July 2016 FORE Georgia Magazine by FORE Georgia

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JULY 2016

Big changes coming for Bobby Jones GC Renovated course, practice area, Golf House

By Mike Blum

ne of the most ambitious golf facility renovation projects in Georgia’s history is moving forward after the Atlanta City Council agreed to a land swap that will transfer the historic Bobby Jones Golf Course to the state, with a building on the property slated for use as a “Golf House” for Georgia’s most prestigious golf organizations. The state approved the deal about two weeks after the Atlanta City Council vote, but final details have to be worked out in the deal, with the city getting a parking deck and other property near Underground Atlanta that would be turned over to a private developer with plans for major improvements to the area. Once the deal receives final approval and the funds are raised or committed, a complete reconstruction of the course is scheduled to begin, with acclaimed Atlanta-based golf course architect Bob Cupp in charge of the project. Plans are to convert Bobby Jones from an 18-hole course to a unique, reversible nine-hole course, with Cupp’s re-design resulting in 18 distinct holes that can be played at championship length. The unique design of the course creates three different playing options. The course can be played in one direction one day and the opposite way the next day. Because each hole has a large double green and multiple tees, the golfer can play from a different tee to a different pin on his or her second loop

house and Golf Ho s Golf Course Club ne Jo y bb Bo w ne e A rendering of th

in the same direction. Although it will not be possible to play both directions at the same time, the third option is to play 18 holes in the same day by using a shotgun start. In addition to the changes to the course, an expansive practice facility will be constructed, in part for use by the Georgia State golf team, which currently does not have a practice facility within proximity to its campus. The team currently plays out of Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth and Eagle’s Landing Country Club in Stockbridge. The plans for Bobby Jones Golf Course go far beyond just the re-construction of the golf course and the addition of a practice area. One of the driving forces

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behind the project was the creation of a Georgia Golf House on the property, with the building also serving as a home for the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. The reconstructed Bobby Jones Golf Course is also projected as a “junior golf mecca,” with a wee links consisting of somewhere from five or six to as many as nine holes also scheduled to be part of Cupp’s re-design work. There are currently no practice facilities for juniors (or golfers in general) in the area near the course, which is located off Northside Drive north of the I-75/85 split. Bobby Jones Golf Course opened in 1932 and was named after the legendary Atlanta amateur, but the compact layout with holes in close proximity to others has become more of a safety concern.

Cupp points out that if he attempted a renovation that would preserve the course as an 18-hole layout, it would [ See Bobby Jones, page 6 ]

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Instruction Fore You

P R E S E N T E D BY

Keeping Your Eye On The Ball

By Bobby Hix

PGA Senior Instructor Arnold Blum Golf Learning Center - Idle Hour Club If you have been playing this game of golf for any time at all, you have probably been told to “Keep your eye on the ball”. That tip usually came after you just topped, chunked or plain out missed a shot. The fact is that keeping your eye on the ball may not prevent you from making any of the shots listed. But we do want you to keep your eye on the ball. But instead of trying to keep your eye on the ball as you hit it, we want you to keep your eye on the ball after you hit it. One of the first questions you should always be asked when taking a golf lesson is “What is the ball doing”? Every day we see players on the range hitting balls. Take a swing, feels bad off the club, know right away, never look at the ball flight, rake another one over and repeat, never noting the flight of the ball. While practicing, we want a player watching every shot, keeping his or her eyes on the ball, paying attention to that flight because that’s what’s going to give them the information to get better. For the most part, the golf ball will never lie. The ball reacts to (other than where you hit it on the club face) where the club face is aimed and the direction of the club path at impact. So keeping our eye on the ball, regardless of where it goes, will go a long way to giving us the

information we need to make the proper corrections. Generally speaking, the ball will start in the direction the club face is aimed at impact. The ball also will curve away from the direction of the club path. The closer the club face and club path are in direction, the straighter (straight right, straight left or straight straight) the ball will fly. The more the ball curves, the bigger the difference in the direction of the club face and the club path. Armed with that information, we now should be able to make smart decisions on what we need to correct in our golf swings to hit better shots. For instance, let’s say we are a right handed player and we hit a shot that starts slightly to the left of our target and slices or curves to the right. In that scenario, the shot tells us that the club face was aimed slightly left or closed to the target and the club path was even more left of that. Most of us would do one of two things, strengthen our grips or aim farther left, neither which would correct the root of the problem. The root of the problem in this case is that the club path, or the direction that the club was moving, was too far to the left of the club face. That produced the curve to the right. Knowing that and the fact that the hands control the club face and the arms/shoulders control the club path, we can go right to the source and correct what exactly caused our arms and shoulders to produce the way left swing

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path, correcting the root of the problem. The ball will tell you what to do if you let it if you watch it. You can continue making compensation after compensation, getting lucky every now and then having streaks of good play. Or you can “Keep you eye on the ball”, get great information, fix the root of your problem and play good golf all the time. Your choice.

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

Bobby Hix • Steve Dinberg Rob Matre • Al Kooistra GEORGIA SECTION, PGA OF AMERICA OFFICERS

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

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

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

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

President Will Bartram, PGA / will@hawksridge.com

Forecast

INSIDE THIS ISSUE FEATURES:

Schniederjans scores win. . . . . . . . . 8

FedExCup update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Barbasol Championship . . . . . . . . 29

Berkeley Hills preview . . . . . . . . . . 22

DEPARTMENTS:

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

Georgia Open preview . . . . . . . . . . 12

Georgia Amateur preview . . . . . . . 24

Georgia Women's Open preview. . 16

wrap-ups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Skinner repeats in Atlanta Open. . 14

Paolozzi in top 10 at nationals . . . 18

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Dogwood, Southeastern Am

Golf FORE Juniors. . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Chip shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

S E C T I O N S TA F F

Executive Director Mike Paull Assistant Executive Director/ Junior Golf Director Scott Gordon Tournament Director Pat Day, PGA Operations Manager Eric Wagner Foundation Program Manager Maria Bengtsson Section Assistant Carrie Ann Byrne FOREGeorgia is produced by Golf Media, Inc. Copyright ©2014 with all rights reserved. Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content is prohibited. Georgia PGA website: www.georgiapga.com. FORE Georgia website: www.foregeorgia.com

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Cupp takes unique approach to re-design Bobby Jones to be reversible, 9-hole layout

By Mike Blum Perhaps the most legendary name in the history of golf is that of Atlanta native Robert Tyre Jones, Jr., golf’s most storied amateur player ever and one of the game’s all-time greats. Bobby Jones, as he is known in the annals of golf, captured the game’s four most prestigious events in 1930 – the U.S. Open and Amateur and the British Open and Amateur. He retired after that amazing feat, and soon thereafter helped create Augusta National Golf Club and the Masters Tournament. Atlanta honored Jones by naming its first public golf course after the local legend, with Bobby Jones Golf Course opening in 1933. The course has survived for more than 80 years despite frequent battles with overflowing water from creeks that wind through and around the property, with many alterations to the layout – some minor, others more significant – made over the years. If things go as planned, the Bobby Jones Golf Course will undergo its most extensive renovation ever, as a land swap between city and state governments will transfer ownership of the course to the state and facilitate major changes to the layout of the aging course. The person who will be responsible for the complete renovation of the course, as well as the addition of a first class practice facility that will be used by the Georgia State golf team and a short course constructed primarily for use by juniors, is long-time Atlanta resident and renowned golf course architect Bob Cupp. A veteran of more than 45 years in the golf course design business, Cupp began his career working with Jack Nicklaus and created his own design firm more than 30 years ago. He is responsible for some of the most acclaimed golf course designs in the U.S., a number of them in Georgia, and was selected to the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame in 2014. Cupp was faced with something of a dilemma when he began to contemplate how to make the changes to Bobby Jones Golf Course that would bring it more into line with the high standards set by the golfing great who gave the course its name. The course was constructed in a confined setting, with its total acreage much

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smaller than the average golf course. The course has been reduced from its original yardage of 6,455 yards to under 5,900 yards in its current configuration, and the number of holes in close proximity to others puts those who play the course in peril of being struck by an errant shot from a player on an adjacent hole. layout can “It’s an inordiThe reversible 9-hole e day... on ion ect nately dangerous dir e play in on course,” Cupp says, with his efforts to tions, Cupp says the new Bobby keep Bobby Jones as Jones Golf Course will feature “a coma standard 18-hole layout unsuccessful. pletely separate 18 holes of golf. It will be The only way the course could be made 18 different holes. It’s a fascinating consafe for play was to reduce the yardage cept. ” even further to around 5,000 yards, For safety reasons, a course can’t be slightly longer than what is known as an played in opposite directions at the same “executive” course. time, but Cupp says there are ways to give Cupp turned to a famous course for players a complete 18-hole experience inspiration on how to proceed, with that through the use of shotgun starts with course inextricably linked to the career of A.M. and P.M. starting times. Bobby Jones and his Grand Slam effort of Playing a course in two directions is also 1930. The Old Course at St. Andrews was beneficial from a maintenance standpoint, designed to play in separate directions, as the divots will be better dispersed with and for a small number of days a year, is the length of approach shots different played in the reverse order of its original depending on which way the hole is design. Cupp does not have the luxury of an played. Cupp says he intends to design the expansive piece of land that would allow course in the style of classic golf course for a full-length 18-hole course, but his architects Donald Ross and A.W. design of the renovated Bobby Jones Golf Tillinghast, while being cognizant of the Course will result in it being a reversible public nature of the facility. layout that will measure as long as 7,500 “We will keep as many trees as we can,” yards from the back tees to accommodate Cupp says of the moderately tree-lined the needs of the Georgia State golf team. layout. “Some will come out for drainage. “Nine holes is the coming thing,” Cupp We want it to be a completely public said of the emphasis on nine-hole facilicourse. Because part of the course is in a ties to better fit into the time crunch that flood plain, we will use lots of grass holkeeps many prospective golfers off the lows and the bunkers will not be very big, course. “Based on the land, it was going to like older courses. ” be nine holes and we wanted to see if Drainage has been a problem with the there was enough room for a practice Bobby Jones Golf Course for many years, facility. and Cupp says the drainage situation “I took a page out of the St. Andrews should be “significantly better” after the book on reversible holes. They have a lotrenovations. “It will be playable after rain.” tery for those days when they play the Cupp believes the par-3 course, which course backwards, and people love it.” he hopes to fit in as many as nine holes in By playing the course in both direc-

the 40-to-85-yard range, “will be a great place for kids to learn. The kids will be able to play golf like we used to when we were kids. Their parents will drop them off and they can stay all day, maybe going up to the big range and hit a bucket or two.” In addition, Cupp says the par-3 course will also serve as a short game practice area for Georgia State’s golfers. The current Bobby Jones Golf Course has its advocates, who appreciate the entertaining nature of an interesting, if somewhat quirky layout despite its inherently hazardous nature. The variety of the holes is among its strengths, with some very tight tee shots interspersed with some that are extremely forgiving. The forgiving nature of many of the holes is part of the problem, as adjoining fairways provide room to stray off the tee, which places players on other holes in peril. The creeks that wind through the course provide some of its character as well as danger, with the sharply dogleg right fifth hole, at one time the 18th on the course, one of the more interesting par 4s in all of Atlanta. The par-70 layout is short on length, with the first (406) and second (425) holes the only par 4s over 400 yards from the back tees and four par 4s in the 335 range or shorter. There are only two par 5s, one of which is basically a long par 4 for players who hit it reasonably far (the 455-yard 10th). Only one par 3 is longer than 165, and one of the four is among the shortest, least demanding holes you’ll encounter (No. 9). For the most part, the greens complexes are on the gentle side, with the quality putting surfaces rolling at moderate speeds with little in the way of serious undulation. Other than the fifth hole and the threadthe-needle tee shot from the elevated 18th tee, there isn’t much that is particularly memorable about Bobby Jones Golf Course (providing you don’t get conked on the head by an errant shot), but it has proven to be a playable, enjoyable destination for its loyal regulars, who will miss it, even if it’s replaced by something better.

