Ultimate springtime golf fitness tips for "real" golfers

By Tim McDonald,
National Golf Editor

For those of you unfortunate enough to live in the North, you must be salivating at the thought of the spring golf season.

Hold on, Tiger. You ain't the man you used to be. You can't just jump up and go straight to the golf course after a long winter of sloth and mold.

Now, you will find any number of charlatans willing to sell you their total golf fitness regimens. These sleazoids always assume you're a golfer interested in a cleaner, healthier way of living and golfing. I've seen you out on the course, and I know that's not the sort of thing you're "into."

So here is my total golf fitness regimen for the "real" golfer:

• For God's sake, you have to strengthen your core! This involves eating really hard food, like jawbreakers. Eat a bag of those and have your neighbor punch you in the gut to see if your core is all it can be.

Options: Month-old fudge, Purina Dog Chow, pine bark.

• You also have to really work your obliques, I mean really work the hell out of them. Here's the perfect exercise for that. Lie flat on your back with knees bent slightly wider than your hips. If you have really fat hips, you're either going to have to really stretch your knees like in a cartoon, like The Elastic Man from India, or just skip this exercise. In fact, if you have really fat hips, just skip playing golf, nobody wants to see you out on the course.

Now, you slim-hipped people reach your hands to the ceiling like you're crying out for the Lord Jesus Christ to spare you from your miserable existence. You can hold light hand-weights, or not. What do I care? Lift your head and chest toward the ceiling and rotate to reach both hands just outside of your fat, right knee. Repeat on the left side. Now, take a breather. Ask Christ for forgiveness.

• Breathing exercises: Breathing properly and deeply is critical, especially for those tense moments on the course when normally you would start crying.
This deep-breathing exercise involves attending your local adult movie house, or calling up one of those sites on your Internet browser. Follow your instincts. It's either that or follow mine, and then you're looking at jail time.
• Horizontal abduction/adduction: I can't give you much help here, because I always get "horizontal" confused with "vertical," and I have no idea what adduction is. Who came up with that word, anyway? It's a stupid word and should be eliminated from the English language, if it's even English.

• Standing hip rotation: Don't do this. It makes you look like a girl.

• Alcohol fitness: How many times have you lost $2 Nassaus because while you were getting hamboned, your playing partners were just holding up that bottle of Jack Black pretending to drink?

Well, no need to waste good liquor. You can still drink and maintain your competitive edge. You just need to build up a tolerance. Stand upright in a dark closet, with a wide stance, and suck it down. Keep drinking until your wife leaves you.

• Aerobics: Ha! Don't make me laugh. This is golf!

• Putting: Don't bother to practice putting. Putting in golf is overrated. I play golf maybe 200 times a year and I've yet to meet anyone who can putt. You either make it or you don't. If you miss, just keep putting until the ball goes in the hole. Simple.

• Seniors: As we age, our bodies react differently, so seniors must prepare for golf differently than young punks. An important thing to remember is that there is an inverse relationship of increased ear hair to laughably short drives off the tee.

So keep those ear hairs trim and neat. If you're proud of your thick mane of ear hair, don't sweat it. If you're short off the tee, you're probably small in other areas, and I think you know what I'm talking about.

• Excuses: A healthy psychological outlook is a must for Better Golf. If you can convince yourself that the snap hook you hit into the weeds over there is not your doing at all, you'll retain the confidence needed to excel in the game.

The first time you smack one of your all-too-typical lousy shots, turn to your playing partner and snarl," "Will you stop that!" Look at him, looking all hurt and everything. Who would have thought golf fitness could be so much fun?

• Torque development in the downswing: This is so important, I can barely contain myself. This is vital to any golfer who has ever wanted to improve his score. You could even say it is absolutely critical in terms of reaching your full potential as a golfer and knowing what it is to be truly human.

• Alignment and posture: Face the target squarely and stand erect, with your rump jutting out slightly. Feels a little silly, doesn't it? Can you think of another situation in life where you would position yourself in such an odd manner? I can't.

NEC Golfer's of the Week

Central Connecticut State's Matt McClure and Sacred Heart's Patrick Fillian have been named NEC Co-Golfers of the Week. The pair tied for seventh at the Yale Spring Open, firing two-day scores of 145. McClure's 2.88 par three average was the lowest amongst the field's 149 participants, while Fillian's second round, one-over par 71, was the lowest round shot by 15 NEC golfers in attendance. Also receiving honors is Fairleigh Dickinson's Michele Holzwarth Hagen, who earns her second straight women's NEC Golfer of the Week award. Holzwarth Hagen has led the Knights to five straight event wins, capturing five individual titles in the process. The Berlin, Germany native carded a 74 in the Rutgers Quad Match, en-route to a first place finish, before posting an 84 for a win in the St. Francis Quad. Holzwarth Hagen has captured NEC Golfer of the Week honors on four occasions this season.

Patriot League March Golfer of the Month

Ricky Hayes, Colgate Sr., Ridgefield, Conn.

Hayes receives his second Golfer of the Month award of the year after leading all Patriot League participants with a seventh place finish out of 105 total golfers at the George Washington Invitational. He began the event by shooting a 78 in round one, and notched a 3-under 69 in the second round to match a career best. Hayes concluded the weekend with a 38 on nine holes on the final day to finish with a score of 185 in the 45-hole event.

Hayes has been the top Colgate golfer in five of the six events the Raiders have competed in this year, including the fall season. He previously received Patriot League Golfer of the Month recognition in September.

March Patriot League Honorable Mention Performances

Rahul Desai, Bucknell Sr., Avon, Conn.

