October/November 2016 FORE Georgia Magazine

FOREGEORGIA.COM

«

«

GEORGIAPGA.COM

OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

Kisner to defend title in RSM Classic Strong local contingent highlights field

By Mike Blum

n its first five years, the RSM (formerly McGladrey) Classic at Sea Island Golf Club featured a succession of exciting finishes that included two playoffs and three tournaments decided by one shot.

Three of the five winners engineered spectacular final round comebacks with scores of 63 (Ben Crane in 2011 and Robert Streb in 2014) and a tournament and course record 60 (Tommy Gainey in 2012). Crane and Streb both erased 5-shot deficits going to the final round, and Gainey came from an unlikely seven off the pace to win outright.

Last year, however, was a little different.

Former Georgia Bulldog Kevin Kisner took control of the tournament with a third round 64 to take a 3stroke lead into the final round, and followed with another 64 on Sunday to increase his margin to six, finishing with a tournament record total of 22under 260.

Kisner was the first winner of the RSM Classic to enjoy a pleasant stroll down the fairway of the difficult 18th hole on Sunday, and when he returns to St. Simons Island for the 2016 edition of the tournament, he will enjoy another first.

The Aiken, S.C., native and lifelong resident will be playing the role of defending champion for the first time on the PGA Tour, with his victory at Sea Island Golf Club last year his first after four winless seasons.

This year’s RSM Classic will be played Nov. 17-20, and will be the

I

final official PGA Tour event in 2016.

After seven tournaments in six weeks, the Tour will take a break until the Tournament of Champions is played in early January in Hawaii.

The RSM Classic was played for the first time in 2010, and for its first three years was a part of the PGA Tour’s Fall Series, a group of events played after the Tour Championship that did not award FedExCup points or a Masters invitation to its champion. In 2013, the Fall Series events became equal partners with the other PGA Tour stops, awarding full FedExCup points and a Masters invite to the winner (except for the opposite week event in Mississippi).

The other big change for the RSM Classic came last year when Sea Island Golf Club’s Plantation Course joined Seaside as the hosts for the tournament.

That enabled the tournament to increase its field to 156 players, and not worry about having to battle daylight on Thursday and Friday with a field of 132 playing off both nines in morning and afternoon waves.

Now, the tournament can begin with later morning tee times on both courses and comfortably get the round in, with some wiggle room built in if there’s a weather delay, something tournament officials have not had to worry about the first six years.

Although the tournament was more than a month away at deadline for this issue, golf fans along the Georgia coast can expect another very representative field that should include almost all the players with ties to Sea Island GC, St. Simons Island and various other spots throughout the Southeast.

Seaside’s par-3 sixth hole

Four of the RSM Classic winners have strong ties to either Georgia or the neighboring state of South Carolina, with two residents of both states among the six champions.

St. Simons features a long list of PGA Tour players who call the island home, with 2013 tournament champion Chris Kirk living there for several years, returning to his native north Atlanta suburbs shortly before winning that year.

Among the locals you can expect to see in action at the Seaside and Plantation courses are: Tournament host Davis Love, who is recovering from hip surgery earlier this year. Love shared the 54-hole lead in 2012, but fell victim to Gainey’s final round 60.

Ryder Cup teammates Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, neither of whom have produced the kind of results in the tournament you’d expect from the

accomplished players with home course knowledge. A tie for 12th in the first RSM Classic in 2010 is Johnson’s best finish, with Kuchar managing a T7 in 2013. [ See RSM Classic, page 6 ]

Like Us on Facebook Follow Us on Twitter @FOREGeorgia

2

FOREGEORGIA.COM

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

3

Instruction Fore You

P R E S E N T E D BY

Learn to take your range game to the golf course

By Matthew Cooke

PGA Director of Instruction Governors Towne Club A concept that is becoming increasingly intriguing in the golf industry, although often misunderstood, is practice, and more specifically - how golfers can do it better when trying to improve their techniques.

For many years golfers have expressed their despair for the inability to sustain the solid contact, highly proficient accuracy, and consistent distances they experienced on the driving range before embarking on the golf course. It baffles most and frustrates all. One could say “why is it with me one minute, and gone the next?”

In my early years as a PGA Golf Teaching Professional, I struggled to understand why an exhaustive amount of practice drills, and exercises, failed to unveil the golfer I saw hitting balls with me on the lesson tee. There were age-old drills sworn by the likes of Jack Nicklaus, the late Arnold palmer, Ben Hogan, and more, that produced tour level golf shots 80% of the time that just didn’t transfer to the real time playing environment i.e. the golf course. Repetition after repetition, hour after hour, raking one golf ball after another forced an unthinkable number of golfers to search for ways to replicate what

seemed to happen so seamlessly on the driving range.

It is only within the last 5-10 years that highly skilled PGA Golf Professionals, who have dedicated their life to learning and performance, have adopted principles brought into existence by learning scientists. For over a decade advances in how people learn have been researched, studied, and published helping coaches in all industries enhance the development of their student’s sports skills. This knowledge is what PGA Golf Teaching Professionals are now equipped with making the transfer of driving range skills much closer to the skills actually performed out on the golf course.

Interleaving Practice Strategy

This could be the single most important strategy for all golfers who make their way to the driving range in hope of taking their game to the next level. A concept becoming more and more popular is the ‘interleaving’ strategy. This is where golfers relieve themselves of hitting the same club; to the same target consecutively and instead hit 1 club to 1 target, and the following shot with a different club to a

Forecast

INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES:

GPGA repeats in Peters Cup . . . . . 24

Big finish for Castro . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

DEPARTMENTS:

Tour Championship wrap-up . . . . 10

Love leads Ryder Cup win . . . . . . . 14

Web.com Finals report. . . . . . . . . . 16 Champions Tour Playoffs open. . . 18

Weinhart caps year with title . . . . 20

4

Pittman takes Senior PGA event . 22

PGA Tour preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Georgia PGA 'rookie' qualifiers . . . 21 FOREGEORGIA.COM

Fall College roundup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Women's college roundup . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Chip Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Fashion FORE You . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Golf FORE Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

different target.

For example: After an appropriate stretch, and warm up, take a driver, tee the golf ball up, select a target and proceed to execute the shot to the best of your ability. After you rate the outcome, whether it is good or bad, take a different club, select a different target and proceed to execute the next shot to the best of your ability once again. Continue to hit all practice balls in the bag this way.

Why?

Doing this represents the type of activity golfers experience out on the golf course, which makes practice much more effective. Having a second chance on the driving range doesn’t always help prepare golfers for the hardships the golf course tends to present. Forcing yourself to have only one chance requires a high level of concentration and extreme diligence. The more golfers can practice under these conditions, the easier those hardships become.

“Whenever I do go out with a bag of golf balls I have a specific objective in mind and, once I’ve achieved it, I quite… I learned long ago that there is a limit to the number of shots you can hit effectively before losing your concentration on your basic objective”.

-Jack Nicklaus One of the greatest golfers on the planet was able to figure out a better way to practice, we should all adopt a similar pattern.

I now approach every golf lesson with the desire not only to find the cause of my client’s poor golf shots but also how to practice effectively when the lesson is finished. A wise man once told me you can give a person a fish and they’ll eat for a day, or you can teach a person to fish and they’ll eat for a lifetime. I chose to teach my clients so they can enjoy the process of practicing properly and playing better, more often.

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

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

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

Samantha Stone MARKETING & ADVERTISING

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

Matthew Cooke Steve Dinberg • Rob Matre Al Kooistra • Ed C. Thompson GEORGIA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA OFFICERS

President Brian Albertson, PGA / bamulligan@bellsouth.net Vice President John Godwin, PGA / jgodwinpga@earthlink.net Secretary Brandon Stooksbury, PGA / bjstooks@pga.com Honorary President Mark Mongell, PGA / mmongell@cherokeetcc.org CHAPTER PRESIDENTS

Central Chapter President Cary Brown, PGA / cary@valdosta-country-club.com East Chapter President Dana Schultz, PGA / dschultz@troongolf.com North Chapter President Jordon Arnold, PGA / jordonarnold@hotmail.com AT - L A R G E D I R E C T O R S

Brian Conley, PGA / pgaugadawg@aol.com Jeff Dunovant, PGA / jdunovant@pga.com Matthew Evans, PGA / mevans@pga.com Shawn Koch, PGA / prokoch@pga.com Mark Lammi, PGA / mal9599@msn.com Todd Ormsby, PGA / taormsby1020@gmail.com Rashad Wilson, PGA / rashadwilson40@gmail.com SENIOR DIVISION

President Scott Hare, PGA / shhare@pga.com A S S I S TA N T S ’ D I V I S I O N

President Will Bartram, PGA / wbartram@cherokeetcc.org 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 Foundation Program Manager Maria Bengtsson 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

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

5

RSM Classic

[ Continued from the cover ]

STEVE DINBERG

Kevin Kisner

6

In addition to Gainey and Kisner, several other players with roots in the Carolinas have been major factors at Sea Island GC. Bill Haas was second behind Slocum in 2010, with Webb Simpson losing in a playoff the next year, and D.J. Trahan and Scott Brown posting consecutive ties for fourth in 2012 and ’13.

Kirk, who has returned to Athens to reside with his family, has been the most consistently successful performer in the RSM Classic with two finishes of fourth FOREGEORGIA.COM

STEVE DINBERG

The best finishes for the former Georgia Bulldog trio of Harris English, Brian Harman and Hudson Swafford range from 10th to 15th, with fellow exBulldogs Kirk and Russell Henley, who both lived on St. Simons Island previously, faring a little better. Kirk was a close fourth the year after he won in 2013, with Henley, a Macon native now living on the South Carolina coast, tying him for fourth in 2014 and following with a sixth place finish last year.

Prior to moving to St. Simons, Michael Thompson finished one shot out of a playoff in 2011 and was 10th the next year.

Other players with Southern roots have also excelled in the tournament. Heath Slocum, who lived all over the South as his father Jack worked as a PGA club professional, has settled in the north Atlanta suburbs and won the inaugural RSM Classic in 2010. Slocum placed in the top 20 two of the next three years, but has since lost his game and his PGA Tour status after winning four times between 2004 and 2010.

or better and two other top 20s, the first before he joined the PGA Tour. Simpson has two other finishes of 12th or higher along with his playoff loss, with Louisiana’s David Toms taking third in 2010, second in 2012 and 14th in 2014. This being an even year, it may be time for Toms to contend again.

The lone player with three top 10s in the first six years is Augusta native Charles Howell, who shot 62 to finish sixth in 2010, was seventh two years later and An overhead view of ninth last year.

Plantation’s 12th gr een Kisner also has a successful track record in the tournament, tying for 20th in 2013, and the winner to contending in 2014, tying for fourth deny Kisner. before his victory last year.

After finishing During his professional career, Kisner 21st in the final won events on the defunct eGolf and FedExCup standHooter s Tours, and collected a pair of ings, Kisner his titles on the Web.com Tour. Kisner has continued vague recollections of whether he had strong play in the ever returned to a tournament as Fall portion of the defending champion, but was on hand to 2015-16 schedule, defend one of his Web.com titles, a rarity placing second – not in a playoff – on that tour.

“This will be new,” Kisner said during in the WGC event the Tour Championship of serving as in China two defending champion at Sea Island GC. weeks before the “I’m looking forward to being defending victory at Sea champion. I feel really comfortable and Island GC elevated his career.

I’ve spent a lot of time there.”

Kisner opened last year’s RSM Classic Kisner contended in the SEC with scores of 65 at Plantation (7-under) Championship on the Seaside course and 67 at Seaside (3-under) to trail by twice during his career at Georgia, one shot after each of the first two beginning his long time relationship rounds. He grabbed a 3-stroke lead after with Sea Island Golf Club. Kisner and a third round 64 at Seaside, and pulled Kirk were teammates on Georgia’s 2009 away from the field by shooting 5-under NCAA Championship team along with 30 on the front nine, finishing with fellow PGA Tour member Brendan another 64 to win by six over Kevin Todd. Kisner joined them as PGA Tour Chappell, who ended the 2015-16 winners last Fall, following a successful season by losing in a playoff in the Tour (if non-winning) run on the 2014-15 Championship.

PGA Tour.

Chappell held the lead after 36 holes of After failing to crack the top 100 in the RSM Classic, shooting 66 the first the FedExCup standings his first three day at Plantation and 65 the next at seasons on the PGA Tour, Kisner Seaside. emerged as a prime time player last year The addition of Plantation as a host at Hilton Head, losing in a playoff after course for the first two rounds has shooting 64 in the final round. Three required the players to prepare a little weeks later, he turned in another strong differently, and also changed the tournafinal round effort in the Players, but ment’s par. Seaside, which was again lost in a playoff. extensively renovated in the late 1990s Following several more top finishes, he by Tom Fazio, is a classic seaside design made it into a playoff for the third time with marshes, dunes and the winds in less than three months in the coming off the ocean integral parts of its Greenbrier, again losing in extra holes layout. after another final round of 64. In each With a few exceptions, Plantation is playoff, it took some outstanding play by more of an inland, parkland-style layout,

Chris Kirk

but with water in play on about half the holes. Rees Jones renovated Plantation just before Fazio completed his work on Seaside, and the two bordering layouts are complementary but distinct, with Plantation playing to a par 72 with four par fives, three of which have risk/reward properties (one off the tee) and three par 3s over water.

Seaside, a par 70 with two par 5s, is more challenging around the greens, and the marshes and dunes can exact penalties as readily as the water on Plantation, Even with two fewer par 5s, Seaside is less than 50 yards shorter than Plantation, with neither long by modern standards at around 7,000 yards (Seaside) and 7,050 (Plantation).

With the addition of Plantation, par is now 142 for 36 holes and 282 for 72.

The 465-yard ninth at Plantation and 470-yard 18th at Seaside are the only par 4s longer than 450, giving the tour players plenty of opportunities to hit short iron approaches. Both courses will yield low scores to quality play in placid conditions, but if the breezes kick up and shots begin to stray, bogeys (or worse) can quickly appear on a scorecard.

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

Cole Cole Swindell Swindell No November vember 19 T Tickets ickets on sale no now w at RSMC RSMClassic.com lassic.com PPresented resented bbyy

America’s best golfers come to one of America’s best places to slow down.

Join Ryder Cup Captain and Tournament Host Davis Love III when the PGA TOUR returns to the Golden Isles for The RSM Classic.

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

7

PGA Tour season begins without Woods Schedule back to normal without Olympics

arely two weeks after the Tour Championship ended and 10 days after the last roar from the Ryder Cup, the 2016-17 PGA Tour season began in Napa, Cal., without the long-anticipated return of Tiger Woods.

After missing the entire 2015-16 season, Woods was scheduled to return in the Safeway Open, but has pushed his first start of 2016 back to the unofficial event he hosts in early December.

The PGA Tour enjoyed an entertaining and successful 2016 without Woods and will be fine if Woods does not make it back until 2017, if then.

Apparently, he’s healthy enough to play, but does not think his game is ready for competition.

The 2016-17 PGA Tour will be just about identical to that of 2014-15, with this past season’s schedule altered because of golf’s inclusion in the Summer Olympics. There will be a few venue changes, as the WGC event at Doral moves to Mexico City, with two of the three Playoffs events having new sites.