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Bobby Jones [ Continued from cover ]

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With a higher quality course that will Atlanta campus. be more in line with Jones’ name, the “We will have a facility with a clubinclusion of a Golf House on the site house and a locker room and access to a makes sense, with both the Georgia PGA teaching bay,” Inman says. and GSGA on board. Having their own facility (the range “This was a proposal we can partner will also be available to the public) within with,” says Mongell, the Director of Golf close proximity to campus will make a at Cherokee Town & Country Club and major difference in recruiting says Inman, the most recent past President of the who has been dealing with the challenges Georgia PGA. “Our entire focus has been of recruiting golfers to a college located in on the growth of the game, and with this downtown Atlanta. Inman has done an we’ll be able to reach players from all excellent job of recruiting under the cirwalks of life and expand cumstances, putting together a mix of access to the game.” players Mongell believes with the state’s various organizations housed in the same spot, “We can deliver the game in a unified fashion. This will be an all-encompassing facility with amateurs, club professionals, college teams and juniors and will be very positive for all aspects of the community.” The Georgia PGA and GSGA will move into the facility when the new building that will house them ...and play in th e opposite is completed and the direction the ne xt day course is close to being ready for play. Palmer and Mongell hope to have them situated by late next from Georgia along year, but they are still some hurdles to with some talented imports from Europe. clear before that happens, among them a The women’s team has encountered considerable amount of fund raising. more difficulties in recruiting The non-profit Bobby Jones Golf players to a downtown campus, Course Foundation, headed up by Palmer and has had to rely almost and Elgison, is helping to raise money for exclusively on international the project. players to field a team. One of the biggest beneficiaries of the The men’s team has enjoyed improvements to Bobby Jones Golf more success in recent years than Course and the overall facility will be the the women’s squad, with the men men’s and women’s golf teams at Georgia making NCAA appearances and winState. ning conference championships in recent “We have no facility,” men’s head golf years. coach Joe Inman says. “We have to pay “I think we’ve done pretty good for not Eagle’s Landing and Berkeley Hills to having a facility,” Inman says. “I’m proud have places to play. We have to go of what we’ve accomplished with how twenty-something miles to play at either many obstacles we’ve had to overcome.” course.” Inman believes the partnership Once the facility at Bobby Jones Golf between Bobby Jones Golf Course and Course is completed, including the club- the Georgia State golf teams will funchouse and practice range, the Georgia tion smoothly, as the college golfers will State men’s and women’s teams will have use the facility the most during the a facility for their own use that is just a Winter when they are preparing for the few miles from the college’s downtown Spring season. Inman says the school’s

players will utilize the practice facility much more than they play the course, and expects the two college tournaments hosted by Georgia State at Berkeley Hills ((men) and Eagle’s Landing (women) will remain at those two courses. The idea of Bobby Jones Golf Course becoming a junior golf mecca also has appeal to Inman, who foresees junior camps and clinics at the facility during the Summer, when the college players will be away from school. “When they want it most, we will not be there,” says Inman. The Bitsy Grant Tennis Center, which adjoins the golf course, is also part of the land swap and will also be improved with funds raised for the project. American Golf Corporation, which operates the four City of Atlanta golf courses, will continue to manage Bobby Jones Golf Course until the reconstruction project begins.

Joe Inman

GEORGIA STATE

have to be made even shorter than its current version, which measures under 6,000 yards from the back tees. The renovation of the Bobby Jones Golf Course was something Marty Elgison, Attorney for the Jones family, had wanted to accomplish and was working on for several years. The Golf House idea was promoted by Chuck Palmer, then the President of the Georgia State Golf Association, and Mark Mongell, then the President of the Georgia PGA, who were representing the long term strategic plans of their associations. The three later collaborated to bring their vision to fruition. Palmer, who is currently the Chairman of the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame Committee as well as the Chairman of the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation, and Mongell promoted the idea of a Georgia Golf House that would place the GSGA, Georgia PGA and Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association all under the same roof, along with Atlanta Junior Golf, which has recently become part of the GSGA. The states of Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana have similar Golf Houses, as does New York’s Metropolitan Golf Association, with the one in Georgia also designed to finally provide a permanent home for the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. The proposed changes to Bobby Jones Golf Course have the approval of the late golfer’s family. Robert Tyre Jones IV, Bobby Jones’ grandson, expressed his “enthusiastic support” in a letter to Atlanta City Council members. Elgison, a spokesman for the Jones family, said the course is “obsolete” and “dangerous,” and “doesn’t really honor their grandfather’s legacy. A new course is something their grandfather would be proud of.” Elgison, who leads the Bobby Jones Golf Course Foundation along with Palmer, came up with the initial idea about renovating the golf course. Although there are some advocates for leaving the course as is, the general consensus is that a facility sporting the name of one of golf’s all-time greats should be better than what currently exists. Palmer, who first played Bobby Jones Golf Course in the early 1980s, describes the layout as “a mess and dangerous,” and the conditions as “disappointing.” He says Cupp’s plan to create a 9-hole course with a reversible layout and room for a practice area “made the most sense from a golf perspective.”

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Schniederjans a winner on Web.com Tour Victory clinches PGA Tour card for 2016-17

By Mike Blum

hen recent Georgia Tech standout Ollie Schniederjans returned to the Atlanta area to compete in a U.S. Open sectional qualifier, he was feeling pretty good about his play at that point of his rookie season on the Web.com Tour. Three weeks later, after his first professional victory in a Web.com event in Wichita, Schniederjans was feeling considerably better about his game and immediate future after locking up a spot on the 2016-17 PGA Tour. Schniederjans won the tournament in Wichita in a playoff, the second time this season he had gone to extra holes after tying for first place. Earlier this year in Colombia, Schniederjans hit two balls in a hazard on the par-5 playoff hole and lost. This time he birdied the second extra hole to take a three-way playoff over two players who both played their final five holes in 5-under to force the playoff. With his victory, Schniederjans moved up from 14th to third on the money list, and is guaranteed a top 25 finish that will earn his PGA Tour card for next season.

USGA

Ollie Schniederjans

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“It’s just a lifetime dream come true,” Schniederjans said after his victory. “To be able to go out there and be a member of the PGA Tour, it’s an incredible feeling. I put so much work in to get there.” It took Schniederjans less than a year to earn his spot on next season’s PGA Tour, turning pro after an outstanding performance last year as an amateur in the British Open. He only played in four PGA Tour events as a pro before the end of the 2014-15 season, but almost earned enough money to play his way into the Web.com Finals, which would have given him a chance to earn his PGA Tour card. Schniederjans lost out on that chance by the slimmest of margins, but that may have been a good thing for him in the long run. “I can’t believe how much I’ve learned this year,” he said following his win in Wichita. “I never would have thought I had that much to get better at and this much to learn. I needed this year on the Web.com Tour, honestly. I don’t think I was ready for the PGA Tour.” As the former world’s No. 1-ranked amateur and a first team college AllAmerican, Schniederjans received sponsor exemptions into four PGA Tour events last season and the maximum of seven for the 2015-16 season. Schniederjans closed out his amateur career by achieving the rare feat of making the cut in both the U.S. and British Opens, tying for 12th at St. Andrews in an outstanding amateur finale. He made an impressive professional debut, tying for 22nd in the Canadian Open the next week and for 15th the week after that in the PGA Tour event in the Washington, D.C., area. Needing to make one more cut in the two PGA Tour tournaments left on the schedule, Schniederjans was on the verge of advancing to the weekend in the regular season finale in Greensboro. He bogeyed his final hole in the second round, but was still among the top 70 until Roberto Castro, a fellow Georgia Tech graduate who also grew up in suburban Atlanta,

birdied his 18th hole that day to change the cut line. That required Schniederjans to enter the qualifying process for the Web.com Tour, and he barely made it to the final stage, closing with a 69 to move up 15 spots and advance on the number. He had a much easier time in the finals, placing in the top 10. After missing the cut in his first two Web.com starts this year, shot another 69 the final day to earn a spot in a playoff in an event in Cartagena. That playoff didn’t end well for Schniederjans, but the next one did. After he and his two fellow playoff participants parred the long, par-4 18th, they played the hole again, and Schniederjans holed an 18-foot birdie putt to claim his first professional title. “I felt like it was a 20 percent chance of making it,” Schniederjans said. “I just wanted to pure the heck out of it and see what happens. It went in beautifully. It was incredible.” Schniederjans took control of the tournament when he shot a course record 61 on the par-70 Crestview CC course to take a 2-stroke lead to the final round. “It’s probably the best round I’ve ever had,” Schniederjans said of the 61. “I’ve never really played a round where I didn’t make any mistakes. Today, I didn’t really make a mistake.” Although Schniederjans’ birdie total the final day dropped from nine the day before to three, he made it through a second straight round without a bogey. A number of players challenged Schniederjans in the final round, but he never lost at least a share of the lead. Both J.J. Spaun, also a Web.com rookie and the leading money winner on last year’s Canadian Tour, and Collin Morikawa, the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year at California this past season, played their final five holes in 5-under to force a playoff at 17-under 263. “It was a tight race all day,” Schniederjans said. “I kept hanging in there and did all the right things mentally.” Schniederjans took home the winner’s check of $112,500 with his birdie on the second playoff hole, raising his total for the season to more than $245,000. The only players ahead of him are Augusta resident Wesley Bryan ($296,000) and Richy Werenski ($263,500),

Schniederjans’ teammate at Georgia Tech. At the outset of the season, Schniederjans said his goal this year “was to win twice. I thought it was a realistic goal.” If he can achieve that, he will have a chance to finish the season No. 1 on the money list, which would make him fully exempt for the 2016-17 PGA Tour season and earn him a spot in next year’s Players Championship. Schniederjans will leave the Web.com Tour with positive memories, particularly about the event in Wichita, one of just three surviving tournament’s from the tour’s first year in 1990 when it was sponsored by the Ben Hogan Company, the first of the tour’s five title sponsors. The first start in a professional tournament for Schniederjans came in Wichita in 2014, shortly after his breakthrough junior season at Georgia Tech. He tied for fifth in the tournament, shortly before making the cut in a European Tour start in the Scottish Open. Schniederjans got into both the U.S. and British Opens last year off his status as the world’s No. 1-ranked amateur, and made a run at qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open. He tied for sixth in the sectional qualifier at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek, shooting 73 in the afternoon for a 3-under 141 total, four shots higher than the player who got the third and final qualifying spot. With his thoughts on the Web.com Tour and his hopes for a top-25 finish on the money list, Schniederjans said he was “not terribly disappointed” to miss out on qualifying for the U.S. Open. He played that week’s Web.com event in Nashville, finishing well back in the pack, but came back the following week with his win in Wichita. Following his qualifying effort at Settindown Creek, Schniederjans said his first season on the Web.com Tour had consisted of “a lot of good golf,” including consecutive finishes of 13th, seventh and sixth immediately after his playoff loss in Colombia. Schniederjans described his playoff loss as “a missed opportunity,” but added, “it was a huge week either way.” He earned $75,600 for his runner-up finish, vaulting him into the top 10 on the money list, and he remained near that spot until his second playoff experience moved him up to third. As he was preparing to leave Atlanta [ See Schniederjans, page 23 ]

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3 of golf’s ‘Big 4’ headed for East Lake McIlroy no lock for Tour Championship

By Mike Blum

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Jordan Spieth

Jason Day

STEVE DINBERG

after an exceptional 2015-16 season that includes only two finishes below 18th in 14 starts with nine top 10s. Spieth is not enjoying nearly as successful a season as in 2015, but is fourth with a pair of wins and will be back at East Lake to defend both his Tour Championship victory and FedExCup title. The remainder of the top 10 features a diverse group of Americans, only two of whom are currently in position to make the Ryder Cup team. The two among the Ryder Cup points leaders are 2012 Tour

STEVE DINBERG

ith less than two months before the start of the FedExCup 2016 Playoffs, PGA Tour players are jockeying for positions in the regular season standings, with those near the top hoping to remain there and earn spots in the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake. Atlanta-area golf fans are guaranteed at least three of the post-U.S. Open “Big 4” at East Lake, with Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Jordan Spieth holding down three of the top four spots in the FedExCup standings after Johnson’s victory at Oakmont. Johnson moved up to No. 3 in the World Golf Rankings ahead of Rory McIlroy, who was just 33rd on the points list after a mostly disappointing 2016 showing in the U.S. With a limited late-season schedule, McIlroy is not assured to make it East Lake barring strong showings in the season’s final two majors or a big push in the three Playoffs events preceding the Tour Championship, which will be played Sept. 22-25. With the Ryder Cup scheduled for the week following the Tour Championship, the top European players on the PGA Tour may not be completely motivated to make it to East Lake, especially those who will take a break from playing in the U.S. and/or Europe to make what is likely to be a hectic week-long stay in Rio de Janeiro for the Olympics. With McIlroy no lock to make it to East Lake, the only likely European Ryder Cupper who is currently in a strong position to qualify for the Tour Championship is Sergio Garcia, who was 12th in the FedExCup standings after a win in the Byron Nelson and a top-10 finish at Oakmont. The top-ranked European player on the points list at No. 5 is unheralded Scot Russell Knox, who barely registers in the European Ryder Cup standings. Knox owes his FedExCup status to the Fall portion of the 2015-16 schedule, when he won the WGC event in China and lost a playoff in Mexico the following week. The playoff winner in Mexico was Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, who is also well down the Ryder Cup

standings and will likely need a captain’s pick to make the team. McDowell was 22nd in the FedExCup after a top 10 in the Players and a top-20 in the U.S. Open. Henrik Stenson won the 2013 Tour Championship and FedExCup, but did not make it to East Lake in 2014 and may not make it this year. Stenson had top-3 finishes in consecutive starts at Bay Hill and in Houston, but has been invisible since in the U.S. and was 46th on the points list.

