Women’s Golf Day
Westerlund & Morin to play in PGA Tour Events
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
CHIP SHOTS NEW MEMBERS
The South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new members to the Section: Jamison D Carr, PGA A-8 The Bear’s Club Adam G DeArmond, PGA A-8 Verandah Golf Club Walter D Kroschel, PGA A-8 Island Country Club Robert E Porter, PGA A-8 Island Country Club Patrick A Rada, PGA A-8 McArthur Golf Club
PROS ON THE GO PROFESSIONAL Jeff Fitzherbert, PGA Roger Curran, PGA Stan Geer, PGA Brian Glasco, PGA Kyle Sanders, PGA Shawn Costello, PGA Brent Whittaker, PGA Brian Kelley, PGA
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A-4 - Ballen Isles CC A-1 - Ballen Isles CC A-13 - Esplanade G & CC A-4 - Shadow Wood CC A-1 - Brentley Village A-8 - Coral Oaks GC A-1 - Bonita Bay Naples A-14 - Bonita Bay Naples A-1 - The Fox Club A-8 The Fox Club A-1 - Ballen Isles CC A-8 Broken Sound Club A-1 - Colony West Michigan Section A-13 - New England Section A-4 Ballen Isles CC
NEW APPRENTICES The South Florida PGA would like to welcome the following new apprentices to the Section: Philip A Grill III Ashley A Mooney Robert G Randall John S Wolfe John A Abbott Jonathan W Goldberg Patrick D Beach Adam L Miller Rushi Oza Gilberto Barrionuevo Nicholas A. Kenis Frank A. Lostaglio II Tyler C. Lunderville F. Dustin Steams Brent R L’Esperance Anthony J Sheimo
B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-6 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8 B-8
The Tesoro Club The Saints at Port St. Lucie GC Florida Keys Country Club Coral Ridge Country Club Heron’s Glen Golf & CC Heritage Bay Golf & CC Trump National Doral Kingsway Country Club The Indian River Club Rio Mar Country Club John’s Island Club Boca Woods Country Club Turnberry Isle - Miami Frenchman’s Reserve Delaire Country Club Naples Heritage Golf and CC
CONTACT US SOUTH FLORIDA SECTION 186 ATLANTIS BOULEVARD ATLANTIS, FL / 33462 PHONE / FAX 561-729-0544 / 561-729-0914 EMAIL sflorida@pgahq.com WEBSITE www.sfpgagolf.com PRESIDENT Warren Bottke, PGA VICE PRESIDENT Mark VanDyck, PGA SECRETARY Don Meadows, PGA IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT Brian Peaper, PGA SOUTHERN CHAPTER PRESIDENT Bob Mallek, PGA SOUTHEAST CHAPTER PRESIDENT Neil Lockie, PGA SOUTHWEST CHAPTER PRESIDENT Dan Gawronski, PGA ISLAND CHAPTER PRESIDENT Aaron West, PGA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Geoff Lofstead
QUARTER CENTURY CLUB
ADVISORY BOARD Paul Anderson Congratulations to Danny E. St. Louis, PGA who was elected to the Quarter Cen- Rick Bayliss tury Club of the PGA of America, an elite group of members who have served the PGA Steve Sponder Ken Kennerly with honor and pride for 25 years Matt Lambert Peter Lund
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SFPGA FOUNDATION
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
FOUNDATION NEWS During 2013 alone the SFPGA Foundation made contributions of more than $125,000 to the south Florida community. With the help of more than 50 PGA Professionals volunteering over 700 hours of work, a home was built for Habitat for Humanity of Palm Beach County. In addition to the support of Habitat for Humanity more than 720 youth golfers were able to compete in countless competitive golf events and junior golf development programs at very low cost. And through our Smiling Fore Life program over 590 children visiting local children’s health facilities in south Florida were given the opportunity to get their minds off the hardships they were facing and enjoy an hour of golf once a week with a PGA Professional. These are just three programs the SFPGA Foundation conducts annually. Looking ahead to 2014, our goal is to provide more opportunities for youth golfers and more support to families throughout south Florida community. In 2014, the SFPGA Foundation will partner with Habitat for Humanity of Broward County for another home project. More details regarding this project will be released soon. Along with Habitat for Humanity the Foundation will look to grow junior golf programming with hopes of setting another record membership for the Junior Tour in addition to expanding the Team Golf program which in its inaugural year had more than 200 kids aged 6-14 participate in the program. In order to fund programs like Habitat for Humanity and Smiling Fore Life the Foundation will once again conduct two ProAm’s in addition to recruiting PGA Professionals to participate in PGA Golf Day. Our Annual South Florida PGA Foundation Pro-Am will be presented by Hertz and will be held Monday, May 19th at The Old Collier Golf Club in Naples. In addition to this Pro-Am the 2nd Annual Quail Valley Holiday Pro-Am Presented by Tire Kingdom will be held Monday, December 1st at Quail Valley Golf Club. Both Pro-Am’s will benefit the SFPGA Foundation and the countless programs it conducts annually. The SFPGA Foundation continues to serve the south Florida community through the dedication and service of PGA Professionals! For more information about the Foundation and how you can get involved in supporting the Foundation click here.
