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Wednesday, January 02, 2008
It's A New Year
It's a little bittersweet to see 2007 in the rearview mirror. For starters, it signifies finality. The USGA championship season ended in October, yes, but there was time to revel in such achievements as Angel Cabrera and Cristie Kerr each winning their first major in the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open, respectively.
Or in Texan Colt Knost joining Ryan Moore as the only two players in history to win the U.S. Amateur Public Links and U.S. Amateur in the same season. Knost also had a hand in helping the United States of America squad narrowly defeat the Great Britain & Ireland team in the Walker Cup Match. Then there was the Kuehne conquest realized, which I’ll delve into below.
The New Year, as always, introduces challenges. For instance, how do we do what we do better in 2008? How do we improve upon conducting the best national championships? How do we transcend the brand via the 'For the good of the game' mission? How does all this relate to the online efforts? Easy. We continue to tell our story.
Our story is made easier by families like the Kuehnes. Trip finally joined brother, Hank, and sister, Kelli, in the winner's circle after his emotional victory in last year's U.S. Mid-Amateur. Until then, three members from the same family had never won a USGA championship. USGA writer David Shefter and senior staff photographer John Mummert spent some time with the Kuehnes in Texas recently. A story and photographs about that visit will appear on www.usga.org soon.
One equally compelling story we'll follow is how preparations evolve for this year's U.S. Open at Torrey Pines. It might seem innocuous, but the championship will play to a par 71, according to Mike Davis, who will have an important hand in the course setup. That's a switch from the Buick Invitational, which plays to a par 72 at the San Diego venue.
Off the course, another storyline we'll keep an eye on is the June 3 opening of the Arnold Palmer Center For Golf History. We'll introduce more updates and related tidbits - perhaps even on this blog - as we march toward the Museum's unveiling.
These are just a few things, among many others, we'll be pursuing as the year progresses. We're intent on making it another memorable one.
Ken Klavon
Editor, New Media
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Saturday, December 22, 2007
Happy Birthday!
While you are out doing that last-minute holiday shopping or putting the finishing touches on your Christmas decorations around the house, take time out to say Happy Birthday to the USGA. Today (Dec. 22), the Association hit the ripe old age of 113.
Some people may not know that the USGA came about from a dispute over national amateur champions. In 1894, St. Andrew’s Golf Club in Hudson, N.Y., and the Newport (R.I.) Country Club each staged invitational amateur competitions and each declared the winner to be the National Amateur champion.
This created confusion and it was clear that an impartial governing body was needed to administer golf, conduct national championships and oversee the codification and interpretation of the game’s rules, along with the Rules of Amateur status.
So on Dec. 22, 1894 in New York City, five prominent clubs – Newport, St. Andrew’s, The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., and the Chicago Golf Club – formed the United States Golf Association. The first president was Newport’s Theodore Havemeyer, whose name graces the Havemeyer Trophy, given annually to the U.S. Amateur champion.
In 1895, the inaugural U.S. Amateur, U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Amateur were conducted. Today, the USGA’s mission remains the same as it did 113 years ago; its primary role is to conduct national championships (there are now 13 for individuals), oversee the Rules of Golf in the U.S. and Mexico, and maintain the Rules of Amateur status. The USGA also is involved in other areas, including maintaining the Handicap System by which all golfers play by, conducting vital turfgrass research and giving millions to grassroots programs through the For the Good of the Game Grants Initiative.
So to the USGA, Happy 113th Birthday.
David Shefter,
USGA Staff Writer
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Tuesday, December 18, 2007
My Conversation With Former President Bush
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It was just about noon when I checked my notes one last time before I picked up the phone and called the Houston office of former President George H.W. Bush.
“He’s just back from his workout and he’s ready to rock and roll,” said his chief of staff.
The engaging 83-year-old golfer has been chosen to receive the USGA’s top honor, the Bob Jones Award, which he will officially receive in February at the USGA's Annual Meeting in Houston, and I needed to learn a bit about his personal golf background. I talked to the former President about his golf game, and about his father and grandfather, who were influential USGA presidents; his grandfather started the Walker Cup Match and his father took the lead for the USGA to have a history and archives museum.
