By Mike Blum
The 2010 golf year in Georgia included several memorable events on the course in some of the state’s highest profile tournaments.
But along with the rest of the country’s golf industry, it was another difficult year for many of Georgia’s golf facilities. The combination of a still slumping economy and some withering summer heat combined to limit the amount of play at courses around the state, but there are some hopeful signs for the immediate future.
With one of golf’s four major championships returning to Atlanta this summer, and a major amateur event on the horizon, the state’s golf fans have some things to look forward to in the next few years.
But before we look ahead, here’s a look back at the top Georgia golf stories for 2010, beginning with a shot to remember in Augusta in April and winding through the state’s tour players and events, club professionals and amateurs before and returning to Augusta for a great week for five college guys.
Since this list is confined to events relating specifically to Georgia, there will be no references to grooves on wedges, any of the excessive number of notable rules snafus or Tiger Woods.
1. Mickelson’s Masters: Thanks in large part to one swing of the club that was the near unanimous choice as golf’s shot of the year, Phil Mickelson took home his third green jacket since. Mickelson turned in four superb rounds of golf capped by a near-flawless final round that produced a three-stroke victory over Lee Westwood.
2. King Kuchar: After a mostly uneventful first nine years as a tour player, former Georgia Tech standout Matt Kuchar emerged as one of golf’s biggest stories in 2010. Kuchar led the PGA Tour in earnings ($4.9 million), scoring (69.6) and the all around statistical category, and was a close second in the final FedExCup standings. Kuchar, who recently moved his residence from Atlanta at Sea Island, notched his third and most prestigious career victory in the Barclays and made his first ever Ryder Cup appearance.
3. Frenetic FedExCup finale: For the first time since the FedExCup came into existence prior to the 2007 season, the Tour Championship at Atlanta’s East Lake GC finally produced some suspense regarding the season-long champion. Jim Furyk clinched both the tournament and FedExCup titles (as well as Player of the Year) with a gritty par in the rain on the 72nd hole, culminating an exciting if soggy finish.
4. Bohn ton rollet: The good times rolled for Jason Bohn in New Orleans, as the Acworth resident won the Zurich Classic, almost holing his approach shot for eagle on the final hole. Bohn, best known for his million dollar hole-in-one as a collegian, collected his second PGA Tour title and earned just his second Masters invitation, finishing the year 40th on the money list with $1.9 million. Bohn went wire-to-wire for his win, producing a series of clutch shots down the stretch to hold off Jeff Overton.
5. Slocum smokes ‘em at Sea Island: Alpharetta’s Heath Slocum holed one of the longest winning putts in PGA Tour history, draining a 60-footer from just off the green on the 16th hole to win the inaugural McGladrey Classic at Sea Island GC. The first year Fall Series event proved to be a big success, attracting a very respectable field and drawing strong support in the community, with Slocum’s win providing a fitting conclusion to the week. Thanks to his victory, Slocum edged out J.B. Holmes to finish 30th on the final money list and earn his second Masters invitation.
6. Byrd an ace in Vegas: Sea Island’s Jonathan Byrd produced the most memorable shot of the 2010 season in the non-major category, ending a three-way playoff in Las Vegas with a hole-in-one on the fourth extra hole. Byrd pulled off a major comeback down the stretch to make it into the playoff, recording consecutive birdies at 15, 16 and 17. A clutch par on the third playoff hole kept him alive, and he scored his fourth PGA Tour win in unforgettable fashion, holing a 6-iron to end the playoff minutes before darkness would have halted play.
7. Kirk earns PGA Tour trek: Recent UGA All-American Chris Kirk finished second on the Nationwide Tour money list to earn a spot on the 2011 PGA Tour. Kirk, who grew up in Woodstock and now lives on St. Simons Island, struggled for much of his first two seasons on the Nationwide Tour, but responded with an outstanding showing in 2010. Kirk won twice, was second twice and was in contention for the money title and Player of the Year honors before suffering a late-season injury. In his final start of the year, Kirk tied for 15th in the PGA Tour McGladrey Classic.
7A. Joining Kirk on the PGA Tour in 2011 will be former Georgia teammate Kevin Kisner, who was a winner in his rookie season on the Nationwide Tour and finished 11th in earnings. Valdosta’s Dori Carter played equally will in her first season on the Futures Tour, placing 14th in earnings with a victory. Only the top 10 Futures players earn LPGA Tour cards, but Carter played well in the finals of qualifying, tying for 14th, and will be the lone Georgian who is exempt on the tour this year. Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro just missed what would have been his first Nationwide victory in Wichita, but his runner-up finish enabled him to finish 62nd in earnings and he will be a tour member for the first time at the outset of the season. The recent Georgia Tech All-American picked up his fifth win as a pro and fourth on the eGolf Tour early in the year, with Savannah’s Brian Harman joining him as an eGolf winner later in the season. Both finished among that tour’s leading money winners.
