Peterson qualifies for Stadion Classic
University of Georgia Golf Course head professional Matt Peterson will compete in the Nationwide Tour Stadion Classic on his home course, earning one of two spots in a Georgia PGA qualifier at the UGA course.
Peterson shot a 73 and had to survive a three-way playoff with CC of the South instructor Shawn Koch and Chris Hawkins of the First Tee of Atlanta. Koch made up three shots on Peterson on the final hole, making birdie on UGA’s long, par-4 18th while Peterson made double bogey.
But Peterson came back to win the playoff, earning the second spot behind medalist Greg Lee of Chicopee Woods. Lee, who played in the Athens Nationwide event when it was held at Jennings Mill CC, shot 2-under 69 to win the qualifier by four strokes.
Peterson also competed in the Nationwide event at Jennings Mill and was a long-time member of the Nationwide Tour before retiring as a tour player to take the head professional job at the UGA course.
Also competing in the Stadion Athens Classic at UGA is 2009 Georgia PGA Player of the Year Tim Weinhart, who earned his spot based on his No. 1 finish on last year’s points list.
Weinhart was the medalist in the Georgia PGA’s qualifier for the Nationwide Tour’s South Georgia Classic at Kinderlou Forest in Valdosta. Weinhart shot 2-under 70 at Rivermont CC to edge out Sonny Skinner and Jeff Hull, who both shot 71 and will also be in the field in Valdosta.
Skinner, an instructor at River Pointe in Albany, is a long-time former player on the Nationwide and PGA Tours, winning twice on the Nike (now Nationwide) Tour in the 1990s. Hull, who is on the staff at the UGA course, competed in the first Nationwide Tour event at Kinderlou Forest in 2007 and made the cut.
Bulldogs take titles in Charleston, Texas
The Georgia golf team captured recent tournament titles in Texas and South Carolina, with the team’s top two players also taking home individual honors.
The Bulldogs won the annual Morris Williams Intercollegiate in Austin, Tex., coming from 15 shots back after two rounds to edge out host Texas by one stroke. The Bulldogs posted an even par 284 total the final day, led by Thomasville’s Harris English, who fired a 6-under 65, the low score of the day by four strokes.
English finished with a 212 total to earn medalist honors by five strokes. Teammate Bryden MacPherson tied for fifth at 219, with Macon’s Russell Henley 17th at 222 and Albany’s T.J. Mitchell 26th at 225.
The Georgia golf team won the Wendy’s Charleston Shootout by 20 strokes with an 18-under 846 total, with Henley edging out English for medalist honors. Henley shot three 69s for a 9-under 207, with English closing with a 68 to take second at 208. Freshman MacPherson tied for fourth at 213.
The Bulldogs struggled in their next event, tying for 12th in the Southern Highlands Collegiate Masters in Las Vegas.
Georgia Tech also competed in Las Vegas, tying for ninth. Acworth’s James White led the Yellow Jackets, tying for 16th. Tech placed sixth in the Wolfpack Intercollegiate in Raleigh, N.C., with Paul Haley tying for 15th.
Both teams competed in the Linger Longer Invitational, hosted by the Bulldogs at Reynolds Plantation, and each finished in a tie for fourth at 879, 14 strokes behind tournament winner Oklahoma State. The event was played on the Reynolds Landing course.
Both teams got off to slow starts before finishing strong. Georgia shot 280 the final day and Tech shot 281, the lowest scores posted in the third round.
English led Georgia, tying for fourth at 216 after a final round 67. Henley tied for 10th at 218 with Augusta’s Rob Bennett tying for 15th for the Bulldogs at 220. White led the Yellow Jackets, firing a final round 68 to tie for seventh at 216. Chesson Hadley closed with a 69 to tie for 13th at 213, and Haley tied for 19th at 221. Alpharetta’s William Meason was low man for Mercer, tying for 13th at 219.
The Georgia women’s team tied for fourth in the Kinderlou Forest Challenge in Valdosta, finishing 14 strokes behind Tulane’s winning total of 889. Georgia’s Marta Silva Zamora tied for second at 219, two behind the individual medalist. Georgia freshman Kendall Wright of Duluth tied for 13th at 224.
The Georgia women were seventh in New Orleans at English Turn with an 806 total. Freshman Emilie Burger of Hoschton shot 81-75-66 to tie for ninth at 222.
The Lady Bulldogs did not fare as well in their own tournament, placing 14th in the annual Liz Murphey Collegiate Classic at the UGA course. Duke won by 21 strokes with an 889 total, with freshman Stacey Kim of Columbus tying for second at 221, eight strokes behind teammate Lindy Duncan.
