Bruce Berlet

Bruce Berlet
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Bruce Berlet has covered golf in CT for over 30 years

Sheary in Florida waiting

By Bruce Berlet on February 3, 2012 1:41 PM

West Hartford native Natalie Sheary has returned to an old stomping grounds to prepare for her first full season on the LPGA Futures Tour.

Sheary is living and practicing at the Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton, Fla., where she spent her senior year of high school with the golfing Lendl sisters and their tennis Hall of Fame dad, Ivan.

Sheary will be traveling the tour this year without her father, who also caddied for her in 2011, when she won $15,011 to finish 35th overall and sixth among rookies on the money list despite missing the first four events while completing her career at Wake Forest, where she was named the 2011 Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Golf Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Sheary recently went back to Wake Forest to receive the 2011 Edwin G. Wilson Student-Athlete of the Year award. This recipients of that award are selected by a vote of all Wake Forest head coaches and athletic department administrators. Sheary earned a 4.0 GPA in her final semester as well as the All- American honors. Well done, Ms. Sheary!!!!

Finishing 35th on the money list earned Sheary a spot in the LPGA Tour qualifying finals, where she was in the top 20 through two rounds but struggled the next 36 holes and missed the cut for the final round. But she is fully exempt for the 2012 Futures Tour, whenever that begins. Sheary and everyone else is still waiting for the LPGA to announce the Futures Tour schedule, but she has been told there won't be another event in Connecticut at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield.

If you want to keep tabs on Natalie, visit her new website at nataliesheary.com.

D.J. remains an inspiration

By Bruce Berlet on January 31, 2012 4:44 PM

D.J Gregory continues to amaze those he comes into contact with - and many who only know him from the many stories written about someone who has never allowed cerebral palsy to stop him.

And the 34-year-old Gregory continued to show his support for the First Tee of Connecticut in a major way on Tuesday, when he made a $30,000 donation from the Walking For Kids Foundation that he established in 2009.

Gregory, who has walked every hole of every PGA Tour event since the start of the 2008 season with a cane, some pain and a smile, made a $26,000 donation a year ago and then played an inspirational round in the Travelers Championship's Tournament Players Pro-Am at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

Gregory announced four more charitable donations Tuesday, with The First Tee of Connecticut again being among those to receive the highest amount of the $93,000 total. He also donated $30,000 to United Cerebral Palsy of Central Florida and the Wounded Warriors Project and $3,000 to the Cal-State Fullerton women's golf team to help needy children.

"My foundation has always said The First Tee and United Cerebral Palsy will always be one of the beneficiaries every year," Gregory said at a reception honoring him and his foundation at Dish Restaurant in Hartford. "But the first two years we've chosen The First Tee of Connecticut because of what they instill in kids, what they teach kids, what they embody as a whole and the different values that The First Tee stands for.

"The mission of our foundation is to help kids achieve their goals and dreams one step at a time, and I really believe that The First Tee really embodies the mission of my foundation."

David Polk, TFTCT's president and executive director, reiterated his and the organization's appreciation for what Gregory has done in helping reach the $2 million goal needed to build a learning center overlooking the four-hole "junior course" adjacent to the TPC River Highlands' state-of-the-art practice facility that opened in 2010. Construction on the learning center began in December, and Polk said most of it should be completed when the Travelers Championship is played June 21-24. The facility is scheduled to open in late August and will include a large main room, two classrooms, a kitchenette, four hitting bays that can be used at anytime, an indoor putting green and simulators on the first floor and offices on the second floor. The center, which is unique among First Tee facilities, will be opened up for big events or closed down for practicing and classroom work.

"D.J. is a heck of a generous guy, and we're very lucky to have him as a benefactor for the more than 46,000 youth that we serve," Polk said. "We have a lot of benefactors and a lot of friends and a lot of people who support us, but there's probably nobody that we appreciate as much as D.J. Gregory. And he has to be one of our favorite benefactors because he absolutely embodies what The First Tee is all about. He just exemplifies and personifies what perseverance is all about, and his generosity helps us be able to do annual programming and build the building. Without that, we wouldn't be able to do it, and it will be a golf headquarters for kids in Connecticut. Now we're trying our darnedest to get someone who might donate a simulator for us."