The tournament in the New York area will be played at Glen Oaks Club, with the final Playoffs event prior to the Tour Championship returning to Chicago at Conway Farms.

The Tour Championship will be played Sept. 21-24 at East Lake, with the Playoffs off week occurring between the tournaments in Boston and Chicago.

The major championship sites will include a first-time host for the U.S. Open (Erin Hills in Wisconsin), a traditional stop on the British Open rota (Royal Birkdale) and a popular PGA

B

Charles Howell

STEVE DINBERG

8

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Tour host course for the PGA Championship (Quail Hollow in Charlotte). The PGA Tour event in Charlotte moves to Wilmington, N.C., this year.

Another “new” site this year is TPC Potomac, which takes over for Congressional as the host of the annual stop in Washington, D.C. TPC Potomac, formerly known as TPC at Avenel, hosted a previous event in Washington, which went away when AT&T abandoned Atlanta’s tour stop in favor of partnering with the Tiger Woods Foundation in the D.C. area.

Although a handful of players with ties to Georgia have lost their PGA Tour status for 2016-17, six Georgia residents and a former Georgia Tech golfer will be PGA Harris English Tour rookies this season, with four of the six recent arrivals to St. Simons Island. (See story, page 16.)

Following is a brief look at the players Ryder Cup team.

Bubba Watson (21), UGA: Scored his with Georgia ties who will be PGA Tour members for 2016-17, with a quick look ninth win in the last seven seasons in LA, at their play this past season. The players but after a runner-up finish in his next are listed by their 2015-16 FedExCup start at Doral, was missing from leader boards for almost six months before some rank.

Patrick Reed (3), Augusta State: solid late-season showings. Still managed Coming off the best season of his 4-year to make it to East Lake for the sixth time PGA Tour career, which included a win in seven years, but was left off the Ryder in a Playoffs event (his fifth victory), a Cup team despite a No. 7 World pair of runner-up finishes, 11 top 10s and Ranking. a powerful performance in the U.S. Ryder Roberto Castro (22), Atlanta resiCup victory. Was 12th and 13th in the dent/Georgia Tech: Qualified for the final two majors of 2016, but is still Tour Championship for the second time looking for a breakthrough in one of the in four years after a clutch performance in four Grand Slam events. the third of four Playoffs events (See story Matt Kuchar (18), Georgia Tech/St. page 12).

Simons resident: Finished in the Kevin Kisner (23), UGA: Made it to FedExCup top 20 for the sev- East Lake for a second straight year after enth straight year, but an outstanding Fall in 2015 which was winless for the included a runner-up finish in the WGC second season in a row China event and his first PGA Tour win after scoring six vic- in five seasons at the RSM Classic at Sea tories from 2009 to Island GC. After a successful start in 2014. Was third Hawaii, did not finish better than 10th four times, the rest of 2016. including the Harris English (47), South Georgia Players, a WGC native/UGA/St. Simons resident: Posted event at Firestone top-3 finishes in Phoenix and at the and the Olympics, and Colonial, but had only a handful of other notched 11 top 10s, strong showings the rest of the season but could not capitalize and did little the last three months other on several opportunities than make a succession of cuts. to win. Closed the season FedExCup finish was his poorest since as part of his first winning rookie year of 2012.

Charles Howell (52), Augusta native: Has just two wins in 17 seasons, none since 2007, but has been a successful (if underachieving) player, and 2016 was the latest example. He finished 26th or better in 15 of 25 starts, but made just a few a serious runs at victory with a pair of top-5s.

Brian Harman (53): Savannah native/UGA/St. Simons resident: Has played respectably in his five PGA Tour seasons with a win in 2014 and four top-60 FedExCup finishes, but after a decent start in 2015-16 did not do much until he closed with top 25s in each of the first three Playoffs events.

Chris Kirk (54): Woodstock native/UGA/Athens resident: Finished outside the top 50 for the first time in six seasons and was winless after three victories the previous two years. Reached the quarterfinals in the Match Play, but his best finish in a stroke play event was a T5 in New Orleans.

Tied for 10th in the third Playoffs event but fell back the final two days.

Zach Johnson (57), St. Simons resident: After qualifying for the Tour Championship nine times in 12 years from 2004-15, ended up with his poorest showing since 2008. Had only two solid stretches of golf the entire year, highlighted by three straight finishes between eighth and 12th in the U.S. Open, WGC-Firestone and British Open. Capped season on a high note with winning record in Ryder Cup. Vaughn Taylor (62), Augusta native & resident/Augusta State: After finishing outside the top 125 the previous four seasons, made a surprising comeback last year with a win at Pebble Beach over Phil Mickelson. After that, however, his best finish was a T24 in the Playoffs event in Boston. Won in Reno as a rookie and sophomore in 2004 and ’05 and made the Ryder Cup team in ’06, but had not been heard from since 2010 until his victory.

Hudson Swafford (64), UGA/St. Simons resident: Has gradually improved in his three PGA Tour seasons, and STEVE DINBERG

By Mike Blum

[ See PGA Tour, page 19 ] OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

9

McIlroy captures Tour Championship Playoff victory earns FedExCup title

By Mike Blum

fter playing the Tour Championship 15 times at East Lake with the course’s original routing, the decision was made by tournament officials and the PGA Tour to reverse the nines for the 2016 event.

The result was perhaps the most exciting finish in tournament history, as Rory McIlroy captured a three-way playoff that last four holes with a string of late heroics that earned him $11,530,000 and two trophies, one for the event and one for the season-long

A

for a bogey at the 17th after Moore birdied the hole minutes earlier. Needing a birdie at the 18th to have a chance, McIlroy nearly holed his bunker shot for eagle, while both Moore and Chappell had to lay up after driving in the thick Bermuda rough left of the 18th fairway.

Moore had a chance to win in regulation, but lipped out an 8-footer for birdie, with Chappell unable to give himself a quality birdie chance for a possible victory, which would have been the first of his PGA Tour career.

Chappell and Moore again drove in the left rough on the 18th – the first playoff hole – and had to lay up, while McIlroy

The playoff moved to the nearby island green, par-3 15th, with McIlroy holing a 7-footer for par after Moore nicely extricated himself from a gnarly lie with a deft pitch from just off the green.

After a poor chip at the 16th left him 17 feet for par, Moore holed the putt that could have extended the playoff for another hole. But McIlroy nailed his birdie attempt from a few feet closer to end the championship with daylight less than half an hour away from becoming an issue.

The three playoff participants finished with totals of 12-under 268 at East Lake, which played firm and fast for the entire Rory McIlroy

STEVE DINBERG

Ryan Moore

FedExCup. For the first 15 holes of the final round, McIlroy held steady at either two or three shots behind leader Kevin Chappell, who shared the lead with Ryan Moore midway through the round before moving back on top with a birdie at the 13th, formerly the fourth hole at East Lake before the nines were reversed prior to this year’s tournament.

From that point, McIlroy produced a succession of highlight reel shots, beginning with a hole-out for eagle on from 137 yards on the par-4 16th. That pulled him within one of the lead, but Chappell pulled ahead by two for the first time all day when he hit his approach on the 16th to five feet and holed the putt for his sixth birdie of the day.

Chappell fell back into a tie with Moore when he went from rough to sand

10

FOREGEORGIA.COM

hit a massive drive of 357 yards just into the light rough at the end of the fairway.

McIlroy followed with a glorious iron shot from 210 yards that left him with only six feet for eagle and the victory, but he suffered the same fate as Moore in regulation, grazing the right lip.

Moore stayed alive when he holed his birdie putt of just inside 10 feet after Chappell missed from long range.

McIlroy and Moore returned to the 18th tee for a second extra hole, with both going left off the tee into trouble.

Moore had to pitch out short of the water and managed to get his third shot from 227 yards on the front of the green, twoputting for par. McIlroy hit his second shot under branches to leave himself with a third shot of some 50 yards, but came up well short with his pitch and matched Moore’s par.

tournament. The course was in superb shape and did not receive a drop of rain the entire week.

McIlroy and Moore, who were paired together in the final group on Sunday, began the day two shots off the lead shared by Chappell and FedExCup points leader Dustin Johnson. McIlroy and Moore both shot 64, the low rounds of the week, to catch Chappell, who closed with a 66.

Johnson, the 2016 Player of the Year, remained tied with Chappell early in the final round, but bogeys at holes 5, 6 and 8 after errant tee shots cost him a share of the lead. He did not make a birdie after the seventh and sealed his fate with an ugly double bogey at the short par-4 12th, one of the easiest holes on the course.

On a day when three players shot 64,

three shot 65 and only four other players failed to match or better par of 70, Johnson turned in the highest score, a 73 that dropped him into a tie for sixth at 275, seven out of the playoff.

Paul Casey, who matched McIlroy and Moore with a final round 64, wrapped up his successful if non-winning run through the Playoffs, placing fourth at 271. Hideki Matsuyama was fifth at 274 after making a double bogey on the par-5 18th, with Justin Thomas tying for sixth with Johnson at 275. Adam Scott, who shot 65 on Sunday, and Jason Dufner were next at 276, with five players tying for 10th at 278.

Among the five was Bubba Watson, who shot 66-67 the final two rounds but was snubbed for the final Ryder Cup selection despite being the highest ranked player in the Ryder Cup points standings not to make the team and the No. 7-ranked player in the world.

After a mostly sub-standard 2016 season by his standards, McIlroy came into the Playoffs ranked 36th in the FedExCup standings. But he won Labor Day weekend in Boston with a final round 65 to finish three in front of Casey, and was sixth in the standings coming to East Lake after ordinary showings in the other two Playoffs events.

“There was a lot of things that had to go right for me today,” McIlroy said after his victory. “Ryan didn’t birdie the last in regulation, neither did Kevin. Obviously, D.J. didn’t have his best day. So everything just sort of aligned for me. I took advantage of that opportunity.”

McIlroy’s 2016 season pre-Playoffs was better than his critics’ observations, but included just one win in the irish Open.

He had four top-4 finishes in the U.S., including the Match Play Championship and Doral, and tied for fifth in the British Open. But he played himself out of contention in the Masters and Players with poor third rounds and missed the cut in both the U.S. Open and PGA Championship.

“It was nice to just set the reset button after the PGA,” McIlroy said. “I think the great thing about this FedExCup is you have something to play for after the major season. You have goals, you have ambition, you have drive to work hard for something else, and I really wanted to try to at least give myself a chance in these playoffs.”

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

McIlroy had to survive some shaky play on the front nine the first two days to remain in contention. He shot 68 on Thursday despite back-to-back double bogeys on holes 7 and 8, offsetting them with seven birdies, including four in a row on holes 12 to 15. He made four bogeys on the front the next day to shoot 38, but three birdies on the back enabled him to end the day at even par. Three birdies on his last six holes Saturday resulted in a bogey-free 66 and got him within two of the lead heading to the final round.

In his three previous appearances at East Lake, McIlroy’s best finish was a tie for second in 2014, three behind Billy Horschel.

Moore had played in the Tour Championship twice before, with his best showing a tie for third in 2012, the last time he competed at East Lake. He improved two shots each day of the tournament with scores of 70-68-66-64. He moved into contention with a 31 on the front nine Saturday, and again shot 31 going out Sunday to tie Chappell for the lead.

“Really just two great rounds in a row on the weekend to shoot 66-64 on this track,” Moore said. “I did everything I

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

could. I hit every golf shot as good as I possibly could today. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. It was a great battle all day back and forth between (Rory) and I and Kevin.”

Moore earned his first Ryder Cup selection with a strong finish that included a win in the John Deere, his fifth title since 2009, and top 10s in the first two Playoffs events. His major championship record, however, was forgettable, with a tie for 32nd in the U.S. Open his best finish.

Chappell closed out his career-best 2015-16 season with a fourth runner-up finish, his first coming last Fall in the RSM Classic at Sea Island GC. His other two solo seconds came this year, both behind Jason Day at Bay Hill and the Players, along with a T4 in the Texas Open and T3 in the WGC event at Firestone.

Earlier in the Playoffs, Chappell was among the leaders for 36 holes in Boston, before an unproductive weekend dropped him into a tie for eighth.

Chappell went to the front early at East Lake and stayed there the entire week with some consistently excellent play. He shared the first round lead with Johnson and Matsuyama at 66, carding

four birdies on the front nine before closing with nine straight pars. He was one back of Johnson after 36, shooting 68 on Friday with three straight birdies at 6, 7 and 8 and a bogey at the 11th, the only blemish on his card for 54 holes.

A second straight 68 on Saturday gave Chappell a share of the 54-hole lead with Johnson, with his scorecard including 16 pars, 11 in succession to start the round. He never gave up the lead the final day, shooting 66 with six birdies. He made one early bogey and one costly one late.

“I can’t be negative, even if I want to be,” Chappell said after his playoff loss. “I made three bogeys all week, four rounds in the 60s at East Lake. Finished wherever I finished in the FedExCup (8th). It was a good year. That’s the way I’m going to look at it.

“I’m proud of the way I fought. It just wasn’t enough today.”

The biggest surprise the final day was Johnson’s sub-par showing. He still could have ended up with the FedExCup title and a $10 million bonus if either

Kevin Chappell

Moore or Chappell won the playoff, but came away with a disappointing finish to an otherwise exceptional season that including wins in the U.S. Open, WGC event at Firestone and the Playoffs tournament at Crooked Stick. He finished the year with 15 top-10s in 22 starts and approached $10 million in earnings not including his multi-million bonus for placing second in the final FedExCup standings.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

11

Clutch effort clinches big year for Castro Earns spot at East Lake, next year’s majors

oming into the final FedExCup Playoffs event prior to the Tour Championship, Roberto Castro faced a tall order to achieve a top 30 finish in the points standings and a spot in the field at Atlanta’s East Lake Golf Club.

Castro, who grew up in Alpharetta, enjoyed a successful four years at Georgia Tech and has settled in Atlanta, needed to finish third at Crooked Stick to ensure a spot in the Tour Championship.

A 7-under 65 gave Castro the opening round lead, and he remained tied at the top after 36 holes following a second straight 65, sharing the lead with 2016 Player of the Year Dustin Johnson, who carded a 63 in the second round.

Castro and Johnson were paired together in the third round, and for 13 holes Castro stayed close to 2016’s best player, trailing by just one shot despite not making a birdie in his round to that point.

But Johnson closed with birdies on four of the last five holes while Castro bogeyed the 18th to conclude a round that did not have a birdie on his scorecard after totaling 15 the first two days.

The 74 dropped Castro to fourth, six behind Johnson, and he was paired in the next to last group of the final round with J.B. Holmes, like Johnson one of the game’s longest hitters.

Castro needed to end up ahead of Holmes to finish third, as Johnson and Paul Casey comfortably held on to the top two spots.

After struggling a bit in his pairing with Johnson, Castro got off to a quick start the next day when he birdied the opening hole. He was still 1-under on the round and tied with Holmes when he reached the par-4 seventh hole.

From 160 yards out, Castro holed hiss econd shot for eagle and his matter-offact response to his sensational outcome elicited some bemused commentary from the NBC announcers. The shot put Castro in third place outright and he never faltered despite the pressure of knowing exactly what he needed to do to qualify for the Tour Championship.

