August 2016 FORE Georgia Magazine

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AUGUST 2016

North Ga. resort features quality course

Innsbruck adding luxury, boutique hotel

By Mike Blum

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hen Innsbruck Golf Club opened in Helen in the late 1980s, the course was a popular destination for golfers in the metro Atlanta area looking for a little cooler weather during the hot summer months, as well as a unique experience in the German-themed city.

Eventually, Innsbruck’s reputation as a destination resort began to fade, as the golf course underwent several ownership changes, gas prices rose and

newer and more upscale golf resorts in the northern part of the state emerged as competition.

Innsbruck has been quiet on the Georgia golf scene for the past two decades or so, but that is in the process of changing. A five-star boutique hotel recently began construction on golf course property, and is expected to open in the summer of 2017.

Following the completion of the hotel, phase 2 of construction will begin, featuring bungalows built around the hotel. The hotel will be enjoyed by golfers and non-golfers alike, and will raise the profile of a resort that has plenty to offer.

“It’s always been Innsbruck Golf and Resort,” says Mike McCall, the club’s long time head professional. “But we’ve never had full resort features. Having overnight lodging versus rental homes will create a new atmosphere.”

Innsbruck will continue to offer rental homes for visitors looking to stay

in the Helen area for a week or two, but the new Valhalla Resort Hotel will provide a more intimate option for a night or a few days.

The boutique hotel will consist of 25 all-king suites, with an exclusive VIP Suite and a conference room for private dinners and meetings. The hotel will include an upscale restaurant and lobby

bar, with each room featuring luxury bedding, a fireplace, a sitting area, a spa bath and a private balcony with mountain views.

There will be an observation lounge on the fourth floor of the hotel, with its [ See Innsbruck, page 6 ]

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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.

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3

Instruction Fore You

P R E S E N T E D BY

The Elements of Putting

By Jeff Frasier PGA Director of Instruction Chicopee Woods Golf Course

Golfers of all skill levels are interested in improving their putting stroke. Many are unaware of all the essential elements that make this possible.

The goal of this article is to simplify and break down the putting stroke. The following will explain different elements of the stroke that are critical for improvement.

Putting mechanics can be learned through aim, path, face angle, impact, rhythm, and stability. Each element can be learned and practiced separately.

AIM is a very important part of putting.

Without proper aim, golfers are subject to making manipulations during the putting stroke. Golfers are usually right or left aimers of the putter until they are properly adjusted to aim correctly. A golfer, who may aim left, will learn to push or open the angle of the face to roll the ball on line. The most effective way to learn how to aim the putter is by using a laser that shows exactly where you are aiming the putter.

PATH is the direction in which the putter travels during the putting stroke.

The most effective path is the one that can be controlled and repeated. The body will help determine the best path for consistency. In every golf swing, there will be rotation from the body. This remains the same for putting in most cases. However, if you can minimize the rotation of the putting stroke, you should be able to control the path of the putter.

FACE ANGLE has more effect on the ball than most golfers realize. It is extremely important to learn how to keep

the face angle square through impact. If the face angle is open or closed at the point of impact, the golf ball will start rolling off line immediately.

This is the leading cause of missed putts. There are many practice aids to help with face angle, but make sure you are getting accurate feedback when using them.

IMPACT can also have a direct correlation to the direction the ball leaves the putter. Putters are designed with a sweet spot located on or near the center of the putter face. This spot can be located by simply tapping a tee on the face to determine the area in which when tapped doesn’t cause rotation. If a ball is struck off the sweet spot it will roll slightly off line and with less momentum. Impact can be tested with impact tape to determine the quality of your putts.

RHYTHM is an integral part of putting.

The best putters in the world have great mechanics, but are not able to have success without rhythm. To practice your putting stroke with rhythm, simply practice between two pillows. Place a ball in the middle of the pillows and separate the pillows as far as you would like. When you are ready, count to three and then tap the pillow on the backstroke and then again on the follow-through. Repeated practice will create a personal rhythm for your putting stroke.

STABILITY is an important factor in putting. Stabilizing the putter through impact will minimize the errors of the putting stroke. There are two ways in which

Forecast

INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES:

Georgians in Olympics. . . . . . . . . . . 8

Bowles takes Georgia Amateur. . . 22

FedExCup Playoffs preview. . . . . . 10

Web.com Finals preview . . . . . . . . 24

Ga. Women's Open wrap-up . . . . . 14

DEPARTMENTS:

Georgia Open wrap-up . . . . . . . . . . 12 Bayer wins at Berkeley Hills . . . . . 16

4

GPGA Match Play update . . . . . . . 20

Section Championship preview . . 18 FOREGEORGIA.COM

Chip shots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Golf FORE Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

this can be done. First, make sure the putter is resting in the lifeline of your lead hand when holding the putter. This will allow the putter to remain stable through off-center hits and poor rhythmic motions. The length of the stroke can also help with stability. Make sure the followthrough is slightly longer than the backstroke. This helps maintain acceleration and improves stability through poor impact putts.

The Art of Putting

Many golfers idea of putting improvement consist of a few golf balls and a putter on the practice green. Many times this simply reinforces incorrect habits.

Practice must have a purpose, a plan and a procedure. This will result in a practice that is beneficial and brings improvement. Putting is an art comprised of four elements: Touch, Routine, Ritual and Green Reading.

TOUCH can be a very effective way to improve your putting while working on your mechanics. Learning to control the speed of the ball from various distances can improve your putt count for each round. Practice must first take place from different distances on the green.

Simply test your skills in increments of 10 feet, working away from the hole. Set a goal to roll 2 balls into a 3 foot circle around the hole with each attempt.

Repeat until you reach a distance of 60 feet and have successfully putted each ball into the circle.

ROUTINE is the sequence of actions that are performed in preparing to execute your putt. Almost every golfer has some sort of routine, but many do not repeat every step with consistency. The actions you make following the process of reading the green would be considered a routine. Next time you are practicing your putting, try breaking down the steps that you use in preparing to execute your putt.

It may consist of how you mark your golf ball, line up your putt or just simply making practice strokes.

RITUAL is a constant set of motions before making your putting stroke. The motions are made in a constant rhythm and timing sequence that sets the tone [ See Instruction Article, page 18 ]

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Innsbruck

[ Continued from the cover ]

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amenities including a pool, hot tub, spa, gym and steam room.

In addition to the construction of an on-site hotel, Innsbruck has undergone some other physical changes, with the 2,400 square foot golf pro shop having been relocated upstairs and an indoor hitting area and Callaway Fitting Facility added to it.

After Innsbruck went through what McCall describes as “several different owners,” the homeowners association purchased the course during the hard economic times of 2009 and “kept us viable,” McCall says.

With more concerned and active ownership involvement, Innsbruck has stabilized after some lean years for the golf industry, and McCall says there was a significant increase in play in 2015, and the numbers have improved even more this year.

McCall credits that in large part to the quality conditions of the course, particularly the greens, which he believes are “as good as they are anywhere.”

As a resort-oriented course with a strong local membership, Innsbruck serves a dual need for the community of Helen. And with the homeowners association operating the club, they have a strong incentive to ensure that both aspects of the club are being properly served.

“It’s like being two different facilities,” says McCall, who has a major role in making sure that both constituencies are taken care of.

The golf course opened in 1987 and was designed by Bill Watts, a south Florida-based architect who also did the layout at Sky Valley some 15 years earlier. Innsbruck is a playable, entertaining mountain design, and offers the aesthetically pleasing visuals of a mountain-style course, along with considerably cooler temperatures than golfers throughout the state are accustomed to this time of year.

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Along with the wonderful views of the nearby mountains, a round at Innsbruck typically includes up close and personal views of the wildlife that live on and around the course, and help make the relatively short drive from metro Atlanta a worthwhile endeavor.

“Innsbruck is a true mountain course,” McCall says, with the layout sporting some of the challenges you expect in a mountain setting.

“Some courses, you can hit the ball anywhere,” McCall points out. “This is a true target course and is like the game that used to be played.”

With Innsbruck measuring only 6,500 yards from the back tees and 6,000 from the whites, length is less a concern than accuracy, especially since many of the tees are elevated. For the most part, the landing areas tilt a bit uphill to reduce the run on tee shots, and the uphill nature of many of the approach shots helps to balance out the impact of the elevated tees.

Innsbruck is reasonably tight off the tee, with almost all the holes featuring dense tree lines that are within reach of an errant drive. Some of the holes are bordered by friendly mounds that will re-direct tee shots back towards the fairway. Others include sharp slopes that will not react kindly to excessive hooks or slices.

Watts’ design keeps blind shots, often the bane of mountain layouts, to a bare minimum. Water is seriously in play on five of the holes, and they are among the most interesting on the course, most notably the signature par-3 15th.

The stunning hole drops about 150 feet from the back tee, which measures around 180 yards. Trees surround the green on

three sides, with water short and the trees looming long if you take too much club. The view is spectacular, but the challenge is considerable.

The remaining par 3s are not quite as eye-opening as the 15th, but both 4 and 8 include sharp drop-offs to the sides of long, fairly narrow greens flanked on both sides by bunkers, while the mostly tame 11th plays fractionally uphill.

Although the 15th gets the most attention, the par-4 ninth was cited several years ago by Arnold Palmer’s Kingdom magazine as one of country’s best ninth holes. The hole is a modest 380 yards, with a lake at the end of the fairway on the downhill, dogleg right in play for those playing more aggressively than necessary, along with a creek that winds down the right side. The lake hugs the green left and long, with a sizeable bunker fronting a wide, shallow putting surface that sits below the Bavarian style clubhouse.

Water guards the left side of the opening fairway, but at just 360 yards with a receptive mound right of the fairway, is not quite as imposing an opener as it appears. Accuracy is the key on most of the remaining par 4s, at least until you get to the long and demanding 18th, which offers a little more fairway but begins with trees tight to the left of the tee and has hazards at differing spots on both sides prior to reaching the sloping green.

For the challenge Innsbruck poses because of its elevation changes and frequently narrow fairways, the putting surfaces also provide a healthy test, with several of them featuring appreciable amounts of slope that make for some touchy efforts from above the hole.

With a nice mix of mid-range and shorter par 4s, Innsbruck provides scoring opportunities on a variety of holes, although some of the shorter par 4s sport fairways that can leave you with an uncomfortable downhill lie if your drive goes past the high spot of the fairway.

Among those is the 13th, which has lost a large amount of length from the back tee over the years.

All four of the par 5s are also shorter than they once were, especially the 16th, at one time the toughest of the par 5s.

The hole still has water running almost the entire length of the hole and trouble to the right along with a hard to hold sloping green with a prominent front right bunker, but is much more comfortable from a distance standpoint.

The seventh is the risk/reward member of the group, with a small body of water short right of the green and a creek flowing from it cutting in front of the putting surface. Even if you lay up, the creek is still very much in play on the short third shot if the hole is cut close to the front of the green.

For information, visit www.innsbruckgolfclub.com or call 800-642-2709 AUGUST 2016

GOLF’S BIGGEST FINISH

The 10th FedExCup season all comes down to the back nine at East Lake Golf Club on Sunday. Expect a more dramatic finish than ever before, when the front and back nines are flipped for this year’s PGA TOUR season finale.

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Player appearance subject to eligibility

SEPT. 21 - 25 • EAST LAKE GOLF CLUB

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Watson, Reed, Kuchar to represent U.S.

3 ex-Georgia collegians on Olympic team

By Mike Blum

Willett) and Sergio Garcia.

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STEVE DINBERG

STEVE DINBERG

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Patrick Reed FOREGEORGIA.COM

Bubba Watson

four who did not play his Matt Kuchar college golf in Georgia.

