 72-7273-72 for a 7-over 289 total. The tournament was played over two courses, with the primary course playing to par 70 and the other course a par 72. With four holes to play late in the third round, Skinner was even par for the tournament and inside the top 20, but three straight bogeys late in the round dropped him into a tie for 37th. He bogeyed four of his first six holes the final day before rallying with three birdies. A bogey on the 18th left him with a 2-over 72 and 7-over total. A score of 4-over 284 played off for the 20th and final spot in the PGA. Skinner played steady golf throughout the tournament, closing out his first round with 14 straight pars after two early bogeys. He matched par of 72 the next day and began his third round with birdies on the first two holes before taking five bogeys the rest of the way without a birdie for a 3-over 73. Smith, the head pro at Frederica Golf Club on St. Simons Island, shot 73-74 the first two days, struggling down the finish both times. He was even par after 14 holes in the third round, but shot 3over 73 with a double bogey on his final
recent years (Brent Witcher, Mark Silvers, Kyle Scott, Tim O’Neal), but both Witcher and Silvers are likely to be playing on that tour that week. While McLuen won with a 19-under total and Beck was second at 12-under last year at Pinetree, only four other players in the field shot lower than 4under 284, with just 10 players breaking par for 72 holes. Pinetree can play as long as 7100 yards from the back tees, and is a stronger test for the state’s top players since a renovation in 2008 by Atlanta-based golf course architect Bill Bergin, a former tour player. The course added 280 yards from the back tees and the putting surfaces were changed to Champions Bermuda, now ranking among the best and most challenging in the Atlanta area. Pinetree is relatively generous off the tee, and is more a second shot course, with the speed and movement on the greens serving as a primary defense. The heart of Pinetree’s challenge is a group of
seven par 4s that range from 418 to 455 yards, with the 10th the shortest of the group but the only one of the seven with water in play. The 452-yard dogleg left 18th is likely the toughest of the group, but is not the finishing hole for the tournament. Although the holes retain their same designation for the tournament, the leaders the final two days begin on the 10th tee so the tournament finishes on the par-5 ninth, which is a more spectator-friendly hole than the 18th. Two of the par 3s are in the 220-yard range, but none of the four is particularly penal, with a trio of short par 4s offering some scoring opportunities along with the par 5s, three of which are reachable in two by many of the competitors. The 16th is only 505 yards and yielded more eagles last year than several other par 4s yielded birdies, with the ninth also offering an excellent chance for birdie for those who can position their tee shot on the proper side of the fairway to set up the second shot on the dogleg right.
became a Georgia PGA member in 2006 and has played primarily in Section events since, with occasional appearances on the Web.com and Champions Tours, the latter after he turned 50 in 2010. Since joining the Georgia PGA, Skinner has earned Player of the Year honors in 2006 and last year, won the Match Play Championship in ‘06 and the Section Championship in 2009 and ‘12.
He’s won both the Georgia Senior Open and Georgia PGA Senior Championship in recent years, and also made an impact at the national PGA level. Skinner has twice finished second in the PGA Professional National Championship, the national championship for club professionals, and has earned national PGA Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year honors. J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Volvik Ga. Women’s Open back at Brookfield Paolozzi, Shirley, Haigwood among field
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he Volvik Georgia Women’s Open celebrates its 20th birthday this month, with the event back at Roswell’s Brookfield Country Club for the third straight year, with Volvik serving as host for the third time. The tournament will be played July 13-14, with Druid Hills assistant professional Karen Paolozzi returning to defend her title. Paolozzi is one of the country’s top female club professionals and competed in last month’s Women’s PGA Championship in New York. The Georgia Women’s Open was held for the first time in 1995, and was played at Canongate courses in Peachtree City and Newnan until moving to Callaway Gardens in 2012. Brookfield, which hosted a tournament on the LPGA Tour in the late 1970s and early 1980s, served as host for the first time in 2013, with Volvik coming on board that year as title sponsor. The tournament expanded its playing field last year, allowing golfers from outside Georgia to compete for the first time. Players from several states, mainly from Tennessee, competed in the 2014 event. With several weeks left before the entry deadline, the tournament had attracted players from Pennsylvania and Illinois, along with two former Georgia residents who have played in the tournament previously. Paula Pearson-Tucker, now living in Miami, was a Georgia Women’s Open regular when she lived in the state, and finished as low senior pro in the tournament last year. Former Milledgeville resident and exClemson golfer Ashlan Ramsey, finished fifth in the Georgia Women’s Open in 2011 at Summer Grove, and will be back in the field this month, competing in the professional division. The tournament has had a mix of professional and amateur winners in its 20-year history, with a number of the most prominent names in Georgia women’s golf over the past two decades among the champions. Caroline Peek Blaylock, who played several years on the LPGA Tour, won the event three of its first six years, including the first two in 1995 and ‘96. Krissie Register, who grew up in Roswell and
GEORGIA PGA
By Mike Blum
Margaret Shirley
played out of Brookfield, won twice as an amateur in the late 1990s before turning professional. Register was part of an NCAA champion Arizona team, with 1998 Georgia Women’s Open champion Summer Sirmons, now an Atlanta area teaching pro, also part of an NCAA championship team during her years at Georgia. Angela Jerman, a teammate of Sirmons on the 2001 championship team and a former LPGA Tour player, is expected to return to the tournament field this year. Jerman finished second in the Georgia Women’s Open as an amateur in 2001 and tied for third, one shot out of a playoff in 2009 as a pro, but has not played much in recent years, tying for eighth in her most recent tournament appearance in 2011. Jerman is married to Highland Country Club head pro Todd Ormsby. Diana Ramage, who also played on the LPGA Tour, won the tournament in 2005 and ‘07, and is one of several former Auburn golfers to have won the Georgia Women’s Open. Courtney Swaim Trimble, now the head women’s golf coach at Louisville, won over Jerman in 2001, and Margaret Shirley, who coached as an assistant at both Auburn and Georgia, has three Georgia Women’s Open titles to match Blaylock. Shirley, who recently became the Executive Director of Atlanta Junior Golf, has been a consistent presence in the tournament since her days in junior golf. Shirley won the Georgia Women’s Open in 2006 while a member of the Auburn women’s team and again in ‘08 shortly after she graduated. From 200310, she finished fifth or better seven of
Karen Paolozzi
eight years, but missed the 2011 and ‘12 tournaments before returning to score her third win in 2013 at Brookfield. Last year, Shirley was a contender late into the final round, but wound up sixth after a disappointing finish. A few months later, Shirley won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship, an event in which she lost in the match play finals the previous year. The Georgia Women’s Open has had six different winners, the past six years, beginning with Mariah Stackhouse in 2009. Stackhouse had yet to begin her sophomore year in high school when she won in a playoff at Summer Grove, and came close to a repeat title the next year, finishing two shots behind Emilie Burger, then a member of the Georgia women’s team. Shirley, an assistant coach at Georgia at the time, was second that year. The most recent playoff in the tournament came in 2010, when current LPGA Tour player Dori Carter defeated current Symetra Tour player Lacey Agnew. Kendall Wright, who is also playing on the Symetra Tour, won by four shots at Callaway Gardens in 2012, with Shirley taking first by a five-shot margin at Brookfield the next year. In her first appearance in the Georgia Women’s Open, Paolozzi edged Roswell’s Jessica Haigwood by one shot last year with a 4-under 140 total. Haigwood, a member of the women’s golf team at Augusta State, played at Brookfield
during her high school career at Roswell, and has been runner-up the last two years after a fourth place showing in 2012. Paolozzi, Haigwood and Shirley played in the final group in the second round of last year’s tournament, and between them had 25 out of a possible 27 pars on Brookfield’s front nine. The back nine featured several swings in momentum, with Haigwood leading by three shots with five holes to play. Haigwood hit her tee shots in the water on the par-5 14th and par-3 15th and Paolozzi made up two shots on her on both holes to take the lead. Shirley was only two back of Paolozzi after birdies at 12 and 14, but struggled down the stretch. Trailing by two with two holes to play, Haigwood birdied the long par-4 17th and almost forced a playoff, missing her birdie try on the 18th. Shirley, Haigwood and Wright have been consistent contenders in the tournament in recent years, along with Carmen Bandea, a frequent challenger over the past decade but never a winner. Bandea, who has played on both the Symetra and Canadian tours, has finished in the top five each of the last five years, tying with Haigwood for second behind Shirley two years ago. She also was second in 2007, losing in a playoff to Ramage at White Oak. Bandea tied for fourth last year, three behind Paolozzi. Wright was third last year, finishing two in back of Paolozzi after a final round 68. She has finished fourth or better five of the last seven years, including her win in 2012, and has not been out of the top 10 during that span. Along with Agnew and Jean Reynolds, Wright is playing on the Symetra Tour this year, with that tour playing in Rochester, N.Y., two days after the Georgia Open ends. The Georgia Women’s Open will also lose several of the state’s top amateurs to the North and South event at Pinehurst, with Stackhouse and incoming UGA freshmen Rinko Mitsunaga and Bailey Tardy playing there. The field is divided into several divisions for the amateurs, with two Championship flights and two flights for players not in the championship division, along with two senior amateur flights and a senior professional division. J U LY 2 0 1 5
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FedExCup Playoffs chase nearing conclusion By Mike Blum