Castro notched nine pars and two birdies over his final 11 holes, reaching two par 5s in two for easy birdies. His

C

12

FOREGEORGIA.COM

only nervous moment came on the par-3 17th, when his tee shot sailed left of the green, which is guarded by a lake. A splash in the water just off the edge of the putting surface convinced the NBC’s broadcast crew that Castro’s tee shot was wet, but a replay of the shot revealed a different scenario.

Roberto Castro Instead of landing in the water, Castro’s ball imbedded in the bank several feet away. The splash came from a grounds at East Lake.

A birdie at the par-5 18th in the frog that hopped into the lake and a fish that went airborne after the frog. Castro opening round at East Lake gave Castro a saved par with a deft chip and closed out little solace after four bogeys earlier on a 67 with another par at the 18th, fin- the back nine left him with a 73. He ishing six behind Johnson and three in matched par Friday with a 70 before back of Casey, but a comfortable five moving up the leader board with a third shots in front of five players who tied for round 67 that included six birdies. He needed another round in the 60s on fourth, Holmes among them.

Finishing third in the Playoffs event at Sunday for a top-10 finish, and was in Crooked Stick resulted in a nice list of position to do that as he played the 18th perks for Castro. He moved up from 53 hole, but never recovered after an errant to 21 in the FedExCup standings to tee shot and had to scramble for a bogey.

Castro tied for 17th at even par 280 make the Tour Championship field for after closing with a 70, and would have the second time in four years.

By ending the year among the top 20 tied for 10th had he birdied the 18th, in the standings, Castro qualifies for the which he did in each of the first three Masters, U.S. Open and British Open for rounds.

In his first appearance in the Tour 2017. He ended the 2015-16 PGA Tour season 18th on the money list for the Championship in 2013, Castro shot a 2017 PGA Championship largely due to final round 65 to tie for ninth at 5-under the $578,000 he earned at Crooked 275 to close out what was his best year in Stick, and if he remains in the top 70 professional golf to that point.

Unfortunately for Castro, that was his before next year’s PGA, he will have last highlight for a while. He finished qualified for all four majors.

Castro has also earned spots in the next outside the top 125 in the FedExCup two WGC events, one later this year in standings in 2013-14 and missed Shanghai and the first WGC event of regaining his exempt status on the PGA 2017 in Mexico, which has taken the Tour for 2014-15 by around $30 in the place of the long-running tournament at Web.com Finals.

He retained limited status on the PGA Doral. He ended the PGA Tour season 66th in the World Rankings, and if he is Tour for 2014-15, but made it into only among the top 64 by mid-March of next 16 events and headed back to the year, will be in the Match Play Web.com Finals. This time, Castro recorded three straight top-10s to close Championship for the first time.

“That was huge,” Castro said of his out the 4-tournament series to return to showing at Crooked Stick. “You have to full-time PGA Tour status. He played put yourself in position, and I did after well from the outset before ending the the first two rounds. But it takes four year 22nd in the final FedExCup standgood days if you want to contend or ings.

Castro will begin the 2016-17 PGA win.”

Castro did not have his best stuff in the Tour season determined not to repeat his third round, but turned in a clutch per- struggles of 2014, and said the condiformance the next day, and was enjoying tions between then and now are different.

“My tank was on empty after 2013,” the fruits of his labor 10 days later on the

STEVE DINBERG

By Mike Blum

Castro said following the opening round of the Tour Championship. “It was the end of grinding in college, grinding on the mini-tours, grinding on the Web.com, then two years on Tour. We were excited to be here (at East Lake), but both my wife and I were like, ‘let it end’.

We never regrouped. It was the perfect storm.”

In preparation for what could be a grueling FedExCup finish to the 2015-16 season, Castro says he took more weeks off during the Summer. He does not expect a repeat of 2014, but recognizes that it is possible.

“Guys have gone from the Ryder Cup to the Web.com and vice versa. “ Castro has experienced a similar feeling, going from playing in the Tour Championship in 2013 to the Web.com Finals in 2014, and then from the Web.com Finals in 2015 to the Tour Championship in 2016.

“And I’m generally like a pretty consistent player,” Castro observed. “But that’s the Tour. I played in all four majors and a WGC in 2014 and lost my card.”

Castro’s 2015-16 success began last Fall in Mississippi, where he shot 62 in the opening round and ended up tied for fourth. He contended again early in ’16 Pebble Beach, but fell back to a tie for eighth after a final round 74. He came close to his first win in Charlotte, losing in a playoff, and added several more solid showings before his big week in Indiana.

After missing most of the Fall in the 2013-14 season, in part due to a death in the family, Castro is focused on getting off to a strong start when the PGA Tour resumes in October.

“The Fall is a really big deal. I’m playing four times this Fall. Since May, I’ve been mentally preparing to go all the way to Sea Island.”

The 2016 portion of the 2016-17 schedule concludes with the RSM Classic at Sea Island Golf Club, with Castro’s 2017 itinerary now including a second stop in Augusta.

Castro’s first appearance in the Masters did not go as well as he hoped, and he has a thought on how he can improve on his previous showing next April.

“I think I’ll make less of a big deal of playing in it than the last time,” he said.

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

13

Reed, Mickelson lead strong team effort

Love captains U.S. to Ryder Cup victory he PGA of America gave Davis Love a mulligan after his first stint as U.S. Ryder Cup captain ended dismally following a strong start in the team matches in 2012 at Medinah.

The American team let a 10-6 lead going into singles get away, as the Europeans went 8-3-1 the final day to defeat the U.S. 14 ½ to 13 ½.

This time at Hazeltine, the U.S. lead was 9 ½ - 6 ½ going into singles. But unlike 2012, the U.S. produced a strong Sunday showing that resulted in just the third American win in the past two decades. The U.S. is 3-8 since last winning in Europe in 1993, but the emergence of a new generation of talent on this side of the Atlantic is cause for optimism about American fortunes in the event going forward.

The U.S. won the most recent matches 17-11, taking a 3-point lead after two days of team play before going 7-4-1 in singles, with the lone half coming in what was one of the greatest matches from start to finish in Ryder Cup history.

Although there were some obvious standouts for the winning U.S. team (Patrick Reed, Brooks Koepka, Brant Snedeker and Phil Mickelson), this was a true team victory. All 12 American players won at least one match, and only two (Jimmy Walker and J.B. Holmes) finished with losing records at 1-2.

Love was given the relatively rare opportunity of a second shot as captain

T

STEVE DINBERG

Patrick Reed

14

FOREGEORGIA.COM

STEVE DINBERG

By Mike Blum

after a losing debut, and displayed a little more flexibility this time, shaking up his lineup in the final four-ball session after going the entire way in 2012 with the same six teams.

The U.S. captain split up a winning team from the first four-ball session (Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar), sending out Johnson with Koepka and Kuchar with Mickelson, the first time the two had been paired together in a Ryder/Presidents Cup. Although the teams split their two matches, the pairings worked nicely, as both carded nine birdies.

Mickelson and Kuchar won, while Johnson and Koepka lost to Rory McIlroy and Thomas Pieters, Matt Kuchar who were 11-under for 17 holes.

The U.S., which swept the opening alternate shot session to both days in jump out to a 4-0 lead, went 3-1 the next best ball and not playing him in alternate day in best ball after losing by the same shot, which would seem to be his better score in that format the day before. That format. Moore paired with Holmes both gave the Americans a solid 3-pont lead days and contributed very little in either heading into singles. match. It was speculated that Holmes One reason Love was given a second was going to be paired with Watson in chance was that the potential players for four-ball play had Watson made the the 2016 U.S. squad were strongly in team, and it appears that instead of favor of his returning as captain, as there trying to figure out how to best utilize was little to find fault with Love’s deci- Moore in the team matches, Love simply sions the first time he was captain. plugged him into the spot that Watson The U.S. lost in 2012 because Tiger would have filled.

Woods and Steve Stricker went 0-3 in Moore, who compiled an outstanding the team matches (Love sat them out in match play record during his amateur one session) and the U.S. lineup faltered days, rewarded Love for his decision, ralin singles. In Woods’ seven appearances lying from 2 down with three holes to on the U.S. Ryder Cup team, the play to defeat Lee Westwood 1-up to Americans went 1-6. The three U.S. score the winning point. Moore won the teams without Woods are 2-1, also win- 16th hole with an eagle, the 17th with a ning in 2008. birdie and the 18th with a par after an Love had four captain’s picks for this excellent approach to the par 4 put him year’s team, and selected the second, in birdie position. third and fourth highest ranked players While the U.S. team has deservedly in the Ryder Cup points standings who been praised for its victory, a closer look did not qualify for the team. He twice reveals that the losing European team passed over Bubba Watson, the No. 7 was not among the stronger lineups the player in the world rankings and the Americans have faced since the matches highest ranked player in the Ryder Cup became competitive in the mid-1980s. standings who did not make the team, Three of the six European rookies going for Kuchar, Rickie Fowler and played only once in team matches and Holmes for his first three picks and Ryan went a combined 1-5 in the Ryder Cup. Moore as his final choice after Moore lost Masters champion Danny Willett was in a playoff in the Tour Championship. relentlessly heckled by vocal American The one curious decision Love made in loudmouths after his brother made some regard to his lineups was playing Moore very unflattering comments about U.S.

golf fans in a blog post. He was 0-3 in his Ryder Cup debut, twice failing to get past the 14th hole.

Willett, Andy Sullivan and Matthew Fitzpatrick were a combined 0-7 and veterans Martin Kaymer and Westwood were 1-6, with Kaymer’s only victory coming in singles after the U.S. had already clinched its victory. On a day when Mickelson and Sergio Garcia shot 63, Stenson was 8-under, Koepka 6under and a host of others 4 or 5-under, Sullivan, Willett and Fitzpatrick all failed to finish under par in their singles matches, none of which reached the 18th hole.

The Euros got strong showings from rookies Thomas Pieters (41) and the under-utilized duo of Rafa Cabrera-Bello (2-0-1) and Chris Wood (1-1 with a tough singles loss to D.J.), but when five of your 12 players contribute little or nothing, the chances of victory are minimal.

Even with the snub of Bubba, who contributed to the team as a last-minute addition as an assistant captain, the U.S. team had three players with Georgia ties among its 12 participants, along with the captain.

Former Augusta State star Reed was one of the U.S. leaders, going 2-1-1 in team play with Jordan Spieth, who contributed little in a decisive victory over Euro stalwarts Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson in the final four-ball session.

Reed had seven birdies and an eagle in that match, one day after he and Spieth were steamrolled by Rose and Stenson in four-ball.

After a strong showing in alternate shot in the first match of the Ryder Cup, a win over Rose and Stenson, Reed and Spieth squandered a 4-up lead after 12 holes in alternate shot the next day against Garcia and Cabrera-Bello, carding six birdies over the first 12 holes before making three straight bogeys.

For eight holes, Reed’s leadoff singles match against Rory McIlroy was likely the most explosive battle in Ryder Cup history, with both players 5-under at that point after each produced a succession of great shots and monster putts. Neither could sustain that level of play the rest of the way, but Reed won the match with two birdies on the last three holes to OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

served as an alternate shot specialist, splitting two matches with new partner Walker. Johnson and Walker were 1down after 11 holes the first day against Garcia and Kaymer and had not won a hole, but won the next five holes in succession, three with birdies, to win 4-2 in a U.S. sweep of the session.

Johnson and Walker were 3-down to Rose and Wood the next day after 13 holes, and almost pulled off another comeback, winning 14 and 16 with birdies before losing 1-up. Johnson made sure there would be no late rally in singles by the Euros, pulling away on the back nine to win the anchor match 4&3 over Fitzpatrick. Johnson was one of three St. Simons Island residents who were part of the U.S. victory along with Kuchar and captain Love.

There was a lot of attention focused on the task force created after the most recent U.S. loss at Gleneagles in 2014, with the players having more input into decision making after Tom Watson received criticism, most of it from Mickelson, for not including the players more.

The only visible impact of the task force was the “Billy Horschel rule,”

which gave Love a last-minute pick.

Horschel was not picked two years ago before winning the last two Playoffs events, including the Tour Championship, after the roster was finalized.

That resulted in Love essentially being forced to select Moore with the pick to justify the process, leaving the U.S. with a team that did not fit the two Ryder Cup formats as well as it would have with Watson on the squad. But it did make the U.S. stronger in singles, as Watson is winless in Ryder/Presidents Cup play.

It denied golf fans an entertaining Holmes/Watson pairing in four-ball, but the already rowdy U.S. fans didn’t need any more incentive.

Some of the spectators from the Howard Stern/Donald Trump segment of the populace were outright rude and boorish toward the Euros, something the NBC broadcasters made an effort to ignore.

Since the “War at the Shore” at Kiawah Island in

1991, the Ryder Cup has taken on a more contentious atmosphere, with the crowds moving in the direction from partisan to insulting. Let’s hope the 2018 galleries in Paris don’t become more like a European soccer crowd.

Zach Johnson

STEVE DINBERG

thwart the European hope of running the table in the early matches.

Fowler also helped in that regard with a less spectacular win over Rose, and Mickelson did more than his share, getting only a half point despite 10 birdies in his match against Garcia.

Mickelson’s Ryder Cup record has been stellar early and late in his career, with a pronounced dip in the middle, which coincided with America’s struggles. He split two matches with Fowler the first day, and teamed nicely with Kuchar for a key win in four-ball on Saturday.

Kuchar and Dustin Johnson resumed their 2014 partnership the first day, winning easily in alternate shot, but Kuchar did not provide much help in four-ball that afternoon in a loss. Love paired him in that format the next day with Mickelson, with the two making for the best-natured pairing of the matches.

After leading 3-up in singles against Kaymer following a sizzling start, Kaymer rallied to win 1-up in a match decided well after the U.S. had wrapped up its victory. Kuchar finished with a 22 record.

As has been the case in most of his Ryder Cup appearances, Zach Johnson

FOREGEORGIA.COM

15

Wyatt benefits from Web.com cancellation

2 from St. Simons earn PGA Tour cards

By Mike Blum

he cancellation of the Web.com Tour Championship by the of Hurricane threat Matthew made one Georgia resident very happy and a few others with ties to the state frustrated after seeing their hopes of a return to the PGA Tour dashed.

With the 2016-17 PGA Tour opener set for the following week in California, the Web.com Championship, scheduled to be played in the Jacksonville area, could not be postponed and was cancelled.

As a result, the top 25 players in earnings through the first three Wesley Bryan events of the Web.com Finals earned their PGA Tour cards for 2016-17 along with the top 25 finishers on the Web.com money list for the 2016 week.

In the first Web.com Finals event at regular season.

Canterbury in Cleveland, Wyatt shot 7Among the players who benefitted under 63 in the opening round, but was from the cancellation was St. Simons 13-over the last three days and finished Island resident Bobby Wyatt, who was outside the top 60. He was 24th and 22nd on the money list when the Tour 12th the next two weeks to move into Championship was cancelled. Wyatt was the top 25, approximately $2,500 ahead of the Thompson, who also played his colplayer in 26th place, and would have lege golf at Alabama, has one win in six needed a solid showing in the Web.com seasons on the PGA Tour, but finished finale to remain in the top 25. just inside the top 150 for a second Wyatt, a member of Alabama’s backstraight season in 2015-16. He regained to-back NCAA Championship teams in his exempt status for a second straight 2013-14, joins six players with Georgia year in the Web.com Finals, scoring an ties, three of them also living on St. impressive win in Boise, where he shot Simons Island, who qualified for the 23-under to win by three.