Watson essentially played just one year at the U. of Georgia, enjoying a successful junior season after transferring from an Alabama junior college. But after earning honorable mention All-America honors in 2000, Watson spent the entire 2001 season on the bench, making just one appearance as an individual in an event in Statesboro he won the year before.

By 2003, Watson was a member of what is now the Web.com Tour, and played on it for three years, earning the last spot for the PGA Tour in 2005 by placing 21st on the Georgia as money list.

The 37-year-old Watson, a northwest a freshman before transferring to Florida native, is in his 11th season on Augusta State, where he led the Jaguars the PGA Tour and has nine career victo- to back-to-back NCAA Championships ries, all coming since 2010, including in 2010 and ’11. He turned pro immedithe 2012 and ’14 Masters. He has at least ately after his junior season and after a one victory in six of the last seven sea- successful year of Monday qualifying on sons, including two wins each is 2011, the PGA Tour in 2012, became a Tour ’14 and ’15. He also has 14 career runner- member in 2013.

The 26-year-old Reed, a native of San up finishes, three apiece in both 2014 and ’15, finishing fifth in the final Antonio, has won four times in his four seasons on the PGA Tour, two of them FedExCup standings both years.

So far this season, Watson has a win in coming in 2014. He has yet to win this Los Angeles and a second place finish in season, but has a pair of runner-up finthe WGC event at Doral. He has repre- ishes, one of them in his hometown. He sented the U.S. in the last three Ryder was a member of the 2014 Ryder Cup Cups and two of the last three Presidents and 2015 Presidents Cup teams, and is a Cups, and will almost certainly be a strong contender to make the Ryder Cup member of this year’s U.S. squad. At the this year.

Kuchar also attended college in the time the Olympic teams were finalized, Watson was the top-ranked player in the state, starring for Georgia Tech from Games at No. 5, but has since dropped to 1997-2000. The Yellow Jackets finished sixth, just behind Stenson, who moved third and second in the NCAA Championship during his four years on up after his British Open win.

Fowler is next in the rankings at No. the team, and he twice earned first team 7, with Reed 13 and Kuchar 15 at the All-American status. During his years at deadline. Reed and Kuchar made the Georgia Tech, Kuchar won the 1997 U.S team when Johnson and Spieth passed Amateur and finished 21st and 14th as on Olympic participation, and an amateur the next year in the Masters Kuchar has since dropped out of the top and U.S. Open.

In his first season as a pro in 2001, 15, the cutoff for players whose countries already had two qualifiers. Had the Kuchar played his way onto the PGA deadline been extended to include the Tour with four top-10 finishes in 11 British Open, Phil Mickelson would starts. He won a tournament during his have replaced Kuchar on the American first full season the next year, but lost his team.

Reed played part of one season at [ See Olympics, page 23 ] STEVE DINBERG

hen golf makes its return to the Olympics this month, the fourman U.S. team will consist of three players with Georgia ties, two of whom made the squad thanks to the lengthy list of world class players who elected to skip the Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The players not competing in Rio have largely overshadowed those who are competing, with the roster of no-shows including the top four players in World Day, Dustin Rankings (Jason Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy), as well as a host of other prominent names (Adam Scott, Branden Grace, Louis Ooshuizen, Hideki Matsuyama, Charl Schwartzel, Shane Lowry, K.T. Kim, Marc Leishman, Francisco Molinari, Graeme McDowell, Victor Dubuisson and Vijay Singh.

The danger of the Zika virus was the main reason cited by the absent players, although the crowded Summer schedule necessitated by the addition of golf to the Olympics was also a major factor. The Olympics will be played two weeks after the PGA Championship, which was two weeks after the British Open. The FedExCup Playoffs begin two weeks after Olympic golf ends.

Five of the game’s top 10 players will be among the 60-player field, including Americans Bubba Watson and Rickie Fowler, two of this year’s major champions (Henrik Stenson and Danny

Among the 60 players are 18 PGA Tour members and a handful of Web.com players, including Ireland’s Seamus Power, a Web.com member who was the beneficiary of some of the more prominent absences.

A total of 34 countries will be represented, with the four-man U.S. team the only one with more than two players. Ten of the countries will have just one player, among them host Brazil (Addison da Silva), Venezuela (Jhonattan Vegas), and some players not exactly major names outside their home countries.

Miguel Tabuena, Felipe Aguilar, Espen Kofstad and Siddikur Rahman all qualified, with Mexico’s Rodolfo Cazaubon, ranked 344 at the time teams were determined, the last individual to get in.

Players will compete over 72 holes in a stroke play format, the same as professional tournaments all over the world.

There is no team competition, with the three medals going to the top three individuals. In addition to the five top-10 players in the field, other highly-ranked non-American players include Justin Rose, Rafa Cabrera-Bello, Byeong Hun An, Thongchai Jaidee, Danny Lee, Emiliano Grillo, David Lingmerth, Soren Kjeldsen, Bernd Wiesberger, Martin Kaymer, Kiradech Aphibarnrat, Anirban Lahiri, Thorbjorn Olesen and Joost Luiten.

Joining Watson and Fowler on the U.S. team are Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar, with Fowler the only one of the

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2016 AUGUST

FOREGEORGIA.COM

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English, Howell again hover around top 30

20 Georgia golfers in line to make Playoffs

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

STEVE DINBERG

Charles Howell

AL KOOISTRA

ith three tournaments remaining in the PGA Tour’s 2015-16 regular season schedule, 18 players with Georgia ties were among the top 100 in the points standings, with two others inside the top 125.

The top 125 at the conclusion of the annual tour stop in Greensboro on August 21 will qualify for the first Playoffs event at Bethpage Black starting August 25. The top 100 after that event will advance to TPC Boston Labor Day weekend, with the remaining top 70 competing at Crooked Stick Sept. 8-11.

After a week off, the top 30 in the Playoffs standings will move on to East Lake for the Tour Championship Sept.

22-25. Other than Rory McIlroy, who will enter the Playoffs outside the top 30, most of the game’s elite players have pretty much locked up spots at East Lake, including Jason Day (No. 1), Dustin Johnson (2), Adam Scott (3), Jordan Spieth (4), former FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker (5), Phil Mickelson (6), British Open champion Henrik Stenson (12) and PGA champion Jimmy Walker (14).

Three of the four U.S. Olympians played their college golf in Georgia and were all ranked 21st or better in the FedExCup standings, along with a former Georgia Bulldog who was among the top 10 in the standings.

Here is a look at how Georgia’s PGA Tour members stood in the FedExCup standings with three tournaments left in the regular season: Olympian Patrick Reed is the

leading player with Georgia ties at No. 8 in the standings. Reed, who led Augusta State to back-to-back national titles in 2010 and ’11, is winless this season after scoring four victories in his first three years. But he has a pair of runner-up finishes, one in the Tournament of Champions and one in his hometown of San Antonio.

For the season, Reed has a total of nine top 10s, tied for second on the tour, and is coming off consecutive finishes of 12th and 13th at the British Open and PGA. Reed has qualified for East Lake the last two years and will make it 3-for-3 next month.

Right behind in ninth place is exUGA golfer Kevin Kisner of Aiken, S.C. Kisner recorded four straight top 10s early in the 2015-16 season, including a runner-up finish in the WGC event in China and his first PGA Tour victory in the RSM Classic at Sea Island GC. But he has just one top 10 since opening 2016 with finishes of ninth and fifth in the two Hawaii tournaments in early January, although he has turned in a number of solid showings the last two months. Kisner qualified for the Tour Championship for the first time last year after never cracking the top 100 in his first three seasons, Olympian Matt Kuchar is in excellent position to make it to East Lake for a seventh straight year at 18th in the standings. Kuchar is tied with Reed for second in top-10 finishes with nine, highlighted by a four-tournament stretch in which he placed third in the Players and Byron Nelson, sixth at Colonial and fourth in the Memorial. He also has a recent third in the WGC event at Firestone. Kuchar is the lone Georgia resident among the top 30 in the FedExCup standings, living on St. Simons Island after spending several years in the Atlanta area. Kuchar played his college golf at Georgia Tech.

Former UGA golfer Bubba Watson is the third Georgia Olympian, and is 21st in the FedExCup standings after playing

AL KOOISTRA

By Mike Blum

Harris English

a light schedule. Watson won on the West Coast in Los Angles and was second at Doral, but has not done much since.

He has qualified for the Tour Championship five of the last six years, including back-to-back finishes of fifth in 2014 and ’15.

Harris English has placed 31st, 32nd and 28th in the FedExCup standings the last three seasons and is in a similar position this year at 33. The former Georgia Bulldog was third in Phoenix and second at Colonial, but is still looking for his first victory since taking a pair of titles in 2013. English, a Valdosta native who is living on St. Simons Island, made the cut in all four majors this year, but did not finish in the top 35 in any of them, including the PGA when he was among the top 10 going to the final day of play.

Augusta native Charles Howell was in position to return to his hometown major before having to take a break from the tour in early July after undergoing surgery to remove a non-cancerous growth from his neck. Howell may return just prior to the start of the Playoffs, and needs a strong finish to move back into the top 30. He was 36th and falling farther out of the top 30.

As usual, Howell got off to a strong start on the season and played consistently until being sidelined with 13 top-25 finishes in 22 starts, including top 5s in Tampa and Dallas. Howell has twice qualified for East Lake, but finished just outside the top 30 in both 2013 and ’14.

Kevin Kisner

St. Simons resident Zach Johnson has been in the Tour Championship field seven of the last nine years, but at 51 will have to go some to make it eight of 10.

Johnson, who has 12 wins and two majors in 13 seasons, has a string of solid showings this year, including an 8th in the U.S. Open and 12th in his British Open title defense.

Roberto Castro went from qualifying for the Tour Championship in 2013 to being back on the Web.com Tour in 2015, but has a shot at a return to East Lake this year at 52nd. Castro lost in a playoff at Quail Hollow, and has a pair of ties for 11th since. Castro, who grew up in Alpharetta, starred at Georgia Tech and still lives in the Atlanta area.

After leading the Web.com Tour money list last year, former Auburn golfer Patton Kizzire picked up right where he left off, tying for second in his PGA Tour debut in Las Vegas and for fourth in his next start. The St. Simons resident has played respectably since and was 53rd on the points list after three months of minimally successful results.

Chris Kirk was second in the final FedExCup standings in 2014, and has never finished outside the top 50 in his first five seasons with four victories. Like Howell, the former UGA star has played solid throughout the year with 11 finishes in the top 25, his best showing a tie for fifth in New Orleans. Kirk is a Woodstock native who lived on St. Simons Island before settling in Athens.

After 10 years on the PGA Tour that AUGUST 2016

included two victories and a spot on a Ryder Cup team, Augusta’s Vaughn Taylor lost his tour status after the 2013 season, but regained it when he scored a surprise victory at Pebble Beach by one shot over Mickelson. Taylor missed nine of his next 13 cuts but has raised the level of his play recently and was 60th after a solid showing in the PGA. Acworth resident Jason Bohn got off to a spectacular start in 2015-16, placing T3, T2 and P2 in three of his four Fall starts. But Bohn was sidelined for six weeks after suffering a heart attack while playing in the Honda Classic and has been unable to regain his previous form since recovering from the health scare.

Bohn has been a steady player during his 13-year career, collecting a pair of victories, Bryce Molder, who teamed with Kuchar to give Georgia Tech one of the most accomplished duos in the history of its golf program, has not enjoyed the same success as a pro, but has been a PGA Tour fixture since 2009 and is in his 10th season. Molder, whose lone win came in ’09, is in line for his sixth top-70 FedExCup finish, standing 72nd with

2016 AUGUST

five top 10s, all of them in the South or Southwest.