ith less than two months remaining in the 2014-15 PGA Tour schedule, the field for the FedExCup Playoffs is taking shape, with players jockeying for spots in the top 125 on the points list. The top 125 players after the PGA Tour stop in Greensboro, N.C., Aug. 2023 will qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs, which begin the following week at Plainfield Country Club in New Jersey. The top 100 after the Barclays will play in Boston on Labor Day weekend, with the top 70 on the points list after the Deutsche Bank Championship moving on to Conway Farms in Chicago for the BMW Championship two weeks later. The Tour Championship returns to Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club Sept. 2427, with the top 30 in the FedExCup standings comprising the field. The players will compete for a purse of $8.25 million, with the four Playoffs events offering a total of $33 million, along with $35 million in bonus money for the Playoffs qualifiers. Although the Tour Championship field will not be determined until the Playoffs event in Chicago concludes, the top two players in the World Rankings will definitely be in the field, along with most of the other top-ranked players. There will be some prominent players who will not make it to East Lake, beginning with 2007 Tour Championship winner Tiger Woods, who was 200th in the FedExCup standings after the U.S. Open, with four or five starts remaining on his 2015 schedule. Woods will have to move up considerably in the standings
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Kevin Kisner
just to qualify for the Playoffs, and would need at least one win and another top finish or two to have a chance to contend for a spot in the Tour Championship. Woods missed last year’s Tour Championship, as did Phil Mickelson, the only player to win twice at East Lake. Mickelson won in 2000 and ‘09, but is winless since the 2013 British Open. After the poorest season of his career in 2014, Mickelson has bounced back with a much better showing in 2015, but does not have many starts left to improve his position of 45th in the FedExCup standings after the U.S. Open. Leading the standings by a wide margin was Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, who almost certainly will be No. 1 in the standings going into the Playoffs. Spieth is the only three-time winner on the PGA Tour this year, and is closing in on Rory McIlroy for the top spot in the World rankings. McIroy is fourth in the standings after playing a limited schedule in the U.S. and has won twice (Match Play Championship and in Charlotte), with Jimmy Walker the only other multiple champion this year, winning early in Hawaii and a hometown victory in San Antonio. He was second in the standings, with Dustin Johnson third after his crushing runner-up showing to Spieth in the U.S. Open last month. Johnson won the World Golf Championships event at Doral and has contended several other times this year, most recently at Chambers Bay. He will be looking to return to East Lake after sitting out last year’s event even though he was among the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. Reportedly, Johnson was serving a six-month suspension for a failed drug test, but since the PGA Tour does not publicly announce player suspensions, Johnson’s absence last year was never fully explained. Of the top 23 players in the FedExCup standings after the U.S. Open, only two were non-winners this season – Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (9) and former UGA golfer Kevin Kisner (14), who will be looking to qualify for the Tour Championship for the first
MCGLADREY CLA SSIC
Reed, Watson, Kisner, Kirk top Georgia pros
Chris Kirk
time. Kisner finished outside the top 100 in the final FedExCup standings his first three seasons on the PGA Tour, but has been one of the hottest players in the game in recent months. He lost in playoffs at Hilton Head and the Players, performing exceptionally well in both, had consecutive top 10s at Colonial and Memorial, and tied for 12th in the U.S.. Open. A member of Georgia’s 2005 NCAA Championship team along with Chris Kirk and Brendon Todd, Kisner is challenging Bubba Watson for top ‘Dog in the Fed ExCup standings. Watson, who won a WGC event in China last Fall early in the 2014-15 schedule, was 12th in the standings, making just nine starts through the U.S. Open. Kirk (17) was the third former Bulldog in the top 20, largely on the strength of his victory in the Colonial. The highest ranked player who attended college in the state was Tournament of Champions champion Patrick Reed, with the ex-Augusta State standout fifth in the standings. Also in the top 30 was former Georgia Tech All-American Matt Kuchar, with the St. Simons Island resident 26th after finishing the last five seasons in the top 10 four times and the top 20 on the other occasion. Kuchar, the PGA Tour’s most prolific top-10 machine in recent years, has just one since February, that coming in Hilton Head the week after the Masters. Kuchar has not missed the Tour Championship since 2009.
The top 30 after the U.S. Open consisted of a number of players accustomed to being in that position, including Brandt Snedeker (8), Justin Rose (10), Jason Day (13), Rickie Fowler (19), Bill Haas (20) and Jim Furyk (22). But there were even more players unaccustomed to playing at East Lake, with many of those in the top 30 mainly due to a victory this season, with the odds of remaining in the top 30 all the way to the Tour Championship not in their favor. Robert Streb was the surprise winner of last fall’s McGladrey Classic at Sea Island Golf Club, but his play since then has indicated that his victory was not a fluke. Youngsters Ben Martin (15) and Brooks Koepka (16) are 2014-15 winners who are likely to contend for spots in the Tour Championship field after this year, but international players Steven Bowditch (18), Sangmoon Bae (23) and David Lingmerth (30) may be hard pressed to remain in the top 30 this season. Other unexpected names among the top 30 were rookie Daniel Berger (27) and relative PGA Tour newcomers Russell Knox (28) and Shawn Stefani (29), who have played well enough over the course of the season to have realistic hopes of making it to East Lake. Among Georgia’s PGA Tour contingent, there are quite a few players outside the top 30 who have hopes of moving up with a strong showing or two. Harris English (35) came close to qualifying for the Tour Championship last year and is close again, but has been mostly quiet lately after a strong 2015 start. Jason Bohn (37) was second behind Kirk at Colonial and is looking to make it to East Lake for the first time. Bohn has never finished in the top 60 since the FedExCup was established in 2007. Former Georgia Tech golfer Cameron Tringale qualified for the Tour Championship for the first time last year and is in position this year (40) after finishes of fifth in Houston and second in New Orleans. [ See FedExCup, page 36 ] J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Beat the Summer heat at Maggie Valley Popular resort offers scenic, enjoyable golf
By Mike Blum
f Georgia’s summer temperatures are a little too warm for a comfortable round of golf, there’s some welcome relief just a few hours away in the mountains of North Carolina. Maggie Valley Club and Resort is a relatively short, pleasant drive from metro Atlanta, and typically offers summer temperatures at least 10 degrees cooler than it is in metro Atlanta and most other parts of Georgia. The North Carolina mountains are a popular destination for vacationers looking for a variety of outdoor activities with more comfortable weather conditions than exist in most of Georgia during the summer months. Maggie Valley is located in the western corner of North Carolina between the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains. The Blue Ridge Parkway and Great Smoky Mountains National Park are both just minutes away, as is the touristfriendly city of Asheville. The area’s recreational opportunities are plentiful, with golf a big part of Maggie Valley’s allure for the past 50 years. Maggie Valley’s golf course has been around since the early 1960s, with the Valley nine, located along the road that leads to the resort, opening for play in 1963. A second nine built on higher ground closer to the mountain was added shortly after the original nine opened, giving the course an entertaining contrast in topography and challenge between the two. One of the individuals involved in the development of the resort was primarily responsible for the layout, and even though he was not a professional golf course architect, Maggie Valley is a first rate course in both design and conditioning, while offering the splendid views you expect in a mountain setting. “It’s a tale of two nines,” Maggie Valley head pro Trey Smith says. “The front nine is at the floor of the valley surrounded by mountains. The back nine climbs to roughly three thousand feet by the time you reach the 13th green. Except for the tee boxes, you can hardly find a level lie on the back side.” Although there are considerably more elevation changes on the back nine, it
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does not have the severity that exists on some mountain-style layouts, with only a few seriously uphill shots before the course heads back down the mountain and no severe drop-offs. The back nine is quite a bit shorter than the front, with the downhill nature of several of the holes reducing the effective length even more. Maggie Valley measures a modest 6466 yards from the blue tees, 6130 from the whites and is listed at 5242 from the gold tees, although the tees on some of the shorter holes from the golds can be moved just in front of the whites to make them better, more challenging holes. The course is rated at 69.9/128 from the back tees, 68.6/125 from the whites and a very friendly 65.4/115 from the gold tees. The forward tees are a comfortable 4600 yards. Players not accustomed to teeing it up from the tips can take on Maggie Valley from the blue tees without being overwhelmed, with just one hole that may be a concern. The dogleg left third is listed at 458 yards from the back tees and 430 from the whites, with creeks lining both sides of the fairway. A pair of front bunkers guards the putting surface, but as on almost all the holes, the approach to the center of the green is open. Maggie Valley is reasonably generous
off the tee, but tree lines and a decent spread of rough off the fairways necessitate a fair amount of accuracy. On a number of holes, hazards just through the fairway can snare tee shots that may be hit a little too solidly while being just a bit off line, with several of them not requiring a driver for longer hitters. With an exception or two, the quality bent grass putting surfaces are neither particularly undulating nor fast, but have sufficient subtleties to put your touch to the test. With many of the greens bordered to the side by bunkers and slight drop-offs, getting up and down after slightly errant approaches requires a deft short game, especially on some of the narrower green designs. The topographically gentle front nine includes several holes with creeks and small ponds within reach off the tee, but mostly far enough removed to not be a serious concern. The nine includes two short but potentially pesky par 4s (2 and 5) and an inviting par 5 (No. 4) that is only 474 from the back tees, but like many
of the other holes on the front side, will penalize tee shots that stray too far to either side. The other par 5 on the nine(No. 6) features a creek that bisects the fairway, with a fairly ample landing area narrowing as you near an extremely long green without much width.