Thompson fin2016-17 PGA Tour by virtue of their top ished second on the Finals money list, and 25 finish on this year’s Web.com money list. Michael Thompson, also a St. is third in the priority ranking among the Simons resident, retained his PGA Tour Web.com graduates entering the 2016status thanks to a victory in the second of 17 PGA Tour season. His PGA Tour victory came in the 2013 Honda Classic. three Web.com Finals events in Boise.

Thanks to three wins on the Web.com Wesley Bryan, Richy Werenski, Tour this year, Bryan finished the year Ollie Schniederjans, Trey Mullinax with almost $450,000 in earnings to end and J.T. Poston all finished among the up No. 1 on the money list, and will join top 10 in earnings during the Web.com Thompson at the top of the priority Tour regular season, with Rick Lamb rankings among the 50 PGA Tour qualinarrowly making the top 25 at No. 24. fiers.

Bryan, a 2012 South Carolina Wyatt did not play on the Web.com graduate who is living in Augusta, had Tour this year, playing his way into the never played a Web.com or PGA Tour Finals thanks to a fourth place finish in event before this year.

The Columbia, the weather-shortened PGA Tour event S.C., native made four PGA Tour starts in New Orleans that gave him enough in 2016, with his best showing a tie for FedExCup points to qualify. He did not eighth in the John Deere Classic. do much in his five other PGA Tour Werenski, who completed his college starts in 2015-16, but is now a PGA career at Georgia Tech in 2014, was Tour member after his one successful

Michael Thompson

T

16

FOREGEORGIA.COM

second on the regular season money list, but fell to fourth after making only one of three cuts in the Finals and is sixth in the priority ranking. Werenski won the annual pro-am event played in Greenville, S.C., and had three other runner-up finishes in his second season on the tour. Prior to playing his first season on the Web.com Tour, Werenski won the last Big Break event on Golf Channel to earn a spot in the inaugural 2015 PGA Tour event at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail course in Opelika, Ala. Schniederjans, Werenski’s teammate at Georgia Tech for three seasons, finished seventh on the final Web.com money list after entering the Finals in sixth place He is 12th in the priority ranking. He lost an early-season playoff in Colombia, won in a playoff in Wichita, and contended a few weeks later in Utah, but struggled the last two months of a long season, which included seven starts on the 2015-16 PGA Tour.

Schniederjans grew up in Powder Springs before starring at Georgia Tech.

Mullinax, Wyatt’s teammate at Alabama, is one of a number of young tour players who have settled on St. Simons, and ended the year 10th on the money list after being eighth going into the Finals. He lost ground despite tying for 13th in the Finals opener in Cleveland, and is ranked 18th overall. A win in Raleigh, N.C., was the highlight of Mullinax’s second season on the tour.

Playing on a sponsor’s exemption, he tied for 25th in last year’s RSM Classic at Sea Island GC. Poston, a 2015 Western Carolina graduate, began the 2016 season with no status on the Web.com Tour, but tied for 23rd in his first start after Monday qualifying for the event, and placed third the next week in Raleigh to play his way onto the tour. He added a pair of runnerup finishes to finish 10th in the regular season in earnings, but slipped to 14th after the Finals. He is ranked 26th among the 50 PGA Tour qualifiers.

Lamb, who has moved to St. Simons along with Mullinax, Poston and other young tour pros, won an event in the Lake Erie area after successfully Monday qualifying, and tied for third about a month later in Knoxville, where he played his college golf for Tennessee.

Lamb was 24th in earnings during the regular season, but is ranked 38th after a tie for 10th in the Finals opener.

Among the players most disappointed with the cancellation was Henrik Norlander, a key member of Augusta State’s national championship teams in 2010 and ’11. He has played two years each on the PGA and Web.com Tours since 2013, but will be back on the Web.com after placing 164th in the FedExCup standings this season and missing the top 25 in the Web.com Finals by less than $800, finishing 28th among those not already exempt for the 2016-17 PGA Tour. He made the cut in all three tournaments in the Finals, tying for 13th in Cleveland.

PGA Tour veteran Jonathan Byrd will be back on the Web.com Tour next year after tying for 46th in the Finals money list with a tie for 18th in the third (and what turned to be final) Finals tournament. He was 48th on the regular season money list after playing just one PGA Tour event after March. Byrd, a [ See Web.com Tour, page 31 ] OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

FOREGEORGIA.COM

17

5 Georgians qualify for first of 3 events

ED C. THOMPSON PHOT OGRAPHY

Champions Tour holds first ever Playoffs

By Mike Blum

or the first time, the Champions Tour will conclude its season with three Playoffs events that will determine the Charles Schwab Cup champion.

Five Georgians will be among the 72 players who will comprise the field for the inaugural Schwab Cup Playoffs event Oct. 28-30 at Sherwood CC in Los Angeles. The top 72 on the money list will qualify for the Playoffs opener, with the field reduced to 54 for the tournament in Richmond, Va., the next week, and the top 36 in the standings making it to the Schwab Cup Championship in Scottsdale, Az., Nov. 11-13.

Like the FedExCup Playoffs on the PGA Tour, points will be reset after the second Champions Tour Playoffs tournament, giving all 36 players in Scottsdale at least a mathematical possibility of winning the championship.

Leading the way among the Georgia contingent on the Champions Tour this year has been Savannah’s Gene Sauers, who scored an impressive first victory in four seasons on the tour, winning the U.S. Senior Open, the most prestigious title in senior golf.

Thanks largely to his one-shot victory over Miguel Angel Jimenez, who is second in the standings behind Bernhard Langer, Sauers is seventh on the money list with almost $1.2 million

F

Billy Andrade

18

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Larry Mize

in earnings. Sauers was 23rd, 10th and 26th on the money list his first three seasons on the Champions Tour, compiling four runner-up finishes and four third place showings before breaking through in the U.S. Senior Open.

In addition to his victory, Sauers has a pair of fourth place ties this season in Wisconsin and Seattle, coming within a shot of getting into a playoff in Seattle the week after he won the U.S. Senior Open. Sauers has enjoyed a successful season in the senior majors this year, tying for 12th in the Tradition in Birmingham, for 14th in the PGA Senior and for 18th in the British Senior Open.

Atlanta resident Billy Andrade has yet to win in 2016 after scoring three victories last year, including one in the season-ending Schwab Cup Championship.

Andrade is ninth on the money list this year without a victory, with two runner-up finishes and a total of seven top-5 showings, the most recent a tie for third in Newport Beach, Cal. Andrade lost a playoff in Boca Raton early in the 2016 season, and finished one shot out of a playoff in Iowa, shooting a 63 in the second round. Among his nine top 10s on the season are a tie for fifth in the PGA Senior and a tie for ninth in the British Senior Open.

After finishing 27th in earnings in his first Champions Tour season in 2014, Andrade

was fourth last year.

Duluth’s Scott Dunlap was 14th and 13th on the money list his first two seasons, winning as a “rookie” in 2014, and had held his Gene Sauers position this year, standing 17th thanks to another solid showing.

Dunlap got off to a strong start, tying for third early in the season in south Florida spot in the top 72 and qualify for the and finishing second in the Mississippi Playoffs. His best finish was a tie for sevGulf Coast Classic when Jimenez shot 64 enth in the Senior PGA, where he closed in the final round to win by two. with a 66. He recently tied for 12th in Dunlap was sixth and third in the two Canada, shooting a 64 in the final round.

Canadian events on the Champions Tour, Playing in his eighth season on tour, repeating the success he found in the long-time Columbus resident Larry country early in his professional career. Mize has played well in the majors this He shot 65-63 the final two rounds in year and moved up from 63rd to 39th Calgary but was well back in sixth place, after his best finishes in more than four and contended recently in British years. Following a final round 65 in Columbia, ending up only two shots out Newport Beach, Mize finished third, of a playoff. only two shots out of a playoff.

Georgia’s newest member of the The following week, Mize tied for Champions Tour is Augusta’s Scott third again in North Carolina, again Parel, who is 59th on the money list making a strong run at victory in the despite beginning the year with no status final round. on the tour other than access to the Mize tied for ninth in the Tradition, weekly Monday and Tuesday qualifiers. for 16th and in the PGA Senior and for Parel has been near perfect in those 20th in the Senior Players, with his prequalifiers, and has earned enough money vious best finish in a non-major this to get into a handful of events without season a tie for 32nd. having to qualify. After waiting until he Marietta’s Larry Nelson recently was around 30 to turn pro, Parel spent turned 69 and is nearing the end of his his early years as a tour pro on various Champions Tour career. Nelson won 20 southeast mini-tours before playing for times on tour between 1998 and 2004.

10 seasons on the Web.com Tour He has made eight starts this year with between 2003 and 2015. several finishes around 30th. In a recent After making one Champions Tour start start in Minnesota before his birthday, he last year, Parel has made 13 starts in 2016, matched his age with a 4-under 68 in the and has earned over $220,000 to lock up a opening round.

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

PGA Tour

[ Continued from page 8 ]

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

AL KOOISTRA

closed out 2016 by making his last 12 cuts, including a T15 in the Boston Playoffs event. Has just one top 10 in each of his three years, and needs to finish better after successful starts.

Scott Brown (80), Augusta native: Finished between 80 and 94 in the standings for the fourth straight year, improving 14 spots from 2015. Three of his four top 10s came during the Florida/Puerto Rico swing, but had only one finish better than 25th after that.

Patton Kizzire (82), St. Simons resident: After leading the Web.com Tour in earnings in 2015, began his PGA 201516 schedule with ties for second in Las Vegas and fourth in Mississippi last Fall.

Added three more top 10s in 2016, but ran out of gas the last four months of the season.

Russell Henley (87), Macon native/UGA: After placing 44, 19 and 63 in the FedExCup standings his first three seasons, fell back in 2016, missing almost as many cuts (12) as he made (13).

Won in each of his first two seasons, but only came close in ’16 in Houston (T5) after two strong showings last Fall.

Bryce Molder (89), Georgia Tech: Was having one of his better seasons in his 10-year PGA Tour career before an unproductive final three months.

Recorded five top 10s, the last one at Colonial in May. Only win came in 2011 and he has settled into the journeyman role after being a highly-touted collegian.

Jason Bohn (97), Acworth resident: After a fantastic Fall in which he twice finished one shot behind the winner and lost in a playoff, a heart attack suffered during the Honda Classic in early 2016 ended his hopes of a career-best season and almost cost Bohn his life. He was back on the course less than two months later, but a T34 at Colonial was his only finish better than 56th the rest of the year. Bohn has played 13 seasons with two wins and 10 runner-up finishes.

Cameron Tringale (112), Georgia Tech: After finishing 20th and 36th the two previous seasons on points list, had his lowest finish last year since his rookie year of 2010. Had a second place finish in Las Vegas last Fall, the third in the last three years, but a tie for 14th was his best effort in 2016.

Luke List (122), grew up in north Georgia: Lost his card after rookie season in 2013, but things went better this year for the former Vanderbilt golfer, despite

15 missed cuts in 27 starts. Struggled the second half of the season after a number of solid efforts on the West Coast, Florida and Texas, saving his season with a final round 67 in Canada for a T14 following a third round 77.

Will Wilcox (138), Clayton State: Slipped from 97 in the FedExCup standings, but has three tournaments on a medical extension to match the point total of the player who finished 125th and retain his exempt status. If not, will still be able to play a limited schedule with his current status after a season that started respectably but ended with a number of missed cuts and injury withdrawals prior to scheduled starts.

Stewart Cink (147), Georgia Tech/Duluth resident: What was already a disappointing first half of the season became an afterthought after his wife Lisa was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Played sporadically after that, but finished the season with a T14 in Greensboro, his best showing of the season. Was one of golf’s best for a decade, but began to lose his game about two years after winning the British Open in 2009.

Davis Love (188), St. Simons resident: Has a career exemption with 21 wins and a major, and started last season at the age of 51 by making the cut in his first nine starts. However, did not have a top 30 in that span, and after three missed cuts and two withdrawals, underwent hip surgery to fix a lingering problem. Victory in Greensboro late in the 2014-15 season was his first since 2008.

Brian Harman

FOREGEORGIA.COM

19

Weinhart takes fifth title in GPGA event Wraps up ninth Player of Year honor

By Mike Blum

144, and Jeff Frasier, who was sixth at 145.

Five players tied for the final qualifying spot at 146, with Mark Anderson winning the playoff with a birdie on the second extra hole.

Next year’s PGA Professional Championship will be played in late June at Oregon’s Sunriver Resort, which was designed by Atlanta-based golf course architect Bob Cupp, who recently passed away.

Weinhart, who heads up the Tim Weinhart Golf Academy at Heritage Golf Links, trailed Claxton by one shot

im Weinhart did not need to win the 2016 Georgia PGA Professional Championship to qualify for next year’s national club professional championship or to earn his ninth Player of the Year award.

Weinhart had already earned a berth in next year’s PGA Professional Championship thanks to his recent win in the Georgia PGA Championship at Sea Island Golf Club, and was in position to earn Player of the Year honors with a strong, non-winning finish in the recent

T

Craig Stevens

Sonny Skinner

GEORGIA PGA

GEORGIA PGA

PGA qualifier at the Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation.

Although he may have lacked the incentive of the state’s other top club professionals to play well in the Georgia PGA Professional Championship, it certainly wasn’t reflected in Weinhart’s play.

With rounds of 70 and 69, Weinhart shot 5-under 139 on the Rees Jonesdesigned Oconee Course to finish two ahead of Sonny Skinner, who was runner-up to Weinhart for the second time in less than a month.

Karen Paolozzi, who was exempt into next year’s national club pro championship thanks to her top-10 finish in the event earlier this year, tied for third at 142 with Georgia PGA veteran Craig Stevens and long-time tour player Paul Claxton, who joined the club professional ranks earlier this year.

Claxton will play in next year’s PGA Professional Championship for the first time along with fellow first timers Justin Martin, who finished fifth at

20

FOREGEORGIA.COM

after the opening round, and the two were paired together the next day in the final group along with Martin, who matched Weinhart’s opening 70. Claxton and Martin were both over par in the second round, while Weinhart was one of two players to break 70 on the day.

Skinner, who began the second round with birdies on the first three holes, took the lead after shooting 4-under on the front nine, but fell back following a double bogey on the par-4 12th. He shot 70 for a 141 total. Stevens posted the low round of the tournament with a 68 after opening with a 74.

Prior to the tournament, Weinhart said he had “some back issues, but I sorted it out.” He started both rounds with birdies on Oconee’s par-5 opening hole and had nine birdies over two days, six of them on par 5s.

Weinhart has won all four of the Georgia’s majors, but his most success has come in the qualifying event for the national club pro event. He has won the

tournament five times since 2006, and lost in a playoff the first time the event was played in 1997.

“This tournament has always been very important to me,” Weinhart said. “This is the tournament I’ve won the most in the Georgia PGA.”

last year with 7-time award winner Gregg Wolff, a veteran Georgia PGA

member Weinhart has a great deal of respect for.