Savannah native Brian Harman, a St. Simons resident, is in his fifth season and also has one victory in the 2014 John Deere. After placing in the top 60 three of his first four seasons on the PGA Tour, the former Georgia Bulldog and twotime Walker Cup team member is 78th this year with seven top-25 finishes, but has yet to have one big week.

Like former teammates English and Harman, Macon native Russell Henley played his college golf in Athens and won the Georgia Amateur as a Bulldog, in his case twice. Henley was an immediate success on the Web.com Tour and won his PGA Tour debut in Hawaii in early 2013. He added a second win the next year in the Honda Classic and qualified for the Tour Championship, but has fallen back a bit the last two years. He was 63rd last season and stands at 87 this year with four top 10s, but has missed more cuts than he’s made.

Augusta native Scott Brown, now a neighbor of Kisner’s in Aiken, S.C., also has four top 10 finishes this season, but has played just once since withdrawing

from the tournament in Memphis. Brown, in his fifth season, has one win in an opposite field event in Puerto Rico in 2013, and has secured his exempt status for 2016-17 at 99 on the points list.

Luke List was unable to retain his playing privileges after his PGA Tour rookie season in 2013, but is positioned to remain exempt for next year at 111. He had an early T6 in Palm Springs and has five top 20s since, playing in the final group of the third round with Dustin Johnson in the recent Canadian Open before shooting a 77. He recovered with a 67 on Sunday to tie for 14th to move up in the FedExCup standings. The longhitting List grew up in north Georgia and put together an impressive amateur

Jason Bohn

career during his days at Vanderbilt. [ See Playoffs, page 21 ]

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Ex-Armstrong golfer wins at Ford Plantation

Tuten takes Georgia Open title over Palmer oing to the final round of the Georgia Open presented

by Gas South and E-Z-GO at Ford Plantation outside Savannah, former Armstrong Atlantic golfer Shad Tuten had a specific game plan.

Tuten, a pro for a little less than a year, began the round three shots off the lead, but was determined to concentrate on his game and pay as little attention as possible to how he stood in relation to the leader.

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Shad Tuten

GEORGIA PGA

That turned out to a little more difficult than Tuten planned, as he was paired in the final group with third round leader Blake Palmer.

“I didn’t want to know where I was,” Tuten said the day after his victory. “I just wanted to play my own game.”

The final round was a two-player battle between Palmer and Tuten, who had separated themselves from the field after three rounds. Palmer, a mini-tour player from Dawsonville, led at 15-under 201 after three consecutive scores of 67, with Tuten matching Palmer’s 67s the first two days before a third round 70.

Recent West Georgia golfer Barrett Waters of Dallas, who made his professional debut in the Georgia Open, was the third member of the final group in the fourth round, but was a distant seven

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shots off the lead.

But after having his way with the challenging Pete Dye layout for three days, Palmer “did not have a great day,” Tuten said, and was unable to match his previous level of play. Palmer lost his lead when he went double bogey-bogey on holes 5 and 6, with Tuten taking the lead for the first time when he reached the par-5 ninth in two and two-putted for birdie.

Palmer briefly reclaimed a share of the lead with a birdie at the par-5 11th, but Tuten hit it close for birdie on the par-3 12th and expanded his lead to two shots with a clutch par putt at the 14th.

Palmer came back with a birdie at 15 to trim Tuten’s lead to one, but Tuten responded with a birdie at the par-5 16th and followed with a 7-iron to tap-in range for birdie on the par-3 17th to lock up his victory and the first place check for $7500.

Tuten shot 69 in the final round , with his lone bogey coming at the difficult par-4 18th. He finished with a 15-under 273 total, three in front of Palmer and eight shots clear of Savannah native Tim O’Neal, who placed second in the Georgia Open in 2010, the last time it was held in Savannah.

The victory was by far the most significant of Tuten’s young career, and he said, “Words can’t describe,” what winning the Georgia Open means to him. He said the key to his victory was three hardearned pars the final day that accounted for the margin between him and Palmer.

“Blake is a great player, but he’s pretty aggressive and the pins were extremely difficult in the last round,” Tuten observed. “I’ve never been the best ballstriker. I’ve relied on my short game.”

Tuten was born in Augusta and grew up in Elberton, and prior to his victory in the Georgia Open, he said his biggest accomplishment in golf was winning the Augusta City Amateur twice. Tuten enjoyed a successful college and amateur career, winning three times at Armstrong before graduating last year and three times in non-collegiate amateur events.

He lost in a playoff in the 2014 Southeastern Amateur in Columbus and contended early in the 2015 Dogwood before closing out his amateur career last summer by qualifying for the U.S. Amateur.

“That was the biggest thing for me,”

he said of making it into the field of the U.S. Amateur in his final attempt. “I wanted to give it one last shot before I turned pro and I made it.”

Since turning pro last fall, Tuten has played on various regional tours, and plans to take his first shot at qualifying for the Web.com Tour later this year. He says he has “jumped around a lot, but I’m not a member of any tour. There are so many of them.”

The Georgia Open was hampered by rain the first two days, with the second round not completed until Saturday morning.

Palmer and Tuten shared the lead after the rain-delayed first round at 67 along with Georgia PGA apprentice Chris Nicol, an assistant at Georgia Golf Center in Roswell. Palmer had eight birdies in his opening round, and was 7under for the round before a double-bogey at the sixth, his 15th hole of the day. He was the only one of three early leaders to complete his round Thursday. Tuten birdied four of his last six holes for a bogey-free 67, with Nicol running off five birdies in a six-hole stretch beginning at the eighth.

Tuten had the lead at 10-under 134 when the second round was halted Friday, with Palmer also 10-under with three holes to play. Tuten again shot a bogey-free 67 while Palmer carded seven more birdies in his 67, giving up the outright lead when he bogeyed the 18th Saturday morning.

Adairsville’s Deven Broadaway, the 2015 GSGA Public Links champion, moved into third place at 136 with a 66, with O’Neal fourth at 137 after also shooting 66 with eight birdies. O’Neal is a veteran tour player with Web.com Tour experience, and has won three times since 2013 on the LatinoAmerica Tour. Just prior to turning pro, O’Neal won the 1997 Georgia Amateur.

Also shooting 66 in the second round was Hunter Cornelius of Ringgold, a member of Coastal Georgia’s 2014 NAIA Championship golf team. Cornelius was tied for eighth at 140 and wound up in a tie for 12th at 286. Waters, Nicol and Savannah’s Drew Aimone were tied for fifth after 36 holes at 139.

GEORGIA PGA

By Mike Blum

Blake Palmer

Palmer, who played his college golf at Gardner-Webb, took control of the tournament with a third straight 67 to lead Tuten by three, Waters by seven, Aimone by eight and Broadaway by nine heading to the final round.

The 30-year-old Palmer has status on the Web.com Tour, but finished well down the list in the finals of qualifying last year and has not been able to get into a tournament this season. He plays primarily on the Open Golf Atlanta tour, a series of mostly one-day events at courses in the metro area, and leads the tour’s money list this year with wins at Echelon and Eagle’s Brooke along with four runner-up finishes.

Palmer and Tuten matched pars for the first six holes of the third round, but after Tuten bogeyed the seventh, Palmer reeled off four birdies in a row and added an eagle on the par-5 16th. Tuten carded three birdies on the back nine to stay close, while Waters eagled the 11th and shot 69 to move into third at 208.

O’Neal managed just one birdie in a third round 74 to fall out of contention, but came back with a final round 70 to place third at 281. The highlight of O’Neal’s final round was a hole-out for eagle on the par-4 15th.

Five players tied for fourth at 283, including Aimone, Broadaway and Waters. Also finishing at 283 was former Kennesaw State golfer Jimmy Beck of Columbus and Ben Kishigian of Warner Robins. Beck won the Georgia Amateur at Pinetree, his home course in college, in 2013 and was second in the Georgia Open at Pinetree the next year. [ See Georgia Open, page 28 ] AUGUST 2016

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2 balls in hazard on 15 dooms Yost’s hopes

Wallace takes Ga. Women’s Open in playoff

By Mike Blum

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GEORGIA PGA

fter losing a playoff in the Georgia Women’s Open at Brookfield Country Club, Kaylin Yost can identify with Jordan Spieth’s experience in the 2016 Masters.

Like Spieth, Yost held a sizeable lead on the back nine when two ill-timed and poorly hit shots on a par-3 resulted in a quadruple bogey and the loss of her lead.

Yost went from four shots ahead to tied after making a 7 on the par-3 15th at Brookfield, and needed a birdie on the demanding par-4 17th to force a playoff with former college rival Meagan Wallace. Both players had excellent opportunities to birdie the first playoff hole – the par- 5 18th -- but only Wallace was able to cash in and claim the title in just her second start as a professional.

Wallace, who shot 68 in the first round to trail Yost by two, put herself in an immediate hole the final day when she pulled her opening tee shot out of bounds and made double bogey. Her deficit reached six shots after seven holes, but Wallace responded with four birdies over her next nine holes to take the lead for the first time after 16.

Yost birdied the 17th to pull even with one hole to play before both players parred the 18th to finish the tournament at 6-under 138. Shabril Brewer surged into contention when she birdied four holes on the back nine to get to 6-under, but bogeyed the 18th to finish third at 139 after a final round 68.

Neither Wallace nor Brewer is a Georgia resident and Yost has only lived in the state a few months, currently residing in Kennesaw. Wallace is from Charlotte and played college golf in South Carolina at Winthrop. Yost, who still resides part time in south Florida, played at Campbell in North Carolina, like Winthrop a member of the Big South Conference. Brewer is from Fairfax, Va., and played college golf in her home state at James Madison.

Both Wallace and Yost graduated in 2014, with Yost turning pro immediately after completing her college career and Wallace waiting until this year to compete professionally. Brewer graduated in 2015 and has played professionally since.

Yost was playing on the Symetra Tour last year and enjoying little success when she decided to give up the sport. She said she quit playing golf for about six month and got a fulltime job before returning to golf as a career earlier this year. She has mainly been playing in LPGA qualifiers in 2016, and will attempt to qualify for the LPGA or Symetra Tours later this year.

Wallace has been looking for tournaments to play, and discovered the Georgia Women’s Open in a Google search. The tournament has been open to players from outside the state the past few years, with this year the first time that non-Georgia residents had a significant impact on the event.

Prior to the Georgia Women’s Open, Wallace had played in only one professional tournament and said winning in her second pro start was “pretty good. I don’t think it gets better than first place.”

Even though Wallace was playing in the final group with Yost in the second round, she said she was unaware of where she stood in relation to her playing partner.

“I had no idea where I stood. I thought she had me by one shot. I didn’t know we were in a playoff until after the 18th hole.”

Beginning her round with an out of bounds tee shot that cost her a double bogey was “frustrating,” Wallace said, but she came back to hit her second drive “right down the middle. You have to leave it behind,” she said of the opening double bogey.

Wallace remained four shots behind until a Yost birdie and Wallace bogey at the par-4 sixth widened the gap to six.

Birdies at 8 and 11, both par 3s, pulled Wallace within four of the lead, but Yost birdied the par-4 12th with a well-struck approach shot to expand the lead to five.

Wallace birdied the par-5 14th with a chip and a short putt to again close within four when Yost pulled both her tee shot and her shorter second into the hazard left of the 15th green.

“I just did not commit to the shot,” Yost said. “I was not confident with it.”