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Judson Legends Pro-Am sports new format Totland wins college event; Needham third
By Mike Blum
he Judson Collegiate & Legends Pro-Am Challenge was played for the fourth time late last month at Country Club of Roswell, with the tournament changing its playing format this year to more closely reflect the mentoring aspect of the event. During the first three years of the tournament, the LPGA Legends played one round of golf in a pro-am format with a team of amateurs, and also played one day ylor Totland with players who were also comJudson winner Ta h Bae (L) ra Sa peting in the college portion of the (center) with m (L) ha ed Ne ey tournament. and Sydn The individual score during the round with the college players was the only one that counted for the competing individually for a purse of Legends’ players in the field, with two of more than $100,000, they had to divide the tour’s lesser-known players coming their attention between competition and away with victories the first three years mentoring. The change in format took some of the the event was held. Alicia Dibos, a non-winner during focus off the Legends’ competitive her stint on the LPGA Tour, won the nature, and put them into a more relaxed first two years, and Barb Moxness, also a non-winner in a relatively brief but successful LPGA career, was last year’s champion, winning in a playoff over [ Continued from page 18 ] Dibos. This year, the Legends format changed That hole is followed by the longest par to two pro-am rounds with college 3 on the course, with the seventh players competing both days prior to stretching out to almost 230 yards, with their 54-hole tournament. The LPGA a trio of bunkers protecting a kidneyLegends competed in two separate team shaped green with right side pin formats, one a scramble with their three positions very difficult to get to. amateur partners, and a modified Like the sixth, the par-4 10th sports a scramble (“shamble”) with a college creek slicing through the tree-lined player, counting the best ball among the fairway, with a small target bordered by two. mounds making for one of the more Atlanta resident Rosie Jones serves as demanding approach shots on the course. the Tournament Host for the Legends The hole’s terrain is similar to that on the players, and was part of one of the win- front nine, but that changes beginning ning teams in the first day of the pro-am. with the second shot to the dogleg right, Jones said the change in format stemmed par-4 11th. from wanting to have more interaction The fairway is on the generous side, between the Legends and the college but with OB right and a creek through players, which fit the overall leadership the fairway on the left, there are penalties aspect of the event. for inaccuracy. The approach heads “We wanted to have a chance to sharply uphill, with a wide green feamentor the college players,” Jones said turing two distinct tiers – upper left after the completion of the second pro- behind a bunker and significantly lower am. right. When the pin is cut up top on the The Legends played with college left, hitting that portion of the green in players in the three previous tourna- regulation is a real accomplishment. ments, but since the pros were also The par-3 12th tops out at 109 yards,
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situation where they could more easily interact with their amateur partners and collegiate player. “We could have more conversations and spend more time with each other,” Jones said. The change was good for the Legends’ amateur partners and beneficial for the college players, with the Legends players losing a competitive opportunity while gaining a chance to help the next generation of female golfers. Although this year’s Legends field was a little smaller than the past three and was missing a few name players, the majority of the Legends’ actual legends returned to play last month. Among the players competing along with Jones were Nancy Lopez, Pat Bradley, Betsy King, Amy Alcott, Hollis Stacy, Jan Stephenson and Kathy Whitworth, one of the LPGA’s true legends. “The field was as good as the field we had last year,” said Jones, who felt her fellow Legends enjoyed the new format and the increased opportunity to get to
but front and rear bunkers place a premium on distance control, with the front bunker obscuring the view of the green. The uphill par-5 13th begins with a tee shot over a frog pond brimming with fish. Trouble lurks off both sides of the fairway, with the hole gradually heading uphill to a green with a pronounced false front and a Chambers Bay-like backboard at the rear. Things are mostly downhill from there, beginning with an elevated tee shot at 14 that must avoid trees right and another small creek through the fairway on the left that can transform a wellstruck tee shot into a problem. The par-3 15th also heads downhill, with a large, inviting green beckoning with nothing but grass in between tee and putting surface. Maggie Valley concludes with an interesting pair of finishing holes. The downhill, dogleg left 17th is a short par 4 with OB right near the far corner of the dogleg and trouble all the way along the left. The short approach is one of the few that has to carry a front, middle bunker, with a sloping green making it tougher to
know the college players. Tournament Director Jackie Cannizzo, a member of the golf staff at Country Club of Roswell, pointed out that the tournament “first started as a college event. The opportunity to pair up with the Legends was an added bonus.” Cannizzo said the Leadership Conference held at Georgia Tech the day before the tournament started, was a huge success, with a huge increase in participation from both speakers and workshop attendees. The Judson Collegiate & Legends ProAm Challenge was created to honor the memory of Jim and Beth Judson, a Roswell couple who were a big part of the local golf and philanthropic communities. They died in a plane crash returning from watching daughter Lauren Judson compete in a college tournament. Lauren Judson, her brother Dean, Cannizzo and family friend Kirk Knous helped create the JCI Foundation and the [ See Judson, page 29 ]
get close to the hole than the yardage would indicate. A creek winds through the fairway on the par-5 18th but can be carried by longer hitters, setting up the opportunity to reach the downhill hole in two. The creek is also in play down the right side for shorter hitters on their lay-up shot, and left of the green for those going for it from long range. The large green has some bailout room to the right, with the hole among the most scenic and interesting finishing holes you’ll encounter. Maggie Valley offers a variety of stay and play packages, with two-and-threebedroom condos offering appealing views of the course from private balconies. Guests have full access to the club’s other amenities, with Maggie Valley centrally located for the array of outdoor activities available in the area.
For information on Maggie Valley, call 800-438-3861 or visit www.maggievalleyclub.com
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Castro hoping to salvage difficult season Ex-Tech star looks to reclaim ‘13 success
By Mike Blum
wo years ago at this time, Roberto Castro was in the midst of a sensational sophomore season on the PGA Tour, which ended with an appearance in the Tour Championship at East Lake. Castro, who grew up in the north Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta and was an All-American at Georgia Tech, had enjoyed success each step of the way from junior golf to the PGA Tour, culminating with his outstanding showing in 2013, when finished 21st in the final FedExCup standings and earned $2.155 million. But after a significantly less successful showing in 2014, Castro lost his exempt status, and things haven’t gotten any better this year, with Castro facing the obstacle of a limited number of starts that has required him to play in Monday qualifiers to get into some events. Through the first seven months of the 2014-15 PGA Tour schedule, Castro had made just eight starts, and even though he made five cuts, he barely registered on the FedExCup points list, ranking 210th, with just one finish better than 58th. When Castro competed in last month’s U.S. Open Sectional qualifier at Hawks Ridge in Ball Ground, he had made just one PGA Tour start since mid-March, that coming in the Byron Nelson Championship, where he made the 36hole cut but not the 54-hole cut, coming away with just one FedExCup point for his efforts. Castro, who played his way into two events on the PGA Tour’s Florida swing in March through Monday qualifiers, put those experiences to use at Hawks Ridge. After firing an 8-under 64 in the morning round of the 36-hole qualifier, Castro followed with a 68 in the afternoon to finish third in the 42-player field. Only the top three finishers earned spots in the U.S. Open, with Castro’s spot in jeopardy until younger brother Franco Castro missed a birdie putt on his final hole that would have forced a Castro brothers’ playoff for the final qualifying spot. With Castro also in the field for the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis later that week, it gave him a relatively rare chance for back-to-back starts this
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season, with the likelihood of more PGA Tour appearances before the regular season ends in August. It was an unusual and somewhat awkward situation for Castro, who stood next to the ninth green and watched as his brother narrowly missed a birdie putt on his final hole that would have sent the two to a playoff. After the round, Castro related an observation from a veteran PGA Tour player that certainly applied to the conclusion of the U.S. Open qualifier. Roberto Castro “He said that if you play this game long enough, you’ll see everything. I think that goes to the top of the list.” Castro was 41st in the FedExCup Castro said that very possibility was a topic of discussion during a practice standings going into the 2013 Playoffs, round at Hawks Ridge. While that hypo- but played well in all four events, placing thetical situation seemed unlikely to ninth, 15th and ninth the last three to occur, Castro wasn’t caught off guard finish the year 21st in the standings. A final round 65 at East Lake ended when it did. “I’m not surprised by anything in Castro’s season on a high note, but it golf,” he said. “Anything can happen. would be a while before Castro did anyYou watch enough tour events and you thing to celebrate on the golf course. After a trio of top 25 finishes last year know.” When Castro finished his round, he on the West Coast, Castro went almost was three shots clear of his brother in three months without a decent showing fourth place, but Franco birdied the sixth before tying for eighth at Quail Hollow and seventh holes at Hawks Ridge before in Charlotte. But Castro missed nine of his next 12 cuts and was unable to salclosing his round with a pair of pars. Castro was hoping his U.S. Open vage his season with a respectable but not appearance wound get his 2014-15 quite good enough showing in the regseason headed in a positive direction after ular season finale in Greensboro. Castro finished the 2013-14 season a mostly forgettable first half of the year. “Just playing in the U.S. Open tells 135th on the points list, and had to comyou where your game is at,” he observed. pete in the four-tournament Web.com Castro qualified for the Open as a PGA Finals to retain his exempt status on the Tour rookie in 2012, and thanks to his PGA Tour. Castro made the cut in all outstanding 2013 season, was exempt four events and added another top-10 from qualifying last year. He did not finish in Charlotte, but came up short by make it into the 2013 U.S. Open, but less than $32. He shot higher than 74 in began the best three-month stretch of just one of 16 rounds, but his one high score proved costly, ending what had golf in his life shortly thereafter. Two weeks after the Open, Castro fin- already been a disappointing season on a ished second to Jay Haas in the AT&T particularly sour note. After competing in 60 tournaments in National at Congressional, more than holding his own in a head-to-head final 2013 and ‘14, Castro has not played round battle. A month later, he tied for nearly as much this year, which he said sixth in the Canadian Open, and in his has its positive and negative aspects. “I went crazy hard for two years. It’s a next start tied for 12th in the PGA Championship in just his second appear- little frustrating not to get to play as much, but looking on the bright side, ance in one of golf’s four majors.
