2014 Golf Oklahoma June | July

Official publication of the Oklahoma Golf Association www.golfoklahoma.org

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Contents JUNE/JULY 2014 Volume 4 Issue 3

w w w . go l f o k l a h o m a . o r g

U.S. Senior Open Preview

24

24 Kenny Perry to defend title 25 Featured player profiles 28 Final ride of the Oak Tree Gang 32 Scott Verplank turns fifty 36 Palmer whiffs one 40 Arnold Palmer, Sandy Tatum help establish U.S. Senior Open

43 44

Spectator guide U.S. Open visitor’s guide

Departments

32

10 12 1 3 1 3 14 1 8 20 50 51 52 54 55 59

Letter from the publisher OGA Rules, Gene Mortensen WOGA The Goods Chip Shots, Oklahoma news Competition Pro Profile: Steve Kimmel Industry Profile: Josh Cook Where we play: Sequoyah State Park Fitness Instruction Results

On the cover The USGA waited on Scott Verplank to turn 50 to bring the U.S. Senior Open to Oak Tree National and now he hopes to make a major impact.

44

Cover photo courtesy of USGA

Support junior golf by contributing to the OGA Foundation Call 405-848-0042 for more information 6 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Increased domestic production means fewer imports and more jobs for Americans. It starts with Oklahoma.

LEARN. SHARE. UNITE. oerb.com/independence

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 7

8 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

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June / July 2014 letter from the publisher Volume 4, Number 3 Golf Oklahoma Offices Southern Hills Plaza 6218 S. Lewis Ave., Ste. 200 Tulsa, OK 74136 918-280-0787 Oklahoma City Office 405-640-9996 Publisher Ken MacLeod ken@golfoklahoma.org

Mike McGraw at the center of the Alabama-OSU title tilt.

McGraw will always be a Cowboy at heart We don’t often have both NCAA Division I golf championships in our area and covering both reminds you what great golfers these young men and women are, many of whom will soon be playing on weekends in either the PGA Tour or LPGA Tour.

If you don’t like kudos, you can skip the next two graphs, because we’ve got to hand it to The Tulsa Sports Commission, the University of Tulsa and Tulsa Country Club along with all the volunteers for what was a spectacularly well-run event and a perfect site for the NCAA Women’s Championship, won by Duke in a duel with top-ranked USC. Similarly, the NCAA Men’s Championship could not have picked a more spectacular venue than Prairie Dunes and two old friends helped make the event memorable.

Mike Carter, the Oral Roberts University Director of Athletics, was the chairman of the NCAA Golf Championship, while the key man on the local side was Rusty Hilst, a longtime Prairie Dunes board member, teacher at Hutchinson High School and former golf coach whom I got to know well while a sportswriter at the Hutchinson News many years ago.

If you weren’t aware of the subplot of former Cowboy coach and all-around good guy Mike McGraw being an assistant coach at Alabama as they defeated all the players he recruited at OSU for the championship, then you weren’t watching Golf Channel, which made it the dominant story line of its coverage.

While McGraw will be back as a head coach soon, if not by the time you read this, one thing that working for heart-on-hissleeve Alabama coach Jay Seawell has taught him is to show a little more emotion.

“I’ll never be like Jay, but I just wasn’t as enthusiastic as I needed to be,” McGraw 10 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

told Golf Oklahoma. “It didn’t seem like I had the fire in me. I was putting too much emphasis on results and not enough in what I did and loved, which is coaching.”

McGraw was mobbed by the Alabama players and Seawell after the win and congratulated by the OSU team, coach Alan Bratton and many of the OSU fans in attendance. He’ll always be a Cowboy at heart.

One area in which his friends and even his critics have given McGraw great credit for is the way he helped redshirt freshman Wyndham Clark get through a terrible year in 2013 in which he lost his mother to breast cancer. Clark emerged this year as one of the top collegiate golfers in the nation.

“Each coach is given chances and opportunities over his career and I firmly believe there is a reason they are put in our paths,” McGraw said. “Being able to help a great young man like Wyndham in a difficult situation is one of those moments.”

Alan Bratton, the former Cowboy AllAmerican who was McGraw’s assistant, is ready to put the coaching drama in the rear-view mirror and get on with winning championships. He was friendly and cordial after the loss, but already looking ahead to what he and his team can do to get one match better next year.

OSU says goodbye to two homegrown seniors in Talor Gooch and Ian Davis, but a lot of fresh faces will be vying for the two spots alongside returning starters Clark, Jordan Niebrugge and Zachary Olsen, including redshirt freshman Brendon Jelley from Jenks and true freshmen Hayden Wood and Nick Heinen from Edmond North. We expect the Cowboys to be right back in the hunt. McGraw as well, with his own team, coaching.

– Ken MacLeod

COO/Marketing Director A.G. Meyers agm@golfoklahoma.org Art & Technology Director Chris Swafford chris@golfoklahoma.org Subscriptions to Golf Oklahoma are $15 for one year (five issues) or $25 for two years (10 issues). Call 918-280-0787 or go to www.golfoklahoma.org.

Contributing photographers Rip Stell, Mike Klemme Golf Oklahoma PGA Instructional Staff Jim Woodward Teaching Professional, Oak Tree National jwoodwardgolf@sbcglobal.net, 405-348-2004 E.J. Pfister Teaching Professional, Oak Tree National ejgolf@me.com Pat McTigue Owner, GolfTec Tulsa and Oklahoma City pmctigue@golftec.com Steve Ball Owner, Ball Golf Center, Oklahoma City www.ballgolf.com, 405-842-2626 Pat Bates Director of Instruction, Gaillardia Country Club pbates@gaillardia.com, 405-509-3611 Tracy Phillips Director of Instruction, Buddy Phillips Learning Center at Cedar Ridge vt4u@yahoo.com, 918-352-1089 Jerry Cozby PGA Professional jerrycozby@aol.com, 918-914-1784 Michael Boyd, PGA Professional Indian Springs Country Club 918-455-9515 Oklahoma Golf Association 2800 Coltrane Place, Suite 2 Edmond, OK 73034 405-848-0042 Executive Director Mark Felder mfelder@okgolf.org Director of Handicapping and Course Rating Jay Doudican jdoudican@okgolf.org Director of Junior Golf Morri Rose morose@okgolf.org Copyright 2014 by Golf Oklahoma Magazine. All rights reserved. Contents may not be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Golf Oklahoma.

Golf Oklahoma is published by South Central Golf, Inc.

For generations, Saint Francis has been the hospital of tomorrow—anticipating and meeting the healthcare needs of the region it proudly serves. This legacy of leadership continues today as Saint Francis prepares to open its Trauma Emergency Center and patient tower in fall 2014. This new facility will house an 85-bed trauma center and emergency room as well as 150 patient rooms.

This expansion, the largest in the hospital’s 54-year history, represents Saint Francis’ commitment to serving the residents of Tulsa and eastern Oklahoma for generations to come. Saint Francis’ vision for the future is based on the same mission that it was founded upon—to extend the presence and healing ministry of Christ.

saintfrancis.com Saint Francis Health System | 918-494-2200 www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 11

From the Executive Director

Looking forward to the 2014 State Amateur It’s going to be an extra busy summer for the Oklahoma Golf Association, particularly for our volunteer rules officials who will be helping out at events such as the Women’s Mark Felder Southern Amateur at OGA Gaillardia Country Executive Club, the Trans-MissisDirector sippi Championship at Southern Hills Country Club and the U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National.

Meanwhile, the OGA staff will be hosting the majority of its big summer events in June and July, including visiting some of the state’s best venues such as The Territory for the Senior State Amateur June 16-19, Gaillardia for the Mid-Amateur June 30July 1, The Trails CC for the Senior Stroke Play Championship July 14-15 and capped by a visit to The Patriot for the State Amateur Championship July 21-23.

We will have two qualifiers for those wanting to play in the state amateur. The

12 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

The Patriot in Owasso will be a great site for the OGA State Amateur Championship.

first is July 8 at Page Belcher in Tulsa and the second is July 11 at Lincoln Park in Oklahoma City. The second was moved back to accommodate any golfers who might be competing in the Trans-Miss but also want to play in the State Amateur.

The Oklahoma Golf Association Foundation continues to support junior golf throughout the state and recently made donations to Michael Henderson at Lakeside

Golf Course in Stillwater and Mike Hansen at Duncan Golf & Tennis Club, both of whom are doing great and innovative work with juniors.

Remember, for more information on the OGA or to sign up for GHIN handicap, follow live scores at our events or register for a tournament, be sure to go to www.okgolf.org. To keep up with all the golf news in the state, it’s www.golfoklahoma.org.

Oklahoma Golf Association News

When thunder rolls, get off the course Someone asked Lee Trevino what he would do if he were caught on a golf course with a thunderstorm approaching.

Trevino said, “Hold Gene Mortensen a 1-iron up over my OGA Rules head because even The Director Almighty can’t hit a 1-iron.”

It may be okay to interject a little levity as long as everyone still maintains the proper respect for dangerous weather conditions. In Oklahoma, we have more than our share of dangerous weather, so be aware of these basics.

A player is authorized by the Rules to discontinue play whenever he believes there is a danger from lightning -- Rule 6-8a(i).

When you are on a golf course and you can hear thunder; it is possible that you

could be struck by lightning. Lightning doesn’t only take place in the band of rain in the middle of a storm, it can strike you long before you get wet.

Many courses in Oklahoma do not have a central warning system so each player is left to make his own judgment as to when to seek shelter. A person walking and carrying his clubs will travel about 70 yards in a minute. Allow yourself plenty of time to get to safety. If a club has a central system, you will want to inquire as to the length of time you will have to leave the course after the airhorn/siren has sounded and, even then, you must use your own judgment as to when to run for cover.

Many of the committees in charge of events will include in the conditions of the competition a notice that, in a potentially dangerous situation, play must be discontinued immediately. When this provision is in effect (another good reason to read the Local Rules), each player must cease play at

the time when the airhorn/siren is sounded.

If a player fails to discontinue play immediately, he is disqualified. So don’t tap in that 6-inch putt or finish the shot since you’re already in the bunker . . . move to a place of safety right now!

It is universally accepted that the following signals are used to indicate a suspension/resumption of play: (a) Discontinue Play Immediately: one prolonged note of the airhorn/siren. (b). Discontinue Play: three consecutive notes of airhorn/siren, repeated. (c). Resume Play: two short notes of airhorn/siren, repeated.

Rule 6-8 covers the discontinuance and resumption of play and provides the guidelines as to lifting and replacing your ball.

We encourage you to review that Rule so you do not incur a penalty for lifting your ball when you were not permitted to do so.

Golf is merely a game … keep it in the proper perspective.

WOGA NEWS AND NOTES

WOGA rewards three with scholarships The Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association has announced the 2014 WOGA Scholarship winners. Marla Souvannasing and Anna Kim from Union Sheila Dills High School in Tulsa President and Kennedy HudWOGA son from Bixby High School will all be presented with WOGA Scholarships at the WOGA Girls’ Junior Championship July 9 at Quail Creek CC in OKC. Marla obtained a weighted GPA of 4.36, finished fifth at the 2014 Oklahoma High School 6A State Championship and will be attending the University of Central Oklahoma. Kennedy obtained an unweighted GPA of 3.47, finished tied for tenth at state and will attend Northwestern State University. Anna obtained a weighted GPA of 4.45, finished fourth at state and is undecided.

“All of the 2014 applicants were extremely talented, it was a very difficult decision,” said Kathy West the WOGA Scholarship Chairman. WOGA accepts scholarship applications from January

through March each year. Applications must be an Oklahoma high school senior to apply. Criteria for consideration can be found on the WOGA website at WOGA.us All of the WOGA Scholarships have been Marla Souvannasing named after the top three supporting Women’s Golf Associations in Oklahoma who have the most members of the Women’s Oklahoma Golf Association. The top three WGA’s are Southern Hills CC WGA, Lake Hefner GC WGA and Cedar Ridge CC WGA. The annual WOGA Fundraiser that supports the scholarships and grants program will be held July 7 at Quail Creek CC in OKC. If you would like to play in the fundraiser and/or be a WOGA sponsor please contact Vicki Economou at the WOGA Office 918-760-4255. Your support is critical in making the WOGA Scholarship and High School Grants Program a success

Kennedy Hudson

Anna Kim

Excellent venues are right around the corner for WOGA golfers for the premier championships of the season. First up is the WOGA Stroke Play/Mid-Amateur Championship at Oak Tree CC in Edmond June 23-24 followed by the WOGA Girls’ Junior Championship July 8-9 at Quail Creek CC in Oklahoma City. The State Amateur Championship is set for Cedar Ridge CC in Broken Arrow July 14-17.

You may enter all of the WOGA tournaments through the WOGA.us website.

All the WOGA Championships are flighted and participants compete against other golfers of similar ability. www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 13

Goods the

Some things we like to do before and after the round

which officially opened on May 1, 1919. Braid played, of course, Harry Vardon and John Henry of that strange Sunday gone Taylor (the trio silent at Augusta, opinions about known as the both players softened—compasGreat Triumvision for Norman, and admiration rate), as well as for Faldo’s sympathies toward his Abe Mitchell, opponent. whose figure Farrell says his inspiration for now graces the book was Peter Morgan’s play, the top of the “Frost/Nixon,” but the structure is Ryder Cup. much like Jane Leavy’s “Koufax,” Walter Hagen in which she wrote about the was the lead great lefty’s perfect game of 1965 man for the inning-by-inning, while spinning off U.S. team. into various orbits of the baseball The Yanks were fairly universe. trounced in the match, managing only three Farrell proceeds on a hole-by-hole basis, wins, nine losses and three halves on the going deep into all manner of tour minuday, but the seed for an international comtiae. It’s an impressive and fascinating effort petition was planted, particularly in Hagen, -- tour junkies should love it — but it’s who consistently championed the idea also a little like attending an autopsy. The until it came to fruition with the impetus of surgery is skillful, but that scent in the air is Samuel Ryder. less magnolias, more formaldehyde.

The Gleneagles Hotel was still under construction in 1921, not opening until June 1924. So as the Ryder Cup extravaganza Jewel in the Glen comes rolling into town this fall, the Hotel There’s another little tournament comwill be celebrating its 90th anniversary, ing up this September, the 40th go-round right after snagging from the U.K.’s The for the Ryder Cup. Amazingly, it’s only Telegraph, the Ultratravel 100 Award as the the second time the contest will be waged World’s Best Golf Resort.

Hodge’s book is like a three-tiered in Scotland, the Gleneagles green, with ample Ryder Cup last being the 20th history and scene-setting for this year’s iteration, played at match, examining the resort in terms of its Muirfield in 1973. luxurious history as a playground for the But as Ed Hodge well-heeled and titled set, and an overview writes in “Jewel in of its fine portfolio of golf courses. the Glen: GleIt’s both a good read and coffee-table neagles, Golf & the Ryder Cup” (Arena worthy, with fine photographs, historical and contemporary. Jack Nicklaus contribSport, $40.99), an International Chal- utes a Foreword, while Colin Montgomerie supplies a hole-by-hole commentary on the lenge Match on Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary Course, June 6, 1921 may where the 2014 Ryder Cup will be played. have played its part in establishing, six years a difficult par later, what is Count Nicklaus among the many tour now golf’s most players who had a hard time appreciating intense team event. the design work of Robert Trent Jones Sr. Ten players from the U.S. and 10 from during their active careers. At the height the U.K., largely at James Braid’s instigaof his success after the midpoint of the last tion, gathered to play on the course he had century, Jones was designing new tracks or designed at Gleneagles, The King’s Course, redoing courses that gave players such fits

The Bookshelf

The compelling drama of golf by tom bedell

As we went to press the website fact sheet for the U.S. Senior Open listed Greg Norman among the featured players.

