They Didn't Say That Did They? "The top guys in college, the top 20 or 30 guys, can beat the top 20, 30 guys on the PGA Tour."

/
Harris English, understandably confused for a character in a P.G. Wodehouse novel, did not win a Nationwide Tour event Sunday. Instead, it was Harris English from the University of Georgia, who outdueled another amateur, LSU's John Peterson. Throw in another impressive PGA Tour performance from UCLA's Patrick Cantlay at the Canadian Open, and you have to be impressed with the showing of college golf's finest.
Read More

Amateurs Overtaking The Nationwide Tour!

/

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.

"I will be totally surprised if an American wins the Open this week."

/
John Huggan talks to instructor and former SMU coach Hank Haney, who is still down on the American college golf system's ability to produce great players or great thinkers, not to mention contenders next week. Asked about what's happened since his controversial Golf Digest remarks four years ago.
Read More

Q-School Re-Evaluation, USGA Politics At Heart Of Walker Cup Player Apathy?

/
While the U.S.G.A. figures to still field a Walker Cup team loaded with top American amateurs Uihlein, Cantlay, Henley and Langley, Ryan Herrington files a Golf World Monday item suggesting players on the cusp are not retaining their amateur status because of uncertainty about the future of Q-school and the secretive process the USGA goes about selecting the team.
Read More

2011 Memorial Final Round Open Thread

/

Federer and Nadal will be tough to overcome, but Jack's place usually serves up a fun finish, especially now that Jack has beamed in a par-3 from Robert Trent Jones Golf Club. Feel free to chime in on the LPGA, Champions and NCAA Men's final too.

Reader Titleist38 says there will be some streaming of the NCAA final here. You can also see highlights.

NCAA May Madness: Rough Obsession Returns

/

Northwestern coach and Luke Donald instructor Pat Goss posted this image from the NCAA Men's Golf Championship's today:

Well-informed sources say these signs were posted last year as well, which means the NCAA pulls these out of storage to ship to the NCAA's. All to preserve the integrity of the "rough."

Good to know the NCAA brings its point-missing ways to golf, too.

UNM Course Saved...For Now

/

Good news as one of the better college golf courses has been spared the ax, reports Club and Resort Business via a New Mexico Golf News report (that I can't locate).

“The Championship Course has been revamping its business model, and anticipates that it will come close to break even next fiscal year. There is no closure or sale at this time,” a University spokesperson, Susan McKinsey, said in response to an inquiry.

McKinsey’s statement followed a meeting of the UNM Board of Regents at which student tuition and fees were increased by 5.5 percent for the 2011-2012 budget year.

With the tuition picture made clearer, the regents were scheduled to meet again at the end of April to finalize details of the university’s budget for the coming year.

"They're playing with the lives of the players to do this."

/
Ryan Herrington ponders how changing PGA Tour Q-School to the Sponsorless-Tour-Formerly-Known-As-Nationwide Qualifying Tournament would impact college golf. First, there is this, which Herrington calls a quick aside but it's one of the fundamental questions that the PGA Tour Policy Board should have asked before green-lighting the concept.
Read More

UNM Woes...$1.3 Million Maintenance Budget!?

/

Brad Klein fleshes out a few details about how the troubled University of New Mexico Golf Course is over $4 million in the red and the struggles can be attributed to a green fee and maintenance upgrade to compete with local upscale daily fees.

With green fees now set at $20-$39 for UNM students and $52-$70 for others, the course still runs an annual operating deficit of $400,000. The maintenance budget, including upkeep of the school’s on-campus nine-hole North Course, comes to $1.3 million a year. An aging cast-iron irrigation system, balky septic system and antiquated heating and cooling add maintenance “baggage,” Trujeque said.

"The team’s mantra is ‘212 Degrees,’ the temperature at which water boils."

/

Sean Martin, filing a must read for the college-golf-coaches-have-too-much-time-and-money-at-their-disposal files, tells us that UCLA now sports numbers on their uniforms and bags to give the players a sense of "ownership." The coach also has a number.

Freeman is No. 212. Why? The team’s mantra is ‘212 Degrees,’ the temperature at which water boils. Since water cannot boil at 211 degrees, the implication is that one degree – the degree that pushes water to its boiling point – makes a huge difference. It’s an effort to push players to put in that small incremental increase in effort that makes a huge difference.]

Way too cerebrial for me!