I’ve been home some for the first time in two years.” Beginning with his start in the Byron Nelson, Castro was looking forward to a more active summer schedule on the PGA Tour, pointing out that he has “always played my best golf in the summer. I still have time to make some hay.” Castro said there was no obvious answer for the decline in his play from 2013 to 2014. “The difference was not huge. I just didn’t play as good. Every little part of my game just did not come together.” Other than driving distance and putting, neither of which were the strengths of Castro’s game during his successful 2013 season, Castro’s statistics dropped off measurably last year. He hit fewer fairways and far fewer greens, and when he did hit greens in regulation, he did not make nearly as many birdies. He went from 42nd in scoring in 2013 to 158th in 2014, both numbers very similar to his standing on the points and money lists. Castro said his problems began with his driving, but the most glaring drop in his ball-striking stats came in greens in regulation, which went from 33rd in ‘13 to 169th in ‘14. The most consistent aspect of his game remains his putting, which was not that great even when he enjoyed his career best season and is ranked near the bottom of the PGA Tour stats this year. “I’ve been playing good,” he said. “I just haven’t shot low scores.” After his strong performance in U.S. Open qualifying, Castro came back with his best showing of 2014 in Memphis, closing with a 66 to tie for 40th. He picked up enough FedExCup points to move up from 210th in the standings to 193rd, which doesn’t sound like much, [ See Roberto Castro, page 36 ] J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Busy summer, tough decision awaits McCoy Bulldog senior could go pro after Walker Cup USGA
By Mike Blum
fter an outstanding junior season for the UGA golf team, Lee McCoy has a summer tournament schedule that’s getting busier by the week, with a difficult decision to follow in the fall. McCoy, who moved with his family from Tampa to Clarkesville prior to his senior year in high school, has already represented the U.S. once this summer in international competition, will do so again this month and likely for a third time in September. Also this summer, he has made his first appearance in one of golf’s major championships and his first start in a regular PGA Tour event, and has another one scheduled this month. Since competing with his Georgia teammates in the NCAA Championship in Florida, McCoy has played in the Palmer Cup in Illinois, the U.S. Open in Washington state and a PGA Tour event in Hartford, Conn. McCoy will play in the PGA Tour John Deere Classic this month, followed by an appearance in the Pan Am Games in Toronto the following week, with the U.S. Amateur in Chicago likely on his August schedule. September should include a trip to England as a member of the U.S. Walker Cup team, with McCoy facing a career decision at the conclusion of that event. After qualifying for the U.S, Open in a Sectional qualifier at Hawks Ridge, an inaccurate story in the Atlanta JournalConstitution had McCoy turning pro before the U.S. Open. “My first pro event will be our national championship,” McCoy said. “It doesn’t get any better than that.” McCoy was referring to playing in a professional event, not competing as a pro, and made it clear that his upcoming scheduling priority was the Walker Cup, which will be played in England in September. “Hopefully I’ll make the Walker Cup team. That’s my big goal. This is not going to hurt my chances,” he said of qualifying for the U.S. Open. “I’ll get a little links experience.” McCoy is a near certainty to make the Walker Cup, which would be his third appearance as a member of a team repre-
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Lee McCoy
senting the U.S. Immediately after his successful qualifying round at Hawks Ridge, McCoy headed to Illinois for the Palmer Cup, an annual event matching top American college players against their European counterparts, most of whom are playing in the U.S. The U.S. team won 18-12, with McCoy posting a 1-2-1 record. He teamed with Georgia Tech’s Ollie Schniederjans to split his two team matches, winning decisively in alternate shot before losing in best ball. McCoy lost his first singles match, but managed a half the final day against the No. 1 player on the European team. Schniederjans won both his singles matches, including a win against Europe’s No. 1, and Georgia Tech teammate Anders Albertson went 2-2, splitting both his team and singles matches. The U.S. team was led by Georgia Tech coach Bruce Heppler. McCoy will also compete in the Pan Am Games, which will be played in Toronto. The golf tournament is scheduled for July 16-19, the week after McCoy plays in the John Deere Classic. After flying cross-country following the U.S. Open, McCoy’s first appearance in a regular PGA Tour event got off to a shaky start. He was 4-over after four holes in the opening round, but was even par the rest of the day and shot 74. Things went considerably better the next day, as McCoy ran off four birdies in
a five-hole stretch, but closed out his round with nine straight pars for a 66, missing the cut by two shots. How McCoy fares in his PGA Tour starts will have an impact on his decision later this year whether to turn pro. “I’m going to get to play in so many incredible events,” McCoy said, with the U.S. Amateur at Olympia Fields in August breaking up his schedule of pro events and team competitions. McCoy made his first appearance on a national stage in the U.S. Amateur last year, sharing medalist honors in stroke play qualifying at Atlanta Athletic Club. McCoy posted scores of 67 and 68 at the Riverside and Highlands courses for an 8-under 135 total, but drew Nathan Smith, America’s top mid-amateur in the first round of match play, and lost on the 19th hole. The success he enjoyed from his U.S. Amateur experience carried over to his junior season with the Bulldogs, as McCoy emerged as one of the country’s elite collegiate golfers. McCoy played well as a freshman in Athens, and followed with a solid sophomore season, winning one tournament, taking second in regionals to help Georgia qualify for the NCAA Championship and earning honorable mention All-America honors. Coming off his co-medalist effort in the U.S. Amateur, McCoy enjoyed one of the finest seasons in Georgia history as a junior. He won four tournaments to
match the school record held by current PGA Tour players Chris Kirk and Russell Henley. Three of those wins came in succession this spring including the Linger Longer Invitational at Reynolds Plantation and the Augusta Invitational at Forest Hills. He also broke the school scoring record (70.08), was selected first team All-American and was a candidate for several Player of the Year awards. McCoy enjoyed his third straight strong finish in the regionals, but did not play his best golf in the stroke play portion of the NCAA Championship. He did save his best score for the final round, shooting a team low 70 to tie for 33rd at 294. “I did nothing in stroke play,” McCoy said. “I was very happy the team put me on their back.” Georgia tied for third to qualify for match play, with the Bulldogs the lowest seeded team among the eight qualifiers. “Nobody expected anything out of us, but we made it to the final four,” McCoy offered. After a solid final round in stroke play, McCoy was back on form for the match play portion of the tournament. “I found my game and a waxed the first guy I played,” McCoy said of his 5&3 win in the anchor match against South Florida. McCoy also won against LSU’s No. 1 player, but was the only UGA golfer to win as the Bulldogs lost in the semifinals to the eventual national champion. Four of the Bulldogs who were in the lineup in the regionals and NCAA Championship have eligibility remaining, but McCoy is considering turning pro and giving up his senior season. “We have a chance at nationals next year, no doubt,” he said, “whether I’m on the team or not.” Of his plans, he said “It’s too early to tell. There’s too much golf to play before I decide.” McCoy shot 65-66 for a 13-under 131 total to place second in the U.S. Open qualifier at Hawks Ridge, but missed the cut at Chambers Bay by three shots with back-to-back scores of 74. He played respectably both days, but a triple bogey in the opening round proved costly, and he encountered the same challenge the other 155 players faced on the course’s less-than-championship-quality putting surfaces. J U LY 2 0 1 5
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PGA Tour plays at Grand National this month RTJ Trail course has hosted big events in past
By Mike Blum
he Robert Trent Jones Trail Grand National Lake course in Opelika, Al., has hosted the LPGA Tournament of Champions, NCAA Championship and Nike (now Web.com) Tour Championship since it opened in the early 1990s. This month, the course will be the site of a new PGA Tour event, as the inaugural Barbasol Championship will be played July 16-19. The tournament will be played the same week as the British Open, and is one of four on the PGA Tour played the same week as either a World Golf Championship event or the British Open. The tournament will have a purse of $3.5 million and will offer 300 FedExCup points to the winner, who receives a two-year exemption and a spot
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in both the PGA Championship and Tournament of Champions, but not the Masters. With only five weeks left in the FedExCup regular season after the Barbasol Championship, most of the PGA Tour players who did not qualify for the British Open will be playing in the tournament to improve their standing on the points list, which determines which 125 players qualify for the Playoffs and earn exempt status for the 2015-16 season. It’s been 15 years since the Grand National Lake course has hosted a big time event after a busy four-year stretch between 1997 and 2000. The course hosted the Nike Tour Championship in 1997, with PGA Tour veteran Steve Flesch winning by four shots. The LPGA played its Tournament of Champions there the next year, with Kelly Robbins, one of the tour’s top
Jason Bohn
players before injuries ended her career, winning that event. Both tournaments moved to other courses on the Robert Trent Jones Trail after making their initial appearance at Grand National. The NCAA Championship was played at Grand National in 2000, with the course also hosting a Preview event in the fall of 1999. Luke Donald won the Preview while playing at Northwestern, with Augusta’s Charles Howell the 2000 individual champion in record-setting fashion, leading Oklahoma State to a national title. Howell shot the lowest 72-hole total in NCAA history (23-under 265), matched the 18-hole scoring mark (63) and won by a whopping eight shots. He holed a clutch putt on the 72nd hole to force a playoff between Oklahoma State and Georgia Tech, with Oklahoma State winning over a Tech team headed up by Matt Kuchar and Bryce Molder. The Lake course is considered as perhaps the best of the Robert Trent Jones Trail courses, with the Grand National Links course right there with it. Lake serves as the tournament course because the ninth hole on Links does not come back to the clubhouse, making two-tee starts impractical. The Lakes course can play as long as 7150 yards, but will be on the short side by PGA Tour standards, with no par 4s over 445 yards and a quartet of par 5s that average under 540. The par 3s, however, are a strong group, with three of the four over 210 yards and the semi-island 15th among the featured holes on the course.
