Charlotte resident Brendon de Jonge fired a final-round 66 Monday to easily secure a spot on the 2010 PGA Tour, finishing tied for fifth in the qualifying tournament at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
De Jonge is one of several players with local connections who earned their tour cards. Tour veteran Neal Lancaster of Smithfield also tied for fifth to assure his return to the tour after three years without full privileges. Former Duke golfer Joe Ogilvie also secured his tour card for next year.
Five players from the Charlotte-based eGolf Tour also earned tour cards, including Martin Flores, Billy Horschel, David Lutterus, Cameron Tringle and Brent Delahoussaye.
Charlotte resident Bobby MacWhinnie tied for 72nd, former Charlotte 49er golfer Trevor Murphy tied for 78th and Tommy ‘Two Gloves’ Gainey tied for 64th. They will have status on the 2010 Nationwide Tour.
Among the notable names who failed to gain their PGA Tour cards were David Duval, Tom Pernice Jr. (who double-bogyed the last hole to miss by one stroke), Jason Gore, Jesper Parnevik, Shaun Micheel and Todd Hamilton.
At the LPGA Tour qualifying tournament, former Duke golfer Amanda Blumenherst earned her tour privileges by winning the event while another former Blue Devil, Liz Janangelo also earned a spot on the tour.
-- Ron Green Jr.
Monday, December 7, 2009
When and how does Tiger story end?
Another day, another rumor.
When and how does the Tiger Woods story end?
On Oprah? That's one rumor. But there are hundreds of rumors, far more of them than facts.
While Woods created the firestorm in which he's now caught, it just keeps burning. When Nancy Grace gets involved, you know it's crossed into a different dimension. When John Daly is piping in with offers of help, it's jumped the shark.
Maybe Tiger doesn't face the public until he shows up at Torrey Pines in late January to start his 2010 PGA Tour season. That's when his caddie, Steve Williams, said he expects Tiger to play again.
On one hand, it's hard to believe he'll let this story continue to spiral out of his control without saying something. Someone dug up Tiger's quote about the Michael Vick situation a few years ago where he suggested Vick needed to get out in front of the story.
On the other hand, it's not like Tiger to go public with private matters. He's done it already with his statement last week. That may be all we get from him.
The only thing for sure is the story isn't going away any time soon.
When and how does the Tiger Woods story end?
On Oprah? That's one rumor. But there are hundreds of rumors, far more of them than facts.
While Woods created the firestorm in which he's now caught, it just keeps burning. When Nancy Grace gets involved, you know it's crossed into a different dimension. When John Daly is piping in with offers of help, it's jumped the shark.
Maybe Tiger doesn't face the public until he shows up at Torrey Pines in late January to start his 2010 PGA Tour season. That's when his caddie, Steve Williams, said he expects Tiger to play again.
On one hand, it's hard to believe he'll let this story continue to spiral out of his control without saying something. Someone dug up Tiger's quote about the Michael Vick situation a few years ago where he suggested Vick needed to get out in front of the story.
On the other hand, it's not like Tiger to go public with private matters. He's done it already with his statement last week. That may be all we get from him.
The only thing for sure is the story isn't going away any time soon.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
de Jonge in third place at Q-school
Charlotte resident Brendon de Jonge is tied for third place after two rounds in the final stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.,
de Jonge trails leader Troy Merritt by two strokes after shooting 68-69 in the first two rounds. The top 25 finishers will earn full playing privileges on the PGA Tour for 2010.
Smithfield's Neal Lancaster is tied for eighth after two rounds and former Duke golfer Joe Ogilvie is tied for 18th.
Former Charlotte 49er golfer Trevor Murphy is tied for 111th place while Charlotte resident Bobby MacWhinnie is in 147th position, tied with Tommy 'Two Gloves' Gainey.
de Jonge trails leader Troy Merritt by two strokes after shooting 68-69 in the first two rounds. The top 25 finishers will earn full playing privileges on the PGA Tour for 2010.
Smithfield's Neal Lancaster is tied for eighth after two rounds and former Duke golfer Joe Ogilvie is tied for 18th.
Former Charlotte 49er golfer Trevor Murphy is tied for 111th place while Charlotte resident Bobby MacWhinnie is in 147th position, tied with Tommy 'Two Gloves' Gainey.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Where does Tiger Woods go from here?