Desai, who earned Golfer of the Month honors in October, finished just one shot behind Hayes and in eighth place in the George Washington Invitational. He fired a 72 on the first day and a 75 on day two, while closing with a 39 on the final nine holes. Desai's performance helped Bucknell to a fifth-place finish out of 20 teams. Desai has finished in the top eight in six of his seven starts including the fall season.

Rally for the Cure announces new on-line club donation center

WILTON, Conn. -- Rally for the Cure announces a new partnership with 3balls.com® who have combined efforts to create the Rally Golf Club Donation Center website opening January 2008 and located at donateclubs.rallyforthecure.com. The Center was created as an alternate method of raising funds to beat breast cancer. Golfers interested in raising funds are encouraged to clean out their closets for a good cause by visiting donateclubs.rallyforthecure.com where they can quickly find the fair market donation values for their golf clubs as determined by the PGA.com Value Guide, the National Standard for Golf Club Values™. Funds raised through golf club donations will go to Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

Rally for the Cure® is in it’s 12th year as a golf grassroots breast cancer awareness program. Since it debuted in 1996, the mission of Rally for the Cure® has been to emphasize the importance of early detection in the successful treatment of breast cancer and to support the mission of Susan G. Komen for the Cure to eradicate breast cancer as a life-threatening disease. According to Komen for the Cure, each year breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women ages 35-54, and the disease also accounts for more than 75% of all cancer deaths in women 55 years of age and older.

3balls.com® is a leading online retailer of used and like-new golf equipment. 3balls.com® operates an industry leading e-retail site at www.3balls.com and is a Platinum Power Seller on eBay® that maintains a statistically 100% positive feedback record. 3balls.com® has created and operates several golf industry initiatives such as the PGA.com Value Guide and PGA Trade-In Network that bring benefits to golfers, PGA Professionals, golf retailers, and golf club manufacturers by providing the fair market valuation, condition-grading, reverse-logistics, and monetization of used and like-new golf clubs.

The PGA.com Value Guide, accessed on-line at www.pga.com/valueguide , is the National Standard for Golf Club Values™ that publishes fair-market trade-in and re-sale values for over 5,000 models of used golf clubs based on Marketplace Data from eBay®. Thousands of golfers, PGA Professionals, golf retailers, and others go to the PGA.com Value Guide on a daily basis to find used golf club trade-in and re-sale values, and other golf club information. Golf club donation values offered through the Rally Golf Club Donation Center website are based on the fair-market trade-in values from the PGA.com Value Guide.

Rally for the Cure® is based in Wilton, Connecticut. 3balls.com® is located in Raynham, MA. For further information about donating golf clubs to the Rally Golf Club Donation Center, call 888.247.2559, email rally@3balls,com or visit the website: donateclubs.rallyforthecure.com.

Shark, Couples to Captain Presidents Cup

Greg Norman put aside his differences with the PGA Tour and agreed to be captain of the International team at the Presidents Cup, joining Fred Couples of the United States as the first captains who have competed in the matches.

It will be held in October 2009 at Harding Park, a public course in San Francisco.

The announcement Tuesday shifts the Presidents Cup into a modern era of captaincy. Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were captains at the last three competitions, and previous captains included Arnold Palmer, Ken Venturi, Hale Irwin, Peter Thomson and David Graham.

Couples was a natural fit as the face of these matches, which were patterned after the Ryder Cup and began in 1994.

He clinched victory for the Americans in the inaugural year with a spectacular 9-iron from the bunker to 2 feet, and two years later, his 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole in the last match secured another win.

In his fourth and final Presidents Cup, he made a 20-foot birdie on the last hole to beat Vijay Singh.

The surprise was Norman, who has been battling with PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem for more than a decade over the World Golf Championships and more recently, the tour's finances.

Norman's proposed world tour in 1994 never took root, and Finchem introduced the WGCs a few years later.

"I think what's happened in the past is in the past," Norman said. "If you sit on a board of any company, you don't want to have a friendly board. You need to have some bit of contentious, open discussion because not everybody is going to think exactly the same way. Tim and I have an open discussion about certain situations with the game of golf, whether it's personal, whether it's business.

"The issues are always going to be there. Those issues have got nothing to do with The Presidents Cup."

Norman said Finchem asked him to be International captain at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and he consulted Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Adam Scott.

His biggest issue will be finding a way to win.

The United States leads the series, 5-1-1, with the only International victory coming in 1998 in Australia. The tie came in South Africa in 2003, the first year Nicklaus and Player were captains together.

Tour officials then were looking at Couples and Norman as the next captains, but decided on Nicklaus and Player again in 2005 as a way to settle the tie. The Americans won the next year, then won again in 2007 at Royal Montreal.

Couples is one of the most popular players in golf and figures to be the quintessential players' captain.

He has expressed interest in being the Ryder Cup captain, although any hope probably ended in December when he said, "I can promise you, there's 12 guys who don't want to do 75 percent of the stuff there. If you're a great captain, you should tell everyone you're not going to do 75 percent of the stuff."

The Presidents Cup is far more relaxed, and Couples jokingly suggested he would pick Michael Jordan and Robin Williams as assistants, one to tell stories of greatness, the other to tell jokes.

"The Presidents Cup is a treat to play in, and it will be doubly to captain this thing," Couples said. "As close as I am to these guys, I feel like I'll have fun with all of them, whether they're 50th in the rankings or first."

Norman has played two of the last three weeks on the PGA Tour, but is too consumed with his business and his engagement to tennis star Chris Evert to play much tournament golf.

Couples said he planned to play a full schedule each of the next two years, and noted he would be eligible for the Champions Tour right after the Presidents Cup ends.

