When you come to think of it that is the secret of most of the great holes all over the world. They all have some kind of a twist. C.B. MACDONALD
If the that whole virtual reality looking thing in Atlanta is too EA Sports for you, don't forget they've reached match play at the U.S. Women's Amateur at Donald Ross's ultra cool Rhode Island Country Club. Besides being one of the really neat places in the game with a pure golf spirit, great USGA championship history and beautiful setting, it provides a welcome contrast to Atlanta Athletic Club.
Sean Martin on Tom Watson, asked today at the Greenbrier about the resurgence in amateur golf, with Watson all but pointing out the absurdity of labeling many of today's amateurs...amateurs.
Joe Chemycz with the lowdown on amateurs in the first two spots of the Nationwide Children's Hospital Invitational heading into Sunday and a third in the top ten.
LSU's John Peterson birdied three of his final five holes and maintained his lead after three rounds at Ohio State University's Scarlet Course. Peterson's 14-under 199 total is one shot better than college rival Harris English of Georgia, who carded a bogey-free 68.
"We had our college stuff on and it was just the two of us out there together. It really didn't feel like a professional tournament," said English, dressed in his red Bulldog shirt. "We were joking on the range that we thought our college coaches were going to show up at some point, and they still might."
You may recall amateur Russell Henley won earlier this year on his home collegiate course.
It was reported last week by Tim Twentyman of the Detroit News and now the USGA makes it official:
OAKLAND HILLS COUNTRY CLUB SELECTED AS SITE OF 2016 U.S. AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP
Far Hills, N.J. (July 20) – Oakland Hills Country Club, in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., has been selected by the United States Golf Association as the site of the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship. The dates of the championship are Aug. 15-21, 2016.
The North and South Courses will be used for stroke-play qualifying and the South Course will be used for match play.
“The USGA is very excited to return to Oakland Hills for the 2016 U.S. Amateur Championship,” said Thomas J. O’Toole Jr., chairman of the USGA championship committee. “To have the opportunity to conduct the U.S. Amateur, our oldest championship, at a club that has hosted six U.S. Opens is truly special. Many historic golf moments have occurred at Oakland Hills and we expect the 2016 U.S. Amateur will add to that history.”
The 2016 championship will be the second U.S. Amateur and 11th USGA championship to be hosted by the club. The 2002 U.S. Amateur, won by Ricky Barnes over Hunter Mahan, was the most recent USGA championship at the historic layout designed by Donald Ross.
Oh before you get upset that I'm stating the obvious--Tiger's a gimp with his clubs collecting dust and niece Cheyenne is on course to possibly win a USGA event--but it still had to be said. If nothing else, to speak to Cheyenne Woods' continued stellar play.
I've been hearing from reader Rob Matre about amateur Russell Henley, winner of Sunday's Stadion Classic on the Nationwide Tour over his home course at the University of Georgia. Rob posted a gallery of images from Sunday's round.
From an unbylined AP story on the win:
“I can’t even feel my arms,” Henley said. “I was nervous all day. I don’t know how long it will take to sink in. Eight months? Nine months? A couple days? I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”
The three-time All-America selection finished at 12-under 272 on the University of Georgia Golf Course.
If you want to experience what golf highlights were like in the silent era, here's a B-roll with graphics of the final round in Athens.
Russell Henley is tied for the lead with Troy Kelly on his home college course in Athens, Georgia.
...I'm sorry, I meant the U.S. Amateur is moving starting in 2012 to accommodate the fall academic calendar.
USGA CHANGES FUTURE DATES OF U.S. AMATEUR AND U.S. WOMEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIPS
Far Hills, N.J. (March 9) – Beginning in 2012, the United States Golf Association will shift its schedule for future U.S. Amateur and U.S. Women’s Amateur Championships to help avoid conflicts between the competitive golf season and the fall academic calendar.
“Starting in 2012, our goal, for the most part, will be to end the Women’s Amateur on the second Sunday in August and the U.S. Amateur on the third Sunday in August,” said Jeff Hall, USGA managing director of Rules and Competitions. “Our intent is to give a large majority of the players who are still students a chance to compete in the national amateur championship and begin their fall class schedules on time.”
The 2012 U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village, Colo., was originally scheduled for Aug. 20-26. It will now be played Aug. 13-19. The 2013 U.S. Amateur at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., will be conducted Aug. 12-18. In some instances, the final day of the U.S. Amateur will not fall on the third Sunday in August.
Sean Martin takes issue with the lack of an on-the-spot call by the International Golf Federation to prevent a virtual washout day of weekend World Amateur Team Championship golf, but what really scares me about this episode is that it's precisely the kind of thing that they use to justify the dead-on-arrival 72- hole individual stroke play format for the Olympics.
There’s nothing the IGF can do about the weather. But its insistence on emphasizing participation over competition in a tournament billed as a “world championship” has frustrated many players and coaches.
Tony Dear follows up with Chambers Bay superintendent David Wienecke on the setup and conditions.
Geoff Shackelford is a Senior Writer for Golfweek magazine, a weekly contributor to Golf Channel's Morning
Copyright © 2022, Geoff Shackelford. All rights reserved.
