FORE Georgia Fall08C Web2

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Since its renovation by Clyde Johnstonin 2002, Pine Lakes has become the mostpopular of Jekyll’s three courses, and hasbeen completely over-seeded for thewinter. The original 1968 layout wasdesigned by DickWilson and Joe Lee, whocreated the Oleander (Wilson) and IndianMound (Lee) layouts individually.

Johnston's renovation included someextensive work on bunkers – both fairwayand green-side – and a re-design of thegreens, with the result making the coursethe most player-friendly of the three,although it has a bit more length. Mostlygenerous fairways and gentle greens

Jekyll Island Golf Resort has long beena favorite of Georgia golfers, with threequality 18-hole layouts and a unique 9-holer that provides a memorable glimpseinto golf ’s past. For those who valueaffordability, you’ll have a hard timefinding a better bang for your buck, withnew internet specials helping even more inthat regard.

B y M i k e B l u m

ith winter weatherapproaching, golf becomesa less comfortable diver-sion for most Georgia

residents, especially those in the northernreaches of the state.With the U.S. economy in distress, golf

travel is likely to take a significant hit inthe immediate future. But for Georgianslooking to get away to slightly warmerclimes and get in a few rounds over thewinter months without venturing greatdistances, the answer can be found a rela-tively short drive away along the state’ssoutheastern coast.St. Simons and Jekyll Islands offer

plenty of golf in mostly moderate weatherconditions over the winter months, andcan accommodate the entire spectrum ofvisitors from a fiscal standpoint. Thecoastal destinations include some of thebest golf for the money you’ll encounteranywhere (Jekyll Island), one of thecountry’s most respected upscale resorts(Sea Island Golf Club) and two excellentcourses that fall somewhere in between onthe economic ladder (Hampton Club andSea Palms).

G e o r g i a G o l f B u s i n e s s

GeorgiaGolf CourseOwners

Association

w w w . g g c o a . c o m

770-235-0735Davis Love ends yearwith win at Disney

Sonny Skinner amongQ-school finalists

Matt Peterson claimsPlayer of Year honor

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[ See Georgia coastal golf, page 6 ]

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Hampton Club on St. Simons Island

Winter golf haven a short driveGeorgia coast offers diverse options

2 G O L F F O R E G E O R G I A . C O M F A L L 2 0 0 8

3G O L F F O R E G E O R G I A . C O M2 0 0 8 F A L L

4 G O L F F O R E G E O R G I A . C O M

By Steve GodleyPGA Golf ProfessionalJekyll Island Golf Club

In my 25 years of providinggolf instruction, many studentsseem to seek two elusive basicsfrom a golf lesson---distanceand consistency. The studentsexplain that their game is “onagain - off again” and that theyseem to lack the distance theyshould be achieving. Althougheach student is unique, theyare generally well grounded in fundamen-tals with one exception. There is a lack oftarget awareness and/or alignment. Thesecritical elements, whenmissing, present theplayer from swinging the club along theintended target line. Consequently, inmanycases the ball becomes the target, pro-ducing a myriad of inappropriate anglesand planes making it difficult to maintainthe desired consistent repetitive golf swing.Another detriment to achieving distance

and consistency is the motion commonlyreferred to as “Coming over the top”. Moreadvanced players will recognize thismotionand return to the fundamentals to correctthe problem, or seek help from a profes-sional, while the average player willcontinue to struggle through. On a daywhen his timing is very good, a player canget awaywith thismotion. But let timing beoff slightly andhe is going tobe in for a longday. This common problem is caused byfaulty alignment; a backswing that is toomuch to the inside and no targetawareness.

AlignmentMany students do one thing consistently.They aim to the right of their intendedtarget. That is they aim their clubface at the

target pretty well, but also aim their bodyat the same target. Herein lies a basicproblem in improper alignment.While thisseems to be correct to the golfer, we as

instructors are able to view thebody as being well right of theintended target line.

Most players understand thedefinition of parallel, but do notunderstand how it relates to theproper set up in golf. Set-up iswhere we establish our targetline (ball to target) and our bodyshould be aligned parallel tothis established line, just as if we

were on a railroad track, with the ball onone side and our body on the other. Thismental image will give us the greatestchance of swinging the club down thetarget line and toward our intended target.The “over the top” motion is caused by

an effort to pull the ball back to our target.Themind knows when the target is behindyou. To illustrate this I have my studentsstand behind the ball and extend theirarms in front of them, shoulder widthapart, parallel but not converging. If yourbody is aligned square to a straight linefrom your eyes to your target, then yourclubface is going to be aligned square to astraight line from your ball to a spot wellright of the target.If the alignment at set-up has been too

far to the right, making the adjustment toparallel will initially feel strange; as thoughyou are aiming well left. This change in theset-up may cause pulled shots becauseyou are so used to starting your swingwithyour upper body and coming over theshot. Remember, the ball goes where youtell it. Alignment is the key and the clubhas to be traveling down the intendedtarget line to bring about both distanceand consistency. If you can easily rotateyour head left and see your target, you are

usually pretty good. If you have to lift yourhead and turn it left, odds are that you areaimed well right.

The Inside MoveOn the backswing, the club should be kepton the intended target line as long as pos-sible and allowed to rotate inside naturally.This will help maintain the proper planeand allow you to return the club to theaddress position. A backswing that is toomuch inside creates a flat plane thatgolfers try to correct on the way down bycoming “over the top”. You should alwaysremember the target line. It doesn't stop atthe ball, it extends on behind.

The Ball is NotOur TargetEveryone is fascinated with distance in thisgame. After all, we see and hear about tourplayers hitting the ball over 300 yards, sowhy can't we? The difference is that theseplayers have spent a great deal of timemaking sure that their fundamentals (grip,aim and posture) are sound, so that theycan concentrate on getting the ball to thetarget. Clubhead speed and solidness ofcontact produces distance.Amateur golfers equate brute force with

distance, not swinging the club and get-ting as much possible speed as can bedelivered to the ball. The average amateurgolfer is not physically prepared to achievethe extreme distances he would desire.Our shoulders are very slowmoving, so hit-ting from the top with our shoulders doesnot give us the desired effect. All this doesis make us very tired.We do not “hit” a golf ball. We “swing” a

golf club on a proper target line and allowthe ball to get squarely in the way. Veryathletic people, older people who havelost some flexibility and muscle tone andbeginners are all guilty of “hitting at” theball in an effort to gain distance.

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BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Bud Robison,West Point, Ga

Marten Olsson, The Club at River Forest

Steve Godley, Jekyll Island Golf Club

Bob Elmore, Bacon Park GC

Shawn McKinnon, Berkeley Hills CC

Richard Hatcher, Ansley GC

Jeff Dunovant, First Tee of East Lake

Scott Mahr, Barnsley Gardens Resort

Clark Spratlin, Blue Ridge Golf & River Club

Dan Mullins, Classic Golf Management

JoshWilliams, Savannah Golf Club

Rodger Hogan, Royal Lakes Golf & CC

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Mike Paull

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR Pat Day

JUNIOR GOLF DIRECTOR Scott Gordon

OPERATIONS MANAGER Jeff Ashby

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Forecast

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Instruction Fore You

Hull takes PNC qualifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Keppler barely avoids DQ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

First time PNC qualifiers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Peterson Player of Year . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Love ends winless drought . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Georgians move up to PGA Tour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

PGA Tour qualifying updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20-21

Golf Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Chip Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

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

Golf FOREWomen. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Course reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Ball Not the Target

complexes more than offset the slight dif-ference in yardage (it’s only 6,700 yardsfrom the back tees and 6,340 from the nextset), and water is not as great a factor as onits sister courses.Pine Lakes’ name is an accurate descrip-

tion from a visual standpoint, but neitherthe trees nor small bodies of water are seriousconcerns. There are a few exceptions, mostnotably the demanding pair of par 4s thatconclude the two nines. You have to hit itsignificantly off target to find most of thetrouble, with the re-positioned fairwaybunkers more a concern for longer hitters.The greens added a little more undula-

tion, and with some re-working of thesurrounding bunkers, more of a premiumhas been placed on approach shots. Thechanges also included the installation ofsome kid-friendly tees that make Pine Lakesa wonderful course for families.

Indian Mound is a typically well-craftedJoe Lee design, with Lee’s penchant forstrategic bunkering and a decent amount ofwater in play giving the layout a little bitedespite its lack of serious length.

Oleander is also on the short side, butsome uncomfortably encroaching tree linesand the exposed nature of some of the holesto the ever-present ocean breezes make it abit more of a challenge that its sister coursesacross the street.Wilson’s classic design places a premium

on precision both off the tee and anapproach shots and makes it a thoroughlyentertaining challenge, with a terrific groupof distinctive par 5s and one of state’sstrongest par 4s (No. 12). Oleander isfavored by better players and was the pri-mary course when Jekyll Island hosted theGeorgia Open in the 1990s.No trip to Jekyll is complete without a

visit to the 9-hole Great Dunes layout,which has several holes unlike almost any-thing you’ve encountered. The term quirkydoes not adequately describe some of theholes featuring very unusual design conceptsand greens complexes.Great Dunes is a lot of fun, as well as

opening a window to golf ’s past. As JekyllDirector of Golf Harry Kicklighter says, thetypical reaction of first time visitors is“whoa.”

Sea Palms, located in the middle of St.Simons Island, features 27 holes, with theWest nine located across the street from theoriginal 18 and playing like a cross between

a regulation and executive course, measuringjust 2,460 yards with four par 3s and somepar 4s and 5s of modest length.The original 18, designed by George

Cobb, is a traditional, resort-style layout,with overhanging trees on many holes a con-stant reminder of the nearby presence of theocean and the necessity for hitting it straightoff the tee.At just under 6,500 yards (6,100 from the

next set), Sea Palms is very accommodatingto players who don’t hit tour-length drives,but the yardage is a bit deceiving. Sea Palmslost about 225 yards five years ago when thepar-4 ninth was altered to a semi-islandgreen par 3, with the course now playing asa par 71.If you can keep the ball between the ever-

present tree lines, Sea Palms has its share ofscoring opportunities, but some of the moreinviting holes are also among the most per-ilous. About half the holes have water inplay, but overhanging moss and tree limbsremain the more constant concern, althoughyou are able to recover from errant shots,provide they aren’t too far off target.Cobb’s thoughtful, well-crafted layout is

understated for a resort course, but its tradi-tional design and assortment of palms, pinesand palmettos make it a worthwhile attrac-tion for locals and vacationers alike. Thecourse rating and slope suggest that SeaPalms is not an especially difficult course,but making it through a subtly challengingback nine is no easy task, especially the stouttrio of finishing holes.The Hampton Club will be undergoing

some restoration work in 2009, and will beclosed from April 1-October 1. The coursewill be re-grassed tee to green, with thebunkers renovated and a few new onesadded in an effort to make the course con-ditions again match the quality of Joe Lee’swonderful layout, which will be celebratingits 20th anniversary in ’09.In preparation for the re-grassing,

Hampton Club has been completely over-seeded for the winter, which will ensurequality playing conditions until the coursecloses for six months. The club recently

hosted the GSGA Senior 4-BallChampionship shortly after having barefairways preceding the over-seeding.The Hampton Club, which is owned and

managed by the King and Prince Resort, hasenjoyed the reputation as one of the state’smost enjoyable and aesthetically appealinglayouts. The course is located along themarshes at the northwestern tip of St.Simons Island, with four of the holes sepa-rated from the main body of the course by aseries of bridges.The holes on the marsh island include

one of Georgia’s most memorable ones – thepar-5 14th – but the remainder of thelayout is not overwhelmed by their appeal.Lee’s design includes a number of tradi-tional, tree-lined holes, along with severalwhere water is a significant concern.Like most of its fellow coastal courses, the

Hampton Club is short by modern stan-dards, but the relatively narrow corridorsand Lee’s well-bunkered greens complexesmake it an enjoyable challenge that will beenhanced by its restoration.