8. Second second for Skinner: For the second time in three years, Georgia PGA member Sonny Skinner placed second in the PGA Professional National Championship, the biggest tournament for the country’s club professionals. Skinner finished behind Mike Small, who won the event for the third time in six years, repeating his runner-up showing in 2008 at Reynolds Plantation. After competing in the PGA Championship, Skinner turned 50 and won the Georgia PGA’s qualifier for the PGA Senior PNC, tying for 6th at nationals. Skinner, a veteran of both the Nationwide and PGA Tours, played his way into three late-season events on the Champions Tour, tying for 20th in his debut in Raleigh, N.C.
9. Stevens takes 2: After six years without a victory in Georgia PGA competition, Craig Stevens scored back-to-back wins in 2010, starting with the Section Championship, one of the four majors for the state’s club professionals. Stevens coasted to a relatively easy win in the Section Championship at Sea Island GC’s Retreat course. He followed with an equally decisive triumph in the Georgia PGA’s qualifier for the 2011 Professional National Championship. Stevens, who turns 50 early this year, made it to the finals of Champions Tour qualifying and will be eligible to compete in the weekly four-spot qualifiers along with Skinner, two-time Georgia Open champion Javier Sanchez and Champions Tour veteran James Mason, a career Georgia PGA member prior to becoming a tour player.
10. Weinhart challenging Wolff: Tim Weinhart captured his sixth Georgia PGA Player of the Year award, closing within one of Gregg Wolff’s all-time record. Weinhart enjoyed a consistent 2010 season, winning just one points event (Chicopee Woods Players Championship) but finishing second in three of the four majors (Match Play, Atlanta Open and Section Championship). He also won the Assistants Championship, and teamed with John Godwin to take the Pro-Pro title. Although he missed out on what would have been his sixth PGA Championship appearance, Weinhart got one PGA Tour start and played respectably in the McGladrey Championship, narrowly missing the cut.
11. A pair of aces: Cartersville Country Club head professional Scott Hamilton accomplished an extremely rare feat in the Georgia PGA Pro-Assistant Championship, scoring a pair of hole-in-ones in the one-day competition at Cherokee Country Club. Hamilton used his 8-iron and 6-iron for the two aces, with similar results. “Both went bam,” Hamilton said. “One hop, no roll.” Hamilton’s team didn’t do that great, but he made out handsomely. “I won all the skins. I think I made more than the first place guys.”
12. National award winners: Georgia PGA members Mark Mongell and Todd Anderson were selected as winners of national PGA of America awards. Mongell, the Director of Golf at Cherokee CC, was awarded as the Merchandiser of the Year in the private club category, with Anderson, the Director of Instruction at Sea Island GC, named the PGA’s Teacher of the Year.
13. Rookie pro wins Georgia Open: Samuel Del Val, just a few months removed from a successful but little-noticed stint on the Berry College golf team, won the Ziplocal Georgia Open at Savannah Harbor, shooting 20-under par for an impressive four-stroke victory over veteran tour player and Savannah native Tim O’Neal.
14: Amateur wins Atlanta Open: Dave Womack became the second amateur in four years to win the Yamaha Atlanta Open, edging two of the Georgia PGA’s top players – Tim Weinhart and Jeff Hull – by one stroke. Womack, who won the USGA Mid-Amateur Championship 2006 and is a two-time GSGA Public Links champion, enjoyed a home course advantage, with the event played at Georgia National, where Womack is a long-time member.
15. Son shines at State Am: Augusta’s Jeff Knox has been pursuing a Georgia Amateur title for more than a decade, but has never been able to capitalize on a number of opportunities. Playing in the same group the final day with his son Lee Knox, a member of the golf team at Alabama, Jeff had an up close and personal look at Lee’s victory at The Landings in Savannah. Lee Knox edged out fellow Augustan and SEC golfer Chase Parker (Kentucky), with Doug Hanzel, a member at The Landings and one of the state’s top senior amateurs, finishing third after leading going to the final round.
16: UGA duo take state titles: Emilie Burger and Kendall Wright, both members of Georgia’s women’s golf team, spent their summer breaks winning the top women’s tournaments in the state. Burger, a sophomore from Hoschton, won the Yamaha Georgia Women’s Open at SummerGrove GC, finishing one shot ahead of two-time tournament champion and Georgia assistant coach Margaret Shirley. Wright, a sophomore from Duluth, fired a final round 67 at White Columns to overtake two-time defending champion Mariah Stackhouse in the Georgia Woman’s Golf Association championship. Shirley also tied for second.