Before the luncheon ended, Polk surprised Gregory by announcing that one of The First Tee's nine core values (perseverance) that will be recognized with a banner hanging from the rafters of the learning center will be dedicated to Gregory and his foundation.

"It'll be hung like a retired shirt from the rafters of the XL Center," Polk said with a smile. "We're retiring his number, but we're not retiring D.J. It'll be a permanent recognition of his support of The First Tee and the assistance that enabled us to build the building. D.J. was very honored and very appreciative."

Gregory has been determined to march on since he was 2 years old and doctors told his parents their youngest of three children would never walk again because of cerebral palsy. Young D.J. quickly demonstrated he would have none of that talk. He initially got around by sliding with the use of his arms. As he grew, he learned to walk with two canes, and then one. Now, while visiting 45-50 PGA Tour events annually, Gregory covers more than 1,000 miles while walking nearly 3,500 holes, including playoffs and special events such as his season-ending Shark Shootout hosted by Hall of Famer Greg Norman, whose 88 wins worldwide include two British Opens and the 1995 Greater Hartford Open.

Gregory surpassed 200 tour stops earlier this year and flew 3,000 from San Diego to Connecticut on Monday to be on hand for his check presentation at the luncheon in his honor. He will leave Wednesday morning for the Waste Management Phoenix Open in Arizona, making it four weeks in a row that he has traveled cross-country for an obligation.

"It's what I do," Gregory said, "and I love what I do."

Gregory was previously in the Hartford area on New Year's Eve for the men's basketball game between Springfield College, his alma mater, and Roger Williams play in the Naismith Basketball Tournament. Then it was off to Hawaii for the season-opening Hyundai Tournaments of Champions at the Plantation Course in Kapalua, which remains the most difficult course for Gregory to walk because of its extremely hilly terrain.

"Without question it's the worst," Gregory said. "But it's the first week of the year, so once you get it out of the way, it's downhill after that."

Gregory hasn't returned to his home in Savannah, Ga., since he left for Connecticut at the end of 2011 and won't be back until a one-day visit the day after the Masters in April. But Gregory doesn't mind as his labor of love continues to be his No. 1 priority.

"I feel great, and I feel like I get stronger every day," Gregory said.

Gregory also lives for days like Tuesday, when one of his biggest fans, especially in Connecticut, came to the luncheon with his parents. Nine-year-old Cameron Ledford of Durham was at the restaurant with parents Jim and Tricia, who said how inspiring Gregory is for youngsters such as Cameron.

Cameron was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at six months old, but the fourth-grader at Korn School in Durham now has "a sport for every season," according to Tricia. He plays golf, soccer, basketball and recently tried snowboarding.

"Every year the challenges are different based on age and what he's doing," Tricia said. "We're lucky that he's in with a great group of kids who encourage him and keep an eye on him."

Cameron follows Gregory on his website, www.walkingforkids.org, and Tricia said meeting D.J. for the first time last year sparked the realization that Cameron was different.

"He thought every kid went for physical therapy and occupation therapy," Tricia said. "At the meeting with D.J. last year and attending a clinic over the summer for kids with limited use of their limbs, you could just see all of sudden it was like, 'Wow.' It was hard to watch, but it was also wonderful because it showed him that he could do anything."

Cameron again demonstrated his feelings for Gregory with a hug and words of thanks in his first visit with one of his heroes since the 2011 Travelers Championship.

So why does Cameron like D.J. so much?

"It's interesting that he plays golf with a cane," Cameron said. "I don't have a cane, but I do have a flabby hand."

Everyone within listening distance had to fight back tears, including yours truly.

Cameron plans to be at the Travelers Championship again this year to visit with Gregory and pro Ricky Barnes. Cameron and his parents followed Barnes the last two rounds last year, and when Barnes finished on Sunday, he tossed Cameron an autographed golf ball.

"He threw it, and I got it somehow," a smiling Cameron said proudly. "It was awesome."

So Barnes must be Cameron's favorite player, right? Wrong.