Sea Island Golf Club is the state’s pre-mier upscale resort, featuring threeoutstanding courses that are open to outsideplay, along with two members-only facilitiesthat are geographically separate from theresort layouts.The three accessible courses are Seaside,

Plantation and Retreat, the latter the formerSt. Simons Island Club that was extensivelyrenovated by Sea Island resident Davis LoveIII. Retreat is located across the street fromSeaside and Plantation, and is a bit removedfrom the marshes that give its sister layoutsmuch of their character, but the quality ofLove’s re-design has made it a big hit withthe club’s membership.Love added a number of new back tees

that lengthened the course significantly, butalso widened some extremely narrow corri-dors to make the layout much moreplayer-friendly for those playing fromshorter tees. A number of bunkers from JoeLee’s original design were removed to openapproach angles and allow for run up shots,with Love adding size and undulation to the

greens, while softening some of the sur-rounding areas.Hazards are not as prevalent as on the two

marsh-side courses, but Retreat features sev-eral outstanding holes with water playing amajor role, including one of the state’s greatshort par 4s (No. 6), and a terrific but per-ilous par-4 18th.

Plantation was renovated in the late1990s by Rees Jones, combining the orig-inal nine holes with Dick Wilson’s Retreatnine from 1960. The course bordersSeaside, but other than a relative handful ofholes, has more of a parkland feel, althoughwater is a serious presence on about halfthe holes.With some deep greenside bunkers and

testy putting surfaces, Plantation is more asecond shot course than neighboringSeaside, and features an interesting routing,with two stress-free opening holes, a toughmiddle stretch and several scoring opportu-nities at the end of the round. Considerablerisks accompany the scoring chances late inthe round, with Plantation a more thanworthy complement to the more heraldedlayout adjoining it.With its marsh-side setting, ocean views

and rugged sand dunes, Seaside is visuallyspectacular, but occasionally intimidatingfor the same reason, As demanding as it is,the course is surprisingly playable, althoughit can be rather daunting when the wind iswhipping and the landing area or greenlooms in the distance with all manner oftrouble in relatively close proximity.Tom Fazio combined the original Seaside

nine with Joe Lee’s early ‘70s Marshsidenine and with a few tweaks here and there,produced one of the country’s great golftreasures. The greens complexes, which fea-ture a number of close cut run-off areas, addto the distinct feel of the layout, which morethan matches its heralded reputation.The coastal golf scene extends beyond

Jekyll and St. Simons, with some qualitycourses in and around Brunswick and anoff-the-beaten-path gem (SapeloHammock) between Savannah and theGolden Isles.


Georgia coastal golf[ Continued from the cover ]

[ABOVE AND LEFT:] Sea Island Golf Club

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Hull adds another Georgia PGA victory

B y M i k e B l u m

eff Hull was unable to repeat hisGeorgia PGA Player of the Year titlefrom 2007, but he closed the Section’s2008 tournament schedule by addingto his growing list of victories.

Hull captured the Section’s ProfessionalChampionship, which doubles as a qualifierfor the 2009 PGA Professional NationalChampionship, edging Sonny Skinner byone stroke at Crystal Lake in Hampton.The Georgia PGA will have at least 10

representatives in next year’s PGA PNC,with Hull among seven state club profes-sionals to qualify at Crystal Lake. Skinnerwas one of three Section members alreadyin next year’s championship, and had alittle more incentive to play well in thetournament than Tim Weinhart andClark Spratlin, who also had securedspots on the 2009 PNC, which will beplayed next June in New Mexico.Skinner needed a victory to overtakeMatt

Peterson on the Divots Points List as thePlayer of the Year, but Peterson held on tobecome the fourth different Section memberto earn that honor the last four years.

Hull, an instructor at the University ofGeorgia golf course, posted scores of71-70—141 over two cold and windydays on one of the strongest new additionsto the metro Atlanta golf scene. The vic-tory earned Hull first place money of$4,500 and boosted him to third in thefinal points standings for 2008. Skinnerwas second at 142 after two rounds of1-under 71, moving up with birdies onthe final two holes.

Greg Lee, the 2004 tournament cham-pion, was third at 143 after holding thelead following an opening round 69. Lee,an assistant at Chicopee Woods, still hadthe lead after 27 holes at 4-under par, butthree bogeys over a 5-hole stretch on theback nine dropped him from the top ofthe leader board.

Kevin Roman, an assistant at CherokeeCountry Club, was one of four GeorgiaPGA members to qualify for the PNC forthe first time. (See story, page 12.) Heposted the low score of the tournament, asecond round 68, to take fourth at 144.Tying for fifth at 146 were Rivermont

CC head professional Matthew Evans,Ford Plantation head professional C.W.Canfield and veteran PNC qualifierStephen Keppler, who was very nearlydisqualified from the tournament for asecond straight year. (See story, page 10.)Because Skinner had already qualified

for the 2009 PNC thanks to his runner-up finish earlier this year in the ’08 PNCat Reynolds Plantation, the eighth placefinisher in the tournament also qualifiedfor next year’s event, with four playerstying for eighth at 148, Spratlinamong them.The playoff, which was conducted with

little remaining daylight, involvedCountry Club of the South instructorShawn Koch, the winner of the two pre-vious Georgia PGA tournaments;Savannah GC instructor Josh Williamsand Ansley Golf Club’s Settindown Creekhead professional Randy Brooks.Koch won on the second hole after

making consecutive pars on the par-518th. Brooks was eliminated when hebogeyed the first playoff hole, withWilliams taking bogey on the second extrahole after being penalized one stroke whenhis cart ran over his ball in the rough infading daylight.Both Capital City Club assistant Donn

Perno and Ansley GC Director of GolfPhil Taylor missed the playoff by onestroke, with Perno one of several competi-tors to have an excellent chance atqualifying but failing to capitalize on theopportunity.After a birdie at the par-5 12th, Perno

was 1-over for the day and the tourna-ment, but three-putted for bogey frominside 10 feet at the short, par-4 13th, andfollowed with bogeys at three of the nextfour holes.Atlanta Athletic Club Director of

Instruction Chan Reeves was 1-over forthe tournament after three birdies in a 4-hole stretch beginning at the par-5 eighth,but an 8 on the par-4 16th killed hishopes of qualifying.

Chris Knobloch, an instructor atSmoke Rise CC, was 2-over for the tour-nament after chipping in for eagle at theeighth, but was 4-over for his last fiveholes to join Reeves in missing the playoffby two.Like Reeves, Currahee Club head pro-

fessional John Wade was also done in byone bad hole. After a 9 on the eighth,Wade was 7-over for the day beforeplaying his final 10 holes in 1-under tomiss the playoff by three at 151.Hull opened with a 71, and was even

par for the tournament before going 4-under on a 5-hole stretch capped by aneagle at the par-5 12th. A bogey on thedifficult 14th cost Hull one stroke, but heplayed solidly otherwise down the stretchto maintain his lead, holing a few clutchpar putts coming down the stretch.“I was not ever concerned about win-

ning until I made eagle on 12,” Hull said.“That got me to 4-under and at thatpoint, I knew I had a shot to win. Beforethat, I was just trying to qualify. I did notgo in trying to win.”The victory was Hull’s second of the

year, adding to his title in the inauguralChicopee Woods Players Championship.It’s the third time in five years Hull haswon two tournaments in a season, takingthe Georgia PGA Championship andLake Oconee Classic in 2004, and theGriffin Classic and Georgia Open in2007.That leaves just the Atlanta Open and

Match Play Championship missing fromHull’s resume, and he has come very closeto an Atlanta Open victory, losing in aplayoff to Lee in 2003 and earning lowprofessional honors last year.Hull recently joined the instructional

staff at the University course, and said hisearly experience at his new teaching base“has been great. I’m very fortunate tobe there.”For the first time in years, Hull does not

have to spend a sizeable chunk of timeevery day on the road. A long time Athensarea resident, Hull has spent two stints asthe head professional at Port Armor (nowReynolds Landing) on Lake Oconee, aswell as time working as in instructor in the

Atlanta area. Most recently, he workedwith the Henry-Griffitts company, a jobthat kept him on the road a great deal.“I bought a new car in April, 2004, and

I’ve already got 120,000 miles on it,” Hullsaid. “Working only five miles away fromhome is kind of nice.”This will be the third time Hull has

qualified for the PNC. He tied for 41stthis year at Reynolds Plantation, whichincluded one round on the former PortArmor. Hull advanced to the SouthRegional PGA Championship severaltimes when that was held between Sectiontournaments and nationals, but only madeit past that stage once.Weinhart, an instructor at St. Marlo,

will be playing in the PGA PNC for the10th straight year, and has gone on toqualify for the PGA Championship fourtimes since 2002, including three of thelast four years. Weinhart, a 4-time GeorgiaPGA Player of the Year from 2002-05, wasfifth this year, turning in several top fin-ishes but failing to pick up a win in aSection event.Lee will be competing in the PNC for

the fifth time in the last six years, missingby just one stroke of qualifying for thePGA Championship in his first start in theevent in 2003. He finished sixth on theDivots point list this year, including histhird Assistants’ Championship title.Spratlin, the head professional at Blue

Ridge River & Golf Club, which is sched-uled to open next year, also has comewithin one stroke of qualifying for thePGA Championship, falling just short in2007. Spratlin came close again this year,tying for 33rd at Reynolds Plantation,with one bad hole costing him a spot inthe field at Oakland Hills. This will be thefourth straight appearance at nationalsfor Spratlin, who earned his spot withhis victory in the ’08 GeorgiaPGA Championship at Sea Island GC.He ended ’08 seventh in the GeorgiaPGA standings.Skinner, a veteran tour pro who is a

teaching professional at River Pointe inAlbany, placed second this year atReynolds Plantation in the PNC to earnhis first ever spot in a major champi-onship. Skinner was the Section’s Player ofthe Year in 2006 and nearly won it thisyear. He was also second in the AtlantaOpen, among five top-5 finishes on theyear, and also was second in the GeorgiaPGA’s two qualifiers for Nationwide Tourevents in the state. Skinner has qualifiedfor the PNC all three years since transi-tioning from a full time tour player to aclub professional who competes on theNationwide Tour on a limited basis.


J

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Keppler avoids DQ, qualifies for PNC

B y M i k e B l u m

tephen Keppler was exactly 11 sec-onds from being disqualified fromthe Georgia PGA ProfessionalChampionship for the secondstraight year.

Last year, Keppler fell victim to a deci-sion by the PGA of America (sincechanged) that devices used to determineyardages were not allowed in qualifiers forthe PGA Professional NationalChampionship.The devices were allowed in Georgia

PGA events, but not in the Section’s quali-fier at Athens Country Club for the PGAPNC. Keppler, the PGA Director of Golfat Marietta Country Club, forgot aboutthat, and when he was reminded of his vio-lation, he reported it to an official andruefully accepted his disqualification.In the most recent PNC qualifier at

Crystal Lake, Keppler left his home innorth Cobb County about two hoursbefore his tee time for the final round at thesouthside Atlanta course. An accident on I-75 South blocked three left lanes, and witha little more than an hour to go before hewas to tee off in the final group, Kepplerfelt there was no cause for concern.