Wallace went ahead with a birdie after a delicate wedge shot into the par-5 16th, but Yost pulled even with a 15-

footer for birdie at the 17th.Yost was in position for a winning birdie at the 18th, but caught her third shot heavy, and needed to save par with a chip and a putt to force the playoff, Both players hit accurate wedge shots to the 18th green in the playoff, but Yost left herself a sharp-breaking putt and missed on the low side. Wallace had a slippery downhill putt from closer range and holed it to take home first place money of $1,600. Yost earned $1,100 for her runner-up finish.

Wallace said she will not attempt LPGA/Symetra qualifying until next year, noting, “I’m trying to get as much experience as I can.”

Although Yost’s mishap on the 15th was a large component of Wallace’s victory, Wallace joined Masters champion Danny Willett in playing a strong final round, especially down the stretch.

“You can’t change the way it happened, but I played well coming in on the back nine,” Wallace said.

Wallace shot 3-under 34 on the final nine at Brookfield, and played her last 11 holes in 4-under to overtake Yost.

Despite her problems on the 15th that cost her the victory, Yost said she was “overall happy with the way I played and happy to birdie the 17th. This was my best finish as a pro.”

Brewer was third at 139, with Mercer golfer Payton Schanen, who played her high school golf in north Fulton at Cambridge, fourth at 140 and low amateur after scores of 69-71. Schanen had five birdies in the final round after

opening with back-toback bogeys.

Jessica Haigwood, who played her high school golf at Brookfield as a member of the golf team at Roswell, was fifth at 141 after finishing second each of the previous three years in the Georgia Women’s Open at Brookfield. She had a relatively short eagle putt at the 18th to tie Schanen, but settled for her fifth birdie of the day.

Meagan Tying for sixth at 142 Wallace was a trio of SEC golfers – Ji Eun Baek of Mississippi State, and Michaela Owen and Kayley Marschke, both of Auburn. Baik, from Newnan, shot 72-70, with Owen matching Brewer for the low score of the second round at 68. Marschke, who will be a freshman at Auburn this Fall, had back-to-back 71s.

Four players tied for ninth at 144, including former champions Kendall Wright of Duluth and Druid Hills assistant professional Karen Paolozzi.

Wright, who won in 2012 at Callaway Gardens, closed with a 70, while Paolozzi, who won in 2014 at Brookfield and tied for second last year, shot 73 in the final round after being close to the lead early on the back nine. She was 3over for her final seven holes.

Pro Jessica Welch of Lavonia, also a runner-up last year, closed with a 70 for a 144 total, with Moultrie’s Marin Hanna, Schanen’s teammate at Mercer, posting scores of 73-71.

Defending champion Ashlan Ramsey of Milledgeville, who is struggling as a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season, was tied for third after an opening 69, but suffered through a difficult final round, shooting 77 to tie for 17th at 146.

Ramsey dominated the field last year, winning by seven shots with a tournament record store of 12-under 132, but was not the same player this time, especially in the final round when she failed to make a birdie.

The tournament drew a field of 75 players, one of the largest in the event’s history, which dates back to 1995.

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Weinhart second, again finishes as low pro

Amateur Bayer a winner at Berkeley Hills

By Mike Blum

er Jacob Bay

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Bayer saved par after his only missed green of the back nine at the par-3 14th, and added to his lead with birdies at 15 and 16. He came up about 20 yards short of the green in two on the par-5 15th and knocked in a 12-footer.

When he reached the 16th tee, Bayer learned that he was ahead by two shots, describing it as “a weird feeling. But after I found out about it on the tee, I didn’t think about it.” Nine-under at the time, Bayer thought the lead number would be in double figures under par.

“I didn’t think I would be leading by two,” said Bayer, who responded to that knowledge by hitting a big drive at the par-4 16th and rolling in a 15-footer for birdie to increase his lead to three. He had looks at birdie at both 17 and 18, settling for pars to finish at 10-under.

When both Weinhart and Jarrard failed to birdie the 15th, their hopes for forcing a playoff were greatly reduced, with Weinhart taking second place by himself with a birdie at the 16th.

Bayer has won events on the Southeastern Junior Tour and placed second earlier this year in an American Junior event at Coosa CC in Rome, with his victory at Berkeley Hills his most significant yet.

Playing the tournament on his home course “was definitely an advantage,” he offered. “You know where you have to hit it, but you still have to hit the shots.”

Trailing by four going to the final round, Bayer said he was focused on trying to move up into the top five, and did not think winning the tournament was a realistic hope.

“I was just trying to make as many

GEORGIA PGA

hings are becoming predictable in the at Championship Berkeley Hills.

For the fourth straight year, an amateur won the Georgia PGA tournament. And for the third time in that span, Tim Weinhart came away with first place money and first place points among the Georgia PGA members in the field.

Jacob Bayer, a junior member at Berkeley Hills and a rising senior at Gwinnett’s Collins Hill High School, fired a final round 65 for a 36-hole total of 10-under 134 and a 2-stroke victory over Weinhart, who closed with a 67 to finish at 136.

Joseph Jarrard, who has transferred from Armstrong Atlantic to North Georgia, finished third at 137 after taking the first round lead with a 65.

Jarrard shot 72 the final day. Tying for fourth at 138 was Frederica GC head pro Hank Smith (69-69) and veteran tour player Paul Claxton (70-68), who has joined the staff at Hawk’s Point in Vidalia as Director of Golf.

Bayer did not get off to the best of starts in the tournament, beginning his opening round with bogeys on the first two holes. He did not make bogey the rest of the day and carded five birdies for a 69 to trail Jarrard by four going to the final round.

For the first seven holes of the second round, Bayer was just 1-under par and still four off Jarrard’s lead. A beautiful tee shot on the par-3 eighth to within two feet resulted in Bayer’s second birdie of the day, and he briefly gained a share of the lead when he reached the short par-5 10th in two for a birdie.

Bayer missed from about five feet for birdie at the short, par-3 11th, but gave himself another 5-footer at the 12th and holed it to pull even with Weinhart, who was playing in the group behind them, and Jarrard, who was in the final pairing.

After both made birdie at the 10th, Weinhart and Jarrard managed just one more birdie apiece the remainder of their rounds, but Bayer was far from finished adding circles to his scorecard. He hit his second on the difficult on the par-4 13th within 10 feet and made the putt to take the outright lead for the first time.

birdies as I could,” he said. He made enough the second day to become the fourth straight amateur to win the Championship at Berkeley Hills.

Bayer, a lanky left-hander, has verbally committed to play college golf at Western Kentucky, but after his recent victory, he may be hearing from some programs with more name recognition than the Hilltoppers.

Weinhart has enjoyed a run of success in the tournament, which was first played in 2010, placing fourth or better five times, including a pair of runnerup finishes. Three of the last four years, Weinhart has finished as low pro, shooting 10-under and 8-under the last two without a victory.

“I played a lot of really good golf,” Weinhart said. “I’ve got to play better.”

Like Bayer, Weinhart got off to a rocky start in the opening round. Teeing off in the 10th hole, he made bogeys at 12, 13 and 14 and was 3-over after five. He was 6-under over his final 13 holes with two birdies and an eagle on the remaining par 5s, concluding his round with birdies on his final three holes.

Weinhart moved into a tie for the lead by playing the front nine the next day in 3-under 33, highlighted by a chip-in eagle on the third, his second eagle on the hole in two days. He briefly took the outright lead with a birdie at the 10th, but could not keep up with Bayer down the stretch. He was 11-under par for his last 31 holes in the tournament.

“That’s nice; that helps,” he said of the first place check for $1,500 and the first place points that moved him to the top of the standings as he shoots for a ninth

Tim Weinhart

Georgia PGA Player of the Year honor.

“But I’m just not getting it done.”

Weinhart has 14 career victories in Georgia PGA points events during his two decades in the Section, but his last wins came in 2012, when he collected his third Match Play title and won the Section’s qualifier for the national club professional championship for a fourth time.

It was Weinhart’s second tournament appearance at Berkeley Hills in the span of less than a week. His third round match in the GPGA Match Play Championship against Karen Paolozzi was played at the Duluth club, and Weinhart scored a tight 2-up victory to advance to the quarterfinals.

Weinhart, the No. 1 seed in the bracket, and the 17th-seeded Paolozzi, were all square after nine holes, at which point both players stepped up their games. Weinhart birdied holes 10, 12 and 13, but the match was still even as Paolozzi birdied 11, 12 and 13.

Weinhart got up-and-down for par to win the 14th and take the lead, but Paolozzi won the 16th to get back to even.

Paolozzi’s tee shot on the 17th went through the fairway and left her with an obstructed second shot, and she bogeyed to fall 1-down, with Weinhart also winning the 18th to take the match.

Weinhart’s final round 67 was the second lowest score of the day, behind only Bayer’s 65. Bayer’s score matched that of Jarrard’s the day before for low round of the tournament, and was two strokes lower than his previous best on his home course.

“I got my putter going on the second nine yesterday and hit it close a few times,” Jarrard said of his opening 65.

Jarrard was just 1-under after 11 holes the first day when he birdied six of his last seven holes. His only par in that stretch came on the fourth hole, as he finished the round with five consecutive birdies.

“I made a few putts outside 20 feet. It was a normal round until the last few holes.”

Playing with the lead the second day was “tough,” Jarrard said. “I left some putts short. I left a few out there, but it was a good tournament overall. The first round was better than I’ve been playing.” [ See Berkeley Hills, page 18 ] AUGUST 2016

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Veteran GPGA group shoots for Section title

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Craig Stevens

The only other player to win the Georgia PGA Championship since 2009 is Frederica head pro Hank Smith, who scored a runaway victory at Seaside in 2014, winning by a whopping 10 shots over six players who shared second place.

The Georgia PGA Championship has rotated between Sea Island Golf Club’s three resort courses – Seaside, Plantation and Retreat – since 2004, with Seaside the host course for the event in 2005, ’08, ’11 and ’14. Seaside has also been the

site of the PGA Tour RSM Classic since 2010, with Plantation sharing host duties for the first time last year.

Smith scored his dominating victory at Seaside two years ago, finishing with a 9under 201 total, the only player under par for the 54-hole tournament, the lone three-day event for the Georgia PGA. Keppler won at Seaside in 2011, with Currahee Director of Golf Clark Spratlin (2008) and Heritage Golf Links instructor Tim Weinhart (2005) the pre-

Berkeley Hills

After notching seven birdies the day before, Parrott’s only birdie the final round came when he hit his second shot on the par-5 third inside 10 feet, but missed his eagle attempt. After a pair of early bogeys, he parred his last 14 holes.

Tying for eighth at 140 was J.P. Griffin (70-70) of Cherokee T&CC, Seth McCain (69-71) of Jennings Mill and Brian Dixon (68-72) of Fox Creek.

Dixon and McCain were both within one shot of the lead on the back nine before Bayer pulled away.

Five players tied for 11th at 141, including Sonny Skinner (72-69) of Spring Hill CC, Mark Anderson (7170) of Brunswick CC, Craig Stevens (70-71) of Brookstone G&CC, Stephen Keppler (69-72) of Marietta CC and amateur Mark Nickerson (69-72).

[ Continued from page 16 ]

Brookfield CC head pro Michael Parrott almost matched Jarrrard the first day with a 66, but managed just one birdie the second day and shot 73 to tie for sixth at 139 with West Pines head pro Chris Cartwright (71-68).

Instruction Article

and the execution of a Ritual will allow you to stop thinking about making the proper stroke mechanics and focus on the touch of the putting stroke.

GREEN READING is the process of determining direction and speed to make a putt. To improve your ability to read greens, there must be a combination of proper mechanics and the ability to consistently start the ball on your intended

line. When this is achieved, it helps eliminate much of the guesswork in reading the green.

Hopefully this gives you a basic idea of how to improve your putting. Have a purpose, follow the plan and know the procedure and see your scores improve in no time at all. To reach Jeff Frasier, call 770-534-0512, or visit www.frasiergolf.com.