"Tiger (Woods) is my favorite," Cameron said. "He won last year (in the Chevron World Challenge in December) and almost won Sunday (in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship)."

Cameron then proudly displayed the Tiger Woods hat he had brought to the luncheon.

While Woods remains a question mark for the Travelers Championship, Gregory will be a certainty and hopes to play in a pro-am on Monday or Wednesday. He's undecided about which player he will follow during the tournament, won by Fredrik Jacobsen last year, when Gregory walked 36 holes a day with defending champion Bubba Watson and Glastonbury native and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic, both of whom donated to D.J.'s foundation.

Gregory visited the emerging learning center Monday and Tuesday before heading off to another worthwhile venture, his generosity never to be forgotten by those who help develop many of golf's emerging stars in Connecticut.

Thanks, D.J. You're a tremendous inspiration to everyone you touch and continued best of luck with your foundation.

Begay to receive Bartlett Award

By Bruce Berlet on January 31, 2012 11:23 AM

Terrific news today that 2000 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner Notah Begay III has been named recipient of the 2012 Charles Bartlett Award from the Golf Writers Association of America for his unselfish work for the betterment of society. Begay won at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell with a 20-foot birdie putt on the final hole to beat Mark Calcavecchia. More importantly, Begay has put in countless hours to help Native American youth, most notably through his foundation, established seven years ago.

I'm delighted to post the release from the GWAA and say a hearty --- and well deserved --- congratulations to one of the game's most terrific guys who has proven that giving is much better than receiving:

HOUSTON (January 31, 2012) - Notah Begay, whose tireless passion, commitment and advocacy for the health and well-being of Native American youth led to the founding of the Notah Begay III (NB3) Foundation in 2005, is the recipient of the Golf Writers Association of America's Charlie Bartlett Award.

The 39-year-old Begay, who is half Navajo, one-quarter San Felipe and one-quarter Isleta and the only full-blooded Native American to play on the PGA Tour, founded the NB3 Foundation to battle the epidemic of childhood and Type 2 diabetes and obesity among Native American children. A four-time winner on Tour, Begay has raised more than $3.23 million in three years through this annual NB3 Foundation Challenge Golf Event to support the foundation's programs.

The award, named for the first secretary of the GWAA, is given to a professional golfer for his/her unselfish contributions to the betterment of society. Begay will be honored at the GWAA Annual Awards Dinner April 4 in Augusta, Ga.

Begay, who will play in next week's AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, recently spoke at the "Building Healthy Communities" panel at the Clinton Founation Health Forum at the Humana Challenge. The panel included Susan Dell of the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, Annika Sorenstam and founder of the Annika Foundation, and Goldie Hawn of the Hawn Foundation. In 2012, the NB3 Foundation will be launching a two-year study to evaluate the impact of holistic interventions at San Felipe Pueblo to reduce the rates of childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes.

In the last three years, the NB3 Foundation has touched more than 10,000 Native American children in 11 states through soccer, golf, health and wellness and grant programs. The largest grant assisted the San Felipe Pueblo (NM) to build the tribe's first recreational facility -- a community park and soccer field, which is home to the San Felipe Soccer Club, another NB3 initiative.

Begay was also instrumental in building partnerships with two American Indian tribes -- the Oneida Nation of New York and the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians -- to sponsor the NB3 Challenge which has served as the largest one-day fundraiser benefitting Native American youth.

Begay, who also has a course design firm (NB3 Consulting) and is a Golf Channel analyst, has an Economics degree from Stanford and, in addition to his four Tour wins, was a member of the 1995 Walker Cup and 2000 Presidents Cup teams.

He follows Lorena Ochoa (2011), Ernie Els (2010), Tiger Woods (2007), Greg Norman (2008) and Jack Nicklaus (2009) as recent recipients. Other former Bartlett winners include former Insurance City Open/Buick/Travelers Championship winners Arnold Palmer, Brad Faxon and Kenny Perry, Rhode Island native and longtime Buick/Travelers Championship supporter Billy Andrade, the Louisiana trio of Hal Sutton, David Toms and Kelly Gibson, Val Skinner, Betsy King, Tom Watson, Payne Stewart, Tom Lehman, Patty Berg and Andy North.

