Big South Men's Golf Spring Season Begins

COASTAL CAROLINA T-7TH AT JOHN HAYT COLLEGIATE INVITATIONAL
Coastal Carolina's men's golf team moved up five spots in the final round to tie for seventh at the 2008 John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, Feb. 17-19. The three-day, 54-hole tournament was played at the Sawgrass Country Club (Par 72 - 6,895 yards) in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. This tournament featured 11 teams ranked in the top 50 nationally, according to GolfStat.

Coastal shot an opening round score of 306, but rallied to improve each round, shooting 298 on the second 18 and then its best score of the tournament, a 1-over 289, on the final round to finish at 893 and tied with UAB. The 289 was the second-best team total in the final round and one of only three teams to post a score better than 295 on the final day. Alabama took home the team title with a 54-hole total of 873, four shots better than runner-up UCLA and 13 shots ahead of North Florida and Tennessee in a tie for third.

Freshman Tripp McAllister was the top finisher for the Chanticleers, tying for 25th with a three-round total of 223. Sophomore Dan Obremski was next in a tie for 29th at 224, while junior Cameron Hooper and sophomore Sam Lyons were tied for 38th at 226. Obremski and Lyons led CCU on the final day, each posting a 2-under 70 in the final round. Josh Jackson tied for 78th with a 241.

Coastal Carolina will have two-and-a-half weeks off before hosting their annual tournament, the General Jim Hackler Championship, Sun.-Mon., March 9-10 at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in Murrells Inlet, S.C.

WINTHROP 10TH AT RICE INTERCOLLEGIATE
Winthrop junior golfer Kelly Manders (Potomac, MD) fired a four-under score of 68 in the final round of the Rice Intercollegiate on Tuesday and finished second with a 54-hole total of 218. Manders' 2-over par tournament total of 218 (77-73-68) was one shot behind Louisiana Tech’s Amrith de Soysa. Baylor University won the team title Baylor won the team title by two strokes over UC Davis. The Winthrop men finished 10th out of 12 teams. Senior Pete Alminas (East Longmeadow, MA) tied for 23rd with a 224 (76-72-76). Freshman Jacob Carlsson (Stockholm, Sweden) tied for 40th at 231 (75-77-79). Another freshman, Cipriano Ayala (North Myrtle Beach, SC) shot a 243 (80-73-80) and tied for 45th. Rounding out the scoring was junior Brent Martin (LaPlata, MD) in 56th place with a 241 (85-77-79).

COASTAL CAROLINA FINISHES 9TH AT SUNTRUST GATOR INVITATIONAL
Coastal Carolina's men's golf finished in ninth at the 2008 SunTrust Gator Invitational, Feb. 9. The two-day, 54-hole tournament was the spring opener for the Chanticleers and was played at the Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70 - 6,701 yards) at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

Playing with one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup, the Chanticleers shot a 10-over 290 in the final round to finish in ninth place at 16-over 856. Host Florida took the tournament title by firing its third straight under-par round, this time a 278 for a three-round total of 20-under 820, 12 shots ahead of runner-up Florida State. Mississippi State was third at 842, while UAB was fourth at 844.

Coastal was led by freshman Tripp McAllister, who tied for 12th at 1-under 209, followed by sophomore Dan Obremski at 3-over 213, good for a tie for 23rd. Michael Schachner of Duke and UAB's Zach Sucher tied for medalist honors at 7-under 203, with Tyson Alexander of Florida in third at 6-under 204. Coastal's other finishers were Cameron Hooper (T-34th, 216), Sam Lyons (T-53rd, 220) and David Dannelly (63rd, 224).

Wedzik Finishes Second At Baja Invitational

Richia Wedzik fired her third straight solid round of golf, finishing with a 76 Tuesday and totaling a 229 to finish second at the Baja Invitational played at the 6,094-yard, par 72 Bajamar Resort. USC Upstate finished eighth in the nine-team field.

Wedzik began the final round tied for fourth place after shooting 75-78 Monday. The junior from Bluffton, S.C., shot a 4-over-par 76 Tuesday, finishing in a tie for second with Bradley's Rikki Sobel. Iowa's Tyrette Metzendorf won the individual title with a 224 total, finishing five strokes better than Wedzik and Sobel while leading the Hawkeyes to the team championship.

