june 2016 fore georgia magazine
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Inside this issue: Atlanta Open preview, 7 Ga. pros in nationals, Perno wins at Rivermont, Course feature: Chimneys...TRANSCRIPT
the state, measuring almost7,150 yards from the back tees and ratedat 75.3/143. Fazio’s layout is ademanding test from the blue tees (6672,72.9/138), and features one of the
strongest collections of par 3sin Georgia. The fairways are on the gen-erous side, with Fazio leaving most of theapproach angles open to superb puttingsurfaces that typically are on the speedyside and place challenges on your short
game due to their slightly elevated nature. Brasstown Valley Resort is in the
northeast corner of the state, just a fewmiles from the North Carolina border
By Mike Blum
f you’re looking to take a golftrip sometime this Summer butaren’t looking to travel very far,Georgia offers a wide variety of
resort courses throughout the state,ranging from the luxurious to theeasily affordable. Geographically, Georgia’s resorts
range from northwest and northeastGeorgia to metro Atlanta, to east cen-tral and west Georgia to the Georgiacoast, with Georgia State Parks courseslocated all over the state, including afew a bit off the beaten path. Barnsley Resort is located in the
northwest Georgia community ofAdairsville, just off I-75 betweenAtlanta and Chattanooga. The resortdates back to the 1840s and wasrestored during the 1990s to resemblea 19th century English village. Theresort features a spa and a number ofoutdoor amenities, as well as astandout golf course designed by JimFazio that has hosted the GeorgiaOpen three times since 2008. The course is among the strongest in
I
[ See Georgia Resorts, page 6 ]
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GEORGIAPGA.COM FOREGEORGIA.COM JUNE 2016
««
Georgia features outstanding resorts Range from mountains to state’s coast
18th hole at Barnsley Gardens
Atlanta Open preview. . . . . . . . . . . . 87 Ga. pros in nationals . . . . . . . . . . 10Perno wins at Rivermont . . . . . . . . 12Course feature: Chimneys . . . . . . . 14Bulldogs in NCAAs . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Lady 'Dogs win regionals . . . . . . . . 18Symetra Tour in Atlanta . . . . . . . . 20Jean Reynolds feature . . . . . . . . . . 22U.S. Open qualifying . . . . . . . . . . . 24Castro 2nd in Charlotte . . . . . . . . . 26Web.com Tour winners . . . . . . . . . 28
High school championships . . . . . 30
world, what they do ishighly scrutinized, highlyanalyzed and publicized.Wouldn’t it be great to beable to swing like TigerWoods circa 2000 or JackNicklaus in his prime. Yes itwould. The reality of it isthat the average golfer willnever be able to swing likethey do. Ability and time topractice has something to
do with it, but also flexibility.So what should average golfers think
about? Should they think about their coreand big muscles like the shoulders and hipsto be the leaders in the movement like thetour players do? In my opinion, quite theopposite. They should think about the armsand hands. The arms and hands should berelaxed and they should try to involve themin their motion as much as they can. Why you ask. The answer is because
most average players swing slow. The morethey think about their core, the slower themotion becomes. Tour players don’t havethat problem. Their arms and hands arealready trained to let go and they are tryingto slow their swing down just enough tofind complete club face control throughthe hitting area. If you buy into this, here are some drills
to help you increase club head speed andfree up your swing.
4 F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM
u Hold a driver about 8 inches off the ground and swish it thru swinging as fast as possible without losing balance. The arms have to be about a 1 on a scale from 1 to 10.
v Hit shots with your feet together with no more than a 7 iron off a par 3 tee. See how fast you can swing your arms without losing balance.
w Swing with a heavy club.Remember, you have to blend your arm
swing with what your body is doing. But ifyou think like a tour player and forgetabout your arms, you will slow the clubdown to the point that the game won’t befun.
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ART DIRECTOR Lori Ors
CREAT IVE SERV ICES Dwayne WalkerCONTR IBUTORS
Victory de Sola • Steve DinbergRob Matre • Al Kooistra
GEORGIA SECT ION, PGA OF AMERICA OFF ICERS
PresidentBrian Albertson, PGA / [email protected]
Vice PresidentJohn Godwin, PGA / [email protected]
SecretaryBrandon Stooksbury, PGA / [email protected]
Honorary PresidentMark Mongell, PGA / [email protected]
CHAPTER PRES IDENTS
Central Chapter PresidentCary Brown, PGA / [email protected]
East Chapter PresidentBrandon Youmans, PGA /[email protected]
North Chapter PresidentJordon Arnold, PGA / [email protected]
AT-LARGE DIRECTORS
Brian Conley, PGA / [email protected]
Jeff Dunovant, PGA / [email protected]
Matthew Evans, PGA / [email protected]
Shawn Koch, PGA / [email protected] Lammi, PGA / [email protected]
Todd Ormsby, PGA / [email protected]
Rashad Wilson, PGA / [email protected]
SENIOR DIV IS ION
PresidentScott Hare, PGA / [email protected]
ASS ISTANTS’ D IV IS IONPresident
Will Bartram, PGA / [email protected]
SECT ION STAFF
Executive DirectorMike PaullAssistant Executive Director/
Junior Golf Director Scott GordonTournament Director Pat Day, PGAOperations Manager Eric Wagner
Foundation Program ManagerMaria BengtssonSection Assistant Carrie Ann Byrne
FOREGeorgia is produced by Golf Media, Inc.Copyright ©2014 with all rights reserved.Reproduction or use, without permission, of editorial or graphic content is prohibited.Georgia PGA website: www.georgiapga.com.FORE Georgia website: www.foregeorgia.com
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
Fore
cast
FEATURES:
By Victor de Sola PGA Senior Instructor,The Sea Island GolfPerformance Center
When you think aboutwhat the average golfershoots, it’s somewherebetween 95 and 110. Thereare several swing thoughtsout there that claim to be thebest avenue to improve one’sgame. There are theories that want youmoving off the ball quite a bit, others thatwant you to stay centered and even othersthat want you pivoting on your front sideall the way to the top. Not one of these is the best for everyone
but all of these will help someone. There isone thing though, in my opinion, that hashurt the average golfer through the years.This is the incorrect way to think about howyou move when you swing, especially intransition. Anytime you turn the Golf Channel on, or
you pick up a golf publication, you arebeing told what the Tour Player is workingon and what he is trying to do to get better.The tour player’s job is to achieve a level ofconsistency that will give him or her thebest chance to contend for a title or at thevery least make the cut so they can make acheck. It’s the name of the game. Because they are the best players in the
PRESENTED BY
Instruction Fore You
Victor de Sola is a Senior Instructor at the Sea Island Golf Performance Center at Sea Island Golf Club. You can reach the facility at 912-638-5119.
DEPARTMENTS:
Golf FORE Juniors . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29Chip Shots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
For wrap-ups on allJune's big golf eventsin the state, go to
www.foregeorgia.com.Among the events wewill be covering areU.S. Open qualifying at Settindown Creekand the YamahaAtlanta Open.
Thinking the Correct Way
and about two hours from Atlanta on US76 in Young Harris. Like Barnsley,Brasstown Valley features a spa as well asoffering an array of outdoor activities,including an excellent Denis Griffithslayout. Although the resort is within the Blue
Ridge Mountains, its golf course fea-tures a valley setting after you get pastthe elevated tee on the first hole. Thenearby mountains are visible from var-ious spots on the course, which is amongthe most visually appealing in the state.Griffiths’ design fits the natural feel ofthe property, with bodies of water andenvironmentally sensitive areasimpacting about half the holes.Brasstown Valley is neither overly longnor difficult, but the presence of hazardsoff the tee and some sizeable greensidebunkers provide sufficient challenge. Metro Atlanta includes two popular
resorts, Legacy on Lanier and StoneMountain GC. Legacy on Lanier is the lone remaining
course on Lake Lanier Islands, with PineIsle out of commission for years andunlikely to re-open. Legacy on Lanierremains, with the course undergoingseveral name changes and some renova-tions, including the removal of one holeand the addition of a new, par-3 10th. Lake Lanier is a convenient weekend
getaway for Atlanta residents, with itsgolf course one of the most scenic and
entertaining in all ofthe state. Legacy onLanier measures amodest 6,580 yardsfrom the tips and isunder 6,200 fromthe blues, but itschallenge is evidentfrom its sloperating (141 and137). Water is inplay on a majorityof holes, with sev-eral carries off thetee requiring
solidly struck shots to avoid a waterygrave. The excellent mix of holesincludes a trio of hazardous par 5s, twopicturesque but perilous par 3s, a testypair of short-ish par 4s beginning withtee shots over the lake, and one of thestate’s toughest par 4s (the 14th). Thereare plenty of scoring opportunities if youplay well, but even more chances to findtrouble, with more than half the holesbordering the lake. Stone Mountain Park draws thousands
of visitors each year, some who come forthe sights, some for the laser show andsome for its two contrasting golf courses. The original Stonemont course,
designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., isone of the strongest daily fee courses inthe state, playing to a par 70 at over6,800 yards and rated at 73.7, 72.0 fromthe blue tees, which are just short of6,500 yards. With the exception of theshort second, Stonemont sports one ofthe toughest groups of par 4s you’llencounter on a daily fee layout, with thecourse requiring both length and someaccuracy off the tee and a deft touch tohandle the testy putting surfaces. The newer Lakemont 18 is signifi-
cantly shorter at 6,350 yards, playing toa par of 71, but is more or a resort-stylelayout with more water in play than onStonemont, especially early in the round.There are some wonderful views of StoneMountain, but the lake is a serious factoron most of the first six holes, includinga memorable par-5 opener and the par-4third, which features one of the tougherover-water approach shots. The backnine is the more inviting of the two,
with length not much of a factor butaccuracy more a concern. The 11th is oneof the more intriguing short par 4s withwater you’ll encounter, but there isn’tmuch trouble in play after that. Halfway between Atlanta and
Augusta off I-20 is one of state’s bestcollection of golf courses in a compactarea. Most of those courses are part of theReynolds Lake Oconee family, withHarbor Club the only remaining resortoption, as Cuscowilla has gone private. Harbor Club sports an outstanding
Jay Morrish/Tom Weiskopf design, withthe layout achieving the difficult task ofmeshing challenge with playability. Thecourse is listed at just over 7,000 yardsfrom the tips, with the diverse mix ofholes covering the spectrum from longand demanding to short and potentiallyvulnerable. Among the best are a terrifictrio of short-ish par 4s, a gorgeous par 4with Lake Oconee in the background, ademanding finishing hole that requiresboth the tee shot and approach to carry acreek, and a splendid risk/reward par 5without a drop of water.