Also well outside the top-30 is Masters champion Danny Willett, who did not become a PGA Tour member until his come-from-behind victory in Augusta. Willett was 51st after playing a limited U.S. schedule this year. Justin Rose, who has qualified for the Tour Championship every year since 2010, was 43rd in the FedExCup standings and in line for an appearance at East Lake, as well as an almost certain Ryder Cup berth. The two leaders in the FedExCup standings will have a week off after the Tour Championship, as both are Australians. With wins at Bay Hill, the WGC Match Play and the Players, Day was No. 1 in the standings followed by countryman Adam Scott, who scored back-to-back wins in Florida, the latter in the WGC event that has disassociated itself from Donald Trump and his course at Doral. Johnson was also third in the standings

Championship winner and FedExCup champion Brandt Snedeker and Patrick Reed, one of the bright spots from the 2014 U.S. Ryder Cup loss. Reed is ranked highest in the FedExCup standings among players yet to win in 2015-16 at No. 7, just behind Snedeker, who scored his victory in San Diego. Reed played on Augusta State’s national championship teams in 2010 and ’11, with Kevin Kisner part of Georgia’s 2005 championship squad. Kisner, who won the RSM Classic at Sea Island GC to close out the Fall portion of the 2015-16 schedule, got off to a fast start in 2016, but has slowed of late and was in ninth place. Kevin Na started the 2015-16 schedule with finishes of second, second and third in the first three tournaments of the Fall, with a seventh place showing in the U.S. Open his sixth top of the season. He was 11th, just behind Kevin Chappell, who was runner-up to Kisner

at St. Simons and enjoyed a recent stretch of four top 10s in six starts, including a runner-up finish to Day in the Players. Along with Garcia (12), the rest of the top 20 includes some familiar names (Jason Dufner at 15, Phil Mickelson at 19 and Bubba Watson at 20) in addition to some of golf’s rising stars (Jason Thomas at 9, Daniel Berger at 14, Hideki Matsuyama at 16 and Brooks Koepka at 17). William McGirt, a firsttime winner at the Memorial, was 13th and rookie Smylie Kaufman, who won last Fall in Las Vegas, was 18th. Georgians Matt Kuchar (21), Harris English (28) and Charles Howell (29) were inside the top 30, with Howell looking to stay there to earn a return trip to his hometown event in Augusta, which he has missed six of the last seven years. After a slow start, Kuchar had top 10s in five of six starts prior to the U.S. Open, with English second recently at Colonial behind Spieth. Howell has played consistently the entire season with five top 10s and six other top 20s. Also in the top 30 are South Africans Branden Grace (24) and Charl Schwartzel (25) along with Rickie Fowler (26), who has six top 10s on the season along with missed cuts at the Masters, Players and U.S. Open. 2011 Tour Championship winner/FedExCup champion Jay Haas moved up from 36 to 27 after a strong showing at Congressional. McIlroy tops the list of players just outside the top 30 going into the WGC event at Firestone. Atlanta resident and former Georgia Tech standout Roberto Castro qualified for the Tour Championship in 2014 and has a chance to do again this year at No. 41. Acworth’s Jason Bohn got off to a similar start to Na last Fall, but missed almost two months after suffering a heart attack and has fallen to 54th since his return. Augusta’s Vaughn Taylor made a big splash with his surprise comeback win at Pebble Beach, but hasn’t been heard from since and was 66th. Among the more prominent names that need to move up on in the standings to make it into the top 30 are 2015 British Open champion Zach Johnson (64) and 2014 Tour Championship winner/FedExCup champion Billy [ See FedExCup, page 23 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

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.

TICKETS AT PGATOUR.COM/TTC Player appearance subject to eligibility

SEPT. 23 - 27 • EAST LAKE GOLF CLUB

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Georgia Open returning to Savannah area Ford Plantation hosting event in early August

By Mike Blum

ince Stephen Keppler, at the time the top player among the state’s club professionals, won back-to-back Georgia Open titles in 1994 and ’95, the tournament has been dominated by tour players. For 17 of the next 19 years, current or recent tour players won the event, with that streak finally ending last year. Davin White, who completed his college career at Georgia State a few months earlier, became the first amateur since Franklin Langham in 1989 to win the Georgia Open, taking last year’s title at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw. Although he has since turned professional, White is eligible to defend his title when the 2016 Georgia Open is played Aug. 4-7 at Ford Plantation outside Savannah. The course is located in Richmond Hill, about 20 miles south of Savannah near the Ogeechee River. Langham is one of just two players in the tournament’s 60-plus-year history to win the tournament as both an amateur and professional, duplicating the feat first achieved by 1973 Masters champion Tommy Aaron in 1957 and 1960. Langham’s wins came in 1989 while he was a member of the U. of Georgia golf team, and in ’92 when he was a young tour pro on his way up to what is now the Web.com Tour, where he spent nine seasons, as well as eight years on the PGA

Jay McLuen

GEORGIA PGA

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Tour. White turned pro earlier this year, and has played primarily in Open Golf Atlanta tournaments, a series of one-day pro events in the metro area with modest purses. Apart from the state’s top club pros, the field typically does not take shape until after the qualifying events have been completed, with most of the mini-tour players and a number of the state’s most accomplished amateurs having to compete in one of five qualifiers. The qualifiers are scheduled for July 18 (Berkeley Hills and Coosa CC), July 21 (Orchard Hills), July 28 (Savannah Quarters) and July 29 (Doublegate). A second chance qualifier will be played August 1 at Ford Plantation. Deadlines to register are July 15 for the five qualifiers in July and July 29 for the second chance qualifier. Information: www.georgiapga.com. Among the players who have entered one of the five qualifiers are former Kennesaw State teammates Jimmy Beck and Kelby Burton, who are both playing professionally. Beck, a former Georgia Amateur champion, was second at Pinetree as an amateur in 2014, with Burton tying for third, also as amateur. The only tour players exempt into the field are past champions (Jay McLuen, Jonathan Fricke and Samuel Del Val) and players who finished in the top 10 in the Georgia Open last year (Eddie Lee, Matt Nagy, Trey Rule, Jin Chung, John L. Smith and Bradley Smith. McLuen won at Barnsley Gardens in 2011 and Pinetree in 2014, both by seven strokes, and has been a major factor in the tournament for the past decade, placing second (in a playoff), fourth and third from 2006-08 and recording top10 finishes in 2012 and ’13, when Fricke scored back-to-back wins at the Legends at Chateau Elan. Fricke is competing on the Web.com Tour this year, with that tour playing its third from the last tournament of the regular season that week in Kansas City. It is unlikely that any of the state’s Web.com players who have a chance to qualify for the Finals Series will compete in the Georgia Open. McLuen is not playing on the Web.com Tour this year, and there is no conflict with the Swing Thought Tour, which has absorbed both the old Hooters

Ford Plantation's par-3 fou

rth hole

and eGolf Tours and is the primary tour for many of the state’s mini-tour players. Del Val, who won the last time the Georgia Open was played in Savannah, may have a conflict along with 10 or so other Georgians playing on the Canadian Tour. Del Val, who won at Savannah Harbor in 2010, is one of the top players on the LatinoAmerica Tour, which has taken a break and will resume this Fall. He was 14th on the money list after seven consecutive finishes of 16th or better, including five straight top 10s. The Canadian Tour is playing that week in Calgary, with other Georgians on that tour including Wade Binfield, Seth Reeves, Chris Wolfe, David Skinns, Drew Weaver, Charlie Harrison and Scott Wolfes. One player not competing in Canada is Savannah’s Tim O’Neal, who was second behind Del Val at Savannah Harbor in 2010. O’Neal is seventh on the Latino America money list after a recent victory in the Dominican Republic, his third on the tour. O’Neal, who has played six years on the Web.com Tour, the last time in 2014 after placing third on the LatinoAmerica Tour in 2013, also won the Georgia Amateur in 1997. Another former tour player and Georgia Amateur champion who could add a Georgia Open title to his resume is Web.com Tour veteran Paul Claxton, who is currently serving as the head pro at Hawk’s Point in Vidalia. Claxton played 20 consecutive years on either the PGA or Web.com Tours, four on the PGA Tour, the last time in 2014.

He turns 50 early in 2018, and is working for the first time as a club professional, although he has his eye on the Champions Tour. Since Keppler captured back-to-back titles at Lake Oconee courses in the mid1990s, only two Georgia PGA members have won the tournament since – Tim Weinhart at the Legends in 2004 and Jeff Hull at Champions Retreat. In both cases they had to withstand challenges from players who were on their way to the PGA Tour. Weinhart edged out former Georgia PGA member Kris Blanks by a shot in ’04, with Hull also winning by one three years later over Luke List, who had recently turned pro and is playing his second season on the PGA Tour this year. Since Hull’s win in ’07, the best showing by a Georgia PGA member was a tie for fifth by Craig Stevens in 2009 at Barnsley Gardens, four shots behind Roberto Castro, who is in his fourth season on the PGA Tour this year. Chris Nicol of Georgia Golf Center was a distant fifth behind McLuen at Pinetree two years ago, and was second among the club pros last year at Pinetree, tying for 16th. Bradley Smith, at the time an instructor at Eagle’s Landing, tied for ninth last year and has since returned to playing professionally. Two consistent contenders in the Georgia Open in recent years are playing pros Eddie Lee and Matt Nagy, who were second and third respectively last [ See Georgia Open, page 15 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Skinner repeats as Atlanta Open champion Wins on third playoff hole over 2 collegians

By Mike Blum

S GEORGIA PGA

FOREGEORGIA.COM

and luckily that was enough. Winning this tournament means tons for me.” Skinner shot 2-under 70 the first round and began play the next day in a tie for sixth, five behind Mendel, a rising redshirt junior at South Alabama. Mendel was part of a state high school championship team at Norcross, but had little experience at St. Ives despite being a member at the Standard Club, one of several prominent country clubs within close proximity of the Atlanta Open host. Mendel carded seven birdies and no bogeys the first day for his 65 to take a 2stroke lead over Gus Wagoner, an assistant at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek, who won the 2013 Georgia PGA event at Berkeley Hills as an amateur. He described the 65 as “my best competitive round. I hit the ball really well and made some putts. I hit 16 greens and made no mistakes.” After waiting out the long weather delay, Mendel began his second round with seven straight solid pars before holing a pair of birdie putts of some length at holes 8 and 9. But he lipped out a short par putt at the 10th and ended his day with another three-putt bogey at the 11th, winding up with an extremely difficult first putt from long range on the demanding par-3. Mendel was one shot behind Skinner when play resumed the next morning, but pulled into a tie for the lead with three straight pars, as Skinner missed a short par putt of his own at the 15th, one of two long, over-water par 3s on the back nine at St. Ives. Mendel also bogeyed the 15th, but came right back with a birdie at the lengthy par-4 16th before another short miss at 17 cost him a bogey and a share of the lead. Needing birdie to get into the playoff, Mendel reached the par-5 18th in two and rolled his eagle attempt from the back of the green within a few feet for a 72 and a spot in the playoff. Mendel had a chance to win on the first playoff hole, playing the slope with his second shot to the 18th to about 15 feet and narrowly missing his eagle attempt. He drew an awkward lie between two bunkers left of the 18th green on the second extra hole, but stayed alive when Skinner missed his birdie try. After a slightly errant drive to the right on the third playoff hole, Mendel was forced to lay up and his third shot

checked up some 15 short of the pin, with his birdie attempt failing to reach the hole. “Obviously, I’m disappointed not winning the playoff,” Mendel said. “But there were a lot of positives this week. I missed two two-footers, but I came back and made birdies on the next hole or the one after.” Morris, a rising sophomore at Dalton State, shot 68 the first day to get into the final pairing of the second round with Mendel and Wagoner. After an eagle at the par-5 seventh, his 16th hole of the day, Morris was 6-under, but ended his round with consecutive bogeys at 17 and 18. He was only one shot off the lead when play was halted in the second round, playing his 11 holes in 3-under. After five straight pars to start the continuation of his second round, Morris lost his share of the lead when he left his third shot in a greenside bunker at the 17th and made bogey. He followed with a spectacular second shot that settled about six feet behind the pin on the 18th, but he missed the ticklish downhill attempt for eagle which would have given him a dramatic victory. Morris, who plays out of Marietta CC, shot 69 to make it a three-way playoff, but missed his short birdie putt on the first extra hole after flying his second shot on the 18th to the back of the green. Skinner, about 35 years older than his two playoff opponents, said he was “proud to hang in there and hang with the young guys. I’m still able to be in contention with them.” [ See Skinner, page 15 ]

Jason Mendel

GEORGIA PGA

since turning 50 in 2010. He put his years as a tour player to good use, manonny Skinner played the par-5 aging to get himself into birdie position 18th hole at St. Ives Country on the 18th hole every time he played it Club four times during the the final day despite the occasional wayweather-delayed final round of ward shot on the hole. the Yamaha Atlanta Open. The victory was the second straight for He drove it into a fairway bunker Skinner in one of the Georgia PGA’s premier events, as he became the first Sonny Skinner back-to-back winner in the Yamaha Atlanta Open since Matt Russell won titles in 1996-97. He has also won the Georgia PGA Championship twice, the Match Play Championship and each of the Section’s two biggest senior events, as well as earning Player of the Year honors twice, most recently in 2014. Skinner is the head professional at Spring Hill CC in Tifton and has been part of the Georgia PGA Section since he left his career as a full time tour twice. He hit his second shot into a player in 2006. greenside bunker once. The one time he Prior to Skinner’s victory at St. Ives, 19 avoided the sand, he sliced his second different players had won the Atlanta shot from a downhill line off a tree short Open title the last 19 years, but Skinner and right of the green. ended that streak largely due to some No matter whether he layed up with exceptional play late in the afternoon his second shot from the fairway bunker during the partial second round. or went for the green in two, Skinner Lightning in the area delayed the tournawound up with a birdie putt in the 8-to- ment for some four hours the second day, 10-foot range every time. He made birdie with Skinner’s group not teeing off until twice in four attempts, once to extend a almost 6 p.m. playoff and the second time to win it Skinner’s group managed to get in 13 against a pair of college players who holes before darkness halted play and he reached the 18th in two for two-putt birdied six of them, including six of the birdies in regulation to join Skinner in a eight par 4s he played that day. Skinner three-way playoff. drove the ball well and hit a succession of Skinner, Jason Mendel and Adam superb approach shots, holing a pair of Morris all had opportunities to win the putts in the 12-foot range for birdies, tournament in regulation, with the three two more of around eight feet and the finishing with scores of 7-under 137 on last two in the fading daylight from only the excellent Tom Fazio layout that three feet. proved to be a worthy tournament host. “I really played well yesterday,” Skinner The experienced Skinner, who played said after his playoff victory. “I hit it close four years on the PGA Tour in the 1990s and made a couple of 12-footers. and a dozen years on the Web.com Tour, “I was really pleased with my putting. has played in 30 Champions Tour events I made two of three putts in the playoff