"Richia played some of the best golf I have seen in her time at USC Upstate," said Upstate head coach Todd Lawton. "She remained focused for all three rounds and showed great effort. Her short game excelled when needed and she was extremely accurate off the tee. This course demanded both and I am proud she was rewarded for her play."

While Wedzik turned in a strong performance, the rest of the Spartans struggled at times. Twin sister Richelle Wedzik was the second lowest Upstate golfer, finishing with a 244 total to finish tied for 24th. Julie Miller finished tied for 41st with a 258 total, while Jessica Wofford turned in a 259 total to tie for 43rd. Traci Bodner rounded out the scoring for Upstate with a 275 effort to finish 52nd.

Iowa won the team championship with a 320-304-317=941 total. The Hawkeyes won by six strokes over Kennesaw State (947). Southern Illinois was third with a 950 total and was followed by Bradley (953), Southern Mississippi (961), Drake (981), North Texas (981), Upstate (990) and Northern Illinois (1028) in the nine-team field.

Nicklaus/PGA teaching grants awarded to 18 chapters of The First Tee -- MB Chapter is Recipient

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. -- The PGA Foundation, in conjunction with golf legend Jack Nicklaus, has begun the 2008 golf season awarding teaching grants totaling $90,000 to 18 chapters of The First Tee representing 14 states.

To date, 155 of the 206 active chapters of The First Tee nationwide have been recipients of either a PGA of America or Nicklaus/PGA teaching grant. The combined PGA and Nicklaus/PGA grants total $1,810,000.

Since 2001, The PGA of America and Nicklaus have partnered to create a $2 million endowment to provide teaching grants to certified chapters of The First Tee that utilize PGA Professionals for instruction.

"The PGA of America is proud to kick off this New Year with our partner Jack Nicklaus to extend Nicklaus/PGA Teaching Grants coast to coast," said PGA of America President Brian Whitcomb. "The wonderful messages and reports we receive are that these grants continue to produce success stories in communities. The First Tee momentum has helped grow the game of golf and brought many young people into the game."

The program continues to highlight The PGA of America's commitment to partner with its PGA Professionals to grow participation in golf.

The current Nicklaus/PGA teaching grants totaling $5,000 each have been awarded to The First Tee Chapters in California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Washington.

Since its inception in 1997, there are 206 chapters of The First Tee in operation and 264 golf-learning facilities that have introduced the game of golf and its values to more than 2.2 million participants and students (which include the students of the National School Program). The focus is to give young people of all backgrounds an opportunity to develop, through golf and character education, life-enhancing values such as honesty, integrity and sportsmanship.

The PGA Growth of the Game Program is one of a number of initiatives administered by The PGA of America through its PGA Foundation

The PGA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity, is dedicated to enhancing lives through the game of golf. The Foundation provides people of every ability, race, gender, and social and economic background an opportunity to experience the game and learn vital life lessons. The PGA Foundation achieves its mission through programs which provide instruction and access to playing the game of golf along with enriching those lives by providing educational, employment and scholarship opportunities.

For more information about the PGA Foundation, visit www.pgafoundation.org, or call (561) 624-7612.

Nicklaus/PGA of America Teaching Grant - $5,000 awarded to each chapter
The First Tee of Greater Trenton - Hamilton, N.J.
The First Tee of The Tri-Valley - Pleasanton, Calif.
The First Tee of Myrtle Beach - Myrtle Beach, S.C.
The First Tee of Columbia Basin - Pasco, Wash.
The First Tee of New Orleans - New Orleans, La.
The First Tee of Albany - Albany, Ga.
The First Tee of Clearwater - Clearwater, Fla.
The First Tee of Modesto - Modesto, Calif.
The First Tee of Metropolitan NY/Essex County - Newark, N.J.
The First Tee of Northern Nevada - Reno, Nev.
The First Tee of Eagle County - Edwards, Colo.
The First Tee of Idaho - Boise, Idaho
The First Tee of the Lake Norman Region - Cornelius, N.C.
The First Tee of Central Louisiana - Pineville, La.
The First Tee of Harford County, Md. - Aberdeen, Md.
The First Tee of Metropolitan NY/Nassau County - East Meadow, N.Y.
The First Tee of Metropolitan NY/Golf Club at Chelsea Piers - New York, N.Y.
The First Tee of Brazoria County - Lake Jackson, Texas

Since 1916, The PGA of America's mission has been twofold: to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.