“Gregg is the nicest man I’ve ever met in my life,” said Weinhart, who tied Wolff by winning Player of the Year honors from 2002-05 and 2009-11. He did not win the award again until last year, part of a 4-year Tim Weinh art stretch in which Weinhart did not win a Georgia PGA points event.

Weinhart broke the tie with Wolff last year despite not winning a tournament, but wrapped up his ninth title this year with consecutive victories in the final two events of the season.

With his ninth title imminent, Weinhart says Wolff told him. “You can’t stop until you get to double digits,” and Weinhart “that’s definitely a goal to keep trying for and keep moving in that direction.”

Even though the Georgia PGA is done for 2016 except for a few team events, Weinhart will have a busy last few months to the year. He will comWeinhart’s four previous victories came on courses he was very pete in a pro-am in Mexico as well as a familiar with, but he had limited experi- club pro event in Charlotte that serves as ence on the Oconee Course, playing it a qualifier for a TaylorMade-sponsored once in a Georgia PGA North Chapter tournament at Pebble Beach.

The big week on Weinhart’s remaining event prior to a pre-tournament practice round. Weinhart carded eight birdies in 2016 schedule is the PGA Tour RSM the practice round and came away with Classic at Sea Island Golf Club, where positive feelings about the golf course, Weinhart won the recent Georgia PGA which he carried over into the tourna- Championship. Weinhart has played well several times in the tournament, but has ment.

When Weinhart arrives in Oregon for narrowly missed the cut and is looking next year’s PGA Professional forward to teeing it up again against the Championship, he will be playing on two best players in the game.

Weinhart had competed in the PGA courses he has competed on several times.

This will be the fourth time Weinhart Professional Championship 15 straight has played at Sunriver Resort in years before having his streak broken in nationals, and while he made the cut two 2014. He will be making his 17th of the last three times, he has yet to appearance this year after returning to record a top-20 finish there to qualify for nationals last year.

Like Weinhart, Skinner and Stevens the PGA Championship.

Weinhart has qualified for the PGA have been fixtures at the PGA Championship five times at other courses Professional Championship for the past that have hosted the club pro champi- decade, even longer for Stevens.

Skinner, the head pro at Spring Hill onship, and hopes to make a sixth appearance next year when the PGA in Tifton, qualified for nationals nine Championship will be played at Quail straight times since becoming eligible in 2006, skipping one year to compete in a Hollow in Charlotte.

Winning the GPGA Professional Champions Tour event before missing Championship clinched Weinhart’s ninth Player of the Year award. He broke a tie [ See GPGA, page 23 ] OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

3 GPGA ‘rookies’ qualify for nationals Martin, Frasier join ex-tour pro Claxton

By Mike Blum

he Georgia PGA contingent for the 2017 PGA Professional Championship will include three players competing in the national club pro championship for the first time, but one of the three hardly fits the description of rookie.

From 1995-2014, Vidalia native Paul Claxton competed on either the PGA or what is now the Web.com Tour, playing 16 years on the latter and four years as a PGA Tour member. Claxton won twice during his time on the Web.com Tour and is still the second leading all-time money leader on that tour, retaining his standing in career earnings since leaving the tour two years ago.

Claxton has returned to his hometown and accepted the position of head pro at Hawk’s Point GC in Vidalia, and has been playing Georgia PGA events this year after more than two decades as a tour player. He has three finishes of fourth or better in Section events this year, with his most recent finish a tie for third in the Georgia PGA Professional Championship at Reynolds Plantation’s Oconee Course earning him his first ever trip to the national club pro championship in Oregon next June.

In his first year of competing in Georgia PGA events, Claxton placed fourth in the final points standings, and should again be a factor in the Player of the Year race next year. Claxton turns 50 early in 2018 and has his eye on Champions Tour qualifying late next year with the hope of resuming his career as a tour player.

The other two Georgia first-timers in next year’s PGA Professional Championship are Justin Martin, the Director of Golf at the First Tee facility at Atlanta’s John A. White Park, and Jeff Frasier, an instructor at Chicopee Woods in Gainesville.

Martin, 31, is an Atlanta native and a product of the First Tee program in Atlanta. He was a teen-ager when John A. White Park became part of the First Tee program, and went on to play in college at Hampton University in Virginia before joining the club professional ranks.

“It means a lot to give back to a place that means a lot to me,” said Martin, who

Jeff Frasier

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

GEORGIA PGA

T

Paul Claxton

has been the Director of Golf at Atlanta’s First Tee facility since early this year. The job is Martin’s first as a head pro after serving as an assistant in Williamsburg, Va., and for two years at Crooked Creek in north Fulton.

This was Martin’s second attempt at qualifying for the PGA Professional Championship, following a disappointing and somewhat painful first try last year.

Martin achieved his Class A PGA status last year in time to enter the Georgia PGA qualifier, which was played at Dunwoody CC, where he worked briefly after returning to the Atlanta area from Virginia. He was looking forward to playing at a course he was familiar with, but was in a car accident the day before the tournament started, and said that “threw me out of sorts.

“My goal was to get to the (PGA Professional Championship),” Martin said. “I had built my game for that tournament.”

Martin was also hampered by what he described as a “nerve and muscle injury” and was healthy for only one tournament last year. Prior to this year’s PGA PC, he said he felt his game “had turned in the right direction,” and he came through with his best showing in a Georgia PGA points event, finishing sixth at the Oconee Course at Reynolds Plantation with a score of even par 144.

An opening round 70 left Martin only one shot out of the lead after 18 holes, and earned him a pairing in the final group the next day with Claxton, the first round leader, and Tim Weinhart,

who went on to win the tournament and lock up his ninth Georgia PGA Player of the Year title.

“I’ve played with (Sonny) Skinner and (James) Mason and (Craig) Stevens. The last guy I had not played with was Weinhart,” Martin said of four of the Georgia PGA’s most accomplished players. “It was a fun pairing and I learned a lot. I’m a kid. I’m only 31.”

Martin hung around par the entire second round for 17 holes and was well inside the cut line needed to qualify for nationals as he played the difficult 18th hole at Oconee.

“I played very good until the last hole, but I had never been as nervous,” Martin said. “I was just trying not to fall over.”

Martin did not know exactly where he stood regarding the number he needed to shoot to qualify, and said, “I needed to know. I was driving myself crazy.”

He got into some trouble on the hole and wound up making a double bogey, but his final round 74 was good enough to avoid a multi-player playoff at 146 and gave him a sixth place finish at 144.

“To hit all the shots required during the final round when I knew what I was playing for is a confidence boost,” said Martin, who offered that qualifying for nationals is “absolutely awesome. That was a goal I had at the beginning of the year.”

Martin said his most important shot of the tournament was a 15-foot bogey putt he made on the ninth hole in the opening round. He managed to save bogey after driving in the water, and said “that putt was huge for my confidence.” He shot 4-

Justin Martin

under 32 without a bogey on the back nine to put himself in position to make his first trip to nationals.

Frasier let a solid first round slip away a bit when he bogeyed the final two holes for a 75, which left him four shots out of the top eight, the number of qualifiers the Georgia PGA was going to send to nationals.

“I hit the ball well,” Frasier said of his play the first day. “But I had a couple of unfortunate breaks and drew a couple of tough lies in bunkers.”

Frasier said he thought he needed to shoot around 1-under the second day to have a chance, with his 36-hole target number 146. He carded back-to-back birdies on holes 4 and 5, with his only bogey of the day at the long, par-3 13th, where he missed a 5-footer for par.

Other than that, Frasier did not make any mistakes, hitting 16 greens with no three-putts. He birdied the par-3 15th, parred in from there for a 70, and waited until the groups came in behind him to see if his 145 total would hold up.

As it turned out, Frasier finished seventh outright, avoiding a large playoff for the final spot at 146.

Frasier said he “is very excited” about playing at nationals for the first time, and the day after earning his spot admitted “it hasn’t hit me yet.”

There is about nine months between the Georgia PGA qualifier and nationals next June, and Frasier says “that gives me a way to prepare and get my game stronger. On the other hand, that’s a long time between now and then.”

FOREGEORGIA.COM

21

Pittman captures GPGA Senior title Outlasts Spratlin in 9-hole playoff

By Mike Blum

fter turning 50 less than a month before the Georgia PGA Senior Professional Forest Championship, Heights head professional Drew Pittman made an auspicious debut in his first senior tournament appearance, winning the recent event at historic Glen Arven CC in Thomasville.

Pittman’s victory took a while, however, as he needed nine playoff holes to win against Currahee Club Director of Golf Clark Spratlin. After the two players matched pars on the first five playoff holes, both birdied the next two holes before making bogey at the eighth.

Pittman finally ended the playoff with a birdie at the ninth to collect the winner’s check of $1,500.

The tournament also served as the Georgia PGA’s qualifier for the PGA Senior Professional Championship, which will be

A

ROB MATRE

Clark Spratlin

played Nov. 17-20 at the PGA GC in south Florida. Seven Georgians qualified for the senior club professional national championship, with Pittman and Spratlin, a relative newcomer to the senior ranks, joined by five of the Section’s outstanding group of over-50 members.

Pittman and Spratlin both finished with 8-under 136 totals, with Pittman closing with a 5-under 67 and Spratlin carding a 69 in the final round after opening with a 67 to lead after the first day. Marietta CC Director of Golf Stephen Keppler was third at 137, closing with a tournament best 66.

Spring Hill CC head pro Sonny Skinner was fourth at 138 after scores of 68-70, with Dillard’s James Mason, who plays out of the Orchard, fifth at 7069—139.

Getting the final two spots at nationals were instructors Craig Stevens of Brookstone G&CC and Mark Anderson of Brunswick CC. Both players tied at 140, with Stevens posting back-to-back scores of 70 and Anderson closing with a 67.

Ansley GC Director of Golf Phil Taylor birdied his final two holes, but fell just short of getting into a playoff with Stevens and Anderson, finishing at 141 after a final round 71.

Spratlin got off to a fast start in the tournament, notching birdies on four of his first seven holes in the opening round and finishing with a 67, one ahead of Skinner and two in front of Pittman.

The three players were paired together in the final round and engaged in a tight battle before Skinner birdied holes 9 and 10 to take a 2-stroke lead.

When Skinner bogeyed the 12th and Spratlin

Stephen Keppler GEORGIA PGA

GEORGIA PGA

22

James Mason

FOREGEORGIA.COM

birdied the 13th, the two were tied, and Pittman made it a 3-way tie at the top when he birdied the 16th. Spratlin and Pittman both birdied the 17th to move one ahead of Skinner, who fell to fourth with a bogey at the 18th.

Keppler made a late run on the final nine, shooting 5-under 31 the second day, highlighted by an eagle on the par-4 15th, which he followed with birdies at Drew Pittman 16 and 18. Anderson also produced a strong final round effort to qualify for nationals, says he has “gotten interested in carding seven birdies including three on playing again,” and put on a strong perhis last four holes to edge out Taylor for formance in his victory at Glen Arven. the final qualifying spot.

Pittman hit 16 greens in regulation in Pittman has won three Chapter cham- both rounds, and earned his win with pionships and two team titles in his years three birdies on the last four playoff in the Georgia PGA Section, but this was holes. He needed putts of only about five his first win in a points event. It will also feet on both the sixth and seventh playoff be his first trip to a national club profes- holes, and put an end to the lengthy sional championship conducted by the playoff when he made birdie from 12 feet PGA of America. on the ninth extra hole.

“I’ve never been to nationals,” Pittman “I had bogeyed nine each of the first said. “I’m excited about it. My family may two rounds and those were my only go with me and make a vacation out of it.” bogeys,” Pittman said. “Making birdie Pittman is a veteran of the Georgia on the hole in the playoff felt good.”

PGA Section and enjoyed some success in Pittman had a chance to win the his 30s, qualifying for two of the state’s playoff on the previous hole, but missed defunct tour events – the PGATour stop his par attempt from just inside five feet. at Callaway Gardens and the Hogan (now It was the second time Pittman and Web.com) Tour tournament in Macon. Spratlin had gone multiple holes in a He made a few attempts at PGA Tour playoff. The two needed five holes to qualifying and came close to qualifying decide a playoff for an alternate’s spot in for the national club pro championship, a Georgia PGA qualifier for the making it to regionals four times when BellSouth Classic when the event was there was an added qualifier between the still played at Atlanta Country Club Section and nationals. more than two decades ago.

“It’s fun to be playing with these guys Like Pittman, Spratlin played quality who I’ve been playing against for 25 golf for 45 holes, also hitting 16 greens years,” Pittman said. in regulation in the opening round and Pittman worked in the Atlanta area for not missing another green until the a number of years when he was a head eighth hole of the playoff. pro with the Canongate family of This is just Spratlin’s second year of courses, but has been in Statesboro for a senior competition. He made it to number of years. He taught out of a nationals last year in his first attempt, Statesboro practice facility for five years tying for 21st at the Bayonet course in while sharing child care responsibilities northern California where he competed with his wife, and has been head pro at in the PGA Professional Championship Forest Heights since mid-2015. previously. Spratln doesn’t have as much “This is perfect,” Pittman says of experience at the south Florida facility Forest Heights. “It’s a good, old fash- that will host the PGA Senior event, but ioned country club.”

Now that he has turned 50, Pittman [ See GPGA Senior, page 25 ] OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

GPGA

[ Continued from page 20 ]

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

“I was fine when we kept moving, but when I stopped and waited,iIt got stiff,” he said. Anderson hit “an awful 5-wood” that found a hazard he did not know was there. He made double bogey and also bogeyed 16 before a birdie at 17 enabled him to finish at 2-over, a score he did not think would give him a chance to qualify.

Perno and Leake also shot 74-72, with Perno getting to 2-over for the tournament with a birdie at 16. Leake made all three of his birdies the second day on par 5s, and was 1-over before a bogey at the par-3 15th.

Sanders shot 74 in an up-and-down second round that included five birdies, three bogeys and two double bogeys. Birdies at 17 and 18 got him into the playoff. Dixon had nine birdies over two days, including four in a second round 76. After making five birdies in an opening 71, Dixon was 1-under for the second round and 2-under for the tournament after a birdie at 11, but was 4-over the rest of the way with a costly double bogey at the 18th.

The playoff was conducted on the par4 ninth, with Leake and Sanders dropping out after making bogey on the first extra hole. Perno was the only player to hit the green in regulation, with Anderson and Dixon saving par. Dixon

Mark Anderson

GEORGIA PGA

out for the first time last year. He has twice finished as runner-up at nationals, once when the event was played at two different courses at Reynolds Plantation.

He was second behind Weinhart in the 2016 Georgia PGA Player of the Year standings.

Stevens, an instructor at Brookstone G&CC, will be competing at nationals for the 18th time, and has made three appearances in the PGA Championship, including both times Atlanta Athletic Club hosted the event in 2001 and 2011.

Stevens shot himself into contention with a 4-under 32 on the front nine the final day at the Oconee Course, with a bogey at the 18th hole costing him a possible tie for second with Skinner.

Paolozzi, an assistant at Druid Hills GC, was exempt into next year’s PGA PC after tying for seventh earlier this year at the Turning Stone Resort in New York, the first top-10 finish in the event by a female. She shot 72-70 at the Oconee Course to tie for third, and will be making her third start at nationals.