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Georgia Open [ Continued from page 12 ]

year. Lee, a Cumming resident, has finished third, fifth, fifth and second the last four years, while Nagy, a former standout at Kennesaw State from Buena Vista, has placed second, 10th, third and third since 2012. Both players have come within one shot of a playoff – Nagy in 2012 at the Legends and Lee in 2015. Nagy finished three behind White in third place at Pinetree last year. Del Val, who played his college golf at Berry and still resides in the state, has a

Skinner

[ Continued from page 14 ]

Skinner shot 67 in the second round, missing his birdie attempt at the 18th that would have given him the win without a playoff. He took home $4,000 for his victory. In addition to the challenge from the two collegians as well as Wagoner, who tied for fourth at 138, Skinner had to hold off a big final round comeback from amateur Bob Royak, who has also joined the senior ranks. Royak won the Atlanta Open at nearby

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best finish of fourth in the tournament since winning in 2010 at Savannah Harbor, with three Savannah golfers posting top-5 finishes that year. O’ Neal was second with senior amateur standout Doug Hanzel and current Web.com member Mark Silvers tying for fourth. This year’s field will compete on an outstanding Pete Dye layout that will be hosting its first major statewide event. Ford Plantation, which was built in the 1980s and extensively renovated by Dye in 2014, is the former winter home of famed industrialist Henry Ford. The course can play as long as 7,400

yards, but will likely play a few hundred yards shorter for the tournament. Lakes border seven of the nine holes on the parkland-style front nine, with the back nine constructed amid low country marshes, with lakes also in play on several holes. In addition to the abundance of hazards in play, many of the holes are lined by long waste bunkers familiar to those who have played Dye’s Harbour Town layout on Hilton Head Island or TPC Sawgrass near Jacksonville. The greens complexes vary from wellprotected to bunker-less, with a few of the putting surfaces, which will likely be

quick and firm for the tournament, raised up enough to make for some touchy short game shots to front pins. The fairways are on the generous side, but many are bordered by hazards, with most of the water in play along the edges. Three of the par 3s require carries over water, but none of the three has serious length, with the par 5s on the friendly side unless the back tee is used on the 600-yard third. More than half the greens on the par 4s and 5s are guarded by water to one side or the other, making for some moderately perilous approach shots.

Standard Club in 2007, and was playing on his home course at St. Ives. He was 3over on his first nine in the opening round including a 4-putt double bogey on the fifth, but shot 3-under coming in for a 72. Trailing Mendel by seven going to the final round, Royak carded eight birdies in a 66, concluding his round shortly before darkness ended it. He came back out the next morning in case he made it into a playoff, but came up one shot short. Also missing the playoff by a shot was Wagoner, who was looking to join his father Phil Wagoner, the head pro at River Pines, as an Atlanta Open cham-

pion. Wagoner shot 67 the first day with eight birdies in an 11-hole stretch, but bogeyed two of his last three holes after getting to 7-under. Wagoner closed within a shot of Mendel’s lead after two birdies on his first six holes in the second round, but hit his tee shot OB right on the reachable par-5 seventh and took double bogey. He came back with three birdies in his seven holes the next morning, carding a 71 for a 138 total. Tim Weinhart, the Director of Instruction at sister courses Heritage Golf Links and Woodmont, was sixth at 139 after scores of 68-71. Weinhart made

a move late in the day of the delayed second round with three birdies on his last six holes and also saved bogey after hitting his tee shot in the water on the par-3 11th. But a double bogey the next morning at the 16th ended his hopes of a second Atlanta Open title. Currahee Director of Golf Clark Spratlin was seventh at 140 with scores of 68-72, with recent Georgia College golfer David Sullivan of Woodstock eighth at 141 (70-71). The tournament was sponsored by Yamaha Golf Car Company and presented by Bushnell, Bolle, Chase 54 and Camelbak.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Ramsey aims for repeat in Ga. Women’s Open Club pro Paolozzi among primary challengers

uring its 21 years of competition, the Georgia Women’s Open has featured a number of winners in their teens or early 20s who used their victories as springboards to successful stints as college golfers or as part of a path to a future in professional golf. That applies to the tournament’s first winner – Caroline Peek Blaylock in 1995 – as well as last year’s champion – Ashlan Ramsey, a rookie on the LPGA Tour this season, and a host of winners in between. This year’s event will be played July 18-19 at Brookfield CC, the fourth straight year the Roswell club has hosted the Georgia Women’s Open. Blaylock, a Cedartown native, had just finished her college career at Furman when she won at Flat Creek in ‘95, then repeated as a pro the next year at White Oak. Blaylock joined the LPGA Tour in 1997 and played on at least a part-time basis until 2003, adding a third Georgia Women’s Open title in 2000. Roswell’s Krissie Register won the Georgia Women’s Open as an amateur in 1997 and ’99, the latter shortly after completing her college career at Arizona, which won the NCAA Women’s Championship in ’96. Register also placed second in the GWO in 1998 and 2000, the latter as a pro, and played several years on the Futures (now Symetra) Tour.

GEORGIA PGA

Ashlan Ramsey FOREGEORGIA.COM

Register was edged out in ’98 by incoming Georgia freshman Summer Sirmons of Cuthbert, who helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to an NCAA Championship in 2001. After competing briefly as a professional, Sirmons has been a long time instructor in the Atlanta area. Duluth’s Courtney Swaim Trimble won prior to her senior season at Auburn in 2001 over college rival and future Curtis Cup teammate Angela Jerman, and enjoyed success in a two-year stretch on the Futures Tour before moving into the college coaching field. After working as an assistant at her alma mater for four years, Trimble was head coach for three years at Central Florida before taking that position at Louisville, where she has been head coach since 2012. Fayetteville’s Diana Ramage was a college teammate of Swaim’s at Auburn and won the Georgia Women’s Open in 2005 and ’07 as a pro. She was a rookie on the LPGA Tour in 2006, but injuries halted her professional career. Prior to turning pro and winning the GWO twice, Ramage finished fourth or better in the tournament three times, including a third place showing behind teammate Swaim in 2001. Cobb County native Margaret Shirley also played with Ramage at Auburn, and won the tournament in 2006 and ’08, the latter time shortly after her college career ended. She played professionally briefly, winning twice on a Florida mini-tour before following Trimble into college coaching. She served as an assistant at Georgia and Auburn before joining the staff at Atlanta Junior Golf, where she is Executive Director. Shirley added a third GWO victory in 2013, the first year the event was held at Brookfield, and has been a major presence in the event since she finished fourth in 2003 and third in 2004 prior to her college career at Auburn, placing among the top 10 a total of 12 times. While Shirley contended in the tournament while still playing junior golf, Riverdale’s Mariah Stackhouse won in 2009 and was a close third the next year, well before enrolling at Stanford in the Fall of 2012. Emilie Burger, at the time a member of the golf team at Georgia when Shirley was an assistant coach, edged out Shirley and Stackhouse in 2010. Burger has regained her amateur

GEORGIA PGA

By Mike Blum

Margaret Shirley

status after playing as a professional for a short time. The 2011 Georgia Women’s Open ended in a playoff between two tour players, both of whom have played on the LPGA Tour. Valdosta’s Dori Carter, who played in college at Mississippi, won that year as an LPGA Tour rookie, taking a playoff over Jonesboro’s Lacey Agnew, who joined the LPGA Tour the following year. Carter has been an LPGA Tour member every year since 2011, with Agnew, who played her college golf at Florida State, a successful Symetra Tour player since 2013. After playing at White Oak from 1996-2003, the tournament was played for the first time at Summer Grove in 2004 before returning to White Oak from 2005-07. Summer Grove hosted from 2008-11, with the tournament played once at Callaway Gardens in 2012. Duluth’s Kendall Wright, who had several close calls in the tournament as an amateur, won as a pro at Callaway Gardens in 2012, but has struggled to establish herself as a tour player,. She also managed a close third place finish in the Georgia Women’s Open in 2014. Wright will be among a small number of former champions who will compete in this year’s field. The tournament has been played at Brookfield CC since 2014, with the club also serving as host of an LPGA event annually from 1977 to 1984. The three years Brookfield has been the site of the Georgia Women’s Open, three of the state’s most prominent

female players have won the tournament. Shirley captured her third GWO title in 2013, but has slipped back a bit the last two years, tying for sixth and ninth. She shot 6-under 138 to win by five shots Roswell amateur Jessica over Haigwood and Johns Creek pro Carmen Bandea. Haigwood, who will be a senior on the Augusta golf team this fall, placed fourth in the tournament in 2012 at Callaway Gardens prior to beginning her college career, and has been a runner-up in the Georgia Women’s Open each year the tournament has been played at Brookfield. Haigwood played high school golf at Brookfield while she was attending Roswell HS. Bandea has been a contender in the GWO since her early teens, placing 11th in 2004 and fifth the next year before turning pro prior to the ’06 tournament, when she finished seventh. Bandea lost a playoff to Ramage in ’07 and placed fourth or better five years in a row from 2010 to ’14, tying for second with Haigwood in 2013 and tying fourth the next year behind Karen Paolozzi, one of the country’s top female club professionals. Paolozzi joined the Georgia PGA Section earlier in 2014, and has finished first and tied for second in her only two appearances in the GWO. Paolozzi, an assistant at Druid Hills GC, has twice placed second in the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Championship, won the 2015 Georgia PGA PNC qualifier and 2015 Assistants Championship, both against the Section’s top male players, and recently competed in the national club professional championship against the country’s top men’s club pros, tying for seventh. In 2014, Paolozzi shot 4-under 140 to finish one ahead of Haigwood, two in front of Wright and three ahead of Bandea, and improved her total by one shot last year. Unfortunately for Paolozzi and fellow runners-up Haigwood and pro Jessica Welch of Lavonia, Ramsey won by seven shots with a tournament record total of 12-under 132, posting scores of 65 and 67. Ramsey is playing her rookie season on the LPGA Tour after a strong showing in [ See Women’s Open, page 30 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Paolozzi seventh in national club pro event By Mike Blum

fessional at Druid Hills Golf Club, became the first women to ever finish in the top 10 of the PGA’s national club professional championship, tying for eighth in the recent PGA Professional Championship at Turning Stone Resort in New York. Despite finishing in the top 20, Paolozzi will not be among the 20 club professionals who will compete in this month’s PGA Championship. Paolozzi won last year’s Georgia PGA Professional Championship against an otherwise allmale field, playing from shorter tees, and also played from shorter tees in the national championship. To qualify for the PGA Championship, Paolozzi would have had to play from the same tees as her male competitors in both events, and chose not to play those tees. Although she was ineligible to qualify for the PGA Championship, Paolozzi did