Whether the Shark actually appears to take his cuts remains to be seen, although he’ll certainly be present for the following year’s tilt, as he’s scheduled to be in the broadcast booth when Fox Sports begins covering some of the game’s major tournaments.

It was a clever move on Fox’s part to enlist Norman. The man wears drama like an aftershave, although in some productions past, he can only ponder his own performances wistfully.

This was never more so than at Augusta National in 1996, a tournament Andy Farrell revisits in “Faldo/Norman: The 1996 Masters: A Duel that Defined an Era” (Elliott & Thompson, $24.95).

No one who saw the final round of that tournament can forget it; it sticks in the mind like a bloody wreck along the highway. Norman had played splendidly for three days and his victory seemed all but assured; he led Faldo by six strokes going into Sunday’s play.

But as Faldo steadily put together a sparkling round of 5-under 67, Norman steadily and sickeningly frittered away strokes. He actually still led by two after nine, but it was at the ninth that the real carnage bloomed—Norman went bogey, bogey, bogey, double bogey, and Faldo walked to the 13th tee saying to his caddy, “Bloody hell, now it’s mine to lose.”

He didn’t, of course, and in the aftermath 14 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

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that he became known as “the architect the pros loved to hate.”

The pros questioned Jones’s basic design philosophy that a hole should be a difficult par but an easy bogey, since even a bogey sometimes seemed difficult to achieve.

The apotheosis of all this may have been the 1951 U.S. Open at Oakland Hills. According to James R. Hansen, in “A Difficult Par: Robert Trent Jones Sr. and the Making of Modern Golf” (Gotham Books, $32.50), Jones had been given the charge to remake the old Donald Ross track, “…into the most difficult course on which any golf championship had ever been played, anywhere.”

He did just that, and eventual winner Ben Hogan’s comments during the trophy pre-

sentation were telling: “I’m glad that I brought this course, this monster to its knees. If I had to play this golf course every week, I’d go into some other business.”

It was more an observation than a criticism, and the remark actually catapulted Jones into even greater success, as one of the most prolific and influential course designers in history. If his reputation sometimes suffers these days, it is largely a reaction to his long dominance of the field, and a turning away from a power game, an air game, to a preference for precision and the chance to employ ground strokes.

Pete Dye, the Oak Tree National designer, came into his own only after he stopped creating courses that he said, “… were copying Mr. Jones….” Before building Harbour Town (with Nicklaus), Dye said, “Mr. Jones had just built Palmetto Dunes at Hilton Head and I admired it, but I thought

if I do something, I need to do something just the opposite.”

All this and much, much more is in this dense and bulging tome that is sometimes as difficult to plow through as playing a Jones course from the tips. But if exhausting, it’s surely definitive.

Hansen’s depth of research is extraordinary, and he takes readers through a classic arc of a self-made man who virtually wills his own success, wins the love of his life, and rears two sons (Rees Jones and Robert Trent Jones Jr.) whose bitter rivalry threatens to take down the kingdom in almost Lear-like fashion.

Design critic Ron Whitten, upon Jones’s death in 2000 at age 93, wrote that, “The sun never sets on the Robert Trent Jones empire.” With more than 400 courses in 45 states and 35 countries, this is surely true: in more than one place on the globe, right now, someone is in search of that difficult par.

Tom Bedell is filing this story from Woodstock Inn and Resort in Vermont, prior to playing its 18-hole Robert Trent Jones Sr. designed course.

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www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 15

The goods Levit8 Cabernet The 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Levit8 by California’s innovative winemaker Reed Renaudin showcases the meticulous efforts made by a skilled hand.

The 2009 vintage began after a long, cool summer and conditions throughout the ripening period allowed for more focused fruit with excellent flavor development.

The cooler summer allowed for longer hang time and ensured the wines reached their full potential.

This wine was sourced from premium vineyard blocks specializing in Bordeauxstyle wines. Soil types range from volcanic ash to sedimentary soils. The vineyards are meticulously hand-farmed and range from 8-15 years old.

Dark cherry and floral qualities of lavender break through at the nose, while rich characteristics of blackberry and nutmeg emerge on the palate. Full-bodied and well balanced with good acidity and woody tannins make this Tri-County Cabernet a great food wine.

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Room 101 Master Collection One by laramie navrath

The advancement in social media today keeps every golfer up-to-date on gear, irons, and the hottest driver on the market, just the way every cigar connoisseur is up-to-date on new blends, latest trends, and limited release cigars and accessories. In the new era of cigars, Matt Booth founder of Room 101 Cigars, excels in this business. The release of his newest collection, the Room 101 Master Collection One, is a cigar you don’t want to miss.

The Master Collection One is available in five vitols or sizes, to meet the needs of various cigar smokers’ preferences and amount of time to enjoy their favorite smoke. Although the blend is the same, a cigars size, length, ring gauge and shape will alter the smoking experience, changing the strength and complexity. The Master Collection One features a Mexican San Andres Rosado wrapper, a Honduran Corojo Corte binder and filler of Honduran Corojo, Nicaraguan Habano Ligero and Mexican San Andres Ligero.

On the pre-light inspection the Master Collection One has an aroma of aged tobacco, chocolate, spices and cedar. The aroma on the cigar is sweet, and has a classic rich maduro flavor. At light up the Master Collection One Mutant or lancero, starts with traditional tobacco and chocolate notes with a hint of perhaps cinnamon spice.

It is not overly sweet but it has a nice richness with a definite woody finish that is enjoyable and balancing. The cigar is medium in complexity with a razor sharp burn line and a lovely charcoal colored ash. The body and strength of the cigar are right at a medium level and the draw is clean and smooth.

Overall the cigar smoker will enjoy the flavors that intrigue the pallet on the first half of the smoke and appreciate the strength and richness of the finish.

Proudly serving Oklahoma with a fine selection of cigars and related products.

Stop on by our current location and share a smoke with us!

www.ztcigars.com 2726 W Britton Rd (800) 340-3007 Oklahoma City, OK 73120 16 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Chip shots

News from around the state Sponsored by

Oklahoma Tulsa Toll Fr

Patriot Cup Bigger and better in 2014

justicegolf.com

45, and captured the U.S. Senior Open twice, in 1998 and 2000. photos by rip stell His memories of Oak Tree Hale Irwin watched young Robert Streb National, however, are not as pleasant. He shot 3-over 287 at of Edmond North rip a shot around the the 1988 PGA Championship corner on the dogleg par-5 15th hole at to finish 15 shots behind Jeff The Patriot using a 3-wood to set up a Sluman. In the 2006 PGA Senior short approach to the green.

Championship, he tied for 23rd “That was a 3-wood,” Irwin marveled at 8-over. stepping off the tee. “That ought to be “It’s going to be nice and cool, illegal.” right?” Irwin said with a laugh.

Earlier, warming up on the range, “And no wind.”

Officials from the U.S. Senior Open were at the Patriot Cup finalizing Bo Van Pelt gets a high five from a young admirer. details of a special event and field. He tore up Southern Hills Counthey will do to benefit the Folds of Honor Foundation on Tuesday try Club for four days in the fall of 2006 to of tournament week. The event is win the Tour Championship going away.

The 2014 Patriot Cup was eventually July 10-13. cut short by rain and lightning, but it was Tom Lehman has no bad rocking while it lasted. Kid Rock and Dimemories of Oak Tree National erks Bentley had a following to rival that because he’s never played it. He of favorite adopted son Rickie Fowler and was still battling his way off the Major Dan Rooney. David Feherty kept mini-tours in 1988 and not yet the event lively and entertaining whether 50 in 2006. With seven victories doing first-tee introductions or mid-fairsince joining the elder tour in 2007, he’ll be one of the favorites way interviews.

“Only a lion could find that ball,” in July.

Feherty told one of the first contestants as Oklahoma fans know that his shot sailed into the woods. “As in, if when Lehman gets hot, his ball Dierks Bentley, David Feherty and Kid Rock. you say you found it, you’re lyin.” striking can overwhelm a course Irwin talked about the slow, steady toll that time has extracted on the game of the man who once absolutely ruled the Champions Tour – along with Edmond’s Gil Morgan. Irwin won 44 events from 1995 to 2005. He has won once since.

“It’s just a steady drip, drip, drip on your forehead,” Irwin said. “I was talking to Gil the other day and he was talking about making a swing change. I just want to be physically able to swing the way I know how.”

Irwin will be at Oak Tree National in July for a run at the U.S. Senior Open. He won the U.S. Open three times, including the oldest ever to win the event at age Flyboys Major Dan Rooney and Rickie Fowler let fly on the first tee at The Patriot Cup. by ken macleod

18 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

ONLINE: Get the latest news on Oklahoma golf at

golfoklahoma.org

Trans-Miss Championship The 111th edition of the prestigious Trans-Mississippi Championship will bring 144 talented amateur golfers to Southern Hills Country Club July 7-10. It will be the third time the event has been held at Southern Hills, with the previous two in 1940 and 1968.

More than 300 entries were expected for one of the nation’s oldest and respected amateur events. Jack Nicklaus won this event back-to-back in 1958 and 1959 (over Deane Beman). Oklahoma City oilman Charlie Coe, regarded as one of the greatest amateurs ever, won it in 1947, 1949, 1952 and 1956.

The tournament has alternated formats over the years but now there is a Four-Ball Championship, a Senior Championship and the Championship, which is mostly dominated by college age players, although 20 spots are reserved for mid-amateurs 25 years and older.

The Four-Ball Championship was the most recent of the events to be held at Southern Hills. In 1992 Eric Mueller and

Bill Heldmar of Tulsa won the event when Mueller chipped in from behind the 18th green in the championship match.

The Four-Ball returned to Tulsa in 1997 at Cedar Ridge Country Club and again Oklahoma players came to the fore as the team of Joe Nick of Okmulgee and James Reid of Oklahoma City teamed up to win the title.

The most recent Trans-Miss event in Oklahoma was the championship at Oak Tree National in 2012, won by Tyler Raber.

The Trans-Mississippi Championship is open to viewing by the public at no charge.

Electronic scoring will be available. The tournament is 72 holes of stroke play with the field of 144 cut to the low 54 and ties after 36 holes.

The dates will overlap a bit with the U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National which is July 10-13. Tom Jones, the general manager and COO at Oak Tree National, won the Trans-Miss in 1974 at Cedar Ridge Country Club.

Ouachita Sports Trail HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE – Golfers

can now book packages at all of the Hot Springs Village golf courses except Diamante and include the Arlington and Park courses at Hot Springs Country Club as well as Glenwood Country Club at a new web site www.PlayOST.com.

The site is the home for the Ouachita Sports Trail and also offers information on scenic area lakes, wilderness trails and lodging.

Hot Springs Village offers a tremendous selection of fine courses mostly designed

by Tom Clark, including Isabella, Granada, Magellan, Balboa, Ponce De Leon, Coronado, Cortez and DeSoto.

Online tee times and packages will be available in June. An introductory special is available through June 15 at the village courses for $39 with cart.

With crystal-clear lakes, rugged wilderness areas and miles of mountainous trails, there is no shortage of things to do for the outdoor enthusiast.

Hot Springs Village is just 20 minutes away from Hot Springs. Visit them online at DiscoverHotSpringsVillage.org.

Oklahoma City (405) 634-0571 Tulsa (918) 663-0571 Toll Free (800) 276-0571

justicegolf.com www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 19

We are (almost) the champions OCU, Edmond North repeat, others come close One national champion team and individual from Oklahoma, one national championship held in Oklahoma and a high school team that probably could have won a national championship if such a thing existed.

Those were a few of the highlights of spring competition in Oklahoma. Here’s a look back.

Alabama coach Jay Seawell, a passionate man who hugged McGraw after and told him how much he appreciated him saying yes and joining the Tide.

It was a bit uncomfortable for OSU

NCAA Men’s Championship, Prairie Dunes Country Club In his first year as Oklahoma State head coach, Alan Bratton took a team of predecessor Mike McGraw’s recruits and came within a few shots of a national championship, losing to Alabama 4-1 on a sun-splashed and windless day in the match play championship at Prairie Dunes Country Club in Hutchinson, Kan. The Crimson Tide rolled thanks in part to McGraw, who was fired by OSU Athletic Director Mike Holder after the Cowboys suffered a couple of lean years by program standards. He was hired as an assistant by

20 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

OSU senior Ian Davis at the NCAA.

fans to see McGraw in Crimson and for McGraw to see the players he recruited and loves crushed by the defeat. Still, as Bratton said, it’s all about the players, and both teams will be reloading for 2015 despite the loss of some key seniors, in OSU’s case Oklahoma natives Ian Davis and Talor Gooch.

By this reading, McGraw will probably be back as a head coach at another SEC school or maybe somewhere surprising.

Holder, who did not attend, still cast a long shadow at the event, not only by the McGraw-Bratton dynamic, but because the match play format he championed finally paid off with full Golf Channel coverage and now seems destined to remain a part of the landscape, with the women switching to it next year. If six days and seven rounds of golf under pressure seems a lot to ask of college athletes when the pros are cracking in the fourth round of most tournaments, don’t tell that to Bratton.

“It’s just golf,” he said. “These kids love to play.”

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Duke eventually prevailed in a back nine duel with top-ranked USC while OU slipped to fourth place.

Still the Sooners have a lot to be encouraged about, including the return of freshman Alexandra Kaui, who had the For fourth-place Oklahoma, Assistant Coach Matt Luther, Chirapat Jao-Ja- 36-hole lead vanil, Alexandra Kaui, Head Coach Veronique Drouin-Luttrell, Anne-Cathe- at 5-under unrine Tanguay, Emily Collins and Kaitlyn Rohrback. til two horrid holes knocked her out of contention in the third round.

“We’re sad to see our four seniors go, NCAA Women’s Championship, they’ve meant the world to this program Tulsa Country Club and put us on the map,” said coach VeroThe wind blew hard for 36 holes nd not nique Drouin-Luttrell. ”But we’ve got four surprisingly the Oklahoma Sooners, who good freshmen coming in and we’re excited play in that sort of breeze constantly in about the future.” the spring, were the leaders at the halfway The Tulsa Sports Commission, the point.

NCAA Women

University of Tulsa and Tulsa Country Club all received high praise from the participants, particularly the coaches, for a well-organized event run professionally on a championship venue.

It was announced after the tournament that Tulsa women’s golf coach Randy Keck would not be returning. The Hurricane was not in the NCAA Tournament field nor was it invited as one of 75 teams that reached the NCAA Regionals. Keck had been the Tulsa coach since 2007.