By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, the Association enables PGA Professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the $195 billion golf industry.

By creating and delivering dramatic world-class championships and exciting and enjoyable golf promotions that are viewed as the best of their class in the golf industry, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere.

The PGA of America brand represents the very best in golf.

Men's Golf Finishes Ninth at Suntrust Gator Invitational

GAINESVILLE, FLA. -- Coastal Carolina men's golf finished in ninth at the 2008 SunTrust Gator Invitational, Feb. 9. The two-day, 54-hole tournament was the spring opener for the Chanticleers and was played at the Mark Bostick Golf Course (Par 70 - 6,701 yards) at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla.

Playing with one junior, two sophomores and two freshmen in the lineup, the Chanticleers shot a 10-over 290 in the final round to finish in ninth place at 16-over 856. Host Florida took the tournament title by firing its third straight under-par round, this time a 278 for a three-round total of 20-under 820, 12 shots ahead of runner-up Florida State. Mississippi State was third at 842, while UAB was fourth at 844.

Coastal was led by freshman Tripp McAllister, who tied for 12th at 1-under 209, followed by sophomore Dan Obremski at 3-over 213, good for a tie for 23rd. Michael Schachner of Duke and UAB's Zach Sucher tied for medalist honors at 7-under 203, with Tyson Alexander of Florida in third at 6-under 204.

The Chanticleers return to the course Sun.-Tue., Feb. 17-19 at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational, being played at Sawgrass Country Club in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Last year, Coastal tied for second at the event.

Team Results Scores

1. Florida 269-273-278=820

2. Florida State 278-276-278=832

3. Mississippi State 288-275-279=842

4. UAB 276-280-288=844

5. South Alabama 283-282-286=851

6. Duke 289-281-283=853

Wake Forest 288-278-287=853

LSU 283-279-291=853

9. Coastal Carolina 283-283-290=856

10. Georgia Southern 287-282-292=861

11. Mississippi 280-281-301=862

12. North Florida 284-286-295=865

13. South Florida 291-294-288=873

14. Georgia State 290-290-308=888

Individual Results (Top 5 Plus Coastal)

1. Michael Schachner (Duke) 68-68-67=203

Zach Sucher (UAB) 68-67-68=203

3. Tyson Alexander (Florida) 66-70-68=204

4. Billy Horschel (Florida) 67-68-70=205

Andrew Loupe (LSU) 68-65-72=205

t12. Tripp McAllister (Coastal) 68-68-73=209

t23. Dan Obremski (Coastal) 68-75-70=213

t34. Cameron Hooper (Coastal) 73-68-75=216

t53. Sam Lyons (Coastal) 74-74-72=220

63. David Dannelly (Coastal) 74-73-77=224

No golf group is created equal, right? So what's your group's perfect Myrtle Beach golf vacation itinerary?

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Around 4 million rounds of golf are played each year on the 100-plus golf courses on the Grand Strand. So picking the perfect itinerary out of the pack for your group can be a formidable task.

We've tried to divvy all you golf groups up into specific categories, and list a few golf courses that will fit you best.

I am looking for the best courses: I don't care how much I pay or where they are.

Check out this TravelGolf.com Top 10 list, or this feature on the top names in golf design in Myrtle Beach. Also, Golf Digest has included 10 Grand Strand courses in its list of the Top 100 Places You Can Play list for 2007.

I want some "bang-for-your-buck" courses those in the know keep coming back to.

A few guys I bowl with swear by Possum Trot for its overachieving layout and conditions on the cheap. You can get on for as little as $29 in the right season. Wicked Stick, Aberdeen C.C., Indian Wells and Burning Ridge are also affordable area favorites.

I want to play some laid-back, lemonade-sippin' lowcountry golf

This is what makes the South Strand tick, from Murrells Inlet past Pawleys Island (also known as the Waccamaw Golf Trail). Loads of courses are nestled among centuries old mossy oaks, making you feel stuck in time. Upscale gems Caledonia Golf & Fish Club and Heritage Plantation are the cream of the crop. Then there's a Myrtle Beach classic, Litchfield C.C., which has loads of character and is a favorite of seniors and walkers. In this same neck of the woods, The Founders Club will open in February and promises that same lowcountry charm.