Claxton led after a no-bogey 69 the first day, and was 1-under after 15 holes in the second round and one behind

Weinhart before taking bogeys on two of last three holes for a closing 73. Claxton, the head pro at Hawk’s Point in his home town of Vidalia, played 20 years on either the Web.com (16) or PGA (4) Tours, and remains second on the Web.com’s alltime money list.

In his first year in Georgia PGA competition, Claxton placed fourth in the points standings with a trio of top-4 finishes.

Martin, the head pro at the First Tee facility at John A. White Park, shot 7074, with Frasier closing with a 70 to take sixth place outright.

Anderson, an instructor at Brunswick CC, had never qualified for nationals until he turned 50, but will be making his fifth appearance next year after qualifying for the second straight time, along with three starts in the PGA Senior Professional Championship.

He won a playoff that included Peachtree head pro Donn Perno, Fox Creek head pro Brian Dixon and assistants Chris Leake of the Landings and Matthew Sanders of Oak Mountain.

All shot 2-over 146.

After an opening 74, Anderson was 2under after 12 holes the second day when he had a lengthy wait on the tee at the long, par-3 13th and his back stiffened up.

hit a nice chip while Anderson hit what he described as a “chip/putt” from a spot “I shouldn’t have been in.”

Anderson said he hit the shot a little too hard and verbally instructed his ball “to hit the stick,” which it did, enabling him to save par.

While Dixon missed the green on the second playoff hole and made bogey, both Anderson and Perno gave themselves birdie chances from inside 10 feet.

Anderson putted first and made it. Perno missed and wound up as first alternate with Dixon second.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

23

Weinhart’s clutch late play secures victory

Georgia PGA scores narrow win in Peters Cup

By Mike Blum

he biennial Peters Cup, which matches the top players of the Georgia PGA and GSGA, consists of 32 matches. After 31 matches of the most recent competition at the Legends at Chateau Elan, the score was tied 15 ½ to 15 ½.

All the singles matches were complete except one, a battle between the most prominent players from each organization. David Noll of Dalton has won the GSGA’s three most significant events a total of nine times, and was playing Tim Weinhart, a 9-time Georgia PGA Player of the Year.

After the team teams split the only two other closely contested matches

T

Kyle Owen

Todd Ormsby

among the last eight on the singles schedule, it came down to Noll vs.

Weinhart in a rematch of past Peters Cup showdowns. Noll took a 2-up lead when Weinhart said he “butchered” the par-3 12th and took double bogey.

At that point, Weinhart says his thought process was, “I needed to birdie every hole to the house. I was trying to pretend that no one was here, like I was playing by myself and wanted to make lots of birdies.”

Weinhart was far from alone on the closing holes of his match, as almost all the players from both teams took their carts back out on the course to follow the decisive match.

Five holes and four birdies later, Weinhart scored a 2&1 win over Noll to give the Georgia PGA its fourth straight win in the matches by a 16 ½ to 15 ½ score. The GSGA recorded four consecutive victories prior to the more recent win streak of the Georgia PGA. Like the 2014 Peters Cup, which was played at Champions Retreat outside Augusta, the most recent competition 24

FOREGEORGIA.COM

(Oct. 16-17) was close all the way. The teams split the four best-ball matches the first morning of competition, with the GSGA going 4-3-1 in alternate shot that afternoon to take an 8 ½ to 7 ½ lead.

The Georgia PGA got off to a strong start in singles, winning six of the first eight, but the GSGA won matches 9 through 13, four of them decisively. The Georgia PGA pulled even on wins by Sonny Skinner and Brian Dixon, leaving it up to Weinhart, who won the last two Georgia PGA non-senior events of 2016 to lock up his ninth Player of the Year title.

Weinhart began his comeback by hitting his approach within three feet for birdie at the par-4 13th, and rolled in a birdie putt of some 20 feet at the par-5 14th to square the match, with Noll missing from about half that length.

After the par-3 15th was halved with pars, Weinhart drove into a greenside bunker on the short par-4 16th and was conceded his birdie putt of about six feet after Noll made bogey following an errant tee shot. Weinhart locked up his victory with another birdie putt in the 20-foot

last pairing was teeing off.

Ormsby had to go 18 holes to win his singles match Erik against Martin, which began with seven halved straight holes. The two players split the next four holes with two wins each before Ormsby took a lead with a birdie at the 16th. Martin pulled even with a birdie at 17 before Georgia PGA's winning Peters Cup team Ormsby won the 18th with a par to take the match 1-up. range at the 17th for his fourth birdie in Stevens and Keppler won both their five holes and a clinching 2&1 victory. senior matches handily over the duo of As his match progressed, Weinhart Savannah residents Doug Hanzel and was able to keep up with how the other Jack Hall, whose preparation for the matches were progressing through live Peters Cup was sidetracked by the damage scoring updates from Golf GameBook, done in their area by Hurricane Matthew. and knew it was going to come down to Hall struggled in his singles match his match against Noll. He responded against Stevens, but Hanzel took Keppler with a clutch effort down the stretch as to the 18th hole, losing 1-up after making the Georgia PGA extended its winning a comeback on the back nine. streak thanks to strong efforts from a Keppler led 2-up after 12, but Hanzel number of players other than Weinhart. rolled in a long birdie putt at the 14th to Four members of the Georgia PGA team square the match. Keppler got a half at 15 posted perfect 3-0 records in the matches, with a clutch par putt and took the lead with Weinhart and Dixon, his partner in with a deft pitch and short birdie putt at team competition, both going 2-0-1.

16. A solid par at the 18th locked up The Georgia PGA duos of Kyle Keppler’s victory, as Hanzel was forced to Owen-Todd Ormsby and Craig scramble after driving into the trees well Stevens-Stephen Keppler both swept right of the fairway. their team matches and went a combined Keppler, one of the Georgia PGA’s 4-0 in singles. Weinhart and Dixon went elite players for more than 25 years, was 1-0-1 in their team matches and both a late addition to the matches. He won in singles, with Dixon tying the replaced James Mason, who qualified matches at 15 ½ to 15 ½ prior to for the Champions Tour event in North Weinhart’s decisive victory.

Carolina, which concluded the day the Dixon led Mark Strickland 4-up Peters Cup began. with four holes to play before Strickland The Georgia PGA’s other two singles won the testy 15th with a par and the victories came from long-time tour inviting 16th with a birdie. Dixon players turned club pros Paul Claxton matched Strickland’s birdie at the par-4 and Skinner, along with Seth McCain.

17th to take his match 2&1.

Claxton and McCain went out early in Owen and Ormsby got the Georgia the pairings, while Skinner jumped out PGA off to a winning start when they won to an early lead in the anchor match the first best ball match on the opening against 16-year-old Georgia Amateur day of play, and scored just one of two champion Colin Bowles, who is some Georgia PGA wins in alternate shot that 40 years younger than Skinner. afternoon. Owen easily won in the first McCain was also part of one of the singles out the next morning, wrapping Georgia PGA’s winning teams in best up his match on the 13th hole just as the ball, taking a 2-up decision with OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

Matthew Evans in one of just two matches that went to the 18th hole.

Weinhart and Dixon also needed 18 holes in their best ball match.

The lone GSGA team to win both its team matches was the duo of former tour players John Engler of Augusta and Atlanta’s Kris Mikkelsen. Engler won his singles match to finish with a 3-0 record, while Mikkelsen lost to Claxton in a Georgia Tech vs. Georgia matchup.

Engler and Mikkelsen were among eight GSGA team members to post winning records. The senior team of Chris Hall and Jeff Belk, both of Marietta, went 1-0-1 in team matches and both won handily in singles. Atlanta’s Cameron Hooper also went 2-0-1 with a big victory in singles.

Going 2-1 with wins in singles were Rob Van Gorder of Acworth, Bob Royak of Alpharetta and Michael

GPGA Senior [ Continued from page 22 ]

is looking for another top-35 finish that would again qualify him for the Senior PGA Championship next year The other Georgia PGA qualifiers for the national club pro championship have been regulars in the event in recent years.

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

Standard of McDonough. Royak and

(GPGA) def. Nic Daugharty-Rob Van Gorder 2&1; Matthew Evans-Seth McCain (GPGA) def. Erik Martin-Mark

Strickland 2-up; Bob Royak-Michael Standard (GSGA) def. Paul Claxton-Hank Smith 3&1; Jeff Belk-Chris Hall (GSGA) def. Drew Pittman-Clark Spratlin 3&2; Keppler-Craig Stevens Stephen (GPGA) def. Jack Hall-Doug Hanzel 3&2; Brian Dixon-Tim Weinhart (GPGA) def. Colin Bowles-Taylor Smith 1-up; John Engler-Kris Mikkelsen (GSGA) def.

Mark Anderson-Joe Finemore 5&3; Cameron Hooper-David Noll (GSGA) def. Bill Murchison-Sonny Skinner 5&4.

(Score: 4-4.)

Alternate Shot: Daugharty-Van Gorder (GSGA) def. Evans-McCain 3&2; Ormsby-Owen (GPGA) def. StandardRoyak 1-up; Strickland-Martin vs. H. Smith-Claxton, AS; Belk-C. Hall vs.

Spratlin-Pittman, AS; Keppler-Stevens (GPGA) def. J. Hall-Hanzel 4&3; Mikkelsen-Engler (GSGA) def.

Murchison-Finemore 1-up; Noll-Hooper

vs. Dixon-Weinhart, AS; T. Smith-Bowles (GSGA) def. Anderson-Skinner 6&5.

(GSGA wins session 4 ½ to 3 ½; leads 8 1/2 to 7 ½.

Singles: Owen (GPGA) def. T. Smith 6&5; Claxton (GPGA) def. Mikkelsen 3&2; Engler (GSGA) def. Evans 2&1; McCain (GPGA) def. Daugharty 5&4; Ormsby (GPGA) def. Martin 1-up; Van Gorder (GSGA) def. Finemore 1-up; Stevens (GPGA) def. J. Hall 6&4; Keppler (GPGA) def. Hanzel 1-up; C. Hall (GSGA) def. Pittman 4&2; Belk (GSGA) def. Spratlin 5&3; Royak (GSGA) def. Anderson 2&1; Standard (GSGA) def. H. Smith 5&4; Hooper (GSGA) def. Murchison 5&4; Dixon (GPGA) def. Strickland 2&1; Weinhart (GPGA) def. Noll 2&1; Skinner (GPGA) def. Bowles 6&4.

(Georgia PGA wins the sessions 9-7 and the Peters Cup 16 ½ - 15 ½.)

Keppler has qualified each year he’s been eligible since 2012, with his best showing a tie for 18th at nationals in 2014.

Skinner has three top 10s in his six appearances in the PGA Senior PC, including a tie for third in 2012. He has been an annual qualifier for the Senior PGA Championship since becoming eligible in 2010.

After competing on the Champions Tour for a decade, Mason made his first appearance in the national senior club pro event in 2013, and has tied for 12th, second and 11th in his only three appearances, making a strong run at victory in 2014.

Stevens has played in the last five senior club pro events and has a pair of top 10s, with his best finish a tie for

third in his first appearance in 2011. Like Skinner, Stevens has won the Georgia PGA’s Senior Professional Championship twice, most recently last year.

Anderson will be playing at senior nationals for a third straight year, and got the Section’s final qualifying spot for the event for the second year in a row after placing second behind Keppler in 2013.

Standard were winners in 4-ball, as were Hooper and Noll. Other alternate shot winners for the GSGA were Van Gorder and Valdosta’s Nic Daugharty, and Bowles and Covington’s Taylor Smith, whose 6&5 victory was the most lopsided of the team matches.

The Peters Cup has been played since the early 1960s and was known as the Challenge Cup until 2007, when it was re-named to honor Billy Peters, one of the most beloved figures in Georgia golf and an inductee into the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 1993. Peters is a former President of the GSGA and a Lifetime Honorary Member of the Georgia PGA. Match Results Best Ball: Todd Ormsby-Kyle Owen

FOREGEORGIA.COM

25

Owls place second in consecutive events Kennesaw, Tech to host Fall tournaments

By Mike Blum

A

Wyatt Larkin, a junior from Morganton, led the Owls, tying for fourth at even par 216, closing with a 69.

Freshman Connor Coffee of Peachtree City shot a final round 70 and tied for ninth at 218, with senior Chris Guglielmo of Cumming contributing a team best 71 in the second round.

Dunwoody’s Marcus Byrd led host Middle Tennessee to a fourth place finish, placing third individually at 215.

Kennesaw also took second in a tournament hosted by North Carolina State, shooting 12-under 840 to finish three behind East Carolina. The Owls posted scores of 278-277-285.

Guglielmo was second individually at 5-under 208 highlighted by a second round 65, the low score of the day. Coffee shot 67 in the second round and tied for fifth at 211, with Pablo RodriguezTabernero T10 at 212 after opening with a 66. Sophomore Jake Fendt of Cumming shot 68 in the first round and tied for 13th at 213.

Duluth’s Benjamin Shipp, a freshman at NC State, tied for fifth at 211 with a second round 67.

Kennesaw hosts its annual Fall event at Pinetree CC Oct. 24-25.

Competing against one of the strongest fields on the Fall schedule, Georgia placed third in the Nike Invitational at Colonial CC in Ft. Worth, Tex. The Bulldogs shot 851, including a 2-under 278 in the second round.

Vanderbilt won at 839 with Florida second at 840.

Jaime Lopez-Rivarola was low

26

FOREGEORGIA.COM

round of 18-under 270 at the famed Ocean Course on Kiawah Island. Budd and Herrmann both shot 66 and Mallonee added a 68 as part of State’s 270 total, but other than a 68 later that day by Herrmann, the Panthers fell back over the final 36 holes.

Georgia State led by nine shots after the opening round, but shot 289 that afternoon to lose the lead. The Panthers wound up seventh at 864, 14 shots behind the winning score, after a final round 305. Herrmann finished third at 209, with Budd 33rd at 218 and Mallonee 38th at 219.

Augusta tied for fifth at Kiawah Island at 863, opening with scores of 284-277. The Jaguars’ Jake Marriott earned medalist honors with scores of 6668-73—207.

Senior Emmanuel Kountakis of Augusta shot a 67 in the second round and tied for 11th at 214.

The Jaguars competed in the tournament in Scottsdale along with Georgia State and Georgia Tech and finished ninth at 859. Kountakis shot a second round 68 and was low for Augusta, tying for 18th at 211.

In the Wolfpack Intercollegiate hosted

by NC State, Augusta was sixth at 863, highlighted by a 10-under 274, the low score of the second round. Kountakis shot 70-69 the first two rounds and wound up tied for 18th at 214.

Georgia Southern shot 3-under 281 in the second round of the tournament at NC State, but fell back the next day and finished T11 at 875. Steven Fisk, a sophomore from Stockbridge, opened with 68 and tied for 26th at 218.

