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.