[ Continued from page 4 ]

and timing for the rhythm of your stroke.

It takes three beats to establish rhythm. A simple movement to trigger the ritual and a look of motion towards the hole then back to the ball would be sufficient.

The combination of a steady Routine

GEORGIA PGA

he E-Z-GO Georgia PGA Championship returns to Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside course late this month, and will feature a familiar group of frequent contenders, several of whom have successful histories in the event extending back more than two decades.

James Mason, Stephen Keppler and Craig Stevens have a combined 11 victories in the event, beginning with Keppler’s first of four titles in 1990.

Mason won three times in a four-year stretch from 1997-2000 and Stevens scored the first of his three wins in 2001after two previous runner-up finishes.

While all three players have been contenders in the championship since the 1990s, they remain among the elite players in the tournament, combining to win four of the last six Section Championships. This year’s event is scheduled for August 29-31.

Mason, who was absent from the tournament for more than a decade while playing on the Champions Tour, tied for second in 2014 and won last year for the fourth time at the age of 64.

Keppler, 55, the Director of Golf at Marietta CC, won three times between 1990 and ’96 before a long winless stretch in the tournament that ended in 2011. Although he has won the event only once since ’96, Keppler has complied a remarkable record over the past 11 years, finishing second six times and third twice, with his fifth place showing last year his lowest finish in more than a decade.

Stevens’ most recent wins have come in 2010 and ’13, and he has five runner-up finishes and five other top 5s in the championship , joining Mason and Keppler in a tie for second as recently as 2014. Stevens, an instructor at Brookstone G&CC, has placed among the top 10 a total of 17 times in the last 18 years.

Joining Mason, Keppler and Stevens to form a “Big 4” in the tournament over the past decade is Sonny Skinner, who first became eligible for the Georgia PGA Championship in 2006. He has won twice since then (2009 and ’12), giving the quartet six victories over the past seven years. Skinner, the head pro at Spring Hill in Tifton, has nine top 10s in the event since ’06.

vious winners at Seaside.

Since his win in 2005, Weinhart has placed in the top 10 in the Section Championship every year since with the exception of 2007, when he played on what is now the Web.com Tour.

Weinhart, an 8-time Georgia PGA Player of the Year, has finished fourth or better in the event each of the last six years including four runner-up finishes, the last three in succession. Weinhart’s lone victory came by seven shots over Keppler, who has finished first or second the last four times Seaside has served as the host course.

Spratlin won by three over Keppler in 2008 and was fourth in 2011.

Last year’s tournament was reduced to 36 holes because of rain, with Mason shooting 6-under 138 to win by two over Weinhart at Plantation. Augusta CC head pro Tommy Brannen, who won the championship in 1993 and has a trio of runner-up finishes since, was third at 141. Dunwoody CC head pro Kyle Owen, who was part of the six-way tie for second at Seaside two years ago, was fourth last year at 142.

The Georgia PGA Championship is limited to Class A members of the Section, with the winner earning a spot in next year’s PGA Professional Championship.

Augusta-based E-Z-GO is the title sponsor for the Georgia PGA Championship, with TaylorMade-adidas Golf- Ashworth the presenting partner.

GEORGIA PGA

By Mike Blum

Stephen Keppler

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Top 3 seeds advance to Match Play semifinals

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year’s runner-up, on the 19th hole in the second round.

Skinner, the head pro at Spring Hill in Tifton, won the Match Play Championship in 2006 in his first attempt after spending approximately 15 years on the PGA and Web.com Tours.

Since his victory, Skinner reached the quarterfinals in 2007 and ’12 and the semifinals in 2010 and last year. He won his quarterfinal match 3&2 over No. 10 Todd Ormsby of Highland CC. Skinner needed 20 holes in the third round to get past No. 18 Patrick Richardson of Wilmington Island Club in the third round.

Like Weinhart, Skinner is a multiple winner of the Georgia PGA Player of the Year honor, finishing atop the points list in both 2006 and ’14. He collected his second consecutive Atlanta Open title earlier this year.

Mason is playing in the Match Play Championship for the first time since he joined the Champions Tour in 2002, but had little history with the event when he captured Georgia PGA Player of the Year honors in 1997, ’98 and 2000. Mason, who lives in Dillard and teaches out of the Orchard, reached the semifinals with a 2&1 victory in the quarterfinals over No. 11 David Dixon of Fox Creek, who has a long history of success in the tournament.

Dixon won the Match Play Championship in 2014 and also reached the quarterfinals 2015, following eight straight years in which he advanced to the third round but could not make it past that stage. Unlike the other three semifinalists, Mason had a relatively easy match in the third round, defeating No.

14 David Potts of Country Club of the South 6&5. Mason won both the Georgia Senior Open and Georgia PGA Championship in 2015.

In other third round matches, Dixon defeated No. 6 Joe Finemore of Big Canoe 2&1, Ormsby won 4&3 over No. 7 Mark Anderson of Brunswick CC, the defending tournament champion, Cartwright got past No. 5 Bill Murchison of Towne Lake Hills 2&1 and Owen won 1-up over Matthew Sanders of Oak Mountain.

Sanders knocked out two former champions in the first two rounds, winning on the 19th hole in the first round over 2007 champion Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods and on the 27th hole in the second round, the longest match of the tournament, over No. 9 seed Craig Stevens of Brookstone, who has won the event twice and finished as runner-up on three other occasions.

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Seth McCain

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best since back-to-back titles in 2011 and ’12. He is an 8time Georgia PGA Player of the Year, breaking a tie with Gregg Wolff last year.

To reach the semifinals, Weinhart defeated No. 8 seed Kyle Owen of Dunwoody CC 4&3 in the quarterfinals.

Weinhart’s toughest match was a 2-up victory over No. 17 Karen Paolozzi in the third round.

McCain, an assistant at Jennings Mill, is in the semifinals for the second time in three years at Peachtree, which is hosting the semifinals and finals for the third straight year.

McCain reached the quarterfinals in 2013. In his quarterfinal match this year, McCain defeated No. 12 Chris Cartwright of West Pines 4&3. McCain won 1-up in the third round over Gary Cressend of Augusta CC, who knocked out No. 4 Matthew Evans of Rivermont, last

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he semifinals are set for the Georgia PGA Match Play Championship at Peachtree Golf Club, with the top three seeds all making it to the final day of play.

Three-time tournament champion Tim Weinhart was seeded first this year, and will play No. 13 Seth McCain in one semifinal. The other semifinal will match two of the Georgia PGA’s most experienced and successful players, with No. 2 Sonny Skinner facing No. 3 James Mason.

The semifinals will be played the morning of August 15, with the championship match to follow after lunch.

Weinhart and Skinner both made it to the semifinals at Peachtree last year, but both lost their matches.

Weinhart, the Director of Instruction at Heritage Golf Links, won the Match Play Championship in 2005, ’11 and ’12, was runner-up in 2000 and 2010 and reached the semifinals on three other occasions, with his showing last year his

n James Maso

Sonny Skinner

AUGUST 2016

Playoffs

[ Continued from page 11 ]

2016 AUGUST

starts and only a handful of solid showings.

Davis Love’s season ended in July when he elected to have hip surgery to enable him to more easily fulfill his duties as U.S. Ryder Cup captain later this year. Love was 184 and dropping in the FedExCup standings, but will retain his exempt status as long as he wishes.

Love scored the 21st victory of his long and distinguished career in Greensboro last year, and opened this season making the cut in his first 10 starts. But he broke par for only two of the 10, with his strongest showing a T33 in his hometown RSM Classic. Love, a long-time St. Simons resident, will resume his playing career after his Ryder Cup captaincy ends.

Brendon Todd has endured a rollercoaster career after concluding a college career at Georgia that included an NCAA team title in 2005 with Kirk and Kisner.

Todd, who has lived in the Atlanta area since graduating in ’07, won as a Web.com rookie in ’08 and made it to the PGA Tour the next year. But midway through his rookie season, Todd began to struggle, and went almost two years STEVE DINBERG

After finishing 97th last year highlighted by a runner-up finish in his native state of Alabama, former Clayton State golfer Will Wilcox has dropped to 123 this season and is squarely on the top 125 bubble. His best finish this season is a tie for sixth in Phoenix, but his results the last three months have been disappointing, leaving him in need of at least one strong showing this month.

The remainder of the PGA Tour’s Georgia contingent is outside the top 125, with most of them headed to the Web.com Finals in hopes of retaining their PGA Tour exempt status for next season.

St, Simons resident Michael Thompson, who has one win in his six seasons, was having a terrible season, but had two strong showings in consecutive starts, tying for fourth in his native Alabama and for 14th in Canada to move up to 139.

Former Georgia Tech golfer Chesson Hadley produced an exceptional rookie season on the 2013 Web.com Tour and followed up with an excellent first year on the PGA Tour, winning in Puerto Rico and placing in the FedExCup top 50 before slipping to 98th last year. He has plummeted to 155 this year, missing half his 24 cuts with a tie for 11th at Quail Hollow his best finish.

Fellow ex-Tech golfer Stewart Cink is 160, dealing with his wife Lisa’s serious health issues. Cink’s playing schedule has been reduced to once a month and he hasn’t had a top 20 since the Fall. Cink, a long-time Duluth resident, is in the top 20 on the career money list and will remain exempt for 2016-17 even if he finishes outside the top 125.

It took Erik Compton a decade to reach the PGA Tour, where he has spent the last five seasons. At 162, the former Georgia Bulldog has a steep climb to make it to a sixth. Compton has missed more than half his cuts this season, with his best finish a T26 in the 2016-17 opener in northern California.

Henrik Norlander teamed up with Reed to lead Augusta State to its backto-back NCAA Championships, and has split his last four seasons as a pro between the Web.com and PGA Tours. He was 159 in his PGA Tour rookie season of 2013 and is 172 this year. He has missed only five of 18 cuts this year, but has yet to record a top-30 finish.

St. Simons resident Scott Langley is in his fourth PGA Tour season, but this one has been his least successful year. He stands at 176 with 12 missed cuts in 20

Stewart Cink

without making a cut on either the PGA or Web.com Tours. Todd righted the ship in 2011 and finished first at Q-school to return to the PGA Tour the next year.

By 2014, Todd had his first PGA Tour victory in the Byron Nelson and ended the year at East Lake for the Tour Championship. Two years later, however, Todd is struggling again, missing 17 of his last 18 cuts and standing 209 on the points list, outside the top 200 cutoff for qualifying for the Web.com Finals.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

21

Albany teen edges UGA signee Ralston

Newcomer Bowles wins Georgia Amateur

By Mike Blum

W

hen Bobby Jones won the inaugural Georgia Amateur in 1916, the legendary golfer was just

alston Spencer R

GSGA

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Colin Bowles

GSGA

14 years old.

When the Georgia State Golf Association celebrated the 100th anniversary of the playing of its championship event, the winner was the youngest player since Jones to capture the title.

Colin Bowles, a 16-year-old from Albany who has lived in the state for only about a year, defeated fellow teen-ager Spencer Ralston of Gainesville 1-up in the finals at Capital City Club, the course that hosted the first Georgia Amateur 100 years ago.

Bowles moved to Albany when his father acquired River Pointe Golf Club, and was not well known in Georgia amateur circles prior to his victory, unlike Ralston, who has been one of the state’s top junior golfers for several years and is headed to the U. of Georgia this Fall on a golf scholarship.