More than half the greens on the Lake course are bordered by water, and the layout, which was built along Lake Saugahatchee, features several risk/reward shots, most notably on the par-5 12th. Lake is relatively tight off the tee, but is more a second-shot course, with some demanding pin positions bordered by hazards. The putting surfaces are large with ample amounts of undulation, and the presence of mounds along the edges makes it an all-around challenge for the pros’ short games. Although there are a few walks across bridges, the Lake course is spectator friendly, with several intersecting holes and a minimal amount of elevation changes. In that regard, the course is similar to Callaway Gardens, which hosted a PGA Tour event from 19912002. The Columbus area, which had a PGA Tour event for more than three decades, has been without a tour event since a one-year trial with the Champions Tour in 2003 was unsuccessful. Opelika, which is located near Auburn, is a short drive from Columbus, and is only about 90 minutes from Atlanta off I-85. As one of the PGA Tour’s handful of “opposite” events, the Barbasol Championship will be lacking for the game’s marquee players, but tournaments in that category have produced plenty of drama in recent years, and have proved as springboards to future success for many of golf’s best. Former U.S. Open champion Geoff Ogilvy won an opposite event in RenoTahoe last year, with Atlanta area native and former UGA star Chris Kirk winning in Mississippi in 2011 the same week the British Open was played. Jordan Spieth’s breakthrough tournament on the PGA Tour was a runner-up finish in Puerto Rico in 2013, with recent Georgia Tech golfer Chesson Hadley winning as a PGA Tour rookie last year in Puerto Rico. Golfers with Georgia ties have a history of success in opposite events, most notably veterans Jason Bohn and Jonathan Byrd. Bohn tied for second in Mississippi last fall and was also a runner-up there in 2012, with Byrd third in Reno-Tahoe last year and second in 2013. J U LY 2 0 1 5
Planterra Ridge loses trees, enhanced by lake By Steve Eubanks
ust as a beautiful sunset can brighten an otherwise miserable day, sometimes a feature that has nothing to do with golf course architecture can totally transform the makeup of a club and cheer the attitudes of players who are on it. Such is the case at Planterra Ridge Golf Club, the ClubCorp property that was part of the old Canongate network of courses in Peachtree City. Originally designed by Rocky Roquemore, the course opened in 1994 as the last of the three master-planned golf properties in the golf-cart infested town half-an-hour south of Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport. For the first 18 years, it was a fine, mid-range family club with few memorable features: nothing wrong or gimmicky but nothing that would make you raise your eyebrows and tell your friends about it. LocalU.S. Open qualifying was held there a couple of times, but other than that the course seemed destined to toil in relative obscurity, lost in the stew of real-estate golf that drowned the Atlanta market throughout the 90s. But something interesting happened on the road to anonymity. First, Planterra
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tournament that supports it, with the emphasis this year shifting more to the Leadership Conference that preceded the tournament. Jones had come close to winning the first three years in the individual competition, and managed to be part of the winning team in the Legends-college player format the first day. Barb Mucha’s team won the scramble format, with Betsy King the Legends-college winner the next day and Laurie Rinker the pro on the first place scramble team. Taylor Totland of Furman won the 54-hole Judson Collegiate Invitational, carding scores of 71-74-71 for a 3-over 216 total. Sarah Bae of North Carolina State was second at 217, shooting 75-6973. Sydney Needham of Villa Rica, who is transferring from Samford to Florida, shot 71-73-74 to place third at 218. 2 0 1 5 J U LY
Ridge had to create two-and-a-half new holes when the adjacent local airport, Falcon Field, commandeered everything from the approach shot on No.3, though the green on No.5. The new holes improved the place but, again, not in way that would make you sing praises to anyone outside your closest group of family and friends. Then the trees came down and the dam went up. After decades of permitting problems and political wrangling, Fayette and Coweta Counties finally built Lake McIntosh, a 240-acre reservoir fed that acts as a water source for both counties. A park and dock were added on the Peachtree City side and sailors and kayakers enjoy late afternoon sunsets on the calm waters. The lake also abuts Planterra Ridge, turning an average golf course into one of the most scenic and challenging layouts on the south side of the city. Nine holes are now on the water with lake views on three more, a change that puts Planterra on par with the courses of Lake Oconee. The lake also affected the playability of the place, as what was once rough is now water and holes that were tree-lined before are now open and breezy.
Planterra Ridge
Nothing else has changed. No bunkers were deepened; no greens redesigned; no tees added or pars changed: the only difference is the lake. And it’s a major one. Residents now fondly refer to their course as “Planterra by the Sea” and they can’t get enough of it, inviting guests
from all over the world down to play. “It is the busiest club in town by far,” said Steve Soriano, the general manager of the Peachtree City cluster of courses. “We owe that to the ‘added water attraction.’ It makes it a beautiful place to be.”
Totland birdied five of the first 10 holes in the final round to offset a triple bogey on the par-4 fourth, and preserved her lead with pars on her last seven holes. Bae had the lead midway through the final round until she took a triple bogey on the short but perilous par-4 ninth. Needham had a chance to win before an erratic finish that began with a double bogey at the par-5 13th and a bogey at the 14th. She rebounded with birdies and 15 and 16 to close within one of the lead, but made bogey on the difficult par-4 17th and settled for par on the par-5 18th. Defending champion Jessica Haigwood of Roswell, who plays at Augusta State, was among the leaders after an opening 71, but followed with back-to-back 75s and tied for sixth at 221 with Milton’s Payton Schanen, who will be a freshman at Mercer this Fall. Schanen shot 74-74-73, beginning her final round with 11 straight pars before carding four bogeys and two birdies over her final seven holes. FOREGEORGIA.COM
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Greg Norman Golf Academy offers a variety of programs, including summer camps, full-time, post-graduate, customized and adult programs.
Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy Myrtle Beach facility a top training ground
he Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy, located at the Barefoot Resort in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., has been meeting the needs of top amateur and professional golfers since it was created in 2010. The GNCGA is one of the largest golf training facilities in the world, with access to four courses that Norman was involved in the design and construction. The 10,000 square foot state of the art facility was designed to meet the needs of golfers at every stage of their development. The facility houses two classrooms, full locker rooms and a world class gym featuring Cybex equipment. There are three hitting bays for the GNCGA students, with each one equipped with V-1 video analysis. GNCGA coaches guide the junior golfers in a daily basis with one on one training along with group instruction Monday through Saturday. The students are housed at The Farm in Carolina Forest and are cared for by the GNCGA’s
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house parents. The Greg Norman Champions Golf Academy is a full-tome boarding golf academy that offers a variety of programs, including summer camps, full-time, post-graduate, and customized and adult programs. The summer camp provides weekly and multi-week training programs for boys and girls ages 8 to 21. The summer camp begins in May and runs through September, offering the same experience as full-time high school and post-graduate students receive. The GNCGA full-time program focuses on education and improving golf skills in 10 months, running from August to May. It provides top juniors from the U.S. and abroad with an instruction program and training environment. The academy partners with K12, a leader in online learning, as well Low Country Prep School for an excellent private school academic experience. The academic offerings are high end, and combined with the individualized inten-
sive golf instruction, helps students achieve the goal of receiving a college scholarship. The post-graduate program was designed to prepare players ages 17-21 for college golf and beyond. It allows students an extra year to improve their golf games to compete more effectively at the college level without losing a year of eligibility. The post-graduate programs also start in August and ends in May. The professional and instructional know how of Greg Norman provides a platform for junior golfers looking to dramatically improve their ability to compete effectively and win in life. #attacklife! In addition to the large number of juniors in attendance, the GNCGA offers adult golf programs that include one, two and three-day golf schools covering all aspects of the game. Customized pro-
grams are also offered for those looking to improve in a particular area. Those areas include the short game, long game, putting, driving, full swing, bunker play and chipping. J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Jenny Bae
Alissa Yang shot 72-70 the final two days and was fourth at 217. Lizzie Reedy of Marietta was fifth at 218 after a final round 71, Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City was sixth at 220, and Christina Yang of Suwanee and Amanda Doherty of Atlanta tied for seventh at 221. Doherty shot 69 to share the opening round lead. Charles Huntzinger
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Lauren Lightfritz
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S.M. Lee
Lee, Lightfritz take GSGA Junior titles
S.M. Lee of Buford and Lauren Lightfritz of Suwanee scored impressive wins in the GSGA Junior and Girls Championships, with both players finishing under par for 54 holes. Lee was dominant at Augusta’s West Lake Country Club, winning by eight shots with a 16-under 200 total. He shot a tournament record 63 in the first round to lead by seven, and maintained his advantage with scores of 67 and 70 the next two days.
Luke Schniederjans
GEORGIA PGA
Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs and Sarah Harrison of Augusta were the winners in last month’s Georgia PGA Junior Championship at Pinetree Country Club. Schniederjans shot 70-75 for a 1-over 145 total to finish four ahead of Woodstock’s Ryan Hines. Schniederjans had five birdies in his opening round to lead by one after 18 holes, and expanded his lead the next day despite a triple bogey on the par-5 ninth hole. Hines shot 74-75 and made double bogey on the ninth in the final round. Ollie Schniederjans, Luke’s older brother and a recent Georgia Tech graduate, won the Georgia PGA Junior Championship in 2009. Hunter Hester of Peachtree City and Jake Lawson of Atlanta tied for third at 150. Lawson was one back after an opening 71, carding five birdies, and was tied with Schniederjans midway through the final round before making a 9 on the par-5 11th. Hudson Huber of Tyrone and Hunter Fry of Dacula tied for fifth at 152, with Huber closing with a 72. Harrison won the girls division by three shots with scores of 78-74—152. She shared the lead after the opening round, rallying with three birdies on her final nine after making a triple bogey on the par-4 18th. She pulled away the next day despite making just one birdie. Alejandra Ayala of Alpharetta shot a final round 76 to take second at 155, with first round co-leader Christine McDonnell of Suwanee third at 159. Kate Owens of Suwanee and Buford’s Skylar Thompson tied for fourth at 160, with Alissa Yang of Norcross sixth at 161 after a final round 76.