Unfortunately, the three blocked laneswarning quickly changed to all lanesblocked. Keppler was able to get off theinterstate, and got on his cell phone to theclub in search of directions. He even calledhis wife at home, who called up Map Queston her computer to assist in the effort.Traffic off the interstate wasn’t much

better than the stalled traffic on 75, andKeppler called Tournament Director PatDay at the course and told him, “There’sno way I’m going to make it.”Just after making the call, Keppler

noticed that traffic had begun to move a biton 75, got back on it and called Day again,letting him know he was on his way.Keppler’s tee time was 1:40 and he

arrived at the tee at approximately 1:43.30.That was sufficient to keep him from beingdisqualified but not in time to avoid a two-stroke penalty for missing his tee time.“I got my shoes on, took a ball out of my

bag and made a couple of practice swings,”Keppler said. “I put my tee in the groundand hit the ball with 11 seconds to spare.”Things didn’t get any better for Keppler

when he took six strokes on the par-5opening hole at Crystal Lake. Adding thetwo-shot penalty for his tardy arrival, andKeppler had a nice, round 8 on his score-card. That negated much of the positivevibe from his opening round 70 which hadhim in second place before his brush withdisqualification.Keppler said he got over last year’s DQ

fairly quickly, but admitted, “It was myfault. I was frustrated. I’ve been playing intournaments for a lot of years and I hadnever been disqualified before. And I hadnever missed my tee time before.”A pitch shot that came up short on the

first hole did not improve Keppler’s mentaloutlook, and he needed to hole a slipperydownhill putt on the hole to save bogey. Hesettled down at that point and ran off astring of pars. He said he “felt better” afterhis first birdie of the day on the seventhhole, and followed with a nice par save atthe eighth and another birdie at the ninth.At that point, Keppler was 1-under for

the tournament, and was well under thescore that was going to be needed toqualify, and was only a few shots off thelead.“I got things turned around and got back

into it on the first nine,” said Keppler, whoadmitted to feeling “snake bit” in the PNCqualifier after what transpired in his lasttwo appearances.“At 1:30 (ten minutes before his tee

time), I thought there was no way I wasgoing to make it. I was just about to turnthe car around.”As Keppler stood on the 12th tee, all

those thoughts had vanished, and hedecided to play aggressively off the tee. Heattempted to carry a fairway bunker butdid not quite make it, with his ball plug-ging in its face.Instead of a possible birdie which would

have put him in position to challenge thelead, Keppler wound up with a bogey thatstalled any momentum he had built. Threeconsecutive bogeys at 15, 16 and 17 fol-lowed, sending Keppler to the 18th teewith the idea he had to make birdie on thepar 5 to qualify for the PNC.His third shot came up well short of the

pin, leaving Keppler with a putt of some 40feet. Because several players ahead of himhad struggled down the stretch, Keppleronly needed to two-putt for par to advance,

but he did not know that.Keppler proceeded to bang his long

birdie try into the cup, enabling him toqualify for the PNC with a stroke to spare.He wound up tied for fourth at 146,with his second round 76 in difficult con-ditions not looking so bad after his 8 onthe first hole.For most of his tenure as a club profes-

sional in the state, Keppler was a fixture inthe PGA PNC, but this will be his firstappearance in the event in several years.Keppler, the Georgia PGA’s Player of theYear from 1993-96, has competed in thechampionship 12 times, including 11straight from 1994-2004, but has not beenback since ’04. He qualified for the 2006PNC, but did not play due to a family tripscheduled to his native England.In recent years, Keppler has been only an

occasional tournament participant inGeorgia PGA events, spending more of histime watching his children play sports thancompeting in tournaments.After dominating the Georgia PGA for

much of the 1990s, Keppler has only onewin in the Section in the past decade (thefinal Eddie Wiggins Classic at LandingsGC in Warner Robins in 2004), but hasnotched a sizeable number of top finishesduring that span, including four straightrunner-up showings in the SectionChampionship.“I should play a little more while I’m still

competitive. I have nobody to blame butmyself,” Keppler says. “My kids are playingsports and we’re relatively busy at the club,and I have to do a better job of managingmy time. Maybe this will turn it around alittle bit.”Keppler says the club’s membership at

Marietta CC “encourage me to play,” butadmits to having difficulty making himselfdo the work required to keep his game atthe level its been. He is also not as moti-vated to play as he’s been, although with his50th birthday just a little over two yearsaway, he has two other majors to look for-ward to outside the state.The last time Keppler appeared on the

national stage was the 2001 PGAChampionship, which was played atAtlanta Athletic Club. It was his fourthappearance in the event, but playing in amajor in his adopted home town was notKeppler’s career highlight.That distinction still belongs to the 1995

BellSouth Classic, where he made the mostserious run at a PGA Tour victory of anyclub professional in the past three decades,finishing a close third behind winner MarkCalcavecchia.


SStephen Keppler

Barely makes tee time after wreck stalls traffic

Divots 2008 GeorgiaPGA points leaders1. Matt Peterson, U. of Ga. GC . . . . 72622. Sonny Skinner, River Pointe. . . . 70753. Jeff Hull, U. of Georgia GC . . . . . 68464. Shawn Koch, CC of the South . . 49865. TimWeinhart, St. Marlo . . . . . . . . 49786. Greg Lee, ChicopeeWoods . . . . 49027. Clark Spratlin,

Blue Ridge GC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48948. Craig Stevens, Fox Creek. . . . . . . 44199. Brian Dixon, Fox Creek. . . . . . . . . 414610. Winston Trively, Crooked Oak . . 340311. Chan Reeves, Atlanta AC. . . . . . . 315512. Jordan Arnold, Achasta GC . . . . 284113. John Duta, TPC Sugarloaf . . . . . . 279714. Todd Peterson, Marietta CC . . . . 278215. Gary Cressend, Augusta CC . . . . 273516. Tommy Brannen, Augusta CC . . 262717. Wyatt Detmer, Orchard Hills . . . 256918. Randy Brooks,

Ansley-Settindown . . . . . . . . . . . . 224619. Stephen Keppler, Marietta CC. . 223220. Will Hutter, Sea Island GC . . . . . . 2190

B y M i k e B l u m

hile the Georgia PGA’s listof qualifiers for the 2009PGA Professional NationalChampionship contained

some of the Section’s more prominentplayers, there were several new names alongside the usual suspects.Four Georgia PGA members will be

making their first ever appearances in thenational club professional championship,with a fifth player in line to join them if hemakes the field next June in NewMexico asan alternate.The first time qualifiers are head profes-

sionals Matthew Evans of RivermontCountry Club and C.W. Canfield of theFord Plantation, and instructors KevinRoman of Cherokee CC and Shawn Kochof Country Club of the South, who earnedhis spot in a playoff. Savannah GCinstructor Josh Williams is the first alter-nate after being eliminated on the secondextra hole, and is likely to earn a spot innext year’s PNC.

Roman placed fourth at 144 in therecent Georgia PGA ProfessionalChampionship at Crystal Lake inHampton, with Canfield and Evans tyingfor fifth at 146. The top seven finishers notalready qualified for the 2009 PNCadvanced, with Koch getting the final spotat 148. Sonny Skinner, who placedsecond, was already in next year’s fieldalong with Clark Spratlin, who tied foreighth with Koch and two others, and TimWeinhart.A final round 68, the low score in cold,

windy conditions, propelled Roman tonationals for the first time. He said hemade it to regionals “three or four times”when he was a PGA member in New York,but never made it past that stage, with thePGA eliminating its regional qualifiers afew years ago.Roman shot 76 the first day of the tour-

nament with two tee shots out of bounds,but said he was “comfortable with where Istood after the round. I could have beenright there to win it. I hit a lot of goodshots, and in those conditions, that’s all youcan try to do.”While the conditions gave most of the

field a problem on an already difficultcourse, Roman felt at home in the chilly,

breezy weather.“I like playing in the wind. The more

wind, the more I like it,” the Utica, N.Y.,native said. Roman has been at Cherokeefor six years, moving South in part “to getout of the snow.”Roman qualified for the 1993 U.S.

Open and says he has competed in “six orseven other Tour events, but I haven’tplayed well down here.” Roman hadshoulder surgery last year, and now that heis healthy, is looking for some more resultslike his final round in the PNC qualifier.On a day when no one else broke 70,

Roman fired a 68 that included four birdiesand no bogeys on his scorecard, He hit 14of 18 greens, getting up and down all fourtimes he missed, holing some 10-footers forpar “to keep the round going.”

Evans was competing in the PNC quali-fier for the first time, and turned in twosolid rounds of 73 to advance. He movedclose to the lead on the back nine with abirdie at 13 to put him 2-under for the dayand 1-under for the tournament, but fellback a bit on Crystal Lake’s difficult closingstretch of holes.Like Roman, Evans had to travel a long

way from his home to Georgia, leaving hisnative Scotland to play college golf at Berryin Rome. He decided to stay in the U.S.,and spent four years as an assistant atRivermont before working for two years asthe Director of Golf for a cruise ship.Evans returned to Rivermont as its head

professional three years ago, and achieved

his Class A status late last year to make himeligible to compete in the PNC.“I’m just getting back into tournament

golf,” says Evans, who has not competedthat much since his college days. “I wantedget my feet wet and I was lucky to finishthe last tournament of the year on ahigh note.”Evans was a member of Berry’s national

championship team as a junior and alsowon an individual conference title. He fin-ished third in an international juniortournament in North Carolina to attractthe attention of some American collegecoaches, and with the exception of his stinton the cruise ship, has been in Georgiaever since.

Canfield played his college golf at WestPoint, beginning his club professionalcareer after completing his military serviceas an officer in the Transportation Corps. Anative of West Virginia, Canfield came toGeorgia five years ago from the PGA’sSouth Texas Section, where he worked atHouston Country Club.“Golf is my passion,” Canfield says.

“Once I got out of the military, I got intothe golf business.”Canfield was a top player in the South

Texas Section, but has not been an activeplayer in the Georgia Section since movinghere.“I have three little boys ages 7, 4 and 3,”

Canfield noted. “That’s why I’m notplaying much golf.”After an opening 74, Canfield hung right

around par for most of his second round,with 2-over looking to be the cutoff foradvancing to nationals for most of the day.Canfield birdied the sixth after back-to-back bogeys at the previous two holes, andparred the next nine holes to remain 2-overfor the tournament with three to play.A bogey at the 16th dropped him to

3-over for the tournament, and he came tothe par-5 18th feeling that he needed abirdie to qualify.From 70 yards out, Canfield says he took

“about six extra practice swings” with hislob wedge, and stuck it within a foot of thecup for the birdie. As it turned out, a parwould have been sufficient, but that didnot diminish Canfield’s satisfaction fromhitting a quality shot with something onthe line.“That was a great feeling,” said Canfield,

who added that it “brought back somememories from junior and college golf.It’s been a while since I’ve been in thatposition.”Echoing similar comments from Roman

and Evans, Canfield said it’s “a great honorto represent the Section at the nationalchampionship.”The Ford Plantation is a private equity

club just outside Savannah in RichmondHill, with the Pete Dye design originallyknown as Ogeechee GC when it opened 20years ago.Unlike his three fellow PNC first-timers,

Koch’s name is a familiar one in GeorgiaPGA tournament competition. He cameinto the event off consecutive wins in thetwo previous Section events – the MatchPlay Championship and the GriffinClassic, and won the Yamaha Atlanta Openin 2006.After an opening round 76, Koch was

back in the pack and began his final roundoff the 10th tee. With three birdies on hisfirst six holes, Koch moved inside the cutline for qualifying for nationals, but fivebogeys on his next eight holes dropped himto 2-over for the day and 6-over for thetournament, seemingly out of contentionfor one of the seven available spots.But Koch responded with birdies on his

last two holes of the day to finish at 4-over,and when several players struggled on thefinishing holes at Crystal Lake, Koch foundhimself in a three-way playoff for one spot.Koch, who was in the first group off the

10th tee, had to wait more than two hoursafter he finished his round to start theplayoff in much colder conditions withvery little daylight. He managed a pair ofpars on the 18th, good enough to earn hima trip to New Mexico next June.On the strength of an eagle at eighth and

birdies at 12 and 13, Williams was 1-underfor the day and 2-over for the tournament,but bogeyed two of his last three holes,including one at the 18th. He bogeyed the18th again on the second playoff hole afterhis cart ran over his ball in the rough in thelong-since-faded daylight.


C.W. Canfield

C.W. Canfield Matthew Evans

Some new namesamong PNC qualifiers

Roman, Evans, Canfield,Koch to make first starts

W

Peterson earns Player of the Year honorsUGA head pro makes switch from life on tour to club job

B y M i k e B l u m

fter 15 years as a tour player, 11of them on what is now theNationwide Tour, Matt Petersonreached a decision in 2004 thathe had“had enough.”

Peterson was coming off back-to-backsub-par seasons, had undergone shouldersurgery andwas finding it increasingly diffi-cult to spend so much time away from hiswife and young children.The Business/Management Science

degree he had earned from the Universityof Georgia 15 years ago gave Petersonsome possible options outside the golfbusiness, but the computer field hadchanged drastically in that time.“When you’re out playing and you’re at

the age I was what, it’s in the back of yourmind,” Peterson said of a possible secondcareer. “I had done well on the NationwideTour, but if your game falls off, you have tomake a decision.“It’s something I had always thought

about; once I get out of golf, what am Igoing to do? I was looking to find some-thing with a little more stability.”