Ralston was looking to repeat the accomplishments of current PGA Tour members Brian Harman and Harris English, who both won the Georgia Amateur shortly before beginning their college careers in Athens. He appeared to be closing in on a victory when he took a 3-up lead in the title match after 10 holes, but Bowles won four of the next five holes, one with an eagle and the last two with birdies, to take a 1-up lead with three holes

to play.

A birdie at the par-5 16th by Ralston squared the match, but the future Bulldog hit his tee shot on the par-3 17th into the water to lose the hole, and made bogey at the 18th, with Bowles also taking bogey for a half and a 1-up victory.

Until he made bogey at the par-3 11th, Ralston was in control of the match, winning holes 2 and 8 with birdies and going 3-up when Bowles bogeyed the par-4 10th. At that point, Ralston was 3-under for the match, also making birdie on the par-5 fourth. But Ralston had three bogeys and a double bogey over the final eight holes, while Bowles played some outstanding golf down the stretch after hitting his tee shot on the par-4 10th into the water.

After Ralston suffered his first bogey of the day at the 11th, an eagle by Bowles at the par-5 12th cut Ralston’s lead to one hole. Bowles pulled even when he hit the flagstick with his second shot to the par-4 14th and made birdie, and took the lead when he again hit his approach close on the par-4 15th for another birdie.

Ralston’s birdie at the 16th squared the match for the last time before his double bogey-bogey finish decided the outcome.

Bowles came to Georgia from West Virginia, where he made some national news last year by shooting 56 on his home course, beating his previous best score of 58 on the course, which was operated by his father.

The 2016 Georgia Amateur was Bowles’ first in the GSGA’s championship event, and he announced his presence with a 66 in the first round of stroke play qualifying, played at Capital City Club’s Crabapple course. Bowles shot 72 the next day to tie for seventh in qualifying, and was seeded 10th for match play, which was played at Capital City Club’s Brookhaven course.

To celebrate the tournament’s 100th anniversary, the GSGA concluded the event with match play for the first time since 1963. Match play decided the championship from 1916 to 1959 before stroke play was used from 196062. After a one-year return to match play in ’63, the tournament returned to stroke play in 1964 until this year.

Bowles won seven holes, four with

birdies, to take his opening match 3&2 over Dacula’s Trey Pearson, and won five straight holes on the back nine that afternoon, four with birdies, to erase an early 2-up deficit and defeat 2013 GSGA MidAmateur champion Cameron Hooper of Atlanta, the seventh seed, 4&3.

In the quarterfinals, Bowles was 2-up against Roswell mid-amateur Tim Arnoult after an eagle at the fifth before Arnoult pulled even with birdies at 6 and 11. Bowles won the next two holes, taking the 12th with a birdie, before closing out the match 3&2 with a birdie at the 16th.

Bowles faced another reinstated amateur in the semifinals that afternoon, defeating former Georgia Tech golfer Kris Mikkelsen 2-up in a match that was halted by weather before resuming the next morning. Bowles won the par-3 13th with a bogey to go 3-up before the match was postponed, and Mikkelsen cut his deficit to one hole the next morning when Bowles double bogeyed the 15th and bogeyed the 17th before ending the match with a winning par at the 18th.

Georgia State golfer Sean Murphy of Decatur was the qualifying medalist at 68-66--134, one shot ahead of Steven Fisk of Stockbridge, who plays at Georgia Southern. Fisk shot 63 the first day. Albany’s Tyler Joiner, who plays at Georgia Tech, and North Carolina State signee Benjamin Shipp of Duluth tied for third at 136, with defending champion Dru Love, who plays at Alabama, and former GSGA Match Play and Public Links champion Chris Waters fifth at 137.

Bowles, Ralston, Hooper and 2015 GSGA Junior champion S.M. Lee of Buford all tied for seventh at 137.

Almost all the top seeds won in the first round, with Murphy and Lee the only top 10 seeds losing their openers.

Murphy lost 2&1 to Brandon Price of Talking Rock, one of nine players to survive a 12-man playoff to get into the match play field.

Among the nine to survive was 2004 Georgia Amateur champion David Denham of Tifton, a member of Georgia’s 2005 NCAA Championship team and a recently reinstated amateur.

Georgia Tech golfer Michael Hines of Acworth and Georgia State golfer Nickolaus Budd of Woodstock also advanced, while two-time Georgia Amateur champion David Noll of Dalton and recent Dogwood Invitational winner Charles Huntzinger of Duluth, who plays at Penn State, were among the three who were eliminated.

Budd won his first match 3&2 over the eighth-seeded Lee, winning six of the last nine holes after trailing 3-down after seven. Ralston defeated Hines 4&2 with seven birdies and Shipp, the fourth seed, won three of the first four holes to eliminate Denham 4&3.

In other notable first round matches: Georgia State golfer Nathan Mallonee of Lexington defeated recent GSGA Mid-Amateur champion John Engler of Augusta 4&3, holding off an Engler comeback after leading 5-up after eight. Georgia Tech signee Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs knocked out 2014 Georgia Amateur champion Robert Mize of Columbus 4&3, carding five birdies to win a match that was all square after nine. Hooper was all square after 15 against David Sullivan of Woodstock before birdies at 16 and 17 gave him a 2&1 victory.

In the tightest matches of the second round, Ralston got past Budd, Arnoult defeated Fisk and Love edged Mallonee , all by scores of 1-up.

Trailing 2-down after 12, Fisk birdied 13 and 16 to pull even, but Arnoult won 18 and the match with a par. Ralston took a back-and-forth match, with only five holes halved, playing the last five holes in 2-under to win. Love was 4-up after eight before Mallonee won four of the next seven to close to within one hole, carding AUGUST 2016

five birdies in an 8-hole stretch. Love held on, halving the last three holes with par.

Schniederjans birdied three of the first four holes and led 4-up after four, closing out his match with three straight birdies to defeat Shipp 5&4. Mikkelsen was 4-up after six with four birdies and won 5&3 against Waters. Joiner was all square

Olympics

[ Continued from page 8 ]

exempt status after 2005 and spent most of the ‘06 season on what is now the Web.com Tour, placing 10th on the money list to return to the PGA Tour the next year.

Since 2009, Kuchar has been one of the most consistently successful PGA Tour players, winning six times with 16 other top-3 finishes. He is enjoying another successful season this year with a trio of third-place showings.

The 37-year-old Kuchar was a member of the 1999 U.S. Walker Cup team and has made the last six Ryder Cup/Presidents Cup teams since 2010.

He is a strong contender to make the 2016 Ryder Cup team.

Kuchar, a native Floridian, is the lone Georgia resident among the three

2016 AUGUST

after 11 holes before scoring a 3&1 victory over Taylor Smith of Covington, and Atlanta’s Chris Harris won by the same score over Price.

The quarterfinals featured the only match of the tournament to go extra holes, with Schniederjans scoring his seventh birdie of the match on the first

playoff hole to knock out defending champion Love, who trailed by two holes with three to play. Mikkelsen won 5&4 against Joiner in a match of former and current Yellow Jackets, winning five of the last six holes, four with birdies.

Ralston reached the semifinals with a 3&2 decision over Harris after leading 4-

up after 10. Ralston got past future college rival Schniederjans 3&1in the semis, leading 2-up after 15 when play was postponed. Schniederjans led 1-up after 10, but Ralston eagled the 12th and won the next two holes to pull ahead before play was stopped. He closed out the match with a par at 17.

Olympians who played collegiately in the state, residing on St. Simons Island after previously living in Atlanta.

This will be the first time golf has been part of the Olympics since 1904, the first Olympics of the modern era. The sport was in line to return to the schedule in 1996 in Atlanta, but was scrapped several years before its expected return.

Olympic golf was done in by the combined efforts of Atlanta politicians and International Olympic Committee members from outside the U.S. who were unhappy that Atlanta won the host city competition. They teamed up to kill golf’s addition after a media event announcing golf in the ’96 Olympics was held at Augusta National, which was to be the site for the tournament.

Men’s golf had no particular need for being a part of the Olympics. But the same politicians who thought they were striking a blow for racial justice by

denying Augusta National the privilege of hosting an Olympic event never considered the tremendous opportunity they denied the top female golfers to compete at the famed course.

Golf’s very public Olympic snub has since become a forgotten event from the not-so-distant path, and was evidently no consideration when representatives from the sport’s most prominent organizations applied for inclusion in the 2016 and 2020 schedules.

There were various problems with the construction of a course in a country where golf is a minor sport, and the decision by many of the game’s top players not to compete in Rio has Olympic officials reconsidering golf’s status after the 2020 Olympics in Japan, where golf will be a big deal.

Tennis, the sport most similar to golf in terms of structure and international appeal, has gotten little from its involve-

ment in the Olympics over the past few decades, and has devalued the Olympics to the extent that world ranking points will not be offered at this month’s Games.

Attempting to cram Olympic golf into an already crowded Summer schedule caused problems for both the PGA and European Tours, and put the qualifying players in difficult positions as they attempted to juggle their schedules to accommodate the Olympics and the changes to the tour schedules caused by the Olympics.

If golf is largely ignored by those outside the usual golf audience, there appears to be a good chance the sport will not make it past 2020, which probably won’t draw much more attention than golf’s Atlanta snub.

Golf has made it this long without Olympic involvement, and will be fine if that’s the case again in the near future.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

23

Georgians 1-2-3 on Web.com Tour $ list Bryan, Schniederjans, Werenski lead way

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Blake Adams

Bryan had never competed in a Web.com event before a top-10 in the finals of qualifying late last year. Bryan won in his third ever Web.com start early this season in Louisiana, then won again one month later in Mexico. He has four other top 10s since, including a recent tie for second in Chicago. He led the tour with more than $332,000, more than $55,000 ahead of Schniederjans.

At the outset of 2016, Schniederjans was competing on both the PGA and Web.com Tours, but after reaching his limit of seven PGA Tour sponsor exemptions, has played solely on the Web.com Tour and has shot up the rankings. After losing a playoff in Cartagena, Colombia early this season, Schniederjans won a playoff in Wichita, where he finished fifth as an amateur in 2014 in his debut in a professional tournament.

After an outstanding effort in his amateur finale last year in the British Open, Schniederjans played well in his first two PGA Tour starts as a pro, but barely missed qualifying for the Web.com Finals. He narrowly advanced to the finals of qualifying but easily made his way through finals and has benefitted from his experience on the tour.

Schniederjans, who grew up in Powder Springs and now lives in Alpharetta, has three other top-7 finishes and is living up to the promise he showed when he rose to the top of the World Amateur rankings while at Georgia Tech, graduating in 2015.

Werenski, a 2014 Georgia Tech grad, was 79th in his Web.com rookie season last year. After a pair of ties for second early this year in Colombia and Mexico, Werenski won the annual stop in Greenville, S.C. Other than those three tournaments, however, he has missed

Ollie Schniederjans

Mexico, but has missed seven of his last 11 cuts and dropped out of the top 25 down to 52nd.

Atlanta resident Casey Wittenberg was 15th on the TRE ROBERT MA

T

GEORGIA TECH

he regular season of the Web.com Tour concludes this month, and with four tournaments left before the beginning of the Finals series, three golfers with ties to Georgia are 1-2-3 on the money list, with a St. Simons Island resident joining them in the top 10 and three others from the coastal Georgia city hovering around the top 25.

The top 25 players on the money list at the end of this month will qualify for the 2016-17 PGA Tour, with 25 more spots available from the Finals, a four-tournament series that will be played in September and early October.

The top three on the money list with five tournaments remaining in the regular season were Augusta resident Wesley Bryan and recent Georgia Tech teammates Ollie Schniederjans and Richy Werenski. Both Bryan and Schniederjans are in the first seasons on the Web.com Tour, with this season the second on the tour for Werenski.