FOREGEORGIA.COM

Karen Paolozzi

MONTANA PRITCHARD/THE PGA OF AMERICA

eorgia PGA member Karen Paolozzi, an assistant pro-

receive her share of the purse, earning $16,500 for her tie for seventh. Paolozzi shot par or better in all four rounds, posting scores of 71-70-72-70 for a 5-under 283 total. Her final three rounds were played on the Turning Stone Resort course that hosted a PGA Tour event for several years, and she ended up only six strokes behind the tournament winner. “I came into this week just wanting to make the cut,” Paolozzi told reporters after her top-10 finish. “I had no expectations of finishing this high. This was just thrilling,” Paolozzi competed in the PGA Professional Championship two years ago, tying for 49th, the highest finish by a female in the championship at the time. The previous best finish was by Suzy Whaley, the only other women to make the cut in the event. Paolozzi was one of two females competing this year against a field of 310 male contestants. “This was incredibly satisfying,” Paolozzi said. “If you had told me before

the week that I was going to finish in the top ten, I probably would have doubted you.” As she did two years ago in the national club pro championship event, Paolozzi received plenty of airtime in the Golf Channel broadcasts of the tournament, and played well under the national spotlight. Paolozzi was among the tournament leaders early in her opening round with three birdies on her first six holes, but a triple bogey on the par-4 16th, her seventh hole of the day, halted her fast start. She wound up with a 1-under 71. Much of Paolozzi’s second round was included in the Golf Channel broadcast, and she carded four birdies for a 2-under 70 to remain near the top of the leader board. She again had four birdies in her third round, but had the same number of bogeys for a 72 to stay in the top 10 heading to the final round. After beginning the fourth round with 11 consecutive pars, Paolozzi birdied three of her last seven holes for a tie for seventh and a 5-under total for the 72hole event. “It feels good to finish with a couple of birdies,” she said after the final round. “I know I left several shots out there as all of us do. But I’m extremely happy with finishing strong and finishing in that top ten. I’m really, really excited about that.” Paolozzi has gotten accustomed to playing in national events the last few years, competing in a variety of PGA and LPGA events involving the country’s top club professionals of both genders, as well as the best players in women’s golf. Since 2014, Paolozzi has competed in the national club professional championship twice, the national assistants’

championship once, the Women’s PGA Championship, one of the majors on the LPGA Tour, and the LPGA Teaching and Club Professional Championship, twice each. She has finished as runner-up in her last two appearances in the LPGA T & CP event each of the last two years, and nearly made the cut this year in a Symetra Tour event played at Atlanta National, her first appearance on that tour since playing on it for two years shortly after a successful college career at Indiana. Paolozzi was a first team all-Big 10 selection at Indiana and lost in a playoff during her stay on what was then known as the Futures Tour before transitioning to a career as a club professional. She first qualified for the PGA club professional championship while working in Ohio, and has been part of the staff at Druid Hills since early 2014. She won the Georgia Women’s Open that year and tied for second in 2015, and will be among the favorites in this month’s tournament at Brookfield CC. A total of eight Georgia PGA members competed in the recent PGA Professional Championship, with Frederica GC head pro Hank Smith also making the cut. After opening with a 75 on the primary host course at Turning Stone Resort, Smith made the 36-hole cut (low 90 and ties) on the number with a 72 the next day, notching birdies on all four par 5s to offset two bogeys and one double bogey. Smith followed with another 72 in the third round to make the 54-hole cut (low 70 and ties), but went without a birdie for the second time in four days in the final round and shot 79 to finish back in the pack. Tim Weinhart, the Director of Instruction at Heritage Golf Links, shot 72-74 the first two days to also make the 36-hole cut, but followed with a 76 in the third round and missed the 54-hole cut by three strokes. Weinhart had qualified for the club professional championship for 15 consecutive years before missing out last year, and has made five appearances in the PGA Championship, including the last time the PGA Professional Championship was played at Turning Stone Resort. Weinhart carded nine birdies the first two days, but managed just one in the third round. Making his first ever appearance in the [ See Paolozzi, page 30 ]

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

Cressend, Sanders oust seeds in early rounds fter two rounds of the Georgia PGA Match Play Championship, only two players seeded higher than 14th had been eliminated, with 14 of the 16 remaining players seeded no lower than 18th. The two highest seeded players who failed to advance were 2015 runner-up and No. 4 seed Matthew Evans of Rivermont and two-time champion and No. 9 seed Craig Stevens of Brookstone, a finalist in 2012 and ’13 and a semifinalist in 2014. Evans lost on the 19th hole in the second round to No. 36 Gary Cressend of Augusta CC, while Stevens also was eliminated in extra holes in the second round by No. 41 Matthew Sanders of Oak Mountain, who needed 27 holes to reach the third round. Sanders defeated another former champion, No. 24 Greg

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Lee of Chicopee Woods, on the 19th hole in the opening round. Lee was a finalist in 2014 and reached the quarterfinals last year. The first four rounds of the tournament are played at courses selected by the two players, with the semifinals and final scheduled for Aug. 15 at Peachtree Golf Club, which is hosting the final two rounds for the third straight year. Cressend was to play No. 13 Seth McCain of Jennings Mill in the third round. McCain, a semifinalist in 2014, needed 20 holes to get past Justin Martin of the First Tee of Atlanta in the first round before scoring a 4&2 victory over Cory Cooper of Capital City Club. Cooper eliminated former champion Shawn Koch of Country Club of the South, seeded 20th, 5&3 in the opening round. Sanders was to play No. 8 Kyle Owen of Dunwoody CC in the third round.

GEORGIA PGA

Few upsets at outset of GPGA Match Play

Owen won his first two matches by scores of 7&5 and 4&3 to reach the third round for the fourth year in a row. The Owen-Sanders winner will play either Tim Weinhart of Heritage Golf Links or Karen Paolozzi of Druid Hills GC in the third round. Weinhart, a three-time tournament champion and 8-time Georgia PGA Player of the Year, is the top-seeded player this year and Kyle Owen won his first two matches 5&4 and 4&3, the latter in the second round against No. 33 Michael Parrott of Brookfield CC, a former tournament The Richardson-Skinner winner will runner-up. play either No. 7 Mark Anderson of Paolozzi, last year’s Georgia PGA PNC Brunswick CC or No. 10 Todd Ormsby champion, is the No. 17 seed. She won of Highland CC in the third round. her first two matches 2&1 and 3&1, Anderson, the tournament’s defending defeating Chris Shircliff of the Standard champion, advanced with wins by scores Club in the second round. Shircliff of 3&2 and 5&4, eliminating No. 26 knocked out No. 16 Gary Miller of the Cary Brown of Valdosta CC in the Oaks 3&2 in the first round. This is second round. Ormsby won his two Paolozzi’s first appearance in the tourna- matches by the same scores as Ormsby. ment. Weinhart, a semifinalist last year, Brian Dixon of Fox Creek, the No. 11 has been a major factor in the event since seed and 2014 champion, reached the 2000, taking back-to-back titles in 2011 third round for the 11th straight year, and ’12. taking his first two matches by scores of The Cressend-McCain winner will 3&2. Dixon lost his third round match play either No. 5 Bill Murchison of eight years in a row before breaking that Towne Lake Hills or No. 12 Chris streak en route to his title in 2014, and Cartwright of West Pines. Murchison, made it to the quarterfinals last year. who advanced to the quarterfinals last Dixon defeated No. 22 Tommy year, won 6&5 in the first round and 3&2 Brannen of Augusta CC in the second over No. 28 Danny Elkins in the second round, with Brannen getting past 2013 round. Cartwright won his first two champion Donn Perno of Peachtree GC, matches by identical scores as the winner of the recent Georgia PGA Murchison, getting past Craig Forney event at Rivermont, in the opening round. of the River Club in the second round. Dixon was to play No. 6 Joe Forney went 19 holes in the first round Finemore of Big Canoe, the most decito defeat No. 21 Eric Reeves of Capital sive winner of the first two rounds. City Club. Finemore captured his first two matches The top seven seeds in the bottom half by scores of 6&5 and 4&3, defeating No. of the bracket all reached the third 38 Ted Fort of Marietta Golf Center in round, with No. 15 Charlie King of the second round. Fort ousted No. 28 Griffin City GC losing to No. 18 Jordan Arnold of Achasta 2-up in the Patrick Richardson of Wilmington first round. Island Club 4&3 in the second round. Former champion David Potts of Richardson needed 20 holes to defeat Country Club of the South had a tough Oswald Drawdy of Accelerized Golf in match in the first round, edging Brian Corn of Peachtree GC 1-up, before the first round. Richardson will play No. 2 Sonny rolling past Richard Hatcher of Ansley Skinner of Spring Hill in the third GC’s Settindown Creek 6&5 in the round. Skinner, a former champion and a second round. Potts, seeded 14th and a semifinalist last year, won his second round match on a concession. [ See Match Play, page 23 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

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FOREGEORGIA.COM

GPGA Berkeley event to have new champion By Mike Blum

he last three years, the Championship at Berkeley Hills has been won by an amateur. The 2016 Georgia PGA tournament will be played July 1112, and for the third straight year will be without its defending champion. Davin White, who won last year’s tournament shortly after completing his college career at Georgia State, has since turned professional and is ineligible to compete in the event, with the field limited to club professionals and amateurs. Gus Wagoner, the first amateur to win the tournament at Berkeley Hills Country Club in Duluth in 2013, is eligible for this year’s event, having joined the staff at Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creek as an assistant. This will be seventh Championship at Berkeley Hills, with club professionals winning the first three. Chris Nicol of Georgia Golf Center won the inaugural event in 2010, shooting 8-under 136 to edge Sonny Skinner by one stroke. Bill Murchison of Towne Lake Hills won a tightly contested tournament the next year in a playoff over Jeff Hull, with the winning score again 136. Tim Weinhart, Kyle Owen and David Potts tied for third at 137, with Skinner sixth at 139. Stephen Keppler of Marietta CC added the Championship at Berkeley Hills to his long list of Georgia PGA titles, winning in 2012 with an 11-under 133 score after placing in the top 10 the previous two years. Craig Stevens was second at 135, with Skinner and amateur Nathan Rhatigan, a Berkeley Hills member, tying for third at 137. Wagoner, a member of the Georgia State golf team at the time, shot 136 to score a 3-stroke victory in 2013 over Weinhart and Shawn Koch. One of the most surprising results in a Georgia PGA tournament occurred at Berkeley Hills in 2014. Tyler Mitchell edged out fellow amateur Matt Luckett, like Rhatigan a Berkeley Hills member, breaking away from a large pack of contenders on the back nine to finish at 138, one ahead of Luckett and two in front of Owen and Travis Nance, who shared low pro honors. Mitchell, a Chatsworth native who had recently completed his senior season as a member of the Dalton State golf team,

FOREGEORGIA.COM

carded five birdies on the first six holes on the back nine to take control of the tournament. White scored the first of his two victories in Georgia PGA events last Summer at Berkeley Hills, finishing with a tournament record 132 total, one better than Nathan Mallonee, a teammate of White’s at Georgia State, which plays its annual invitational tournament at Berkeley Hills. Mallonee shot 65 the first day to lead White by two, but was passed by his

former teammate after making 14 straight pars in the final round following birdies on the first two holes. Mallonee closed his round with birdies on 17 and 18, but it wasn’t enough to catch White, who carded six birdies during Mallonee’s long par streak. White matched Mallonee’s opening 65, highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 seventh. Weinhart was third overall and low pro at 134, the fourth time in the tournament’s six years he has placed fourth or better. Weinhart will be among the

Georgia PGA members who will look to end the three-year run of success in the tournament by amateurs. This year’s tournament has a new presenting sponsor – Golf GameBook. Berkeley Hills CC is one of two Atlanta area clubs to host Georgia PGA events annually along with Rivermont CC. The 6,700-yard course lacks serious length, but is relatively tight off the tee and features some of the more challenging putting surfaces in the metro area.

Former Tech teammates Cink, Rantanen team up again through Golf GameBook When Stewart Cink and Mikko Rantanen were teammates on the Georgia Tech golf team between 1992 and 1994, they enjoyed tremendous success, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title twice and finishing second and fifth in the NCAA national championship in back-to-back seasons. Over 20 years later they are teammates again, this time in the golf business world at Golf GameBook, developer of the industry’s leading live scoring app. “We are thrilled to have Stewart on our Golf GameBook team,” said Rantanen, CEO of GameBook, Inc. “Stewart has been active on Social Media since the beginning, so when we decided to move forward with the Golf GameBook concept, he was a natural to bring on board.” After leaving Georgia Tech in 1995, both players pursued professional golf careers. Rantanen of Finland played on the Challenge Tour in Europe for four seasons before turning to a golf career off the course. Cink enjoyed immediate success, earning Player of the Year honors on the Nike Tour 1996, and has since carved out a successful PGA Tour career that includes six victories, the Open Championship triumph in 2009 and nearly $34 million in earnings.

Cink, remains very active on Social Media, and currently has over 1.1 million followers on Twitter. “While competing on the PGA Tour I have seen a major increase in the social aspects of our sport,” said Cink, who lives in the Atlanta area. “Golfers on and off the course are constantly sharing their experiences through social media. I believe Golf GameBook’s Social Community and Multi-Group Live Scoring platform is the perfect vehicle for golfers worldwide to do just that.” Golf GameBook was first released in 2010 as one of golf’s first proprietary hand-held live scoring devices. As golf scoring began to enter the digital age, and mobile apps became more prevalent, Golf GameBook

evolved into an app as well, integrating GPS and social interaction elements through the years. The 3rd generation of Golf GameBook was introduced in April to rave reviews. It expands the Social Community aspects of the free iPhone app, making it easier for golfers to share their experience with others before, during and after their rounds. Golf GameBook, available for free on the App Store, offers the most fun, effective and social way to keep score in golf, allowing you to connect with other golfers and share live results, comments, photos and videos – no matter where you are, on and off the golf course. The easy-to-use digital scorecard has now grown into a fully equipped social media platform for golfers. It’s like having a clubhouse in your pocket. “Making golf more fun through new social elements and [ See Golf GameBook, page 23 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

Golf GameBook [ Continued from page 22 ]

different game formats as well as fulfilling golfers’ dreams has always been – and still is – the core of what we do,” said Kalle Väinölä, who co-founded Golf GameBook 10 years ago with Mikko Manerus. “This new version of Golf GameBook is the next logical step in delivering that promise.” Keeping score on Golf GameBook is simple. Golfers enter their gross score on each hole and the app does the rest. It supports 25 different game formats, and provides scoring and live leaderboards for each of the formats being used by the group or tournament. Golf GameBook’s constantly growing database already covers approximately 95 percent of all the golf courses in the world. The majority of these come with GPS coordinates, which allows you to

Schniederjans [ Continued from page 8 ]

for that week’s Web.com event in Nashville, Schniederjans felt he was “in a good spot” to earn his playing privileges on the PGA Tour for next season, with

FedExCup

[ Continued from page 10 ]

Horschel (68), along with Georgia natives and ex-Georgia Bulldogs Chris Kirk (63), Russell Henley (85) and Brian Harman (86).