The GWAA will also honor Players of Year Luke Donald, Yani Tseng and Tom Lehman, William D. Richardson Award winner Maj. Dan Rooney, Ben Hogan Award winner Sophie Gustafson and Jim Murray/ASAP Award winner Faxon at their annual awards dinner April 4 in Augusta, Ga., where the Masters begins the next day.

The nearly 900-member professional organization takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf's major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Extra duty for Sheehan, Cink

By Bruce Berlet on January 18, 2012 9:34 AM

University of Hartford grad Patrick Sheehan and two-time Canon Greater Hartford Open (now Travelers Championship) winner Stewart Cink will be doing more than just hitting shots and putting and enjoying their families this year.

Sheehan, who earned his way back onto the PGA Tour in qualifying school last fall, and Cink are among the new members of the 16-member player advisory council for 2012. The PAC advises and consults with the PGA Tour policy board (board of directors) and commissioner Tim Finchem on issues affecting the tour.

Other members of the 2012 PAC are Ben Crane, Jason Day, Charley Hoffman, Matt Kuchar, Justin Rose, Webb Simpson, Scott Verplank, Mark Wilson and newcomers Ken Duke, Harrison Frazar, Carl Pettersson, Chris Stroud, Bo Van Pelt and Joe Oglivie.

Player directors are Paul Goydos, Davis Love III, Steve Stricker and Jim Furyk, who was PAC chairman in 2011.

Hope to see a lot of these players at the Travelers Championship on June 21-24 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

Congratulations, Suzy

By Bruce Berlet on January 15, 2012 6:27 PM

Congratulations to Suzy Whaley for being among the Top 50 U.S. Kids Golf Teachers for 2011.

It's the second time the Farmington resident and teaching pro at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell has received the honor recognizing pros across North America who focus much of their time and energy on developing young golfers in their communities. The instructors are judged on various criteria, including percentage of time devoted to kids programs, creativity, communication and efforts to grow the game.

Whaley, who played in the 2004 Buick (now Travelers) Championship at TPC River Highlands, and the 49 other teachers will be recognized Jan. 27 at the PGA of America merchandise show in Orlando, Fla.

Glover WDs; Casey hurt, too

By Bruce Berlet on January 6, 2012 7:56 PM

The PGA Tour's opening event of the year lost another player Friday.

Not easy to do when the no-cut Hyundai Tournament of Champions is in Kapalua, Hawaii.

But Travelers Championship winner Fredrik Jacobson withdrew last week because of a lingering thumb problem, and 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover followed suit after injuring his right knee in a paddleboard accident last weekend. That left the winners-only event with 27 players.

Glover, who won the Wells Fargo Championship to earn entry into the elite field, sprained the medial collateral ligament when he fell of the board on Saturday.

"My foot caught on the edge of the board," Glover told the Associated Press. "My body went one way and my knee went the other. I knew immediately I had done a little something. I just wasn't sure how bad."

Glover had hoped to play in the pro-am Thursday, but when he went to the range he realized he couldn't transfer his weight from the right side. He said he could have played "if you put a gun to my head" but decided to rest instead in hopes of competing in the event.

Glover, who had difficulty even getting in his car, was scheduled to tee off at 4:35 p.m. EST with Chris Kirk. He will not be replaced in the field and will share unofficial last-place money with Jacobson, Dustin Johnson and Brandt Snedeker.

Defending champion Jonathan Byrd shot a 6-under-par 67 for a one-stroke lead over Steve Stricker, Michael Bradley, Martin Laird and Webb Simpson, runner-up to Bill Haas for Player of the Year in 2011. Haas shot 73 and is tied for 14th.

Jacobson and Glover aren't the only recent casualties. After battling a rib injury and turf toe much of the last two seasons, Englishman Paul Casey was looking forward to a fast start in 2012. But his season debut has been delayed after he dislocated his right shoulder in a snowboarding accident and will be out the first two months of the year, according to the AP.

So Casey will miss the European Tour's Middle East swing, including the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship where he is a two-time champion. His participation in the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship, where Casey has two runner-up finishes in the last three years, could be in doubt. The tournament is end of February.