St. Simons resident Trey Mullinax was seventh on the money list and assured a PGA Tour card for next season, with fellow St. Simons residents J.T. Poston (24), Rick Lamb (33) and Jonathan Byrd (35) all in position for a top 25 finish.

Bryan earned an immediate PGA Tour card when he scored his third victory of the season in Kansas City, winning a three-3way playoff that included Poston, who moved up to 11th on the money list to clinch his PGA Tour card for 2016-17.

The other key number for Web.com members is 75. The top 75 players on the regular season money list are exempt for the 2017 Web.com Tour, and will qualify for the 2016-17 PGA Tour if they finish among the top 25 money winners in the Web.com Finals series.

The Web.com’s top 75 will be joined in the Finals by players 126-200 from the PGA Tour’s FedExCup standings.

The 50 PGA Tour qualifiers will be ranked by their finish on the Finals money list.

Standing at the top of the money list was Bryan, a 2012 South Carolina graduate who was best known prior to this year as a popular trick shot artist on the internet along with his brother George.

STAN BADZ / PGA TOUR / GETTY IMAGES

By Mike Blum

nine of 13 cuts, but was less than $14,000 behind Schniederjans. Prior to joining the Web.com Tour, Werenski won the final Golf Channel Big Break event.

Mullinax, who played on Alabama’s back-to-back national championship teams in 2013 and ’14, was 60th in his rookie season last year, and vaulted into the top 10 with a victory in Raleigh, N.C. He has three other finishes of 12th yrd Jonathan B or better and will join teammate Justin Thomas on the PGA Tour later this year.

Web.com Tour in 2008 and Lamb, a 2014 Tennessee graduate, led the tour’s money list in 2012, winwon as a Monday qualifier in just his ning twice. He played on the PGA Tour third start of the season in the Erie, Pa., in 2009 and 2013 after making his first area, taking a 4-way playoff. He made start on the tour at the age of 17 in his seven starts last year as a Web.com hometown of Memphis. He is currently rookie.

67th thanks largely to a recent tie for Poston, who completed his college second in Chicago. career at Western Carolina last year, Eatonton native Blake Adams was placed third in Raleigh in just his second third on the Web.com money list in his Web.com start, and has added a tie for third season in 2009, enjoying one of the sixth in Wichita and a tie for second in best seasons in tour history by a player Chicago. who did not win a tournament. He Among the veteran Georgians on the played well on the PGA Tour from 2010Web.com Tour this year is Byrd, who 12, but lost his status after undergoing had three early top 10s and three recent hip surgery in 2013 and is back on the top 20s. Byrd has been a PGA Tour Web.com Tour. He made four PGA Tour member since 2002 and made five of his starts early this season and is 71st on the first six cuts on that tour this season Web.com money list with a tie for second before concentrating his efforts on the in the Dominican Republic, but has Web.com Tour. Among his five PGA missed the cut in eight of his other 10 Tour wins was one at Callaway Gardens starts. as a rookie, but he has struggled since 2014 UGA graduate Keith Mitchell, undergoing wrist surgery in 2013. one of a number of young tour pros Woodstock’s Anders Albertson was living on St. Simons Island, was just outSchniederjans’ teammate for four seasons side the top 75 in 80th before tying for at Georgia Tech and is also a Web.com seventh in California and moving up to rookie this year. He finished third early in the season in Brazil and was 13th in [ See Web.com Tour, page 28 ] AUGUST 2016

Chip Shots

Schniederjans wins U.S. Am qualifier Two Atlanta area courses hosted recent qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur, with Georgia Tech signee Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs earning medalist honors at Horseshoe Bend CC with a 6under 134 total, posting scores of 65 and 69.

Tying for second at 140 was Jackson Bishop of Gainesville, Chandler Eaton of Alpharetta and S.M. Lee of Buford. Eaton shot 67 in the second round to qualify, while Lee opened with a 68. Bishop shot a pair of 70s.

Three players tied for fifth at 141, with recent Dogwood Invitational champion Charles Huntzinger of Duluth getting the second alternate spot. Also shooting 141 was Kennesaw State golfer Jake Fendt of Cumming.

Georgians earned three of four qualifying spots at Newnan CC, with Georgia Tech golfer James Clark of Columbus tying for second with Kennesaw State golfer Chris Guglielmo of Cumming at 2under 138. UGA signee Spencer Ralston of Gainesville, the runner-up in the recent Georgia Amateur, got the fourth spot in a playoff at 139 over recent Georgia State golfer J.J. Grey.

Guglielmo led after a first round 66, with Clark and Ralston both closing with scores of 68. Recent Georgia Amateur champion Colin Bowles of Albany shot 141 to miss the playoff by two.

Georgians qualifying outside the state included: Parker Derby of Columbus, who tied for second at Bluffton, S.C., at 140. UGA golfer Greyson Sigg of Augusta is first alternate at 142. Charlie Flowers of Columbus was first alternate in Decatur,

GEORGIA PGA

Margaret Shirley 2016 AUGUST

GEORGIA PGA

Luke Schniederjans

Ala., at 140, losing out in a playoff.

Dacula’s Emerson Newsome, who recently completed his college career at Cincinnati, shot 138 at a qualifier in Cincinnati to win by four. Chris Harris of Atlanta got the only spot available from a qualifier in Arkansas, shooting 140 and winning a playoff. Atlanta’s Jack Larkin, Jr., was medalist in a Texas qualifier at 136.

The U.S. Amateur is schedule for Aug. 15-21 at Oakland Hills in Michigan.

Palmetto Amateur: Three Georgians, led by Spencer Ralston, had top-10 finishes in the annual Palmetto Amateur at historic Palmetto GC in Aiken, S.C. Ralston shot a final round 66 to tie for fourth at 276, with U.S. Open qualifier and South Carolina golfer Ryan Stachler of Alpharetta tying for seventh at 277, highlighted by a second round 65. James Clark also tied for seventh at 277.

Skinner, who shot 146 to tie for 56th, lost on the 19th hole against an opponent from Thailand, winning a pair of holes on the back nine with birdies to stay in the match. Tardy, who shot 144 to tie for 39th, lost 2-up to Hailee Cooper, one of the country’s top juniors, who won three holes on the back nine to erase Tardy’s 1-up lead at the turn.

Also falling in the first round was Janet Mao of Johns Creek, who plays at Northwestern. Mao, who tied for 49th at 145, lost 4&3 to a Korean opponent.

Atlanta’s Amanda Doherty also qualified for the Women’s Amateur, but did not advance to match play.

Schanen takes GWGA title: Mercer women’s golf team member Payton Schanen of Alpharetta won the Georgia Women’s Golf Association Championship at Pinetree CC, taking a playoff over Northwestern golfer Janet Mao of Johns Creek.

Schanen led by one shot after an opening 69, and was two in front after 36 holes following a 73. Mao shot 73 and Schanen 75 the final day to tie for first at 1-

over 217. UGA golf team member Isabella Skinner of Cumming, who was one back after 18 holes at 70 and within two of the lead after 36 holes, placed third at 220.

Florida State golfer Kayla Jones of Alpharetta was fourth at 222, followed by Louise Yu of Duluth and Anna Buchanan of Athens at 224.

GSGA Super Senior: Kennesaw’s Bill Leonard put together scores of 68 and 69 for a 7-under 137 total to win the GSGA Super Senior Championship at Heron Bay. Tying for second at 139 was Atlanta’s Don Russell (69-70) and Mike Jackson of Martinez (68-71).

Ernie Venet of Moultrie placed fourth at 140 with Frank Perry of Fayetteville and Frank Costanzo of Savannah fifth at 141.

Amateur Strawn wins at Callaway

Amateur Rusty Strawn captured a [ See Chip Shots, page 28 ]

5 Georgians lose in Women's Am

Five Georgians, including three members of the UGA women’s golf team, advanced to match play in the recent U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship in Springfield, Pa., but all five lost in the first round.

Two-time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion Margaret Shirley of Marietta, tied for 39th in stroke qualifying at 144, but lost her opening match 4&2 to a French opponent. Shirley did not make a birdie in the match.

Roswell’s Rinko Mitsunaga, Bailey Tardy of Norcross and Isabella Skinner of Cumming, all teammates at UGA, also dropped their first round matches.

Mitsunaga, who shot 143 in qualifying to tie for 33rd, was 4-down after five holes and lost 5&4 to an Italian opponent.

GOLFFOREGEORGIA.COM

25

Wesley Heston

Golf FORE Juniors Smith, Heston win GPGA Junior events The Georgia PGA Junior Tour played tournaments last month at the UGA course in Athens and Country Club of Columbus, as well as a one-day Summer Series event at East Lake.

Bailey Smith of Madison was the boys overall winner with scores of 76-74—150 in Athens. Owen Whitehead of Martinez was second in the 14-15 age group at 155, with Logan Attaway of Kennesaw and Hilton Beck of Macon tying for third at 156.

Davis Weaver of Flowery Branch shot 72-81—153 to win the 16-18 division by one over Mac Ehringer of Dawsonville, who shot 72 in the final round. Ryan Hogan of Gainesville and Dakota Yawn of Tallapoosa tied for third at 155. Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek shot 72-74—146 to win the 11-13 age group by 10 over Atlanta’s Charles Kyle.

Emily Haigwood of Roswell was the girls winner at 76-76—152, three ahead of Grayson’s Kristina Torrealba.

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

In the Haskins Junior in Columbus, Atlanta’s Wesley Heston shot 73-71—144 to win by two over Midland’s Walker Hinds. Jaden Hall of Newnan and Ryan Robichaud of Peachtree City tied for third at 147. Jonathan Parker of Columbus was the 14-15 winner at 71-75—146, two ahead of John Calhoun of Columbus.

Mason McLaney of Columbus was the 1113 winner by three at 157 over Kyle.

Jocelyn Gao of Peachtree City shot 164 to win the girls division by eight over Katelyn Skiffen of Chatsworth. Sanders Hinds of Midland was the 11-14 winner at 173.

Dario Ayala of Alpharetta shot 71 to win the one-day event at East Lake. Eli Scott of Hartwell was second at 74, followed by Nicholas Paschetto of Dunwoody and Matthew Leemann of Milton at 75. Matthew Feste of Marietta was the 14-15 winner with a 74, followed

by Alex Colligan of Evans at 76. Murphy was the 11-13 winner with a 74, five ahead of Canton’s Connor Macmillan.

Jakari Harris of Atlanta shot 80 to edge Skiffen and Anna Williams of Social Circle

Jocelyn Gao by one in the girls division. Aly Francis of Decatur won the 11-14 age group with an 82.

Upcoming Georgia PGA Junior Tour events will be played at Sea Island GC’s Plantation course Aug. 27-28, Oak Mountain in Carrollton Sept. 10-11 and at the Georgia Southern course Sept. 17-18.

3 Georgia juniors take AJGA titles

Three Georgia junior golfers captured American Junior Golf Association tournaments recently, with Elissa Yang of Norcross scoring consecutive victories, one at Jones Creek outside Augusta.

Yang won the Vaughn Taylor Championship at Jones Creek by a whopping 11 shots with a 2-under total of 211, posting scores of 71-70-70 on one of the state’s more demanding courses. Louise Yu of Duluth was sixth at 231 and Harmanprit Kaur of Lawrenceville tied for 10th at 234.

The boys winner at Jones Creek was Alex Shead of Appling, who finished at 3under 213 with scores of 74-68-71 to win by two. Jake Milanowski of Peachtree City was third at 218, with Montgomery Harrison of Evans tying for fourth at 220.

Jacob Hatter of Alpharetta tied for sixth at 221, and Luke Dasher of Macon, Robert Howard of Acworth and Logan Perkins all shot 225 to tie for 13th.