Peterson, whohad settled in Athens aftergraduating from Georgia in 1989, did nothave to look far. Several months after hislast Nationwide Tour start in 2004, heaccepted the position as head professionalat the University of Georgia Golf Course,and will celebrate his fourth anniversarythere in early 2009.Although his career as a tour player was

over, Peterson was not done as a competi-tive golfer. He began playing in GeorgiaPGA tournaments, but it took a while forhim to adjust to competing on an infre-quent basis.Peterson scored his first victory in a

Georgia PGA event in the SectionChampionship in the summer of 2007 at SeaIslandGolfClub, shootinga final round66onthe Plantation Course towin by four strokes.In his next start, Peterson reached the

finals of the Match Play Championshipbefore losing to Greg Lee. He came rightback after that to win the Section’s qualifierfor the 2008 PGA Professional NationalChampionship at Athens Country Club,with that tournament the first one on theGeorgia PGA’s schedule for the ’08 season.Peterson began 2008 the same way he

ended ’07, winning the Yamaha Atlanta

Open at Newnan Country Club. Althoughhe did not win again in ’08, a string of solidshowings enabled him to hold on to hislead in theDivots points standings, earninghim Georgia PGA Player of theYear honors.“It definitely means a lot,” Peterson said

of his award. He edged out Sonny Skinnerand Jeff Hull, the 2006 and 2007 Players ofthe Year, by a narrow margin for the title,with the outcome still in doubt when theSection held its final event of ’08.“Every point counts,”Peterson offered. “It

was close at the end.”After his stretch of three wins and a

runner-up finish in four starts spanning theend of the 2007 schedule and the start ofthe ’08 season, Peterson admitted he was“not quite as sharp” for the latter stages of’08. “I played well in the SectionChampionship, but I really haven’t playedor practiced that much.”Other than his tournament appearances,

Peterson’s off days are typically spent withhis family, and it was the time he spentaway from home that drove his decision toend his tour career.Peterson turned pro after graduating

from Georgia, and enjoyed someimmediate success on regionalmini-tours before qualifying for theBen Hogan (now Nationwide) Tour in1992. He returned to the mini-toursin ’93, and scored a dramaticplayoff victory in the Georgia

Open that year over Georgia PGA Player ofthe Year Stephen Keppler to help propelhim back to the Nike Tour (same tour, newtitle sponsor) in ’94.For the next eight years, that tour was

Peterson’s home, and he was consistentlyamong its top players during that span. Buthe never was quite able to play wellenough to earn his PGA Tour card, missingby the slimmest of margins in 1995 whenhewas 11thon themoney list, one spot outof the top 10 finish necessary to move up.Peterson scored his lone tour victory that

year, rallying from a 6-stroke deficit after 54holes towinwhat turned out to be the finalCentral Georgia Open in Macon. He playeda 7-hole stretch on the back nine at RiverNorth (now Healy Point) in 7-under to pullaway from challengers Franklin Langham,Frank Lickliter, Jerry Kelly and Allen Doyle.But in the Tour Championship at

Settindown Creek in Roswell, Petersondropped from ninth on the money list to11th, even though he posted the lowestfinal 36-hole total among the 50-playerfield to finish tied for 12th.Peterson spent the next six seasons in

golf’s version of baseball’s Class AAAbeforefinally getting his shot at the majors. He

placed 12th on the money list in 2001 (thetop 15 made it that year), setting a tourrecord for greens in regulation.When he moved up to the PGA Tour,

Peterson was the second leading all-timemoneywinner on the NationwideTour, butthe success he had enjoyed there did notcontinue once he reached the top.Peterson played respectably as a PGA

Tour rookie, but respectable wasn’tenough. He earned more than $266,000 toplace 164th on the money list, not highenough to retain his playing privileges. Heturned in several strong showings thesecond half of the season, most notably inSan Antonio, where a second round 62 gothim in contention for victory through theweekend and left him in a tie for 10th.“Effort-wise, I have no regrets,” Peterson

said of his only season on the PGATour. “If Icould have gotten another year past thatfirst year and gotten status, I think it couldhave been different, but I did not play wellthat year.”Peterson had some serious family con-

cerns off the course that year as well, andafter two unproductive seasons on theNationwide Tour, the desire to be at homeon a more regular basis won out over hisdrive to compete.“Looking back at the travel, I wonder

‘how did I ever do that?” That was a lotharder than it’s given credit for.”Although Peterson’s last two seasons on

the NationwideTour did not gowell, he didmanage one more highlight before callingit a career.In an effort to prepare for the 2003

Nationwide Tour, he entered Monday qual-ifying for the PGA Tour event at Doral andmade it into the field. Scores of 68 and 70the first two rounds put him in solid posi-tion after 36 holes, and he got to 7-underpar on the day in the third round to brieflytake the lead before a pair of late doublebogeys ended his torrid run.Peterson finished the tournament tied

for 27th, but there were not many bright

spots for him after that. A year-and-a-halflater, he was done as a tour player.“That was a bit of a surprise,” Peterson

said of his fleetingmoment in the spotlight.“It was the first thing I had played in thatyear. In the Monday qualifier I played verywell, and carried that over the third day. Istarted making putts; everything I lookedat was going in.”Eventually, Peterson’s putter cooled off

and an errant shot or two ended any hopesof being a serious contender the final round.“I got into a situation of ‘Whoa, what’s

going on here? I got to a point where Ithought too much. If I had just rode thewave, I would have finished better.”After the 2004 season, Peterson thought

he was done as a tour player, but thanks tohis new job, he got another shot in ’07.Peterson was given a sponsor’s exemptioninto the Nationwide Tour event at JenningsMill just outside Athens, and after shooting68 the first day, made the cut.His victory in the Section Championship

last year earned him a berth in the ’08Athens Regional Foundation Classic, and hemade the cut again. As the Section’s Playerof the Year for 2008, Peterson gets a spot inone of the state’s two Nationwide Tourevents, and is expected to make a thirdstraight start in the tournament next year.Peterson says his transition from tour

player to club professional has been“prettyeasy, and I have Dave to thank for that.”Peterson was referring to Dave Cousart,

theDirector of Golf at theUniversity course,who heads up an excellent staff that alsoincludes instructor Ed Katchur and recentaddition Jeff Hull, the Section’s ’07 Player ofthe Year.“I had been in Athens for 20 years and

played and practiced at the Universitycourse,” said Peterson, citing a “comfortlevel” he felt in his new position. “I kneweverybody, and it was pretty easy to jumpin in that respect.The transitionhas been asgood as I could have hoped for.”Working at a University course is not that

muchdifferent fromyour standard daily feefacility, Peterson says, but there are someunique aspects of working in Athens.Weekends in the Fall are geared around theBulldogs’ football schedule, which largelydetermines how busy the course isgoing to be.Because of his schedule and the pres-

ence of other quality instructors on staff,Peterson does not teach a great deal.He describes teaching as “one of thetoughest parts of the job, but also one ofthemost rewarding. It’s a big responsibilityand challenge. It’s like putting apuzzle together.”


A

Matt Peterson

GEORGIA

PGAPro-file

B y M i k e B l u m

hen the PGA Tourwrapped up its 2008season, a number ofprominent veterans were

among those who failed to finish in the top125 on the money list to retain exemptstatus for 2009.Among them were the likes of David

Toms, Mark Calcavecchia, Tom Lehman,Jesper Parnevik and Chris DiMarco.When the Fall Series of tournaments

began in September, Sea Island residentDavis Love III was also on that list. At thetime, Love was a distant 155th on thePGA Tour in earnings with $377,550. In17 starts, Love had finished in the top 20just once all year, a tie for 19th in theBritish Open.Love was already coming off the worst

season of his professional career in 2007, ayear which ended with Love undergoingankle surgery after being injured during acasual round of golf in Columbus.As a result of the injury, Love missed the

end of the 2007 season and the first monthof the ’08 campaign, and displayed theeffects of the injury and his absence fromtournament action when he returned tothe tour.When the FedExCup playoffs got under

way in August with the top 144 players onthe 2008 PGA Tour, Love was not amongthe qualifiers, leaving him with an unsched-uled six-week vacation from his job of twodecades.While most of the PGATour’s top players

put their clubs in the closet after the TourChampionship, Love elected to give the2008 season one last shot. Or more pre-cisely, six of them.Love decided to play the last six tourna-

ments of the PGATour schedule in an effortto salvage his season. He didn’t have to.Because of his standing on the PGA Tour’scareer money list (he began 2008 fourthwith more than $35 million), Love wouldhave been exempt for 2009 even if hepacked it in for the season and wound uparound 165th on the final money list.After not seriously contending in a PGA

Tour event since his last win in Greensboroin the summer of 2006, Love tied for thirdin his Fall Series opener at the Turning

Stone Resort and was sixth two weeks laterin Las Vegas. Those two finishes boostedLove to 125th on the money list, andanother solid showing in Scottsdale, Ariz.,resulted in a tie for 11th and a guaranteedhim a spot in the top 125 at the end ofthe season.Playing his sixth tournament in six

weeks, Love concluded his 2008 season atthe Disney World Resort in Orlando inmemorable fashion.Closing with back-to-back rounds of 64,

Love claimed his first victory in more thantwo years, staving off the surprising chal-lenge of Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey, whoentered the final tournament of the season228th on the money list with earnings ofbarely $65,000.After birdies on five of the first seven

holes on the back nine, Love needed a pairof clutch up-and-down pars at 17 and 18 tosecure his 20th career PGA Tour victory.Gainey matched Love’s closing 64, high-lighted by a 6-under 30 on the back nine,but could not halt Love’s march to victory.“I’m just thrilled to come out on top and

to accomplish what I really wanted to dothis Fall,” Love said after his victory. “I

wanted to get out and compete and play towin; not try to make the top 125 and notjust try to make the cut and show up. Butto come and play to win.”Love’s career trajectory has been on a

downward arc since 2003, when he wonfour times and finished third on the moneylist. He turned in two respectable but win-less seasons in 2004 and ’05 before breakinga three-year winless drought in Greensboroin ’06 after what had been a mostly disap-pointing showing that year.After fourth place finishes in two of his

first starts of 2007, Love’s name was absentfrom PGATour leader boards for the rest ofthe year with the exception of a one-weekrevival in the World Golf Championshipsevent at Firestone, where he finished in adistant tie for sixth.His freak ankle injury followed several

weeks later, not the best timing for a 40-something veteran undergoing a lengthystretch of unsatisfactory results.“It wasn’t exactly what I needed after not

playing well for a couple of years; having tocome back from surgery. But I didn’t doubtmy desire and I didn’t doubt the fact that Icould compete.

“But the little things – holing putts whenyou have to and all that – that’s golf. I justwondered how I was going to get it back.”Love did not put the entire onus for his

sub-standard play on his injury.“Certainly I’ve had a couple bad breaks,

but even after getting hurt, I should haveplayed better all year. It shouldn’t have beenthis long to put four good rounds together.It meant an awful lot to put four goodrounds together.”Love started the tournament on a positive

note with three birdies in his first five holesof the opening round, and closed out theday with three more birdies in successionfor a 66 that included what would be hisonly bogey in 72 holes.Despite an off day with the putter, Love

came back with a 69, with his second roundscorecard consisting of 15 pars and birdieson three of the four par 5s.Love was seven shots off the lead after 36

holes and still well back midway throughthe third round. But three birdies and aneagle over a 5-hole stretch vaulted him intocontention.A hot start and another torrid stretch on

the back nine in the final round put Loveon top, and he stayed there despite someerrant drives on the final two holes.“The last two holes weren’t pretty,” he

observed. “I hit three bad drives on the dayand had to scramble on three of the harderholes. But I putted extremely well the lasttwo days.”After driving into trouble at the 17th,

Love assessed his situation.“Obviously I knew I was leading. But I

didn’t know what other guys were shooting.I was in trouble, but I was confident that Iwas going to get the ball up and down.“I wasn’t thinking about winning or

losing or screwing up. I was thinking aboutchasing that ball and getting it up anddown.”Love made par after pitching back to the

fairway following his off-target tee shot, andsaved par again at the 18th from a greensidebunker.“It’s a big win for me. It’s been a long

three years because everybody, like me,expects me to play better.”With the victory, Love moved up 70

spots on the money list, finishing the year at48 with almost $1.7 million. He advanced acomparable distance in theWorld Rankingsto 76th, putting himself in position to earnan invitation to the 2009 Masters aftermissing this year’s event for the first timesince 1990.Love will need either a PGA Tour win

prior to the ’09 Masters or move into thetop 50 in the World Rankings to qualify forAugusta. But his win at Disney did get himthe last spot in the season-openingMercedes Championship in Hawaii.The victory also earns Love a career

exemption on the PGA Tour, a perklimited to players with at least 20 careervictories.