Freshman Brett Barron of Cumming had the low score of the tournament for

GSGA

Preview COLLEGE GOLF

GEORGIA STATE

fter opening its season with an eighth place finish in the Carpet Capital Collegiate, Kennesaw State scored back-to-back runner-up finishes in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and Raleigh, N.C. The Owls finished second behind Mississippi in an event hosted by Middle Tennessee, posting a 10-over 874 total, six shots behind the winning score, after a tournament best 4-under 284 in the final round.

for the Bulldogs, placing sixth at 1under 209. Greyson Sigg, a senior from Augusta, tied for 12th at 71-6972-212 along with Gainesville freshman Spencer Ralston, who was among the leaders after 36 holes with scores of 69-67.

The Bulldogs were also in the field of the tournament at Middle Tennessee and tied for fifth at 883, 15 shots behind Mississippi’s winning score. Ralston was low for Georgia, tying for seventh at 217, with Sigg tying for ninth at 218. Sophomore Tye Waller of Griffin tied for 13th at 220, with the Bulldogs’ lowest score in the tournament a 71.

Georgia had to count a 76 in each of the three rounds.

After opening the Fall with a tie for fifth in the Carpet Capital, Georgia Tech took sixth in a tournament in Scottsdale, Az., shooting 8-under 844 to finish well behind LSU’s winning total.

The Yellow Jackets were 12-under after 36 holes before closing with a 4-over 288.

Chris Petefish was low for the Jackets, tying for ninth at 207, with freshman Luke Schniederjans of Powder SpringsT13 at 208 with scores of 69-67-72. Schniederjans was tournament medalist in the Jackets’ opener at The Farm outside Dalton. Vince Whaley shot a final round 69 for Tech, with Columbus junior James Clark shooting 71-72 the first two days and Albany sophomore Tyler Joiner opening with scores of 72-70.

Georgia Tech hosts its annual Fall tournament at Golf Club of Georgia Oct. 21-23.

Georgia State hosted the tournament in Scottsdale and played well the first two days with scores of 285 and 284, but struggled in the final round and finished 12th in the 16-team field. Nathan Mallonee, a senior from Lexington, was low for the Panthers the first day with a 69. Nathan Williams, a sophomore from Gainesville, shot 71-71 the first two days, with sophomore Nick Budd of Woodstock matching Williams’ second round 71. Alexander Herrmann was low for State in the second round with a 69.

The Panthers opened their Fall schedule in September with a bang, setting a school record with an opening

Spencer Ralston

Chris Guglielmo

the Eagles, a 67 in the second round.

The Eagles opened their Fall schedule at the Ocean Course on Kiawah Island, S.C., and placed fourth at 4-under 860, 10 shots behind the winning score.

Archer Price was sixth at 211 to lead Georgia Southern, with Jake Story T11 at 214. Fisk shot a 68 in the second round, with freshman Alexander DeRosa of Atlanta making his college debut along with Barron and shooting a team best 69 in the opening round.

Barron contributed a second round 72.

Georgia Southern was scheduled to play a tournament in Virginia hosted by Wake Forest, but the event was cancelled due to fog.

Mercer opened its Fall schedule in Myrtle Beach and shot 20-under 844 to finish fifth, 12 shots behind Jacksonville.

Stanton Schorr, a sophomore from Columbus, tied for 10th for the Bears at 6-under 210, shooting a 66 in the first round and a 69 in the third round. Jerry Ren also tied for 10th with a 68 the second day. Hayes Rule, a sophomore from Eatonton, carded three straight scores of 71 and tied for 19th at 213.

Justin Connelly, a senior from McDonough, closed with rounds of 69 and 71, and sophomore Brennan Bogdanovich of Cumming contributed an opening round 71.

The Bears led a tournament hosted by Eastern Kentucky after 18 holes at 1uner 279 but fell back the next two rounds and placed 10th in the 18-team field at 864. Schorr and Connelly both tied for 25th at 214, with Schorr shooting 69 in the opening round and Connelly opening with back-to-back scores of 69.

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

Lady Bulldogs repeat title in Chicago

By Mike Blum

he Georgia women’s team collected its second victory of the Fall season, successfully defending its title in the Windy City Championship.

T

Roundup WOMEN’S

The Lady Bulldogs, who shared the title last year, won outright this time, finishing with a 10-under 854 total for a 4-shot victory over Stanford and five over USC. Bailey Tardy, a sophomore from Peachtree Corners, took second individually after capturing medalist honors last year as a freshman.

Georgia shot 6-under 282 in each of the first two rounds to lead by four after 36 holes, and stayed ahead the final day with a 290 total. Tardy led after scores of 66-69, but finished second by a shot at 9under 207 after closing with a 72.

Harang Lee and Jillian Hollis tied for 10th for the Lady Bulldogs at 215, with Roswell sophomore Rinko Mitsunaga T16 at 217.

Georgia, which won its seasonopening Cardinal Kickoff at Berkeley Hills in Duluth, shot a team record 19under 845 to finish fourth against a strong field in the ANNIKA Intercollegiate at Reunion Resort in Orlando. The Lady Bulldogs finished five behind USC, posting scores of 278-279288.

Tardy was tied for the 36-hole lead at 133 after scores of 67 and 66 before closing with a 74 to tie for third at 207, two behind the winner. Mitsunaga shot 70-71-71—212 to tie for 17th at 212, with Hollis T21 at 213. Mary Ellen Shuman, a senior from St. Simons Island, contributed scores of 72 and 71 the final two days.

In other Georgia Lady Bulldogs news: Former UGA standout Emilie Burger Meason of Hoschton has joined the team as a volunteer assistant. Meason’s senior season in 2013 was the first for Josh Brewer as the UGA head coach.

Georgia was named as a host team for the 2017 NCAA Regionals, which will be played May 8-10. The Regional was 2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

scheduled to be played in North Carolina, but the NCAA has taken all its events out of the state in response to a discriminatory piece of legislation.

Augusta scored back-to-back fourth place finishes after tying for third in its fall opener in the Cardinal Kickoff.

The Lady Jaguars shot 899 to take fourth in a tournament hosted by Texas Tech. Senior Eunice Yi of Evans opened with a 71 and tied for 31st at 228. Senior Jessica Haigwood of Roswell shot 232 and tied for 39th.

Augusta shot a tournament-best 10under 278 in the Lady Paladin Invitational at Furman and finished fourth at 2-over 866, 13 behind Texas. Yi was low for the Lady Jaguars, tying for fifth with scores of 75-68-71—214, four behind the winner. Haigwood opened with a 72 and finished with a 223 total.

Mercer opened its season in Myrtle Beach, tying for seventh with a 916 score at Caledonia GC. Lauren Lightfritz, a freshman from Cumming, tied for 13th in her college debut and was the top finisher for the Lady Bears. Hannah Mae Deems, a junior from Taylorsville, tied for 30th at 229.

Deems led Mercer in the tournament at Furman, tying for 24th at 218 highlighted by a second round 69. The Lady Bears tied for 15th in the 20-team field at 907.

Mercer tied for fifth in a tournament hosted by Missouri with an 881 total, with Deems again leading the team at 220. She shot 70 in the first round and ended up tied for 21st. Lightfritz was T30 at 222, shooting a 74 in each round, and senior Marin Hanna of Moultrie tied for 35th at 223.

Georgia State placed fifth in its season opener in Mobile, with freshman Harmanprit Kaur of Lawrenceville tying for 12th at 223. Georgia State finished with an 896 team total. Kaur had scores of 72 in the first round and 73 in the third as the Lady Panthers finished 19th out of 20 teams at Furman. Georgia State came back with a sixth place finish in Jacksonville at 901, with Kaur T21 at 224.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

27

Chip Shots

Callaway Gardens served as one of 12 sites for the first stage of Web.com Tour qualifying for 2017, and 10 players with Georgia ties were among 29 who advanced to the second stage.

Among the 10 was a trio of recent college players from the state who shared medalist honors with scores of 11-under 277. The three are Suwanee’s Seth Reeves, who played at Georgia Tech, Charlie Martin of LaGrange who played at Georgia Southern, and former UGA golfer Joey Garber.

Reeves opened with scores of 68-66, and Martin and Garber both closed with scores of 68. Martin was 7-under after 16 holes the final day and leading the qualifier outright, but double bogeyed the par-3 17th and bogeyed the 18th. Garber was 5-under after 11 that day before a bogey at 18 cost him medalist honors.

Savannah’s Mark Silvers, who has finished just outside the top 100 on the Web.com money list the last two years, tied for sixth at 278, with Atlanta’s Adam Mitchell, a former UGA golfer, T10 at 279 after a final round 67. Mitchell was 146th this season.

Jimmy Beck of Columbus, who played at Kennesaw State, shot a third round 66 and tied for 12th at 280. Former Georgia Tech golfer Drew Czuchry of Alpharetta was T17 at 282, with Savannah’s Kyle Peterman T22 at 283. The top 25 and ties advanced, and two Georgians advanced on the number. Fayetteville’s Wade Binfield shot 69 the final day with seven birdies to tie for 25th at 284, with recent Georgia State golfer Damon Stephenson needing birdies at 16 and 17 in the final round for a 76 and a 284 total.

Among those who failed to qualify were former Dalton State golfer Sean Elliott of Sandy Springs (286); fellow Sandy Springs resident and ex-Mercer golfer James Beale (288); 2016 Web.com member Kyle Scott, a Decatur resident and former Georgia Tech player (288); Nicholas Reach, UGA; James White, Acworth/Georgia Tech; Zach Caldwell, Alpharetta; Bryan Fox, Roswell; Chris Wolfe, Warner Robins; Chase Miller, Rocky Face; Will Evans, Athens; Drew Aimone, Savannah; and Dylan Freeman, Athens.

Former Georgia Tech golfer J.T. Griffin, a St. Simons Island resident, was medalist in Dothan, Ala., by three shots at 13-under

28

GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM

ROBERT MATRE

Georgians advance in tour qualifying

Seth Reeves 275, shooting 66 in the first and last rounds. Blake Palmer of Dawsonville tied for 10th at 283, and former Kennesaw State golfer Jeff Karlsson of Canton tied for 12th at 284. Recent UGA golfer Sepp Straka of Valdosta rallied from an opening 77 to tie for 16th at 286 with Lilburn’s Ted Moon. Suwanee’s David Skinns advanced on the number at 287, tying for 23rd.

Failing to advanced were Ryan Chitwood of Gainesville; former Georgia Bulldog Mookie DeMoss of Duluth, who opened with a 68; Chip Deason of Evans; recent Georgia Open champion Shad Tuten of Savannah; recent Georgia State golfer J.J. Grey; Cumming amateur Michael Motz and St. Simons’ Brad Arrington.

Alpharetta’s Billy Kennerly was the medalist at the Woodlands in Houston, shooting 16-under 272 with a third round 65 to win by one. Riley Davenport of Woodstock, former Augusta State golfer and Alpharetta resident Derek Chang and St. Simons’ Cory Whitsett failed to advance.

Will Jones of St. Simons shot 11-under 273 in Utah, but finished four shots over the score needed to advance. Jin Chung of Duluth and Ryan Trocchio of Norcross also finished outside the top 24.

In earlier first stage qualifiers: Former UGA golfer T.J. Mitchell of Albany finished second at a qualifier in Nebraska at 13-under 275, opening with scores of 69-66 and finishing one behind the winner.

Atlanta’s Jamie Arnold tied for 11th in Lakeland, Fla., at 11-under 277 after shooting 64-67 to lead after 36 holes.

Recent Oglethorpe standout Anthony Maccaglia also advanced, tying for 18th

at 279. Recent Georgia Southern golfer Scott Wolfes of St. Simons shot 9-under the last three rounds, but came up four shots short after an opening 77. Griffin’s Henry Mabbett, Wolfes’ teammate in Statesboro, also failed to advance.

Augusta’s Dykes Harbin shot 10-under 270 in Florence, S.C., to tie for 17th and advance after opening with back-to-back scores of 66. Ex-Georgia Tech golfer Bo Andrews shot a final round 64, but missed by three at 275. Also failing to advance was former Kennesaw State golfer Matt Nagy of Buena Vista and Savannah’s Joe Lewis.

Former UGA golfer Bryden Macpherson, who has finished outside the top 100 in earnings the last two seasons, tied for 15th in Nevada to advance, while Atlanta’s Clayton Rask, a former Web.com player, missed by three at 285.

Two-time Georgia Open champion Jay McLuen of Forsyth missed by one shot in California, tying for 26th at 3-under 285.

McLuen was well inside the top 25 after three rounds after scores of 67-70-70, but shot 78 the final day after a 42 on his opening nine. Two birdies on the back nine put him inside the number, but bogeys at 16 and 17 knocked him out.

Former Web.com member Brent Witcher of Duluth also failed to qualify.

There are five second stage qualifiers, including two in Florida and one in Mobile, the first two weeks of November.

stage of LPGA qualifying. Stackhouse tied for 17th at Mission Hills in California, posting scores of 67-73-68 the first three days before finishing at 286 after a final round 78.

Also advancing was Avery George of Perry (T33, 289), former Georgia Women’s Open winner Kendall Wright of Duluth (T39, 290), 2016 Georgia Women’s Open runner-up Kaylin Yost of Acworth (T65, 293) and Jessica Welch of Thomasville (T78, 294). The top 90 advanced.

Alpharetta’s Amira Alexander missed by one at 295, with Suwanee amateur Christina Yang and former Georgia State golfer Melissa Siviter missing the 54-hole cut.

The second stage is set for Oct. 20-23 in Venice, Fla.

Mason takes title in Senior Division

Dillard’s James Mason won the final Georgia PGA Senior Division tournament of the year, taking the Senior Tour Championship at Currahee Club in Toccoa with scores of 69-67—136. Mason finished three ahead of Spring Hill head pro Sonny Skinner, who shot 70-69-139.

Currahee Director of Golf Clark Spratlin was third at 140, followed by Ansley GC Director of Golf Phil Taylor at 141 and Brookstone instructor Craig Stevens at 142.

Gann captures Atlanta Amateur

Stackhouse, others advance in LPGA

Stan Gann of Bonaire won the GSGA Atlanta Amateur Match Play Championship at Rivermont, defeating Duluth’s Kane Whithurst 1-up in the finals. Whitehurst was 3-down after 14 holes before going eagle-birdie-birdie on the next three holes to even the match. He lost the 18th after hitting his tee shot in the water.

Gann, seeded third after shooting a 70 in qualifying, defeated No. 2 seed Bob Royak of Alpharetta who qualified with a 69, 2&1 in the semifinals, while Whitehurst knocked off top-seeded Chris Waters of Atlanta 3&2. Whitehurst shot 75 in qualifying and was seeded 21st. Waters qualified with a 68.

In the quarterfinals, Gann defeated David Noto of Clarkesville 2&1 while

Riverdale’s Marian Stackhouse was one of four Georgians to advance past the first

[ See Chip Shots, page 31 ] OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

Fashion Fore You

in its Spring 2017 Men’s Collection

Antigua Perfected Pique and Spandex mphasizing an updated fabric story, the Antigua Group, Inc. one of the nation's leading designers and marketers of lifestyle and golf apparel under the distinguished Antigua brand – announced it’s use of spandex and its Perfected Pique in its Spring 2017 Men’s Collection.

“Almost every style has incorporated this fiber into the construction of fashion fabrics for both function and form, eliminating any garment resistance throughout the golf swing and offering an enhanced supple hand, smooth drape and renewed recovery with every use,” says Sean Gregg, Antigua’s Vice President of Product Development and Marketing Support.