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TOPICS NEWSLETTER
CHIP SHOTS
PARTNER SPOTLIGHT National Car Rental offers fast and efficient service to travelers across the globe and has over 2,000 locations worldwide. The Emerald Club, National’s Car Rental Loyalty Program, is a complimentary program that allows members to bypass the counter and save time during their travels. In addition, members can chose any car in the lot for the price of a mid-size vehicle and receive other exclusive offeres. To sign up for the Emerald Club, click here.
BABY ALERT South Florida PGA Director of Operations, Meredith Schuler and her husband Brian welcomed their first baby, Owen, on January 10. Congratulations Meredith and Brian!
PAT PASSERS Congratulations to all SFPGA Apprentices and aspiring Apprentices who successfully passed their Playing Ability Test this year. Park Ridge Golf Course -- Lake Worth, FL December 5, 2013 Brandon Albert JP Begley Joseph Dillon Nathan Downs Mason Gerlach Tim Howard Alexander Jensen Albert Kurtz James McIntosh Adam Miller Rushi Oza Louise Perulf David Rudd Michael Sanabria John Whitty Andrew Woodhull
Claire Becker Zach Buschner Richard Dorso Chris Fawcett Matt Gordon Blake Hulett Paul Kerbel Greg Luther Gregory Meyer Bryan Nightingale Amber Pedersen Luca Rainone Logan Rutter Aaron Watkins Jonathan Woodcox
This year, National Car Rental will sponsor two South Florida PGA Events. Both events will feature an increased payout for the best finishing Emerald Club enrolled team. The 2014 National Car Rental Pro-Scratch Championship will be hosted by Lost Tree Club on July 21. The 2014 National Car Rental Pro-Superintendent Championship will be hosted by Frenchman’s Reserve on September 15. 2014
2014 COLLEGE SEMINAR The SFPGA held its annual College Seminar on Saturday, January 18th at Westchester Golf & Country Club. This free seminar provided valuable information to Junior Golfer’s about the upcoming recruiting process, the different divisions of college golf, how to get noticed, as well as information on careers within the golf industry. SFPGA Junior Tour Alum Shelby Coyle spoke to the Juniors about her typical day of playing college golf at Florida International University. Other speakers included Tara Mckenna, PGA of FGCU, Joe Vogel, PGA of FIU, AJ Broderick, PGA of Johnson & Wales University, Sara Trew FGCU, Denise Jakows who is a parent of two college golfers, and Dwight Rogers who is a former Division I Golfer.
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TOPICS NEWSLETTER
Chip Shots The South Florida PGA held a free Women’s Golf Day, Saturday, January 11th from 1-5 pm. This event took place at Abacoa Golf Club, and was open to women of all ages and abilities.