"Not in my wildest dreams did I think this would happen," Couples said.

Many thought Norman would be captain in 2011, when the Presidents Cup goes to Australia. Norman said he would like to be considered for that, too.

"But under the circumstances, I thought the priority for me right now was to get into the captain's seat, do the best job I could possibly do for the next less than two years now, and basically pull the team through for 2009," he said.

Blue Devils Selected Second According to Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll

Central Connecticut received two first place votes en route to a second place slotting in the 2008 Northeast Conference Men's Golf Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Blue Devils, who finished third in last season's championships, are looking for their fifth title. Eighth-year head coach Ed Batogowski will turn to all-conference performers Matt McClure, a senior, and Tim Buczak, a junior, to lead CCSU to its first championship since 2005.

A three-time All-Northeast Conference honoree, McClure shot a three-day 222 to finish tied for third at the 2007 NEC Championships. The Orangeville, Ontario native had two top-10 finishes this fall, including a second place effort at the ECAC Championships. His 75.1 stroke average led the Blue Devils. Buczak, meanwhile, earned all-conference honors as a freshman and finished tied for 23rd as a sophomore. He was less than a stroke off McClure's fall average, posting a 75.8 over 13 rounds. His only top-10 came at Dartmouth, where he finished second with rounds of 71 and 76.

Batogowski will likely use a trio of freshman to complement McClure and Buczak. Eric Hawerchuk and Sam Pelletier played in all but the Dartmouth Invitational during the fall, and Tom Ursa made appearances in everything but the NEIGA Championships. Hawerchuk led the three with a 77.3 stroke average. Also a native of Orangeville, Ontario, he shot a season-low 73 in opening round action at the Rutgers Invitational. Ursa had his best effort in his collegiate debut, finishing eighth at the Colgate Invitational with rounds of 77-72. He averaged a 78.1 over the fall. Pelletier, meanwhile, posted a 78.8 stroke average with a low round of 72 at Rutgers.

Defending champion Monmouth, which garnered three first place votes, was named the favorite. Sacred Heart, despite earning the same amount of first place votes as preseason favorite Monmouth, is slotted third, while Mount St. Mary’s and 2007 runner-up Saint Francis (PA) rank fourth and fifth, respectively. The Mountaineers received two first place votes, and the Red Flash collected the remaining first place vote. Long Island, Quinnipiac, Robert Morris, Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner and St. Francis (NY) rounded out the 11-team field.

The Blue Devils spring season gets underway at Yale on Saturday, Apr. 5. The two-day Yale Spring Opener will be played at Yale Golf Course.

CCSU Men's Golf Fall Statistics

BIG EAST Golf Teams Tee'd Off Opening Weekend

BIG EAST golfers hit the links this past weekend to open the spring season as 12 of 19 league teams were in action.

Louisville senior Derek Fathauer was named to the Ben Hogan Award watch list for the 2008 season. The Hogan is the most prestigious award in men’s college golf and is presented annually to the top men’s golfer. The Hogan Award semifinalists will be announced April 16 and three finalists will be selected on May 7. The final three will be invited to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the Hogan Award presentation May 18. Last season Fathauer became the first UofL golfer to earn All-America honors.

In its mid-season publication, Golf World named Marquette junior Mike Van Sickle as the “Best Player You’ve (Maybe) Never Heard Of” by senior collegiate writer Ryan Herrington

Cincinnati: The Bearcats men’s squad finished 12th with a 618 (312-306) and the women placed ninth at 611 (312-299) in the rain-shortened two-day Cuthbert Cup in Kiawah Island, S.C. UNC-Wilmington won the men’s side with a 579 and College of Charleston claimed the women’s crown with a 583. Freshman Joe Kastelic tied for 28th with a four-over 148 (74-74). Leading the women’s team was Bambee Dela Paz who fired rounds of 75-76 for a 151 to finish tied for 22nd. The men return to action March 3-4 at the Grover Page Classic in Jackson, Tenn., while the ladies head to the Rio Verde Invitational in Rio Verde, Ariz.

Connecticut (Men): The Huskies finished in 10th at the Argonaut Invitational, which concluded Feb. 26. UConn shot a three-round total of 915 (303-304-308). Host West Florida claimed the team title with a total of 847. Senior A.J. Siekierski finished in a tie for 29th with a 223 (75-75-73) to lead the Huskies. Next up for UConn is the Spring Kickoff Tournament at Coosaw Creek Country Club in Charleston, S.C., March 3-4.

DePaul (Men): The Blue Demons finished the Texas-San Antonio Intercollegiate tied for eighth. DPU carded an 890 (303-299-288). Mississippi State won the event with an 864. Junior Cory Blenkush closed out his 219 total with a par-71 to finish in a tie for 12th. He carded identical scores of 74 in the first two rounds. DePaul returns to action Feb. 29-March 2 at the Ron Smith Invitational at Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City, Fla., hosted by USF.

Georgetown: The Georgetown women finished eighth of 17 squads at the Fighting Camel Classic in Buies Creek, N.C. The two-day event was shortened to one after rain forced the cancelation of day two. Junior Carly Hunt shot a 79 to tie for 17th. GU carded a team total of 325, with host Campbell posting a winning score of 301. The ladies return to action March 7-8 at the NIU/Springlake Classic in Sebring, Fla.

The Hoya men kick off their season March 17-18 at the William & Mary Invitational to be played at the Kingsmill Resort in Williamsburg, Va.

Louisville: The Cardinals finished the UCF Rio Pinar Invitational in third place, with a five-under par total of 859 (288-285-286). Host Central Florida won the event with an 846. Fathauer finished in a tie for fourth after shooting three rounds of 70. Next up for UofL is the Seminole Invitational March 2-4 in Tallahassee, Fla.