Yang also won in Oak Ridge, Tenn., taking a playoff over fellow Georgian Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City. Both players shot 3-under 213, with Yang posting scores of 73-72-68 and Shepherd carding three straight 71s. Yang won on the first playoff hole after Shepherd birdied the 18th to force extra holes.

Suwanee’s Preston Topper shot 11under 205 to tie for first in the boys division, but lost on the first playoff hole.

Topper had scores of 69-68-68. Roswell’s Jon-Erik Alford closed with a 66 and finished one shot out of the playoff at 206.

Austin Fulton of Villa Rica had the low score the final day with a 65 and tied for

sixth at 208. Jacob Bayer of Lawrenceville tied for 10th at 210.

The third Georgia junior winner was Andy Mao of Johns Creek, who won by three shots in London, Ky., with a 13-under 203 total. Mao posted scores of 68-68-67.

Fulton tied for third at 209.

Lawrenceville’s Jenny Bae lost in a playoff at Oyster Reef on Hilton Head Island, shooting 71 in the first and last rounds for a 3-over 219 total. Alford scored the first of his two ties for third, finishing with a 220 total.

Atlanta’s Amanda Doherty placed second in Huntsville, Ala., closing with a 69 for a 214 total. Katie Owens of Suwanee was 10th at 234. Justin Kim tied for sixth in the boys division at 220 with a final round 68. Kenny Park of Cumming tied for ninth at 221.

Elissa Yang

Bayer wins again on home course Lawrenceville’s Jacob Bayer scored his second victory of the summer on his home course, taking a recent Southeastern Junior Tour event at Berkeley Hills. Bayer previously won the annual Georgia PGA tournament hosted by the Gwinnett club.

AUGUST 2016

Bailey Smith Bayer shot 71-73—144 and won a playoff over Andrew Lafferty of Milton, who shot 73-71. James Walton of Duluth was third at 148. Jack Vajda of Canton was the 14-15 winner by a shot at 147, with Liam Shinn of Norcross third at 150.

Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners was the 12-13 age group winner at 71-75— 146 in a playoff over Andrew Garger of Sharpsburg, who shot 73-73.

Hannah Jones of Sandy Springs was the girls winner at 152 by four over Kate Mashburn of Calhoun.

In a SJGT event in Montgomery, Jackson Lawlor of Peachtree City posted scores of 67-66 for an 11-under 133 total to win the boys division by 11. Ben Carr of Columbus won the 14-15 age group at Saugahatchee CC in Opelika, Ala., by four over Jonathan Parker of Columbus with a score of 145. Will Meshad of Atlanta was second in 16-19 at 147.

The SJGT returned to Montgomery for its Tour Championship, with Georgians winning the two youngest age groups.

Parker Highsmith of Valdosta was the boys 12-13 winner by two shots with scores of 68-71—139. Katherine Cook of Thomasville shot 79-69—148 to wins girls 12-14 by three over Sanders Hinds. Shinn was third in boys 14-15 at 143, two behind the winner.

The SJGT plays August 27-28 at Forest Hills and Sept. 10-11 at CC of Columbus.

Forrester captures Georgia Club event

Alpharetta. Josie Arant of St. Simons Island was the under-13 winner at 158.

At the UGA course in Athens, Jake Peacock of Alpharetta shot 68-68—136 to won the boys 11-13 age group by 19 shots.

Myles Jones of Suwanee was the 14-15 winner, shooting a second round 68 for a 145 total. Blake Parkman of Cumming and Cho tied for second at 147. In the 1618 division, Hunter Hatsavongsa of Savannah shot 146 and finished second, one behind the winner. Chandler Dixon of Carrollton was third at 147.

Wen Qi Zhu of Athens shot 70-75—145 to win girls 14-18 by nine shots, with Thienna Huynh of Lilburn the under-13 winner by 10 with a 150 total.

Patrick Jean-Pierre of Augusta won in his home town at Forest Hills with a 147 total, one shot ahead of Isaac Hergott of Martinez. Tucker Meyer of Evans shot 152 to win the 14-15 division by two over Augusta’s Walter Kelley.

In Clemson, S.C., Preston Wagaman shot 146 to win by two over Jean-Pierre.

Jay Spivey of Macon won the 14-15 age group by two at 150.

The HJGT has upcoming tournaments at Braelinn August 20-21, Canongate GC Sept. 3-5 and Flat Creek Sept. 17-18.

For wrap-ups on the GPGA Match

Play Championship and Section

Championship, go to

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Gainesville’s Bartley Forrester won a Hurricane Junior Golf Tour event at the Georgia Club, shooting 65-71—136 to win by seven over Nick Paschetto, who shot 67 in the second round. Brandon Cho of Suwanee shot 75-69—144 to win the 14-15 age group by four over Kennesaw’s Trent Leggett. Duluth’s Mason Dean edged Dawsonville’s David Hughes by a shot in the 11-13 division with a score of 164.

In the girls division, Louise Yu shot 7276—148 to win by two over Amy Ng of

Emily Haigwood

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Georgia Open

Tim O’Neal

[ Continued from page 12 ]

[ Continued from page 24 ]

66th. Mitchell was 19th on the LatinoAmerica Tour last year and opened his Web.com season a tie for 14th in Panama. He tied for 10th in Utah the week before his season best effort in California.

Savannah native Mark Silvers is 91st in his second Web.com season after finishing 105th last year. Silvers enjoyed considerable success at the mini-tour level early in his career, and won a Big Break event and a Canadian Tour tournament in 2014. He has made 10 of 16 cuts this year, placing between 20th and 38th in nine of them.

Ex-UGA golfer and former British Amateur champion Bryden Macpherson was 126th last year and is 107th this year, making seven of 17 cuts with a pair of top 20s. Macpherson, a native Australian, earned his return to the Web.com Tour with a strong showing on PGA Tour China last year.

Chip Shots

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Georgia PGA Senior Division event at Callaway Gardens, posting scores of 65 and 69 for a 10-under 134 total to finish ahead of two of the state’s top senior professionals.

Brookstone instructor Craig Stevens was second at 67-70—137, with former Champions Tour member James Mason third at 70-68—138. Host pro Wyatt

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Tying Cornelius for 12th at 286 was Zach Caldwell of Alpharetta, who shot

67 in the second round, and 2004 Georgia Open champion Tim Weinhart,

Atlanta resident Drew Weaver, also a former British Amateur champion, is 124th, making his last five cuts in a row, including a tie for 15th in Utah. Weaver won on the Canadian Tour last year after making a handful of starts on the PGA and Web.com Tours since 2007.

Weaver placed 10th in Kansas City to move into the top 100 at 97. The players who finish 76-100 on the regular season money list will have limited status on next year's Web.com Tour.

Snellville native Jonathan Fricke is 144th in his third full season on the tour, making five of 15 cuts with a tie for 18th in the season opener in Panama. Fricke played his college golf at Georgia State.

Recent Georgia Tech golfer Kyle Scott, a South African native and Decatur resident, has made eight of 16 cuts and was 138th.

Reid Edstrom, who grew up in Norcross before playing in college at Auburn, has made four of 10 cuts and was 146th. This is Edstrom’s fourth season on the tour, with his best finish 70th in 2012.

Detmer of Callaway Gardens was fourth at 140, followed by Griffin City Golf Course pro Charlie King at 141 and Clark Spratlin of Currahee Club at 142.

Swing Thought Tour plays 2 in Georgia

The Swing Thought Tour made two stops in Georgia last month, playing at

149.

Among the scores of other notable players were: 291: amateur Chris Waters and former Mercer golfer James Beale; 292: former Vanderbilt golfer Zach Jaworski; 293: former Mercer golfer Trey Rule; 294: former U.S. Senior amateur champion Doug Hanzel, recent Georgia Amateur champion Colin Bowles and veteran Georgia PGA member Sonny Skinner; 298: Georgia PGA members Brian Dixon and John Wade; 299: veteran Georgia PGA member James Mason and former Kennesaw State golfer Matt Nagy; 300: veteran Georgia PGA member Danny Elkins; 301: Ford Plantation head pro Ryan Skipton and fellow Savannah area PGA pro James Walden; 303: former Georgia State golfer and defending champion Davin White and Georgia PGA member Mark Anderson.

A GEORGIA PG

Web.com Tour

GEORGIA PGA

He closed with scores of 69-68, combining for 11 birdies the final two days.

Nicol and Cherokee T&CC assistant J.P. Griffin tied for ninth at 284 and shared low club pro honors. Nicol shot 74-71 the final two days, shooting 4under 32 on the back nine in the fourth round after carding four birdies and four bogeys on the incoming nine the day before, with his only par coming at the 18th. Griffin shot 67 in the third round, playing his final 10 holes that day in 6under.

Georgia State golfer Nathan Mallonee of Lexington was low amateur, placing 11th at 285. Mallonee shot 69 in the third round and was in a position to tie for fourth until he bogeyed his final two holes Sunday for a 73.

the Director of Instruction at Heritage Golf Links. Weinhart shot 69 in the first and third rounds and was in position for a top-5 finish before shooting 41 on the front nine the final day. He rebounded to shoot 2-under on the back with an eagle on the 11th.

Kane Whitehurst of Duluth was second among the amateurs and tied for 15th overall at 287. Whitehurst was a member of Chattahoochee’s state high school football championship team in 2010 and played in college as a wide receiver at South Carolina.

The only player to match par for the tournament was Paul Claxton, who spent two decades playing on the PGA and Web.com Tours before joining the club pro ranks at Hawk’s Point in Vidalia. Claxton was 17th at 288.

The par-72 Ford Plantation layout played around 7,250 yards for the tournament, with the cut coming at 5-over

Former UGA golfer Adam Mitchell of Atlanta is 152nd after making five of 16 cuts.

Mitchell, who played on the U.S. Walker Cup team while at Georgia, is playing his first full season on the Web.com Tour.

Former Georgia Tech golfer Troy Matteson won twice in nine seasons on the PGA Tour after finishing first in earnings on the Web.com in 2005 with two victories and three runner-up finishes.

He has played primarily on the Web.com this year and was 156th, making three of nine cuts.

Alpharetta’s Billy Kennerly has no status on the tour this year, but tied for 14th in a tournament in the Erie, Pa., area as a Monday qualifier and was 157th. Kennerly, a 2015 Clemson graduate, made his PGA Tour debut two weeks later in the Canadian Open, earning his spot with a victory in the 2015 Canadian Amateur.

The Web.com Tour makes a stop in Knoxville August 18-21before con-

cluding the regular season in Portland, Ore., Aug, 25-28. The Finals begin in Cleveland Sept. 8-11, with stops the next two weeks in Boise, Id., and Columbus, Oh. The last of the four Finals events is scheduled for Oct. 6-9 in the Jacksonville area.

Grand Island in Albany and Sapelo Hammock outside Darien.

Christian Brand of West Virginia won at Grand Island by seven shots with a 27under 261 total, including a 61 in the third round. St. Simons resident Cory Whitsett was third at 270, with Savannah’s Drew Aimone sixth at 276.

At Sapelo Hammock the following week, Chattanooga’s Jonathan Hodge opened with a 63 and finished at 14-under 270 to win by one. Former Oglethorpe golfer Anthony Maccaglia tied for third at

272, with recent Georgia Southern golfer Charlie Martin of LaGrange tying for seventh at 275.

The Swing Thought Tour acquired and merged the former Hooters and eGolf Tours, but has struggled to attract the same number of players as those two tours. The tournament at Grand Island had only 39 players and first place money was $4500, well below the $16,500 figure earlier in the year. The tournament at Sapelo Hammock drew just under 50 players with first place money of $5225.

Fricke Jonathan

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