We're going to Myrtle Beach with the family mostly for the beach, but I'm hoping I can sneak away for a quick round here and there.

Pine Lakes (closed until spring '09), Waterway Hills, Grande Dunes, Myrtlewood and The Dunes Club are all just minutes from the heart of Myrtle Beach. You'll be there and back before the little ones can finish their sand castle.

Any good "replica" courses?

World Tour Golf Links features 27 replica holes from famous courses like Augusta National, St. Andrews and Pine Valley. Tom Doak did his homework at the Heathlands course at Legends and made the Grand Strand's best "links style" course. Shaftesbury Glen pays homage to the design style of A.W. Tillinghast (Bethpage Black, Winged Foot).

I'm coming from the land-locked Midwest and crave the salt water air in my nostrils!

Tidewater, Pawleys Plantation, Glen Dornoch, Dunes Club and River's Edge all feature plenty of chances to take in some Carolina marsh scenery.

It's all about the signature hole! What courses have the most memorable holes?

Most designs in Myrtle Beach try to create that one hole that will remain in your head for life.

King's North's "Gambler" with an island fairway, Pawleys Plantation's devilish island green 13th hole, Dunes Club's par-5 13th, "Waterloo," are among the most famous. Farmstead Golf Links boasts the area's only par 6 that plays in both North and South Carolina. Leopard's Chase has a stunning 18th with a two-tiered water fixture front-left of the green. Glen Dornoch's long, downhill 16th toward the waterway is one of the prettiest - and most challenging - in the state.

Where have the pros played? I'm no pro, but at least I can say I've played where they have

The Dunes Club and TPC Myrtle Beach hosted the Senior Tour Championship for a number of years before it left town. The Hootie & the Blowfish Monday After the Masters Pro-Am is hosted on the Dye Course at Barefoot each April and features tour players like John Daly and Andy North. Wachesaw East has also hosted four LPGA events in recent history.

What are the top courses for women?

Willbrook Plantation is perennially rated among the best for women by Golf for Women Magazine. Myrtlewood's Palmetto and Ocean Ridge Plantation's Panther's Run are two modest, women-friendly tracks.

For low-handicapping women, King's North has a unique set of "Women's Championship Tees" that play just in front of the black tees.

What clubs are going to treat us like a king?

TPC of Myrtle Beach has lavish, tour-ready facilities and service. Thistle is known for its 12-minute tee time intervals for leisurely play. Free range balls can be found at most upper-end courses like Dunes Club, True Blue and Barefoot Resort, which also provides icy cold towels upon completion of your round in the summer.

I want a good multi-course facility that makes a 36-hole day easy even in the winter

Legends Resort off 501 has three courses of equal quality but varying playing styles right next to each other and offers cheap replays. Just down the road at Myrtle Beach National, King's North is anchored by two value courses that many people play as a warm-up to the main event. Ocean Ridge Plantation has four (soon to be five in 2009) courses, including two highly-rated gems: Tiger's Eye and the new Leopard's Chase. Sea Trail has modest courses from three different architects. Then there's of course the four-course Barefoot Resort.

What courses are in the best condition?

This answer can change depending on the seasons and the last time they renovated their greens. One course in particular whose greens are enjoying the fruits of recent renovations is Willbrook Plantation, whose greens were in pristine shape even in the height of summer this year. The Heathlands at Legends reopened this fall after replacing greens as well. Pawleys Plantation and Dunes Club also have sterling, year-round reputations.

My foursome is playing our first rounds of the season, or we're going to be hungover, or we're just simply awful. What courses can we play that won't eat us alive?

You'll have a hard time losing balls on the West Course at Myrtle Beach National. Wicked Stick is wide open. You shouldn't get beat up too bad at Black Bear or Crown Park either. Also, the Palmetto Course at Myrtlewood has few chances for disaster.

Our group is looking for a course with no imitations!

There are plenty of bold courses.