The Louisville women earned their second 2nd-place finish of the spring season, carding an 872 (290-286-296) at the Lady Gator Invitational. Florida won with an 849. Junior Cindy LaCrosse was the runner-up medalist with a 212, three strokes off the pace. The Cardinals earned a second-place finish at the Qdoba Invitational earlier in the week. UofL travels to Baton Rouge, La., for the LSU/Cleveland Golf Classic March 14-16.

Marquette (Men): The Golden Eagles tee off their spring schedule at the Ron Smith Invitational hosted by USF Feb. 29-March 2.

Notre Dame: The Irish began their spring season Feb. 17-19 at the John Hayt Collegiate Invitational in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. ND carded a three-day total of 903 (306-301-296) to finish 15th. Alabama won the team title with an 873. Junior Josh Sandman and sophomore Doug Fortner each finished tied for 29th with a 224 (+8) to lead the squad. Sandman carded rounds of 73-76-75, while Fortner tallied 74-73-77. Notre Dame is back in action March 3-4 at the USC Collegiate Invitational to be held at North Ranch Country Club in Westlake Village, Calif.

The ND women carded a three-round total of 929 (315-300-314) at the Central District Invitational Feb. 18-19. The Irish finished in 10th in the event held at the River Wilderness Golf Club in Parrish, Fla. Michigan State won the team crown after posting an 892. Junior Lisa Maunu posted a 12-over 228 (77-74-77) to finish in a tie for 15th. The Irish returns to the links March 7-9 at the Rio Verde Collegiate Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., at the Rio Verde Golf Club.

Rutgers: The Scarlet Knights have yet to tee it up this season. The men will take to the course March 29-30 at the Towson Lacrosse Homes Invitational in Towson, Md., while the women hit the links March 28-29 at the Cincinnati Invitational in Crystal River, Fla.

St. John’s: The Red Storm men’s squad took fourth at the Bethune-Cookman Spring Invitational in Daytona Beach, Fla. STJ carded a 591 (299-292), while Florida Gulf Coast posted an eight-under 568 to claim the crown. Senior Keegan Bradley finished seventh with a one-under 143 (74-69). The Red Storm head to Huaracoa, Puerto Rico, to host the Palmas Del Mar Intercollegiate March 10-11.

The women’s team will launch its spring season March 7-9 at the NIU/Springlake Invitational at the Springlake Golf Course in Sebring, Fla.

Seton Hall (Men): The Pirates open the 2008 season at the Lonnie D. Small Tournament hosted by Campbell University March 3-4 in Buies Creek, N.C.

USF: The Bulls’ men’s team finished in 17th place at the UCF Rio Pinar Invitational with a total of 903 (299-304-300). Host Central Florida won the event with an 846. Senior Jason Elliot finished tied for 21st with a three-round total of 217 (73-75-69). USF will host the Ron Smith Invitational Feb. 29-March 2 at the Lake Jovita Golf and Country Club.

The women tallied a three-round total of 920 (306-302-312) to finish tied for 10th at the Lady Gator Invitational in Gainesville, Fla., Feb. 22-24. Florida took home the team title with an 849. Senior Christina Jones led the ladies with a 227 (73-73-81) to finish tied for 31st. The Bulls will next tee it up at the Pinehurst Challenge March 9-11 in Pinehurst, N.C.

Villanova (Men): The Wildcats will hit their first strokes at the Palmas Del Mar Intercollegiate hosted by St. John’s in Huaracoa, Puerto Rico, March 10-11.

CCSU Slotted Third in NEC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Central Connecticut women's golf was picked to finish third in the Northeast Conference according to the league's preseason coaches' poll released this afternoon. The Blue Devils, who were runners-up at the NEC Championships last season, return a pair of all-conference performers. Second-year head coach Paula Cloud, the reigning league coach of the year, looks to leads the team to its first title since 2001.

Cloud will have sophomore Lucie Sarochova and junior Deborah Kim guiding CCSU this spring. Sarochova, who finished tied for fourth at last season's championships, had four top-10s during the fall and posted a team-best 79.6 stroke average. Kim, meanwhile, came in seventh at the 2007 Northeast Conference Championships. She appeared in all but one event this fall, compiling an 84.9 stroke average with a season-best 10th place finish at the Sacred Heart Fall Classic.

As a team, the Blue Devils ended the fall with their best effort. They placed second in Sacred Heart's eight-team field. In addition to Sarochova and Kim, Cloud will rely on a pair of freshman. Meghan Brunswick and Chelsea Woods each played in every fall event. Brunswick tied for 18th at Sacred Heart and had an 88.6 stroke average, while Woods tied for 24th in the final fall event and had a 90.8 stroke average. Senior Daniella Duque and sophomore Natalie Jones add depth to the team. Jones had a 94.3 stroke average over nine rounds, while Duque played four rounds over two events and had a 94.0 stroke average.

Two-time defending champion Saint Francis (PA) was named the favorite. The seven-time NEC champions received three first place votes. Long Island, the recipient of two-first place votes, came in second, and, despite getting the most first place nods, Fairleigh Dickinson is slotted fourth. Sacred Heart placed fifth with the remaining first place vote. Monmouth, Robert Morris, Mount St. Mary’s, Wagner and St. Francis (NY) rounded out the field of 10.

Central Connecticut's spring season starts on Friday, March 28 at the Third Annual Hawk Classic hosted by Monmouth. The three-day event will be played at Eagle Ridge Golf Course in Lakewood, NJ.