Reynolds Lake Oconee has fivecourses available to its resort guests,with the Creek reserved for its members.The two primary resort layouts are theJack Nicklaus-designed Great Watersand Rees Jones’ Oconee. ReynoldsLanding (formerly Port Armor) andPlantation, both designed by Bob Cuppand among the three original LakeOconee courses along with Harbor Club,are also open to resort play, as is the 27-hole National, designed by Tom Fazio. With almost the entire back nine
playing along Lake Oconee, GreatWaters is one of the state’s most spectac-ular courses from a visual standout, withNicklaus producing a layout that is veryplayable as well as eye-catching.Measuring under 7,000 yards from theback tees and less than 6,500 from thenext set, Great Waters is not overlylengthy, with mostly generous fairwaysand relatively gentle putting surfaceshelping offset the number of hazards inplay. The short par-4 11th, which playsalong the lake with a finger of it pro-truding in front of an incredibly widegreen, is one of the state’s most spectac-
ular holes. Oconee rivals Great Waters for the
beauty of its lakeside holes, while also fea-turing some attractive water features oninland holes. The course includes a numberof risk/reward holes, some exceptional par3s among them, and is popular with theclub’s female members because of itsfriendly sets of forward tees. Landing has long been considered one of
the strongest courses on the lake, hostingthe Georgia Open on several occasions.With the lake a significant factor early inthe round, Landing requires you to beready to play as soon as you tee it up. Someof the most perilous holes are included inthe early stages of the round, but there isnot as much concern on the inland holes.With the course mostly open off the teeand not especially long with an exceptionor two, Cupp’s layout presents much of itschallenge with some testy greens com-plexes. Callaway Gardens is a long time
favorite destination for Georgians inColumbus and the metro Atlanta area, butsince the PGA Tour left after 2002, theresort is not as prominent from a golfstandpoint as in the past. The MountainView course hosted the PGA Tour for morethan a decade, but was beginning tobecome too short to deal with the improve-ments in equipment that significantlyincreased how far the tour players were hit-ting the ball. The course remains a sufficient test for
players who don’t average 300-plus yardsoff the tee, with relatively narrow, tree-lined fairways and well-bunkered greens ofmodest size offering plenty of challenge.The much-shorter Lake View course hasplenty of water and some appealing viewsand represents a distinctive complement toDick Wilson’s traditional, almost hazard-free Mountain View design. The Club at Savannah Harbor is also
the former host of a tour event, serving asthe site of the Champions Tour’s Legendsof Golf from 2003-2013. The course islocated on Hutchinson Island, just acrossthe river from downtown Savannah andjust beneath the Talmadge MemorialBridge. The course features a marshlandsetting and some gorgeous views, with theoutstanding Bob Cupp design one of the
14th hole at Savannah Harbor Harbor Club’s scenic fifth hole
Third hole on Stone Mountain's Lakemont course
Georgia Resorts[ Continued from the cover ]
6 F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM J U N E 2 0 1 6
best for the state’s resort courses. Cupp’s layout was a sufficient chal-
lenge for the Champions Tour members,but is a very playable course for the resortguests (a Westin Hotel is next door) andlocals, with generous fairways, only ahandful of hazards seriously in play andvirtually no changes in elevation. Muchof the danger is found on a terrific groupof par 5s, all of which are lined bymarshes and require both accuracy andlength. Cupp has left most of theapproach angles to the relatively gentleputting surfaces open, making it aplayable course for almost everyone,although it has some length from theback two sets of tees. Sea Island Golf Club includes world
class accommodations and three of thestate’s premier resort courses, withSeaside and Plantation hosting thePGA Tour RSM Classic and Retreatjoining its sister courses as the site of topstate, amateur and junior tournaments.Both Seaside and Plantation consist ofone nine from the original layout datingback to the 1920s as well as a newer nine,with Tom Fazio handling the renovationon Seaside and Rees Jones taking care ofthe re-design on Plantation. Seaside, which is located amidst the
marshes in proximity to the ocean, is ascenic beauty with its many natural ele-ments, and the par-70 layout a realchallenge when the ocean breezes pickup. The course is not overly demandingtee to green, but the greens complexeswill test all elements of your short game,and its visual appeal can distract from thetask at hand. Although it is mostly situ-ated away from the ocean, the par-72Plantation has more water in play thanSeaside, most notably on some gorgeousbut perilous par 3s and a wonderful set ofpar 5s. Davis Love handled the renovation on
Retreat, adding length and width to thecourse while making extensive changesto the greens complexes. Retreat is moreof a tree-lined layout than its sistercourses across the street, and provides anexcellent complement to Seaside andPlantation, offering a comparable butdifferent style of challenge. The King and Prince Golf Resort is
a Joe Lee gem, offering a modest chal-lenge from its tree-lined nature and Lee’stypically well-protected putting surfaces.The course lacks for serious length butnot much else, and features a splendidstretch of marsh holes connected to theisland by bridges. Formerly known as theHampton Club, the King and PrinceGolf Resort has been restored in recentyears and is again a treasure to play. Sea Palms has also been recently ren-
ovated, and is the most affordable of theSt. Simons’ courses. The 27-hole layoutfeatures a first rate traditional coastaldesign by George Cobb on the original18,with a change to the ninth hole con-verting it from a par 72 to 71. The pines,palms and palmetto trees that line thefairways place a premium on accuracy offthe tee, with a decent number of hazardsin play, mainly along edges and a mostlygently group of greens complexes. Thefront nine is shorter and more inviting,but the back provides plenty of challengecapped by a demanding par-4 finishinghole with water in play. Jekyll Island Golf Club has long
offered one of the best values found in thestate, offering 63 holes including theGreat Dunes nine, which provides aunique peek at golf’s past, featuring someof the tiniest greens you will everencounter and one of the quirkiest par 5sin existence. The three 18-hole courses –Pine Lakes, Indian Mound andOleander – are straightforward, enjoy-able coastal layouts, with Oleander thetightest and most challenging of thethree, Pine Lakes the most modern andIndian Mound featuring the most chal-lenging putting surfaces. Dick Wilson’s Oleander is the oldest of
the three and features its share of hazardsin play, with the par-4 12th usuallyincluded in listings of the state’stoughest holes. Pine Lakes and IndianMound are located side-by-side and shareseveral attributes, with Lee handling thedesign on Indian Mound and teaming upwith Wilson on the Pine Lakes layout,which was renovated a while back and isthe most junior-friendly of the trio. Sapelo Hammock is located on the
Georgia coast between Savannah and theGolden Isles, and is one of the state’s
undiscovered gems,offering an entertainingmarsh-side layout in aplacid, rural setting.Trees with Spanish mossoverhangs put a premiumon driving accuracy, withlength not a major con-cern. The layout includestwo outstanding all-carry-over-marshes par 3s and atrio of hazard-impactedpar 5s, but is not an overlydemanding layout if youcan keep it between the tree lines. Thecourse has become a regular on the mini-tour circuit, and has addedaccommodations for its stay and playguests. Georgia State Parks has eight
courses statewide, most of which haveon-site lodges or cottages. The coursesinclude two in northeast Georgia(Arrowhead Pointe at Richard B.Russell in Elberton and Highland Walkat Victoria Bryant in Royston), one justeast of metro Atlanta (Hard LaborCreek in Rutledge), one on the south-west Georgia/Alabama border (MeadowLinks at George Bagby in Ft. Gaines),two in Central Georgia (GeorgiaVeterans in Cordele and WallaceAdams GC at Little Ocmulgee inMcRae) and two in the southeastern partof the state (Brazell’s Creek atGordonia-Altamaha in Reidsville) andThe Lakes at Laura S. Walker inWaycross). The State Park courses provide out-
standing values and quality golfexperiences, with several of them amongthe finest daily fee facilities in the entirestate. Arrowhead Pointe is the best ofthe north Georgia trio, with almost theentire back nine playing along LakeRussell, which serves as the borderbetween Georgia and South Carolina. Itis perhaps the strongest of the State Parkcourses, with a demanding group ofgreens complexes and a sufficientnumber of hazards in play, especially on
the back nine, which earns particularlyhigh marks for scenic appeal. Highland Walk features plenty of
elevation changes, with the terrain themain defense for the course. Georgia-based architect Denis Griiffithsrenovated the original nine and created anew nine to the layout which has anexcellent mix of holes, with plenty ofuphill and downhill shots but not muchwater in play. The Creek at Hard Labor is one of
the most geographically accessible StatePark courses, and is a mostly friendlylayout with two exceptions, one of whichis a very dangerous opening hole. Thelayout is reasonably tight, but there areplenty of holes of modest length thatoffer scoring opportunities. The Lakes at Laura Walker is just
down the road from the Okefenokee StatePark, and offers a scenic, natural layoutwith ample, rolling fairways, a decentnumber of hazards and some sizeablegreens with moderate amounts of undu-lation. Griffiths also added nine holes at
Brazell’s Creek, which serves as a com-plete contrast to the original nine, whichhas a more traditional tree-lined feel withsome wetlands areas impacting play. Thenewer back nine is a links-style layoutwith no almost trees but plenty oflength, with its open nature making itmore exposed to the wind. Wallace Adams was extensively
2 0 1 6 J U N E 7F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM
[ See Georgia Resorts, page 33 ]
14th hole at King and Prince Course
Sea Palms Golf Resort
A view of the par-5 18th at Sapelo Hammock from behind the green
By Mike Blum
he Yamaha Atlanta Open willbe played this month at St.Ives Country Club in JohnsCreek, and if the tourna-
ment’s recent history is any indication, aplayer who has never won the tourna-ment will come away with the 2016 title. Over the past 19 years, the tournament
has had 19 different winners, withAtlantan Matt Russell winning back-to-back in 1996 and ‘97. Russell, aformer Berry College golf team member,won as an amateur in ’96 at the GolfClub of Georgia and repeated the nextyear at Cherokee Town & Country Club,that time as a professional.Since Russell’s victory in 1997, a dif-
ferent player has won the tournamentevery year. Since 1980, only three golfershave won the Atlanta Open twice, withall three first winning as an amateur andlater as a professional. Jon Hough won after completing his
college career at Auburn in 1987 andrepeated the next year as a rookie tourpro, eventually making it to what is nowthe Web.com Tour before joining theclub professional ranks. Hough has beenthe head pro at several metro Atlanta golfclubs, and currently serves in thatcapacity at Bridge Mill. Moultrie’s Kevin Blanton was a colle-
giate golfer when he won the 1994Atlanta Open at the Legends at ChateauElan, and won again at the Legends in2001 during his years as a mini-tour pro.Blanton has remained in the state as arepresentative for Augusta-based golf carcompany E-Z-GO. Of the 19 most recent champions,
about half of them remain competitiveplayers in the Georgia PGA, with one ofthe amateur winners since Russell’s back-to-back victories particularly pleasedabout the site of this year’s tournament. Bob Royak, a member at St. Ives, won
the Atlanta Open at the nearby StandardClub in 2007, and has three finishes ofseventh or better since, including a tie forfifth last year at White Columns. Georgia PGA members who have won
the Atlanta Open since 1997 includeJames Mason (2000, White Columns),Phil Taylor (’02, GC of Georgia), GregLee (’03, Marietta CC). Shawn Koch(’06, Dunwoody CC), Tim Weinhart(’09, Heron Bay), Craig Stevens (’11,
the Frog), SethMcCain (’12,C h a t t a h o o c h e eGC), Hank Smith(’14, AtlantaNational) anddefending cham-pion SonnySkinner (WhiteColumns). Weinhart, an
8-time GeorgiaPGA Player ofthe Year, is veryfamiliar with St.Ives, whichhosts an annualpro-am but hasnot been thesite of manyG e o r g i aPGA /GSGAevents since itdebuted in thelate 1980s.Weinhart, theDirector ofInstructionat Heritage Golf Links,worked for a number of years at RiverPines and the Standard Club, both ashort distance from St. Ives. Skinner, Stevens and Mason are part of
the Georgia PGA’s outstanding group ofover-50 members, with all threeremaining very competitive against theiryounger competitors. Mason won lastyear’s Georgia PGA Championship at SeaIsland GC at the age of 64, and bothStevens and Skinner have earned Playerof the Year honors since they turned 50,with Stevens going back-to-back in 2012and ’13. Skinner, the head pro at SpringHill in Tifton, claimed that honor in2014. Skinner shot 9-under 135 at White
Columns to win by one over BradleySmith, who has since left his job as aninstructor at Eagle’s Landing to resumehis playing career. Skinner, who playedthe PGA and Web.com Tours for 15years before becoming a Georgia PGAmember in 2006, was fourth or better inthe Atlanta Open from 2006-08, did nothave another top 10 in the tournamentuntil 2014, when he tied for seventh. Mason played the Champions Tour for
more than a decade after winning the
Atlanta Open in2000 and losing a playoff to Blanton thenext year, returning to the event in 2012when he lost to McCain in a playoff.Mason tied for seventh last year. Stevens, an instructor at Brookstone
G&CC, has 11 top-10 finishes in thetournament since 1995, including a tiefor second in 2004 at Pinetree. But hehasn’t placed higher than seventh sincethen apart from his victory in 2011. From 2000 to 2010, Weinhart had a
win, three runner-up finishes and a third,losing in playoffs to Mason in 2000 andTaylor in 2002. He made three straightruns at victory from 2008 to 2010,placing third, first and second, the lattertime by a shot to UGA head pro MattPeterson in ’08 at Newnan CC. There is a lengthy list of players who
could make it 20 different winners in 20years, including six Georgia PGA mem-bers who placed in the top 10 last year. Topping that group is Marietta CC
Director of Golf Stephen Keppler, whohas won the Section’s other three majorsa total of eight times, but is still lookingfor his first Atlanta Open title. Kepplerhas a pair of runner-up finishes 20 years
apart, finishing two behind Blanton in’94 and losing a playoff to college golferCory Griffin in the rain-shortened tour-nament in 2013 at Polo G&CC. Keppleralso came close the year before that, fin-ishing one shot out of a three-way playoffat Chattahoochee GC. Kyle Owen, Chris Nicol, Todd
Ormsby and David Potts all have col-lected Georgia PGA victories, as well ascontending in the Atlanta Open in recentyears.Owen, the head pro at Dunwoody CC,
won at Chicopee Woods in 2014, and hasa pair of top-4 finishes in the AtlantaOpen, including a tie for third last year.Nicol, an assistant at River Pines and atwo-time Georgia PGA winner, has fourfinishes of seventh or better in theAtlanta Open since 2009, including apair of ties for third and a tie for fifth lastyear. Highland CC head pro Todd Ormsby
won the 2013 Georgia PGA PNC andhas placed fifth and 10th in the AtlantaOpen the last two years. Potts, aninstructor at CC of the South, won a pairof Georgia PGA events in 2012 when herecorded one of his three top-four finishes
T
8 F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM J U N E 2 0 1 6
Fazio-designed St. Ives to host Atlanta Open 19 different winners in event the last 19 years
GSGABob Royak
Sonny Skinner
[ See Atlanta Open, page 28 ]
GEO
RGIA
PGA
By Mike Blum
even Georgia PGA memberswill represent the state in thePGA ProfessionalChampionship, the national
championship for club professionalsin the U.S., which will be played thismonth at the Turning Stone Resort inVerona, N.Y. Georgia’s seven qualifiers include
two veterans with a combined 33starts in the event, and the state’s topfemale club professional, who made abig splash in the tournament twoyears ago. Craig Stevens and Tim Weinhart
have made17 and 16 starts respec-tively in the event, which waspreviously known as the PGA ClubProfessional Championship (CPC) anduntil this year the PGA ProfessionalNational Championship (PNC). Karen Paolozzi, who won the
2015 Georgia PGA PNC to qualify forthis year’s national championship, playedwell in the PNC two years ago in MyrtleBeach, getting plenty of Golf Channelairtime. She became just the secondwoman to make the cut in the event andfinished among the top 50, highlightedby a 4-under 32 on her final nine in thesecond round that enabled her to makethe cut. She finished with a 298 total tobreak Suzy Whaley’s tournament recordfor women. Joining Stevens, Weinhart and
Paolozzi in the PGA ProfessionalChampionship field are recent tourna-ment qualifiers Hank Smith, BrianPuterbaugh and Todd Ormsby, along
with 55-year-old “rookie” MarkAnderson. Smith and Puterbaugh bothcompeted in the PNC last year, withOrmsby competing in 2014. Andersonhas competed in the PGA Senior PNCtwice, but qualified for the first time forthe PGA PC for the first time afterplacing second in last year’s GeorgiaPGA qualifier. The 2016 PGA PC will be played June
26-29 at Turning Stone Resort, whichhosted a PGA Tour event from 2007-2010 and last was the site of the PGAPNC in 2006. Weinhart and Stevensboth made the cut in the event that year,with Weinhart tying for 16th and get-ting one of 20 spots in the 2006 PGAChampionship in a playoff, one of fivetimes he has qualified for the majorchampionship. Stevens has made three career PGA
Championship appearances, includingthe two most recent times AtlantaAthletic Club hosted the event (2001,2011). He and Weinhart are two of fourGeorgia PGA members who have mademultiple PGA Championship appear-ances over the past 20 years, joiningStephen Keppler (four) and SonnySkinner (three). Weinhart and Stevens both missed out
on last year’s PGA PNC, with Weinhartfailing to make it to nationals for the firsttime after 15 consecutive starts.Weinhart was third in last year’s GeorgiaPGA PNC, shooting 2-under 142 at
Dunwoody CC after opening with a 68. Stevens had to go extra holes to get one
of two available spots in a 4-man playoff.He took five holes to qualify, with Smithneeding eight holes to get the final spot. Weinhart and Stevens have been two of
the state’s most consistently successfulPGA competitors, winning a combined12 Player of the Year awards (eight byWeinhart, four by Stevens) since 1999.Weinhart has won all four of the GeorgiaPGA’s majors (Georgia Open, AtlantaOpen, GPGA Championship and MatchPlay Championship) among his 13 indi-vidual GPGA titles, with Stevens scoring12 GPGA victories and five state seniortitles since turning 50 in 2011. Bothhave won the state’s PNC qualifier threetimes each. This will be the second PGA PC
appearance for Paolozzi, who qualifiedfor the 2014 event while a member of theNorthern Ohio PGA Section. She quali-fied for a second time by winning theGeorgia PGA PNC last year atDunwoody CC, opening with a 66 andshooting 6-under 138 to finish two aheadof Anderson. Paolozzi, an assistant at Druid Hills
GC, has enjoyed considerable successsince moving to Georgia in early 2014.She won the 2014 Georgia Women’sOpen and was second last year, has beenthe runner-up in each of the last two
LPGA Teaching and ClubProfessional Championships,one of which was played atChateau Elan, and won theGeorgia PGA Assistants’Championship last year inaddition to her GPGA PNCvictory. She played in one ofthe LPGA’s majors last year –the Women’s PGAChampionship – and will com-pete in the event again thisyear. Anderson, an instructor at
Brunswick CC, has emerged asone of the Georgia PGA’s topplayers since he turned 50,scoring his second Georgia PGAtitle in 2015 (the Match PlayChampionship), 12 years afterhis only Section victory prior toturning 50. He finished secondin last year’s Georgia PGA PNCwith a 140 total, two shotsbehind Paolozzi.