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Davis Love III

STEV

ED

INBE

RG

Love ends seasonin style with Disney win

Victory snaps long stretchof sub-par play from veteran

Blanks, Todd earn spots on ’09 PGA Tour

B y M i k e B l u m

f the 25 players who finished inthe top 25 on the 2008Nationwide Tour money list,four played their college golf in

Georgia, and will join a Georgia native andformer Savannah club professional on thePGA Tour in ’09.

Kris Blanks, who was born in WarnerRobins and spent several years as an assis-tant at The Landings in Savannah, will be arookie on the PGA Tour next year, alongwith recent college golfers Brendon Todd(Georgia); Matt Weibring (Georgia Tech)and Aron Price (Georgia Southern). BryceMolder (Georgia Tech) returns to the PGATour after a strong finish that propelled himinto the top 25.

Blanks, 36, played his first full season onthe Nationwide Tour in ’08 after two yearsof competing as a non-exempt player. Hewon one of the tour’s top events in Chicagoand added a third place finish late in theseason in Chattanooga, ending up 13th onthe money list with just over $280,000.Blanks won two Georgia PGA eventsduring his stay at The Landings and wonthree times on the Hooters Tour, includingone in Savannah. He lives just outside

Savannah in Bluffton, S.C., with his wifeTami, a teaching pro at Sea Pines on HiltonHead Island.

Todd, a 2007 Georgia graduate who hassettled in Atlanta, enjoyed an outstandingrookie season on the Nationwide Tour, win-ning a tournament in Utah and placing19th in earnings with $244,225. Todd, whobegan the year as a non-exempt player, con-tended for a victory in Athens in his firstNationwide start and was ninth a few weekslater in Valdosta, the first of his seven top10s on the season. He compiled someimpressive stats, placing third in scram-bling, fourth in scoring and among the top5 in both putting categories.

Price, a native of Australia, recorded hisfirst win in three Nationwide Tour seasons,taking a playoff early on the schedule innorthern California. He wound up 18th inearnings with $249,150 after placing 52ndand 42nd the previous two seasons. Priceenjoyed an outstanding career at GeorgiaSouthern, winning seven tournaments,including four in his final season in 2005.

Weibring enjoyed his best year on theNationwide Tour in his fifth season, placingsecond in scoring average and third in theall-around category to end up 24th in earn-ings with $228,150. Weibring, a 2002Georgia Tech graduate, posted six top 10sin ’08, with his best showing a third placefinish in the BMW Championship inGreenville, S.C. He is the son ofChampions Tour player D.A. Weibring.

Molder, who played on the Georgia Techgolf team with Weibring, closed outthe season with consecutive third place

finishes in the final two tournaments onthe schedule. His T3 at the TourChampionship jumped him from 32nd to23rd, the second time in three years he hasnarrowly earned a promotion to the PGATour. Molder competed on the PGA Tourin his first two seasons as a professional, butwas off that tour for four years beforereturning in 2007. He did not play wellenough to retain his spot there, andreturned to the Nationwide Tour this year.A tie for second in Valdosta was his only top15 until his torrid finish, which includedthree straight top 10s.Two other Georgians finished among the

top 40 in earnings to earn exempt status for2009 as well as a spot in the finals of PGATour qualifying.Albany’s Josh Broadaway finished 36th

in earnings with $172,880, by far his bestshowing in four years on the NationwideTour. Broadaway, 30, endured a roller-coaster season in which he made ninestraight cuts, including back-to-back ties forfourth and six the last two weeks, thenmissed the cut eight times in a row. Heended the season with a tie for third inMiami and a T16 in the TourChampionship. Broadaway, who playscross-handed and putts left-handed,finished fourth in putting average.Duluth resident Scott Dunlap won the

season-opening tournament in Panama, butdid not have another top 10 the rest of theyear and slipped to 37th in earnings with$170,080. Dunlap was 8th in driving accu-racy and 23rd in greens in regulation, buthis struggles with the putter negated hissolid tee to green play. After seven years onthe PGA Tour, the 45-year-old Dunlap hasspent the last six on the Nationwide Tour,picking up his second Nationwide careerwin. Dunlap has played all over the worldduring his pro career, collecting victories inCanada, South America and South Africa.Four other Georgia residents and an ex-

Bulldog finished among the top 100 on themoney list and will have non-exempt statuson the 2009 Nationwide Tour.Woodstock’sChris Kirk, Todd’s teammate

at Georgia, was 77th in his rookie season,highlighted by a second place finish inKnoxville, where he lost in a playoff. But thatwas Kirk’s only top 15 finish, as he struggleddown the stretch to fall out of the top 60.Kirk made the cut in all three of his PGATour starts in ’08, including the U.S. Open,but was just 10 of 19 on the NationwideTour, making just one cut after August.Augusta’s Scott Parel got off to a strong

start in 2008, including a fourth placefinish in Valdosta, but also had problemslate in the season, mainly due to his puttingand some disappointing showings in finalrounds. Parel, 43, has played five seasons onthe Nationwide Tour, and slipped a bit to81st after placing 68th last year. Parelmissed advancing to the second stage of

Q-school by one stroke.Veteran tour pro Tommy Tolles notched

a pair of top-5 finishes in ’08, but did notplay after August and ended up 83rd inearnings in just 14 events. Tolles, 42, hasplayed extensively on both the PGA andNationwide Tours, but has not been on thePGA Tour since 2004.Snellville’s Jonathan Fricke had an up-

and-down rookie season on the NationwideTour. Fricke, 26, who played on the GeorgiaState golf team, made just 7 of 28 cuts, butplayed well when he made it to theweekend. He had a pair of top 10 finishes,both in the midst of a stretch where hemissed 13 of 15 cuts, and was in the top 30each of the last five times he went the entire72 holes. Fricke was 11th on tour in drivingdistance, but was well outside the top 100in hitting both fairways and greens. He fin-ished 93rd in earnings with $66,140.Eatonton’s Blake Adams had no status

on the Nationwide Tour this season, butmanaged to make 11 starts, including fourtop-20 finishes in his first six appearances.He was 94th with $63,070 and will havelimited status for next year even though hefailed to advance beyond the first stage ofQ-school.Although he finished outside the top 100,

LaFayette’s John Kimbell will have non-exempt status in 2009 from his win inValdosta last year. In 25 starts, Kimbell’s bestfinish was a tie for 18th, as he fell from 37thas a 38-year-old rookie to 120th this year.Former Norcross resident Reid Edstrom

played a limited rookie schedule in ’08, get-ting into 14 events. He made six cuts and hadseveral solid showings, but with just $38,090(118th) has lost his status on the tour.Like Kimbell, ex-Georgia Tech golfer

Tripp Isenhour will also be playing off hispast champion status in 2009. Isenhour hasfour wins on the Nationwide Tour and hasspent five years on the PGA Tour, but suf-fered through a dismal 2008 that includedhis infamous bird-killing shot. Isenhourmade just 6 of 22 cuts and was 122nd inearnings after finishing in the top 10 on themoney list the last three season he playedthe Nationwide Tour full time.Georgia PGA member Sonny Skinner, a

long-time Nationwide Tour player, made 10starts in 2008, with his best finish a tie for18th in Athens. Skinner would have led thetour in driving accuracy, but did not playenough rounds to be eligible for that honor.Savannah’s Tim O’Neal, who has placed

among the top 60 money winners on theNationwide Tour three times since 2001,managed just 13 starts and made only fourcuts, with a tie for 24th his best finish.O’Neal, 35, was 100th in earnings in 2007,the cutoff for having non-exempt status,but was well outside the top 100 this yearand will be without status on the tour forthe first time since 2004.


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ore than two dozen golferswith Georgia ties competedin the second stage of PGATour qualifying recently,

but only a handful managed to advance tothe finals.Georgia PGA member Sonny Skinner, a

long time tour player and teaching profes-sional at River Pointe in Albany, led thesmall group of qualifiers into the finals,which are scheduled for Dec. 3-8 at PGAWest in La Quinta, Calif.Joining Skinner were Snellville’s Jonathan

Fricke, a rookie on the NationwideTour thisyear; 2008 Tar Heel and Hooters Tour win-ners David Robinson of Sandersville andMajor Manning of Clarkesville; and recentU. of Tennessee golfer David Skinns, the’08 Hooters Tour Player of the Year. Skinns,who came to Tennessee from England, isliving in Marietta.They will join veteran tour pro Scott

Dunlap of Duluth and Albany’s JoshBroadaway in the finals. Dunlap andBroadaway both finished in the top 40 onthe Nationwide Tour money list and will befully exempt for the ’09 Nationwide Tour ifthey fail to earn their PGA Tour cards.The top 25 and ties in the finals of Q

school will earn PGATour playing privilegesfor ’09, with approximately 50 playersearning exempt status on the NationwideTour. The remaining players who reach thefinals will have non-exempt status on the ’09Nationwide Tour.Fricke was 10th at Callaway Gardens with

an 11-under 277 total. He was just outsidethe top 20 cut line for advancing to finalsafter 36 holes, but fired a 65 in the thirdround highlighted by a pair of eagles – oneon the par-5 second and the other when heholed out from the fairway on the par-418th. His even par round of 72 the final dayincluded 16 pars, as he advanced with twoshots to spare. Fricke reached the finals of Qschool last year, missing the PGA Tour byjust three strokes.Robinson, who led the Tar Heel Tour in

earnings, will be making his first appearancein the finals of qualifying. He won threetournaments this year and continued hisexcellent play, breaking par in all four roundson the Mountain View course, includingscores of 69 each of the first three days.Robinson shot a final round 71 with five ofhis 20 birdies for the week to tie for 11th at278. It took a 9-under 279 total to advance

to finals.A sizeable number of Georgians just

missed advancing to finals from theCallaway Gardens qualifier. John Kimbellof LaFayette, who won the 2007NationwideTour event in Valdosta, came upone shot short, as did former U. of Georgiagolfer Richard Scott.Kimbell was tied for 11th after 54 holes

with scores of 70-67-70, and was on the cutline of 9-under with four holes to play. Buthe bogeyed two of the holes coming in for a73, offsetting a birdie at the 18th.Scott also shot a final round 73, missing

by one stroke after a bogey at the 18th. Allfour players who tied for 17th at 9-underbirdied one of their final holes to make it onthe number. Scott and Kimbell were amongfour players to tie for 21st.Rookie Nationwide Tour player Chris

Kirk of Woodstock and fellow ex-BulldogKevin Kisner of Aiken, S.C., both missedby two at 281. Kirk shot 71 the final dayafter getting off to a strong start with birdieson two of his first three holes. But Kirk, whowas 77th on the Nationwide money list andwill have non-exempt status in ‘09, managedjust one birdie the rest of the day.Kisner eagled the seventh hole, his 16th of

the day, and needed a birdie on one of hislast two holes to finish at 9-under, butbogeyed the par-3 eighth for a final round70. A 74 the second day was his only scorehigher than 70.