CCSU Women's Golf Fall Statistics

Hartford Women's Golf Adds Linn for 2008-09

WEST HARTFORD, CT - Head coach Donna Harris announced on Wednesday that Emily Linn (Englewood, NJ/Dwight Englewood) has signed a national letter of intent to play golf at the University of Hartford.

Linn, a senior at Dwight Englewood School, will join the Hawks for the 2008-09 season. She has four years of varsity golf experience and plays at the top spot on the school’s co-ed team. Her high school scoring average is 39.0 and she finished in the top 10 the last three years at the New Jersey State High School Championship.

“I am very excited about adding Emily to my roster,” said Harris. “She is a quality player who will make a huge impact on the team and in college athletics.”

Linn has a USGA Index of 3.8 and a tournament scoring average of 78.6 in 2007. She is a two-time winner of the Bergen County Tournament (2006, 2007) and has several other victories to her credit, including the WMGA Girls Championship (2006) and the WMGA “Maureen Orcutt” Championship (2005, 2006). She also won the 2002 St. Andrews Links Trust “Quaich Trophy” at The Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland.

Born and raised in Bermuda, Linn moved to the United States in 2003. She is the daughter of Peter and Josephine Linn.

Mickelson adds Riviera to collection of West Coast wins

LOS ANGELES (Map, News) - Phil Mickelson had played 10 tournaments at Riviera dating to his first appearance 20 years ago as a teenager. Never before had he arrived with such good vibes, mostly because of a minor change that he didn't reveal until he won.

It wasn't his close call last year, when he bogeyed the final hole and lost in a playoff.

Nor was it the playoff loss two weeks ago in Phoenix, a sign that his game was on the right track.

Rather, it was a noise only Lefty could hear.

He switched golf balls this year to a softer cover for more spin, and figured he had made all the adjustments until he struggled with his speed on the greens at Pebble Beach last week, which held him back. That's when he decided to change the insert in his putter.

"When I had putted with the insert I had, it was a quieter sound when the ball was coming off and I couldn't hear it, and I was giving it a little too much," Mickelson said. "Consequently, my speed was going well by the hole. By putting in the firmer insert, I was able to hear it, and my speed and touch came back.

"Now I hear it and it feels great."

The putter was key for Mickelson, who closed with a 1-under 70 for a two-shot victory over Jeff Quinney that gave him yet another PGA Tour title on the Left Coast.

He now has 33 career victories, with 16 of them in California and Arizona.

But as much as the putter helped Mickelson, it went from a magic wand to a ball-and-chain for Quinney.

He made four straight putts, three of them for birdie, from outside 10 feet that took him from a two-shot deficit to a brief lead and ultimately to a duel alone the final seven holes. But Quinney again had trouble down the stretch.

He bogeyed three straight holes, starting with back-to-back par putts that he missed from 7 feet, that gave Mickelson a two-shot lead and some comfort as he played the final holes. Quinney lost all hope with a three-putt from 20 feet on the par-5 17th, and his 25-foot birdie on the final hole only made it look close.

He shot a 71 for his first runner-up finish in his two years on tour.

"I had two (putts) that I'd like to have back," Quinney said. "I just put a little too much pressure on the putter on the back nine."

Mickelson, meanwhile, was solid throughout the week.

His putting kept momentum in his round of 64 on Friday to seize control, and in his 70 on Saturday to stay in the lead. And after a two-shot swing that gave Quinney the lead on the ninth hole Sunday - Quinney made a 12-foot birdie, Mickelson missed the green well to the right and made bogey - Lefty responded with clutch putts.

The first came at the 310-yard 10th hole, where Mickelson hit driver over the green and a flop shot to the skinny part of the green, the ball stopping 6 feet away. Quinney saved par with a 10-foot putt, and Mickelson made his on top of him to tie for the lead.

Mickelson pulled away when Quinney made the first of three straight bogeys, and the tournament turned on the par-3 14th.

Quinney went over the green and chipped 7 feet by the hole. Mickelson hit into a bunker and blasted out to the same distance, a few inches farther away. That meant he went first, and Mickelson poured it in for par.

Quinney missed his, the lead was two shots, the tournament effectively over.

Mickelson didn't make it a clean sweep of the West Coast Swing. He has never won in Hawaii, and only goes to Hawaii on vacation. He has never won the Accenture Match Play Championship, although he gets another shot starting Wednesday.

But he has won at every stop on the West Coast, from the ocean courses of Torrey Pines and Pebble Beach to soggy La Costa Resort to the desert tracks in Phoenix, Palm Springs and Tucson.

"I do enjoy the West Coast," Mickelson said. "I'm excited to play golf and I practice very hard on the West Coast when the season is coming around and I haven't played for awhile, I've got a lot of energy and I'm excited to get back out. I think all of these things, plus the fact that I grew up here and used to walk these fairways on the outside, I just have a great love for the West Coast.

"I've been fortunate to play well here."

It should be no surprise that Riviera took so long.

Until last year, Mickelson had missed the cut four out of eight times, including the 1995 PGA Championship. He loved the look of Riviera, but was confounded by the sticky kikuya grass that could grab the ball as it was approaching the green.

There's an art to his course off Sunset Boulevard, and he was a slow learner.

"I didn't understand the nuances of this golf course, where you can and can't hit it," he said. "And learning those nuances and how to hit the shots into some of these greens has helped me over the years. Last year was when I started to put it together, and I'm fortunate to break through this year."

Sweeter still is having his name on the roll call of a champions, a list that includes Ben Hogan, Byron Nelson and Sam Snead. And it's a list that doesn't include Tiger Woods, or even Jack Nicklaus.