The self collar style Sustain takes a solid piece-dyed jersey/spandex top shoulder detail and contrasts it against a heather over-dyed pointelle mesh -- the latter of which offers breathability while wicking. The main body fabric is a subdued color shade compared to its jersey complement, based on the use of heather yarns softening the color tones. The two fabrics meet at the shoulder-sleeve seam, where a neutral elastic heather tape overlaps the seam to complete the seamless merge.

Utilizing the same detailed complexity of fabric paired with style, this season’s style Streak incorporates a simply engineered chest and sleeve panel

E

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

of primary brights complemented by a grey heather jersey front torso panel. The contrast of the engineered color and neutral horizontal chest stripe is separated with this season’s primary pop accent colors. Strategically knit into the divisional color separation is a near-invisible pairing of horizontal mesh stripes that add a textured surface interest with breathability.

Style Array features a jacquard double knit fabric built for breathability but disguised as an all-over, 45-degreeangled geometric mesh pattern. A self collar is set against contrasting, yet complementing accent shoulder seam tape distinguishes it as a true fashion style.

This season’s stripe collection offers fresh vitality in contrasting colors.

Incorporating spandex yarns into a fine jersey knit gives the simplest of stripe patterns a charged appeal. A solid-andheather tonal feed stripe combined with heather overdyed insets -- as seen on the self collar style Orbit -- demonstrates this with sophisticated, simplistic appeal. The solid quarter-inch, all-over repeat of style Strand dyed together with a complementing tonal pinstripe and finished with a matching flat knit collar is a fresh take on the classic golf feed stripe.

And style Domain’s use of tonal and contrasting accent stripes oscillating in a light-to-dark ombre pattern makes this self collar jersey/spandex polo a cen-

Perfected Pique

terpiece garment for the collection.

This season’s presentation begins with an undated translation on a classic.

Antigua has deconstructed – and then reconstructed -- pique by creating a specific combination of a yarn filament count in a denier, and then combining the finished fiber along with a distinct spandex size and count to create the perfect pique fabric. We call it Perfected Pique. The fabric developed exclusively

by Antigua for its 2017 performance collection is one of the most comfortably

classic polos to date. These styles are must-haves this season.

Antigua’s number one-selling shirt to date is its Pique Xtra-Lite that’s offered in 30-plus colors. It’s a beautiful pique fabric made into a well-constructed garment and is utilized by the licensed, corporate and golf divisions alike as a goto piece for every league, event and corporate application. While the Pique Xtra-Lite is a hard-working functional staple, Antigua’s newly developed Perfected Pique is the luxury counterpart.

A selected offering of styles were created to represent this enhanced pique fabric. Style Endure demonstrates the class of styling that this new fabric elicits. This soft, fine pique is offered in this season’s full-color palette and is simply styled with understated details that include a self fabric collar with under-collar edge stitching and a reverse hem cuff. With the simplicity of styling and drape of the spandex embellished fabric, it exudes elegance.

Perfected Pique has also inspired stripes that use the same yarns and construction as Endure’s solid fabrication.

Style Revive’s pattern is a classic colorto-white, one-inch repeating stripe with a matching flat knit collar and hemmed cuff. Its styling appeal speaks to nostalgic vintage while the fabric reflects its high-end technical quality.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

29

Golf FORE Juniors Rostowsky, Yu winners at Coosa Kennesaw’s Connor Rostowsky and Duluth’s Louise Yu scored impressive victories in a Georgia PGA Junior Tour event at Coosa CC in Rome played Oct. 15-16.

Rostowsky won the boys division by one with scores of 67-70—137, 7-under par. Landon Dobbs of Woodstock was 3rd at 140. Liam Shinn of Norcross shot 7070—140 to win the 14-15 age group by three over Ringgold’s Gavin Noble.

Rome’s Hogan Ingram was 1st in 11-13 at 73-71—144. Ethan Day of Rocky face was 2nd at 154.

Yu shot 10-under for 36 holes with scores of 65-69—134. Savannah Satterfield of Chatsworth shot 67-73— 140 to take 2nd. Roswell’s Kady Foshaug was the 11-14 girls winner at 164.

In prior Georgia PGA Junior Tour tournaments: At Chattahoochee GC, Cumming’s John Baker was the boys winner with scores of 7373—146.

Gainesville’s Ryan Hogan and Oxford’s Zachary Kinnon tied for 2nd in the 16-18 age group at 150.

Jay Beach of Augusta was the 14-15 winner at 148, five ahead of Tucker Windham of Fort Oglethorpe. Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek s shot 73-72—145 to win boys 11-13 by five over Ingram.

Suwanee’s Alison Crenshaw was the girls winner at 154 after a final round of 74, two ahead of Maddie Horinek of Blairsville. Morgan Ellison of Peachtree City was the 11-14 winner at 168.

At the Georgia Southern GC, Gainesville’s Brody Simmons shot 153 to edge Brian Hamm of Warner Robins and Eli Scott of Hartwell by one in the boys division. Beach was the 14-15 winner at 155, two in front of Statesboro’s Ford Berger. Johnny Brooks of Reynolds won the 11-13 age group by three over Sandersville’s Ty Darsey at 156.

Emma Bell of Braselton shot 159 to take the girls division by one over Sarah Edwards of Pembroke. The 11-14 winner was Foshaug at 175, two ahead of Statesboro’s Victory Lee. At Oak Mountain in Carrollton, Austin Jaynes of Cumming shot consecutive scores of 73 to win the boys division at 146, one ahead of Thomaston’s Will Hernandez. Gainesville’s Griffin Orzach was 3rd at 148. Lindsey Cordell of Rome was first in the 14-15 age group at 152, with Alex Patterson, also of Rome, 2nd at

30

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Brody Simmons

Emma Bell

Alison Crenshaw

John Baker

156. Canton’s Josh Ledford was the 11-13 winner in a playoff over Ingram, with both players finishing at 153.

Sophie Kalusche of Rome was the girls winner with scores of 74-75—149.

Katelyn Skiffen of Chatsworth was 2nd at 159.

Perkins’ 66 keys SJGT win at UGA Logan Perkins captured the boys title of a Southeastern Junior Golf Tour event at the UGA course in Athens, posting scores of 66-73—139 for a 3-shot margin over Atlanta’s Mitchell Kahlert, who shot 69 in the first round. Will Chambless of Culloden and Liam Shinn tied for 2nd in the 14-15 age group at 146, one behind the winner. Augusta’s Walker Leibach was the 12-13 winner by six shots at 162.

Caroline Craig of Sautee Nacoochee shot 74-72—146 to take 1st in the girls division by seven at 146. Sanders Hinds of Midland was the 12-14 age group winner at 161, with Catie Craig of Sautee Nacoochee 2nd at 166.

At Glen Arven in Thomasville, Matthew Giesler of Marietta was the boys 14-15 winner at 71-74—145, two ahead of the runner-up in his age group. Chambless was 3rd at 148. Chip Thompson of Thomasville and Sarot Vong of St. Simons tied for 2nd in 16-18 at 143, two behind the winner. Brantley Baker of Leesburg was 3rd in 12-13 at 150, Emma Bell led the girls division after opening with a 71 and placed 2nd at 147, two shots back. Katherine Cook of Thomasville was the 12-14 winner by three at 77-76—153.

At Country Club of Columbus, Calhoun’s Kate Mashburn was the lone Georgia winner, taking the girls division with scores of 74-76—150. Keagan Dunn of Braselton was 2nd at 156. Hinds was 2nd in 12-14 at 171.

Nolan Miller of Midland shot a pair of 69s for a 4-under 138 total to take 2nd in the boys division, five behind the winner.

Connor Rostowsky was 3rd at 67 after a final round 67. John Calhoun of Columbus placed 3rd in 14-15 at 145.

Jordan Rodriguez of Buford shot 70-68 for a 6-under 138 total to win the boys division of a SJGT event in Dickson, Tenn., by four. Jordan Smith of Braselton was tied for the first round lead at 69 and fin-

Mullett captures Hurricane Jr. title

ished 4th at 144.

Zach Mullett of Hoschton was the boys winner of a Hurricane Junior Golf Tour event at Bentwater GC, finishing two ahead of the runner-up with a 148 total. Amy Ng of Alpharetta shot 155 to take the girls division by five over Lilburn’s Thienna Huynh.

Roswell’s Ford Hester shot 156 in 14-15 to edge Jack Hudson of Roswell, Jason Meng of Johns Creek and Mac Thompson of Marietta by one. Milton’s Jake Peacock won the 11-13 age group by five over Deven Patel of Johns Creek with scores of 71-73—144.

At Jekyll Island, Sarut Vong shot 7076—146 to win the boys division by two.

Bryan Kim of Evans was 2nd in 14-15 at 154. The 11-13 winner was Cason Cavalier of St. Simons with a 157 total, two ahead of Dalton’s Wyatt Brookert.

The Fenton Cup tournament at Flat Creek was reduced to 18 holes when the scheduled second round was washed out.

Liam Shinn won the 14-15 age group and

overall boys title with a 69, two ahead of Cumming’s Jason Quinlan. Rece Moore of Dallas was the 16-18 winner with a 72 and Roswell’s Reed Sweigart shot 74 to take the 12-13 age group.

Louise Yu was the girls winner with a 73, three ahead of Tori Owens of Chatsworth and Sophie Kalusche. Huynh was 1st in the 13-under division by one shot with a 78.

In other Hurricane Junior Tour events: Brandon Cho of Norcross shot 150 to win boys 14-15 by seven in Montgomery. Kaysie Harrelson of Tifton lost a playoff in the girls division after posting a 162 total, and Zoey Cho of Suwanee was 2nd in under-13 at 173, two behind the winner.

At the Furman University course in Greenville, S.C, Augusta’s Walter Kelley was 2nd in boys 14-15 at 162, one shot behind the winner.

In Knoxville, John Ostergard of Marietta won the 11-13 age group by 23 shots with a 161 total. In Birmingham, Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners was the 11-13 winner with a 152 total. His brother David Ford was 2nd at 156. John Baker was 2nd in 16-18 at 150, one back of the winner.

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016

Web.com Tour [ Continued from page 16 ]

St. Simons resident, still has past champions status on the PGA Tour thanks to his five career victories, the last in 2011.

After playing the last five years on the PGA Tour, former Georgia Bulldog Erik Compton will return to the Web.com Tour in 2017 after finishing 173rd in the FedExCup standings and 48th on the Finals money list. His best showing in the Finals was a tie for 24th in Columbus, O. Fellow ex-Bulldog Keith Mitchell

Chip Shots

[ Continued from page 28 ]

Whitehurst won 5&3 over three-time champion David Noll of Dalton.

Whitehurst also won 4&3 in the second round over fifth seeded Jeff Belk of Marietta.

Shirley reaches Mid-Am quarters

Atlanta Junior Golf Executive Director Margaret Shirley Starosto lost in the quarterfinals of the recent U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship in Erie, Pa., an event she has twice reached the finals in previously, winning the USGA title in 2014.

Shirley tied for eighth in stroke play qualifying and won her first three matches by scores of 2&1, 4&3 and 5&4. Her third round match was close before she won five of the last eight holes. Shirley lost 6&5 GEORGIA PGA

Margaret Shirley

2016 OC TOBER-NOVEMBER

earned his spot in the Finals after placing 70th on the regular season money list, and contended early in the tournament at Boise. But a pair of finishes in the 30s left him well short of the money total needed to be a part of the top 25, and he will be back on the Web.com Tour for a second season in 2017.

Former Georgia Tech golfer Nicholas Thompson tied for 23rd in the Finals event in Cleveland, but that was the only cut he made on the Web.com Tour in 2016 after going 0-for-5 on the PGA Tour. Thompson, who has played seven full seasons on the PGA Tour and three on the Web.com Tour, will likely be on

the Web.com full time next year for the first time since 2012.

After playing the last three years on the PGA Tour, including a win in Puerto Rico as a rookie in 2014, fellow former Yellow Jacket Chesson Hadley returns to the Web.com, where he won twice and finished near the top of the money list in 2013. After placing 159th in the FedExCup standings, he made the cut in the Web.com Finals opener in Cleveland but missed the next two cuts.

Eatonton native Blake Adams enjoyed three successful seasons on the PGA Tour from 2010-12, but has been hampered by injuries since, and will be

back on the Web.com after placing 62nd this year. Adams, who played his college golf at Georgia Southern, was third on the money list in 2009 to earn his first shot at the PGA Tour.

Recent Georgia Tech grad Anders Albertson of Woodstock was 56th in his rookie season on the Web.com, but did little after some strong early showings outside the U.S. and missed all three cuts in Finals. He is exempt on the tour for 2017.

The remaining Georgians who played on the Web.com Tour this year will have to regain their status through the qualifying process.

to top-seeded Shannon Johnson in the quarters, with Johnson losing in the finals to Julia Potter, who faced Shirley twice in the championship match.

Former UGA golfer Emilie Burger Meason of Hoschton reached the third round before losing 2-up to Meghan Stassi, who birdied three of the last four holes. Meason, who also tied for eighth in qualifying, won her first two matches 4&2 and 2&1, taking both with late birdies.

Kristyl Sunderman of McDonough won her opening match 4&3 before losing 1-up in the second round. Sunderman won holes 16 and 17 in the second round to erase a 2-down deficit, but lost the 18th.

Qualifying for the championship but failing to reach match play were Danielle Davis of St. Simons, Rebeca Garcia of Marietta, Jiropan Carlson of Macon, Deb Johnson of Johns Creek and Sue Rheney of Greensboro.

U.S. Mid-Amateur: In the men’s US. Mid-Amateur, also played in Pennsylvania, three Georgians advanced to match play, but lost in the first round.

Dalton’s David Noll was 1-up in his match after 15 holes, but lost both 16 and 17 to lose 1-up. Valdosta’s Nic Daugharty and Atlanta’s Tyler McKeever also lost in the opening round.

Rusty Strawn of McDonough lost in a 14-for-1 playoff for the final qualifying spot.

Others who failed to teach match play were Joe Young of Athens, Byron Jones of Atlanta, Dave Womack of McDonough, Harold Wyatt of Atlanta and Dave Poteet of Suwanee.

Albertson of Woodstock tied for second in a recent event on the Swing Thought Tour, shooting 23-under 265 at Okefenokee CC in Blackshear to finish two behind the winner. Albertson shot 68-6470-63 to earn $8,960.

Chip Deason of Evans tied for fourth at 267, with Savannah’s Tim O’Neal and exUGA golfer Joey Garber tying for seventh at 269. Suwanee’s Seth Reeves, Albertson’s teammate at Georgia Tech, was second after 54 holes with scores of

71-64-64, but shot 74 the final day to tie for 15th at 273 with St. Simons’ Scott Wolfes.

In a Swing Thought event at Callaway Gardens, former Georgia Tech golfer Kyle Scott of Decatur finished third at 13-under 203, one shot out of a playoff. Fellow exGeorgia Tech golfer Drew Czuchry of Alpharetta shared the lead after 36 holes and tied for fourth at 204 after a final round 71.

Albertson 2nd at Okefenokee

Web.com Tour member Anders FOREGEORGIA.COM

31

32

FOREGEORGIA.COM

OC TOBER-NOVEMBER 2016