OCU celebrates two championships Oklahoma City University won its second consecutive and seventh overall NAIA National Championship in a playoff with top-ranked SCAD-Savannah (Ga.) at Wilderness Ridge Golf Club in Lincoln, Neb. Senior Elia Folch made an eagle on the 18th hole to force the playoff and the senior from Barcelona, Spain, finished as national runner-up for the second consecutive year.

OCU also got top-20 finishes from freshman Caroline Goodin (eighth), Kailey Campbell (t-15) and Anna Mikish (t-20).

Four of five starters will return, including Katie-Lee Wilson from Owasso.

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to go almost exclusively with Oklahoma players will get a full test in 2015 with the departure of Folch.

In the men’s championship in Daytona Beach, Fla., OCU’s James Marchesani fired a final-round 69 and won the individual title while the Stars finished four shots behind Coastal Georgia.

Marchesani, a senior from Rosebud, Victoria, Australia, shot rounds of 70-72-69 for a 5-under total and defeated Jay Monahan of Grand View (Iowa) in a one-hole playoff.

Marchesani received the Arnold Palmer Award as the NAIA’s top golfer and was named PING first-team All-American by the Golf Coaches Association of America.

Marchesani rolled in 12 birdies in three rounds to win his fifth individual title of the season and become OCU’s fifth individual champion. OCU’s past individual champions are Tyrone van Aswegen in 2002, Nicholas Allain in 2003, Daniel Mitchell in 2007 and Sondre Ronold in 2013.

Freshman Matthew Cheung, of Brisbane, Australia, finished in a tie for seventh place with a three-round score of 72-74-69—215.

Cheung made 10 birdies and an eagle in 54 holes.

College notes: The University of Central Oklahoma finished sixth at the NCAA Division II Women’s Golf Championship, led by a seventh-place finish by Taylor Neidy.

It was the best finish ever by the UCO women. Also, playing as an individual, NSU’s Baylee Price tied for 23rd.

The UCO men finished tied for 15th in the D-II Men’s Championship.

Austin Eckroat

OCU national champs, from left, Abby Thompson, Kailey Campbell, Anna Mikish, coach Marty McCauley, Caroline Goodin, Elia Folch, Katie-Lee Wilson, assistant Sara McCauley. and under, spends most of his time at the Jim McLean Academy in McKinney, Texas.

The two will likely meet many times in national and regional junior events this summer and beyond before eventually dueling in college.

Many other talented players would have a say in that debate, but it’s pretty clear which teams are the best. In boys golf, that would be Edmond North, winners of 10 consecutive Class 6A titles and this

year winning by a ridiculous 57 shots.

North is so good it left a Division I recruit (Sam Humphreys, heading for the University of Tulsa) on the sidelines for the state championship.

On the girls side, Union has won four consecutive titles in Class 6A and the streak shows no sign of ending. We have results for all the team and individual championships in the records section at the back of this magazine.

Brad Dalke

High School

Who’s the best high school golfer in Oklahoma?

Is it Edmond North’s Austin Eckroat, who has already committed to Oklahoma State as a freshman? Eckroat edged all of his college-bound teammates at the Class 6A State Championship at Karsten Creek.

Is it Hobart sophomore Brad Dalke, who committed to Oklahoma, when he was 12. Dalke played a rare event in state, winning the 2A State Championship at Oakwood Country Club in Enid. Dalke, ranked fourth nationally among golfers 18 www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 23

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

Major force Perry looks for repeat at Oak Tree National Photos courtesy of USGA

by art stricklin

K

enny Perry waited more than 40 years to become a national golf champion and now he can hardly wait to defend his U.S. Senior Open title, even if he’s never been to the host site.

Perry, who rallied from a 10-shot weekend deficit to win the 2013 U.S. Senior Open at Omaha Country Club last summer, will travel to Edmond’s Oak Tree National in July to defend his title, the second of two senior majors he won last summer in less than a month.

“I’ve never been there before. Not once, never been on the property. I played at Southern Hills twice, but that’s probably it for the state,” he said.

“They had the PGA Championship there in 1988, but I wasn’t good enough to qualify. I was just hanging on to my card back then.”

Perry was dealing the cards with his rounds of 64-63 on the weekend last year to be able to walk up the 18th fairway at OCC for a five-shot victory, something he had dreamed of his entire career.

“It took me 42 years to do it, but it was very fulfilling,” Perry said. “It was a long process, but to walk up amongst 30,000 fans cheering for me, when it all went my 24 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

way, was something I had dreamt of as a kid. I can’t tell you why it happened, but it was a dream come true.”

Perry has his own plan to defend his hard-earned title at Oak Tree.

“I plan to get into Edmond early Mon-

“It took me 42 years to do it, but it was very fulfilling...”

– Kenny Perry day, get out to the course and do the Bernhard Langer, you know, wheel around to each hole and see all the angles. Just make sure my course management is correct,” Perry said.

While he’s never played Oak Tree National before, he’s tested plenty of Pete Dye designs in the past and knows what to expect when he arrives.

“His holes scare you visually more than physically,” Perry said. “It’s more mental anguish than anything. I’ve seen plenty of that.”

Perry has 14 wins on the PGA Tour, including twice at Colonial and twice at Memorial, but still feels a gaping hole

for not being able to win a major on the regular tour. He came close when he lost a playoff in his home state to Mark Brooks in the 1996 PGA Championship at Valhalla Country Club outside of Louisville, but the more painful loss came at the 2009 Masters when he lost a two-shot lead with two holes left and fell in a playoff to Angel Cabrera.

“I thought it would never happen in a major, to lose in your home state and then lose at the Masters on the final two holes,” Perry said. “I thought I was snakebit to tell you the truth. That’s what made it sweeter when it finally happened.”

“To be recognized by my peers, to win the Charles Schwab Cup -- it was my greatest year in golf. I was humbled for all my work to pay off.”

To become the first repeat Senior Open champion since Allen Doyle in 2005-2006, Perry said he will put his major plan into action.

“You have to approach majors a bit differently than you do regular tournaments,” Perry said. “You have to hit enough golf balls to be in shape mentally because you know it’s going to be a grind both mentally and physically.”

“It’s going to be hot, so you have to stay sharp mentally. It’s very similar to a

regular Open -- long and tight and with fast greens. I never considered myself a great Open player, but it all came together last year.”

Perry, who spends part of his time working at his own golf course in Franklin, Ky., said he doesn’t feel that he’s ready to quit his run of stellar golf just yet.

“Things change every year, but at 53 I still feel like I have a great run left. I don’t feel like I’m ready to quit yet,” Perry said.

“To do the Curtis Strange (win consecutive Opens) would be killer. But you have to let the golf game come to you. That’s just something I’ve seen over the years. This game will humble you in a hurry.”

“I’m up and down a lot of times in my career. I can be red hot, then not have it at all. That’s the way it’s always been. I can’t really tell you why.”

But Perry is looking for a red hot, in more ways than one, week at Oak Tree in July.

“I’ve played more than 660 times and won less than 20 so that tells you about golf,” Perry said. “But it was very exciting last year and I’m looking for more excitement this year.”

Perry does have one request of the good folks at Oak Tree when he arrives to defend his title. Unlike the regular tour, Perry is rarely, if ever, announced as the defending U.S. Senior Open champion. He wouldn’t mind a little change in July.

“They don’t ever do that, but it would be neat if they did.” Perry said with a smile.

After more than four decades of trying, it’s the least they could do for the likeable golf lifer who finally finds himself a national champion.

Pavin and Rocco savor another Open chance Corey Pavin has won one U.S. Open with one of the most memorable shots in U.S. Open history.

Rocco has one of the memorable playoff U.S. Open near misses in golf lore. Both will be at Oak Tree in July with a chance to claim some major championship redemption.

“I still feel like I have a chance,” Mediate said. “I’m working on my game and feel like it can all come together for one week. It has before.”

Mediate played a key role in the 1984 U.S. Amateur at Oak Tree National, won by Scott Verplank. He knocked off two-time defending champion Jay Sigel in the first round before losing in the second round.

2014 Senior Open player profiles

Jeff Sluman returns to the scene of his greatest victory To conquer the 1988 PGA Championship as a young PGA Tour player, still looking for his first Tour victory, Jeff Sluman counted on an early season scouting trip to Oak Tree National with local members Bob Tway and Willie Wood.

The advance knowledge he gained led to a three-shot victory over Paul Azinger, his former college teammate, for his only major championship and the first of his six PGA Tour wins.

“I knew what to expect when I got there and with the difficult course and challenging weather, a lot of Jeff Sluman after winning 1988 PGA people didn’t know what to Championship at Oak Tree National. expect,” he said.

Now in his eighth year on the Champions Tour, with four additional victories, Sluman returns to the scene of his greatest golfing triumph still with plenty of good memories of the Edmond facility.

“I went back one time in 1990 for a benefit charity tournament for Willie Wood, when his wife passed away. I know it will be a very difficult challenge, that much hasn’t changed.”

While Azinger is more closely aligned to the television booth these days as is Nick Faldo, a solo fifth in ’88, Tom Kite will return to Oak Tree, and possibly Bob Gilder and Mark O’Meara, all who turned in top10 finishes there.

But regardless of who shows up, Sluman said he’s eager for another Oak Tree test this summer.

“I expect the best player to win this year because that’s who you want to win the majors,” Sluman said. “I think the same thing will happen again.

“Oak Tree is just a tremendous challenge with great facilities and a clubhouse. I’m sure they have upgraded a lot over the years, but they didn’t upgrade the toughness.”

It won’t hurt for the Senior Open winner to have some Sluman-like luck and fast start this summer as well. He entered the final day at Oak Tree in ’88 trailing Azinger by three shots and playing in the next-to-last pairing.

But a birdie on the par-4 second hole and a hole out eagle-3 on the par-5 fifth left him tied with Azinger and the battle was on from there.

Sluman made five birdies en route to the comfortable win.

He wasn’t playing on the Champions Tour when the Senior PGA was here in 2006, so he is glad for an Oak Tree reunion.

“I was thinking about not playing,” he said with a laugh, “because that would still make me the defending champion. How else are you going

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 25

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

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In the U.S. Open, Mediate was part of the epic playoff duel with Tiger Woods at Torrey Pines in 2008, the last major Woods won.

Mediate has won twice in his Champions Tour career, including by seven shots over Tom Lehman at the Shaw Charity Classic in Canada last September. He is still looking for his first major of any kind.

“I feel like I can still get my game in shape. I still want to play and get better and that’s why I’m working,” he said.

Pavin won the 2005 Open at Shinnicock Hills with a brilliant 5-Wood shot to the 18 green, It was one of 15 victories on the PGA Tour plus one more on the Champions Tour, but a 2010 captaincy of the losing U.S. Ryder Cup team has left Pavin hungry for more.

“I still want to see how good I can play,” he said while hitting balls long after his round ended in a recent Houston Champions Tour event. “I remember Oak Tree when we played there for the (1988) PGA. It’s a tough course, but a very good one.

I’m glad we are going back.”

Langer Seeks Major Breakthrough Bernhard Langer has won 20 Champions Tour victories, tied for eight most all-time on the Tour, part of his 91 career profesBernhard Langer sional golf wins, but he still has only two Champions Tour major championships.

He won the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior British Open both in 2010 in back to back week, but has been strangely silent since then.

“I don’t know, you can’t really explain it. It just hasn’t happened for me at times,” Langer said.

He will certainly come to Edmond as one of the hottest golfers on the Champions Tour circuit. He has already won twice on the Tour this year, including most recently in Houston by one shot over Fred Couples in a thrilling finish.

“I still have my game and my health and my nerves and as long as I have that I have a chance.”

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2014 Senior Open player profiles to get back in the rotation of great courses if you don’t showcase your facility to great players. It’s going to be fun.”

Bryant eager for 4-foot second chance

Brad Bryant

Brad Bryant came close to winning the last major championship held at Oak Tree National, missing a 4-foot par putt to lose on the third extra hole to Jay Haas in the 2006

Senior PGA. Now he’s eager to return for the 2014 U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree for another chance for the senior major which got away. He certainly feels he knows what to expect.

Bryant opened up with rounds of 69 and 67 at Oak Tree before finishing up with rounds of 72 and 71. That got him into a playoff with Haas late Sunday. He’s already looking forward to his July comeback.

“It will be a hard course for everyone, but I’m looking to a great week,” Bryant said. “I’m playing well and hoping I’m putting well. I putted really well the last time we were there and I made a lot of key putts, except the last one at the end.

“The key to success in majors is putting and that’s what I want to do.”

Jacobsen wants to revisit a classic Peter Jacobsen says he’s happy with his golfing routine of a part-time player and part-time TV announcer, but is especially happy when he gets to Peter Jacobsen revisit a golfing classic like Oak Tree National, designed by Pete Dye in Edmond.

“Oak Tree is a modern classic, one of the best Pete Dye ever did,” said Jacobsen, who will be teeing it up this year as a former Senior Open champion. “We should be playing courses like this more often and I’m always glad when they are back in the rotation.”

He finished 42nd in the 1988 PGA Championship at Oak Tree, but then came

back for a tie for seventh in the 2006 Senior PGA Championship when opening rounds of 67 and 68 were undone by weekend rounds of 75.

“It was hot and sweaty all week long, but on the last day I played with (winner) Jay Haas and saw him make some great up and downs to get the win. That’s really the key to that course -- scrambling around the greens. It’s a real classic.”

He won the Senior Open in 2004 on another Classic layout, Bellerive Country Club, outside of St. Louis and wouldn’t mind repeating the trick a decade later.

“I’m going to be there playing,” Jacobsen said. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Jay Haas back for more Oak Tree glory Asking Jay Haas if he remembers his victory in the 2006 Senior PGA Championship at Oak Tree is like asking if he remembers his way to the golf course Jay Haas or if he remembers if the sun will come up tomorrow “Sure I remember it,” Haas said about his first Champions Tour major championship.

“I remember it was windy and difficult and hot, especially on the last day. The putting was different and the course was difficult, but that’s what you want at a major and that’s what you’re going to get at Oak Tree.”

Haas played in the 1988 PGA Championship, barely making the cut, but had a better experience when he returned 18 years later.

He opened with rounds of 68 and 70 to get him in the mix with native son Gil Morgan and hung tough Saturday with Brad Bryant and Morgan. He shot the lowest score Sunday, 68, to get in a playoff.

On the third extra hole, he executed a brilliant up and down for par, then watched as Bryant missed his par putt to hand the senior title to Haas.

“I didn’t really know how to act, seeing him miss, but being elated with the win,” Haas recalled.

He said the Oak Tree greens were some of his most vivid memories of his 2006 Oklahoma victory.

“I certainly remember the hard and tight

greens, really small. That’s a pretty stout defense for that course.”

Monty ready for Oak Tree challenge For the first time in nearly 30 years, Colin Montgomerie is a rookie again, this time on the Champions Tour. But the recent World Golf Hall of Colin Fame inductee said Montgomerie he’s eager for his first U.S. Senior Open test, even on a course he’s never seen.

“I love Pete Dye courses, in fact the TPC Stadium course where the Players is held is my favorite we played in the states,” said Montgomery, who won for the first time on U.S. soil in May by capturing the Senior PGA Championship..

“I’ve heard that this (Oak Tree) is one of his most famous and certainly his toughest so I’m really looking forward to it. It will be a good challenge.”

