Hershey CC gets ’12 Senior Women’s Am
Hershey (Pa.) Country Club will host the 2012 USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship, the U.S. Golf Association announced Thursday.
The championship, which will be played on Hershey’s West Course, will be contested Sept. 8-13.
This will be the first national championship conducted at the club. In 1940, Hershey Country Club hosted the PGA Championship, which was won by Byron Nelson.
The USGA Senior Women’s Amateur is the national championship for female amateurs age 50 and older.
The event will be held in 2010 at Fiddlesticks Country Club in Fort Myers, Fla., and in 2011 at The Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn.
Senior moment
There is a new sheriff in Seniortown and his name is Chip Lutz. The Reading, Pa., resident shot a final-round 68 to come from five shots behind and win the Society of Seniors Spring Classic March 25 at the Santa Lucia River Club in Stuart, Fla. Lutz posted a three-round score of 224 for his second victory in three events since turning 55 in January. In second place at 229 were three other northern denizens, Alan Fadel (Toledo, Ohio), Fred Silver (Lewiston, N.Y.) and Pat Vincelli (Rosemount, Minn.).
Don Edwards, of Hobe Sound, Fla., won his first national super senior title by one shot over 2009 Super Senior Player of the Year Richard Anderson, of Bloomington, Minn.
Lutz’s 4-under 68 in the third round was the most dominant round in recent senior point event history. Consider:
- Lutz’s 68 was 13.13 shots better than the average of the rest of the field
- He leapfrogged 13 players on the last day after starting tied for 14th
- He had the low round of the day by five shots
The 2010 Senior Amateur Tour kicked off with seven events in Florida, and the final score was Mother Nature 7, Florida ...
What a finish
Battling winds that were never lower than 15 mph and gusting to 40 mph, Rick Woulfe overcame a start from hell to defeat David Brookreson on the first hole of a sudden playoff Sunday to win the 55+ division of the Florida Azalea Senior Amateur.
Woulfe, a long-time outstanding amateur from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., drove to within 20 yards of the 320-yard first playoff hole and pitched to 3 feet to make birdie. Brookreson, from Philadelphia, who had shot 70 in the worst of the winds to make the playoff, missed a 20-footer for his birdie. Both players finished at 6-over 216 at the 5,892 yard Palatka (Fla.) Golf Club, two shots clear of three other players.
Woulfe played the front nine of his first round by shooting a 6-over 41. He had an epiphany and started the back nine birdie-birdie-birdie-birdie-ace. On the 165-yard 14th, he holed a 165-yard 5-iron into a stiff breeze to return to par and advance to near the top of the leaderboard. He made two bogeys coming in for 72, which tied him for fourth behind Chip Lutz (66(, Fred Peel (70) and John Benson (71). If Lutz had gone on to win, he ...
Call for ‘Local Legends’
There are many amateur golfers playing the game who have impressive stories to tell.
Do you know of a “Local Legend”?
Golfweek wants to hear about golfers with impressive amateur records on the state and local scene. Several will be highlighted in our annual Amateur Issue on April 30.
Send nominations by March 5 with brief credentials to news@golfweek.com or fax to 407-563-7077 (Attn.: Local Legends). Please include name, address and contact numbers for the nominee.
Miami nice
MIAMI – It was a success story for both a rookie and a veteran Jan. 17 in the Golfweek Senior National Championship at the Doral Golf Resort’s Great White Course in Miami.
Chip Lutz, of Reading, Pa., became perhaps the youngest champion of a true national senior amateur event by winning the 55-and-over division at age 55 years, six days. Lutz survived winds of up to 25 mph and a torrential squall that set in over the last six holes by fighting through the bluster in 1-over-par for an 8-over 224 total and five-shot victory. Kentucky’s Harris (Happy) Rakestraw, who had a one-shot lead when the rain hit, played the final six in 8 over, lost his lead and eventually finished six behind Lutz and in fourth place.
Jim Anthony (Franklin, Ind.) and David Fry (Montgomery, Ala.) tied for second, five back of Lutz.
The veteran part of the equation was supplied by Chicago’s Joel Hirsch, a former British Senior Amateur champion. Hirsch stampeded the super senior field by 10 shots, including a second-round 73 and third-round 75 that were both daily lows for the division. Ron Goldburg of Delray Beach, Fla., overcame a tightly-bunched pack in the ...
Senior Amateur course setups: Messing with Mother Nature
I have had many discussions with senior golfers about how their tournament courses should be setup. While nearly everyone has had an intelligent, well-thought opinion, I’ve felt as if I’m at the entrance of the Capitol Building listening to lobbyists putting forth their agenda. I’ve concluded that a consensus is impossible as all these experienced players have unique points of view that they hold dear. Some advocate a setup that suits their game. Others prefer ones that they’ve enjoyed at certain points in their tournament life.
Having played tournaments on courses that challenged and thrilled me – as well as on some that I wanted to return to that night with a flamethrower – I’ve come to my own conclusion about how the Golfweek event courses will be presented. Below are some rules that I use as guides and will let you know what to expect when you enter one of these tournaments.