Puterbaugh, an instructor at theHooch, made his second PNC start lastyear in northern California, competingfor the first time in 2008 at ReynoldsPlantation. He shot 1-under 143 last yearin the GPGA PNC to advance tonationals. He is one of three seniors fromGeorgia in the championship along withStevens and Anderson. Ormsby, the head pro at Highland
CC in LaGrange, was fifth in the GeorgiaPGA PNC last year to qualify fornationals for a second time. He won the2013 GPGA PNC at Champions Retreatto earn his first invitation and made the36-hole cut, but did not make it past the54-hole cut. Smith, the head pro at Frederica GC
on St. Simons Island, won the 2014Georgia PGA Championship at SeaIsland GC to earn his first start in thePGA PNC in 2015, and survived the 36-hole cut only to miss the 54-hole cut.Smith won two of the Georgia PGA’sfour majors in 2014, also taking theAtlanta Open at Atlanta National. Also in the field will be Tennessee club
pro Johan Kok, who grew up inPeachtree City before playing colle-giately at South Carolina and competingfor several years internationally as a tourpro. Kok tied for 10th in last year’s PNCin California to earn a spot in the 2015PGA Championship.
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7 Georgians qualify for national PGA event Weinhart, Stevens back in club pro championship
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eachtree Golf Club head pro-fessional Donn Perno put aquick end to a long day of golf,holing a birdie putt of some 35
feet on the first extra hole to win a 4-manplayoff in the Georgia PGA RivermontChampionship. The third-year tournament played all
36 holes in one day, and Perno’s lengthybirdie effort kept the playoff from con-tinuing and possibly running out ofdaylight. Perno almost won the tournament
without a playoff, just missing a 10-footer for eagle on his final hole of thesecond round – the par-5 second. To getin 36 holes in one day for the approxi-mately 80-player field, the tournamentutilized a shotgun start for both rounds,re-pairing after the morning round withthe leaders paired together. Hank Smith, James Mason and Ted
Meier shared the opening round lead at2-under 69, with Todd Ormsby, SethMcCain and Georgia State golf teammember Hayden Poole one shot back at70. Another college golfer – FloridaState’s Jonathan Keppler – was part ofa 4-way tie at 71 along with GeorgiaPGA members Tim Weinhart, KyleOwen and Bill Murchison. Perno was one of six players who shot
72 in the morning round, 2014Rivermont winner Chris Nicol amongthem. Ormsby, the head pro at Highland
CC in LaGrange, and Mason, aChampions Tour member for morethan a decade, were the fastestplayers out of the gate in the after-noon. Ormsby got off to a torrid start
with a birdie on the first hole andan eagle at the second. Masonmatched Ormsby’s birdie on thefirst and took the lead when hebirdied the fourth after Ormsbymade bogey at the third. Bothplayers bogeyed the fifth andMason also bogeyed the sixth,dropping the two into a four-way tie with McCain and Poole,who birdied both par 5s on theopening nine. Poole added birdies on the
par-5 10th and drivable par-411th, and followed with fourstraight pars to retain the leadwith just three holes to play.But the Georgia State sopho-more could not retain his advantage,three-putting 16 and 18 for bogeys witha bogey at the downhill par-3 17thcaused by an errant tee shot into the veg-etation left of the green. That brought seven other players back
into contention, with the shotgun startresulting in the eight main contendersfinishing on five different holes. Mason had a chance after getting back
to 3-under with a birdie at the 16th, histhird on the back nine, but he alsobogeyed the 17th for a 71 and a 2-under
140 total. McCain, an assistantat Jennings Mill, birdied thepar-5 10th and par-4 13th,which features a pronouncedtwo-tier green, to get to 2-under and parred in from therefor a second straight 70 to tieMason at 140. Owen, the head pro at
Dunwoody CC, was five shotsbehind Poole midway throughthe back nine, but birdies at 13,16 and 18 gave him a 69 and 140total after a par at the first hole,his 18th of the round. Perno, playing in the group in
front of Owen, was also well backas he neared the end of his round,but birdies at 16 and 18 gave hima chance with two holes to play.He parred the first and ended hisday with a terrific second shot to
hit the par-5second in two, two-putting for birdie anda 68 to make it a four-way playoff. Mason and Owen both hit their second
shots in the playoff on the par-4 18thcloser to the hole than Perno, but bothmissed after Perno rolled in his lengthyputt that gave him his second victory inan individual Georgia PGA event. Perno said he “felt pretty good” when
he was told the playoff would begin onthe 18th. “I birdied the 18th three timestoday. When they said we’re going to 18for the playoff, I said I’m gonna birdie itagain.” His first birdie of the day at the 18th
was one of just two for Perno in themorning round. He shot 72 with adouble bogey on the 12th, which wasagain converted from a par 5 to a par 4for the tournament. Perno had fivebirdies in an afternoon 68 and said, “Idon’t think I missed a shot.” Perno’s fifth birdie was a little more
adventurous than he would have liked.After giving himself an excellent oppor-tunity for an eagle and a victory inregulation, Perno ran his 10-footer aboutfive feet past the hole, making his come-backer to get into the playoff. Prior to missing his 10-footer for
eagle, Perno holed putts of 10 feet on 16and eight feet on 18, but had no ideathose birdies gave him a chance for vic-tory.
“I thought maybe three, four or five-under would win. When I was 1-over(for the tournament) late in the round,I was just hoping to finish in the top10.” Perno said he thought he might get
into a playoff if he holed the eagle putton his final hole of the day, and was cer-tainly relieved when he was told that2-under was good enough for a playoff. The only other individual victory for
Perno in the Georgia PGA Section camein the 2013 Match Play Championship.He also teamed with Peachtree assistantBrian Corn to win the 2010 Pro-Assistant Championship. “I always thought I’d win more,” said
Perno. “I’ve had a couple of chances.” Perno did not play in the Rivermont
Championship either of the first twoyears it was held, and said it had beenabout a decade since he played the course.In his last round at Rivermont, Pernowas one of two players to survive a 6-for-2 playoff in a U.S. Open local qualifier.The other successful qualifier was a highschool golfer from Macon who has madea name for himself since then – RussellHenley. The switch from a two-day tourna-
ment to a one-day, 36-hole event metwith Perno’s approval. “I’m fine playing 36 as long as we play
in a cart. It’s better playing one day soyou don’t miss a day of work.” Perno took home $2,000 for his vic-
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Perno takes 4-way playoff at Rivermont Birdies first extra hole to cap late surge
Donn Perno
James Mason
Seth McCain
[ See Rivermont, page 27 ]
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2 0 1 6 J U N E 13F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM
By Mike Blum
etro Atlanta has morethan its share of qualitydaily fee golf courses,but as you move beyond
the metro area into communities thatare not exactly hotbeds of golf, you canfind some hidden gems that are worththe drive to discover. The Chimneys Golf Course is Winder
is among that group. Located just a mile off Georgia 316 on
Highway 11 between Gwinnett Countyand Athens, the Chimneys is a munici-pally owned facility that has been aroundfor almost 15 years, but does not have avery high profile in the competitivemetro Atlanta market. The course opened in late 2001/early
2002 as part of the Eagle Greens familyof courses that was based in northeastGeorgia before expanding into thefringes of the metro area, opening threecourses just east of Gwinnett County. Eagle Greens began selling off its golf
course properties in the mid-2000s, andthe Chimneys went through several indi-vidual owners before being acquired bythe City of Winder three years ago. Chris Scott, the club’s long-time gen-
eral manager, has a long history withEagle Greens, and has been at theChimneys for 11 years. He says the lastthree years under city ownership havebeen among the best in the relatively briefhistory of the course, with the city able toprovide resources previously unavailable. “They’ve helped bring the course back
up,” Scott says of the city of Winder’sinvolvement. “They’ve put some moneyback into it and are very supportive.They love the golf course.” The Chimneys is known to its regulars
for the consistent quality of its condi-tioning and the significant disparity indifficulty between its two nines. Thefront nine ranges from 3364 yards (goldtees) to 3206 (blues) and 2977 (whites).The back nine, which has only one par 3and one par 5, measures more than 200yards shorter from all three sets, with theChimneys including shorter sets of teesfor seniors and women that do not featureas wide a gap in yardage. From the tips, the Chimneys is a
modest 6500 yards, with only three par4s topping 400 yards and six 365 yardsor less, including a pair in the 270 to 275
range that are part of the friendlyback nine. The blues are 6200 and thewhites a little under 5750, with thesenior (5330) and forward (4920) teesboth comfortable fits. The Chimneys is rated at 71.4/127
(gold), 69.9/124 (blue) and 68.0/117(white), with most of the challenge foundon the opening nine. The tree-linedcourse is generally open off the tee with amix of thick and thin tree lines, the latterallowing for recovery shots. Thebunkering is modest and other than somecarries over native areas, there are almostno hazards in play. A unique feature of the Chimneys is
the occasional presence of hand-laid rock-work on a number of holes, mainly on thefront nine. The rocks were present on thesite when the course was constructed, andinstead of removing them from the prop-erty, the rocks were utilized to enhancethe visual appeal. The rocks have beenpositioned around bunkers, bushes, treesand by themselves, and while they cancome into play, are there more for decora-tive purpose. With no development encroaching on
the course and some splendid views offorested backdrops, the Chimneys is anappealing course visually despite the lackof water in play. Phillip Ballard, who founded Eagle
Greens, and Carey Pittman, the headsuperintendent for the company, teamedup to design the Chimneys, which got itsname from some surviving chimneysfrom the original homestead located onthe property, most prominently in viewoff the 12th fairway.