Silva Zamora led Georgia, tying for sixth at 225. Burger tied for 20th at 229.
In other college news: Auburn won the annual Schenkel Invitational at Forest Heights in Statesboro, with John Stembridge of Norcross shooting a pair of 72s to help lead the Tigers to a 1-stroke victory. Host Georgia Southern was 12th.
Augusta State won its annual pre-Masters tournament, romping to a 16-stroke victory over South Carolina at Forest Hills GC. The Jaguars recorded a 47-under 817 total, posting totals of 14-under or better in each round.
Henrik Norlander took home medalist honors for the Jaguars with scores of 68-68-65—201. Teammate Patrick Reed of Augusta was second at 203, with teammate Mitch Krywulycz tying for third at 206. Carter Newman of Evans gave Augusta four players in the top 10, tying for ninth at 208.
Augusta also won a rain-shortened tournament in Wilmington, N.C., by 19 strokes over runner-up South Carolina, with Reed sharing medalist honors at 139 and Newman fifth at 143. Augusta was third in its next tournament in Myrtle Beach, with Macon’s Taylor Floyd tying for 10th. In the Hootie @ Bulls Bay event in South Carolina, Reed finished sixth at 208 to lead the Jaguars to a fifth place showing, eight strokes behind LSU.
Kennesaw State tied for third in the Samford Invitational in Oneonta, Ala., just one stroke out of a playoff. Jeff Karlsson was second to lead the Owls with Woodstock’s J.P. Putnam tying for 11th.
Georgia State tied for fifth in the Samford tournament led by Gainesville’s Alan Fowler, who shot 64 in the second round and tied for fourth at 214. The Panthers placed fourth in the Wilmington, N.C., tournament, with Alpharetta’s Alex Castro tying for ninth.
Castro takes second
in Gainesville event
Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro continued his outstanding play in Georgia, finishing second in a recent Hooters Tour event at Chattahoochee GC in Gainesville.
Castro, who previously won an eGolf Tour tournament in Savannah, shot 63 the final day in Gainesville to pass the two players who shared the 54-hole lead. But Californian Travis Bertoni, who was one off the lead going to the final round, closed with a 64 to end up five ahead of Castro. Betroni took home $30,000, with Castro earning $15,867 for his runner-up finish.
For the tournament, Castro shot 14-under 270, opening with scores of 68-69-70 before closing with the low round of the week. The recent Georgia Tech standout flew out to California the following week to compete in a qualifier for a Nationwide Tour event and shot 67 to tie for second and make it into the field.
In the Hooters tournament in Gainesville, Swainsboro’s Will Claxton tied for 11th at 276, with Josh Bunch of Murrayville 27th at 279 and Mark Harrell of Hazlehurst 31st at 280. Claxton tied for eighth in the Hooters Tour 2010 opener in Ocala, Fla.
The Hooters Tour returns to Georgia to play at Crystal Lake in Hampton April 22-25, and will be in the Augusta area the following week, making its annual stop at Savannah Lakes in McCormick, S.C., April 29-May 2.
Harman starts fast
on eGolf Tour
Savannah’s Brian Harman, playing his first full season as a professional, is off to a strong start on the eGolf Tour. Harman posted finishes of third, seventh, fifth and second in four of the first five tournaments on the tour’s 2010 schedule.
Harman, who completed his college career at Georgia last year, was fifth in the season-opening event at Hilton Head Island, T3 in a tournament in North Carolina and T7 in Columbia, S.C. He followed with a runner-up finish Masters week to former Georgia teammate Richard Scott in Southport, N.C.
After five events, Harman was third on the money list with $42,910. His only non-top 10 came in his hometown of Savannah. He tied for 33rd in a tournament played at Savannah Quarters and Savannah Harbor, falling out of contention with a final round 76.
Augusta’s Scott Parel tied for second in Savannah, one stroke behind Alpharetta’s Roberto Castro, who birdied the final hole to prevent a three-way playoff. Also posting top-20 finishes were Atlanta’s Tim Schaetzel and Hawkinsville’s Jon Kennedy (T13, 215) and Covington’s Jonathan Fricke (T19, 216).
Scott, a three-time Canadian Amateur champion who now lives on St. Simons Island along with Harman, shot 8-under 280 to edge his former teammate by one stroke. He earned first place prize money of $32,550. Scott shot 71-69-70-70 to hold off Harman, who closed with scores of 67-68 the final two rounds.
Savannah’s Tommy Schaff tied for eighth at 286.
David Robinson of Sandersville placed second in an eGolf event in Concord, N.C., with a 274 total, one shot behind the winner. Robinson led by one after 54 holes, but was overtaken in the final round despite shooting a 69.
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