With his seven European Tour Order of Merit money titles and his WGHOF induction, Montgomerie has never lacked for golfing talent, but seeing it come to the surface in the big moment has often been an issue. His sometimes spectacular flameouts on the major stage are well known and well documented, but that hasn’t stopped his quest for Senior Open glory at Oak Tree,

Kite knows what to expect for Edmond and July Tom Kite grew up in Texas in warm and windy conditions so he doesn’t let that bother him, but for Oak Tree that’s another story.

Tom Kite “It’s a tough challenge,” Kite said. “Pete Dye courses always are and that’s one of his best. I remember it well.”

A U.S. Open winner at Pebble Beach, Kite wouldn’t mind adding a Senior Open title especially close to his home state.

“I’ll keep trying and keep grinding,” Kite said. “That’s what I always want to do.” www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 27

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

Final ride of the Oak Tree Gang?

Photo courtesy of GOLFWEEK

Oak Tree Gang members Willie Wood, David Edwards, Scott Verplank, Bob Tway, Gil Morgan, Mark Hayes and Doug Tewell, pictured in 2006. Only Wood, Verplank, Tway and Morgan will play in the U.S. Senior Open. by john rohde

D

epending on what future events are staged at Oak Tree National, the 2014 U.S. Senior Open could be the final ride for the “Oak Tree Gang” on their home course.

Though several other local touring pros have moseyed through the clubhouse for nearly 40 years, the Oak Tree Gang has long been recognized as Gil Morgan, Mark Hayes, Doug Tewell, David Edwards, Bob Tway, Willie Wood and Scott Verplank.

Hayes, Tewell and Edwards have ridden off into the sunset and will not compete on the luxurious property they helped make famous, but Morgan, Tway and Wood are rarin’ to go for the U.S. Senior Open (July 10-13). Verplank will be making his debut on the senior circuit, just one day after turning 50.

The Oak Tree Gang gained notoriety in the mid-1980s prior to the 1988 PGA Championship being staged at what was then Oak Tree Golf Club. Shortly after the course opened in 1976, co-founders Joe Walser and Ernie Vossler invited tour play28 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

ers Morgan, Hayes, Tewell and Danny Edwards to represent Oak Tree and Landmark Land Co. David Edwards, Tway, Wood and Verplank later joined the elite stable.

Gang members were provided Oak Tree and Landmark apparel, free use of all Landmark facilities, including hotels, and also medical benefits. A modest annual salary would increase if they won that season.

“That really was the result of Joe and Ernie befriending college athletes and helping them with their pursuit of their career,” said Hugh Edgmon, who served as Oak Tree president from 1981-95. “Their (Oak Tree Gang) name kind of evolved naturally.

Joe and Ernie were so proud not only of the way they played golf, but also of the caliber of young men they were and they just wanted to be a part of it.

“What was so amazing about it, those players probably could have demanded a lot of monetary consideration. Our relationship was mainly due to the facilities and playability factors. In our situation, it was valuable any time Oak Tree was mentioned or seen in the public eye. More than anything, it was just a source of pride.

We were proud of those people and out of the other side of our mouth, we think they were excited to be associated with Oak Tree.”

A poster was made prior to the 1988 PGA with the Oak Tree Gang wearing western attire, toting pistols and rifles.

Gil Morgan contemplates retirement.

week before had to buy lunch,” Wood said. “It was fun for a long time. I actually thought I would work for Landmark one day. That’s what I would do when my career was over.

They created positions for their guys.

“I think (former University of Oklahoma football player and athletic director) Wade Walker fished in the morning and did some filing in the afternoon.

(Former OU coach) Chuck Fairbanks sold real estate. They just created positions for people.

It was a great company. They really took care of us and made us feel special.”

Verplank will compete on the course where he captured the 1984 U.S. Amateur prior to his junior year at Oklahoma State. He left his native Dallas after turning pro and has since owned three different houses at Oak Tree.

Verplank has his own name for the Oak Tree Photo courtesy of USGA Bob Tway says Oak Tree tough for all.

Gang. that time on the regular tour seems to be “That had a whole running out.” lot to do with Oklahoma State Morgan had immediate success as a golfers, other than Gil (who senior. He won his first event just 11 days attended East Central State in Ada),” Verplank said. “I’d say it’s after turning 50 on Sept. 25, 1996, making him the second-youngest winner in the ‘Oklahoma State Gang.’ ” senior tour history, one day behind Bobby For the 67-year-old Morgan, Wadkins. who still lives in the same house Morgan never ranked lower than No. 5 he built on the Oak Tree propon the official money list his first five full erty 35 years ago, this could be seasons on tour. In that same time span, he his final career major. won 19 times and had top-10 finishes in “I don’t know if I’ll play any82 of 134 starts. Morgan finished no lower more majors after this Open,” Morgan said. “I’m slowing down than No. 13 on the official money list his first 11 years, won at least once for nine a little bit. I don’t know if I’m straight seasons and 11 out of 12 years. He going to play quite as many this also owns the senior tour record for most year. They’re a little bit harder consecutive $1-million seasons with 12. to play -- more psychological, a Morgan’s career numbers on the Chamlittle more physical. They’re not pions Tour: 25 victories (third behind Hale nearly as much fun as they used Irwin’s 45 and Lee Trevino’s 29); 27 runnerto be. It’s probably time for me up finishes; 160 top-10s; 275 top-25s in 398 to slow down a little bit.” starts; and $20,402,822 in career money. On Meanwhile, Verplank’s senior the PGA Tour: Seven victories; 21 runnercareer will just be teeing off. up finishes; 119 top-10s; 237 top-25s in 544 “I haven’t thought about it much the last 10 years,” Verplank starts; and $5,259,164.

The U.S. Senior Open will mark the first said. “If I hadn’t had these setbacks (injuries) the last few years, time Wood has competed in a major on his home course. He was too old for the 1984 I think I’d still be playing on the Willie Wood knows every inch of the greens at Oak regular tour and not be worried U.S. Amateur held there (having turned pro Tree National. one year earlier), failed to qualify for the about it (his senior debut), but

Tewell laughed as he recalled when Jack Nicklaus said, “I sell millions of Golden Bear shirts, but all I ever see is that Oak Tree (logo) everywhere I go.”

“I’ve had people tell me they were in Europe and saw the logo,” said Morgan, who still wears Oak Tree apparel and has the logo on his tour bag. “They were trying to get that clothing line out there.

They helped us with (property) a little bit, wanted everyone to build a home at Oak Tree. It helped that the guys liked the club so much that they lived there.”

Nicknamed affectionately “Monty Hall” because he always seems to be working some kind of deal, Tewell said he applied his annual salary toward purchasing lots in the Oak Tree subdivision, which at the time ranged from $20,000 to $40,000. “It became, for lack of a better word, a cult,” Tewell said of the Oak Tree Gang. “It’s something to be proud of. I enjoyed being part of it.”

Every Monday when they returned from a tour stop, the Oak Tree Gang gathered around at a large, round table for lunch in the clubhouse.

“Whoever had the biggest check the

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 29

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview 1988 PGA and was too young for the 2006 Senior PGA Championship.

Each member of the Oak Tree Gang will do his best to compete while dealing with the distractions of family and friends wishing them well.

“It’ll be a different kind of feeling,” Wood said. “I have a routine I like to follow.

Guests and people will be coming over. It’ll be a lot different things pulling on you, but I’ll be fine by Thursday. I will be friendly.

I’ll be able to talk and visit with people.”

Multiple factors go into the locals having a potential home-course advantage.

“You can know a golf course, but if you don’t have a good golf game, it doesn’t matter much,” Tway said at Media Day. “Willie Wood knows every putt on this golf course and makes every one of them every day, but this is a tough golf course. You can go out there today and it can challenge anyone without changing it.”

For Verplank, there couldn’t possibly be a crazier place to make his debut.

“I have no idea what’s in store for me,” Verplank said. “If you play good golf, you play good golf.”

Verplank is the one Oak Tree Gang

member young enough to likely still be competitive should another senior major roll around in a decade or less. He’s always been very protective of his home course, where he won the 1984 U.S. Amateur.

“Willie always says you’ve got to block it on the front and hook it on the back,” Verplank said of how best to negotiate Oak Tree, the course of which Hubert Green once noted “Pete Dye gave the exactly what they asked for. They wanted 18 unfair holes and he gave it to them.”

“On the front you’ve got water on your left all the way around and on the back you want to be on the other side, Verplank noted. “It doesn’t work on every hole but it makes for a good story.”

Asked who among the locals should be favored to win the U.S. Senior Open, Wood quickly applied the pressure on the rookie.

“Scott Verplank’s the favorite,” Wood said, cackling.

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Scott Verplank will be among the favorites in his senior debut.

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2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

Nifty at fifty Verplank expects to contend on course he loves by ken macleod

S

cott Verplank is one of Oak Tree National’s staunchest defenders and has been known to voice his opinion long and loud when it comes to honoring the integrity of Pete Dye’s radical design.

It wasn’t always that way. He was introduced to the course in 1982 during his freshman season at Oklahoma State by then-coach Mike Holder and it was hate at first sight.

“Holder always brought us over on a January or February day when it was blowing 30 and about 45 degrees,” Verplank said. “I didn’t like it. It was way too hard. I was always 5-over after the first four holes and shot about 42 on the front and 80 overall.”

So when Verplank came back with Holder as his caddie for the 1984 U.S. Amateur between his sophomore and junior years, it was the first time he had extensive experience on the course in more benign conditions.

Not only did he win the Amateur, he began to appreciate the subtleties and inherent challenge of the course. As time went on and he fell in love with seaside links courses such as Muirfield, Carnoustie and Troon, his appreciation for what Dye had created in Edmond, Okla., only deepened.

32 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Photos courtesy of USGA

“It’s such a good golf course,” Verplank said. “You don’t ever really get tired of it. I’ve played all the holes thousands of times and it’s still fun to play. You have to hit driver a lot which is unlike a lot of the courses today. It’s still very tough and you have to hit all your clubs.”

Verplank grew up in Dallas and found during his college years that he enjoyed the quieter pace of a town like Stillwater. So when the invitation came to move to Edmond and become part of the growing number of professionals based out of Oak Tree, he took it and has no regrets.

“Most of the guys here had Oklahoma State ties and it was kind of a natural,” Verplank said. “Plus, it was a great golf course. Looking back, it was a good decision.

“Pete Dye is a great guy, but somewhat sinister in the way he does golf courses.

He likes to mess with you before you even hit a golf shot. All his courses put you in bad angles, bad sight lines. They always appear much tougher than they are. A lot of them look hard but in reality there’s usually tons of room off the tee.

“Take the 17th green on his most famous course at Sawgrass. It’s a huge green that you can hit with a 9-iron

In 1984 after winning U.S. Amateur at Oak Tree National

all day long when you’re just messing around. But add tournament pressure and it becomes an entirely different matter.”

Verplank and Bob Tway worked closely with Norman architect Tripp Davis on a renovation that emphasized increasing the difficulty of saving par for shots that missed around the greens.

“It had become more receptive around the greens and Pete’s philosophy was to repel, repel, repel,” Verplank said.

That difficulty is part of what makes Oak Tree National so unique, a place where members routinely bring their friends who shoot 80 elsewhere and watch them struggle to break 100.

“But that’s okay,” Verplank said. “I’ve never heard any of the members say it’s too hard.”

Verplank makes his senior debut in the U.S. Senior Open and despite a long slow recovery from reconstructive wrist surgery more than two years ago, he expects to be healthy enough to make a good showing on his favorite course.

Whether he then becomes a full-time member of the Champions Tour or continues to play regular PGA Tour events is dependent on his health and frame of mind.

“I’m excited to play at a new level of golf,” he said. “In some ways, I’ll have an advantage being at home, just like Bob (Tway) or Willie (Wood) or Gil (Morgan).

If I feel good and play well, I expect to be in the middle of it.

“As for the future, that will depend on my health. I’m still dumb enough to think I can play well and contend on the PGA Tour.”

Verplank has overcome many significant health issues during his PGA Tour career.

NOTES: Verplank recently took time to watch son Scott play in the NAIA National Championship, where he helped Oklahoma City University to a secondplace finish and was named both an NAIA All-American and to the academic

all-district team.

“Scott has really come a long ways in a short amount of time and I’m really proud of him,” Verplank said. “They were disappointed not to win it but eager to get back out there next year and get after it.”

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 33

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

USGA CHAMPIONSHIPS held in Oklahoma EVENT & YEAR

WINNER

RUNNERUP

COURSE

U.S. Open 1958 Tommy Bolt Gary Player Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) 1977 Hubert Green Lou Graham Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) 2001 Rietef Goosen* Mark Brooks Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) *18-hole playoff

U.S. Women’s Open 1970 Donna Caponi Sandra Haynie/Sandra Spuzich Muskogee CC 1983 Jan Stephenson JoAnne Carner, Cedar Ridge CC (Tulsa) U.S. Amateur 1953 Gene Littler Dale Money Oklahoma City G&CC 1965 Robert Murphy Jr. Bob Dickson Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) 1984 Scott Verplank Sam Randolph Oak Tree GC (Edmond) 2009 Byeong-Hun An Ben Martin Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) U.S. Women’s Amateur 1946 Babe Didrickson Zaharias Clara Sherman Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) 1960 JoAnne Gunderson Jean Ashley Tulsa Country Club U.S. Senior Amateur 1961 Dexter Daniels Col. William Lanman Jr. Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur 2008 Diane Lang Toni Wiesner Tulsa Country Club U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur 1987 Cindy Scholefield Pat Cornett-Iker Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) U.S. Junior Amateur 1953 Rex Baxter Jr. George Warren III Southern Hills CC (Tulsa) 1967 John Crooks Andy North Twin Hills G&CC (Oklahoma City) U.S. Girls’ Junior Amateur 1960 Carol Sorenson Sharon Fladoos The Oaks CC (Tulsa) U.S. Amateur Public Links 2009 Brad Benjamin Nick Taylor Jimmie Austin OU Golf Course (Norman) U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship 1988 Pearl Sinn Tami Jo Henningsen Page Belcher GC (Tulsa) 2013 Lauren Diaz-Yi Doris Chen Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club (Norman)

34 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

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2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

Remember. . . Arnie’s Whiff took the trophy in 1981 and Barber won the next year. The ’84 Senior Open was held only two weeks after Barber had won the n 1984, “The King” – Arnold Palmer Roy Clark Skoal Bandit Senior Challenge at and “Mr. X” – Miller Barber were two Tulsa Country Club. of the favorites going into the U.S. Their showdown for the Senior Open Senior Open. title was decided by a stunning misstep late The Senior Open was relatively new, being only the fifth held by the USGA. Palmer in the final round and as Paul Harvey used to say, here is “the rest of the story.”

To show you how much things have changed in the past 30 years, in 1984, the average drive by PGA Tour players was 259 yards, astonishing to us today with Bubba Watson averaging over 300-yards and current Champions Tour leader Fred Couples just under 300. The average driving distance on the Champions Tour this year is 10 yards Co-Chairmen 1984 U.S. Senior Open, Al Brewer (left) and longer than the younger players were averaging in Jerry Stahl ((right) with winner Barber. by ed travis

I

36 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

1984.