True Blue has a very bold, imaginative design by Mike Strantz, including a hole with alternate right and left greens. Grande Dunes has a dramatic stage, perched overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Tiger's Eye has some of the most elevation change of any Grand Strand course, up to 60 feet. Man 'O War is Myrtle Beach's "Waterworld," according to WorldGolf.com Senior Writer Chris Baldwin, featuring water on every hole, including island fairways and greens.

I'm a scratch golfer (or I'm just looking for a valid excuse for a terrible score). Where are the hardest courses?

Prestwick and Barefoot Dye (Pete Dye), Pawleys Plantation and Long Bay (Nicklaus). The Moorland at Legends (P.B. Dye) was ranked in Golf Digest's "50 Toughest," though the Parkland course there is longer and has a much higher rating (74.9). Robert Trent Jones' Dunes Club has spectacular splashed bunkering and raised green complexes.

Book reveals hidden history

S.C. State alumna explores black female golfers

By BOB GILLESPIE - bgillespie@thestate.com

M. Mikell Johnson didn’t set out to write a book about black female golfers. She just wanted to play golf. Blame, or credit, her daughter for what happened, she said.

The 1955 South Carolina State graduate was working as a research chemist for a pharmaceutical company in Summit, N.J., in the 1970s when she took up golf, playing in a company league with hand-me-down clubs. One day, Jamie Johnson asked her mother, “Are there any other black women playing golf?”

Mikell (pronounced Mi-KELL) Johnson didn’t have an answer.

“The only one I knew was Althea Gibson, who lived in the New Jersey area,” she said. “We went to the library to look it up — and we didn’t find anything.”

Jamie took that as a sign.

“She went into track and field,” Johnson said while laughing.

But, as a researcher, Johnson wanted to know more.

The result, three decades later, is “The African America Women Golfer: Her Legacy,” which is being published by a company that produces college texts. Retired and living in Florence, the 70-something Johnson is a lonely chronicler of a largely unexplored chapter of the game.

“My curiosity got the best of me,” she said. “I started doing in-depth research. I knew there had to be somebody (besides Gibson).”

In fact, only three black women have played on the LPGA Tour: Gibson, a native of Silver whose fame came primarily in tennis, in 1963; Renee Powell (1967); and LaRee Pearly (1998).

But Johnson learned about the United Golf Association, an organization formed during segregation that produced top black male and female players for 40-plus years.

She learned about the Wake Robin Golf Club in Washington, D.C., and the Chicago Women’s Golf Club, which nurtured black women during the 1970s. She discovered the “Fabulous Five”: Marie Thompson, Ethel Funches (from Owens), Thelma Cowan, Ann Gregory and Lucy Williams — each of whom won multiple national UGA titles dating to the 1930s.

Mostly, Johnson found that if records on black male golfers are limited, information on black women is even scarcer.

“You can find lots of books on Tiger Woods,” she said. “He’s been gracious to mention several of the early golfers (among them Charlie Sifford, Lee Elder, Bill Spiller and Teddy Rhodes), but there’s little biographical information on them. And mine is the only (book) on women.”

Dara Broadus, a 2001 Furman graduate who played on four Southern Conference title-winning teams, is one of five women Johnson found who played on the developmental Futures Tour. Head of golf academies in Atlanta and Jacksonville, Fla., Broadus teaches inner-city youngsters and black “corporate ladies” the game she learned as part of a golfing family.

“Business is very good. I’m teaching more kids than ever,” Broadus, 28, said. Playing in college and professionally also “opened doors for me in business I would not have considered otherwise.”

The number of black women who play, let alone earn a living in golf, remains small. Johnson, a regular golfer since she and her husband, James, moved to Florence — “I could play every day” — is cautiously hopeful about the future.

“We forget there are no golf courses in and around the inner cities,” she said. “You can have a First Tee program, but you have to feed the desire every week, not every three months.”

In January, Johnson attended the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., where industry people encouraged her to continue writing. Her next book, she said, is about black female executives and managers in golf, among them Anne Pegues Dunovant, a Chesterfield native whose husband, Harold, founded Charlotte’s National Black Golf Hall of Fame in 1986.

Her daughter, who lives in Florida, still encourages her mother’s quest.

“She said, ‘Mama, maybe more young girls would pursue (golf) as a career if they knew the history,’” Johnson said.

That lack of history is how it started with her.