For the tournament, Lee had 20 birdies and an eagle, breaking the 54-hole scoring record set by recent Georgia Southern golfer Scott Wolfes, who shot 201 in 2009. Lee won last year’s Georgia PGA Junior Championship at Dunwoody Country Club. Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston shot 6867 the final two rounds and was second at 208, with Georgia PGA runner-up Ryan Hines third at 210 after a final round 68. Hunter Dunagan of Augusta was fourth at 211, with Roswell’s JonErik Alford and Canton’s Brady Keran fifth at 212. Keran shot 66 in the second round. Luukas Alakulppi of Valdosta was seventh at 214 and Atlanta’s Will Chandler was eighth at 215 to earn spots on the GSGA Junior Challenge Match team that will play a team from South Carolina this month. Lightfritz shot 4-under 212 at Coosa Country Club in Rome to finish two ahead of Payton Schanen of Milton, the 2014 GSGA Girls champion. The two players shared the opening round lead at 69, but Lightfritz took the lead outright with a second round 70. After making just three bogeys the first 45 holes and standing 7-under at that point, Lightfritz was headed for an easy victory and possible tournament scoring record, but made four bogeys on her final nine for a 73. Schanen birdied the final two holes in the third round for a 70 to take second at 214. Melissa Talbott of Woodstock was second at 141 after 36 holes with scores of 70 and 71, but after notching nine birdies the first two days, did not make a birdie in the final round and shot 75 to place third at 216.
GSGA
Schniederjans, Harrison claim GPGA Jr. titles
Sarah Harrison
GEORGIA PGA
Golf FORE Juniors
4 Georgians win AJGA tournaments Four Georgians scored victories in American Junior Golf Association tournaments last month, with Lawrenceville’s Jenny Bae scoring her win in a Junior AllStar event at WindStone GC in Ringgold. Bae shot 67-69-72 for a 5-under 208 total to win by two. Skylar Thompson tied for sixth at 216, with Ivy Shepherd 10th at 219. Bae led after each of the first two rounds, but was three shots behind heading to the back nine the final day. She shot 2-under 34 on the final nine to make up five strokes on the 45-hole leader. It was just the second AJGA tournament for the 13-year-old Bae. Junior All-Star tournaments are for players age 12 to 15. Luka Karaulic of Dacula was second in the boys division, finishing two shots behind the winner with scores of 73-6866—207. Tyler Lipscomb of Carrollton shot 68-67 the final two rounds to tie for fourth at 209, with Ben Carr of Columbus tying for sixth at 210. Brendan Patton of Alpharetta tied for J U LY 2 0 1 5
eighth at 211, with Garron Terrell of Woodstock 10th at 212, Will Kahlstorf of Watkinsville and Liam Shinn of Norcross T11 at 213, and Thomas Hogan of St. Simons T13 at 214. Patton, Shimm and Hogan all shot 68 in the first round. Charles Huntzinger of Duluth, who is headed to Penn State this Fall, scored his first AJGA win in the FJ Invitational in Greensboro, N.C. Huntzinger finished at 4under 276 with scores of 71-66-70-69 to win by two. Huntzinger trailed Benjamin Shipp, also of Duluth, by four shots after 36 holes, but after starting with scores of 66-67, Shipp struggled the next two days and tied for 11th at 285. GSGA Junior champion S.M. Lee was second after 36 holes at 136 after a second round 66 and finished tied for sixth at 282. JonErik Alford scored his victory at Bear Creek on Hilton Head Island. Alford trailed by seven shots after an opening 76, but closed with scores of 72-68 to win by three at even par 216. Alford was still six back after the second round, but moved into contention with three birdies on the front nine the final day and wrapped up his first AJGA victory with birdies on the last two holes. His final round 68 matched the low score of the tournament. Austin Fulton of Villa Rica was the fourth AJGA Georgia winner in June, also pulling off a major third round comeback in Mount Sterling, Ky. Fulton was six back after 36 holes after scores of 74-72, but got off to a fast start in the final round with three birdies on his first five holes. Fulton still trailed by five shots with six holes to play, but birdied four of the six holes for a 65 to overtake the lead and win by a shot. Alex Markham of Dacula tied for fifth at 216. In other AJGA events last month: Karaulic placed third in Ashland, Ky., and Nicholas Cassidy of Johns Creek tied for fourth. Karaulic shot 67-71-69 for a 3under 207 total to finish three behind the winner. Cassidy was four back at 208 after scores of 68-69-71. Kayley Marschke of Suwanee was seventh in the girls division in Nashville with a 227 total, with Lightfritz T11 at 232. Dario Ayala of Alpharetta tied for eighth among the boys at 2-under 214 after a final round 69. Jacob Bayer of Lawrenceville was 11th at 216.
Marchman takes Jr. Peach Blossom
Waynesboro’s Rylie Marchman won the girls division of the Southeastern Junior Golf Tour Junior Peach Blossom at Macon’s 2 0 1 5 J U LY
Idle Hour Club, talking a playoff over Layne Marie-Carter of Lyons. Both players finished with 159 totals, with Carter shooting a final round 77 after trailing Marchman by two after the first round. Hannah Gasaway of McDonough was third at 160. Davis Hall of Marietta was second in boys 16-19 at 145, and Matthew Geiser of Atlanta was second in the 12-13 age group at 147. Jackson Toole of Lyons shot 72-74—146 to win the 14-15 division by two over Brendan Patton. Sam Barrett of Thomasville shot 7577—152 to win boys 12-13 by three shots at Shoal Creek in Birmingham. Kate Mashburn of Calhoun tied for second in girls 15-19 at 170, two behind the winner.
Chung wins by 7 at Chateau Elan
Peter Chung of Dacula won a Hurricane Junior Golf Tour event at Chateau Elan last month, firing a final round 67 to finish at 2under 211, seen shots ahead of the runner-up in boys 15-18. Nicholas Gibson of Lawrenceville was second in the 13-14 age group at 217, three behind the winner, and Tess Davenport of Buford was second in girls 11-14 at 228. Joshua Grenville-Wood of Peachtree City was the boys 15-18 winner at White Oak in Newnan with scores of 71-72—143. Peachtree City’s David Bartels was second at 144. Brandon Cho of Suwanee shot 151 to win the 13-14 age group by 12 shots. The girls 15-18 winner was Cameron Daniel of Sharpsburg at 154, with Ashley Shim of Newnan second at 156. Liza Eubanks of Peachtree City shot 162 in girls 11-14, but lost in a playoff. Davenport and Kimberly Shen of Johns Creek tied for third at 163. At Royal Lakes in Flowery Branch, Wesley Hanson of Macon won the boys 15-18 with scores of 75-76—151. Tying for second at 153 were Grant Manning of Suwanee, David Frank of Dunwoody and Tanner Merck of Gainesville. Nicholas Gibson of Lawrencecille was the 13-14 winner at 156, with Shyam Joshi of Dacula second at 158. Louise Yu of Duluth shot 76-77—153 to win girls 15-18 by seven over Kelly Strickland of Alpharetta. Tess Davenport won the 13-14 age group by seven over Dunwoody’s Woo Wade with scores of 7774--151. Drew Smith of Decatur won boys 15-18 at the Grand National Links course in Opelika, Al., shooting 72-79—151 to take the division by three. FOREGEORGIA.COM
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Chip Shots
Mitsunaga takes GSGA Match Play
Roswell’s Rinko Mitsunaga, who teamed up to win the USGA Women’s Four-Ball Championship earlier this year, added a recent individual title, taking the GSGA Women’s Match Play Championship at Piedmont Driving Club. Mitsunaga defeated Payton Schanen of Milton 3&2 in the finals in a match of two high school golfers from North Fulton. Mitsunaga will be a freshman at Georgia this Fall, while Schanen will play for Mercer. Mitsunaga needed 19 holes to get past Villa Rica’s Sydney Needham in the semifinals, while Schanen won 4&3 over former
Kennerly, Wolfes 2nd in am events
Alpharetta’s Billy Kennerly and St. Simons’ Scott Wolfes both placed second in national amateur events last month. Kennerly, who plays at Clemson, was runner-up in the Palmetto Amateur at Palmetto Golf Club in Aiken, S.C. Wolfes, who recently completed his career at
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Scott Wolfes
GSGA
Grant Hirshman, a member of the Oklahoma golf team, defended his title in the Southeastern Amateur at Country Club of Columbus, winning by five shots with a 15-under 269 total. Hirshman, who had yet to enter college when he won the tournament last year, trailed by six shots after an opening par 71, but matched the low score of the week in the second round with a 62 to close within one of the lead. Carter Page of Waynesville, N.C., also shot 62 and led by one after 36 holes, but Hirshman followed his 62 with a 63 to lead by five heading to the final round. Hirshman, from Collierville, Tenn., played cautiously the final day, shooting 1-over 72 to easily preserve his lead. Jared Bettcher of Auburn, Ala., closed with a 64 to take second at 272, with Beau Titsworth, Hirshman’s Oklahoma teammate, third at 274 along with Floridian Sean Kelly. Page finished fifth at 275. Tyler Joiner of Leesburg, who will be a freshman at Georgia Tech this Fall, was low among the Georgians in the field, tying for eighth at 277 after shooting 67-68 the final two rounds. Also tying for eighth was Vince Whaley, who will be a junior for the Yellow Jackets. Whaley also tied for ninth in the Monroe Invitational in New York. Bobby Brent was the low finisher from Columbus, placing 13th at 280. Charlie Flowers of Columbus and Steven Fisk of Stockbridge were among the leaders after 54 holes, but both shot 78 the final day and tied for 18th at 282. UGA golfer Zach Healy of Peachtree Corners was T22 at 283, and Georgia Tech golfer Michael Pisciotta of Alpharetta matched par of 284 and tied for 24th. Shad Tuten of Savannah, the runner-up to Hirshman last year, was among the leaders after an opening 67, but wound up tied for 30th at 285 with Jacob Joiner, who will be joined at Georgia Tech by his younger brother.