The Bob Jones Award is given each year to recognize character and integrity, sportsmanship, and dedication to the game. And while Bush never got to be better than an 11-handicapper on the golf course, he’s one of golf’s big winners since retiring from political office, especially with his humanitarian efforts in southeast Asia and Louisiana/Mississippi following natural disasters that struck those regions.
He also told me about an interesting encounter his grandfather had with Bob Jones, when he was a hot-headed teenager.
“Bobby Jones was about 17 and at some tournament where he lost his temper and raised hell,” Bush recalled. “He had a pretty good temper in those days. My grandfather (George Herbert Walker) balled him out and told him he’d never play in another USGA event unless he got control of his temper. Then he put his arm around Jones and told him he had the potential to be one of the greatest golfers ever if he learned to control himself. I hope you’ll work on that, he said.”
The rest is history.
Craig Smith
USGA Director of Media Relations
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Friday, December 07, 2007
The Next Generation Of Golfers
News that the Masters will be allowing children in for free when accompanied by a ticketed adult is an exceptional way to introduce youth to the game of golf. Nothing but good can come of it. Kudos to them.
For a number of years, the USGA has admitted juniors age 12 and younger free of charge, on any day, when accompanied by a valid adult ticket holder at the U.S. Open, U.S. Women’s Open and U.S. Senior Open. In addition, juniors 13 to 17 are admitted at a reduced rate when accompanied by a valid adult ticket holder.
That’s not all.
The USGA also offers other initiatives geared toward children at these championships. Junior Day, which the Association conducts at each U.S. Open, serves as a harbinger of golf education for kids. Children, including those who are disadvantaged in the particular area, receive a free clinic and free lunch before being taken over to the Open. Last year at Oakmont, for example, more than 300 children attended Junior Day.
The Women’s Open and Senior Open offer something similar in the way of the "Catch the Spirit" program. This initiative began in 1991 as an effort to attract more youth and families to the game of golf and USGA championships. A junior-friendly tent is open for the duration of each championship where kids receive USGA publications, a complimentary lunch voucher, a “Catch the Spirit” cap, a golf course scavenger hunt, guided course tours and the opportunity to practice on a putting green set up just for juniors.
The “Catch the Spirit” program, supported by the Regional Affairs Committee, the Regional Directors, and the Grants and Fellowship Office, is responsible for the attendance of more than 5,000 youths annually. In addition, more than 30,000 youths have participated in the Catch the Spirit program throughout the last 10 years.
Why does the USGA do this? Because the next generation of golfers is as important as the last one.
Ken Klavon
kklavon@usga.org
Editor, New Media
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Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Off The Road But Still Cranking
The feeling is a little eerie.
Family members, neighbors and friends, local business owners and even your pets recognize you. Thankfully, after the prototypical number of airline segments and hotel nights, the USGA championship season comes to a close.
I’d have a nice nest egg if I had a dollar for every time I was asked: “What do you do in the off-season?” The answer: “Get ready for next year.” Believe us, there is a lot to do.
As the primary media contact for the U.S. Senior Open, my ‘Winter To Do’ list began taking shape this fall. While my thoughts are continually taking me down the road to the upcoming championships – Crooked Stick in ’09, Sahalee in ’10, Inverness in ’11 and Indianwood in ’12 – I must focus on The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., our stop in 2008.
The first big project is organizing Media Day, a promotional and ticket sales vehicle that features a visit from the reigning champion to the site of the next year’s championship.
Brad Bryant won the 2007 Senior Open at Whistling Straits and began my planning for the 2008 Media Day when he asked during his post-victory media blitz, “Do I need to go to The Broadmoor before the event next year?”
I told him we could visit that topic later. He responded by grabbing my arm and looking me dead in the eye and said, “This is a BIG deal to me. I will do anything you want me to do.”