The more challengingfront nine opens with a rel-atively tame par 4 thatfeatures rock formationssurrounding a pair offairway bunkers that pinchin from both sides. Therock formations are evenmore prominent on thescenic par-3 second, whichhas some length as well as a number ofgreenside bunkers bordered by the rocks. The next four holes are par 4s of
varying difficulty, several of whichrequire either a well-struck or well-placed tee shot to avoid serious problems.Holes three and four begin with modestcarries off the tee, with a thick tree linedown the right side more of a concern onthe third, and a large rolling green withno sand around it a factor on the fourth. The bent grass greens at the Chimneys
are quality surfaces but are not especiallyquick, with modest amounts of undula-tion on most of them. Without question, the most demanding
hole at the Chimneys is the fifth, thelongest of the par 4s at 425 from the backtees and a healthy 390 from the whites. Acarry of around 240 yards from the tipsand over 200 from the whites is requiredto clear a native area, longer if you try tocarry the hazard down the right side. Moving up to the green tees (354) is a
wise choice for players who can’t easilycarry it 200-plus, and Scott said there areplans to cut the grass short of the hazardat fairway length so shorter hitters cansafely lay up short of it. A front rightbunker gets lots of play, but is the only
problem area on or around the green. The sixth is open but plays a little
longer than its yardage, which is compa-rable to the fifth. Trees with rockformations on either side of the fairwayare potentially in play on the second shotto a green with no sand around it. The front nine concludes with two par
5s of differing lengths around a short-ishpar 3 with a large, rolling putting surfacethat produces its share of 3-putts. Thepar-5 seventh has some yardage (549golds, 528 blues) but offers a generousamount of fairway, while the ninth isconsiderably shorter (473 golds, 412whites) but has a native area across thewidth of the fairway that is within reachfor longer hitters off the tee. An offset white tee to the right creates a
difficult angle through trees that add tothe difficulty of the hole, which playsuphill beyond the hazard over a large frontbunker protecting a kidney-shaped green. If you make it through the front nine
relatively unscathed, the likelihood ofposting a pleasing score is considerable.The back nine consists of seven par 4s, allbut one or two of which are driver-short
[ See Chimneys, page 32 ]
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Chimneys enjoyable, affordable, well-conditioned Winder-owned course worth the drive to find it
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2 0 1 6 J U N E 15F O R E G E O R G I A . C O M
By Mike Blum
he Georgia Bulldogs won theirNCAA Regional at Ol’ Colonyin Birmingham and will be theonly team from the state in the
NCAA Championship, which will beplayed May 27-June 1 in Eugene, Ore. The Bulldogs led after each round,
shooting 4-under 284 the first day fol-lowed by back-to-back scores of 6-under282. Georgia led South Carolina by threeshots after 18 holes, by three after 36 andwon by four. Alabama, Kentucky andAuburn finished 3-4-5 to give the SEC asweep of the five berths in the NCAAChampionship.Georgia’s Greyson Sigg captured
individual honors with scores of 68-71-68 for a 9-under 207 total. The juniorfrom Augusta matched the low scores ofthe tournament in both the first andthird rounds. Sigg’s opening 68 was matched by
Peachtree Corners sophomore ZachHealy, who tied for sixth at 212 afterscores of 71-73. Healy’s third round scoredid not count, as the other four Georgiagolfers shot par or better. Lee McCoy, a senior from
Clarkesville, and Sepp Straka, a seniorfrom Valdosta, both tied for 17th at 217.McCoy posted scores of 75-70-72, withStraka contributing a first round 73 anda closing 70. His second round did notcount, as the Bulldogs got a strong effortfrom Griffin freshman Tye Waller, theteam’s No. 5 player, the last two rounds. Waller matched McCoy’s second round
70 for the team’s low score of the day, andagain tied McCoy in the final round witha 72. It was Georgia’s fourth regional title
since 2007, with the Bulldogs advancingto nationals for the 18th time in 20attempts under coach Chris Haack.Georgia won NCAA titles in 1999 and2005. Georgia Tech, Augusta and
Kennesaw State all placed sixth or sev-enth in their respective regionals, withthe top five teams advancing to nationalsfrom each of the six regional sites.Georgia State also failed to advance. The Yellow Jackets tied for seventh in
the Tucson Regional, four shots behindthe team that finished fifth. Tech putitself in an early hole with an openingscore of 297, following with totals of 288
and 282 to make a run at a top-5showing. Albany sophomore Jacob Joiner shot
a final round 68 to tie for 17th at evenpar 216 along with teammates ChrisPetefish and Vince Whaley, who alsobroke par in the third round. Petefishwas low for the Jackets in the first roundwith a 70 and shot 71 the final day.
Tech had to count scores of 74(Columbus sophomore James Clark), 75(Petefish) and 78 (Joiner) the first day,but the team rebounded the next tworounds. Joiner (70), Whaley (71) andClark (72) all shot par or better thesecond day, with a 75 by Petefish thehigh counting score. Joiner’s 68 was low for Tech in the
final round, followed by scores of 70(Whaley), 71 (Petefish) and 73 (Clark),with Clark shooting 219 for 54 holes.Acworth junior Michael Hines strug-gled throughout the tournament and didnot post a counting score. Georgia State was 11th of 14 teams
in the regional at 891. Alex Herrmanntied for 26th at 219, and was the onlyPanther to finish in the top 50. NickBudd, a freshman from Woodstock, waslow for Georgia State the first day with a74, Herrmann shot 69 the second round,the team’s lone sub-par score for the tour-nament, with Budd (72) and Lexingtonjunior Nathan Mallonee (73) leadingthe way the final day. In his final appearance for the
Panthers, senior J.J. Grey shot 75-74-76,with his last round not counting. Augusta placed sixth in the
Oklahoma State Regional with a 912total, two shots behind the fifth placeteam. The Jaguars shot 303-309-300,hanging around the fifth position theentire tournament. Jake Marriott tiedfor 10th at 223, with Broc Everett T22at 228. Scores of 71 by Marriott and 74
by Everett the first day were the team’sonly scores better than 75 on thedemanding Karsten Creek layout. Emmanuel Kountakis, a junior from
Augusta, had non-counting scores thefirst two days, but was one of fourJaguars to shoot 75 in the final round. Kennesaw State was tied for third
after one round and tied for fourth afterthe second day, but dropped back to sev-enth in the Texas A&M Regional despiteshooting 17-under for the tournament.The Owls ended up five shots behind thefifth place team, posting under-par scoresin all three rounds. The Owls opened with a 283 total, led
by Cumming junior Chris Guglielmo,who shot 3-under 69. TeremoanaBeaucousin was next with a 70 andFredrik Nilehn and Morganton sopho-more Wyatt Larkin both added roundsof even par 72. Kennesaw shot 9-under 279, its low
score of the tournament, in the secondround, but fell one spot into a tie forfourth. Guglielmo, Beaucousin andNilehn all carded scores of 69, withCumming freshman Jake Fendt con-tributing a 72. Larkin’s 73 did not count. Fendt came up big in the final round
with a 67 and Nilehn closed with a 70 totie for 18th in the tournament at 211.Larkin added a 73, but after leading theteam the first two days, Guglielmo andBeaucousin both shot 75 the final day.Guglielmo finished tied for 25th at 213.
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eorgia’s men’s andwomen’s golf teams bothfailed to make the 54-hole cut in the NCAA
Championships played recently inEugene, Ore. Georgia tied for 14th in the men’s
championship, with the top 15 teamsadvancing to the final round of strokeplay qualifying. Of the five teams thattied for 14th, Louisville andOklahoma advanced while Georgia,Clemson and TCU were eliminated ina tiebreaker.
The tiebreaker was the combined totalof the three non-counting scores from thefirst three rounds of the tournament,with Georgia finishing three strokesbehind Oklahoma, which was second inthe tiebreaker to get the last spot for thefinal day of qualifying. The Bulldogs were tied for 19th after
an opening score of 11-over 291, shot284 the second day to tie for 15th goingto the final round, and closed with a 292to finish at 867. Georgia’s top four players – seniors
Lee McCoy and Sepp Straka, juniorGrayson Sigg and sophomore ZachHealy – had all their scores count in each
round, as freshman Tye Waller postedthree non-counting scores. McCoy shot 69-70-70 for a 1-under
209 total and was eighth after 54 holes toearn a spot as an individual in the finalround. Straka matched McCoy’s opening69 and Sigg shot 70 the next day to tieMcCoy for the team’s low score, but thenext lowest scores for the Bulldogs atnationals were 72s by Straka and Healyin the second round, when the teamposted its best score. Georgia had to count scores of 76
(Sigg) and 77 (Healy) the first day, with
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Both Georgia teams miss cut at nationals
16 F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM J U N E 2 0 1 6
[ See Georgia in NCAAs, page 18 ]
By Mike Blum
he Georgia women’s teamwon an NCAA Regionalhosted by Texas A&M, withthe Lady Bulldogs qualifying
for the NCAA Championship for the firsttime since 2009. UGA freshman Bailey Tardy of
Peachtree Corners shared medalist honorsfor the tournament with a score of 7-under 209, with fellow freshman JillianHollis fourth at 211. Roswell’s RinkoMitsunaga, the third freshman inGeorgia’s lineup, shot a final round 68and tied for 12th at 215. Led by scores of 69 from Tardy and 70
from Hollis, Georgia opened with a 3-under 285 total to tie for the lead after theopening round. Junior Harang Lee addeda 72 and Mitsunaga contributed a 74. Georgia shot 284 in the second round
but fell to third, two behind Arizona and
one in back of UCLA. Hollis led Georgiawith a 67, with Tardy adding a secondstraight 69. Mitsunaga shot 73, with Leeand St. Simons junior Mary EllenShuman both carding scores of 75.Led by Mitsunaga’s 68, the only sub-
70 score the final round, Georgia closed
with a 289 to win by six over Arizonaand by seven over UCLA. Tardy shot 71to tie for medalist honors, with Hollistalking fourth individually after a 74.Shuman, who played consistently in thetournament with scores of 75-75-76,adding the fourth counting score for theLady Bulldogs. The Lady Bulldogs were the lone
Georgia team in the NCAA Women’sChampionship, which was played May25-30 in Eugene, Ore. Georgia finished a distant sixth in the
SEC Women’s Golf Championship atGreystone CC in Birmingham, endingthe 54-hole event 30 strokes behindAlabama’s winning total of 859. The Lady Bulldogs posted scores of
296-296-297 for a 25-over 889 total.They trailed by 10 shots after the firstround and by 14 after 36, with Alabamapulling away in the final round with a 7-under 281 to finish five shots in front of
runner-up Florida, which was tied for thelead with one round to play. Hollis led Georgia, tying for 11th at
219, with Lee T16 at 221. Tardy ofPeachtree Corners shot 1-under 71 in theopening round, but closed with scores of77 and 75 and tied for 23rd at 223.Mitsunaga closed with back-to-backscores of 75 and placed 39th at 228. The Augusta women’s team, which
does not belong to a conference, alsocompeted in the Regionals, placing 13thout of 18 teams in Baton Rouge, La. TheLady Jaguars shot 311-301-301 for a 913total, led by junior Eunice Yi of Evans,who tied for 22nd at 220. Yi posted scores of 71 and 72 the final
two rounds, with Roswell junior JessicaHaigwood contributing an opening 74before suffering through a tough day inthe second round. Junior JosefineNyqvist contributed scores of 73-74 thefirst two days.
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Bailey Tardy
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Georgia women capture NCAA Regional title
Georgia in NCAAs[ Continued from page 16]
Sigg (73), Straka (74) and Healy (75)all faltering on the difficult back ninein the final round. As a team, Georgia was even par on
the front nine the final day and waswell within the top-15 cut line andin position for a top-8 finish at theend of 72 holes, which would qualifythe Bulldogs for match play. However, Georgia’s top four
players were a combined 12-over onthe back nine, with McCoy trying tosalvage the team’s hopes with a birdieon the final hole. That got Georgiainto a somewhat contrived version ofa scorecard playoff, and broughtWaller’s three scores into play. Like his teammates, Waller strug-
gled on his final nine of thetournament. Waller was 1-underafter six holes in the third round, butplayed the last 12 holes in 14-over(11-over 46 on the back) for an 83,when a 79 would have enabled theBulldogs to survive the playoff.Waller was a respectable 5-over after13 holes, but took a triple bogey andtwo double bogeys on the final fiveholes. Straka was second behind McCoy
for 54 holes with a 215 total followed
by Sigg at 219 and Healy at 224. McCoyshot 72 in the final round to finish in atie for sixth at 281. He was in positionfor a top-3 finish but went 3-over on thelast two holes in his final round as aBulldog. The Georgia women shot 298-291-
298 for a 23-over 887 total, four behind15th place Florida State. The LadyBulldogs turned in a solid second roundwith four scores between 72 and 74, buthad to count a 77 by freshman BaileyTardy the first day and a 78 by fellowfreshman Rinko Mitsunaga the finalround. Junior Harang Lee had the team’s
low total (220) with scores of 73-74-73. Tardy rebounded from her opening77 with consecutive scores of 72,matching the team’s low round thesecond day and leading the LadyBulldogs in the final round. Fellow freshman Jillian Hollis
matched Tardy’s 72 the second day andalso finished with a 221 total. Mitsunagashot 74-73 the first two days and endedup at 225. Junior Mary Ellen Shumanmatched Tardy’s 77 the first day, but herfinal two scores did not count. The state of Georgia was again repre-
sented in the match play portion of thetournament by Jonesboro’s MariahStackhouse, a senior on Stanford’s team. Stanford won the national champi-
onship last year thanks to a clutch
performance by Stackhouse in the deci-sive match in the finals, and she almostlifted the Cardinal to a second straighttitle. After placing second in stroke play
qualifying, Stanford won its first twomatches over South Carolina and Dukeby scores of 3-2, with Stackhouse win-ning both her matches. She won 2-upagainst South Carolina to clinch thatmatch and won 3&2 in the first matchagainst Duke to lead her team to victory.