And now that another victory is in the bag, he's hungry for more.

"It's not quite to where I believe I can get it, but I feel like it's been much better than in the past, so I feel like I'm getting better," Mickelson said of his game. "I can taste where I want to get to. But I'm not quite there yet."

Best Connecticut Golf Courses

Rank	Golf Course	Location
1	Great River Golf Club - Great River Course	Milford, CT
2	Fairchild-Wheeler Golf Course - Black Course	Fairfield, CT
3	E. Gaynor Brennan Municipal Golf Course - E. Gaynor Brennan Course	Stamford, CT
4	Country Club of Fairfield - Fairfield Course	Fairfield, CT
5	Burning Tree Country Club - Burning Tree Course	Greenwich, CT
6	Silver Spring Country Club - Silver Spring Course	Ridgefield, CT
7	Shorehaven Golf Club - Shorehaven Course	Norwalk, CT
8	Woodway Country Club - Woodway Course	Darien, CT
9	Gillette Ridge - Gillette Ridge Course	Bloomfield, CT
10	The Tradition Golf Club At Wallingford - Tradition Course	Wallingford, CT
11	Yale University Golf Course - Yale University Course	New Haven, CT
12	Shennecossett Golf Course - Shennecossett Course	Groton, CT
13	Greenwich Country Club - Greenwich Course	Greenwich, CT
14	Indian Hill Country Club Inc - Indian Hill Course	Newington, CT
15	The Round Hill Club, Inc. - Round Hill Course	Greenwich, CT
16	Country Club of Farmington - Farmington Course	Farmington, CT
17	The Stanwich Club - Stanwich Course	Greenwich, CT
18	Shuttle Meadow Country Club - Shuttle Meadow Course	Kensington, CT
19	Tamarack Country Club - Tamarack Course	Greenwich, CT
20	Grassy Hill Country Club - Grassy Hill Course	Orange, CT
21	Richter Park Golf Course - Richter Park Course	Danbury, CT
22	Longshore Club Park Golf Course - Longshore Course	Westport, CT
23	South Pine Creek Golf Course - South Pine Creek Course	Fairfield, CT
24	Griffith E. Harris Golf Course - Griffith E. Harris Course	Greenwich, CT
25	The Connecticut Golf Club - Connecticut Course	Easton, CT

Rulewich Renovating Two Courses in Connecticut

Roger Rulewich and his Golf Group are in the process of remodeling two venerable private courses in Connecticut – Ridgewood Country Club in Danbury and Silver Spring Country Club in Ridgefield. Opened over 1921-22, Ridgewood was designed by noted architect Devereaux Emmet, who also crafted Garden City CC in New York, Riddell Bay in Bermuda, and Congressional in Bethesda, Md. Ridgewood sits on property once occupied by Ridgewood Stock Farm. The horse-breeding facility was purchased around 1920 by local businessmen, who launched plans for the golf course. The remnants of the old half-oval racetrack can still be seen near the first hole and 13th green; the cart path along the 13th hole is the actual track.

A re-routing of nearby Interstate 84 necessitated a major redesign of Ridgewood in 1961, which was handled by Geoffrey Cornish. Though the par-71 course is on the short side at 6,570 yards, it boasts relatively high ratings – 72.5 and a 138 slope. The test is made difficult by dozens of bunkers, natural hazards and a stream that enters play on several holes. Ridgewood has tested the mettle of such great players as Walter Hagen, Tommy Armour, Gene Sarazen, Mark Calcavecchia and Kenny Green. Green learned to play golf at Ridgewood, which served as the site of the Connecticut State Open in 1995 and 2006.

The course is undergoing another transformation, thanks to golf Rulewich. The project involves reworking the greens surrounds and remodeling other putting surfaces; adding back tees and refurbishing others; reshaping green-side bunkers; modifying fairways; and adding length to several holes. The initial phase of a master plan approved by the members was completed in 2006. The next phase involves similar modifications to other holes, including a completely new putting surface at the par-3 10th, a 185-yarder with an island green. A new pond will also be added at the 18th.

“The club wanted to keep up and be competitive with other area clubs,” said David Kerr, Ridgewood’s superintendent for the past 21 years. “They felt some changes were needed but didn’t realize how much until Roger Rulewich came in. At the time the plan was initially presented to the members, there were many who questioned why make any changes. After all, at the 1995 Connecticut Open, only one player had broken par and that was on the final day.

“You don’t know what you don’t have until you have something new. The work by Roger Rulewich and Dave Fleury at Ridgewood is impressive. They have softened a lot of lines and delivered an appropriate design with dramatic changes that enhances play and is relatively easy to maintain.”

“The contours of the greens were considered good as they were and, in fact, many of them were,” added Fleury, Rulewich’s design associate and chief shaper. “Some, however, were too severely sloped for the size of the green. By splicing into existing greens, we created a seamless addition, allowing us to keep existing greens, enlarge them to accommodate present-day speed, and address the need for more cup locations.”

Rulewich and Co. are also making improvements at Silver Spring, a Robert White design that opened in 1930 as a par 70. Additional land was later purchased, and architect Arthur H. Tull used it to extend the 11th hole into a par-5, bringing the course’s par to 71. The layout now plays to 6,548 yards, where it has a course rating of 72.0 and a 132 slope.

The equity-member club occupies 160 acres. The front nine is bordered by mature stands of hardwoods, while the back nine, once farmland, is lined by hardwoods, ornamentals and pines. Though situated within a residential area, the course is secluded with only five adjoining homes. Though there are no water hazards at Silver Spring, the course gains difficulty by its tightness, rolling greens, uneven lies and 68 bunkers.