Now that Tiger Woods has publicly confessed to his transgressions, where does he go from here?
It had to be incredibly difficult for Woods to release the statement he did today, essentially admitting that what the gossip magazines and celebrity stalkers have been suggesting is true. He is a proud man and, as he said in his initial statement after the auto accident, he is embarrassed. Probably more than any of us can appreciate.
Image agents and brand builders can talk about the damage to the Tiger Woods brand, and there will be some of that for sure. It was so carefully crafted and so polished that it can't help but be dented by the events of the past few days.
People - fans and critics - will never look at him in quite the same way.
Sadly, the same may be said of his family. The personal cost may be far greater than the commercial cost.
But he is still Tiger Woods and once the storm has passed and golf has resumed, he'll go back to being Tiger Woods the golfer. Eventually, the story will become his quest to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 professional major championships.
There has always been an almost otherworldly view of Tiger. He cultivated it, using his mental and physical skills to create an aura that helped him win golf tournaments. He has always seemed different in an almost imposing way.
Now, he seems terribly human.
It's clear now why Woods was reluctant to offer more details about what happened at 2:30 a.m. last Friday. Beyond the legal issues related to his accident, it's evident there wasn't much he could truthfully say without making the matter more uncomfortable.
It reached a point, however, where he couldn't escape the storm. There's a whole argument to be made about the bottom-feeding style of journalism practiced by gossip sellers, but Tiger can only blame himself.
If we've learned anything the past few years about athletes and celebrities and their failings, it's that we'll eventually forgive them if they'll come clean. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire apparently still haven't figured that out.
Tiger has always kept his fans at a comfortable distance. It would be wise of him to engage them more when he returns to the golf course. Smile more. Bump a few more fists. Let them touch you.
People admire Woods and they want to love him. They may be disappointed in him right now, but he can win them back.
He's shown us he's not perfect. He's told us he's sorry. What we see from him from now on may tell us more than we ever knew before.
It had to be incredibly difficult for Woods to release the statement he did today, essentially admitting that what the gossip magazines and celebrity stalkers have been suggesting is true. He is a proud man and, as he said in his initial statement after the auto accident, he is embarrassed. Probably more than any of us can appreciate.
Image agents and brand builders can talk about the damage to the Tiger Woods brand, and there will be some of that for sure. It was so carefully crafted and so polished that it can't help but be dented by the events of the past few days.
People - fans and critics - will never look at him in quite the same way.
Sadly, the same may be said of his family. The personal cost may be far greater than the commercial cost.
But he is still Tiger Woods and once the storm has passed and golf has resumed, he'll go back to being Tiger Woods the golfer. Eventually, the story will become his quest to break Jack Nicklaus' record of 18 professional major championships.
There has always been an almost otherworldly view of Tiger. He cultivated it, using his mental and physical skills to create an aura that helped him win golf tournaments. He has always seemed different in an almost imposing way.
Now, he seems terribly human.
It's clear now why Woods was reluctant to offer more details about what happened at 2:30 a.m. last Friday. Beyond the legal issues related to his accident, it's evident there wasn't much he could truthfully say without making the matter more uncomfortable.
It reached a point, however, where he couldn't escape the storm. There's a whole argument to be made about the bottom-feeding style of journalism practiced by gossip sellers, but Tiger can only blame himself.
If we've learned anything the past few years about athletes and celebrities and their failings, it's that we'll eventually forgive them if they'll come clean. Roger Clemens, Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire apparently still haven't figured that out.
Tiger has always kept his fans at a comfortable distance. It would be wise of him to engage them more when he returns to the golf course. Smile more. Bump a few more fists. Let them touch you.
People admire Woods and they want to love him. They may be disappointed in him right now, but he can win them back.
He's shown us he's not perfect. He's told us he's sorry. What we see from him from now on may tell us more than we ever knew before.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Harrell named state's top junior boys golfer
Logan Harrell, an 18-year old senior at Hopewell High School, has been named North Carolina junior boys golfer of the year by the Carolinas Golf Association and the Tarheel Youth Golf Association.