The layout the contestants faced was the challenging Donald Rossdesigned Oak Hill Oak Hill Country Club course Country Club East designer Donald Ross Course in suburban Rochester, N.Y. It had already been the venue for the 1949 U.S. Amateur, the U.S. Open in 1956 and 1968 and the 1980 PGA Championship. Six more prestigious events were in the future for Oak Hill including the famous (or infamous depending on your viewpoint) 1995 Ryder Cup when American fans renamed it “Heartbreak Hill” after the European team won.

In 1984, the USGA set up Oak Hill brutally tough playing to just over 6,600

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 37

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview yards, so tough in fact there were only two rounds below par all week. One by Palmer, a 68 in the second round, and the other a 69 on Saturday by Jack Fleck. The biggest problems players faced, besides the narrow fairways, were the gnarly rough and greens rolling at speeds leaving no allowance for jerks, twitches or uncertainty.

Palmer had won the Senior Tournament Players Championship earlier in the year and of course many of the 71,000 Rochester fans on hand wanted to see The King win since his popularity was as great as a senior as when he charged his way to 62 wins on the regular tour.

Going into the final round, The King was up by one over Mr. X and by two over Bob Goalby. On Sunday, however, it was Barber and what can only be charitably called his “unorthodox” swing that set the pace.

Barber tied Palmer on the fifth hole and took the lead two holes later, stretching it to three strokes after two Palmer bogies.

Palmer’s fine birdie on 14 got him back one shot, but then on the tricky par-3 15th he overclubbed and the returning chip was only so-so, leaving him a side hill 9-footer for par. The putt stopped short, within

an inch of the cup, but when he casually went to tap it in, the putter stubbed on the ground and missed the ball altogether.

It was unbelievable -Arnie had whiffed.

After the round Palmer admitted, “I was just careless, that’s all. There was only one person who knew it. I knew what my intent was.”

The King’s 5 surprised Arnold Palmer with good friend entertainer Bob Hope at Barber so much he pro-am 1984. missed his own 3-foot par putt, but now his lead was back to three Tour with 24 wins, including five majors. strokes and even though Palmer birdied the From 1981-85, Mr. X held the U.S. Senior Open trophy three times plus the 1981 PGA next hole, Barber managed to finish with Senior Championship and the 1983 Senior pars for a score of 286 and a two-stroke Players Championship. victory.

Palmer, one of the greatest golfers of all The whiff became one of the pages in time, managed 10 wins on the senior circuit, Palmer’s legend, certainly understood by five of them majors, and no more whiffs. fans who have likely done the same.

After a successful career on the PGA Tour with 11 victories, Barber became one of the Images courtesy Oak Hill Country Club: USGA, Rochbest on what was known then as the Senior ester Democrat & Chronicle, Palm Springs Desert Sun

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2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

Photos courtesy of USGA

Sandy Tatum pushed the idea of a U.S. Senior Open

Arnold Palmer gave it credibility by winning the second.

The origins of the U.S. Senior Open by wayne mills

T

he United States Golf Association held its first open national championship, the U. S. Open, in 1896.

It took another 84 years for the USGA to get around to holding its first Senior Open Championship.

By 1980, demographics had evolved where members of the “Greatest Generation” were reaching their senior years and had the affluence, health and leisure time to continue to play golf effectively.

The idea for the first Senior Open came from Frank “Sandy” Tatum, a California lawyer and one of golf’s true renaissance men. He was an accomplished player, having been on national championship Stanford teams in 1941 and 1942, and winning 40 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

the individual title in 1942. He has also designed golf courses, including The Links at Spanish Bay (with Robert Trent Jones Jr.

The inaugural Senior Open in 1980... attracted 631 entries age 55 and older... and Tom Watson) and was instrumental in the renovation of Harding Park in San Francisco.

Tatum served on the USGA Competition Committee from 1972-80 and was the USGA Executive Director from 197880. It was during that tenure he advanced

the idea of the Senior Open.

“I was chairman of the championship committee for a lot of those prior years,” Tatum said. “My observation was that there was a development in golf that was being ignored. More people were playing golf in their 50s and into their 60s who could play adequately if not impressively. I just came to the conclusion that we ought to have a Senior Open. I was in the position to move that within the USGA and get it in place.”

The popularity of the first two Legends of Golf events in 1978 and ‘79 was noticed

by Tatum and the USGA. “They were definitely influential,” Tatum said.

The USGA, having the sway to secure classic venues for the Senior Open, added instant status to the championships.

The inaugural Senior Open in 1980 was held at the venerable East Course of Winged Foot Golf Club, outside of New York City, and attracted 631 entries age 55 and older, with a handicap limit of eight for amateurs. The field also included former U.S. Open champions Lew Wor-

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2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview sham, Julius Boros, Ed Furgol, Jack Fleck and Tommy Bolt. Former U.S. Amateur champion William C. Campbell was also a competitor.

Roberto De Vicenzo, a hero in his native Argentina, won with a 72-hole total of 1-over 285. He was four strokes ahead of Campbell, the runner-up. De Vicenzo won $20,000.

The second Senior Open in 1981 was held at Oakland Hills Country Club in Birmingham, Mich., and by some strange reason the qualifying age was lowered to 50, which coincidentally made Arnold Palmer, who was 51, eligible for the event.

“No doubt about the fact that was a pervasive influence and it persuaded us to move it down to get Arnold in there,” Tatum said.

Not only did Palmer win the second U.S. Senior Open, he did it in characteristic Arnie style. Only one down after an opening 72, Palmer stumbled to a 76 the second day to fall six back of former Masters champion Bob Goalby. After a third-round 68, the first below par round of the championship, Palmer was tied for the lead with Billy Casper and Art Wall Jr. The fourth round was a see-saw affair with four players either holding the lead or tied. Palmer came to the 18th with a onestroke lead, but pulled his approach and made bogey to fall into a tie with Casper and Bob Stone.

Being a USGA event, an 18-hole playoff was held the following day. In the playoff, Stone birdied the second hole and eagled

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the fifth hole, holing a 7-iron from 170 yards out. At this point he was 3-under par and five strokes ahead of Palmer.

When Palmer three-putted the sixth, he trailed Stone by six strokes. Casper, who had one bogey and five pars, was four strokes behind Stone.

From the seventh hole on, Palmer had four birdies, one bogey and the rest pars while Casper and Stone faded. The final tally read Palmer at even-par 70, Stone at 74 and Casper at 77. Palmer became the first man to win three different USGA championships -- the 1954 U.S. Junior, the 1960 U.S. Open and the 1981 US Senior Open. Like he had done throughout his career, Palmer had lent his charisma and flair to an event and vaulted the U.S. Senior Open into the major championship it has been ever since.

The 2014 U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National in Edmond is evidence of how much the championship has grown.

There were 2,746 entries for the 2013 Senior Open with Kenny Perry taking home a first-place check of $500,000 out of the $2.685 million dollar purse. In 1980, the entire prize money pool was $100,000.

Photo courtesy of USGA

Roberto De Vicenzo won first U.S. Senior Open.

2014 Senior Open Spectator Guide SCHEDULE OF EVENTS July 7, Practice Round July 8, Practice Round/Military Day July 9, Practice Round/Junior Day July 10, First Round - broadcast on ESPN July 11, Second Round - broadcast on ESPN July 12, Third Round - broadcast on NBC July 13, Final Round - broadcast on NBC TELEVISION SCHEDULE Date Network Broadcast (CDT) July 10 ESPN2 3-7 p.m.

July 11 ESPN2 3-7 p.m.

July 12 NBC 1:30-5 p.m.

July 13 NBC 1:30-5 p.m.

Tom Lehman

Jeff Maggert

Vijay Singh

Graham Marsh

Jeff Sluman

Rocco Mediate

Craig Stadler

Colin Montgomerie

Kevin Sutherland

Mark O’Meara

Kirk Triplett

Corey Pavin

Scott Verplank

Kenny Perry

Duffy Waldorf

Loren Roberts

Craig Stadler

Willie Wood

TICKETS Tickets for the 2014 U.S. Senior Open Championship are available at www.2014ussenioropen.com. Weekly tickets are $125 (good Thursday through Sunday with parking). Trophy Club tickets are $225. Daily tickets are $40 for championship rounds and $20 for practice rounds.

PARKING Public parking is complimentary and will be at the northeast corner of Kelly Avenue and Waterloo Road intersection.

CAMERA POLICY Cameras are permitted on Monday, July 7 through Wednesday, July 9 ONLY. ATM/CASH MACHINE Two ATM/Cash Machines will be located on course - one at the Merchandise Pavilion located near the Main Entrance and another at the clubhouse.

NOTABLE PLAYERS WHO HAVE ENTERED (as of May 20) Michael Allen Woody Austin Olin Browne Brad Bryant Mark Calcavecchia Roger Chapman John Cook Fred Couples Dave Eichelberger Fred Funk Jay Haas Hale Irwin Peter Jacobsen Hale Irwin Bernhard Langer Tom Lehman

www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 43

2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview

Exploring Oklahoma There’s plenty to see and do off the course A visit to Bricktown is a must for visitors, particularly when the Redhawks (below) are playing at The Brick. by greg horton

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s season was over before the U.S. Senior Open arrives in Edmond, but there’s still plenty to see, do and experience for visitors to the greater Oklahoma City metro area.

When you are not at Oak Tree, choose from central Oklahoma’s wide variety of lakes, museums, concerts, performing arts, and festivals, and if sports is your thing,

44 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

you need to make it to The Brick for a RedHawks game.

Bricktown in Oklahoma City’s downtown boasts one of the nicest ballparks in minor league baseball: The Brick. The Oklahoma City RedHawks are a Triple-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, and over their history they have a good track record of sending players up to the majors. During the Senior PGA Open, the RedHawks

have a three-game home stand against the New Orleans Zephyrs on July 7-9. Tickets are available at the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark ticket office or from the RedHawks website.

Beat the Heat Since summer is a slow time for sports, and because July can be a bit brutal in Oklahoma, Arcadia Lake, which is just 11

Oklahoma City’s Zoo Amphitheater. miles from Oak Tree, can provide some much needed relief from the heat. The lake features boating, camping, skiing, fishing, and swimming, all in a setting that is surprisingly rural and beautiful given its proximity to Oklahoma City.

If lakes are not your thing, try the White Water Bay water park in central Oklahoma City. Located just off Interstate 40 and Meridian Ave. on Reno Ave., White Water Bay has been one of the metro’s favorite places to escape summer heat for decades.

Featuring large, family-friendly swimming areas, slow rides, and water slides made for adrenaline junkies, there is something for every age group at White Water Bay.

Alison Kraus in town during U.S. Senior Open.

Legendary Music Performers In what is clearly a case of serendipity, two legends of music, one country and one bluegrass, will be performing in concert at Oklahoma City’s Zoo Amphitheater. Willie Nelson needs no introduction, but he is playing with one of contemporary bluegrass music’s favorite daughters, Alison Krauss and her band Union Station. Krauss has won 27 Grammy Awards in her amazing career, and seeing these two together is the chance of a lifetime for music fans.

Tickets to see these two legendary acts on July 9 at 7 p.m. are $46 and $56, available at the Zoo Amphitheatre’s website.

See www.thezooamp.com for more

information.

If travel is not an obstacle, make the 90-minute drive to Okemah to experience one of the best music festivals in Oklahoma: the Woody Guthrie Folk Festival.

The festival runs from July 9-13, so there are multiple chances to catch some of the best acts in folk music.

This year’s Woody Guthrie festival features big name acts like Ellis Paul and Jimmy LaFave, as well as one of Oklahoma’s favorite sons, John Fullbright. Hailing from Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah, Fullbright took the folk scene by storm in 2009 with smart, funny songwriting and instrumental abilities far beyond his young

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2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview age. Information is available at www. woodyguthrie.com.

Museums: Education, Entertainment, Beauty, and Remembrance In the past decade, the Oklahoma City metro area has improved its museum selection and quality dramatically. The area now boasts science, art, history, sports, professional, and heritage museums in abundance. From North Oklahoma City to Norman, there is something for nearly every interest, beginning with our favorite and most somber tourist destination: the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum.

On the ground where Timothy McVeigh once took the lives of 168 innocent people now stands a beautiful memorial to those moments that forever altered who we are as a state and a nation. Hans and Torrey Butzer, along with Sven Berg, all of the Butzer Design Partnership, submitted the winning design, which was chosen in July 1997.

The Memorial is designed for remembrance and quiet reflection, with all the elements contributing symbolic meaning to memorialize those few minutes

OU Museum of Natural History.

46 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum. that changed so many lives. The Gates of Time, the reflecting pool, the field of empty chairs, the survivor wall, and fence—with its still ongoing spontaneous memorial of toys, photos, flowers, and well wishes—all contribute to the overall sense of peace, grief, and restoration the designer intended.

The companion museum provides a virtual, guided walkthrough of the history of the bombing and its subsequent consequences. Guided tours are available for the museum and memorial. The memorial is open to the public and easily accessible, whereas the museum has posted hours and an admission fee ranging from free for children under 5 to $12 dollars for an adult. Information and hours are posted at www.oklahomacitynationalmemorial.org.

Norman is home to one of the finest museums of natural history in the world.

If you like dinosaurs, you have to check out the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma.

The museum features extensive collections in archeology, ethnology, ichthyology, paleontology, and more –ologies than we have ever heard. However, it also has dinosaur bones, lots of them. Hours and fees (free to $5) are posted at www. snomnh.ou.edu.

Dale Chihuly has become iconic in the field of glass art. His massive sculpture, the 55-foot tall Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the museum’s atrium, is the first thing visitors see in the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. The museum

purchased several pieces from Chihuly to commemorate its opening, and one of the most popular is still the hall where visitors can scoot on their back to see

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2014 U.S. Senior Open Preview Chihuly’s work on the ceiling.

The museum boasts more than Chihuly, though. From modern art to European and American masters, the OKCMOA has an extensive collection, as well as ongoing traveling exhibits. Hours and admission prices are posted at www.okcmoa.com.

Dining and Night Life One thing Oklahoma does better than just about anywhere else is steak. The metro area is home to six prime steakhouses, so finding one will not be a problem.

If delicious corn-fed beef served sizzling hot in an elegant but casual atmosphere is your thing, Mahogany’s is a must. Located at 3241 Memorial Road, it’s a short drive for prime midwestern beef broiled exactly the way you like it.

Excellent service as well. More information at www.mahoganyprime.com.

Closest to Oak Tree is Boulevard Steakhouse, (505 S. Boulevard in Edmond) has been producing some of the state’s best food since 1998. The wine list is extensive and very impressive. Go to boulevardsteakhouse.com.

48 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

As equally impressive is The Ranch Steakhouse (3000 W. Britton) in northwest Oklahoma City. The Ranch produces one of the best (some say the best) prime steak in Oklahoma. Like Boulevard, the Ranch’s wine list is extensive, and whereas Boulevard relies heavily on California, especially Napa, the Ranch has a large selection of French wines in addition to the domestics.

More info at www.ranchsteakhouse.com.

For the city’s best view, head for Vast, on the 49th floor of the Devon Tower. Fine dining with an amazing view, Vast also provides excellent service, an excellent wine list, and a beautiful cocktail lounge. Call for reservations, and be sure to get directions.

Getting to the building is easy; getting upstairs takes a little more information, www. vastokc.com.