Georgia Southern, was second in the prestigious Sunnehana Amateur. Kennerly finished at 6-under 274 in the Palmetto Am, posting scores of 66-69-7465. He finished two shots behind North Carolinian Ben Schlottman. Alpharetta’s Zach Jaworski, who plays at Vanderbilt, tied for eighth at 281, with Lexington’s Nathan Mallonee, a member of the Georgia State golf team, T14 at 284. Augusta’s Emmanuel Kountakis (Mercer) tied for 16th at 285, with Davin White of Locust Grove and Georgia State, 20th at 287. Wolfes shot 65-70-69-65 for an 11-under 269 total, one behind Virginia golfer Derek Bard. Recent Mercer graduate Trey Rule from Eatonton tied for 21st at 277. Robert Mize of Columbus, the 2014 Georgia Amateur champion, led the tournament after an opening 65 before finishing with a 281 total.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Hirschman defends Southeastern title
Rinko Mitsunaga
UGA golfer Emilie Burger, who has regained her amateur status after playing briefly as a professional. In a battle of USGA champions in the quarterfinals, Misunaga won on the 19th hole against Atlanta Junior Golf Executive Director Margaret Shirley, the 2014 U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur champion and a three-time winner of the Georgia Women’s Open. In another tight quarterfinal match, Needham won 1-up against UGA golfer Isabella Skinner of Cumming. Augusta’s Laura Coble, who has won the tournament nine times, lost 1-up in the first round to Sea Island’s Cheryl Grigg.
Strawn captures Lee-Weir Memorial
Amateur Rusty Strawn won last month’s Georgia PGA Senior Division Lee-Weir Memorial at Canongate 1, edging fellow amateur Mel Mendenhall for the title. Strawn finished with a 9-under 135 total, posting scores of 69-66. Mendenhall was second at 67-69—136. James Mason of Dillard was low pro and third overall with scores of 69-68— 137. Tying for fourth at 140 were pros Sonny Skinner of Sylvester and Danny Elkins of Georgia Golf Center, who shot 68 in the final round. Clark Spratlin of Currahee Club was fifth at 69-73—142, with Brian Puterbaugh of the Hooch and Charlie King of Griffin Golf Course tying for seventh at 143. Puterbaugh shared the lead after an opening 67. Amateur Bill Lenhardt and pro Mark Anderson of Brunswick CC were ninth at 144, with Anderson closing with a 68. The tournament is a fixture within the Georgia PGA Senior Division and is played in honor of former Canongate head pro Emory Lee and long-time PING representative Billy Weir.
Weaver a winner on Canadian Tour Atlanta resident Drew Weaver, a former British Amateur champion, continued his outstanding play in 2015 with a victory in the recent season-opening tournament on the PGA Tour-sponsored Canadian Tour. Weaver had to survive a five-way playoff to win the tournament in Vancouver, scoring three straight birdies on par-5s, two on the 18th hole and one on the first hole, the third extra hole. He earned $30,000 for his victory and followed with a tie for 10th in the next Canadian Tour event. Earlier this year, Weaver enjoyed a strong run on the North Carolina-based eGolf Tour, winning one tournament, tying for second twice and placing third twice. In seven starts on that tour this year, he has six top-10 finishes and has not finished lower than 15th. Weaver plays out of Druid Hills Golf Club. In a recent eGolf Tour event in Gordonsville, Va., recent Georgia Tech golfer Bo Andrews shot a final round 63 for a 205 total to finish second and earn $7500. The SwingThought.com (formerly Hooters) Tour made two recent stops in North Carolina, with several Georgia golfers posting top finishes. Bobby Wyatt, a member of Alabama’s national championship teams in 2013-14 and a St. Simons resident, tied for second at Cutter Creek GC with a 270 total. Albany’s T.J. Mitchell, a recent UGA golfer, tied for sixth at 277, along with Acworth’s James White (Georgia Tech) and Canton resident Jeff Karlsson (Kennesaw State). Casey Johnson of Augusta was 12th at 280. Karlsson was fourth in New Bern, N.C., three shots behind the winner, with a 19under 269 total. Johnson was ninth at 274, with Matt Nagy of Buena Vista, Karlsson’s teammate at Kennesaw State, 10th at 275. Ex-Georgia Tech golfer J.T. Griffin, a St. Simons resident, and Wyatt tied for 11th at J U LY 2 0 1 5
277, with recent Georgia Tech graduate Anders Albertson of Woodstock tying for 15th at 12-under 276 in his professional debut. Albertson was recently named the ACC men’s golf Scholar Athlete of the Year, and previously won the Byron Nelson Award for the top graduating senior based on his entire academic and golf performance throughout his college career.
Georgia Amateur qualifying results
The Georgia State Golf Association held 10 qualifiers around the state last month for the Georgia Amateur, which will be played July 9-12 at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside course. Qualifiers from the 10 sites were: Houston Lake: 67 – States Fort, Evans; Stephen Welsh, Macon; 70 – Bill Sharpe Sr., Albany; 71 – Mark David Johnson, St. Simons; 72 – Michael Chapin, Atlanta; Park Brady, St. Simons; Cole Ackerman, St. Simons. Alternates: 72 – Neill Hatcher, Columbus; Shawn Hodge, Kathleen. Governors Towne Club: 68 – Brock Nixon, Kennesaw; 69 – Chris Gugliemo, Cumming; Benjamin Shipp, Duluth; Shea Sylvester, Roswell; Spencer Ralston, Gainesville; 71 – Nicholas Budd, Woodstock; Brett Barron, Suwanee; 72 – Patrick Bridges, Atlanta; Billy Johns, Johns Creek; Garrett Marschke, Suwanee; Michael Motz, Cumming; Daniel Fienemann, Peachtree City; Sean Murphy, Decatur; 73 – Matthew Hayes, Marietta; Todd Schmitt, Atlanta; Adam Morris, Acworth; Jason Coolik, Atlanta; Hudson Hooks, Atlanta; Steve Davis, Rome; Luke Schniederjans, Powder Springs; 74 – Barrett Waters, Dallas. Alternates: 74 – Ryan Stachler, Alpharetta; Zan Banks, Atlanta; Jack Stumpfig, Villa Rica; Michael Sheahan, Marietta; Robert Shaw, Cumming. Fields Ferry: 69 – Sean Elliott, Sandy Springs; Chase Jones, Chatsworth; Chase Jones, Cartersville; Wyatt Larkin, Morganton; 70 – Jason Dejiacomo, Big Canoe; Collin Doss, Rome; 71 – Harold Wyatt, Atlanta; David Sullivan, Woodstock; Matt Eicholtz, Dalton; 72 – Kevin Burns, Canton; Scott Davenport, Marietta; Spencer Ball, Suwanee; Justin Johnson, Canton. Alternates: 73 – Jayce Stepp, Cartersville; Bill Faith, Atlanta; Daniel McKenzie, Atlanta. Savannah Quarters: 66 – Travis Mobley, Hinesville; 68 – Tripp Coggins, Pooler; 69 – Hal Hayes, Savannah; 71 – Danny Nelson, Savannah; 73 – Harrison Stafford, Savannah; Jeff Cowart, Savannah; 74 – Travis Williamson, Brunswick; Hunter Fry, Dacula; 75 – Howard Hickey, Savannah. Alternates: 75 – Josh Williams, St. Simons; 2 0 1 5 J U LY
Lane Jowers, Brunswick; 76 – Chad Ring, Fayetteville. Lane Creek: 68 – Jarod Trammell, Jasper; Henry Persons, Macon; S.M. Lee, Buford; Nathan Mallonee, Lexington; 69 – Ashton Pellicano, Albany; 70 – Eamonn Owen, Madison; Eli Crumley, Cleveland; 72 – Colton Strawn, Athens; Ben Huckaby, Bishop; 73 – Poli Medrano, Greensboro; Larry Harris, Loganville; 74 – Garrett Bailey, Hartwell; Ben Avery, Athens; David Noto, Clarkesville; Edward Bannister, Loganville; Kyle Harper, Hartwell. Alternates: 75 – Trey Pearson, Dacula; Jake Crane, Bogart; Bob Russo, Johns Creek; Hunter Young, Gainesville. West Lake: 65 – Gus Wagoner, Duluth; 67 – Matt Jackson, Waynesboro; 70 – Greyson Sigg, Augusta; 71 – Ethan Chamineak, Thomson; 72 – John Yi, Marietta; William Garner, Augusta; 73 – Trevor Balliet, Augusta; Douglas Carter, Augusta. Alternates: 73 – Carson Spears, Augusta; 74 – Andrew Chong, Grovetown; Jordan Long, Stockbridge. Green Island: 70 -- Ridge Purcell, LaGrange; Keller Harper, Atlanta; 73 – Charlie McDaniel, Columbus; 74 – Parker Derby, Columbus. Alternates: 74 – Mel Mendenhall, Marietta; Tyler Young, Kennesaw. Cherokee Run: 71 – Mitch Kim, Cumming; 74 -- James Kyles, Atlanta; Danny Smyth, Atlanta; 75—Andy Labanauskas, Atlanta; Taylor Smith, Covington; Jake Fendt, Suwanee; 76 – Steven Wysocki, Hoschton; Cameron Hooper, Atlanta; Danny Whigham, Atlanta; Dave Womack, McDonough; Erick Martin, Alpharetta. Alternates: 77 – Harry Lambert, Suwanee; Chris Harris, Atlanta; Spencer Papciak, Atlanta; 78 – Travis Steed, Mason. Newnan Country Club: 68 – Henry Mabbett, Griffin; Trevor Smith, Brunswick; 69 – Carson Vaughan, Newnan; 70 – Scott Odell, Claxton; Stanton Schorr, Columbus; Seth Sanders, Macon; 72 – Jason Henry, Newnan; 73 – Mike Cromer, Peachtree Corners; Damon Stephenson, Atlanta; Jake Thomas, Cumming; Steven Fisk, Stockbridge; Austin Weathington, Atlanta; Ryan Blackburn, Atlanta; 74 – Madison Turner, Canton; Paul Kocsis, Fayetteville; Sam Asbury, Atlanta. Alternates: 75 -- Tre Lamb, Calhoun; Preston Heyward, Duluth; Jack Harpe, Griffin; Riley Baxter, Atlanta. Kinderlou Forest: 71 -- Taylor Welborn, LaGrange; 73 – Mitch Lomax, St. Mary’s; Luukas Alakulppi, Valdosta; 74 – Chris Rogers, Dawson; McKenzie Blanchett, Moultrie; 75 – Scott Campbell, Sandy Springs; Sam Barrett, Thomasville; Jared Purvis, Valdosta. Alternates: 76 – Rob Benton, Douglas; Brock Young, Tifton; David Matthews, Valdosta. FOREGEORGIA.COM
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[ Continued from page 16 ]
Russell Henley (51) has had chances