After trading cell phone numbers and then e-mail addresses with his wife, Sue (because he’s “not an e-mail guy”), I knew that planning for his media day would be just like a straight, uphill putt.
E-mails with Sue and phone calls with Brad have already moved the planning process along rapidly. We have a date and The Broadmoor is busy compiling a strong media list for invitations.
The results don’t always come together this easily but it’s a step you have to take during our prep time of October through May. There is still a lot to do.
The 2008 media guide? Championship site visits for 2008? Media planning for the opening of the new Museum? Researching great story ideas for the spring and summer? Oh yeah, I better move those up a few notches on the ‘To Do List.’ It’s the offseason, you know.
Pete Kowalski
Manager of USGA Media Relations
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Monday, December 03, 2007
Full-Time Status
As a non-exempt LPGA Tour player in 2007, Jane Park managed to get into just 11 events, earning $64,649 for 109th place on the money list. Whether the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur champion and two-time USA Curtis Cupper manages to add more cash to her bank account in 2008 remains to be seen, but at least the Californian will get to pick and choose the tournaments she wants to play in.
The affable Park, who also shared low-amateur honors at the 2006 U.S. Women’s Open at Newport (R.I.) Country Club, posted a 17-under total of 343 to win the 90-hole LPGA Tour Final Qualifying Tournament at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla., on Sunday by three strokes.
“I was playing great so I knew I had a good chance to win,” said Park, who turned pro in 2006 after just one season at UCLA. “Just being able to pull it off was just a great confidence booster. I just proved to myself that I can go pretty deep under par. It's a great feeling.”
Park was one of three U.S. Women’s Amateur champions to finish among the low 17 and ties to earn full-exempt cards for the 2008 LPGA Tour campaign. She was joined by three-time USGA champion and ’95 Curtis Cupper Kelli Kuehne (1994 Girls’ Junior; 1995 and ’96 Women’s Amateur) and 2002 Women’s Amateur champion Becky Lucidi, who finished fourth and T-9, respectively. Kuehne, whose brother Trip won the 2007 U.S. Mid-Amateur, posted a final-round 67 (she shot 76 in round four) to finish at nine under, while Lucidi, a member of the 2003 USA Women’s World Amateur Team, vaulted from a tie for 20th with a final-round 69.
Ya-Ni Tseng of Chinese Taipei, who beat Michelle Wie to win the 2004 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links title at Golden Horseshoe’s Green Course in Williamsburg, Va., took sixth, while 2004 USA Curtis Cupper Liz Janangelo garnered one of the last few full-exempt cards with a tie for 14th at four under by making a birdie at her final hole of the competition.
The low 17 golfers earned full-exempt status for 2008.
Shanshan Feng, an 18-year-old amateur who competed in the 2007 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, U.S. Girls’ Junior, U.S. Women’s Amateur and U.S. Women’s Open, became the first player from The Peoples Republic of China to earn an LPGA Tour card. She went through qualifying as an amateur, but will now turn pro. She tied for ninth at five under.
Five other USGA champions/Curtis Cuppers were among the 36 players to earn conditional status for 2008. Conditional status often puts a player in golf purgatory as they don’t know which events they’ll be able to play in ’08. That group includes 2003 U.S. Girls’ Junior champion Sukjin-Lee Wuesthoff, 2006 USA Curtis Cupper Taylor Leon, 2003 Women’s Amateur champion Virada Nirapathpongporn, 1991 WAPL champion Tracy Hanson and 2002 Curtis Cupper Angela Jerman. Leon triple-bogeyed her 89th hole to miss getting full-exempt status by two strokes.
David Shefter
Staff Writer, New Media
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Saturday, December 01, 2007
Correcting A Wrong
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As the Chair of the USGA
Nominating Committee, I often hear silly and totally unfounded rumors about our
rigorous nominating process. The most recent one, which was totally unfounded,
was that our current President wanted to serve a third term. At no time during
the Nominating Committee's deliberations in 2007 did either Walter Driver seek
or the Nominating Committee consider his serving a third term. Moreover, at no
time did Driver suggest, or the Nominating Committee consider someone other than
Jim Vernon as the
next President of the USGA.