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MAHOGANY’S PRO PROFILE

Steve Kimmel The unfailingly polite Steve Kimmel has been a fixture at Oak Tree National since 2001.

The Seminole native was discovered by future Oak Tree general manager Hugh Edgmon in 1981 when Edgmon was at Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club and started his career there before stints at Lake Hefner (1990-95) and Meadowbrook Country Club (1995-2001) The 2014 U.S. Senior Open will be the second major championship for Kimmel since becoming the Director of Golf at Oak Tree, having also helped the club run the 2006 Senior PGA Championship.

ing to be taken up by corporate seating, so that won’t be an issue. Our main jobs will be the chipping green, putting clock and driving range. Managing the driving range will How does the U.S. Senior be a full-time job. We have 30 Open differ from the Senior spots for 156 players, so there will be a lot of sharing. It’s all PGA Championship?

It’s a lot bigger. In 2006, we first-come, first served.

What I’ve done is called all only needed 1,400 volunteers my friends who are pros and and this time we’re looking they will help by being shift at more than 2,600. We’re looking for more gallery, more managers to help with those areas and the volunteers. corporate tents. It’s just a lot bigger than the PGA and I Nearly 40 years after opendidn’t realize that going in.” ing, how is Oak Tree equipped Oak Tree is renowned for internally and externally to being a hard golf course, par- handle a major championticularly in the wind. What ship?

The entire history and tradimakes it so hard? tion of the club is to hold maThe demand on the short jor championships and we’re game is what wears on you. the only club in this area that If you hit 16 greens out here, has that ability. Joe (Walser) you’re fine, but if you have to get up and down a lot, it’s go- and Ernie (Vossler) had the ing to be tough. If you look up vision and desire to build a course that could host major at most courses and say, ‘I hit golf championships. that pretty good,’ you end up So internally we’re fine. being all right. If you look up at Oak Tree and say, ‘I hit that The course is still one of the pretty good,’ it might wind up best anywhere. Externally we’re challenged in terms of anywhere, because it’s got to space. We’re putting corporate be a great shot at Oak Tree to tents in the parking lot so the be a good shot.” players will have to be valet What are the main respon- parked about 400 yards away sibilities for you and your in a four-acre lot. That’s just staff during the tournament? an example.

How involved will your fellow How does the membership section professionals be?

Our pro shop will be closed and the entire clubhouse is go- See KIMMEL page 58 50 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

CHARLESTON’S INDUSTRY PROFILE

Josh Cook Oak Tree National superintendent Josh Cook attended Penn State University, where he earned a Masters in Agronomy in 2006. He worked as an assistant to David Stone at The Honors Course north of Chattanooga for six years before taking over a Pete Dye masterpiece of his own at Oak Tree National in 2012.

Now he is preparing for his first major championship as a head superintendent with the U.S. Senior Open.

How excited are you about having the U.S. Senior Open at Oak Tree National and have you hosted any events previously that would prepare you for an event of this magnitude?

The biggest event I’ve done previously was the NCAA Championship. This is on an entirely different level.

The club has helped me tremendously and the USGA and Bruno Event Management have been great to work with.

My hope is this event is a great opportunity to showcase how strong Oklahoma golf is. There are so many great venues here, not just Oak Tree but Southern Hills, Oklahoma City Golf and Country Club, and many wonderful clubs that are just great to play.

California and the courses in the Northeast get all the recognition. But I hope this helps people on a national level to realize the great heritage we have here. It’s something that Oklahoma and Edmond can be proud of and our club can be proud of.

You inherited a course in which all the fairways had been changed out to U-3 and a major redesign by Tripp Davis had been completed two years prior. So far, so good.

The problem came when you began to notice a condition the USGA calls Bacterial Wilt.

Describe what it is.

“The first we saw it was my first year on the 15th green.

The plant grew in a spindly shape by as much as an inch in a day. The initial frustration was we were not familiar with the condition at all and neither were many others.

By 2013, most of the greens on the back nine were affected and those are the ones that are the most challenged as far as drainage.

You had to take a popular growth regulator out of your rotation and change some other cultural practices. How are the greens now in advance of the tournament?

Very good. We had a great fall and a very good spring.

The root depth is good and the greens have done a fantastic job of getting back to what we need.

Wind is such a variable at Oak Tree National but in the middle of July it is not a given. How will the wind affect course setup and your job?

The weather in July is erratic and the wind in particular. We need to have a game plan for if we have no wind.

On those days, we can run the greens up to 12 on the Stimpmeter. But if we get 20-mph winds at 12, the ball starts to oscillate. So we need to be

See COOK page 58 www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 51

Where we play

Walk on the wild side Nature, lake views only interruptions at Sequoyah State Park Golf Course by ken macleod

V

ast improvements are scheduled to begin in August at the lodge at Sequoyah State Park on Fort Gibson Lake, which is good news for those who like to stay at Oklahoma’s largest state park and enjoy a few rounds on one of Oklahoma’s quirkiest golf courses.

To say the fairways at Sequoyah are sloped or canted is to do a disservice to those words, though there is almost always eventually a level spot in the landing area. In that respect, the 1964 design by the masterful Floyd Farley offers excellent practice in controlling your tee shots, working the ball either with or against the prevailing wind and gradient to find a level lie with a decent approach to the small greens.

Of course, if you’re at the state park, it’s probably because the course is fun, offers great views, a chance to glimpse all manner of wildlife and is a tremendous bargain.

Tulsans in particular should remember the course is only a 40-minute drive.

“It’s a totally different golf experience from what you get in town,” said Keli Clark, the marketing coordinator for Oklahoma State Parks. “You have great lake views and might see deer, fox or wild 52 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

turkeys, but you’re not going to see a car on a nearby highway.”

The greens were converted to Champion Bermuda several years ago and several reflect their pitched settings in that you may have to putt 20 feet above the hole to have

the ball trickle down and stop near it.

The views are great throughout the course, with the lake visible from most holes, plenty of elevation change and huge hardwood trees. Two of the par-5s wrap around the lake and unfortunately

Elevated tees such on this par-3 offer a chance to watch a shot tumble from the sky.

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Tall pine trees stand sentinel along the entry road. are among the first holes to suffer when the lake levels rise as the Grand River pours in. Flooding in late spring and early summer has been an issue but not this spring.

For those who haven’t been, Sequoyah State Park is located between Wagner and Tahlequah in Hulbert on Highway 51. The cabins are all recently renovated including all new fixtures and furniture. The state upgraded the pool area and this summer will begin a complete overhaul of the lodge, which was built in 1956 with a western motif (and was called Western Hills by a previous management company). The lodge will close on Aug, 3 and reopen in early Feb., 2015.

The lodge has 104 guest rooms, 44 cottages, a bunkhouse available for special meetings and parties and six campgrounds for RV or tent camping. The rooms will be completely renovated with all new fixtures, carpets, beds, etc. The lobby and meeting rooms are being redone as well as the restaurant. An auction will be held on Aug. 11 to sell off old furniture and fixtures.

Besides golf and swimming, there are tennis and basketball courts, volleyball, a two-mile nature trail and the Three Forks Nature Center, complete with its own bald eagle, owl, foxes, coyote, beaver, numerous snakes and lizards and, of course, tarantulas.

There is a full marina with boat rentals and we hear the fishing is excellent. A riding stable offers trail rides, hayrides and children’s programs.

The massive pine trees lining the winding entrance road were planted by hand by a relative of current park and facility manager Tony Presley when the park was being constructed in the 1950s and now add a beautiful touch to the entrance and nature trail. Also, the lodge and cabins are situated to take full advantage of sunsets over the lake.

Rooms in the lodge start at $75 per night and there are specials available during the week in which you can get a fourth night free with the rental of three nights.

For more information on the golf course or any of the facilities, go to www. travelok.com. www.golfoklahoma.org •••••• 53

GOLF FITNESS

Enough is Enough

Sean Riley SwingFit

Ryan Smith SwingFit

W

ith the recent exposure of Tiger Woods back injury and subsequent surgery, we’re sure many of you are curious to know when...

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. When is the correct time to stop playing because of injury or pain and seek professional help? Tour Professionals have a team of medical and coaching personnel to make those tough calls on whether to play or not. For the common amateur, those decisions aren’t as straightforward. Many time it’s difficult to discern whether you are dealing with a simple muscle strain or a structural type injury. Therefore golfers often continue playing when in fact they should shut it down and seek help.

Here is what we see most common in our practice: the weekend rolls around and you can’t wait to get on the golf course.

You sneak out, hit a big bucket of balls to warm up and head to the first tee with your pals. After hitting a nice tee ball down the second fairway, you start to experience a fair amount of localized low back pain. You’re wondering if this is a problem or if you should just play through it. And here lies the issue. As amateur golfers, we don’t have the luxury of a full blown staff of medical professionals to properly screen us and make the call. Many significant injuries can take hours or even days to become debilitating and it’s important to be aware of the early signs of what could potentially turn into a bigger problem. So, when do you shut it down?

Here are two simple “Rules for Engagement” if you have back pain: 1. For the amateur, if there is any pain assuming a comfortable address position, he or she is shut down. The reasoning is the stress of just setting up is much less than the dynamic motion of the full swing. Remember, it’s better to be safe and play when clear than to risk permanent injury.

54 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

2. If a player is able to assume a comfortable setup position we can move on to the PELVIC TILT TEST which we use as our second level screen when working with players (see picture 1 and 2). This test requires you to arch and flatten your lower back using your core stabilizers. If you experience pain in either direction including referred pain into the legs, we recommend you stop playing.

Additionally, common sense will tell you that if you have difficulty putting a tee into the ground or pain with bending over, it’s an indicator that something might be wrong. Many times a structural injury to the neck or low back can disguise itself as a muscular pain as there is typically a muscle component to the problem. When in doubt; be smart, rest, seek professional help, and recover to play another day!

Make sure to check out our next column on Ramping It Back Up after an injury.

SwingFit specializes in golf specific fitness, performance, and training services for golfers of

all ages. Founded by Titleist Performance Institute Certified Medical Professionals, Ryan Smith, PT and Sean Riley, DC, SwingFit gives players access to the same proprietary testing and training systems used the by the best players in the world.

The SwingFit system identifies the least amount of physical changes required in your body to produce the greatest results in your golf swing. The result is better practice with your swing coach and more enjoyment on the course. To schedule your SwingFit Golf Assessment, contact SwingFit at (918) 743-3737 or visit us on the web at www. swingfittulsa.com.

INSTRUCTION

What's he looking at?

Inside the yardage book by e.j. pfister

director of instruction, oak tree national

You may have seen illustrations like the above showing in a yardage book or on television. Pro golfers consult these frequently. But what does it all mean?

Along with this green diagram, the player receives a pin sheet that tells them exactly where the pin is located on the green. The numbers on the right and left of the green represent the green in five-yard increments.

From this we learn it is 15 yards to carry the bunker on the right if the pin is on the right side of the green. Also the total green depth is 35 yards so if the pin location is 30 from the front there is only 15 feet behind the flag.

All numbers shown with arrows are in slope in degrees. Arrow and degree readings were taken from the center of each grid square. To read a break the number shows you exactly how many degrees of downhill slope exist. The greater the number, the

more the putt will break. The lower the number, the less the putt will break.

For the U.S. Senior Open, I feel strongly that the pin will be located in the back right over the bunker in the 1.5 degree slope location. With that being the case. you can see that anything on the green that is in the two squares above it will be a straight downhill putt. As you start going to the left the putt will be for the most part straight until you get to the square 1.4.

Now as you can tell the putt is going downhill left to right. Because the slope numbers are all under 2.0 it will be a subtle amount of break. These charts are the most useful when you’re not 100 percent sure of the slope you can use this guide to help your final decision.

Here is how golfers process all this information and put it to use.

1, Observe pin location before teeing off to determine which angle from the fairway would be the best to attack the pin location.

2. On your second shot, you must calculate the distance to the front of the green and then add the distance to the pin. For example 125 yards to the front plus 15 to the flag equals 140 yard shot before factoring in the wind and slope.

3, Use the green diagram to tee where your ball is relative to the pin. Now look at the green diagram to figure out the slope.

This really takes much of the guess work out of the green reading process.

The players in the U.S. Senior Open will be referring to this book very often to help them figure out the contoured greens at Oak Tree National.

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INSTRUCTION

Build a base of proper fundamentals by jim woodward teaching professional, oak tree national

In the past 45 years since I started playing golf at 12, I have seen lots of changes.

The most impressive changes would be the equipment.

I’m not going to bet against the best players of today, but my thought is they would have a different mindset than grip it and rip it with an old persimmon wood, and a ball that would move around like a bobwhite quail on a cool crisp morning.

Having said that, I still believe the cream would come to the top. The best players did that in any era. I’m a big fan of making the game easier and more fun to play, and today’s equipment is doing that.

The other big change has been in the teaching field. With the invention of slow motion frame-to-frame video, as well as TrackMan, we now know everything the ball is doing. Is this a good thing? I would say, “kind of.”

My first golf lesson was with Ernie Vossler when I was 12. We had no video, no Track Man, only Ernie’s years of experience. What’s crazy is I still remember that lesson, it’s fixed into my brain. He spoke to me in a firm, but knowledgeable way. He said your grip is the key to delivering the club face to the ball squarely. He said, “A good grip and good balance and you will be a good player.” Then he added, “practice will make you a great player.”

He also spoke to me about the sound the club made when it struck the ball. Have you ever taken a lesson from a pro that said that or “Can you hear how crisp that shot is?” I hate to say it, but I bet not.

Video and TrackMan don’t listen for sound. Please don’t get me wrong -- teaching has taken great strides in helping the golfer get better. But it’s also turned us into overthinkers, and way too analytical types of morons when we play.

Look at the pictures of some of the greatest players. Notice their grips, they are all very neutral. Some interlock, some overlap, but they hold the club lightly and their hands are on the club, giving them the best chance to square it at impact.

The other thing they all did was have great balance. Look at the setup at the top of the swing, and at the finish you see perfect balance. As always, I try to keep it simple. If you want to see your swing, then 56 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

Ben Hogan, above, and Jack Nicklaus, right, two of the most fundamentally sound golfers who ever played.

video it. But do me a favor -- look at your grip and balance while you watch it.

Good luck to all of you and enjoy this great game.

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Kimmel, continued from 50

Cook, continued from 51

react to the hosting of national events?

“Everybody is on board. Part of the draw of being a member here is to be part of national championships and they understand they’re at a national venue.

When we hosted the 1988 PGA Championship, it was the best ever to that point.

Same thing with the 2006 Senior PGA. We’re hoping this is the best United States Senior Open ever.”

very flexible.

When you get away from golf, what do you like to do?

I like to be at home, work around the yard and spend time with my wife, Sammie, who is a professor at UCO, and my Chihuahua.

I’m very fortunate through my trials and tribulations of 30 years in this business to have been in the right place at the right time a considerable amount. I give credit to my mentors like Alsie Hyden, Hugh Edgmon, Len Casteel for teaching me how to make it in this business. If you can make it for 30 years in this business, you’ve done something right.

Golf Course Construction Golf Recent Course Construction Projects Golf Course Construction Gaillardia Golf & Country Club Recent Projects

Oklahoma City • Bunker Improvements How many volunteers will you bring in Cedar Ridge Country Club • Broken Arrow, OK • Cart Path Improvements RecentGolf Projects Firelake Course to help with the tournament?