Tim Weinhart, a 4-time Georgia PGAPlayer of the Year, broke par in all fourrounds and finished at 6-under 282 to tiefor 33rd. Weinhart, an instructor at St.Marlo, shot 71 each of the first roundsbefore a closing 69 that included a 4-under32 on his final nine. Weinhart reached thefinals two years ago to earn limitedNationwide Tour status for 2007.Atlanta resident Billy Andrade had not

been to Q-school since 1988, but had toreturn to class this year after falling to 193rdon the PGA Tour money list. Andradenotched 10 birdies the first two rounds andwas tied for 20th at 139, but shot 70-73 thelast two days with just five birdies andmissed by three strokes. Andrade, a 4-timewinner on the PGATour, will be able to playa relatively extensive schedule next year withthe help of past champion’s status andsponsor invitations.Former Norcross resident Reid Edstrom,

who was 118th in earnings on theNationwide Tour this year, missed by fourshots at 283. Edstrom shot 68 in the firstand third rounds and needed a 70 the finalday, but settled for a 74 with just one birdie,that coming on the 17th hole.Roswell’s Justin Bolli was tied for 18th

after 54 holes, but got off to a rocky start thefinal day and shot 76 to miss by five shots at284. Bolli, who was 155th on the money listin his second stint on the PGA Tour, willreturn to the Nationwide Tour in ’09 for hisfourth season. He won tournaments in 2004and ’07 to finish in the top 10 in earningsand move up to the PGATour the followingseason.Also missing by five at 283 was Newnan’s

Steve Gilley, who started fast (3-under afterfour holes the first day) and finished strong(a final round 66 including 5-under 31 onhis final nine), but was 4-over par inbetween.Former PGATour winnerMichael Clark

of Dalton sandwiched a pair of 69s with a75 the first round and a 74 the last for a 287total. Cartersville’s Bryant Odom shot him-self out of contention the first day with a 77,with a 67 the next round his only score ofpar or better.Manning was the lone Georgian to

advance in Brooksville, Fla., with five othersmissing by three strokes or less. Manning,who concluded his career at Augusta Statelast year, won a tournament on the HootersTour in his first full season as a tour pro. Hetied for fourth in his qualifier with at 11-under 277, shooting in the 60s each of thefirst three rounds before a 71 the final day.

Augusta’s Jay Mundy shot 282 to miss byone stroke, falling out of the top 20 the finalday despite shooting 1-under 71 the finalround. Mundy tied for 22nd as did formerGeorgia golfer Erik Compton, who wasamong the top 20 after each of the first threerounds with scores of 70-70-69. ButCompton closed with a 73 to fall just shortof reaching the finals after undergoing asecond heart transplant earlier this year.Missing by two strokes at 283 were veteran

Nationwide Tour player Tim O’Neal ofSavannah and second-year tour player LukeList of Ringgold. O’Neal, who struggled inlimited Nationwide action this year, was tiedfor 50th after 54 holes, but was 4-under afterseven holes the final day to get within rangeof the top 20. However, he played his last 11holes in even par for a 68 to fall just short.List was 39th after 54 holes, but was 4-

under after 12 holes the final round to get tothe cutoff line of 7-under. A late bogey on apar 5 knocked List out of chance to reachthe finals.Others who failed to advance were former

Georgia golfer David Denham of Tifton,who missed by three shots at 284; andJay McLuen and Donald Carpenter, bothof Athens.Skinner and Skinns both advanced at the

Hombre in Panama City. Skinner, the 2006Georgia PGA Player of the Year, competedon a limited basis on the Nationwide Tourthis year after competing on either the PGATour or its secondary circuit from 1990-2005. Skinner tied for sixth at theHombre at8-under 276, posting scores of 68 the firstand fourth rounds with a pair of 70s inbetween.Skinns, who won three times on the

Hooters Tour this year, shot a final round68 to move from 26th to 14th at 279.Tour veteran Paul Claxton of St. Simons

Island will return to the Nationwide Tourfor his 11th season after a fourth attempt atthe PGATour proved unsuccessful. Claxtonwas a distant 218th on the PGA Tourmoney list, making just 8 of 23 cuts. Hebecame the first player in Nationwide Tourhistory to eclipse $1 million in career earn-ings, and will look to match his play of2007, when he finished 10th on the moneylist and captured his second career title.Claxton, a Vidalia native and former

Georgia Bulldog, shot a final round 69 atthe Hombre for a 1-under 283 total tofinish two strokes outside the top 20. Alsofailing to advance was Mark Harrell ofHazlehurst, who was in contention after 36holes before shooting a 79 in the thirdround. Harrell turned pro this year aftercompleting his college golf career atAlabama.Former Georgia golfer David Miller

missed by two shots in Texas, shooting 69the final day for a 2-under 286 total.


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number of Georgians advancedpast the first stage of qualifyingfor the 2009 PGA Tour, com-peting at courses in Florida, the

Carolinas, Texas and California.Three Georgians shared medalist honors

in their qualifiers, including 2008 GeorgiaOpen champion Bryant Odom, aCartersville native now living on St. SimonsIsland.Odom, who worked as an assistant pro-

fessional for a few years at Ocean Forest andwon the Georgia PGA’s Assistants’Championship in 2007, posted a 14-under266 total at Florence (S.C.) CC to finish ina 3-way tie for first. Odom shot either 66 or67 in all four rounds.Also advancing from Florence were

David Robinson of Sandersville, the topplayer on the 2008 Tar Heel Tour, androokie pro Mark Harrell of Hazlehurst.Robinson tied for sixth at 272, with Harrellqualifying on the number at 278, tying for22nd. The top 23 and ties advanced, withHarrell shooting 75-72 the final two roundsafter opening with scores of 63 and 68.Former Georgia golfer Kevin Kisner tied

for 10th at 274 to advance along with fellowAiken, S.C., resident and co-medalistStephen Poole and Scott Brown of NorthAugusta, S.C., who tied for sixth withRobinson.

D.J. Fiese of Woodstock missed by justone stroke at 279 after being one shot underthe cut line with eight holes to play. Othersfailing to advance were BrentDelahoussaye, Emmett Turner, NickCowper, Jack Croyle, Derek Oakey andDrew Bowen.

Michael Sims, like Odom a St. SimonsIsland resident, tied for first in Kingwood,Tx., with an 11-under 277 total. JoeDeraney and Brad Heaven failed toadvance, with Deraney missing by threeshots.Sims tied for ninth in a late second stage

qualifier in Texas to advance to finals.The third Georgian to share medalist

honors was Newnan mini-tour player SteveGilley, who shot 8-under 280 at TreyburnCC in Durham, N.C. David Skinns ofMarietta tied for fourth at 282, withAugusta’s Jay Mundy and Savannah’s TimO’Neal barely making it, tying for the 25thand last position at 291. O’Neal birdied the18th and needed help to qualify from sev-eral players, including Mundy, who bogeyedhis final hole.Among those who did not advance were

Roberto Castro, Blake Adams and WillClaxton. Castro, an Alpharetta resident andrecent Georgia Tech standout, shot 76 the

final day for a 293 total to miss by two. Heplayed his last seven holes in 3-over par.Adams, who played well on the NationwideTour this year, and Claxton, who shot 78the fourth round, both missed by four.Adams will have limited status on theNationwide Tour in ’09 after placing 94thon the money list.

Don Carpenter of Athens and MajorManning of Clarkesville both had top-10finishes in St. Augustine, Fla. Carpenter wasseventh at 1-under 279 with Manningeighth at 280. Tifton native DavidDenham, a former Georgia golfer, tied for22nd at 285 to advance on the number.Denham shot 65 the first day, but struggledto a 76 the final round.Also advancing were ex-Bulldog David

Miller and Aiken’s Dane Burkhart. TimArnoult of Decatur missed by one stroke at286, with rookie pro Jamie Bowen ofDawsonville missing by two,At Key Biscayne, Fla., Jay McLuen of

Athens tied for 23rd to make it on thenumber at 296, along with former Georgiagolfer Erik Compton, who shot 68 the finalround. Compton recently underwent hissecond heart transplant, and was allowedthe use of a golf cart by the PGA Tour.At Palm City, Fla., two Georgia

Nationwide Tour players advanced and onejust missed. Snellville’s Jonathan Frickeshot 5-under 279 to place 11th, with formerNorcross resident Reid Edstrom 12th at282 after a final round 66. Augusta’sScott Parel was one shot under the cut linebefore bogeys at 15 and 16, and missedadvancing by one stroke at 285. Parel was81st on the money list this year, and willhave partial status on the Nationwide Tournext year.

Stuart Moore, Chris Holroyd and TPCSugarloaf assistant pro John Duta alsofailed to advance.Ringgold’s Luke List, who did not make

it past first stage in his first attempt last year,advanced this time from a qualifier inSantee, Cal. After shooting a 77 the firstday, List followed with scores of 71-69-71to tie for 11th at 288. Atlanta native NedMichaels failed to advance.Recent Georgia Tech golfer Kevin Larsen

shot 7-under 281 in Hollister, Cal., to tiefor 25th, but only the top 24 and tiesadvanced.Former Georgia Bulldog Richard Scott

tied for 12th with a 9-under 279 total toadvance in McKinney, Tex. Josh Geary ofSt. Simons Island missed by one at 282.Also failing to advance were Ian Hessels ofDuluth, rookie pro Thomas Hagler ofRinggold, and Jeff Bors of St. Simons.


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Savannah’s Brownenamed Pro of YearSavannah Golf Club head PGA professionalToby Browne is the Georgia PGA’sProfessional of the Year for 2008, with JoshWilliams, Browne’s assistant at the club, theSection’s Assistant Professional of theYear.Browne and the other awards winners(below) will be honored at the annual PGAbanquet Feb. 28 at Turner Field.

� Teacher of the Year:Cody Barden, White Columns.

� Junior Golf Leader:William Lewis,First Tee @ John A. White.

� Bill Strausbaugh Award:Ray Cutright, Idle Hour.

� Horton Smith Award: Phil Berry,Career Services Consultant,PGA of America, District 13.

� Growth of the Game Award:Chris Knoblauch, Golf Experience Co.

� Presidents Award: Bert Seagraves,Rome.

Merchandisers of the Year:� Private: Joseph Devaney, Athens CC.� Resort: BrannenVeal,

Sea Island Golf Club.� Public: Daryl Batey,

Charlie Yates Course.� Salesman of the Year:

Russell Miller, Club Car.� Distinguished Service Award:

Tom Cousins.

No Champions eventin Atlanta in 2009After already losing its annual PGA Tourevent atTPC Sugarloaf, Atlantawill not havea Champions Tour tournament at theDuluth course in 2009.The Tour had hoped to add a Champions

Tour event for next year at Sugarloaf, butwith a struggling economy, the over-50 tourdid not add a new tournament for 2009, asno new title sponsors could be secured.The Champions Tour will drop three tour-

naments from its 2008 schedule, withevents in Hawaii, Boston and Long Islandgoing out of business. The Champions Tourhas just 26 events on its ’09 schedule afterhaving as many as 39 in 2000.The LPGA Tour is down from 34 tourna-

ments to 31, losing events in Hawaii, southFlorida, Tulsa and Charleston, S.C., andadding one in Thailand. The LPGA has onlythree tournaments in the entire Southeastin 2009, one in central Florida and two inAlabama.The PGA Tour has yet to announce dates

for the ’09 Tour Championship at East Lake,with the tournament set to be played eitherSept. 17-20 or 24-27. The preference is forSept. 24-27 to give players a week off afterthree weeks of FedExCup playoffs events,but there apparently are complicationswithNBC’s broadcast schedule.Other than the Tour Championship, all

four Tour events in Georgia next year will beplayed in April, beginning with the Masters(9-12). The Nationwide Tour plays in Athens

April 16-19 and Valdosta April 23-26, withthe Champions Tour’s Legends of Golf inSavannah April 24-26.

Lake Arrowhead opensafter major renovationsAfter undergoing extensive renovations,Lake Arrowhead’s Highlands Course inWaleska has re-opened. All but about fiveholes are completely new, with Atlantaarea-based course architect D.J. DeVictorcreating the new holes and re-working thehandful of remaining originals.The new layout is longer and more diffi-

cult than the original design, with the backtees listed at just over 7,200 yards and thenext set 6,764. The middle tees are justunder 6,300 yards, with the senior tees5,660 and the forward tees 4,700.DeVictor’s re-design features plenty of

elevation changes and a number of carriesover creeks, as well as some largegreens with plenty of movement. Forinformation, call 770-479-5500 or visitwww.lakearrowheadga.com.