The top 125 players at the end of the regular season qualify for the Playoffs, which begin Aug. 25 at Bethpage Black. Among the players in danger of not qual-

Match Play

[ Continued from page 20 ]

quarterfinalist last year, was to play No. 3 James Mason of the Orchard in the third round. Mason won 4&3 and 3&2, the latter over No. 30 Scott Allen of Pointe South in the second round. In third round results, Owen defeated Sanders 1-up and McCain won by the

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check the distance, plan your next shot and measure your most impressive drives. Golfers can also make comments as well as post photos and videos throughout the round, elevating “trash talk” to a new level. Even friends who aren’t at the course can follow along, sharing their comments as well. Once the round is over, the information becomes part of each golfer’s personal golf history, as it is automatically archived into their Golf GameBook profile. The statistics and other stored information can also be used for game improvement purposes. With the addition of the brand new GameBook Social Feed, the app now also allows sharing off-course content such as photos and videos as well as web links to interesting golf topics to spark conversation. For more information, visit www.GolfGameBook.com. his goal “to finish as high as I can” on the money list and maybe “get the number one spot.” Several weeks later, he was a lot closer to the No. 1 spot on the money list, with his first start as an official PGA Tour member only a little more than three months away.

ifying for the Playoffs are 2011 PGA champion Keegan Bradley (126), Jim Furyk (130 after being sidelined until May due to injury), Stewart Cink (150 in the midst of the cancer diagnosis of his wife Lisa), Ernie Els (151) Hunter Mahan (171), and Geoff Ogilvy (191). After finishing 27th and 46th in the FedExCup standings the last two years, Atlanta resident and ex-Georgia Bulldog Brendon Todd was 204th on the points list, missing his last 15 cuts in a row.

same score against Cressend. Owen will play the Paolozzi-Weinhert winner in the quarterfinals, with McCain facing either Murchison or Cartwright. Skinner needed 20 holes to get past Richardson and will play Ormsby in the quarterfinals. Ormsby defeated Anderson 4&3. Mason won his third round match 6&5 over Potts, and will play Dixon in the quarterfinals. Dixon defeated Finemore 2&1.

FOREGEORGIA.COM

‘New’ format this year for Georgia Amateur 2016 champion to be decided in match play

By Mike Blum

GSGA

FOREGEORGIA.COM

No player as young as Jones has won the Georgia Amateur the 90-plus times it has been played since 1916 (there were breaks for World Wars I and II), but the tournament’s champions have trended a lot younger since Allen Doyle won the last of his six state amateur championships in 1990. Since 1991, college age golfers have won the Georgia Amateur 16 times, with players of Mid-Amateur age taking nine titles. Seven of the mid-am victories came between 1993 and 2003, with David Noll (2003, 2011) and Bill Brown (2006) the only non-collegians to win the Georgia Amateur over the past 13 years. Most of the college winners over the last 45 years have been current or former members of the Georgia golf team, with Brown part of a six-year stretch of Bulldogs to win the state’s top amateur event. Current PGA Tour members Brian Harman, Harris English and Russell Henley accounted for four of the six Georgia Amateur titles (Henley won back-to-back in 2008-09), with Harman and English both winning just prior to beginning classes in Athens. Since 2010, the Georgia Amateur title has gone to members of the Alabama golf team with prominent golf fathers three times (Lee Knox in 2010 and ’12, and Dru Love in 2015), twice to David Noll non-Bulldog Georgia golfers from Columbus (Kennesaw State’s Jimmy Beck in 2013 and Columbus State’s Robert Mize in 2014), with Noll collecting his second title in 2011. From 1970 to 2009, past or current Georgia golf team members won the Georgia Amateur 19 times, with Bulldog golfers denied three times by Doyle, whose six titles all came between 1978 and 1990. Career amateurs Jim Gabrielson and Danny Yates won three Georgia

Amateurs each, all after reaching eligibility to compete as mid-amateurs. Gabrielson, who graduated in 1963, won three times in the 1970s, with Yates’ three titles spread out over 20 years, the first coming in 1977, five years after he graduated. He also won on 1989 and ’96. Gabrielson and Yates were among seven Bulldogs to win the Georgia Amateur between 1970 and 1980, with Bo Trotter, Lyn Lott and Griff Moody all winning shortly after completing their college careers. Peter Persons and Louis Brown won backto-back in 1984 and ’85, with Neal Hendee and Paul Claxton matching that feat in 1991 and ’92 after Doyle had won three of the previous four years. Mid-amateur Carter Mize won consecutive Georgia Amateurs in 1993 and ’94 before college golfers who did not attend school in Athens emerged as champions. Georgia Southern’s Adam Thomas won in 1995, with Tim O’Neal (Jackson State) taking the title in ’97 shortly before joining Claxton as a tour professional. Georgia State had its lone champion in 2000 (Jack Croyle), with Augusta State scoring back-to-back victories in 2001 and ’02 by Michael Webb and Jonathan Shiflet, one of the last mid-ams to win the tournament. David Denham began UGA’s run of six straight champions in 2004, and returns to the tournament this year after playing as a pro for a number of years. Denham was part of the Bulldogs’ 2005 NCAA Championship team along with current PGA Tour members Chris Kirk, Brendon Todd and Kevin Kisner. There will be six former champions in this year’s field, with Yates the veteran of the group and Noll still a serious challenger to collect his third Georgia Amateur title. Love, Robert Mize and Knox are the most recent winners playing this year, with Denham having to qualify to get into the tournament. Most of the tournament favorites will come from the list of players exempt into the field. Noll, recent GSGA Mid-Am champ John Engler, former Public Links champ Chris Waters, Bob Royak and former Mid-Am champ Jack Hall are among the veteran players who will look to contend, along with Jeff Knox, Lee’s father and also former MidAmateur champion.

GSGA

hen the Georgia State Golf Association held the Georgia Amateur for the first time 100 years ago, the tournament champion was 14year-old Bobby Jones. The 2016 Georgia Amateur will conclude at the course where the initial state amateur championship was held a century earlier – Capital City Club in the Atlanta neighborhood of Brookhaven. The tournament is also reverting to the same match play format to determine its champion, but with a twist in the stroke play qualifying rounds. The stroke play portion of the 2016 Georgia Amateur will be played at Capital City Club’s Crabapple course in the suburbs of north Fulton County, with the top 32 finishers out of the field of 144 advancing to match play, which will be contested at Crabapple’s sister course in Brookhaven. Stroke play qualifying is set for July 12-13 (Tuesday-Wednesday) with three days of match play beginning July 15 (Friday) and concluding July 17 (Sunday). The first two days of match play will consist of two rounds each, with the quarterfinals and semifinals played on July 16 (Saturday).

Lee Knox

The list of college (and soon-to-be college) golfers who could challenge for victory this year is long, and with the last five matches played over three days, this year’s championship could be a survival of the fittest. Among the college contingent are recent winners Love and Mize, along with a host of players, some having had to qualify to get into the field. Among them are recent Dogwood Invitational winner Charles Huntzinger (Penn State) and top-10 Dogwood finishers Spencer Ralston and Luke Schniederjans, who will look to repeat the feat of Harman and English by winning just before entering college. Ralston is following Harman and English to Georgia, while Schniederjans is following his brother Ollie to Georgia Tech. Atlanta Open runners-up Jason Mendel (South Alabama) and Adam Morris (Dalton State) both qualified to get into the field, as did Georgia Tech’s Michael Hines and Tyler Joiner, Georgia’s Jack Larkin Jr., Kennesaw State’s Jake Fendt, Georgia State’s Nathan Mallonee and Nick Budd, and Georgia Southern’s Steven Fisk. Ralston and Schniederjans are among a talented high school class of 2016 in the field, including Ralston’s future Georgia teammate Will Chandler, Benjamin Shipp (NC State), Chandler Eaton (Duke) and S.M. Lee, who has won both the Georgia PGA and GSGA Junior Championships. As many college contenders as there are in the tournament, some of the state’s most prominent college players will be playing elsewhere that week or taking the week off. Among them are Georgia’s Zach Healy and Greyson Sigg, Georgia [ See Georgia Amateur, page 30 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

Duluth's Huntzinger takes Dogwood title By Mike Blum

uluth’s Charles Huntzinger, a member of the

Penn State golf team, captured the recent Dogwood Invitational at Druid Hills Golf Club, breaking a late tie for the lead with a birdie to edge out three players by one stroke each. Huntzinger was the Big 10 Freshman of the Year for the 2015-16 season and was a second team all-conference selection. He won a tournament this past season in an event hosted by Penn State, with the Dogwood victory the biggest of his young career. After sharing the 36-hole lead at 133, Huntzinger shot 70 in the third round – his high score of the tournament – to trail Australia’s Anthony Quayle by one heading to the final day. After an early bogey, Huntzinger played his last 15 holes in the fourth round in 5-under for a 68, with back nine birdies at the par-5 14th and par-4 16th moving him into the lead, which he preserved with pars on the final two holes.

Huntzinger finished with a 17-under 271 total to finish one shot in front of Quayle, Mexico’s Raul Pereda and defending Dogwood champion Dawson Armstrong of Lipscomb in Tennessee. Armstrong made a late push with a final round 65, matching the low score of the day, after playing his first three holes in 2-over. He was 9-under after that with eight birdies on his final 12 holes, including four in a row from holes 14 to 17. LSU golfer Luis Gagne was fifth at 273 after a final round 67, with Sean Elliott, the top player on Dalton State’s team, tying for sixth at 275 after shooting 67-68-67 the final three rounds. An 8 on the par-5 seventh hole led to an opening 73 for Elliott, the 2015 NCAA Division II national champion. Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston, who will be a freshman member of the UGA golf team this Fall, matched Armstrong’s final round 65 and tied for eighth at 276. Ralston had 25 birdies over four days, but three double bogeys in the second and third rounds kept him from challenging for a victory.

Jimmy Jones and LSU’s Nathan Jeansonne by three strokes. Georgia Tech’s Jacob Joiner of Albany was third

Charles Huntzinger

Tying for 10th at 277 was Dacula’s Newsome, who recently completed his college career at Cincinnati, and incoming Georgia Tech freshman Luke Schniederjans of Powder Springs. Both players shot 69 in the final round. Huntzinger shot 67 in the opening round to trail Florida Southern golfer Emerson

at 66, followed by Huntzinger and Alpharetta’s Zach Jaworski, who has completed his college career at Vanderbilt, at 67, A second round 66 moved Huntzinger into a tie for the lead after 36 holes with Quayle, who also shot 66 that day. Pereda was one of three players tied for third at 136, with Newsome shooting 66 to move into a tie for seventh at 137. Quayle led Huntzinger by one after 54 holes with a 202 total, with Pereda third at 204 and Jones fourth at 205. Scores of other Georgia golfers who made the 36-hole cut: J.J. Grey, Georgia State, T15, 279; Steven Fisk, Stockbridge/Georgia Southern, T19, 290; Joiner T28, 282; Jack Larkin, Atlanta/UGA, T28, 282; Jackson Heazel, Atlanta/Baylor, T28, 282; James Clark, Columbus/Georgia Tech, T37, 284; Jonathan Keppler, Marietta/Florida State, 44, 287; David Mackey, Watkinsville/UGA, T48, 292; Jaworski 51, 298.

Bettcher wins Southeastern Am by 3 over Shipp

ared Bettcher, a rising senior

on the Troy State golf team, won the recent Southeastern Amateur at Country Club of Columbus, shooting four rounds in the 60s for a 7-under 273 total and a 3-stroke victory over incoming North Carolina State freshman Benjamin Shipp of Duluth. Bettcher, a three-year starter for the Trojans and an all-Sun Belt Conference selection all three years, opened with a 69 and followed with three straight scores of 68, taking the lead after 54 holes by one shot. The Auburn, Ala., resident carded 21 birdies for the tournament, including 12 over the final two rounds. Shipp shared the 36-hole lead at 136 with Marietta’s Jonathan Keppler, who redshirted his freshman year at Florida State, but both players struggled in the third round. Shipp, who shot 68 each of the first two days, fell back with a third round 74, while Keppler fell out of con2 0 1 6 J U LY

tention with an 80. Shipp made a run at Bettcher early in the final round, playing his first four holes in 4-under, including an eagle on the par-5 fourth hole, but was even par over the final 14 holes for a 66. Keppler, who had six birdies in an opening 67 and followed with a 69, came back the final day with a score of even par 70 to tie for 24th at 286. David Snyder, who recently completed his college career at Kentucky, tied Shipp for second at 276 after a final round 67, and was one of just four players to break par for 72 holes. Mercer’s Stanton Schorr, a former high school golfer from Columbus, was low among the tournament’s local contingent, shooting 68 in the final round to finish tied for fifth at even par 280. Steven Fisk of Stockbridge, who recently completed his freshman season on the Georgia Southern golf team, shot 68-70-70-73 to tie for 10th at 281. Tyler Joiner of Leesburg, a member of

the Georgia Tech golf team, tied for 13th at 282, with Georgia Tech teammate James Clark of Columbus 17th at 283. Ben Carr, a teammate of Schorr at Columbus High, closed with a 68 to tie for 18th at 284. Michael Hines of Woodstock, one of four Georgia Tech golf team members in the field, tied for 22nd at 285, highlighted by a third round 66.