Recent Projects The Patriot Golf Club • Owasso, OK • Cart Path Improvements Cedar Ridge Country Club • Broken Arrow,Improvements OK • Cart Path Improvements Shawnee • Cart Path Cedar Ridge Country • Broken Arrow, OK • and CartGabion Path Improvements We’re looking to have 50 to 60 people Silverhorn Golf Club • Edmond, OKClub • Creek Crossing Repairs Wall The Patriot Golf Club • Owasso,Country OK • Cart Path Improvements Cedar Ridge Club The Patriot Golf Club • Owasso, OK • Irrigation Cart PathInstallation Improvements Golf Course • Broken Bow, OK • 18 Hole in the morning and 50 to 60 more in the Cedar Creek Silverhorn Golf ClubArrow • Edmond, • Creek Crossing Renovation Repairs and Gabion Wall Broken • OK #17 Fairway ClubArrow, • Edmond, OKHole • Creek Crossing Repairs and Gabion Wall Golf Club •Golf Broken OK • 18 Bunker and Green Renovation evenings. A lot of clubs in Oklahoma areForest RidgeSilverhorn Cedar Creek GolfThe CoursePatriot • Broken Bow,Golf OK • 18 Club Hole Irrigation Installation Cedar Creek Golf Course • Broken Bow, OK • 18 Hole Irrigation Installation Bailey Ranch Golf Club • Owasso, OK • Resurfacing of 3 Greens Forest Ridge Golf Club • Broken Arrow,Path OK • 18Improvements Hole Bunker and Green Renovation Owasso • Cart sending volunteers and from other areas Ridge Club • Broken Arrow, • 18 Hole Bunker and Green Renovation TheForest Golf Club at Golf Frisco Lakes • Frisco, TX OK • Cart Path Improvements Bailey RanchFirelake Golf Club • Owasso, OK Course • Resurfacing of 3 Greens Golf as well. It really helps when you have Bailey Ranch Golf Club • Owasso, • Resurfacing of 3 Greens Eastern Hills Country Club • Garland, TX • CartOK Path Improvements The Golf Club at Frisco Lakes • Frisco, TX • Cart Path Improvements Shawnee • Irrigation Improvements The Golf Club at Frisco Lakes • Frisco, TX • Cart Path Improvements some guys come in with the experience Eastern Hills Country ClubCountry • Garland, TX • Cart Path Improvements Tulsa Club Eastern Hills Country Club • Garland, TX • Cart Path Improvements of having run major championships in Tulsa • Creek Stabilization Contact Us the past.

Southern Hills Country Club

One of the major improvements, since you’ve been on board, noticeable to everyone is the limbing and pruning of the trees throughout the course.

My guys headed up that project. It took a month and a half to do it all and I think they did a great job. We were very conscious of not wanting to make it too easy if you hit it under the trees, but give them options and still very challenging shots. It has also helped with reestablishing some Bermuda in places and with the fescue. It’s just been a home run all the way around.

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Advertorial

Women on Course debuts at Tulsa Golf Women On Course, the nation’s premier golf-lifestyle networking program, has tripled in membership since being acquired

by Billy Casper Golf in 2013, and now it’s coming to Page Belcher Golf Course in Tulsa.

Women on Course removes intimidating barriers causing females to overlook the game. It provides fun, supportive and interactive settings for business and stayat-home women to experience the golf lifestyle without primary focus on competition and score: • A “Play Your Own Way” mantra means beginners and course-ready golfers learn fundamentals and etiquette • A “Score 5 to Survive” rule – tee shot, fairway approach, chip, two putts – promotes practice without slow play Fashion, fitness, travel and luxury components surrounding the world of golf are incorporated into Women on Course programming.

In Tulsa, the kickoff social event will be 58 •••••• www.golfoklahoma.org

• Mixing and mingling with women from June 12 at Page Belcher at 6 p.m. Refreshments and wine will be served. If you can’t all age groups with diverse and interesting backgrounds. make that event, check the schedule at Best value in town still valid www.tulsagolf.org.

Tulsa golfers, you can still order your Members enjoy free gifts; discounts players cards for 2014 and experience treon greens fees, apparel, equipment, wine mendous savings and a great weekly value. and other products; golf and educational For more information, call 918-446-1529 or resources; contests; and forums. Other go to www.tulsagolf.org. benefits include: • Enhancing golf skills and protocol for new business connections and career advancement • Establishing lifelong friendships with like-minded women • Helping beginning golfers with fundamentals and advanced players refine their games • Prompting families to spend time together on and off the course For more complete details on the program or to have your • Learning from dy- questions answered, check out the website at www.tulsagolf.org namic guest speakers or call 918-446-1529 for Page Belcher or 918-425-6871 for at events Mohawk Park.

SCHEDULES & RESULTS COLLEGE MEN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP At Prairie Dunes CC, Hutchinson, Kan. (par-70) May 23-28 Match play Quarterfinals Oklahoma State 4, Ga. Tech 0 (1 A/S): Talor Gooch (OSU) def. Richy Werenski 2 and 1; Zachary Olsen (OSU) def. Bo Andrews, 1-up; Wyndham Clrk (OSU) def. Anders Albertson 1-up; Ian Davis (OSU) A/S Ollie Schniederjans; Jordan Niebrugge (OSU) def. Seth Reeves 2 and 1.

LSU 4, UCLA 1; Stanford 3, Illinois 2; Alabama 3, SMU 2.

Semifinals Oklahoma State 3, Stanford 2: Talor Gooch (OSU) def. Maverick McNealy 1-up (21); Cameron Wilson (S) def. Ian Davis 4 and 2; Wyndham Clark (OSU) def. Viraat Badhwar 1-up; Zachary Olsen (OSU) def. David Boote 3 and 2; Patrick Rodgers (S) def. Jordan Niebrugge 2 and 1.

Alabama 4, LSU 1.

Final Alabama 4, Oklahoma State 1: Bobby Wyatt (A)_ def. Talor Gooch 3 and 2; Bobby Shelton (A) def. Zachary Olsen 1-up; Wyndham Clark (O) def. Tom Lovelady 3 and 1; Trey Mullinax (A) def.

Ian Davis 2 and 1; Cory Whitsett (A) def. Jordan Niebrugge 2 and1.

Team qualifying (weather-shortened to 54 holes) NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP At LPGA International, Daytona Beach, Fla. (par-72) May 13-16 Team leaders (29): 1, Coastal Georgia 285-296284—865; 2, Okla. City 287-294-288 – 8769; 3 (tie), Johnson and Wales 292-290-292 – 874 and William Woods 289-296-289 – 874; 5, Grand View 286-298-291 – 875; 6 (tie), Faulkner 286-

289-301 – 876 and Texas Wesleyan 292-285-299 – 876; 8, Concordia 288-300-294 – 882; 9, Tenn.

Wesleyan 297-297-289 – 883; 10, Okla. Baptist 290-301-296 – 887; 11, British Columbia 291-300297 – 888; 12, Thomas 300-297-295 – 892.

Individual leaders: 1, James Marchesani (OCU) 70-72-69 – 211 (won playoff); 2, Jay Monahan (GV) 69-74-68 – 211; 3, Jose Rolz (TW) 71-67-74 – 212; 4, Allan Bradford (CG) 70-74-69 – 213; 5 (tie), Josh Williams (Tenn. Wesl.) 74-71-69 – 214 and Justin Doeden (Stritch) 71-72-71 – 214; 7 (tie), Mateo Gomez (OBU) 71-72-72 – 215, Jesse Heinly (Concordia) 71-72-72 – 215, Matthew Cheung (OCU) 72-74-69 – 215, Daniel Jansen (Faulkner) 70-72-73 – 215 and Richard Le (St. Thomas) 72-73-70 – 215.

Other scores: Drew Posada (OBU) 73-74-74 – 221, Garrison Mendoza (OCU) 70-77-76 – 223, Scott Verplank (OCU) 75-75-74 – 224, Chad Smith (OBU) 72-77-76 – 225, Anthony Marchesani (OCU) 78-73-76 – 227, Alexander Hall (OBU) 74-81-75 – 230, Elkin Hoyos (OBU) 78-78-75 – 228.

NCAA DIVISION II At The Meadows GC, Allendale, Mich. (par-71) May 19-23 Team leaders (20): 1, Nova Southeastern 287295-281 – 863; 2, Barry 292-305-280 – 877; 3, Chico State 291-298-292 – 881; 4 (tie), Central Missouri 302-292-296 – 890 and Malone 302297-291 – 890;; 6, Lynn 303-294-296 – 893; 15 (tie), Central Oklahoma 316-302-299 – 917 and St. Thomas Aquinas 311-301-305 – 917.

Individual leaders: , 1, Tim Crouch (Fla. Southern) 74-71-68 – 213; 2, Adam Svensson (Barry) 71-7568 – 214; 3, Santiago Gomez (Nova SE) 71-71-73 – 215; 4, Ricardo Celia (Nova SE) 71-77-68 – 216.

Other scores; Eric Kline (UCO)_ 76-74-70 – 220, Marcos Sevilla (SE St.) 74-75-76 – 225, Russ Purser (UCO) 77-74-77 – 228, Joby Gray (UCO) 82-76-75 – 233, Matt Helms (UCO) 81-78-77 – 236, Landon Morgan (UCO) 82-83-78 – 243.

WOMEN NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP At Tulsa CC (par-70) May 20-23 Team scores: 1, Duke 293-285-278-274 – 1,130; 2, Southern Cal 293-291-278-270 – 1,132; 3, UCLA 291-293-278-270 – 1,145; 4, Oklahoma 288-287291-281 – 1,147; 5, Arizona State 293-287-291-279 – 1,150; 6, Mississippi State 302-285-283-287 – 1,157; 7 (tie), Arizona 298-286-287-287 – 1,158 and Ohio State 299-291-288-280 – 1,158; 9, Alabama 305-285-289-282 – 1,161; 10 (tie) Texas A&M 305292-288-278 – 1,163, N.C. State 307-284-280-292 – 1,163 and Vanderbilt 303-290-286-284 – 1,163; 13, South Carolina 301-299-283-281 – 1,164; 14, Virginia 303-295-288-279 – 1,165; 15 (tie), Tulane 303-294-278-291 – 1,166 and Northwestern 305289-284-288 – 1,166; 17, Washington 299-289293-286 – 1,167; 18 (tie), Florida 305-292-290-282 – 1,169 and Stanford 300-286-294-289 – 1,169; 20 (tie), Campbell 305-303-289-281 – 1,178 and Michigan State 305-283-302-288 – 1,178; 22, California 296-305-289-290 – 1,180; 23, Iowa State 306-298-292-290 – 1,186; 24, Kansas 313-293303-292 – 1,201.

Individual leaders: 1, Doris Chen (USC) 67-72-6867 – 274; 2, Celine Boutier (Duke) 70-70-67-69 – 276; 3, Lauren Kim (Stanford) 67-71-72-67 – 277; 4 (tie), Stephanie Meadow (Ala.) 76-69-68-66 – 279 and Ally McDonald (Miss. St.) 73-68-71-67 – 279; 6, Marljosse Navarro (Texas A&M) 73-73-68-66 – 280; 7 (tie), Manon Gidali (Arizona) 73-67-74-68 – 282, Chonlada Chayanun (Iowa St.) 72-69-69-72 – 282 and Louise Ridderstrom (UCLA) 72-72-68-70 – 282; 10 (tie), Hayley Davis (Baylor) 79-71-68-65 – 283, Tonje Daffinrud (Denver) 67-74-74-68 – 283 and Allyssa Ferrell (Mich. St.) 69-69-72-73—283; NAIA CHAMPIONSHIP At Wilderness Ridge GC, Lincoln. Neb. (par-72) May 20-23 Team scores (27): 1, Okla. City 302-309-303-295 –

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SCHEDULES & RESULTS 1,209 (won playoff); 2, SCAD-Savannah 304-304306-295 – 1,209; 3, Bellevue 314-314-299-297 – 1,224; 4, William Woods 307-317-311-299 – 1,234; 5, Cumberlands 310-308-306-313 – 1,237; 6, Coastal Georgia 308-317-318-309 – 1,252; 7, British Columbia 314-320-315-317 – 1,266; 8, Northwood (Fla.) 312-322-316-321 – 1,271; 9, Indiana Tech 318-326-320-313 – 1,277; 10, Northwood (Texas) 317-326-321-317 – 1,281.

Individual leaders: 1, Alazne Urizar (SCADSavannah) 76-71-73-71 – 291; 2, Elia Folch (OCU) 72-75-73-72 – 292; 3, Sofia Molinaro (SCADSavannah) 74-75-75-70 – 294; 4, Myriam Hassan (WW) 76-73-80-71 – 300; 5 (tie), Renee Santoyo (Bellevue) 75-76-75-75 – 301 and Daniela Martinez (Northwood-T) 72-74-77-78 – 301; 7, Sunny Powers (Concordia) 74-79-76-73 – 302; 8 (tie), Caroline Goodin (OCU) 77-76-75-75 – 303, Christian Liggin (CG) 72-77-79-75 – 303 and Sarah Gilliard (CG) 78-77-73-75 – 307.

Other OCU scores: Kailey Campbell 78-75-77-76 – 306, Anna Mikish 75-83-78-72 – 308, KatieLee Wilson 83-85-82-81 – 331.

NCAA DIVISION II At Rock Barn GC, Conover, N.C. (par-71) May 14-17 Team scores: 1, Lynn 294-297-291-282 – 1,164; 2, Barry 305-289-301-298 – 1,193; 3, Tarleton State 300-299-298-300 – 1,195; 4, Rollins 297-306306-303 – 1,212; 5, Indianapolis 310-311-292-300 – 1,213; 6, Central Oklahoma 301-307-308-305 – 1,221; 7, Findlay 309-309-307-298 – 1,223; 8, St. Edwards 311-310-316-295 – 1,232; 9, Arkansas Tech 311-314-307-303 – 1,235; 10, Dallas Baptist 319-309-311-308 – 1,247; 11, Grand Valley State 315-311-308-316 – 1,250; 12, Southwestern (Okla.) State 327-328-321-339 – 1,315.

Individual leaders: 1, Louise Manalo (Lynn) 72-73-74=68 – 287; 2, Jessica Bradley (Lynn) 72-76-69-71 – 288; 3, Rebecka Surtevall (AT) 78-71-75-67 – 9; 4, Marisa Toivonen (Aug.-SD) 73-74-72-73 – 292; 5 (tie), Haley Haught (St. Ed-

Hunter Laughlin 67-74 – 141.

Girls 1, Lexi Armon 73-73 – 146; 2 (tie), Taylor Dobson 77-72 – 149 and Sydney Youngblood 72-77 – 149; 4, Kailey Collier 72-78 – 150; 5 (tie), Emily Folsom 78-79 – 157 and Heidi Stafford 76-81 – 157; 7, Ariel Wixson 78-80 – 158.

wards) 72-74-79-68 – 293 and Jessica Pickwick (Tarleton St.) 73-74-71-75 – 293; 7, Taylor Neidy (UCO) 74-74-70-77 – 295; 8 (tie), Marie Coors (St. Leo) 72-73-74-77 – 296 and Ryanne Haddow (St. Edward) 76-76-74-70 – 296; 10 (tie), Tina Yang (CB) 70-78-75-74 – 297 and Samantha Smolen (Lynn) 74-74-76-73 – 297.