WOMEN’S GOLF DAY
Approximately 100 women took advantage of the opportunity to obtain free golf instruction from eighteen PGA and LPGA Professionals who volunteered their time to teach full swing, chipping, pitching, and putting clinics. The women were also able to try out the latest clubs from Cleveland, Cobra, Taylor Made, and Titleist. The event included Jupiter Medical Center’s mobile Wellness in Motion unit onsite to provide mammography and health screenings. The Executive Women’s Golf Association (EWGA) and Coastal Performance were also in attendance with information about their organizations. Following the instruction from the PGA Professionals, Judy Dickinson, former LPGA Tour player, hosted a clinic for the women in attendance. She discussed her experiences as a professional golfer on the LPGA Tour and answered questions from the audience. Following the event, the women enjoyed appetizers and drinks during the social hour. Women left the day with not only raffle items, but every woman left with a better knowledge of their golf game and tips to try at the range or on the golf course. This event was also supported by: Abacoa Golf Club, adidas Ashworth Golf, Callaway Golf, Cleveland Golf, Cobra Puma Golf, Executive Women’s Golf Association, Coastal Performance, Jupiter Medical Center, The Honda Classic, and Titleist. Special thanks to all the women who participated in the event along with the PGA Professionals who donated their time as instructors.
PGA SECTION SHORT GAME CHALLENGE At this year’s PGA Merchandise Show, PGA Professionals and Apprentices had the opportunity to compete in the PGA Section Short Game Challenge. The event was sponsored by Callaway Golf, Nike Golf and Ping. Each participant had two putts and two chips with the total distance of all putts and chips added up for the final results each day. The South Florida PGA Section had 26 particpants over the three days. Erik Carlson, an Assistant Professional at John’s Island Club, won one of the sessions. Due to his impressive performance, the South Florida PGA earned $2,500 that will go towards the South Florida PGA Foundation. Thank you to all the PGA Professionals and Apprentices who participated and congratulations to Erik Carlson!
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TOURNAMENT NEWS
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
MORIN AND WESTERLUND TO PLAY IN PGA TOUR EVENTS 2013 Player of the Year and Assistant at The Falls Country Club, Alan Morin will compete in the 2014 Honda Classic at PGA National Resort & Spa on February 27- March 2. Jay Westerlund, winner of the 2014 South Florida PGA Section Championship, will compete in the 2014 Puerto Rico Open Championship presented by seepuertorico.com on March 6-9. We wish Alan and Jay luck as they compete against the top professionals from around the world.
QUAIL VALLEY HOLIDAY PRO-AM The inaugural Quail Valley Holiday Pro-Am was a great success featuring over 40 teams comprised of one professional and one amateur. In its first year this event helped raise more than $4,500 in support of the South Florida PGA Foundation. Claiming first place in the gross division was the team from the Everglades Club in Palm Beach comprised of South Florida PGA Professional Cameron Wiebe and amateur John Pickett III. Finishing first in the net division was professional Sal Spallone of Vero Beach and amateur Ray Olgethorpe. In addition to our team champions, South Florida PGA Professional Jay Westerlund from The Club at Renaissance in Fort Myers took home the title of low professional firing an impressive 68 on a difficult golf course due to wet conditions. Charitable funds raised in this event will not only support projects like Habitat for Humanity, they will also support other South Florida PGA Foundation programs including; Smiling Fore Life, The South Florida PGA Junior Tour, charitable gifting, and scholarships. Special thanks to Quail Valley Golf Club PGA Director of Golf, Don Meadows and his entire staff for making this event a success, and helping the South Florida PGA Foundation change lives in the South Florida community through the game of
Quote
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If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over? -John Wooden 6
BEST PRACTICES
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
LOOKING FOR A CREATIVE WAY TO GET FAMILIES ON THE GOLF COURSE TOGETHER? A new Club Car four-passenger golf car makes playing golf with the family more efficient. This golf cart allows the whole family to play together in a single cart and have more fun during the round. Ken Weyend, PGA, Director of Golf at John’s Island Club in Vero Beach, has seen the four passenger car in use at his facility and considers it to be a “big hit.” He has seen multiple uses for the cart including non-playing kids that can ride along or a parent who will drive 3 playing kids. Weyand says, “Our main focus has been just getting families out on the course.” In addition to attracting families onto the golf course, the car has been used in a few other ways. PGA Professionals can utilize the car for playing lessons with muliple people. Also, seniors have used this car to trade off walking and riding throughout the round. No matter the use, the four passenger car allows more people to enjoy a fun and efficient round of golf.