Harrell, who lives in Huntersville, had a consistently strong year that included 10 top-10 finishes in the 13 events used to determine the state junior rankings.
Among the highlights of Harrell's season, he was medalist in sectional qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur where he reached the semifinals of match play; he qualified for the U.S. Amateur; he reached the round of 16 in the Carolinas Amateur; and, he tied for second in the AJGA's Cliffs Championship.
Harrell has committed to play college golf at South Carolina.
Katherine Perry, a 17-year old student at Athens Drive High in Raleigh, has been named the state's junior girls golfer of the year.
Harrell, who lives in Huntersville, had a consistently strong year that included 10 top-10 finishes in the 13 events used to determine the state junior rankings.
Among the highlights of Harrell's season, he was medalist in sectional qualifying for the U.S. Junior Amateur where he reached the semifinals of match play; he qualified for the U.S. Amateur; he reached the round of 16 in the Carolinas Amateur; and, he tied for second in the AJGA's Cliffs Championship.
Harrell has committed to play college golf at South Carolina.
Katherine Perry, a 17-year old student at Athens Drive High in Raleigh, has been named the state's junior girls golfer of the year.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Show of faith keeps Rock Barn on tour schedule
When the 2010 Champions Tour schedule was released Tuesday afternoon, the first thing I looked for was to see if the Greater Hickory Classic at Rock Barn was on the list.
It is and it was a nice surprise.
There's no guarantee the tournament in Conover will be played next fall but the fact the tour put it on the schedule in late September/early October is a show of faith that Don Beaver, Jim Correll and the others who run the event will resolve the sponsorship issue that threatens the event's future.
"We are so close," Correll, the tournament's executive director, said. "It's one of those things where until we dot the final Is and cross the final Ts we're not quite there. But we're extremely optimistic."
There are bigger Champions Tour events played in larger markets but there's a nice feel to the Rock Barn event. It's comfortable, the players enjoy it and it celebrates the tour.
It's not trying to be the Quail Hollow Championship. It's succeeding in being a good place for the Champions Tour to spend a week each year, tell some stories, sign some autographs and play some golf.
It's a good thing to continue.
It is and it was a nice surprise.
There's no guarantee the tournament in Conover will be played next fall but the fact the tour put it on the schedule in late September/early October is a show of faith that Don Beaver, Jim Correll and the others who run the event will resolve the sponsorship issue that threatens the event's future.
"We are so close," Correll, the tournament's executive director, said. "It's one of those things where until we dot the final Is and cross the final Ts we're not quite there. But we're extremely optimistic."
There are bigger Champions Tour events played in larger markets but there's a nice feel to the Rock Barn event. It's comfortable, the players enjoy it and it celebrates the tour.
It's not trying to be the Quail Hollow Championship. It's succeeding in being a good place for the Champions Tour to spend a week each year, tell some stories, sign some autographs and play some golf.
It's a good thing to continue.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Former 49er golfer Murphy makes Q-school finals
Former Charlotte 49ers golfer Trevor Murphy moved one step closer to the PGA Tour Saturday when he played his way through the second stage of the qualifying process at Southern Hills Plantation Club in Brookville, Fla.
Murphy finished tied for 18th (69-73-67-71) in the second stage qualifier, earning a spot in the final stage which will be played Dec. 2-7 at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
By reaching the final stage of Q-school, Murphy will have at least conditional status on the Nationwide Tour in 2010. Depending on how he plays in the final stage, Murphy could earn a PGA Tour card or full status on the Nationwide Tour.
Also advancing through the second stage were Charlotte resident Bobby MacWhinnie, former North Carolina golfers Tom Scherrer and Matt Davidson, along with former N.C. State golfer Chris Mundorf.
Murphy finished tied for 18th (69-73-67-71) in the second stage qualifier, earning a spot in the final stage which will be played Dec. 2-7 at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla.
By reaching the final stage of Q-school, Murphy will have at least conditional status on the Nationwide Tour in 2010. Depending on how he plays in the final stage, Murphy could earn a PGA Tour card or full status on the Nationwide Tour.
Also advancing through the second stage were Charlotte resident Bobby MacWhinnie, former North Carolina golfers Tom Scherrer and Matt Davidson, along with former N.C. State golfer Chris Mundorf.