Casey ended 2011 on a strong note with top-10 finishes in two of his last three PGA Tour starts as well as third at the Chevron World Challenge. He won twice last year at the Volvo Golf Champions on the European Tour and the Shinhan Donghae Open in Korea.

The late start could hurt Casey's chances to make the European Ryder Cup team for the biennial matches in September at Medinah Country Club in suburban Chicago. He was ranked among the top 10 in the world two years ago but didn't get one of Colin Montgomerie's captain's picks after failing to qualify automatically.

GWAA cites Faxon, 2 others

By Bruce Berlet on January 4, 2012 9:35 AM

I've been fortunate to have been able to cover -- and talk with -- Brad Faxon for more than 30 years.

Before the Rhode Island native was winning on the PGA and Champions Tour, Faxon was excelling in New England events and then at Furman, where he was a two-time All-American.. And regardless of where he traveled, Faxon always was willing to give you a few minutes of his time, usually with insightful responses to not-always-brilliant questions.

Faxon has also left his mark on several fronts regionally. He and Billy Andrade have been hosts for the CVS Charity Classic for a decade, raising more than $8 million for youngsters in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Faxon helped design the TPC Boston course that hosts the Deutsche Bank Championship, which is now one of the PGA Tour's four FedEx Cup playoff events.

In Connecticut, Faxon won his eighth and final PGA Tour title in the 2005 Buick (now Travelers) Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, where he helped design the four-hole First Tee of Connecticut course adjacent the new practice facility. He also has been a strong supporter of the tournament, often speaking on its behalf and helping recruit players.

So it's with great pleasure that I can announce on this blog that Faxon has been named the winner of the Golf Writers Association of America's ASAP/Jim Murray Award. He prevailed in one of the closest votes in history by seven votes over Stewart Cink, another of the game's cooperative and insightful people who has won twice in Cromwell, once in playoff. And it was a clean sweep for the Greater Hartford Open/Buick/Travelers Championship when 1995 GHO champion Greg Norman finished third.

Faxon's accessibility was epitomized after he won his first Champions Tour event, the Insperity Championship, last fall. He took a whipped cream pie in the face on the Golf Channel and then came to the media room still wiping the pie off his face and clothes.

It's the second major GWAA award for Faxon, as he and Andrade were honored with the 1999 Charlie Bartlett Award for their Billy Andrade/BradFaxon Charities for Children, Inc., which was formed in 1991. Faxon also won the 2005 Payne Stewart Award.

Faxon will be recognized at the GWAA awards dinner April 4 in Augusta, Ga., where the Masters begins the next day. He will be joined by Patriot Golf Day founder Major Dan Rooney, who will receive the William D. Richardson Award, given annually to recognize individuals who have consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf; LPGA Tour star Sophie Gustafson, who won the Ben Hogan Award for remaining active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness; and GWAA Players of the Year Luke Donald (PGA Tour), Yani Tseng (LPGA Tour) and Tom Lehman (Champions Tour).

Congratulations to all of them, especially Faxon, whom I've admired for three decades -- on and off the course.

Here's the release from the GWAA:

HOUSTON (January 4 2012) - Patriot Golf Day founder Major Dan Rooney, Sweden's Sophie Gustafson and Brad Faxon have been honored with three prestigious awards given by the Golf Writers Association of America.

Rooney, who flew three combat tours in Iraq, was honored with the William D. Richardson Award, given annually to recognize individuals who have consistently made an outstanding contribution to golf. Gustafson, who battles a severe stuttering problem, won the Ben Hogan Award for remaining active in golf despite a physical handicap or serious illness. Faxon, a 28-year veteran on the PGA/Champions Tour, was honored with the ASAPSports/Jim Murray Award, which recognizes a golfer for cooperation, quotability and accommodation with the media.

They will be honored, along with GWAA Players of the Year Luke Donald, Yani Tseng and Tom Lehman at the Annual GWAA Awards Dinner, April 4 in Augusta, Ga.