EMPLOYMENT CORNER STOP…WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND COMPLETE THE PGA COMPENSATION SURVEY! The PGA of America requests your participation in helping to ensure that one of our Association’s most powerful employment tools remains effective for you and your fellow PGA Professionals. PGA members who complete the survey by March 23, 2014, can receive up to two (2) Member Service Requirement (MSR) credits. Your participation is the key to ensuring that your Section’s compensation information is valid and meaningful. As your PGA Employment Consultant, I use information from the survey almost daily when I am working with employers who use CareerLinks and for PGA members seeking compensation and benefit information that can help in evaluating and hopefully upgrading their current compensation package. Often more highly compensated members do not participate and this drives down the compensation numbers, which in turn hurts everyone so your support of this important PGA initiative is greatly appreciated. Last year the South Florida Section ranked 40th of the 41 sections in participation in this survey, with 48.8% of members completing the survey. I know the South Florida Section membership can improve on these participation numbers in 2014. The survey information is completely confidential and is vital at times to your fellow PGA Members! So, STOP what you’re doing and take the few minutes to complete the PGA Compensation Survey. Please contact me if you have any questions or if you need any help with employment or career planning! Mike McCollum, PGA Employment Consultant 706.563.9773 – office mmccollum@pgahq.com
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TOPICS NEWSLETTER SFPGA JUNIOR TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP PUTS CAP ON GREAT SEASON
SFPGA Junior Tour
JUPITER, Fla. – The South Florida PGA Junior Tour hosted the Junior Tour Championship on December 7-8, at Jonathan’s Landing Golf Club at Old Trail in Jupiter. Sachin Kumar of Port St. Lucie shot 29 on his first nine holes during the first round and held on to win the South Florida PGA’s Junior Tour Championship. Starting play at the 12th hole of the par71 Hills Course, Kumar, 15, birdied Nos. 12 and 13, then the last four holes of his front nine. He added 40 on the front for 69 and led by three, then shot 70 on Sunday for 139 and the victory. “I got a little excited about my score at the turn, started thinking about shooting 59,” Kumar said. Instead, he bogeyed the third and sixth holes and made double bogey at the par-3 ninth, his last hole of the day.
Challenge Tour Winners
A 15-year-old junior taking on-line classes from the Laurel Springs school, Kumar added a more conventional second round with four birdies and three bogeys, all on holes he birdied Saturday, the 15th, 17th and 18th. Kumar’s effort was worth boys’ overall honors but he was pushed to the end. Charlie Kennerly, 16, of Jupiter shot 72-68—140 and Anthony Gabriele, 17, of Wellington had 76-65—141 to finish one-two in the 1618 age group. Kennerly, 16, a Benjamin School sophomore, had seven birdies and three bogeys the final round; Gabriele, a home-schooled high school senior, closed with seven birdies and one bogey. Gabriele claimed overall honors last year.
Award Winners
In girls’ action, Mary Janiga of Wellington shot 76-74—150 for the overall title. Janiga, 16, a junior at the American Heritage School in Delray Beach, had three bogeys and a double bogey during the first round, the same but with two birdies during the second round.
The overall winners on the Challenge Tour for less experienced players were Dillon Reno of Jupiter, 151, and Abbey Huber of Port St. Lucie, 154. Recipients of the Ed Ficker Sportsmanship Awards were Matt Newman of Parkland and Mary Janiga. Players of the Year: Anthony Gabriele, Wellington, and Kaely Krayeski, Wellington.