Stackhouse won her match in thefinals against Washington on the 20thhole to give Stanford a chance, butWashington came away with a 3-2 vic-tory to deny Stanford a repeat title. After a poor first round in the stroke
play portion of the tournament,Stackhouse shot 69-70-72 the nextthree days to lead the Cardinal, andwent 3-0 in match play in her finalrounds as a collegiate golfer.
Lee McCoy
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By Mike Blum
he Symetra Tour returned toGeorgia for the first timesince 2012, and had the mis-fortune of inheriting the rainy
weather usually reserved for theChampions Tour event at TPC Sugarloaf. Atlanta’s Champions Tour event
enjoyed a rare precipitation-free week inApril, but the Symetra tournament wasimpacted by May showers, although itstarted and ended on schedule eventhough players and spectators got wet atvarious times. The damp and unseasonably cool con-
ditions that prevailed for much of thetournament did not prevent an excitingfinish, which involved the player whohas dominated the tour this year. Madelene Sagstrom, a 23-year-old
Swede who is a professional rookie afterearning SEC Player of the Year honorsand first team All-America status atLSU in 2015, won two of the first sixSymetra Tour events of 2016, finishingsecond, third and fifth in three of herother four starts. Sagstrom nearly earned a third win on
the season last week at Atlanta National,settling for the second runner-up finishof her young pro career win the inauguralGosling’s Dark ‘n Stormy Classic. Thevictory would have earned Sagstrom animmediate promotion to the LPGA Tour,where she will play next year regardlessof how she does on the Symetra Tour therest of the season. With her second runner-up finish and
sixth top-5 in seven starts, Sagstrombecame the first player to eclipse$100,000 in a season on the LPGA’sdevelopmental tour, becoming the topsingle season money winner exactly one-third of the way through the 2016season. Sagstrom, who won previous Symetra
Tour events in Ft. Myers, Fla., andGreenwood, S.C., trailed by one shotgoing to the final hole of the tournamentand reached the par-5 ninth in two atAtlanta National, with the hole playingas the 18th for the tournament. She madeher seventh birdie of the day on the holeto finish with a final round 70 and a 54-hole total of 5-under 211 on thedemanding Pete Dye layout, but thatwasn’t quite enough. Laura Wearn, a former Furman golfer
from Charlotte, held offSagstrom with a two-putt birdieof her own on the tournament’sfinishing hole, completing awire-to-wire victory. Wearn finished the tourna-
ment at 6-under 210,highlighted by an opening 65that gave her a 2-shot lead overSagstrom. Wearn fell into a tie for
the lead after a secondround 73, but won a three-player duelfrom Sagstrom and Thailand’s PrimaThammaraks, who shared the 36-holelead. Thammaraks, who played her college
golf at Iowa State, has competed in twoLPGA events this year, but was makingjust her second Symetra start. She openedwith back-to-back scores of 69, andjumped out to a quick 3-shot lead thefinal day when she parred the first twoholes while a nervous Wearn startedbogey-double bogey.Sagstrom, who started the third round
three shots back after scores of 67-74—141, birdied the first hole, but fell threebehind Thammaraks when she bogeyedthe second. Wearn rebounded with a birdie at the
dangerous par-3 12th at AtlantaNational, which played as No. 3 for thetournament. A bogey at the fifth andanother at the seventh cost Thammaraksthe lead, and when Wearn reached theconverted par-5 ninth – No. 18 atAtlanta National – in two and madeeagle, her 3-stroke deficit early in theround was suddenly a 3-shot lead. Birdies at 10 and 11 increased Wearn’s
lead to a seemingly comfortable fiveshots over both her playing partners, but
bogeys at 12 and 13 combined with abirdie by Sagstrom at the 12th quicklyreduced Wearn’s lead to two, Sagstromalso birdied the short, par-3 sixth (tour-nament 15) to close within one, but herbogey on 16 was matched by a Wearnbogey on 17, leaving the lead at onegoing to 18. Thammaraks also birdied the 15th to
get within two of Wearn, but a bogey at17 prevented her from cutting the deficitto one going to 18. She parred the finalhole for a 75 to tie for third at 213 withLPGA Tour veteran Kristy McPherson,who birdied the last three holes of herfinal round for a 71. Wearn’s final round 72 included an
eagle, four birdies, four bogeys and adouble bogey. She also eagled the 18th inthe opening round, when she playedAtlanta National’s par 5s in 5-under toshoot 7-under 65 for a 2-stroke lead Sagstrom was 1-over after 10 holes in
the opening round when she holed hersecond shot on Atlanta National’s par-411th for eagle. She added four morebirdies on the nine, including holes 16,17 and 18 for a back nine 30 and a 67 tolead the morning wave before Wearnshot 65 in the afternoon.Wearn fell into a tie after 36 holes after
a second round 73 that began with ninestraight pars and ended with pars on herlast eight holes after a bogey on AtlantaNational’s first hole (tournament 10). Thammaraks moved into a tie for the
lead with a second straight 69, whichincluded her only bogey of the first 36holes. She had five bogeys the final dayagainst only two birdies.The victory for Wearn came one year
after she underwent back surgerywhich sidelined her for almost allof what would have been hersecond season on the tour. “To win just over a year after
surgery is awesome,” Wearn saidafter her victory. “I definitelydidn’t think I’d come back thatquickly. “It was a tough process and it
was frustrating that I had to missmost of last year. Everyone toldme that it takes a long time tocome back, but you’ll get thereeventually.” Wearn said her victory “gives
me confidence I can compete outhere, and that every week is truly
an opportunity to win. “ In her rookie season of 2014, Wearn
made just five of 17 cuts and earned alittle over $5,200. She missed her firstthree cuts of 2016 but made her lastthree prior to her win in at AtlantaNational. She earned $15,000 from the$100,000 purse to move up from 72 to17 on the money list. The top 10 at theend of the season earn spots on the 2017LPGA Tour. Five Georgians competed in the tour-
nament, including Symetra Tourmembers Jean Reynolds, Lacey Fearsand Melissa Siviter, and sponsorexemptions Karen Paolozzi andMargaret Shirley. Reynolds was the only one to make the
cut, finishing well back after a 2-under70 had her among the top 10 after thefirst round. Reynolds, a Newnan nativeand veteran Symetra Tour member,barely made the cut after a second round80 and followed with a 76 for a 226 total.Reynolds was 27th on the money listafter the tournament. Fears, a former Mercer golf team
member from Bonaire, opened with a 73and was in good position to make the cutafter shooting 1-over on her first nine thenext day. But she shot 43 on her finalnine for an 80 and missed the cut bythree shots at 153. Paolozzi, a Georgia PGA member and
one of the country’s top female club pro-fessionals, struggled the first day with an81, but bounced back with a 1-under 71in the second round to miss the cut bytwo at 152. A poor day on the greens and
[ See Symetra Tour, page 22 ]
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20 F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM J U N E 2 0 1 6
Wearn takes Symetra event at Atlanta National
SYMETR
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Edges tour’s top player with birdie on final hole
Madelene Sagstom
SYMETR
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Laura Wearn
By Mike Blum
hen Jean Reynoldscompleted her secondround in the recentSymetra Tour event
played at Atlanta National, she wasunderstandably unhappy after a score of80, 10 shots higher than her score theday before. Reynolds, a Newnan native and resi-
dent, was pretty certain she was going tomiss the cut after being in the top 10 fol-lowing an opening round of 70, not apleasant occurrence for a tour profes-sional. As scores went up after she finished her
round, Reynolds wound up making thecut on the number, but finished near thebottom in the final results after a 76,making just $355 for her tie for 59th. The 31-year-old Reynolds has been
playing on the Symetra Tour (formerlythe Futures Tour) since 2008, competingon the LPGA Tour in 2009-10 andmissing most of the 2011 season with ashoulder injury. She has been a remark-ably consistent performer on the LPGA’sdevelopmental tour, finishing between27th and 43rd on the money list in fourof her five full seasons, placing second in2009 to earn a promotion to the LPGATour the next year. One-third of the way through the
2016 season, Reynolds is in a familiarspot on the money list at No. 28, whichwould keep her exempt for 2017 butwould not result in her return to theLPGA Tour. Reynolds has placed 34th, 27th and
31st on the money list the last three yearson the Symetra Tour and is in line tomatch those efforts this year. With her thoughts lingering on her
disappointing showing in the secondround at Atlanta National, Reynoldsoffered a less-than-positive perspectiveon her recent career path. When asked to comment on her con-
sistent finishes on the money list the lastthree years, Reynolds said she is “not OKwith that. That gets you nothing outhere. It’s been three pretty frustratingyears since I had surgery on myshoulder.” Like the PGA Tour, the LPGA Tour
offers two paths to tour membership. ThePGA Tour offers 25 spots to the top fin-ishers on the Web.com money list
compared to 10 Symetra players whoearn LPGA tour cards. Another 25players earn PGA Tour berths throughtheir play in the Web.com Finals, whilethe LPGA sets aside 20 exempt spotsfrom its qualifying finals, with another25 or so players earning limited statusfrom their finish at Q-school. Reynolds has been among those 25
each of the last two years, but her statushas resulted in her making the total ofjust one start in an LPGA event, thatcoming in 2015. During her two seasons on the LPGA
Tour, Reynolds made a total of 23 starts,about the average for one season for the50 players who qualify for the PGA Tour.The LPGA plays considerably fewer tour-naments, and most of the LPGA’soverseas events, which account for aboutone-third of the schedule, have limitedfields. Reynolds was considered a potential
rising star after an outstanding year in2009. She finished second on the Futuresmoney list, collecting two wins, tworunner-up finishes and two thirds, buther biggest accomplishment that yearwas a tie for 17th in the U.S. Open. For 54 holes, Reynolds was a con-
tender and received considerable airtimefrom NBC and praise from JohnnyMiller, but fell back the final day with a77. She came away with a check foralmost $43,000, more than half herseason earnings on the Futures Tour thatseason. Reynolds looks back on that tourna-
ment with mixed emotions. “That was so long ago. That was a dif-
ferent time. I’m a different person now. Iwas different player then, and a lot hashappened since then.” From a playing standpoint, the biggest
difference is the shoulder injury, whichReynolds said began bothering her earlyin 2010. She made just four of 14 cutsthat year on the LPGA Tour, barelymaking enough money to retain non-exempt status for 2011. She made justone cut in nine starts that year, recordinga top 20 finish in her first tournamentappearance, but did not make it to theweekend again in 2011 while trying toplay through the shoulder injury. Due to her surgery, Reynolds made
just one Symetra Tour start in 2012, butrebounded with a solid season in 2013and two more the next two years. Despite her respectable results since
the surgery, Reynolds said her shoulder“still bothers me some. I have to dealwith it constantly, but that’s what youexpect in sports.” Reynolds believes she can get back to
her level of play in 2009.
“I wouldn’t be out here if I didn’t. Butthe competition is so much better than itwas then and it’s hard to graduate outhere. It would be nice if we could add afew cards. “ Although admittedly frustrated by her
inability to get back to the LPGA Tour,Reynolds says she has no plans to changeher career path. “I’ll keep doing this until I get tired of
the competition. If I had another job, I’dbe bored out of my mind.” Reynolds has made six starts thus far
in 2016, making the cut in all six. Shefinished outside the top 40 in four ofthem, with her best showing coming inconsecutive weeks in Florida, when sheplaced sixth and 15th. “I started good in Florida, but mostly
I’ve been inconsistent, off and on.” Reynolds will need a few big weeks the
rest of the season if she hopes to moveinto the top 10 and avoid another visit toQ-school, where she has fallen just shortof regaining her LPGA status the last fewyears. Prior to turning pro in 2007, Reynolds
was one of most decorated junior andamateur players in Georgia, but made thedecision not to play golf in college,attending and graduating from the U. ofGeorgia as a non-athletic student. As a junior, Reynolds twice won
Georgia’s Girls Championship and wasthe GSGA’s Girls Player of the Year in2000 and ’02. She qualified for four U.S.Girls Championships, reaching the quar-terfinals in 2002. Reynolds won GSGAwomen’s events in 2003, ’05 and ’07, andcaptured the Georgia Women’s GolfAssociation Championship in ’06. Shealso shared in a USGA title as part ofGeorgia’s winning 3-player team in the2005 State Team Championship.