1.) The course is the course – of course, of course. I live in Pittsburgh where there is a nice little track called Oakmont Country Club. In my opinion, Oakmont, under everyday or U.S. Open conditions, is the toughest great course in the country ...
Nelson, Tourtelot win weather-shortened Gateway
Corliss “Corky” Nelson won the Gateway Invitational’s senior division when the final round was cancelled due to a cold, steady rain and a 10-15 mph wind at Gateway G&CC’s Tom Fazio-designed course in Ft. Myers, Fla.
Dan Tourtelot, after a runner-up finish at last week’s similarly cold and windy Riverwood Senior, won the super senior division.
Both Nelson (72-71) and Tourtelot (73-70) finished at 1-under 143 for the two rounds played, each good for two-shot victories.
Bad weather was forecasted for the third round, but it turned out to be worse than expected.
“I think some of the players would have attacked me if I sent them out there” said Gateway’s head professional Chris Sheehan. “The weathermen were calling for higher temperatures and the rain was not supposed to be very heavy. It was hard to cancel, but it was the right call.”
It’s believed that this was the first round lost to weather in the event that dates back to 1991 in various formats.
Next up is the Kingsway Senior Invitational and Golfweek Sr. National Championship, where better weather is expected.
Zylstra, Hullender win Riverwood Senior
The start of a new decade did nothing to stop Bill Zylstra’s momentum as he captured the 15th Riverwood Senior Invitational Jan. 5 at Riverwood GC in Port Charlotte, Fla., finishing at 5-over 221 for a two-shot victory over Phil Pavoni.
It was Zylstra’s third win in his last four starts. The only back-to-back Golfweek Senior Player of the Year won the Senior Azalea last October and the Ralph Bogart Senior in December. Only a runner-up finish at the Golfweek Senior Tour Championship prior to the Bogart kept the Michigander from four in a row.
Bob Hullender, 72, also continued his dominance with another victory in the Super Senior division, finishing at 7-over 223 for a one-shot victory over Dan Tourtelot, a former Riverwood member. It was Hullender’s third Riverwood Super Senior title to go with two Riverwood Senior Championships, including the second staging of the event in 1997. Hullender, a former USGA Senior Amateur runner-up, had not played in a point event since the John Owens Super Sr. in mid-October.
The temperature was 41 degrees at the start of the final round and never broke 50. The northerly 15 mph breeze dropped the wind chill into ...
USGA nominates Hyler for president
The U.S. Golf Association will have a new president.
James B. Hyler Jr. was nominated Tuesday to serve a one-year term as president of the USGA beginning Feb. 6.
Jim Vernon, the current president of the USGA, is completing his second one-year term.
As president, Hyler will lead the USGA’s professional staff and nearly 1,400 volunteers.
“To serve the game in this capacity is a special experience, and I feel very fortunate to have this opportunity,” Hyler said in a USGA news release.
Hyler, of Raleigh, N.C., is in his sixth year as a member of the USGA Executive Committee, a term that has included three years as a USGA vice president. A retired banking executive, Hyler is a 1970 graduate of Virginia Tech. He served as chairman of the President’s Council for the 1999 and 2005 U.S. Opens at Pinehurst and was instrumental in launching a chapter of The First Tee in Raleigh.
Hyler chairs three USGA committees: championship, commercial and compensation.
Berkmeyer takes home Crump Cup
Skip Berkmeyer birdied the 18th hole to beat Gene Elliot, 1 up, and win the 85th Annual Crump Memorial Tournament Sunday at Pine Valley Golf Club.
Berkmeyer, of Saint Louis, also squeaked out a 19th-hole victory over Gene Elliot in his morning semifinal match.
Pat Tallent of Vienna, Va., won the Senior Division with a 3-and-2 victory over Buddy Marucci, who last week captained the U.S. Walker Cup team to a third consecutive victory over Great Britain & Ireland at Merion Golf Club.
• • •
Results from the finals of the 85th Crump Cup played Sept. 20 at Pine Valley (N.J.) Golf Club:
FINALS
Skip Berkmeyer def. Gene Elliot, 1 up
SEMIFINALS
Skip Berkmeyer def. Michael Muehr, 1up
Gene Elliot def. Mike McCoy, 19 holes
QUARTERFINALS
Skip Berkmeyer def. John McClure, 4 and 3
Michael Muehr def. Chip Lutz, 2 and 1
Gene Elliot def. Patrick Carter, 4 and 3
Mike McCoy def. Randy Haag, 5 and 4
FIRST ROUND
Skip Berkmeyer def. Robert Funk, 4 and 3
John McClure def. Michael McDermott, 6 and 5
Michael Muehr def. Scott Rowe, 19 holes
Chip Lutz def. P. Chet Walsh, 2 and 1
Gene Elliot def. Dan Horner, 19 holes
Patrick Carter ...
Herman wins Senior Women’s Amateur
Sherry Herman won the USGA Senior Women’s Amateur Championship Thursday at The Homestead in Hot Springs, Va., winning four of five holes after the turn to beat 2004 winner Carolyn Creekmore, 4 and 3.