Augusta’s Jones Creekgets new ownershipAugusta’s Jones Creek Golf Club, one ofthe state’s top daily fee layouts, has a newownership group, the sixth since the clubopened in the mid-1980s. There is adifference this time, as the new owners,who include two former Jones Creekclub professionals, will also managethe course.Ray Mundy, an assistant when the club

opened in 1985, is part of the ownershipgroup, as is Augusta native GreggHemann, who served two previous stintsas head professional at the club and hasresumed that position. Mundy went on tobe Director of Operations for Jones Creekand Cedar Creek in Aiken, S.C., beforestarting a golf management firm thatassumed management of Jones Creekearlier this year.Jones Creek was designed by Rees

Jones with Tom Fazio making somechanges to the layout in 2003. It isbelieved to be the only course in the U.S.that lists both Jones and Fazio asdesigners.Robinson to Forest Hills: Long-time

Highland Country Club head professionalBill Robinson is the new head profes-sional/general manager at Augusta’sForest Hills Golf Club, replacing Augustanative David Usry, who stepped downafter a short stint at the club.In other Augusta area golf news:

Former Forest Hills head pro Scott Allenhas taken over as the head pro at PointeSouth in Hephzibah… While areacourses in Harlem and Warrenton haveclosed, the former Brushy Creek in Wrenshas been purchased by a couple inAugusta, with the back nine recentlyopening for play. The front nine,which was damaged by a tornado, isscheduled to re-open next April. TedShurling, former superintendent atForest Hills and Belle Meade, has headedup the effort to restore the course toplaying condition.Todd Gilgrist was recently named the

headprofessional atGovernor’sTowneClub,moving over fromAlpharetta Athletic Club’sEast Course (formerly Crooked Creek).


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Georgia PGA teamwins Assistants’ CupThe Georgia PGA won the annualAssistants’ Cup competition againstTennessee, dominating singles play toscore a 14-10 victory at the Capital CityClub Crabapple Course.After winning the opening 4-ball

matches 4-2, the Georgia PGA scored onlyone point in the foursomes matches andtrailed 7-5 going to singles. But the hometeam went 8-2-2 to win the match,improving its record to 8-5-1 in the compe-tition between the two sections.Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods and Bill

Murchison of Towne Lake Hills teamed forthe Georgia PGA’s lone victory in alternateshot, and won their other two matches tofinish with 3-0 marks.Chip Zimmerman of Cherokee CC, Eric

Reeves of Healy Point and DougWade ofthe Heritage Club all went 2-1 for Georgiawith singles victories. Other singles win-ners for Georgia were Jared Morton ofAthens CC, Seth McCain of JenningsMill and David Potts of Country Club ofthe South.Proceeds from the event, which was pre-

sented by Ahead, went to Atlanta’sLighthouse Family Retreat.Pro-President: Teams from Berkeley

Hills and The Frog were winners in the E-Z-GO Pro-President, played at the Brickyardat Riverside in Macon.Shawn McKinnon and Hector Cora of

Berkeley Hills were the gross division win-ners with a 69, one stroke ahead of JaredReneau and J.D. Sessums of InternationalCity and Brandy Jones and Rob Cason ofThe Frog.Jones and Cason won the net division

with a 64, two strokes ahead of GreggWolff and Dale Fordham of Willow Lake,and the team of Reneau and Sessums.The tournament was presented by

Pin-Point GPS and Titleist.PGA Assistants’ Championship: Three

Georgia PGA representatives made the cutin the recent PGA Assistants’Championship in Port St. Lucie, Fla., withAndy Blanton of Country Club ofColumbus tying for 14th at even par 288.Seth McCain of Jennings Mill was secondafter an opening round 68, and tied for23rd at 290. Greg Lee of Chicopee Woodsfinished with a 295 total, including a thirdround 69.McGladrey Team Championship:

Savannah GC placed fourth in theMcGladrey Team Championship, whichwas played at the Pinehurst Resort.After scores of 12-under each of the first

two days on the #8 and #2 courses, theSavannah GC team was in second place,

but settled for even par the final day on the#4 course to fall from two shots back after36 holes to 10 behind the winning team.The Savannah team consisted of pro

Josh Williams and club membersScott Weeks, Kevin Halligan and TobyBrowne, Jr.

Gentry, Dixon winSenior-Junior titleRay Gentry and Brian Dixon teamed upto win the Junior-Senior Championship atLittle Ocmulgee’s Wallace Adams course,shooting a final round 61 for a 126 totaland a 5-stroke victory.Gentry, the long time head pro at

Wallace Adams, was part of the winningteam for the third time, and benefited froman exceptional stretch of play the secondday by Dixon, an instructor at Fox Creek.Following an eagle on the 11th hole, his

sixth of the day after a shotgun start, Dixonran off eight straight birdies, beginning onthe 14th and ending at the 3rd.Tying for second at 131 were the teams

of Eddy Young-Russell Smith and DannyElkins-Bill Murchison.

Amateurs go 1-2-3in Senior tournamentRocky Costa of Alpharetta shot 69-68—137 to win a Georgia PGA Senior Divisiontournament at Summit Chase, leading anamateur sweep of the top three spots. JackKearney of Peachtree City was second at140 and Donald Crump of Atlanta tookthird at 141.West Pines head professional Mike

Schlueter was low pro and fourth overallat 144, followed by amateur MelMendenhall of Marietta at 147. AmateursDon Marsh of Alpharetta and Karl Simonof Lawrenceville tied for third at 148 along

with Brookfield CC head professionalCarlen Webb, who shared the openinground lead with Costa.

Clark, Marsh captureSenior 4-Ball eventLarry Clark of Kingsland and Don Marshof Alpharetta won the GSGA Senior 4-Balltitle for the second time, finishing threestrokes ahead of defending championsSpencer Sappington of Alpharettaand Bill Ploeger of Columbus, who haveboth won the event four times, three aspartners.Clark and Marsh finished with a 19-

under 197 total at the Hampton Club on St.Simons Island, with Sappington andPloeger second at 201. Clark and Marshshot 62 the second day to take a three-stroke lead after 54 holes, with Sappingtonand Ploeger pulling even after 11 holes thefinal round.But Clark scored a hole-in-one on

Hampton Club’s short 12th and he addedfour more birdies down the stretch as heand Marsh pulled away, shooting 66 thefinal round to a 67 by Sappingtonand Ploeger.While the championship flight played at

the Hampton Club, the rest of the field wasdivided into four flights and played atSanctuary Cove in nearbyWaverly. CharlieBusbee of McDonough and Tom Toombsof Perry were the first flight winners by fivestrokes with a 202 total.

Atlanta Athletic Clubwins GSGA team titleA team from Atlanta Athletic Club wonthe GSGA Team Championship at theGeorgia Club, finishing with a 367 total toedge teams from Rivermont and LaurelSprings by three strokes.

The Atlanta AC team shot 142 the firstday to trail Cartersville CC by seven strokes,with the score the total of two two-manbest ball results. Jeff Koontz and DougGreen teamed for a 68 the first day, withHal Hobgood andWest Strieb combiningfor a 74. The team posted a 225 total in sin-gles the next day, the low score by threestrokes, with the low three individualscores counting. All four Atlanta AC golfersshot between 74 and 76, with Koontz lowwith a 74.DeWitt Weaver III led Laurel Springs to

its tie for second with a 69 in a singles.Pinetree took fourth at 371, with MarkStrickland posting a 72 after teaming withGlenn Kavanaugh for a 68.Athens CC, which was second after the

first day at 137, tied for fifth at 372 withDalton CC and the host Georgia Club team.David Noll of Dalton CC shot a 69 in sin-gles after teaming for a 68 in best ball, withJeremy Britt and Drew Czuchry of theGeorgia Club pairing for a 68 and shooting73 and 74 in singles.After posting a 135 score in best ball,

Cartersville’s four players all shot between78 and 81 individually, with the team tyingfor eighth at 373.

Bulldogs end Fallwith win in OrlandoThe Georgia golf team wrapped up its Fallschedule with its second win in four tour-naments, taking the Isleworth Invitationalfor the fourth time in five years. Georgiafinishedwith an 867 total, 17 strokes aheadof runner-up Alabama.Macon’s Russell Henley was medalist at

2-under 214, the fourth time a Bulldog hasearned individual honors in the tourna-ment. Henley’s second round 67 ledGeorgia to an 11-under 277 total inthe second round, keying the Bulldog’seasy victory.Georgia’s Hudson Swafford was fifth at

216, with former Isleworth medalists BrianHarman of Savannah 14th at 220 andThomasville’s Harris English 18th at 222.Swafford and Harman shot 68s in Georgia’ssecond round 277.The Bulldogs won their previous tourna-

ment at Macon’s Brickyard at Riverside, andfinished the Fall ranked first in the country,with Swafford 11th in the individual rank-ings and Henley 16th. Harman and Englishwere both among the top 50.Georgia Tech was sixth at Isleworth with

an 895 total. Cameron Tringale was theYellow Jackets’ top finisher for the fourthstraight Fall tournament, tying for10th. Tringale ended up the Fall ranked10th nationally, with Tech 10th in theteam standings.


Senior-Junior champs Ray Gentry (L) andBrian Dixon (R) with Mark McNair of Etonic

GSG

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Garretson’s 69 earnsWilmington Island winMichael Garretson of Acworth fired a2-under 69 to give him a 141 total and theoverall boys title in a Georgia PGA JuniorTour event at Wilmington Island Club inSavannah.Garretson also won his age group by a

whopping 14 strokes, withCalebMorris ofMetter second at 155 and David SullivanofWoodstock third at 156.Scott Wolfes of St. Simons Island was

second overall at 142, winning the 16-18age group by seven strokes over JoelSawyer of Elberton. Tyler Steptoe ofRichmond Hill and Drew Czuchry ofAuburn were third at 155.Buster Bruton of Dallas was the boys

12-13 winner with a 151 total, two strokesahead of Tyler Young of Kennesaw. Youngshot a 73 in the first round to lead Brutonby seven strokes, with Bruton coming backwith a final round 71 to win the division.Emily Kurey of Alpharetta, competing

in the 12-14 division, was the girls overallwinner at 162. Kimberly Graff of Lilburnwas first in the 15-18 age group andsecond overall at 163, followed by LindseyGipson ofWoodstock at 166.

Czuchry takes playoffin Georgia Club eventDrew Czuchry was the boys 16-18 andoverall winner at the Georgia Club inStatham, defeating Grant Cagle ofGainesville in a playoff. Both finished with147 totals, with Czuchry shooting a finalround 71 tomake up two strokes on Cagle.Ryan Trocchio of Norcross and DylanLyons of Evans tied for third at 148.Will McFarlin of Alpharetta was the

boys 14-15winner at 149, six strokes aheadof Brice Eaton of Jasper. Aaron George ofDahlonega was third at 156.Buster Bruton scored his second

straight Georgia PGA Junior Tour win in theboys 12-13 division, posting scores of71-77—148. Ben Holm of Alpharetta wassecond at 155, with Tyler Young thirdat 158.Sloan Shanahan of Suwanee was the

girls 12-14 and overall winner at 162,taking the overall title in a playoff overLauren Court of Lawrenceville, the 15-18winner. Kimberly Graff was second in 15-18 at 164 andTaylor Blair of Roswell third at168. Dayana Marquez of Atlanta wassecond in 12-14 at 166.

Bruton, Sawyer takefirst at Valdosta CCJoel Sawyer and Buster Bruton wereamong the Georgia PGA Junior Tour win-ners at Valdosta Country, with Brutonscoring his third straight win in boys 12-13.Bruton shot 75-76—151 to finish fourstrokes ahead of Albany’s Joshua Crews.Sawyer was the boys 16-18 and overall

winner, shooting a second round 69 for a147 total. Eric Quinn of Norcross wassecond at 150, with BenCollier of MariettaandNateGahman of Leesburg third in the16-18 division at 155.David Sullivan shot 75-76—151 to win

boys 14-15 by seven strokes over JoshKlipstein of Norcross.Girls winners were Dona Kioseff of

Valdosta with a 165 total in the 15-18 divi-sion, and DayanaMartinez (171) in 12-14.