Jean Reynolds
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Reynolds shooting to get back to LPGA Tour Consistent play not enough for return to top
Symetra Tour [ Continued from page 20 ]
a 7 on the island green, par-3 17thdoomed Paolozzi’s first round. Shirley, the state’s top female amateur,
shot 76-74—150 to make the cut on thenumber, but after the second round, shedetermined that she had taken animproper drop and was disqualified.Shlrley is the Executive Director forAtlanta Junior Golf and has reached the
finals of the last three U.S. Women’sMid-Amateur Championship, winningthe title in 2014. Also competing in the tournament was
Siviter, a former Georgia State golfer whohas settled in the Atlanta area. She shot162 for 36 holes. Former UGA golfer and St. Simons
resident Garrett Phillips, a SymetraTour veteran, did not play at AtlantaNational, and tour member LaceyAgnew of Jonesboro was unable to playdue to recent shoulder surgery.
2 0 1 6 J U N E 23F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM
By Mike Blum
wo local qualifiers for the2016 U.S. Open were held inGeorgia recently, with 10players with Georgia ties
advancing to sectional qualifying. Ten sectional qualifiers will be played
June 6 to fill out the field for this year’sU.S. Open, which will be played June16-19 at Oakmont CC outsidePittsburgh. One of the sectional quali-fiers will be played at Ansley Golf Club’sSettindown Creek in Roswell. The two Georgia qualifiers were
played at Planterra Ridge in PeachtreeCity and Jennings Mill outside Athens. Sharing medalist honors at Planterra
Ridge was Kennesaw State golfer ChrisGuglielmo of Cumming, Georgia Techgolfer Jacob Joiner of Albany and tourplayer Mitch Krywulycz, who played onAugusta State’s national championshipteams in 2010 and ’11.
Georgia Tech signee LukeSchniederjans of Powder Springstied for fourth at 67, and NorthCarolina State signee BenjaminShipp of Duluth and South Carolinagolfer Ryan Stachler of Alpharettagot the final two spots at 68. Georgia Tech golfer Vince Whaley
shot 69 and is first alternate. Alsoshooting 69 was 2015 Georgia Openchampion Davin White of LocustGrove, West Georgia golfer BarrettWaters of Dallas, Florida State golferJonathan Keppler of Marietta, UGAsignee Spencer Ralston of Gainesville,Georgia College golfer HarrisonStewart of Roswell, and pro JacobTilton of Evans. Bryan Fox, a recent teammate of
Stewart at Roswell HS and GeorgiaCollege, was the medalist at JenningsMill, the former site of a Web.com tour-nament. Fox shot 2-under 70 and was theonly player to break par. Ten players shot 73, requiring a playoff for six quali-
fying spots and two alternates. Among the qualifiers was former
Georgia Tech golfer James White ofAcworth, a recent winner of a mini-tourevent at Kinderlou Forest in Valdosta(also a former Web.com Tour site), UGAgolfer Jaime Lopez Rivarola andAlpharetta junior golfer Ryoto Furuya.The two alternates are Marietta proJonathan Cox and former Georgia Techgolfer Seth Reeves of Suwanee, likeWhite a mini-tour pro. Fox, who is playing with White and
Reeves on the Swing Thought Tour, was1-over par on his round after 12 holesbefore making birdie on the fourth holeat Jennings Mill, an eagle on the par-5fifth and a birdie at the seventh before aclosing bogey on the par-5 ninth. Results of Georgians in qualifiers out-
side the state: At Limestone Springs in Oneonta,
Ala., former Kennesaw State golfer MattNagy of Buena Vista tied for second witha 67. Evans mini-tour player ChipDeason shot 68 and won a 3-for-1playoff for the final spot. Barent Greyling of Evans tied for
first in Jupiter, Fla., with a 71. Macon’sTravis Steed shot 69 at Amelia Island,Fla., to tie for fourth and survived a 3-for-2 playoff. Savannah’s Drew Aimoneshot 70 and is second alternate. DaltonReese of Warrenton tied for fourth atCarolina CC in Spartanburg, S.C., and is
first alternate, withGeorgia Tech golfer James Clark ofColumbus also shooting 68 for secondalternate. In Memphis, Roswell’s SheaSylvester, who plays collegiately inTennessee, shot 70 and won a 2-for-1playoff to advance. Former Alpharetta resident Derek
Chang, who played at Augusta State,tied for second in Dallas with a 72, andex-Georgia Tech golfer and Web.comTour member Matt Weibring was co-medalist in Amarillo with a 66. BoAndrews, a recent Georgia Tech golfer,advanced from a 3-for-2 playoff in Butler,Pa. and Athens’ Kyle Mueller, whoplays his college golf at Michigan, tiedfor second in Medina, Ohio. In Cincinnati, Dacula’s Emerson
Newsome, a member of the U. ofCincinnati golf team, and formerCherokee T&CC pro Dave Bahr bothqualified after shooting 71 to tie forfourth. Veteran Savannah tour playerTim O’Neal shot 67 in Jacksonville andtied for second to advance to sectionals.Augusta’s Lee Knox, a two-timeGeorgia Amateur champion, is first alter-nate after shooting 70 to get into a7-for-1 playoff. Augusta’s Chase Parker was medalist
at Secession GC in Beaufort, S.C., with a66. Bradley Smith of Marietta, who hasreturned to playing professionally afterworking as an instructor at Eagle’sLanding, tied for fifth in Knoxville witha 68 and is second alternate.
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24 F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM J U N E 2 0 1 6
Georgians advance in U.S. Open qualifying
Chris Guglielmo
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Guglielmo, Joiner, Fox, White on to sectionals
By Mike Blum
ince his outstanding PGA Tourseason in 2013, RobertoCastro has been searching to re-locate the game that landed him
in the Tour Championship at East Lakein just his second season in golf’s majorleagues. Castro finished 21st in the FedExCup
standings in 2013 and seemed headedfor a prosperous PGA Tour career after asuccessful early stretch as a pro on mini-tours and the Web.com Tour. A poor season in 2014 cost Castro
his exempt PGA Tour status after henarrowly missed finishing in the top25 of the Web.com Finals. Things got even worse last year,
but Castro managed to salvage hisseason with three straight top-10 fin-ishes in the Web.com Finals to regainhis PGA Tour status for 2015-16. Castro will not have to worry about
going back to the Web.com Finals fora third straight year, taking care ofthat concern with his runner-up finishin the recent Wells Fargo Classic atQuail Hollow in Charlotte. The 30-year-old Atlanta resident, a
2007 Georgia Tech graduate, nearlyscored his first PGA Tour victory thatweek, losing in a playoff to JamesHahn after playing in the final groupin both the third and fourth rounds. Thanks to his runner-up finish, Castro
earned $788,400, vaulted to 33rd in theFedExCup standings, assured his exemptstatus for 2017 and put himself in posi-tion to make a second appearance at EastLake this Fall. Castro, whose best previous finish on
the PGA Tour was solo second atCongressional in 2013, held the lead lateon the back nine in the final round atQuail Hollow, but had to battle his wayinto a playoff with a clutch par on thedemanding finishing hole after takingbogey on both 16 and 17. “I feel like just a lot of positives,”
Castro said when asked what he wouldtake away from the narrow miss in hisattempt to score his first PGA Tour vic-tory. “I hit two shots I didn’t like on 16 and
17, but that’s OK. It’s something I’llwork on. I made a lot of good putts on
the back nine. I made a great putt to getin the playoff. I’ll be in this positionagain and tell myself I’ve made a six oreight-footer to get a chance to win atournament and try to do it again.” Castro is hoping to use the Charlotte
tournament as a springboard to a strongfinish to the 2016 season, much like hedid three years ago. “This is my time of year. I’ve always
played my best golf from here inCharlotte through the Playoffs. So I felt
like I was in a decent position for meheading into this stretch.” Castro’s long run of success three years
ago began in the first round of thePlayers Championship the week afterCharlotte. He matched a course record63 in the opening round, and recoveredfrom a shaky second round to record atop-20 finish. He was second atCongressional six weeks later, and fol-lowed with a tie for sixth in theCanadian Open and a tie for 12th in thePGA Championship in just his secondstart in one of golf’s four majors. That got Castro into the FedExCup
Playoffs, and he placed 25th, ninth, 15thand ninth in the four tournaments,closing out his career best year with a 65at East Lake and a top-10 finish in theTour Championship. It would be a while before Castro
played that well again. A tie for eighthin Charlotte was his only top-10 finishin 2014, and after finishing outside the top 125 in the FedExCup standings,just missed regaining his exempt status in the Web.com Finals despite atie for 10th in a Finals event, also inCharlotte. The 2015 season was almost a total
washout for Castro until he recordedthree straight top 10s in the Web.comFinals, highlighted by a
tie for second in Columbus, O. In his third start of the 2015-16
season, Castro opened with a 62 in thesecond-tier event in Mississippi, but fellback with a poor third round and tiedfor fourth. Since then, Castro has hadseveral more fast starts followed byhalting finishes, including PebbleBeach, where he was among the leadersthroughout the tournament beforeclosing with a 74 to tie for eighth. In Houston the week before the
Masters, Castro shared the openinground at 65, but was 2-over the final 54holes and finished tied for 27th. Castro took a slightly different path to
the top of the leader board at QuailHollow, shooting the low score of thesecond round (66) propelled by a 223-yard hole-out for eagle on thetreacherous 18th to get into the finalgroup Saturday. He remained in second
place after 54 holes and was paired withtournament leader and former championRickie Fowler in the final round. After weekend scores of 75, 74 and 76
the three previous times he contendedthis season, Castro played a solid finaltwo rounds in Charlotte, posting back-to-back scores of 1-under 71 to get intoa playoff. With Fowler fading to a 74, Castro
held the lead for most of the final round,notching four birdies and a lone bogeyover the first 15 holes. Castro missed thegreen on both 16 and 17, playing awayfrom the water guarding the oppositeside of both putting surfaces, with amissed par putt from inside four feet onthe 16th particularly costly. Hahn took the lead going to the final
hole, but bogeyed the 18th while Castromanaged par after hitting his secondshot – again from 223 yards – to thefringe and holing a six-footer for par toforce the playoff at 9-under 279, oneshot ahead of Justin Rose and two infront of Rory McIlroy and PhilMickelson, who both shot 66 the finalround. Castro pulled his tee shot on the first
playoff hole – the 18th – into the creekjust off the left edge of the fairway, butmanaged to save bogey thanks to achoked-down 5-wood from a nastysidehill lie, a deft chip that almost hitthe hole and another clutch putt. Hahnmade a solid par to win the playoff,leaving Castro with a $778,400 consola-tion prize, but no invitation to thePlayers Championship or the 2016 PGAChampionship and 2017 Masters, atleast not yet. Castro will likely earn a spot in this
year’s PGA Championship, and will belooking to qualify for the U.S. Open forthe fourth time in five years. A secondMasters start next year depends on howwell he plays the rest of 2016. Since he moved to Alpharetta as a
youngster, Castro has been a prominentname in the Georgia golf scene. He wasone of the country’s top junior golfers,winning an AJGA tournament in thestate and reaching the third round of the2002 U.S. Junior Championship atAtlanta Athletic Club before losing tothe eventual champion.
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26 GO L F F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM J U N E 2 0 1 6
Roberto Castro
Castro comes close to first PGA Tour winLoses late lead, playoff at Quail Hollow
Castro was a first team All-Americanand the Byron Nelson Award recipient asthe nation’s top senior golfer during hiscollege career at Georgia Tech. Althoughhe was one of the top players in the his-tory of the school’s golf program with 20top-10 finishes, his only victory was a tiefor first place in Puerto Rico as afreshman. Castro won numerous aca-demic honors at Georgia Tech,graduating in 2007 with the highesthonor in Industrial Engineering. During his early years as a pro, Castro
won five times on the former eGolf Tourbetween 2007 and 2010, two of themcoming in Savannah, and was theGeorgia Open champion in 2009 at
Barnsley Gardens. He played his wayonto the Web.com Tour in 2010, fin-ishing second in Wichita in August injust his third start of the year. Castro played a full schedule in 2011,
recorded 13 top-25 finishes in 25 startsand finished the year 23rd on the moneylist to earn a spot on the 2012 PGA Tour.He placed 77th in the FedExCup stand-ings as a rookie, breaking out in 2013with a highly successful sophomoreseason. Even if the 2016 season does not
match his efforts in 2013, this year hasalready been memorable for Castro, as heand his wife Katie celebrated the birth oftheir first child.