Jared Bettcher

Nathan Mallonee of Lexington, a rising senior on the Georgia State golf team, shot 65 to take the first round lead, but was 16-over the final three days and finished 18 shots behind Bettcher. Bettcher got off to a fast start in the final round with an eagle on the par-5

first hole and a birdie at the fourth, the only other par-5 on the tournament scorecard, to take a commanding lead. He was 1over after that but protected his lead, finishing three ahead of Shipp and Snyder. FOREGEORGIA.COM

Chandler Eaton

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Justin Kim

Lauren Lightfritz Diana Liu of Duluth was low among the Georgia qualifiers with a 74, with Kang and Alpharetta’s Kelly Strickland getting the final two spots in a playoff after shooting 75. Yang also shot 75 and is first alternate, with Julianna Collett of St. Simons second alternate at 77.

Cassidy captures second AJGA title

Nicolas Cassidy of Johns Creek, who led the Johns Creek Gladiators to a state AAAAAA golf championship earlier this Spring, scored his second AJGA victory of 2016 with an impressive performance at WindStone GC in Ringgold. Cassidy, who recently completed his freshman season in high school, broke the tournament scoring record with a 14-under 199 total that included an opening 65 and a final round 62. He played his final five holes of the tournament in 5-under, scoring an eagle on the par-5 15th and holing his second shot from the fairway on the par-4 18th to cap a 4-stroke victory. Cassidy, who trailed by one shot after a second round 72, captured his previous AJGA title at Coosa CC in Rome. Connery Meyer of Marietta was sixth at 210, with Ben Carr tying for ninth at 212

GSGA

Rome’s Justin Kim and Suwanee’s Lauren Lightfritz won the GSGA Junior and Girls Championships, with the boys playing at Athens Country Club and the girls competing on the Plantation course at Reynolds Lake Oconee. Kim posted scores of 68-70-72 for a 2over 212 total, highlighted by a 31 on the back nine in the opening round. Alex Ross of Atlanta shot 73-68-72—213 to take second, making double bogey on the 18th hole the final day after coming to the hole tied for the lead with Kim. Jordan Baker of Cumming birdied three of his last four holes for a closing 70 and was third at 214. Tying for fourth at 216 was Will Kahlstorf of Watkinsville and Logan Perkins of Locust Grove, with Ryan Hines and Suwanee’s Grant Sutliff tying for sixth at 217. Lightfritz, a Mercer signee, shot 72-73-72 for a 1-over 217 and a 1-stroke victory over Lizzie Reedy. Lightfritz broke a tie on the final nine by shooting 3-under 33 to 2under 34 for Reedy. Elisa Yang of Norcross and Louise Yu tied for third at 221, with Abigail Bolt of Canton, Ivy Shepherd of Peachtree City and Tiffany Kang fifth at 222. U.S. Junior qualifying: Dacula’s Peter Chung was medalist in a USGA Junior Championship qualifier at the UGA course in Athens with a 3-under 139 total, shooting 70-69. Justin Kim tied for second at 69-71—140 with Ben Carr of Columbus (66-74). Jake Forgay of Augusta got the fourth and final qualifying spot at 141 (7071). The U.S. Junior Amateur will be played July 18-23 at the Honors Course outside Chattanooga. U.S. Girls qualifying: Three Georgians qualified for the U.S. Girls Championship in a qualifier played at Cartersville Country Club. Six spots were available from the qualifier, with the top three spots going to golfers from Florida and Alabama.

GEORGIA PGA

Alpharetta’s Chandler Eaton and Marietta’s Lizzie Reedy scored decisive victories in last month’s Georgia Junior PGA Championship at Jennings Mill Country Club outside Athens. Eaton, a Duke signee, shot 67-70 for a 7under 137 total, to finish three ahead of Buford’s S.M. Lee, who carded scores of 7268. Eaton had 11 birdies over 36 holes, six of them coming in the second round, when he also made four bogeys. He made four straight birdies the second day, beginning at the third hole, to pull away from the field. Robert Howard of Acworth was third at 69-73—142, followed by Alpharetta’s Brendan Patton and Dacula’s Alex Markham at 144. Markham opened with a 68 but struggled at the outset of the second round. Davis Smith of Johns Creek was sixth at 146, with Ryan Hines of Woodstock seventh at 147. Tying for eighth at 148 was Justin Kim of Rome and Davis Brainard of Dunwoody, with Jake Milanowski of Peachtree City and Will Hernandez of Thomaston 10th at 149. Reedy shot 76-72—148 to win the girls division by six over Tiffany Kang and Elizabeth McConnell, both of Suwanee. Louise Yu of Duluth placed fourth at 155 followed by Najae Butler of Atlanta at 159. Noah Kuranga of Decatur shot 71-78— 149 to win a Georgia PGA Junior Tour event later in June, finishing one ahead of Newnan’s Preston Wise (79-71). Brady Thomas of Canton was third at 151. Tate Rackleff of Statesboro shot 154 to win boys 14-15 by one over Alex Colligan of Evans, with Charles Kyle of Atlanta shooting 75-75—150 to win boys 11-13. Emily Haigwood of Roswell won the girls division by three over Anna Williams of Social Circle with a 168 total. Katie Scheck of Greensboro and Kady Foshaug of Roswell tied for first in the 11-14 age group at 178. In an earlier G PGA Junior Tour event at Legacy on Lanier, Luke Schniederjans of Alpharetta won by six shots with scores of

Kim, Lightfritz GSGA champions

GSGA

Eaton, Reedy take GPGA Jr. titles

74-68—142, shooting 4-under 32 on the back nine in the final round. JonErik Alford of Roswell was second at 71-77— 148. Rackleff was the 14-15 age group winner at 155, one ahead of Jay Beach of Augusta. Marcus Reynolds of Milledgeville easily won the 11-13 division with scores of 7671—147. Maggie Sullens of Cumming shot 181 to win the girls division.

GEORGIA PGA

June was a busy month for Georgia’s junior golfers, with state championships conducted by the Georgia PGA and GSGA, qualifiers for the USGA Junior and Girls Championships, several American Junior events including one of the country’s most prestigious junior tournaments, and multiple stops on the Southeastern and Hurricane tours.

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Golf FORE Juniors

Lizzie Reedy

and Andy Mao, Cassidy’s teammate at Johns Creek, tying for 11th at 213 after opening with a 66. In the girls division, Caroline Craig of Sautee Nacoochee tied for seventh at 227, with Savannah Satterfield of Chatsworth T10 at 229. Thomas Hogan of St. Simons Island challenged for a victory close to home, placing second in the Davis Love Junior at Brunswick CC. Hogan shot 68-66-69 for a 7under 203 total, three strokes behind the winner. JonErik Alford tied for sixth at 211, with Alex Shead of Appling tying for eighth at 212. Austin Fulton of Villa Rica was T14 at 213 and Andrew Chong of Grovetown was T17 at 214. Duluth’s Leiko Niwano was eighth in the girls division at 224. S.M. Lee tied for third in the Haas Family Invitational in Greensboro, N.C., with an even par total of 280, six shots behind the winner. Chandler Eaton tied for 12th at 283 with Gainesville’s Spencer Ralston, a UGA signee, 14th at 285. In Ashland, Ky., Buford’s Skylar Thompson finished fifth among the girls at 226, with Robert Howard 12th in the boys division at 212. Lee shot a final round 63 at Great Waters to finish fifth in the Rolex Tournament of Champions, one of the AJGA’s major J U LY 2 0 1 6

events. Lee closed out his round with a 7under 29 on the back nine for a 2-over 286 total. Jake Milanowski tied for 17th at 291, with Eaton T24 at 292 and Cassidy T32 at 296. Fulton shot 298, with Alford falling back to a 302 total after opening with a 68.

Hogan, Bolt take titles at Achasta

Gainesville’s Ryan Hogan and Canton’s Abigail Bolt were the boys and girls winner s in a Southeastern Junior Tour event at Achasta GC. Hogan shot 70-69—139 to win by four over Marietta’s Cameron Stokes. Cumming’s Stephen Foernsler was the 1415 division winner by two at 145 over Blake Parkman, also of Cumming. Michael Dotson of Cumming shot 74-68— 142 to win the 12-13 age group by three over Monroe’s Perry-Austin Kilburn. Bolt won the girls division by 13 shots with a 147 total (75-72). Payton Elkins of Valdosta shot 174 and won the 12-14 division by three. Candler Murphy of Bishop and Annika Blanton of Lawrenceville were the winners of a SJGT tournament at the Georgia Club. Murphy shot 71-73—144 to finish two ahead of Nolan Miller of Mildland and Braden Jones of Atlanta. Robert Ghirardini of Atlanta was the 14-15 age group winner by five at 150. Marietta’s Matthew Giesler shot 6674—140 to win the 12-13 age group by two over Atlanta’s Ben Kalinowski. Blanton’s 152 total was six shots better than that of runners-up Alison Crenshaw of Suwanee and Ayanna Habeel of Decatur. Caroline Craig shot 73-71—144 to win

the girls division by three at Idle Hour, with her sister Catie Craig second in the 12-14 age group at 162, two behind Macon’s Josephine Coleman. Atlanta’s Harry White shot 71-66—137 to take second in the boys division, two behind the winner. Jackson Toole of Lyons was the 14-15 winner by two at 145, with Giesler winning a second straight tournament in 12-13 with scores of 65-70—135. Andrew Garger of Sharpsburg was second at 142 and Kilburn third at 143.

Merck, Yu win at Royal Lakes

Tanner Merck of Gainesville scored a hometown win in a Hurricane Junior Tour event at Royal Lakes with scores of 67-75— 142, two shots ahead of Suwanee’s Parker Stone. Myles Jones of Suwanee shot 69-74— 143 to win boys 14-15 by two over Brandon Cho, also of Suwanee. Maxwell Ford of Peachtree Corners was the 11-13 winner at 143 with scores 73-70—143, with Bruce Murphy of Johns Creek 2nd at 144. Louise Yu shot 76-69—145 to win the girls division by 11 over Kelly Strickland, Amy Ng of Alpharetta and Cameron Daniel of Sharpsburg. In a 54-hole Hurricane Junior tournament earlier last month at Chateau Elan’s Woodlands course, David Frank of Dunwoody shot a final round 69 for a 223 total and won the boys division in a playoff. Nicholas Gibson of Duluth also won in a playoff in the 14-15 age group at 228. Will Spivey of Douglas was third at 230. Sara Im of Duluth won the girls under13 division by 12 shots at 223.

Nicolas Cassidy

AJGA

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Chip Shots

Roman’s teams 1-2 in Pro-Assistant

Pro-Assistant winners Kevin Roman (right), Peter Jones (left)

GSGA

Louise Yu

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Doherty captures victory in Judson

GEORGIA PGA

Cherokee Town & Country Club Director of Instruction Kevin Roman enjoyed a profitable day in the Georgia PGA Club Car Pro-Assistant Championship at the Georgia Club, teaming with two different assistant pros from the club to finish 1-2 in the 27-hole tournament. Roman and Cherokee assistant Peter Jones shot 14-under 93 to finish one ahead of Roman and J.P. Griffin. Roman and Jones divided first place money of $1,500, while Roman and Griffin split $1,000. Roman also collected two other checks with other Cherokee assistants. Tying for third at 95 was the Augusta CC team of Tommy Brannnen and Gary Cressend, and the Brookstone G&CC team of Mark Avery and Craig Stevens. Crosswinds head pro James Walden and Henderson assistant Clint Colbert placed fifth at 96. Mason a Senior winner: James Mason scored a 5-stroke victory in the Georgia PGA Senior Division Lee-Weir Memorial tournament at Canongate 1 GC. Mason shot a second round 67 for an 11-under 133 total to break a first round tie with Sonny Skinner after both players opened with scores of 66. Mason, who plays out of the Orchard, finished five shots of Skinner, Currahee Club’s Clark Spratlin and Lake Arrowhead’s Uel Kemp, who tied for second at 138. Spratln shot 70-68 and Kemp carded a pair of 69s. Skinner, the head pro at Spring Hill CC, shot 72 the second round. Rusty Strawn was low amateur at 141, with Callaway Gardens pro Wyatt Detmer sixth at 143. The annual tournament is named in

one over Janet Mao of Johns Creek and Kate Owen of Suwanee. Yang shot 1under on the back nine the final day, while Mao, who plays at Northwestern, parred her last 12 holes and also shot 72. Owen led after an opening 69, but shot 79 the next day. Lauren Lightfritz, a high school teammate of Owen and a Mercer signee, was fourth at 149 and Yu finished fifth at 150.

honor of long-time Canongate pro Emory Lee and sales representative Billy Weir, one of the most well-respected individuals in Georgia golf history.