Herman, 51, who also won the North & South Senior Women’s Amateur earlier this year, said the victory was a dream come true.
“And I don’t know how to react when a dream comes true. It’s just so hard and I’m very grateful,” said Herman, who sank a 5-footer on the par-3 15th to close out the match before embracing her husband, Ben.
“I’m thrilled beyond words and I’m very proud of myself,” she said. “I’m proud of my family forhanging in there with me.”
Herman took a 1-up lead on Creekmore with a 5-footer for birdie on the par-4 10th. Creekmore missed a 7-footer on the 11th that would have won the hole, then lost the next three with bogeys.
“I just started hitting it badly,” Creekmore, 57, said. “She made pars and I hit it poorly and she didn’t. And my putting was less than exceptional today.
“I played great all week until the eighth hole ...
Final thoughts from the U.S. Senior Amateur
CHICAGO – Cleaning out my notebook from the U.S. Senior Amateur at Beverly Country Club:
• There probably are a few thousand courses out there with tree problems.
You know who you are. You have too many of them and they’ve never been properly thinned.
Every one of these courses ought to pony up whatever it takes to fly its superintendent to Chicago to take a look at Beverly Country Club, which removed some 800 trees five years ago under the direction of golf course architect Ron Prichard, who gets an A+ for his efforts.
Though I never saw Beverly in its former state, I’ll take the members at their word that it was overgrown, especially if, as they claim, you could stand outside the clubhouse and not see the 15th green 75 yards away. In its current condition, the course is nothing short of phenomenal. Trees present plenty of problems to players who hit it off line, but the grass is healthy and there is a light, airy quality to the property.
Never forget that grass cannot grow where there is no sunlight.
• We ran into a couple of entries from Who’s Who in Chicago Golf while ...
About time
CHICAGO – Step aside, Francis Ouimet.
When Ouimet won in 1931 at Beverly Country Club, it marked an astounding 17 years between U.S. Amateur titles.
But talk about longevity: Vinny Giles III of Richmond, Va., has gone nearly four decades – 37 years, to be exact – between USGA titles.
On Thursday at Beverly, Giles holed a slick 18-foot downhill birdie putt at the final green to beat John Grace, 61, of Fort Worth, Texas, 1 up, and win the 55th U.S. Senior Amateur Championship. It was 37 years since Giles won his first USGA championship, the 1972 U.S. Amateur, thereby eclipsing the 33 years between Bruce Fleisher’s victories at the 1968 Amateur and 2001 Senior Open.
“Since I turned 55 I had only one real goal in golf,” said Giles, “and that was to win the Senior Amateur, which is the ultimate championship in senior amateur golf. Frankly, I thought my time had passed. I didn’t know if I’d ever have this chance.”
Giles and Grace, teammates on the U.S. squad that won the 1975 Walker Cup at St. Andrews, Scotland, both had 1-up leads in the final. The match went to all square at ...
Giles, Grace to meet in Senior Am final
CHICAGO – Two lifelong friends will be opponents in Thursday’s championship match of the 55th USGA Senior Amateur at Beverly Country Club.
Vinny Giles III of Richmond, Va., and John Grace of Fort Worth, Texas, teammates in 1975 on what is perhaps the most talented U.S. team in Walker Cup history, each won two matches Wednesday to advance into the final. Giles eliminated William Doughtie of Amarillo, Texas, 2 and 1, and John Pallin of Kenoska, Wis., 1 up; Grace defeated two former champions, Greg Reynolds of Grand Blanc, Mich., 3 and 1, and Mark Bemowski of Mukwanago, Wis., 3 and 2.
Giles and Grace were on the ’75 U.S. team that won the Walker Cup at St. Andrews, Scotland. Others on that squad included eventual major championship winners Curtis Strange, Jerry Pate and Craig Stadler, as well as Jay Haas, William C. Campbell, George Burns III, Gary Koch and Dick Siderowf.
“Oh, I’ve got a lot of stories from that week,” said Grace, the 1974 U.S. Amateur runner-up. “I can’t tell a lot of them, but that was one very talented team. I’ve never played a match against Vinny, but we’ve played ...
Giles moves into quarters at Senior Amateur
CHICAGO – When Vinny Giles III made his way to the first tee for his third-round match at the 55th USGA Senior Amateur at Beverly Country Club, he figured he’d stand a good chance of advancing to the quarterfinals if he could meet one simple goal: make no bogeys.
He nearly did it. With the exception of the par-3 17th, where he was playing to make bogey because his opponent was in deep trouble, Giles made just one, at the ninth following a poor tee shot. Otherwise, he was steady as a rock in his 2-and-1 win against co-medalist Paul Simson of Raleigh, N.C., which advanced Giles to the Elite 8 for the second straight year.
“I’m probably playing better now than any other time coming into this tournament,” said Giles. “I’m putting better, too, and that’s a good combination.
“I spent all day burning the edges, but you don’t mind that because you know some of them are eventually going to go in.”
Giles has been at this a long time. He finished second at the U.S. Amateur three years in a row starting in 1967, won it in ’72 and played on ...