Fox, Burger captureSJGT wins in AlbanyBryan Fox of Roswell and Emilie Burgerof Hoschton were the overall winners in aSoutheastern Junior Golf Tour event atDoublegate CC in Albany. Fox was theboys 16-18 winner with scores of 71-72—143, with Tyler Erickson of Bonaire thirdin the age group at 148.Burger shot 75-74—149 to win the girls

15-19 division by two strokes overKathryn Fowler of Americus. CarrieMetz of Carnesville was third at 152.Mary Ellen Sherman of St. Simons Islandwas the girls 12-14 winner.Jimmy Beck of Columbus was the boys

14-15 winner by one stroke over SamStraka of Valdosta, posting scores of 72and 75 for a 147 total. Parker Derby ofColumbus shot 77-75—152 to win boys

12-13 by a 13-stroke margin.In Montgomery, Sanders Park of

Alpharetta posted a 150 total to win theboys 14-15 and overall title. Justin Cho ofNorcross shot a second round 72 for a 151total to finish first in 16-19, one strokeahead ofMax Von Dresser of Alpharetta.Girls winners were Yugene Lee of

Athens in the 15-19 division (155) andAmira Alexander of Alpharetta in12-14 (166).In Fort Payne, Al., Blaine Woodruff of

Acworth won the boys 14-15 division byeight strokes with scores of 72-69—141,and also was first among all boys in theevent. Joe Philaphet of Riverdale wassecond in boys 12-13 at 163, andKimberly Graff was third in girls 15-19at 162.In Dothan, Al., Ian Phillips of Acworth

was second in boys 16-19 at 147, onestroke behind the winner. Michael Motzof Milton was third at 148. Parker Derbywas second in boys 12-13 at 166.American Junior Golf Association: In

the PING Invitational at Stillwater, Okla.,Stacey Kim of Columbus tied for fifth inthe girls division at 230 in the 54-holeevent. Franco Castro of Alpharetta tiedfor 16th at 234 in the boys division.The final two rounds of an AJGA event

in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl., were rainedout, with several Georgians in position fortop finishes after strong first round show-ings. Oliver Schniederjans of PowderSprings opened with a 70 to tie forsecond, two strokes behind the winner.Billy Kennerly of Alpharetta shot 71 totie for sixth, and Kevin Lee of Dacula tiedfor 14th with a 73. Amira Alexander tiedfor ninth in the girls division with a 77.


Drew Czuchry,Georgia Club Boys Champ

Buster Bruton

Sloan Shanahan,Georgia Club Girls Champ

Kimberly Graff

Golf FORE Juniors

Recent Georgia PGA Junior Tourwinner Jimmy Beck won aSoutheastern Junior Tour event atAlbany’s Doublegate Country Club

The Georgia PGA Junior Tour’s 2009season opens for registration inmid-December. The first event is Feb. 14-15

at Forest Heights in Statesboro.

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RAFFLE


By Jackie CannizzoWomen’s EditorPGA ProfessionalCountry Club of Roswell

Megan Holland believes she has a dreamjob in many ways. She is herown boss as the President ofPinnacle InternationalManagement and someonewho calls Jack Nicklaus, MikeDitka, and Paul Krause herfriends. She travels to the SuperBowl every year and as busy asshe is, gets to spend qualitytime with her kids.Megan is a Georgia girl who has been

involved in the game of golf since gradu-ating from theUniversity ofGeorgia in 1985.She has never been afraid to try something

different or dare to fail. Shewanted to get inthe golf business because of her love for thegame, so she went to work for the KillearnGolf Company and helped open Eagle’sLanding Country Club. Megan also helpedwith a few independent projects before

being hired by White Columnsas the General Manager.

From there she washired by the Golden Bear Clubto open up Laurel Springs withthe watchful eye of JackNicklaus. Nicklaus was soimpressed with Megan that heurged her to come on boardwith the famed Landmark

Development Company which is noted forcourses like PGA West, LaQuinta andKiawah. She became the NationalMarketing Director for Landmark

Development and helped market andopened several of their top properties.Megan needed to take a break from the

rigors of work with Landmark for successfulsurgery on her neck, but that ended herplaying career. She started her own busi-ness with knowledge learned fromLandmark, with whom she retains a rela-tionship. She started Pinnacle in 2001 as aconsulting company which has turned intomanagement of events, marketing andtraining programs for club GeneralManagers andmembership directors.Lately Megan has been focusing on the

many events that she is involved in pre-senting like the Pro Football Hall of Famegolf event that coincides with the 2009Super Bowl. When Megan was the GeneralManager at White Columns, she hired ayoung assistant named Blair Krause. Blair’sfather is NFL Hall of Famer, Paul Krause. Itwas through her relationship with Blair thatshe met Paul who asked her to help himstart the Hall of Fame event.When asked of Megan’s talents, the elder

Krause said,“Megan is that once in a lifetimebusiness associate and friend thatwill neverlet you down. She in her own right deservesrecognition for alwaysmakingmy golf tour-naments and events extraordinary andunforgettable. For that, I and themany char-itable organizations I support are forevergrateful.”Megan also received accolades from NFL

great Mike Ditka when she assisted him inhis Gridiron Great events at last’s year SuperBowl in Arizona, “Meg was a lifesaver”said Ditka.The consensus on the events and golf

events that Holland has hosted with NFLgreats and around the Super Bowl is thatthey are different than the usual events.She focuses on all parties involvedhaving the most memorable experiencefrom start to finish. She figured out that theNFL greats love to talk about the gamesthey have played in and love to share theirstories.So her events are like hanging out in

someone’s backyard,with the foodandbev-erages spread out so peoplemingle insteadof sitting at banquet tables. She finds theplayers will gather and give the sponsorsmore attention when they feel comfortablein the environment they talk even more.She gets the players to sign footballs andgives them away to sponsors. They love it,so of course they are eager to sign up foranother event.“Every moment of the experience is what

I want the players, sponsors and guests to

enjoy,”Megan says.“I amnot afraid to try dif-ferent angles to get the people involved tofeel that they got their monies worth andwalk away happy.”Megan has a passion for golf, sports and

making people happy with enjoyableexperiences. She is all about thewin/win philosophy. If you are interested incontacting Megan, email her at:[email protected].

Hurst CapturesFutures’ EventChateau Elan hosted the year end invita-tional only event October 17-19, whichboasted the Futures Tour’s best field andrichest purse. Vicky Hurst, the tour’s 18-year-old phenom, posted her 5th victory ofthe season here and ensured she wouldreceive the right to compete on the LPGAtour in 2009, finishing as the leadingmoney winner.The event saw picture perfect weather

and spectators were treated to someexceptional golf. Former Futures Tourplayer and Georgia PGA Professional LisaChirichetti made the event part of herGSGA/LPGA girls’ golf club schedule andtook several of her girls to watch.“It was awesome for my girls to be able

to see these women play up close andpersonal. The tour has changed a lotsince I played. There’s more depth to thetour now. It was also cool for my girlsto be able to recognize several playersfrom the “Big Break” show on theGolf Channel.”Chirichetti added that the girls will be

watching when the players from theFutures start to play the LPGA. AmateurAnna Rogers from Hartwell had thebest finish of the Georgia girls with a tiefor 64th.


Megan Holland a Bright Star in Golf Business

Golf FORE Women

Megan Holland

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The Georgia Club (Semi-Private)1050 Chancellors Drive, Statham770-725-8100; www.thegeorgiaclub.com

STAFF:Mike O’Malley is the PGA Golf Professional; Dennis Echols is the Superintendent.PAR/YARDAGE: The Georgia Club is a 27-hole layout with the Red and Black nines playingto a par of 36 and the Silver nine a par 35. Each nine has four sets of tees. Yardages are:Red – 3,598 yards (Black tees); 3,297 (Silver); 3,075 (White); 2,585 (Red). Black – 3,685(Black); 3,372 (Silver); 3,174 (White); 2,567 (Red). Silver – 3,428 (Black); 3,194 (Silver);2,964 (White); 2,403 (Red).COURSE RATING/SLOPE: The average for the three combinations (Red/Black, Red/Silver.Black/Silver) are: 73.4/131 (Black); 71.6/128 (Silver); 69.4/124 (White); 69.4/114 (Red).

ABOUT THE COURSE: Since it opened in 2001, the outstanding Denis Griffiths-designedlayout has taken its place among the state’s top daily fee courses, with nine holes added in2006. Griffiths incorporated the new holes into one of the two existing nines, with the orig-inal back nine (Silver) remaining intact. The new holes, which are part of the Red and Blacknines, gave the course some added length, with the nine new holes a hefty 3,775 yardsfrom the tips and 3,450 from the next set of tees. The new holes work well with the origi-nals, with the overall design among the best on Griffiths’growing list of Georgia courses (St.Marlo, Brasstown Valley, Chateau Elan, Chestatee, RiverPines, Georgia National, ChicopeeWoods, Crystal Lake among them). Seven holes on the Silver nine are originals, with thenew fifth hole recently being renovatedwith the removal of some trees and addition of sev-eral fairway bunkers. Most of the new holes are part of the Black nine, which also includesthe 8th and 9th from the original Red nine. For the most part, the course is very generousoff the tee, but with a sizeable number of dogleg holes, positioning is vital to keep some ofthe longer holes from playing even longer than they are. Water is in play on a modestnumber of holes, among them a pair of par 3s on the Black nine that play in opposite direc-tions around a pond. For the most part, the bunkers are more of a factor than the water,producing some decisions from the tee and on lay-up shots, as well as requiring precisionto reach some pin positions on the typically large, moderately undulating greens. As usual,Griffiths’ layout includes a diverse mix of some holes, with several very strong par 4s, aninteresting group of par 3s and enough scoring opportunities to offset the more dauntingchallenges. Conditions are consistently first rate, and the location just off Georgia 316makes it easily accessible to metro Atlanta as well as Athens.

Windermere (Private)5000 Davis Love Drive, Cumming678-513-1000; www.canongategolf.com

STAFF: Ray Garbiras is the PGA Golf Professional; Tommy Hewitt is the Superintendent.PAR/YARDAGE:Windermere plays to a par 71 with four sets of tees:Black (6,805 yards); Blue (6,283); White (5,532) and Red (4,635).COURSE RATING/SLOPE: 73.3/139 (Black); 70.3/134 (Blue); 67.5/121 (White);68.0/118 (Red).

ABOUTTHE COURSE: One of the most popular Atlanta area daily fee courses from the dayit opened in 2000, the course went private several years ago as part of the expansion of theCanongate family of courses. Among the earliest courses from Davis Love’s design group,Windermere was carved out of some rugged terrain that resulted in several elevationchanges of significance and only a handful of holes not impacted by the rolling terrain.Witha handful of exceptions, length is not a vital necessity, and Love has provided an ampleamount of fairway width on just about every hole. Somewell-placed fairway bunkers are inplay here and there, and longer hitters will want to leave the driver in the bag on severalholes with sharp doglegs and serious trouble. The high slope rating is mostly a product ofthe number of hazards in play, as well as some large, undulating greens that will result inplenty of chances for three-putts. Love deftly mixes demanding holes with a number ofscoring opportunities, tempting longer hitters to take a few risks in order to reap rewards.The risks, however, are considerable, especially on the back nine, where the majority of theholes can inflict damage to your scorecard if you miss a shot in the wrong place. Three ofthe par 5s fall into the risk/reward category, although the risk on the downhill third comeson the tee shot, one of the few on the opening nine that demands accuracy. Things changeon the back nine, where most of the trouble is found and the decisions regarding clubselection and positioning from the tee are crucial. The large, rolling greens, most of whichare well guarded by sand, water or both, don’t make things any easier when it comes tochipping and putting. But if you can avoid the obvious trouble spots,Windermere will yielddecent scores, although they won’t come easily.


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