Rulewich was brought in to renovate the golf course in conjunction with a major clubhouse remodel that added 14,000 square feet to the building, which reopened in May 2006. The master plan calls for new and improved tees; repositioning and adding fairway bunkers; rebuilding the practice putting green; and a short-game practice area – all of which were completed in 2005.

Work continues on other parts of the course, especially at the top-rated par-4 seventh hole through the addition of a new drainage system; elevating the fairway; redoing the bunkers; moving and rebuilding the existing large tee; and adding a new back tee and bunker on the right side of the green.

Of this project, Fleury said, “The sculptured land forms created by Robert White at Silver Springs are unique. The bunker shoulders have very straight lines. There are pedestal greens with hard edges. We quickly realized that we would be doing a renovation project with a restorative flair. Although some changes are needed because of today's play, for maintaining consistent playing surfaces and better turf quality we felt that this course was so good it was imperative to keep the design style.”

Peter Rappoccio, property manager for Silver Springs’ golf course, tennis courts, clubhouse and grounds, is excited about the changes as well as future projects. “Additional work will be done in stages. The specific schedule is to be determined. It calls for repositioning all other fairway bunkers to meet the demands of modern-day equipment and playing abilities. The future work will incorporate adding and/or enlarging four back tees, reshaping eight or more green-side bunkers, as well as laser-leveling all existing tees and expanding some smaller forward tees.”

PGA welcomes eight new members to Association's Board of Directors --Rod Loesch of Easton, Conn.

Eight new members of The PGA of America's Board of Directors were sworn in Wednesday, Jan. 16, at The Association's 91st Annual Meeting at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla.

Junior Bridgeman of Louisville, Ky., Ray Cutright of Macon, Ga., Rod Loesch of Easton, Conn., David Mocini of Harbor Springs, Mich., Derek Sprague of Malone, N.Y., Mike Thomas of Goshen, Ky., and Roger Wallace of Polston, Mont., will each serve three-year terms. Tour professional Brad Faxon of Barrington, R.I., a two-time Ryder Cup Team member, was appointed Player Director.

The PGA Board of Directors is composed of the Association's President, Vice President, Secretary, Honorary President and 17 Directors. The Directors include representatives from each of The PGA's 14 Districts, two Independent Directors and a member of the PGA Tour. New District Directors are elected by their local PGA Sections.

Junior Bridgeman, 54, a former University of Louisville and NBA standout, is one of the most respected restaurant entrepreneurs in the country. After retiring from a 10-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Clippers, Bridgeman established himself in the business world.

He is the chief executive officer of Bridgeman Foods Inc., which he founded in 1988, and is the owner and president of Manna Inc., and oversees the administration and operation of 160 Wendy's restaurants in five states and 103 Chili's restaurants in seven states. He is a 1975 graduate in psychology from the University of Louisville.

Bridgeman succeeds Lt. Gen. Norm Lezy of Garden Ridge, Texas, as an independent director.

Ray Cutright, who succeeds Tony Austin of Orlando, Fla., as District 13 Director for the Georgia, North Florida and South Florida Sections, was elected to membership in 1976 and earned PGA Master Professional status in 1991. Since 1993, he has served as PGA director of golf operations at Idle Hour Golf Club in Macon, Ga.

Cutright, 56, has served as a member of the PGA Board of Control from 2000 to 2004, and was an original staff member of the PGA Professional Golf Management Program. He served as president of the Georgia PGA Section from 1996-97; and spent six years as Education Chairman in the Section.

Cutright was the 2003 national Horton Smith Award winner, and the 1992 and 1997 Georgia PGA Golf Professional of the Year. He was honored by Golf Digest in 2000, '03 and '04 as one of the Best Teachers in the state of Georgia.

Rod Loesch, a PGA member since 1981, has served since 1984 as the PGA head professional at Connecticut Golf Club in Easton, Conn. He succeeds Ted O'Rourke of Convent Station, N.J., as District 2 Director for the New Jersey, Philadelphia and Metropolitan PGA Sections.

Loesch, 53, is a 1976 graduate of Ohio State University, where he competed on the Buckeyes' golf team. He competed in the 1982 PGA Championship and competed in four PGA Professional National Championships.

Since 1993, he has been a member of the Metropolitan PGA Section Board of Directors; and served as Section president from 1999-2002. Loesch was a PGA District 2 Director in 2001; and served as a PGA Board of Control member from 2002 to 2006; a member of the 2006 PGA Code of Ethics and Assistant Professional Task Forces; and serves as a co-chairperson of the PGA Membership Committee.

David Mocini, a PGA member since 1987, has been a general manager and PGA director of golf since 2004 at True North Golf Club in Harbor Springs, Mich. He is a 1977 graduate of Hillsdale (Mich.) College and is an original faculty member of the PGA Professional Golf Management Program and a three-time Section Horton Smith Award winner. Mocini, 52, served for more than 12 years on the Michigan PGA Board of Directors and was Growth of the Game Chairman. He is a past president of the Section, a member of the PGA Education Committee (2001-04); and served from 2004 to 2005 as a member of the President's Council.

Mocini will succeed Joe Flogge of Norton, Ohio, as District 5 Director for the Michigan, Northern Ohio and Southern Ohio PGA Sections.

Derek Sprague, 40, has served since 1989 as the general manager and PGA head professional at Malone (N.Y.) Golf Club. A graduate of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va., Sprague was elected to PGA membership in 1993, and has served since 1995 on the Northeastern New York PGA Board of Directors, including as Section president from 2003 to 2004. He is a two-time Section Merchandiser of the Year award winner; a three-time Section Bill Strausbaugh Award winner and was the 2005 Section Golf Professional of the Year.