Championship Tour Winners
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SFPGA JUNIOR TOUR
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
JUNIOR TOUR PREVIEW The South Florida PGA Junior Tour presented by the Honda Classic will start the season on February 1-2 at Sandpiper Golf Club - Club Med for the Championship Event #1. This year the Junior Tour will conduct 10 Championship Tour events, 14 Challenge Tour events, the Tour Championship, as well as the Junior PGA Championship which will be held at Boca Grove Golf & Tennis Club. This year’s Challenge Tour will feature a new 11-12 year old age division, as well as the 13-18 year old age division, while the Championship tour will continue with the 13-18 overall Mary Janiga age division. All of the South Florida PGA Junior Tour events will be ranked by the National Junior Golf Scoreboard Ranking System. The Tour will be traveling everywhere from Sandridge Golf Club in Vero Beach, to Ocean Reef Club in Key Largo.
Alexa Pano
With the popularity of the tour growing each year, membership is expected to be at an all-time high. Stars of the golf documentary “The Short Game” Alexa Pano, and Alan Kournikova will look to continue their outstanding play this season. The 2014 season will also feature Championship Tour standouts Mary Janiga of Wellington, and Tim Cahill of Royal Palm Beach. The South Florida PGA Junior Tour will also be looking to set new records with the birdie club program. The Birdie Club is a player performance based fund drive initiative developed to enable Junior Tour members to become involved in community outreach Alan Kournikova by supporting the South Florida PGA Foundation. Through this program, juniors seek out pledges made in his or her name for every birdie he or she makes throughout the season, with all proceeds raised going to support the foundation. This year the Birdie Club is setting a goal of raising $10,000 for the South Florida PGA Foundation. To participate in the Bridie Club, click here.
ALUMNI NEWS SFPGA JUNIOR TOUR ALUM JAYE MARIE GREEN WINS QSCHOOL BY 10 STROKES
ATLANTIS, FL – The LPGA Tour Qualifying School was a week to remember for former SFPGA Junior Tour star Jaye Marie Green. Green, a Boca Raton native, shot a record 29-under-par 331 total for the 90 hole event to earn herself a 2014 LPGA Tour Card. Green, who was the runner up at last year’s U.S. Women’s Amateur, played in 8 events on the SFPGA Junior Tour in 2008-2009. Of those 8 events, Green won five tournaments and finished second at the other three. Three of those five victories came in 2009 with wins at The Breakers Reese Jones Course, The Polo Club of Boca Raton, and Kelly Greens Golf & Country Club. Also, her father, Donnie is a PGA Professional at Broken Sound Club in Boca Raton. We wish Green the best of luck as she competes in her rookie season on the LPGA.
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RULES WITH DREW
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
2014 CHANGES
Every two years, the USGA and The R&A sit down together to discuss possible revisions to the Decision’s Book. USGA senior director of the Rules of Golf, Thomas Pagel said, “The Rules of Golf are constantly evolving. The Decisions review process is an opportunity for The R&A and the USGA to continue to help make the game more understandable and accessible for players, officials and others who participate in the game.” 87 revisions were made for the 2014-15 Decision’s Book including three new Decisions, 59 revised Decisions, 24 withdrawn Decisions and one renumbered Decision. In this month’s Rules with Drew segment I will try to explain the three new Decisions. The first new Decision is 14-3/18 which has been written to now allow players to check local weather information using a multifunctional device such as a smart phone. While the Decision does not actually so state, it is implied that the player may use the device to also gauge the threat of an approaching storm to protect their safety. In my opinion this is a great exception written to the Rule 14-3, especially down here in Florida where the probability of quickly forming thunderstorms is the norm. While most facilities have WeatherBug or ThorGuard keeping an eye on the sky, I have found that the majority of people feel more comfortable when they are able to see the weather information themselves. Before this new Decision was written, a player who used an artificial device to access information that might assist him in his play or making a stroke was disqualified. For example, before 2014, if you pulled out your smart phone to see that the wind was gusting at 10-15 miles per hour out of the southeast, you were disqualified. Why did the USGA and The R&A soften their stance on this issue? Decision 14-3/18 explains, “When accessing weather reports provided by a weather station through an application or internet browser, the player is not