Simply put, this was hearsay with absolutely no
validity.
Trey Holland USGA Past President Chair of USGA Nominating Committee
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Thursday, November 29, 2007
Changes Are Happening
Ever have that ‘something is different’ feeling and can’t put your finger on it? If you’ve taken time to review the USGA homepage, you’ll notice we’ve made a few minor tweaks. Please note, we are not undergoing a site redesign. The new look is more about streamlining and revitalizing what we offer, which is quite a bit.
Perhaps the biggest change occurred to the menu bar near the top that lists six primary topics. Except for the ‘Home’ option, all offer drop-down selections when you hover over them with your mouse.
You might notice, too, that the page is more horizontal than in the past. Chalk that up to streamlining again. The masthead on the top of the page shrunk, allowing for more content to be pushed above the proverbial fold, an antiquated newspaper term that somehow has melded with online jargon. In other words, there is less up and down scrolling.
These changes are only a start. In the coming months, we’ll be making more tweaks. Some might be more noticeable than others. Until then, please do us a favor and let us know what you think. Provide feedback to David Shefter dshefter@usga.org or myself.
As always, thanks for your patronage.
Ken Klavon
kklavon@usga.org
Editor, New Media
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Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Playing With The Boys
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Add reigning U.S. Women's Open champion Cristie Kerr to the list of female professional golfers to compete against the men. Kerr has agreed to partner with longtime friend and renowned instructor Jim McLean in The Ultimate Game to be held March 6-11 at PGA West's Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif. The two-person, best-ball match-play format consists of 64 teams who ante up $50,000 for a chance at winning the first-place prize of $1 million.
The competition is open to anyone who has not competed on the PGA Tour, Nationwide Tour, Champions Tour, European Tour, European Challenge Tour, the Japan Tour or Asian Tour at any time after March 3, 2002. The LPGA Tour is excluded from that list, making Kerr eligible to compete.
Other female professionals/amateurs have gone up against the men with varied success. Se Ri Pak made a cut at an Asian Tour event in Korea, while Michelle Wie qualified for the U.S. Amateur Public Links in 2005 and advanced to the quarterfinals and became the first female to advance to sectional qualifying for the U.S. Open (2006). Wie has never made a PGA Tour cut, but has come within a stroke at the Sony Open in her native Hawaii. Annika Sorenstam also played at Colonial and while she didn't make the cut, she held her own against some of the world's best players.
"The thing is the gap has narrowed considerably between the top female golfers and other golfers," said McLean at Monday's press conference announcing Kerr's decision to compete in The Ultimate Game. [Kerr] has a very strong golf game. I've played with her quite a few times and she's got the whole package."
Said Steve Bartkowski, a former All-Pro quarterback with the Atlanta Falcons who founded The Ultimate Game: "Since the beginning, we've left The Ultimate Game events open to all female players because we recognize the immense amount of talent in the women's game, and we wanted to present them the opportunity to compete against the men. We're excited to have [Cristie and Jim] in our field."
Kerr will not receive any special treatment in the event. She will play from the men's tees and won't receive any strokes.
The semifinals and finals will be broadcast live by The Golf Channel in prime time on March 10 (Sunday) and March 11 (Monday) from 7-9 p.m. ET. The first round (32 matches) will begin on March 7. The total purse for the competition is $2.4 million, which is comprised totally from the entry fees.
David Shefter,
USGA Staff Writer
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Monday, November 19, 2007
Eyeing That Final Examination
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People say the hardest stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School is the second one. Sure they hand out PGA and Nationwide Tour playing cards at the final stage, but anyone who advances from the second stage is guaranteed at least non-exempt status on the Nationwide Tour for the following season. Those who don’t advance often are left scrambling to compete on secondary circuits such as the Hooters Tour or Canadian Tour. That’s what makes second stage, perhaps, the most pressure-packed of all. You can compare it to qualifying for the U.S. Open. The toughest part of the process for most players is sectional qualifying because there’s spots in the Open field at stake. Once you make it, the Open itself is gravy.