2 0 1 6 J U N E 27F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM
Rivermont [ Continued from page 12 ]
tory in the tournament, which was againsponsored by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. Poole, who played his high school golf
at nearby Johns Creek HS, was one offour golfers to tie for fifth at 141, oneshot out of the playoff. Poole played spar-ingly as a sophomore for Georgia Statethis season, and was not in the lineupwhen the Panthers competed in theNCAA Regionals the week after theRivermont event. He shot 70 the firstday, playing the front nine in 4-under 32,and did not have a 5 on his scorecard thesecond day before his nervous finish. Among the players also tying for fifth
was amateur Kane Whitehurst, likePoole a star athlete at a north Fultonhigh school, but in a different sport.Whitehurst was a member of the 2010state championship football team atChattahoochee and went to Arkansas on ascholarship before transferring to SouthCarolina, where he played as a widereceiver. Whitehurst closed with a 67that included three straight birdies onholes 1, 2 and 3, before finishing hisround with two straight pars. Amateur Donny Phillips and Fox
Creek instructor Brian Dixon also shot67 in the afternoon round to tie for fifthat 141. Phillips had seven birdies in theafternoon round, including three on hislast five holes, but a double bogey at thepar-4 ninth, his fifth hole of the day,proved costly. He shared low amateurhonors with Poole and Whitehurst. Dixon, a two-time Georgia PGA
Match Play champion, gave himself achance to get into the playoff when hebirdied the 18th and eagled the second,but like playing partner Phillips, also
parred his last two holes to come up oneshot short. Tying for ninth at 142 was Cartersville
CC head pro Bill Hassell and amateurBilly Mitchell, who won the recentGeorgia Senior Open. Mitchell shot 69 inthe afternoon, closing strong with abirdie at the first and an eagle at thesecond, his 16th and 17th holes of theround. Ormsby and Nicol tied for 11th at 143
along with Cherokee T&CC assistant J.P.Griffin. Ormsby was among the con-tenders until back-to-back double bogeysat holes 12 and 13 and a bogey at 14,more than offsetting three birdies on theback nine. Nicol, an assistant at GeorgiaGolf Center, had 16 pars in a final round71, with his lone birdie coming at theninth. Weinhart, the Director of Instruction
at Heritage Golf Links, and Keppler, theson of Marietta CC head pro StephenKeppler, both shot 73 in the afternoonto tie for 14th at 144. Weinhart managedjust two birdies in his final round, whileKeppler’s afternoon round was high-lighted by an eagle on the par-4 11thafter driving the green.
Kyle Owen
GEO
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PGA
By Mike Blum
olfers with Georgia ties con-tinued their run of successon the 2016 Web.com Tour,winning the two most
recent events in May in consecutiveweeks. Trey Mullinax, a member of
Alabama’s back-to-back NCAAChampionship teams and a St. SimonsIsland resident, scored a recent win inRaleigh, N.C., and currently stands fifthon the money list. Mullinax, who playedhis rookie Web.com season in 2015, tiedfor fifth in a tournament in Colombiaearly this year, and has effectively lockedup his PGA Tour card for 2016-17 withthe current Web.com season less thanhalf over. Recent Georgia Tech golfer Richy
Werenski wrapped up a 2016-17 PGATour card with a victory the followingweek in the BMW Charity Pro-Am,played at three courses in the Greenville,S.C., area. Werenski, a 2014 Tech grad-uate, had a solid rookie season on the
Web.com Tour last year, and had a pair ofrunner-up finishes already this seasonprior to his recent victory. Before joiningthe Web.com Tour, Werenski won thefinal Big Break Competition on HiltonHead Island. With his victory in the BMW Pro-Am,
Werenski is second on the money listbehind Augusta resident Wesley Bryan,who played his college golf at SouthCarolina. Bryan had top 10s in four of thefirst six tournaments in 2016, high-lighted by wins in Louisiana and Mexico.His victory in Mexico came by four shotsover Werenski, who tied for second. Bryan and Werenski are currently bat-
tling for the No. 1 spot on the moneylist, which ensures fully exempt status onthe PGA Tour in 2016-17 along with aspot in the Players Championship. The top 25 finishers on the money list
during the Web.com regular season earnPGA Tour spots for next season, withthree more Georgians among the top 25. Recent Georgia Tech standout Ollie
Schniederjans, an Alpharetta resident,is 10th in earnings after consecutive fin-
ishes of seventh in Evansville and sixth inRaleigh. They were his second and thirdtop 10s of the season, including a playoffloss in Cartagena. Schniederjans hasalready exhausted his seven sponsorexemptions on the PGA Tour, makingthe cut four times and finishing between38th and 50th the four times he made itto the weekend. PGA Tour veteran Jonathan Byrd,
who has not played on the Web.com Toursince 2001, is 14th on the money listafter a tie for 12th in Greenville, just upI-85 from his hometown of Anderson,S.C. Byrd, a long time St. Simons Island
resident, had three previous top-10 fin-ishes on the Web.com Tour this year, andhas largely abandoned his limited PGATour schedule to concentrate on a top-25finish on the Web.com money list. Just inside the top 25 at No. 24 is
Anders Albertson, a recent collegeteammate of Werenski and Schniederjansat Georgia Tech. Albertson andSchniederjans are 2015 Tech grads, withboth qualifying for the Web.com Tour intheir first attempt. Unlike his formerteammates, Albertson has struggled inrecent weeks after a strong stretch of playoutside the U.S., where he placed third,30th and 13th in consecutive tourna-ments. Albertson, who is living inAlpharetta, missed the cut in his firstthree starts of 2016, and after his strongstretch of play, has again missed threecuts in a row. No other Georgian is in the top 80,
with ex-UGA golfer BrydenMacpherson moving up to 80th aftertying for 16th in Greenville. Savannah’sMark Silvers was next at 86th with arecent top-10 finish in Evansville. Beginning with an event June 2-5 in
the Dominican Republic, the Web.complays 12 of 13 weeks before ending itsregular season Aug. 25-28 in Portland. The top 25 players on the money list at
that time will earn spots on the 2016-17PGA Tour, with 25 more players earningtheir Tour cards in the Web.com Finals, aseries of four tournaments that beginSept. 8-11 in Cleveland.
Richy Werenski CRED
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Mullinax, Werenski score Web.com victories
Atlanta Open[ Continued from page 8 ]
in the Atlanta Open since 2009, the mostrecent in 2014. Amateurs have won three of the last
nine Atlanta Opens, beginning withRoyak in 2007. Dave Womack, a formerU.S. Mid-Amateur champion, won onhis home course at Georgia National in2010, with Griffin, a member of theArmstrong Atlantic golf team at thetime, winning in a playoff over Kepplerin 2013. Billy Jack, the head pro at St. Ives,
said the course will favor players who hit“a straight ball off the tee and precisionirons,” envisioning a winning score in the6 to 8-under range. Jack says St. Ives “is reasonably open
off the tee, but there are a few tight holes.If you get on the wrong side of the greens
complexes, you won’t get up and downeasily.” St. Ives is one of a number of standout
Tom Fazio designs in the state, and Jacksaid the course is a fairly typical Faziodesign in the mold of White Columns,Eagle’s Landing, the Frog and CapitalCity-Crabapple. Jack says there are “a handful of long,
hard par 4s and a handful of short 4s. Thepar 3s are pretty strong – 11 and 15 areboth carries over water. Three of the par5s are reachable, the other is not.” St. Ives has a decent number of hazards
in play, especially on the back nine, withJack pointing out that the trouble “ismostly off the tee” apart from the backnine par 3s. The course opened in the late 1980s,
and was renovated in 2013, with thegreen surfaces changed to Mini-VerdeBermuda.
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June a big monthfor state juniors After a slow month in May apart from thestate high school championships, June willbe a big month for junior golf in Georgia. Among the events on the June schedule
are the Georgia PGA JuniorChampionship at Jennings Mill (June 6-7),the GSGA Junior Championship at AthensCC and the Girls Championship at ReynoldsPlantation (both June 20-22), qualifiers forthe U.S. Girls Junior (Cartersville CC, June13) and U.S. Junior Championship (UGA GC,June 27), three American Junior events anda number of events from the junior toursthat compete regularly in the state. The AJGA will play June 7-9 at Brunswick
CC and WindStone GC in Ringgold, and willplay one of its top events – the RolexTournament of Champions – June 28-July 1at Great Waters. The Southeastern Junior Tour played
last month at Chattahoochee GC inGainesville, with Atlanta’s Keller Harpershooting 72-71—143 and winning aplayoff over Evans Copeland of Columbus(75-68). Bartley Forrester of Gainesvillewas third at 145. Myles Jones of Suwanee shot a second
round 71 for a 149 total to finish one shotahead of four Georgians in the 14-15 agegroup. Milton’s Heather Kipniss was thegirls winner with scores of 75-77—152.Kate Mashburn of Calhoun was second at156. Later in May, the SJGT visited the UGA
course in Athens, with Suwanee’s PrestonTopper winning the 14-15 division andtaking second overall among the boys withscores of 68-68—136. Alex Shead ofAppling shot 69-70—139 to take 2nd inboys 16-19, with Mac Thompson ofMarietta 2nd in 14-15 at 144. MatthewGiesler of Marietta was the 11-13 winnerby one shot at 75-71--146.Elisa Yang of Norcross shot 68-75—143
in girls 15-19, but lost in a playoff.Katherine Cook of Thomasville won girls12-14 with scores of 76-75—151. ToriOwens of Chatsworth was 2nd at 155. The SJGT plays three tournaments in the
state this month, including the PeachBlossom Junior at Idle Hour in Macon June13-14. The Hurricane Junior Tour played last
month at Bartram Trail in Evans, with twoAugusta area juniors winning their divi-sions and another local losing in a playoff. Hunter Dunagan of Martinez shot 75-
70—145 to win by two over Gainesville’s
Tanner Merck in boys 16-18, with JacksonPerry posting scores of 78-71—149 in boys14-15 and winning a playoff over TuckerMeyer of Evans, who shot 71-78. BallouPhillips of Augusta was the 11-13 winnerat 73-75—148, six shots ahead of BryanKim of Martinez, who shot 72 in the secondround. Christyn Carr of Johns Creek was the
girls winner with scores of 78-75—153, fourahead of Macon’s Carol Pyon. Also last month, Canongate GC hosted a
54-hole tournament, with Atlanta’s AlexRoss shooting 6-under 210 (70-68-72) towin the boys division by four over EastPoint’s Lorenzo Elbert. Duluth’s NicholasGibson shot a final round 71 for a 220 totalto win boys 14-15 by one over Suwanee’sBrandon Cho. Alpharetta’s Jake Peacockposted scores of 68-72-74 for a 214 total inboys 11-13, with Brett Murphy of JohnsCreek 2nd at 218 after opening with a 67. Amy Ng of Alpharetta was the girls
winner at 228 with Duluth’s Lolli Yu 2nd at232. Sara Im of Duluth shot 241 to win theunder-13 division, one ahead of Lilburn’sThienna Huynh. In an earlier HJGT event at the Traditions
of Braselton, also part of the tour’sCanongate Series, Merck shot 73-74—147to win boys 16-18 by two over AnthonyWrobey of Jefferson. Myles Joneswas the14-15 winner at 152, with Blake Parkmanof Cumming third at 154. Kevin Park ofJohns Creek shot 158 to edge Deven Patelof Locust Grove by one in 11-13. Pyon andBuford’s Skylar Thompson shot 150 to tiefor second in girls 14-18, one behind thewinner. Im was the under-13 winner byfour shots with a 151 total. In an HJGT tournament at Jekyll island,
Roswell’s JonErik Alford shot 71-71—142on the Pine Lakes course to win boys 16-18by four over Peachtree City’s HunterHester. Carter Pendley of Dalton was the14-15 with scores of 70-74—144, threeahead of Parkman. Cason Cavalier of St.Simons was second in 11-13 at 158. KiiraRihijarvi of Rome was second in girls 14-18at 148.