actively measuring or gauging the conditions.” So, the two governing bodies feel that the weather information acquired through the use of a smart phone is not measuring the weather conditions at that current time or place thus, the information could not effectively assist the player in his play of a hole. The next new Decision is 18/4 which was written specifically for those golf events played on television. The Decision takes us through a situation where a player observes a slight movement of his golf ball after he has addressed it. The player believes the ball just oscillated and did not move. Later high definition video evidence shows the ball moved. Should the player be penalized? In order to answer that question the committee must determine if the movement of the ball was “reasonably discernible to the naked eye.” If the video evidence shows the movement was not reasonable discernible to the naked eye, there is no penalty. However, if the committee determines the movement was reasonable discernible to the naked eye, the player would be penalized. Since the Decision did not give us a unit of measure or length as to what is considers “reasonable discernible,” it is up the committee to decide. If he played the ball without putting it back, he is penalized two strokes under 20-7 for playing from a wrong place. Back in 2012, an Exception was added to Rule 18-2b which led to the drafting of the third and final new Decision. The Exception under Rule 18-2b states, “If It is known or virtually certain that the player did not cause his ball to move, Rule 18-2b does not apply.” For instance, if you have addressed your ball on the putting green and a big gust of wind blows your ball to a new location, there is no penalty because it was known or virtually certain the wind caused your ball to move. You must play the ball from its new location since wind is not an outside agency. Or, if you have addressed your ball in the fairway and a big leaf blowing across the fairway strikes your ball and moves it, there is not penalty as it was known or virtually certain that the leaf caused your ball to move. As the leaf is an outside agency, you simply place the ball back in its original position before it was moved. (Contintued on Page 11) Decision 18-2b/1, which is last new Decision written for the 2014 revision, talks about a player whose ball moves after he has addressed it on the putting green. The player wishes to apply the Exception under Rules 18-2b stating that gravity moved his ball. Unfortunately for the player, Decision 18-2b/1 states, “The Exception only applies when it is known or virtually certain that the player did not cause his ball to move. In order to meet this standard, it must be known or virtually certain that some other observable factor (e.g., wind, water or an outside agency) caused the ball to move.” Gravity is not an observable factor which can be used under the Exception of Rules 18-2b. In this case, the player is penalized one stroke under 18-2b and must replace his ball. On the next page, please see further explanation of the new Decision 14-3/18 and revised Decisions 25-2/0.5 and 27-2a/1.5 as explained by the USGA. Decision 25-2/0.5 was expanded to show illustrations of when a ball is considered embedded and Decision 27-2a/1.5 defines by length when a player is deemed to have gone forward to search for a ball thus prohibiting the playing of a provisional ball. 2016 will be the year the Decision book will be revised again. The Rules of Golf are revised every four years with the next revision set for 2016 as well.
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NEW & UPCOMING RULES WITH DREW CONT.
TOPICS NEWSLETTER
UPCOMING SECTION EVENTS Junior Championship Tour Event #1 Sandpiper Golf Club at Club Med February 1-2 Junior Challenge Tour Event #2 Sandpiper Golf Club at Club Med February 15-16 Honda Classic Pre-Qualifier Fountains CC February 19 Honda Classic Pre-Qualifier Madison Green GC February 20 Honda Classic Pre-Qualifier Fountains CC February 20
EARN MSR CREDITS Looking for ways to earn more MSR credits? Volunteer your time with the upcoming South Florida PGA events. PGA Members earn 1 MSR credit/hour they are able to volunteer.
SFPGA JUNIOR TOUR Junior Challenge Tour Event #1 Sandpiper Golf Club-Club Med Port St. Lucie February 15-16 Volunteers are needed to help with rules officiating and Pace of Play. Those interested in volunteering may contact Jake Weir at jweir@pgahq.com.
PLAY GOLF AMERICA DAYS Allianz Championship Play Golf America Event The Old Course at Broken Sound Boca Raton February 7-9 Honda Classic Play Golf America Event PGA National Resort & Spa Palm Beach Gardens February 28-March 2 Volunteers will provide free 10 minute golf lessons to those in attendance. If you are available and interested in assisting please contact Tori Stock at tstock@pgahq. com
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