So those players who don’t perform well at the final stage, at least have the Nationwide Tour to fall back on. While it’s often considered the Triple-A circuit of professional golf, the Nationwide Tour offers a chance to gain a PGA Tour card by being among the top 25 money leaders in a particular season. Those “other” circuits don’t.
This past week, several former USGA champions and Walker Cuppers were in action at six different second-stage venues, hoping to finish among the top 20 and ties to advance to the final stage at the end of the month in Orlando, Fla.
Chris Kirk, a member of the victorious 2007 USA Walker Cup team, had the best performance, sharing medalist honors with Kevin Streelman at Royal Dunes Golf Club in Maricopa, Ariz. Kirk, a former University of Georgia All-American, posted a 17-under 271 total with rounds of 66, 68, 69 and 68. Also advancing in Arizona was 1993 Walker Cupper Todd Demsey and 2007 Walker Cup alternate Alex Prugh.
His Walker Cup teammate, Colt Knost of Dallas, Texas, finished second at the McKinney, Texas, qualifier. Knost, who became the sixth player in history to win two USGA championships in the same year (2007 U.S. Amateur and U.S. Amateur Public Links), had rounds of 68, 69, 73 and 69. Knost took a major gamble by turning pro this fall, eschewing berths in the 2008 Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. Now he’s six solid rounds away from a PGA Tour card, but at the worst, he’ll be competing on the Nationwide Tour.
Others advancing in Texas included Walker Cuppers Kris Cox (1995), Duffy Waldorf (1985), Kyle Reifers (2005), Notah Begay III (1995) and Hunter Haas (1999), who also won the APL in ’99.
In Dade City, Fla., 2001 U.S. Amateur champion Bubba Dickerson, who struggled on the PGA Tour in 2007, advanced along with Walker Cuppers Dustin Johnson (2007) and Matt Every (2005). Every was the low amateur at the 2005 U.S. Open.
In Panama City, Fla., 2003 U.S. Amateur runner-up and Walker Cupper Casey Wittenberg finally advanced out of the second stage after a couple of unsuccessful tries since turning pro in 2004 after just one season at Oklahoma State. He was joined by 1997 Walker Cupper Randy Leen and 2004 USA World Amateur Team member and ’04 U.S. Open low amateur Spencer Levin.
Jason Allred, the 1997 U.S. Junior champion, advanced from the Kingwood, Texas, qualifying site, while Walker Cuppers Bob May (1991) and Chris Riley (’95) moved on in Beaumont, Calif.
With each success at Q-School, there are those who come up short in their quest to fulfill a dream. David Gossett, the 1999 U.S. Amateur champion and Walker Cupper who has watched his career go south after winning the John Deere Classic in 2001, failed to move on. Two-time Walker Cupper Lee Williams, who competed on the Nationwide Tour in 2007, was another casualty. Ryan Hybl, the 2006 U.S. Mid-Amateur runner-up, decided to turn pro this past summer to make a run at the PGA Tour, but missed out, as did 2002 U.S. Junior champion Charlie Beljan and 2002 U.S. Amateur champion Ricky Barnes. Barnes finished 71st on the Nationwide Tour money list in 2007.
Other notables who failed to advance to the final stage included Walker Cuppers Brock Mackenzie (2003), Michael Putnam (2005)Edward Loar (1999), Matt Hendrix (2003), Len Mattiace (1987) and Bryce Molder (1999 and ’01). Also failing to qualify were 1988 U.S. Amateur/1989 Walker Cupper Eric Meeks, and two-time APL (1991 and '93) and 1993 Walker Cupper David Berganio Jr. Berganio withdrew from his qualifier in California.
David Shefter,
USGA Staff Writer
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