to win the McGladrey, Tournament of Champions and in Houston, finishing one or two shots behind the winner in all three. Like Tringale, Henley made it to East Lake for the first time last year. Zach Johnson has been an East Lake regular for the past decade, and has had a solid season with a string of top-20 finishes, but has not had the big week or two and was 59th. He has been in the top 20 in the final FedExCup standings six times the past eight years. Todd was also a Tour Championship rookie last year after capturing his first PGA Tour title, and has played respectably this season with a trio of top 10s and was 62nd, two spots in front of Chesson Hadley, Tringale’s Georgia Tech teammate. Like Todd, Hadley has had a solid season with three top 10s and several other top 20s. Charles Howell has come close to qualifying for the Tour Championship each of the last two years, but was 70th after a decent but unexceptional season with two months to play. Fellow Augusta native Scott Brown was 80th, with
PGA Tour sophomore Hudson Swafford 88th and virtually certain to retain his exempt status after playing better than he did as a rookie. Brian Harman has slipped a bit after winning for the first time last year, but contended in both the Players and Colonial and is up to 96th. Bryce Molder has been a solid PGA Tour player since 2009, but is 99th this year and unlikely to make it to East Lake for the first time. Ex-UGA golfer Erik Compton should keep his PGA Tour card, but at 104 is unlikely to make it to the Tour Championship. At 117, former Georgia Tech golfer Nicholas Thompson is in danger of losing his exempt status, with veteran Stewart Cink in a similar spot at 120, but with no concerns yet about losing his status thanks to his standing on the career money list. Cink has a string of middle-of-the-pack finishes this season, but is still looking to find his game he apparently lost after winning the 2009 British Open. Outside the top 125 after the U.S. Open were: Former Clayton State golfer Will Wilcox (137), who has played well in his
Brian Harman
AL KOOISTRA
FedExCup
second season but was making just his 10th start at Hartford; Vaughn Taylor (162), who has played just six times off past champions’ status, but has finished between 10th and 22nd four times; Jonathan Byrd (163), who has gotten enough starts as a non-exempt player, but hasn’t done much with his opportunities; Davis Love (176), who has returned from foot surgery but had just one quality showing in 10 starts prior to missing more than two months; Blake Adams (192), who is struggling to
Roberto Castro [ Continued from page 24 ]
but will be critical when the PGA Tour regular year ends in Greensboro in August. The top 125 players on the final regular season points list make it into the FedExCup Playoffs and are fully exempt for the 2015-16 season. Those who finish between 126 and 200 will play in the Web.com Finals, with the top 25 money winners from that 4-tournament series joining the top 25 money winners from the Web.com Tour regular season money list on the 2015-16 PGA Tour. Those who finish outside the top 200 are not guaranteed full Web.com Tour status next year, and Castro does not want to find himself in that situation. Castro has made just two Web.com starts this season, but might have to return to that tour late in the season if he drops out of the top 200 in the FedExCup standings. Castro has a track record of success on the Web.com Tour, but after his outstanding PGA Tour showing in 2013, would just as soon not have to return to golf’s version of baseball’s Class AAA. He 36
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regain form after undergoing hip replacement surgery last year; Roberto Castro (194), who qualified for the Tour Championship in 2013, but lost his exempt status for this season and has played a limited schedule; and veteran Heath Slocum (199), who has note enjoyed a successful season since2010. Among the prominent PGA Tour players outside the top 125 after the U.S. Open were Geoff Ogilvy (128), K.J. Choi (133), Luke Donald (144), Graeme McDowell (148), Angel Cabrera (158), Martin Kaymer (160), Ernie Els (170) and Steve Stricker (174). Players inside the top 125 but not close to the top 30 include Vijay Singh (116), Charl Schwartzel (114), Lee Westwood (95), Adam Scott (87), Jason Dufner (77), and Padraig Harrington (69), the lowestranked player to win a PGA Tour event offering full points. With only three tournaments left on the schedule that will draw a sizeable number of top players (British Open, WGC event at Firestone, PGA Championship), the tour’s lower tier players will have opportunities to move up in the standings, with two tournaments played opposite those three (one in Alabama) and several others that typically lack for star power.
finished 6th and 12th in consecutive Web. com starts late in 2009, and played his way onto the tour late in the 2010 season when he ran off three straight top20 efforts, highlighted by a runner-up finish in Wichita. Exempt on that tour for the first time in 2011, Castro finished in the top 25 on the money list to move up to the PGA Tour in 2012, and after retaining his playing privileges, enjoyed his career best season in 2013. Castro admitted that following up a season like 2013 “is really hard,” considering the level of energy you have to expend to play at that level for an extended period of time. He said he believes he has the ability to get to that level again, but for players who are not blessed with exceptional talent, “You can lose that little edge” that separates a successful season from an unproductive one. Castro’s time to turn around a difficult season is dwindling, and after his excellent play in the U.S. Open qualifier and strong finish in Memphis, he missed the cut by just one shot at Chambers Bay and did not make it to the weekend in Hartford. J U LY 2 0 1 5
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Armed with the same traditional clubhead shape, matte black finish, and PVD sole and clubface finish as the company’s DFX MOI model, this latest driver features a 9-gram Nitrogen Valve sole port that’s moved 20 cm forward towards the clubface. This moves the CG to a low, face-forward position that in turn promotes fastball speed and low spin for more distance. Combined with our Nitrogen Charged Technology -- Powerbilt’s patented method to reinforce the clubface without adding weight by pressurizing the clubhead with nitrogen at up to 80 psi -- it allows for the thinnest face in golf. There’s no need for internal metal bracing. That in turn boosts trampoline effect, smash factor, ball speed, consistency and accuracy -- all while reducing spin. It’s a recipe for incredible distance, without golfers having to worry about any hot or dead spots on the face, Air Force One clubs have the largest sweet spot in golf -- one that’s edge-to-edge, as pressurizing the clubhead with nitrogen creates equal pressure across the entire clubface. The Air Force One DFX Tour driver is available for right-handers only. Golfers can order the Air Force One DFX Tour driver by calling 888-488-4653 or visit www.powerbilt.com.
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Crossword PUZZLE
Across 1. California course which was the site
of the 2008 US Open (2 words) 7. Path of a drive 9. Louis Oosthuizen recorded a double ___ at the Masters in 2012 10. A (bad) high, short shot 11. ____ of approach 13. Ryder Cup nation 14. Graeme McDowell’s nationality 16. The Arnold Palmer ____ is given to the player with the most money earned on the Champions Tour 18. Stand in 20. Have 21. Habit or pattern that is hard to change 22. ___ of bounds 24. Curve a shot to fit a situation 38
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P R E S E N T E D BY
___ shot, aka whiff Outdoor building Insect that can distract a golfer Charles Howell ___ How a 5 stroke victory could be described (2 words) 31. Airline, briefly 32. Famously tough hole at Pebble Beach 35. There’s a lot of stress on this joint for golfers 36. Rain heavily on 38. Steve Williams and Mike “Fluff” Cowan, for example 41. Doesn’t make the putt, e.g. 42. ___leg 44. Shots that curve to the right (for a right handed golfer) 45. This makes a ball reverse course after it hits the ground 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.
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Down 1. 1972 British Open winner over
Jacklin 2. Get back in front (3 words) 3. Look at closely 4. Author of “The Secret of Golf,”
Joe ____ 5. Old way of saying no 6. Home of the 2015 British Open (2 words) 7. Clifford Roberts co-founded this famous course 8. Signal 12. Winners of the 2015 SEC men’s golf championship 15. Placing the hands ahead of the ball both at address and impact 17. Hole No. 13 at Augusta National 19. In 2015, this tournament was held
in Irving, Texas and won by Steven Bowditch (2 words) 23. Employ 27. Goes up and down along the fairway, for example 30. A golfer ____ on the backswing before releasing the swing (2 words) 31. Golf crowd sounds, oohs and ___ 33. Listens to advice 34. Golfing great, Snead 37. He beat Spieth at Colonial in 2015 39. Medical pro 40. For that reason 43. Combination of England, Scotland and Wales (abbr.)
Answers at: www.foregeorgia.com/puzzle J U LY 2 0 1 5
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