After Rooney, a former F-16 pilot, returned from his second tour in Iraq, he founded Patriot Golf Day and the Folds of Honor Foundation, which provides scholarships to spouses and children of military members disabled or killed in service. Patriot Golf Day has raised more than $12.8 million in its first five years and has given more than 2,600 scholarships. In 2008, Rooney was honored as one of ABC World News Tonight's Persons of the Year and one of People Magazine's Heroes of the Year. The owner of two golf courses and a PGA of America professional, Rooney has received the White House's Presidential Volunteer Service Award, the Air National Guard's Distinguished Service Medal, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, and the PGA of America's first-ever Patriot Award. He was a runaway winner over East Lake re-developer Tom Cousins and the PGA Tour Wives Association.

Gustafson has been on eight Solheim Cups and won five LPGA events in her 13-year career, but hasn't gotten the attention that such a record would merit because of her stuttering problem. Last fall, she opened up and went "outside my comfort zone" to do a pre-Solheim television interview with incredible grace and dignity. She often lets her thoughtful - and fun side -- and her sense of humor show through on her blog and in her tweets. She edged Bryce Molder for the Award. Heath Slocum finished third.

In one of the closest votes in GWAA history, Faxon won the ASAP/Jim Murray Award by just seven votes over Stewart Cink, while Greg Norman finished third. Faxon has won eight PGA Tour events and won his first Champions event -- the Insperity Championship - last fall and is one of the most accessible players. He has played more than 700 rounds and has likely been approached by a media member after at least 95 percent of them. After winning at the Insperity, he took a whipped cream pie in the face on the Golf Channel, then came to the media room still wiping the pie off his face and clothes. Faxon and Billy Andrade were honored with the GWAA's 1999 Charlie Bartlett Award for their Billy Andrade/BradFaxon Charities for Children, Inc., which was formed in 1991 and has donated more than $8 million to youngsters in Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. Faxon also won the 2005 Payne Stewart Award.

Past recipients of the Richardson Award, named for The New York Times' William D. Richardson who was instrumental in the founding of the GWAA in 1946, include Jack Burke, Jr., the Harmon Family, Furman Bisher, Pete Dye, Louise Suggs, Judy Rankin, Nancy Lopez, Sandy Tatum, Dan Jenkins, Judy Bell, Babe Zaharias, Jack Nicklaus, Ely Callaway, Ben Hogan, Pres. Dwight Eisenhower, Patty Berg, Gene Sarazen, Arnold Palmer, Ben Crenshaw, Harvey Penick, Peggy Kirk Bell, Frank Hannigan, Kathy Whitworth and Lee Trevino.

Former Hogan award winners include Rankin, Tom Watson, Barbara Douglas, Ken Green, Erik Compton, Denis Watson, Hubert Green, Bruce Edwards, Jeff Julian, Scott Verplank, Jose-Maria Olazabal, Casey Martin, Paul Azinger, Robert Allenby, Lee Trevino, John Mahaffey, Jim Nelford, Ken Venturi, Terri-Jo Meyers and Steve Jones.

This is the 10^th year for the ASAP/Jim Murray Award. Previous winners were Steve Stricker, Padraig Harrington, Juli Inkster, Palmer, Nicklaus, Lopez, Nick Price, Fred Funk, Jay Haas and Gary Player.

The 900-member GWAA takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf's major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

No surprise for POYs

By Bruce Berlet on December 29, 2011 12:39 PM

Not surprisingly, Luke Donald, Yani Tseny and Tom Lehman were named Players of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America. Those were my three choices, but I considered Keegan Bradley on the PGA Tour since he won twice, including a major (PGA Championship), which Donald didn't do. But it was hard not to vote for someone who made history: the first to win the money title in the United States and Europe. Here's the GWAA release:

HOUSTON (December 29, 2011) - Luke Donald, Yani Tseng and Tom Lehman have been named 2011 Players of the Year by the Golf Writers Association of America.

It is the first GWAA POY award for Donald and the second for both Tseng and Lehman. They will be honored at the GWAA's Annual Awards Dinner April 4, 2012 in Augusta, Ga.

