Na's Slow Play Recognized...In GWAA Internet Column Division

Nice going, Gene Wojciechowski, for your part in trying to speed up play on the PGA Tour and to all of the other Golf Writers Association writing contest award winners. I'm excited to say, no press releases won this year!

And uh, looks like the "Daily" division representing newspaper writing isn't long for this world as the Special Projects division didn't reach 10 entries. Not that this diminishes Scott Michaux's magnificent win in any way! No sirree!

2012 GWAA CONTEST RESULTS

The following is a full list of the winners, including honorable mentions. There were 492 entries in the contest. (Note: *Category with fewer than 10 entries had first place only.)

DAILY

DAILY COLUMNS – 1, Scott Michaux, Augusta Chronicle, Remembering Seve; 2, Scott Michaux, Augusta Chronicle, Wild final round at the Masters; 3, Ron Green, Jr, Charlotte Observer, McIlroy handles Masters collapse with grace.

Honorable mention: Dave Anderson, The New York Times, Seve Ballesteros’ death; Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sherri Steinhauer pushes on after her mother’s death; Dave Hackenberg, Toledo Blade, USGA setup as soft as the conditions at U.S. Senior Open.

DAILY NEWS – 1, Bill Dwyre, Los Angeles Times, A Toast to Darren Clarke; , Doug Ferguson, Associated Press, Mystique eroding, Tiger goes on like nothing has changed; 3, Adam Schupak, The New York Times, U.S. wins The Presidents Cup.

Honorable mention: Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, McIlroy makes U.S. Open look easy; Hank Gola, New York Daily News, Keegan Bradley wins PGA; Mike Kern, Philadelphia Daily News, McIlroy wns U.S. Open going away.

DAILY FEATURES – 1, Steve Adamek, The Record, Stacy Lewis overcomes scoliosis 2, Tim Cronin, Southtown Star, Legally blind golfer on varsity; 3, Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Steve Stricker searches for major.

Honorable mention: Doug Ferguson, Associated Press, Money games Phil Mickelson plays; Hank Gola, New York Daily News, The state of American golf; David Westin, Augusta Chronicle, Masters caddie Carl Jackson celebrates milestone.

* DAILY SPECIAL PROJECTS – 1, Scott Michaux, Augusta Chronicle, Team Mickelson revisits 2010 Masters.

INTERNET

INTERNET NEWS – 1, Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM, Masters winner calm amid the chaos; 2 (tie), Dave Shedloski, Golf World Monday, Internationals searching after U.S. wins Presidents Cup again; Jason Sobel, GOLFCHANNEL.COM, The Rory McIlroy Era.

Honorable mention – Mick Elliott, ESPNw.com, Yani Tseng wins LPGA Championship; Melanie Hauser, PGATOUR.COM, Cabrera jumps into contention at the Masters; Cameron Morfit, Golf.com, McIlroy cruises to first major title.

INTERNET COLUMNS – 1, Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com, The slowest player on the planet;  2, Dave Kindred, GolfDigest.com, Rory’s remarkable growth captured in a single shot; 3, Alan Bastable, Golf.com, Open letter to Rory McIlroy from the media.

Honorable mention: Jeff Babineau, Golfweek.com, Phil Mickelson’s exciting adventure in opening round of the U.S. Open; Michael Bamberger, Golf.com, Seve tribute; Cameron Morfit, Golf.com, An obit for Tiger’s aura.

INTERNET FEATURES – 1, Gene Wojciechowski, ESPN.com, Rory McIlroy Goes Home;  2, Jay Flemma, Cybergolf.com, Dan Jenkins goes into the World Golf Hall of Fame; 3, Jeff Ritter, Golf.com, Gallery guards at Augusta National.

Honorable mention – Rhonda Glenn, USGA.org, Remembering Babe Zaharias; Dave Shedloski, USGA.org, Ken Venturi recalls his 1964 U.S. Open victory; Mike Walker, Golf.com, The Siller brothers remember their firefighter brother.

INTERNET SPECIAL PROJECTS – 1, Mercer Baggs, GolfChannel.com, Revisting New Orleans five years after Hurricane Katrina; 2, Ron Whitten, GolfDigest.com, Augusta National through the years; 3, Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.com, 40 years later: Alan Shepard’s moon shot.

Honorable mention: Mercer Baggs, Bailey Mosier, GolfChannel.com, A year with three mini-tour players; Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell, Jason Sobel, GolfChannel.com, Death of Seve Ballesteros; Rex Hoggard, Randall Mell, GolfChannel.com, A primer for the year’s first major

NON-DAILY

NON-DAILY COLUMNS – 1, John Feinstein, Golf World, Athletes need to remember they are accountable for what goes on in their lives; 2, David Feherty, Golf Magazine, The sorcerer from Santander: Seve Ballesteros; 3, Ron Sirak, Golf World, Rory McIlroy establishes himself as the anti-Tiger.

Honorable mention: ; John Huggan, Golf World, Saying goodbye to Seve. Mike Purkey, Global Golf Post, Australia kicks John Daly out; Mike Purkey, Global Golf Post, Steve Williams goes racist; Steve Rushin, Golf Digest, Obama vs. Boehner: A wedge issue.

NON-DAILY NEWS – 1, Damon Hack, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus, Tommy Gainey and his two gloves; 2, Bill Fields, Golf World, Death of Seve Ballesteros; 3, Jim Moriarty, Golf World, Darren Clarke wins British Open.

Honorable mention – Jim McCabe, Golfweek, Who is Keegan Bradley?; Jim Moriarty, Golf World, McIlroy wins U.S. Open; Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, Bill Murray wins at Pebble.

NON-DAILY FEATURES – 1, Chris Millard, Golf World, Profile of Verne Lundquist,  who delivered the call on Nicklaus’ putt at 17 in 1986; 2, Jim Moriarty, Golf World, Roger Maltbie; 3, Cameron Morfit, Golf Magazine, Erik Compton new shot at life.

Honorable mention: Jaime Diaz, Golf Digest, Tiger’s swing evolution; John Garrity, The Memorial, Nancy Lopez reflects upon a Hall of Fame career; Steve Rushin, Golf Digest, Police, firemen and golf.

 NON-DAILY SPECIAL PROJECTS – 1, Ron Sirak, Golf World, Professional golf expands into Middle East; European Tour deepens roots there; 2, Brian Hewitt, Vartan Kupelian, Lewine Mair, Mike Purkey, Art Spander, Global Golf Post, The Five Greatest U.S. Opens; 3 (tie) John Garrity, Sports Illustrated Golf Plus, Hebridean villagers restore Old Tom Morris’s “ghost course; Dave Shedloski, Golf World, Jack Nicklaus’ 1986 Masters victory recounted.

Honorable mention: Beth Ann Baldry, Gene Yasuda, Golfweek, Blackwelder building U.S. women’s golf; Mike Cullity, Bill Fields, Geoff Shackelford, Golf World, Golf’s rules; Mike Purkey, John Steinbreder, Global Golf Post, The Two Irelands.