Golf FORE Juniors
By Mike Blum
he Georgia High SchoolAssociation held its golfchampionships recently,with three of the state’s
dominant teams among the 14 win-ners. The 6A boys played their state
championship at Spring Hill inTifton, with the 6A girls at Sunset CCin Moultrie. The other 12 champi-onships were played at courses in theAugusta area. Results of the 14 championships:6A boys: Freshman Nic Cassidy
shot a tournament best 68 to leadJohns Creek to a narrow victory overLambert and Mill Creek. Cassidy’s 68led the Gladiators to a 294 total, twoahead of Lambert and four in front ofMill Creek. Lambert’s Spencer Ball andMill Creek’s Peter Chung shot 72 tolead their teams, with Johns Creek’sThomas Gerard contributing a 73.Hunter Fry of Dacula and AustinFulton of Douglas County tied forsecond individually with scores of 69. 6A girls: Lambert won its fourth
straight title, posting a 230 total tofinish six ahead of Alpharetta. Lambert’sKatie Owen was medalist with a 73,with teammates Kayley Marschke andLauren Lightfritz adding scores of 78and 79. Kelsey Kurnett led Alpharettawith a 76. Brookwood’s HarmanpritKaur was second with a 75. 5A boys: Columbus shot 282 at
Bartram Trail to score an easy 14-strokevictory over Lakeside-Evans, one of twoColumbia County teams in the top five.Nolan Miller of Columbus earnedmedalist honors with a 66, with threeteammates combined to shoot even parfor a 6-under total. James Pearson shot71, Ben Carr 72 and Daniel Davis 73.Andrew Crockett of Starr’s Mill wassecond at 69, with his team fourth at 299behind Cambridge at 298. PrestonWagaman of Lakeside shot 71, andDrew Duffie shot 70 for Greenbrier,which was fifth at 300. 5A girls: Dalton posted a score of 241
at West Lake CC to win by six overColumbus, with Glynn Academy thirdat 260. Glynn’s Julianna Collett waslow individual at 75, with CarsonRoberts leading Dalton with a 76.Niquole Mangal of Lanier and IsabelRijos of Northside-Columbus also shot76. 4A boys: Marist won state for a fifth
straight year, shooting 302 at JonesCreek to finish three ahead ofWoodward Academy. Marist’s WillChandler was medalist at 70, withSport Allmond of Heritage-Catoosasecond at 71. 4A girls: In a reversal of the boys
results, Woodward shot 235 atWaynesboro CC to finish seven in frontof runner-up Marist. Ayanna Habeel ofWoodward was medalist with a 76, andteammates Jakari Harris and
Susannah Cole shot 79 and 80respectively. Woo Wade led Marist witha 78. Burke County placed third on itshome course at 253 led by RylieMarchman, who was second behindHabeel at 77. 3A boys: Keller Harper shared
medalist honors with a 68 to leadWestminster to a 298 score at GordonLakes, six ahead or runner-up PierceCounty. Also shooting 68 was PierceCounty’s Zac Thornton. OconeeCounty was third at 308 led by DustinDeMersseman with a 71. 3A girls: Calhoun and Blessed
Trinity both shot 257 at Pointe South,with Calhoun winning the state title onthe second playoff hole. Kate Mashburnwas low for Calhoun with an 85, andMaddie Crump and Katie Rawls bothshot 86. Hannah Jones was low forBlessed Trinity with a 79, three shotsbehind medalist Carol Pyon of Rutland. 2A boys: Greater Atlanta Christian
shot 302 at Belle Meade, with the topfour finishers all private schools. PaceAcademy was second at 311, followedby Lovett at 312 and Holy Innocents at315. Gordon Lee was fifth at 317.Benjamin Shipp and Jonathan Watersled GAC with scores of 70 and 71, justbehind medalist Tyler Lipscomb ofBremen at 69. Alex Ross was low forPace with a 72. 2A girls: Vidalia captured its fourth
consecutive championship, shooting 148at Applewood to finish four in front of
Wesleyan. Layne Carter ledVidalia with a 70 and Jesse Daltonadded a 78. Wesleyan’s Elisa Yang wasmedalist with a 69, 1A boys: Trion easily captured the
title at 341, 24 shots ahead of SchleyCounty. Trion’s Dawson Day wasmedalist at Goshen Plantation with a 73,with Thad Clark leading Schley with a78. 1A girls: Portal shot 186 at Goshen
Plantation to finish 11 ahead of Schley.Kenzie Jenkins of Towns County wasmedalist with a 73, with Faith Reddicklow for Portal with an 86. 1A boys (private): Walker Hinds
shot 71 to lead Brookstone to victory atForest Hills with a score of 292. EvansCopeland shot 73 for the winning teamand William Reeves and FrankWaldrop contributed 74s. FirstPresbyterian was second at 302, withtwo players shooting 75s and two at 76.Mt. Paran was third at 304. LoganPerkins of Strong Rock Christian wasmedalist with a 68. Jake McWhorter ofMt. Paran and Jordan Long of ELCAtied for second at 70. 1A girls (private): Amanda
Doherty led Galloway to a champi-onship, earning medalist honors with a73. Galloway had a team total of 162 atForest Hills, Mt. Pisgah was second at171 and Stratford third at 175. AlexisGopfert of Lakeview Academy wassecond behind Doherty with a 78.
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Nolan Miller
Nic Cassidy
Will Chandler
Lambert girls, Marist boys among state champions
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Puterbaugh-Koch take Senior-Junior It took five extra holes for the team ofBrian Puterbaugh and Shawn Koch towin the Club Car Senior-JuniorChampionship at Ansley GC last month. Puterbaugh, an instructor at the Hooch,
birdied the first hole at Ansley GC after heand Koch had matched scores for fourholes with the team of Craig Stevens andJeff Frasier. Both teams shot 11-under 61in the best ball format. It was the first title in a Georgia PGA
team event for Puterbaugh and the sixthfor Koch, who has won all four team tour-naments, two of them in different eventswith Dean Kennedy and three times inthe Pro-Assistant Championship withDavid Potts. Stevens, an instructor at Brookstone
G&CC, and Frasier, an instructor atChicopee Woods, teamed to win the Pro-Pro Scramble in 2011. Four teams tied for third at 64. The four
teams were Danny Elkins (Georgia GolfCenter) and Patrick Richardson(Wilmington Island Club); James Mason(The Orchard) and Ted Fort (Marietta GolfCenter); Clark Spratlin (Currahee Club)and Cary Brown (Valdosta CC); andRobby Watson and Jacob Tilton ofBartram Trail. Tying for seventh at 65 were the teams
of Michael Dietz and JP Griffin (CherokeeT&CC), Phil Taylor and Paddy Higgins(Ansley GC), and Bill Spannuth and BrianDixon (Legacy/Fox Creek).
Crumbley first in Senior DivisionJohn Crumbley of Mystery Valley won aGeorgia PGA Senior Division event atBridge Mill, shooting 72-76—148 to finishtwo ahead of amateurs Mel Mendenhalland Rusty Strawn, and Uel Kemp of LakeArrowhead. Amateur John Foster and Tyrone golfcenter operator Wendell Coffee tied forfifth at 152, with amateurs MarkBenefield and Lee Dennis and Collins Hillpro Scott Hare seventh at 153. Tying for10th at 154 was amateur Joey Kaney andFlat Creek instructor Ted Meier.
Engler a winnerin GSGA Mid-AmAugusta’s John Engler won the GSGA
Mid-Amateur Championship on his homecourse at Augusta Country Club, posting a6-under 207 total to win by one overTaylor Smith of Covington. Engler opened with scores of 68-66 to
lead Smith by one after 36 holes, withboth players shooting 73 in the finalround. Engler notched 13 birdies over thefirst two rounds, but managed just twothe final day, when only one competitorshot lower than 72 and no one broke 70.Engler’s birdies at 6 and 7 gave him thelead for good the final day, with a doublebogey by Smith at the par-5 eighthexpanding Engler’s lead. Cameron Hooper of Atlanta closed with
a 70, the low score of the final round, totake 3rd at 210, with Augusta’s Jeff Knox,also an Augusta CC member, fourth at 212. Engler was a standout in college in
Clemson and made it to the PGA Tour in2006 after suffering a serious foot injury ina car accident that eventually ended hisprofessional career. He contended in the2007 Georgia Open at Champions Retreatin the Augusta suburbs, finishing 4th, butgave up his pro status shortly after thatand returned to amateur competition. Hehas qualified for the U.S. Mid-Am andadvanced in match play. Four-Ball Championship: Will Evans
and Michael Standard, both ofMcDonough, won the 2016 GSGA Four-Ball Championship at Glen Arven inThomasville when Evans made eagle onthe final hole to win by two over ChrisWaters of Atlanta and Billy Mitchell ofMarietta. Evans and Standard shot 67-60-63 for a
26-under 190 total. Waters and Mitchellopened with a pair of 63s to lead by oneafter 36 holes, but shot 66 the final day andlost their lead. The two teams were tiedafter 53 holes before Evans made eagle atthe 18th. The winning team played the last
eight holes in 7-under par. It was the firstGSGA title for both Evans and Standard. The Columbus duo of Adam Cooper
and Bubba Gallops shot 66-63-64 andplaced 3rd at 193, with Hooper andDalton’s David Noll fourth at 196 afterscores of 68-62-66. Senior Match Play: Marietta’s Jeff Belk
won the GSGA Senior Match PlayChampionship at Horseshoe Bend CC,defeating Athens’ Doug Stiles 2&1 in thefinals. Belk won by a 5&4 margin in the semifi-
nals over Jamie Kiely of Milton, with histoughest match coming in the quarterfi-nals against Marietta’s Mel Mendenhall,needing 19 holes to advance. Stilesneeded 19 holes to win his semifinalmatch against Kennesaw’s Chris Hall, whoshot 137 in stroke play qualifying to winmedalist honors by nine. Belk and Kiely tied for second in quali-
fying at 146, with Stiles tying for fifth at149.
Reeves ties for 2ndat Savannah Lakes Former Georgia Tech golfer Seth Reeves ofSuwanee tied for 2nd in a SwingThoughtTour event last month at Savannah Lakes inMcCormick, S.C., just across the SavannahRiver from Georgia near Augusta. Reeves shot 66-67-68 for a 15-under
201 total to finish two behind the winner,who shot 62 in the second round. Reevesbirdied three of the final four holes in thethird round, but the winner birdied two ofthe four to retain his advantage. Reevesearned $6,940. Four Augusta area golfers posted top-
20 finishes. Augusta’s Chase Parker was7th at 205, with Evans’ Chip DeasonT10 at207. Recent Kennesaw State golfer Kelby
Burton of Evans tied for 14th at 208 withAugusta’s Dykes Harbin T17 at 209. Savannah Lakes was a long-time stop
on the Hooters Tour, which along with theeGolf Tour was acquired by the SwingThought Tour. Reeves and Parker, whoplayed his college golf at Kentucky, tiedfor 7th the next week in High Point, N.C., atthe site of a former eGolf event, shooting8-under 208. Veteran Tour player David Skinns of
Suwanee and Web.com Tour memberDrew Weaver of Atlanta tied for 11th at209, with Atlanta’s Brent Witcher andForsyth’s Jay McLuen, both formerWeb.com players, T15 at 210. The SwingThought Tour has begun its
Georgia Series of tournaments to comple-ment its National Pro Series, with twoevents held in May. Recent Georgia Tech golfer Drew
Czuchry of Alpharetta won at GovernorsTowne Club with a 4-under 140 total withscores of 68-72. Czuchry had six birdiesand an eagle on the short par-4 10th thefirst day and was 3-under after 14 holesthe next day before taking a triple bogeyat the 15th. Czuchry finished one ahead ofrecent Georgia Southern golfer CharlieMartin of LaGrange, who shot 69-72. Harbin won a Georgia Series event at
Bratram Trail in Evams shooting 17-underfor 36 holes with scores of 63-64—127.Parker was four shots back in 2nd at 66-65—131, with recent Kennesaw Statestandout Jimmy Beck of Columbus fourthat 142. Both events featured small fields, with
the Swing Thought Tour looking for moreentrants in future Georgia Series tourna-ments at Callaway Gardens, Bear’s Bestand Eagle’s Landing. McLuen won a tour-nament at Callaway earlier this spring in aplayoff over recent Georgia State golferDamon Stephenson, with both playersfinishing at 7-under 137. Martin andrecent Georgia Tech golfer Bo Andrewstied for third at 139.
2 0 1 6 J U N E 31GO L F F O R E G E O R G I A . C OM
Chip Shots
Seth Reeves
ROBER
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Senior-Junior winners Brian Puterbaugh (left), Shawn Koch
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iron holes beginning with avery vulnerable trio on 10,11 and 13. The downhill 10th (343
golds, 302 whites) looksvery inviting from the tee,with a surrounding back-drop of trees enhancing thevisual appeal. Trees just offthe right side of the fairwayare the main worry on theeven shorter 11th, although a large, frontright bunker can make the short secondsignificantly testier if the cup is cutbehind it. The 13th is about the same length as
the 11th, but plays a bit uphill, with apair of front bunkers requiring an aerial
approach, unlike a number ofother holes that will accommodate run-up shots. An exception among the back nine par
4s is the 12th, which has ample length(423 gold, 401 white), with a sizeablebunker complex down the left side inplay for longer hitters. A large green
with a modest tier towards the backwill make things interesting for thoseputting from long range. The downhill par-3 14th (154 from
the back tees) is as inviting as the shortpar 4s, with the par-5 15th havingsome length (543 golds), along withmoderately rolling terrain from tee togreen and OB stakes to the right.There are no bunkers on the slightlyuphill hole, which ends with a longgreen without a great deal of width. The 16th plays uphill for the
second shot, with a healthy disparityin length between the blue (368) andwhite (296) tees. A modest depressionshort left of the green can make for sometouchy pitch shots to the elevated sur-face. The yardage difference on 17 is most
pronounced between the gold (392) andblue (340) tees, with an unobstructed
path to the green if you go the low routeon your approach. Another short-ish downhill par 4
closes out the round at the Chimneys,with the main challenge the second shotto an angled green with ample lengthbut minimal width. The putting surfaceis flanked by bunkers, with the sand onthe right making it difficult to go atright side pins with your approach. Overall, the layout at the Chimneys is
one of the friendliest in the metro area,with the welcoming attitude of Scott andhis staff adding to the enjoyable experi-ence. The rates are among the mostaffordable around, a necessity for a coursewhich relies on most of its customers todrive at least half an hour one way toreach it. For information on the Chimneys, call
770-307-4900 or visit www.chim-neysgc.com.
Chimneys [ Continued from page 14 ]
Georgia Resorts [ Continued from page 7 ]
renovated in 2013, with some new greensinstalled. The front nine remains thelonger and more challenging of the two,but the fairways are generous and there is
little water in play after the openinghole. The back nine is tighter and shorterwith some par 4s of minimal length thatlend to scoring opportunities. Georgia Vets, an excellent Griffiths
design, has long been considered one ofthe state’s best daily fee courses, with thetree-lined, parkland-style layout having
some length but little in theway of elevation changes. Meadow Links is the
most remote of the StatePark courses but also one ofthe best, bordering LakeGeorge in the southwesternportion of the statebetween Columbus andDothan, Ala. The superbWillard Byrd design offersa variety of holes fromboth an aesthetic and strategic stand-point, with some elevation changesproviding terrific views of the nearbylake. The course is a solid but playable
challenge and features one of the best fin-ishing holes in the state, a risk/rewardpar 5.
The Lakes at Laura Walker
Hole #2
12th green at Sea Island GC's Plantation course