Inman, Keppler qualify for Sr. Open

Georgia State head golf coach Joe Inman and Marietta Country Club Director of Golf Stephen Keppler were among three Georgians to qualify at White Columns for the U.S, Senior Open. Milton amateur James Kiely was the qualifying medalist with a 67 after scoring birdies on three of his last six holes. Inman, who won on both the PGA and Senior Tours during his years as a tour pro, will be one of the oldest players in the field at the age of 68. The Marietta resident shot his age in the qualifier to place second. Keppler, like Inman a Georgia Hall of Fame member, shot 69 and won a playoff over long-time Georgia PGA competitor Jeff Hull of Watkinsville, the assistant women’s head coach at Furman. Keppler had 16 pars in his round, making an eagle on the par-5 13th hole and a birdie on the par- 5 ninth, his final hole of the day. Hull had seven birdies in his round, but made double bogey on the par-5 sixth hole, his 15th. Hull is first alternate and Augusta CC head pro Tommy Brannen is second alternate after shooting 70 and winning a 4-man playoff. Also shooting 70 was former tour player Tim Conley of Braselton and amateurs Bob Royak of

Alpharetta and Billy Mitchell of Marietta. Mitchell, who won the 2016 Georgia Senior Open, had eight birdies in his 70, but made a 9 on the par-5 sixth hole, his 15th, before closing out his round with three straight birdies.

Juniors Yu, Yang take GSGA titles

Junior golfers Elisa Yang and Louise Yu, both from Gwinnett County, won a pair of GSGA women’s events in June, with Yang taking the Top 60 Classic after Yu scored a victory in the Match Play Championship. Yang was the medalist and top seed in the Match Play event at Sunset Hills in Carrollton after shooting a 67, but lost to the fifth-seeded Yu 4&3 in the semifinals. Yu, who qualified with a 72, won 5&3 in the finals over Anna Buchanan of Athens, a college golfer at Samford. Buchanan shot 80 in the qualifying round and was seeded 27th in the 32player field. She won four matches against higher-seeded players by scores of either 4&3 or 3&2 before losing to Yu in the finals. She defeated No. 10 Harmanprit Kaur of Lawrenceville, who will play at Georgia State, 3&2 in the semifinals after Kaur get past nine-time tournament champion Laura Coble of Augusta 1-up in the quarterfinals. Yu, from Duluth, won all of her matches decisively, taking her first three by scores of 4&2, 8&7 and 5&4. Yang, from Norcross, shot 75-72—147 at Laurel Springs to take the Top 60 title by

Atlanta’s Amanda Doherty, an incoming freshman at Florida State, won the annual Judson Collegiate Invitational on her home course at Country Club of Roswell, taking a playoff over North Carolina State’s Sarah Bae. Doherty shot a final round 70 for a 54hole total of even par 213. Bae closed with a 71, catching Doherty with three birdies on the back nine of the final round. Doherty took the lead with birdies at 6, 7, 8 and 10 the final day, but fell back down the stretch with three bogeys on her final six holes. After saving par from a greenside bunker on the par-5 18th hole at CC of Roswell to tie Bae, Doherty reached the 18th green in two in the playoff and twoputted for a winning birdie. Summar Roachell of Arkansas was third at 2-over 215 after closing with a 74. Roachell led Bae by one and Doherty by two going to the final round. Furman’s Taylor Totland, the tournament’s defending champion, and Chattanooga’s Megan Woods tied for third at 217. Roswell’s Jessica Haigwood, the 2014 Judson champion, tied for sixth. Haigwood, who plays at Augusta and Suwanee’s Michaela Owen, who plays at Auburn, both shot 73 the final day to finish at 221.

Stackhouse makes cut in pro debut

Riverdale’s Mariah Stackhouse made her professional debut last month in a LPGA Tour event in Portland, making the cut and earning a check of almost $5,000. Stackhouse shot even par 288 to tie for 47th, shooting 4-under 68 in the second round to make the cut and following with a 1-under 71 the next day. Stackhouse, who has completed her college career at [ See Chip Shots, page 30 ] J U LY 2 0 1 6

Grand National hosts second PGA Tour event By Mike Blum

olf fans in the Columbus area have been without a PGA Tour event since the Buick-sponsored tournament at Callaway Gardens ended its decade-long run at the popular Georgia resort. The long wait ended last year when the PGA Tour added the Barbasol Championship to its schedule at the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail in Opelika, Ala., a short drive across the Chattahoochee River from Columbus and within easy driving distance of LaGrange and the southwest Atlanta suburbs. With no available open slots on the schedule, tournament organizers had to settle for a date opposite the British Open, which will attract the game’s top players the week of July 14-17. The first Barbasol Championship wound up with a recognizable winner, as Scott Piercy shot 19-under 265 on the Lake course at Grand National, finishing three ahead of Alabama native Will Wilcox, who wound up being perhaps the biggest story of the week. The victory was the third in Piercy’s PGA Tour career, including the 2012 Canadian Open, and he went on to qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake for just the second time, finishing the 2014-15 season 22nd on the FedExCup points list. After consecutive runner-up finishes to Dustin Johnson in the U.S. Open and World Golf Championship event at Firestone, Piercy has risen to 25th in the World Rankings, and will be playing in Scotland this year instead of Alabama. The most prominent player to make an early commitment to this year’s tournament was Augusta native Charles Howell, who won an individual NCAA Championship at Grand National just prior to turning pro. Howell was on the verge of getting into the British Open when he announced he would probably miss the rest of the regular season after undergoing minor surgery. The lone 2016 PGA Tour winner who is an early entrant to the tournament is Brian Stuard, who scored a surprise victory in New Orleans. Among the more recognizable names scheduled to play in the second Barbasol Championship are veterans Jason Bohn,

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K.J. Choi, Lucas Glover, Chad Campbell, Boo Weekley, Aaron Baddeley and Hunter Mahan, along

with some talented younger players who are looking for their first PGA Tour victory. That group includes Atlanta resident and former Georgia Tech standout Roberto Castro, at 47 one of the highest-ranked players in the latest FedexCup standings. Jon Curran, Jason Kokrak and Brian Harman are among the players yet to win on the PGA Tour who have a serious shot at a first victory. So does Wilcox, who placed second last year behind Piercy, and along with Castro, Bohn and Harman, is among a sizeable contingent of golfers with Georgia ties likely to tee it up at Grand National. Wilcox, a Birmingham native, began his college career at UAB. But after a few years out of school after getting into trouble early in his stint at UAB, Wilcox transferred to Division II Clayton State and was a three-time All-American before turning pro. He won a Web.com event in Valdosta in his third season on that tour in 2013, earning a spot on the PGA Tour the next year. After a respectable rookie effort, Wilcox enjoyed a solid sophomore season, highlighted by his runner-up finish in Opelika. Wilcox was among the leaders the entire tournament, opening with a 66 and following with scores of 70 and 65 before a final round 67. He finished two shots clear of three players who tied for third. Bohn, who attended the U. of Alabama but did not play golf in college after winning a $1 million hole-in-one competition, is a long-time Acworth resident who suffered a heart attack earlier this year during a PGA Tour event in south Florida. He has not played particularly well since returning to action after a 6-week absence, but is having a successful 2015-16 season after an outstanding Fall showing. Castro is looking to qualify for the Tour Championship at East Lake for the second time in four years, and came close to his first PGA Tour victory recently when he lost in a playoff at Quail Hollow. After playing in the British Open last year, Harman will be playing at Grand National for the first time, as will Bohn. Other Georgians in the field are veteran

Jonathan Byrd, who is splitting

his time this year between the PGA and Web.com Tours, along with Brendon Todd, Hudson Swafford, Luke List and Henrik Norlander. Grand National plays to a par 71 for the tournament at 7,300 yards highlighted by some demanding par 4s and a terrific group of par 3s. The nines have been reversed for the Barbasol Championship and the par-5 third hole (tournament 12) plays as a par 4 for the tour pros. With Lake Saugahatchee bordering 12 holes, water is a serious concern on at least half the holes, and the greens complexes provide plenty of challenge with some fast, sloping putting surfaces among the strongest aspects of the outstanding layout. Golf Channel will have live coverage all four days from 5-8 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 3-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Jason Bohn

FOREGEORGIA.COM

[ Continued from page 18 ]

event, Brunswick CC instructor Mark Anderson shot 75-74—149 to miss the 36-hole cut by two strokes. Anderson was 1-under for the day and 2-over for the tournament with six holes to play in the second round, but a double-bogey at

Women’s Open [ Continued from page 16 ]

Georgia Amateur [ Continued from page 24 ]

Tech’s Jacob Joiner and James Clark, former UGA golfer Parker Derby (now

Chip Shots

[ Continued from page 28 ]

Stanford, will have to rely on sponsor exemptions or Monday qualifiers to get into events the rest of the season. Garber 13th in Reno: Making his first start as a pro on the PGA Tour the same week as Stackhouse made her LPGA debut was recent UGA golfer Joey Garber, who made it into the field of the Reno-Tahoe Open in a Monday qualifier. Garber tied for 13th in the tournament to earn $60,000, finishing with 28 points in the modified Stableford scoring format. After barely making the 36-hole cut, Garber shot 68-66 the final two days for 9

her title. Ramsey, who grew up in Augusta and Milledgeville, is living in Greenville, S.C., but remains eligible to compete in the tournament, which is open to players from outside Georgia. Other early entrants include Paolozzi, Haigwood and Peachtree City’s Cindy Schreyer, who played on the LPGA Tour from 1989-2004, winning a tour event in Chicago in 1993. Prior to turning pro, Schreyer won the NCAA individual championship in 1984 while playing at Georgia and the U.S. Women’s Pubic Links in ’86, and was a member of the U.S. Curtis Cup

Johan Kok of the Tennessee Section, who grew up in Peachtree City before playing in college at South Carolina and professionally for several years overseas. Kok tied for 13th at 286, the third straight year he has made it into the PGA Championship.

Hank Smith

Jessica Haigwood

GEORGIA PGA

the finals of qualifying late in 2015. Prior to turning pro, she was the country’s top-ranked female amateur and spent one season at Clemson, turning pro after competing on the 2014 U.S. Curtis Cup team along with Stackhouse. Through her first 13 starts as an LPGA rookie, Ramsey had made just two cuts and was 155th on the money list, which would not be enough to retain her status for next year. An LPGA event in Toledo is scheduled to end the day before the Georgia Women’s Open begins, but Ramsey has already signed up to defend

the par-4 13th damaged his chances of advancing to the third round. Also missing the cut were veteran Georgia PGA members Craig Stevens of Brookstone G & CC, Rodger Hogan of Chattahoochee GC, Todd Ormsby of Highland CC in LaGrange and Brian Puterbaugh of the Hooch. Among the 20 club professionals qualifying for the PGA Championship was

GEORGIA PGA

Paolozzi

team that year. The deadline for registration for the tournament is July 15. In addition to a championship flight for pros and low handicappers, there is a regular flight as well as a senior flight. For information, visit the Georgia PGA’s web site as www.georgiapga.com.

at College of Charleston), former NCAA D II champion Sean Elliott of Dalton State, and Michigan’s Kyle Mueller, who recently qualified for the U.S. Open. South Carolina’s Ryan Stachler, who also qualified for the U.S. Open, tried to

qualify for the Georgia Amateur but fell short. Elliott and Sigg tied for second last year behind Love, with Healy also among the final round contenders, placing fourth. A number of this year’s top contenders

played well last year at Sea Island Golf Club’s Seaside course, including Chandler (6th), Shipp (10th), Schniederjans and Tennessee collegian Shea Sylvester (12th), Lee (16th), Noll (17th), and Fendt, Mallonee and Ralston (19th).

and 12 points respectively, missing a top10 finish and a spot in the next PGA Tour event by just one birdie. Two-time Georgia Open champion Jay McLuen of Forsyth also competed in the Reno-Tahoe Open and made the 36-hole cut after scoring 13 points the first day to be among the leaders after 18 holes. But after shooting 67 with eight birdies in the opening round, McLuen had minus-2 points each of the next two days, and was not among the top 70 after 54 holes. He earned just under $6,000.

the Reno-Tahoe Open but failed to make the cut, won a recent event on the Swing Thought Tour Georgia Series, played at Chattahoochee GC in Gainesville. Deason shot 65-69 for a 10-under 134 total, five ahead of Duluth’s Jin Chung, who was second at 139. Ted Moon of Lilburn and Luke James of Gainesville tied for third at 143. Deason earned $1400 for his victory. Recent Oglethorpe standout Anthony Maccaglia won a Swing Thought National Series event in North Carolina last month, taking a 3-way playoff after shooting 14under 270 in Hertford, N.C., to take home the winner’s check of $16,500. Former UGA golfer T.J. Mitchell of Albany and former Georgia Tech golfer J.T. Griffin tied for 12th at 276.

Alpharetta’s Billy Kennerly tied for second in an earlier Swing Thought event last month in New Bern. N.C., shooting 17under 271 highlighted by a second round 62 to finish one behind the winner after a final round 66. Former Georgia Tech golfer Bo Andrews tied for fifth at 272 after a 61 in the first round. Albany’s Josh Broadaway was ninth at 274 and Maccaglia 10th at 275. Broadaway tied for fourth and Griffin tied for seventh in the first of three Swing Thought events last month in North Carolina. The Swing Thought Tour plays National Series events this month at Grand Island in Albany (13-16) and Sapelo Hammock in Darien (20-23).

Deason wins event at Chattahoochee

Chip Deason of Evans, who also played in

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