16A: The 2009-10 season was a mostly disappointing one for the Georgia men’s team, but the Bulldogs’ top two players recorded their share of highlights. Macon’s Russell Henley enjoyed an exceptional junior season, being selected the Player of the Year by Golfweek as well as earning the Fred Haskins Award by the Columbus-based organization that designates its Player of the Year. Henley also helped the U.S. Palmer Cup team to victory, winning three of his four matches, made the cut in both Nationwide Tour events in which he competed, one of them coming on his college home course in Athens, and turned in an outstanding effort in the U.S Open, sharing low amateur honors with a tie for 16th.
Thomasville’s Harris English, like Henley a senior on the Georgia golf team, joined his teammate as an All-American selection, winning twice on the season, and also competed in the Nationwide Tour’s Stadion Classic at UGA, tying for 27th. English also made a strong showing in two USGA events, reaching the quarterfinals in the Public Links Championship and the round of 16 in the U.S. Amateur.
17. Augusta State claims NCAA title: The Augusta State Jaguars scored a surprising victory in the NCAA Championship, defeating the country’s top-ranked team in the title match at the Honors Club outside Chattanooga. With Georgians Patrick Reed (Augusta), Taylor Floyd (Macon) and Carter Newman (Evans) in the lineup, Tech defeated in-state opponent Georgia Tech 3-2 in the quarterfinals, Florida State 4-1 in the semis and No. 1 Oklahoma State 3-1-1 in the finals. Reed and Sweden’s Henrik Norlander, the team’s top two players, both went 3-0 in match play, and Newman, Floyd and Australia’s Mitch Krywulycz also made vital contributions, as Augusta closed out a season to remember with its fourth tournament title, two of them coming in Georgia.
17A: Georgia Tech’s hopes for an NCAA title were dashed by the Jaguars, but the Yellow Jackets got their 2010 Fall schedule off to a roaring start, winning the U.S. Collegiate Championship at Golf Club of Georgia in record-breaking fashion. Acworth’s James White led Tech’s runaway victory, setting a course record with a 62 in the second round and finishing as medalist by five strokes at 12-under 204. The Jackets shot 28-under 836 to win by 27 strokes, breaking several team and tournament records.
18: Junior winners: A number of Georgia juniors scored victories in American Junior Golf Association events, sweeping both boys and girls titles in several home state events. Andy Shim (Lawrenceville) and Rachel Dai (Suwanee) were winners in a Junior All-Star (ages 12-15) event at WindStone GC in Ringgold. Cody Shafer (Evans) and Ashlan Ramsey (Augusta) took first in the annual Burgett Mooney tournament at Coosa CC in Rome, with Dru Love (son of Davis Love) and Taylor Ramsey (Ashlan’s sister) capturing titles in the Charles Howell Junior at Augusta’s West Lake CC. Jimmy Beck (Columbus) and Mariah Stackhouse (Riverdale) were both winners in an AJGA event in Loxley, Ala.
Ollie Schniederjans (Powder Springs) was the lone Georgian to earn first team All-American status, winning a late 2009 event at Sea Island GC and finishing between 3rd and 11th in his six stroke play starts in 2010. He finished the year ranked 7th in the Rolex rankings. Stackhouse was a second team All-American selection, placing 11th or better in her other six starts during the 2010 season.
Woodstock’s Anders Albertson, who along with Schniederjans has committed to Georgia Tech, did not win a junior event in 2010, but made some headlines with a double eagle in the Junior PGA Championship in Indiana. Albertson also scored an impressive victory in the GSGA’s Atlanta Amateur Match Play Championship, closing out with a 5&4 win in the finals over multiple tournament champion David Noll. Albertson also finished second in the Dogwood Invitational against a field of top college players, posting a 19-under 269 total to finish one stroke behind the winner.
Golf course headlines: The two big stories involving Georgia golf courses in 2010 were the lengthy stretches of inhospitable golf weather and the number of courses that changed ownership or management during the year. The year began and ended with cold temperatures that kept golfers off the course in most of the state, with an unseasonably hot summer stressing greens and limiting play.
All around the state, a number of prominent golf courses suffered financial setbacks, resulting in ownership or management changes. Most notable was Sea Island GC, one of several high profile properties to be sold out of bankruptcy. Others included Kingwood and Waterfall in northeast Georgia, and Country Club of the South and Horseshoe Bend in north metro Atlanta.
Joining the list of courses with new ownership or management were Echelon, Heritage Golf Links, Chestatee, The Manor, Eagle’s Brook, Sky Valley, Oak Grove Island, Hammer’s Glen and Fairways of Canton. Sapelo Hammock along the coast was among the courses to close in 2010, with South Wind in south metro Atlanta a rare Georgia course to open in the past year.