Other scores: Baylee Price (NSU-Okla.) 77-7376-77 – 303, Bethany Darrough (UCO) 72-77-8176 – 306, Katie Bensch (UCO) 78-79-77-77 – 311, June Tigert (UCO) 78-77-8—77 – 312, Aly Seng (UCO) 77-85-81-75 – 318, Margaret Musser (SW St.) 84-81-79-83 – 327

WOMEN’S OKLA. GOLF ASSOCIATION MIXED COUPLES At Cherokee Hills GC, Catoosa (par-72) April 26-27 Gross: 1, Tamara Noel/Chris Noel 70-64 – 134; 2, Lien Alsup/Mike Alsup 72-69 – 141; 3 (tie), Ann Watkins/Eddie Watkins 82-71 – 153 and Christie Collins/Craig Collins 82-71 – 153; 5, Lori Garrison/Steve Phillips 81-77 – 158; 6, Marge Harvey/ Mike Jones 82-77 – 159.

OKLAHOMA GOLF ASSOCIATION SPRING FOUR-BALL At Twin Hills G&CC, Okla. City (par-72) May 24-25 1, Don Cochran/Rick Bell 67-75 – 132; 2, Rhett Bolen/Gerod Black 68-65 – 133; 3, Neil Metz/ Blake Gibson 69-66 – 135; 4 (tie), Dustin Gunkel/Alfred Galyean 70-66 – 136, Chris Laughlin/ Cliff Merritt 70-66 – 136 and Daniel Funk/Heath Myers 66-70 – 136; 7, Ben Blundell/Jordan Cook 70-67 – 137; 8 (tie), Bradley Durr/Doug Dixon 74-64 – 138 and John Austin/Mark Austin 70-68 – 138; 10 (tie), Mark Vanhoose/Brooks Freeman 71-68 – 139 and Bryce Newell/Scott Newell 6970 – 139.

Senior: 1, James Reid/Jon Valuck 64-68 – 132; 2, Bill Brafford/Michael Koljack 70-68 – 138; 3 (tie), Tim McFarland/John Stansbury 72-68 – 140 and Ted Milford Jr./Larry Johnson 69-71—140

OSSAA HIGH SCHOOLS BOYS May 12-13 CLASS 6A At Karsten Creek GC, Stillwater (par-72) Team leaders: 1, Edmond North 301-296-303 – 900; 2, Edmond Memorial 318-309-330 – 957; 3, Owasso 313-328-323 – 964; 4, Jenks 318-311-336 – 965; 5, Norman North 321-316330 – 967; 6, Edmond Santa Fe 325-318-327 – 970; 7, Broken Arrow 320-339-321 – 980; 8, Southmoore 321-334-339 – 994; 9, Bixby 332-347-325 – 1,004; 10, Union 326-336-349 – 1,011.

Individual leaders: 1, Austin Eckroat (EN) 77-75-71 – 223; 2, Hayden Wood (EN) 72-7577 – 224; 3, Thomas Johnson (NN) 75-74-78 – 227; 4, Spencer Smythe (Muskogee) 7574-79 – 228; 5, Nick Heinen (EN) 77-72-80 – 229; 6, Griffin Pierce (EN) 77-79-75 – 231; 7 (tie), Tyson Reeder (EN) 77-75-72 – 234, Preston Crawford (Jenks) 73-76-85 – 234 and Jacob Bishop (EM) 81-75-78 – 234; 10, Casey Paul (Owasso) 79-73-84 – 236.

OKLA. JUNIOR GOLF TOUR OKLAHOMA’S BEST HIGH SCHOOL CLASSIC At John Conrad GC, Midwest City (par-72) May 25-26 Boys 1, Mason Overstreet 65-68 – 133; 2, Cody Shore 65-72 – 137; 3, Austin Eckroat 66-72 – 138; 5, Garrett McDaniel 71-68 – 139; 5 (tie), Thomas Johnson 69-71 – 140 and Ty Stites 68-72 – 140; 7,

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CLASS 5A At Fort Sill GC, Lawton (par-72) Team leaders: 1, Tahlequah 300-303-309 – 912; 2, Shawnee 303-306-304 – 913; 3, Bishop Kelley 313304-322 – 939; 4, Edison 315-311-317 – 943; 5, Deer Creek 318-311-316 – 945; 6, Duncan 319-307-320 – 946; 7, McGuinness 326-313-313 – 952; 8, Altus 337-326-329 – 992; 9, Lawton MacArthur 340-339332 – 1,011; 10, Skiatook 336-336-345 – 1,017.

Individual leaders: 1, Jake Johnson (Tahl.) 70-71-74 – 215; 2, Trent Meisel (Lawton Mac) 72-70-74 – 216; 3, Mason Keller (Edison) 73-70-75 – 218; 4, Brady King (Kelley) 71-72-76 – 219; 5 (tie) Cody Burrows (Chickasha) 76-72-72 – 220 and Conner Kauffman (Guymon) 77-73-70 – 220; 7 (tie), Alexander Hughes (Edison) 75-73-75 – 223 and Blake Berry (Tahl.) 74-76-73 – 223; 9, Blake Graham (Duncan) 73-72-79 – 224; 10, Braden Ricks (Shawnee) 7375-77 – 225.

CLASS 4A At Lake Hefner GC, Okla. City (par-72) Team leaders: 1, Heritage Hall 299-292-294 – 885; 2, Fort Gibson 301-297-303 – 901; 3, Cascia Hall 300-300-311 – 911; 4, Poteau 303-310-305 – 918; 5, Sallisaw 311-317-300 – 918 6, Metro Christian 317-321-319 – 957; 7, Clinton 316-325-322 – 963; 8, Seminole 324-332-320 – 976; 9, Newcastle 334-332-316 – 982; 10, Weatherford 338-330-322 – 990.

Individual leaders: 1, Cody Shore (Poteau) 69-6873 – 210; 2 Chandler Puckett (Hilldale) 70-69-72 – 322; 3, Quade Cummins (Weatherford) 71-67-75 – 213; 4, Logan Gore (Elk City) 74-71-70 – 215; 5, Tripp Harris (Heritage Hall) 74-73-72 – 219; 6 (tie), Chase Turner (MC) 70-75-75 – 220 and Wesley Johnson (FG) 76-72-72 – 220; 8 (tie), Dalton Rhoden (FG) 77-71-73 – 221 and Ty Stites (Sallisaw) 74-75-72 – 221; 10, Andrew McDonald (Her. Hall) 77-71-75 – 223.

CLASS 3A At Lakeview GC, Ardmore (par-71) Team leaders: 1, Plainview 310-296-301 – 907; 2, Pauls Valley 301-313-311 – 925; 3, Okla. Christian 316-318-321 – 955; 4, Tishomingo 319-319-326 – 964; 5, Marlow 324-336-318 – 978; 6, Idabel 340-324-322 – 986; 7, Lincoln Christian 332-335356 – 1,023; 8, Inola 349-352-345 – 1,046; 9, Lone Grove 363-363-358 – 1,084; 10, Keys 371-376-353 – 1,100.

Individual leaders: 1, Zac Schaefer (OC) 77-68-75 – 220 (won playoff); 2, Matt Henry (PV) 74-76-70 – 220; 3, Nate Hobert (Plainview) 74-73-74 – 221; 4, Cooper Little (Plainview) 79-73-75 – 227; 5, Carson Seals (Plainview) 79-72-77 – 228; 6 (tie), Preston Lovett (Tishomingo) 77-77-76 -- 230 and Daniel Whitehouse (PV) 75-78-77 – 230; 8, Alek Cunningham (Bethel) 83-74-75 – 232; 9 (tie), Garrett Fisher (PV) 72-82-79 – 233, Spencer Upton (Tishomingo) 77-76-80 – 233 and Luke Vancleave (Eufaula) 80-79-74 – 233.

ness 357-361 – 718; 8, Stillwater 369-354 – 723; 9, Mustang 365-361 – 726; 10, Muskogee 362-370 – 732.

Individual leaders: 1, Alexis Sadeghy (McGuinness) 71-74 – 145; 2, Taylor Dobson (BA) 77-73 - -150; 3, Trudy Allen (Union) 75-78 – 153; 4, Anna Kim (Union) 77-77 – 154; 5, Maria Souvannasing (Union) 80-76 – 156; 6, Shannen Stewart (BA) 8376 – 159; 7, Shelby Humbyrd (Bixby) 82-80 – 162; 8 (tie), Emma Allen (Union) 86-77 – 163 and Kaitlin Milligan (NN) 79-84 – 163; 10 (tie), Kailey Collier (BA) 80-84 – 164 and Kennedy Hudson (Bixby) 81-83 – 164.

CLASS 5A At Duncan G&TC (par-72) Team leaders: 1, Duncan 343-335 – 678; 2, Durant 340-351 – 691; 3, Deer Creek 338-355 – 693; 4, Ardmore 364-351 – 715; 5, Coweta 398-379 – 777; 6, Carl Albert 398-406 – 804; 7, Lawton MacArthur 416-392 – 808; 8, Claremore 427-401 – 828; 9, Piedmont 444-429-873; 10, Altus 447-429 – 876.

Individual leaders: 1, Sydney Youngblood (Durant) 73-75 – 148; 2, Kayla Witt (Duncan) 79-77 – 156; 3, Emily Folsom (DC) 82-75 – 157; 4, Whitney Hall (Duncan) 82-79 – 161; 5, Liz Hargis (Ardmore) 8577 – 162; 6, Bayleigh Johnson (Lawton Mac) 88-82 – 170; 7, Savannah Martin (Duncan) 90-83 – 173; 8 (tie), Sam Peters (Ardmore) 88-87 – 175 and Bailey Blake (DC) 81-94 – 175; 10, Sydni McKaughan (Durant) 88-90 – 178.

CLASS 4A At Lake Hefner GC, Okla, City (par-72) Team leaders: 1, Hilldale 347-351 – 698; 2, Fort Gibson 355-346 – 701; 3, Clinton 341-361 – 702; 4, Poteau 350-355 – 705; 5, Cache 355-357 – 712; 6, Catoosa 375-386 – 761; 7, Elk City 392-370 – 762; 8, Seminole 378-387 – 765; 9, Muldrow 379-400 – 779; 10, Harrah 411-385 – 796.

Individual leaders: 1, Hannah Ward (Poteau) 76-73 – 149; 2, Emilee Rigsby (FG) 75-76 – 151; 3, Paige Neidy (Clinton) 74-84 – 158; 5, Katie Kirkhart (Hilldale) 78-81 – 159; 5, Kelsi Wilson (EC)

83-79 – 162; Kadrian Shelton (FG) 86-78 – 164; 7, Michaela Earls (Muldrow) 82-86 – 168; 8, Tory Plumley (Harrah) 88-82 – 170; 9, Katie May Taylor (Cache) 89-82 – 171; 10, Sarina Tara (Seminole) 84-89 – 173.

CLASS 3A At Duncan G&TC (par-72) Team leaders: 1, Purcell 323-326 – 649; 2, Eufaula 326-333 – 659; 3, Idabel 327-347 – 674; 4, Plainview 351-356 – 707; 5, Henryetta 367-364 – 731; 6, Marlow 389-383 – 772; 7, Lone Grove 388-397 – 785; 8, Tishomingo 394-396 – 790; 9, Keys 410395 – 805; 10, Chandler 392-414 – 806.

Individual leaders: 1, Ali White (Idabel) 73-74 – 147; 2, Melissa Elderidge (Eufaula) 73-76 – 149; 3, Ashton Nemecek (Purcell) 77-74 – 151; 4, Katelyn Walker (Plainview) 80-782 – 162 5, Heidi Stafford (Idabel) 81-82 – 163; 6, Jae Lynn Lamkin (Purcell) 82-82 – 164; 7, Pieghto Walker (Purcell) 79-87 – 166; 8, Joley Vance (Henryetta) 83-84 – 167 (won playoff); 9 (tie), Madelyn Lehr (Idabel) 78-89 – 167, Allie Cook (Plainview) 85-82 – 167 and Rachel Donaldson (Eufaula) 84-83 – 167.

CLASS 2A At Trosper Park GC, Okla, City (par-70) Team leaders: 1, Turner 310-320 – 630; 2, Mooreland 342-344 – 686; 3, Latta 344-353 – 697; 4, Chisholm 372-374 – 746; 5, Texhoma 392-393 – 765; 6, Velma-Alma 385-386 – 771; 7, Summit Christian 385-402 – 787; 8, Laverne 397-404 – 801; 9, Pioneer 398-405 – 803; 10, Sallisaw Central 390-415 – 805.

Individual leaders: 1, Shelbie Black (Nowata) 72-74 – 146; 2, Addison Losornio (Claremore Christian) 73-75 – 148; 3, Kate Goodwin (Riverfield) 73-76 – 149; 4, Perri McGill (Turner) 74-76 – 150; 5, Sierra Holden (Fletcher) 73-78 – 151; 6, Jayli Roper (Oktaha) 76-79 – 155; 7, Tracy McGill (Turner) 81-76 – 157; 8, Kaylee Petersen (Chisholm) 80-79 – 159; 9 (tie), Andi McGill (Turner) 77-83 –- 160 and Ami Adkisson (Timberlake) 78-82 – 160.

CLASS 2A At Oakwood CC, Enid (par-71) Team leaders: 1, Laverne 324-316-314 – 954; 2, Rejoice Christian 319-333-333 – 985; 3, Chisholm 336-323-341 – 1,001; 4, Christian Heritage 326335-354 – 1,015; 5, Okla. Bible 347-333-345 – 1,025; 6, Kiefer 348-340-349 – 1,037; 7, Haworth 352-351-347 – 1,050; 8, Velma-Alma 365-344-366 – 1,085; 9, Tipton 370-358-368 – 1,096; 10, Thackerville 358-376-367 – 1,101.

Individual leaders: 1, Brad Dalke (Hobart) 70-6775 – 212; 2, Mason Overstreet (Laverne) 72-70-72 – 214; 3, Brandon Strathe (RC) 71-747-75 – 220; 4, Kody Whitehead (Cameron) 71-77-78 – 226; 5, Austin Hamilton (Stroud) 76-78-77 – 229; 6, Clay Dobbins (Chr. Heritage) 73-80-77 – 230; 7, Peyton Knell (Quinton) 74-77-80 – 231; 8 (tie), Hunter Laughlin (Mangum) 75-82-75 – 232 and Zac Owens (Mooreland) 80-75-77 – 232; 9 (tie), Matt Herring (Kiefer) 79-78-76 – 233 and Kason Cook (Hydro-Eakly) 77-76-80 – 233.

GIRLS May 7-8 CLASS 6A At Ponca City CC (par72) Team leaders: 1, Union 318-308 – 626; 2, Broken Arrow 330-314 – 634; 3, Bixby 348-335 – 683; 4, Jenks 344-342 – 686; 5, Edmond Santa Fe 345348 – 693; 6, Owasso 353-349 – 702; 7, McGuin-

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