In 2006, Sprague achieved Certified PGA Professional status in General Management. He will succeed Donnie Lyons as District 1 Director for the Connecticut, New England and Northeastern New York PGA Sections.

Mike Thomas, 48, a PGA Master Professional, has served the past 18 years as the PGA head professional at Harmony Landing Country Club in Goshen, Ky., and will succeed Zack Veasey of Durham, N.C., as District 10 Director for the Carolinas, Kentucky and Middle Atlantic PGA Sections.

Elected to PGA membership in 1985, Thomas has served since 1993 on the Kentucky PGA Board of Directors and was Section president from 2002 to 2003. He was the 1997 Section Golf Professional of the Year and the 1999 Section Horton Smith Award winner.

Thomas serves on the National Disabled Golfer Committee and is co-chair with fellow PGA Board member Derek Sprague on the Affinity Affiliate Committee.

Thomas has been the chair of the Section's Communications and Education Committees; and was co-chair of the Tournament Committee. From 2000 to 2005, Thomas was a member of the Kentucky Golf Association-PGA board of directors.

Roger Wallace, 47, is PGA director of golf at Polson Bay Golf Course in Polson, Mont. A graduate of Eastern Washington University, Wallace competed on the golf team and was the Pacific Northwest Golf Coaches Association Division II Player of the Year.

Wallace was elected to PGA membership in 1987, and was a member of the Pacific Northwest PGA Board of Directors from 1990 through 2002, and served as Section president from 1998 to 2000. Since 2005, Wallace has served on the Western Montana Chapter PGA Board of Directors.

He is a two-time Pacific Northwest PGA Golf Professional of the Year and a two-time Section Bill Strausbaugh Award winner. He is a member of the PGA Employment Committee, and from 1999 to 2001 served on the PGA Awards Committee. Wallace will succeed Kevin Lewis of Green Valley, Ariz., as District 14 Director for the Pacific Northwest and Southwest PGA Sections.

Brad Faxon, 46, who succeeded Joe Ogilvie as Player Director, has been a member of the PGA Tour since 1983. He competed on the 1995 and 1997 U.S. Ryder Cup Teams, and is the winner of eight Tour titles between 1991 and 2005, and 11 other career victories including the 1993 Heineken Australian Open. Since 1991, he has teamed with Tour professional Billy Andrade for the Billy Andrade/Brad Faxon Charities for Children Inc., which has donated more than $7 million to youngsters in the Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. The organization received the 1999 Golf Writers Association of America's Charlie Bartlett Award for unselfish contributions by playing professionals to society.

Faxon and Andrade also host the CVS Charity Classic, which has raised more than $10 million for charity, and is serving his third term on the PGA Tour Policy Board. Faxon was the recipient of the 2005 Payne Stewart Award for his respect for the traditions of the game, his commitment to uphold the game's heritage for charitable support and his professional presentation of himself and the sport.

Since 1916, The PGA of America's mission has been twofold; to establish and elevate the standards of the profession and to grow interest and participation in the game of golf. By establishing and elevating the standards of the golf profession through world-class education, career services, marketing and research programs, the Association enables PGA Professionals to maximize their performance in their respective career paths and showcases them as experts in the game and in the $195 billion golf industry.

By creating and delivering dramatic world-class championships and exciting and enjoyable golf promotions that are viewed as the best of their class in the golf industry, The PGA of America elevates the public's interest in the game, the desire to play more golf, and ensures accessibility to the game for everyone, everywhere. The PGA of America brand represents the very best in golf.

Morris-Bensel duo win PGA Senior-Junior Team Championship

Kevin Morris of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., made a three-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole, Jan. 25, as he teamed with Frank Bensel of Greenwich, Conn., to win the 50th anniversary TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Senior-Junior Team Championship. The Championship features teams paired of a PGA Professional 50 or older and a younger counterpart.

Morris and Bensel outlasted brothers Jerry Tucker of Stuart and Mike Tucker of St. Louis, Mo., after they tied at 28 under par 260 when they matched nine under par 63s the final round on the Wanamaker Course at The PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The two teams began the final round four strokes behind the leaders.

It was the second win in three years for Morris and Bensel, an unprecedented achievement in the historic championship. For the first 46 years of the four-ball stroke play event teams were formed by blind draw, hence it was unlikely the same two players would ever paired up more than once. They won with a 261 in 2006.

In the playoff, all four were in the fairway off the tee at the par-5 first hole. Only Bensel came close to reaching the green in two, his second shot landing in a swale in front of the green. Morris hit a 4-hybrid second shot and a 105-yard wedge to just below the hole and sank the putt after both Tuckers were in the hole with pars.

"We both played great today and the conditions were tough with the wind and cold weather," said Bensel, 39, an assistant professional at Century Country Club in White Plains, N.Y. Bensel made four of his five birdies on the front nine. Morris, 56, had all four of his birdies on the back. They made one team bogey in 72 holes.

It was Bensel's third victory in the PGA Winter Championships, counting the two Senior-Juniors and the 2004 Match Play Championship. Morris has the two team titles. Bensel grew up playing at Westchester Hills in White Plains, N.Y., where Morris was the head professional for 30 years before he retired in 2006.

Don Brigham and Jamie Fordyce of Port St. Lucie, the third-round leaders who both consider The PGA Golf Club courses home turf, made only one birdie on the first 13 holes before the former birdied the 14th and 15th holes and Fordyce the 16th. They finished third with 68-261.

Morris and Bensel earned $3,500 apiece from the $89,180 purse. Brigham and Fordyce received $2,500 each.