All three players were runaway winners in the GWAA balloting. Donald received 88 percent of the votes (180 votes) for Male POY to nine percent (19) for Keegan Bradley. Webb Simpson was third (3) followed by Rory McIlroy (2). Tseng received 95 percent of the vote for Female POY (194) to two percent for Stacy Lewis (5). Suzann Pettersen (2) and Lexi Thompson (1) also received votes. In the Senior race, Lehman grabbed 86 percent of the vote (177) to eight percent (16) for John Cook. Mark Calcavecchia (10) was third.

Donald won four times world-wide, took over the No. 1 spot in the Official World Golf Rankings and became the first player to win the money title on both the PGA Tour and European Tour. He also won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average. His wins included the BMW PGA Championship and World Golf Championship-Match Play Championship and he had an amazing 14 top 10s in 19 tournaments. Donald came from behind with a closing 64 to win at the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic to win the PGA Tour money list and finished third at the Dubai World Championship to win the European money list. Donald, who lost his father in November, also won the Golf Writers Trophy (a vote of the Association of Golf Writers) and European Tour POY honors. It's the third time in four years a European-born player has won the GWAA award.

Tseng dominated women's golf with a dozen wins, including two more majors - the LPGA Championship and the Women's British Open - to win her second consecutive GWAA POY award. Tseng became the youngest player to win five majors, led the LPGA in scoring and money and won the Rolex Player of the Year award. She had 14 top 10s and won almost double the amount of money ($2.921 million) as second-place Cristie Kerr ($1.47 million)

Lehman won three times in 2011, including his second Champions Tour major, the Regions Tradition, in a playoff over Peter Senior. He had 12 top-10 finishes to lead the Champions money list and win the Charles Schwab Cup and Champions Tour POY honors. Lehman, who won the GWAA's Male POY award in 1996, became the first player to win POY honors on the Nationwide, PGA and Champions Tours.

The GWAA, founded in 1946, takes an active role in protecting the interests of all golf journalists, works closely with all of golf's major governing bodies and the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Extra Merry Christmas

By Bruce Berlet on December 25, 2011 5:57 PM

University of Hartford grad Jerry Kelly had an extra special Christmas this year.

Kelly and 2007 Masters champion Zach Johnson beat Mark O'Meara and 1993 Greater Hartford Open winner Nick Price to win the ADT Golf Skills Challenge at The Breakers in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Kelly and Johnson rallied from last place in the four-team, four-skills competition to earn a total of $286,000. They beat the defending champions in the final reverse scramble (worst-ball) event after not failing very well in the initial individual skills.

"We like those Cinderella stories," Johnson said. "We came back nicely and hit some good shots down the stretch. Obviously what carried us was our putters in the last skills challenge. My partner led us off, and I just followed in his footsteps."

Kelly admitted being "definitely nervous" in the first few skills challenges, but all's well that ends well.

"It's a fun format, and it doesn't matter who you are, it can get to you," Kelly said.

But Kelly and Johnson each made a 6-foot par putt in the final event to dethrone O'Meara and Price, who have won a total of five major championships.

Hall of Famer Nick Faldo, winner of six majors, and Rocco Mediate finished third. The first all-female team in the 20-year history of the event, Morgan Pressel and retired Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam whose 72 LPGA Tour titles included 10 majors, were fourth.

Merry Christmas to all -- and to all a healthy and prosperous 2012!!!!!!!

Donald, Bradley cited

By Bruce Berlet on December 13, 2011 4:18 PM

Luke Donald and Keegan Bradley were named PGA Tour Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year on Tuesday. Here's the release from the tour:

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FL -- The PGA TOUR announced today (Dec. 13) Luke Donald as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year and Keegan Bradley as PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year, as voted on by the TOUR's membership for the 2011 season.

"On behalf of the PGA TOUR, my congratulations to Luke and Keegan for their award-winning accomplishments in 2011," said PGA TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem. "Both players had significant and impressive performances throughout the course of the year, and the member vote reflects the respect their peers have for them."

Luke Donald - PGA TOUR Player of the Year

Donald, who turned 34 on Dec. 7, is the first player from England to be voted Player of the Year since the award's inception in 1990.

Donald won the World Golf Championships-Accenture Match Play Championship and the Children's Miracle Network Hospitals Classic in 2011. He never trailed in any of his six matches at the Accenture Match Play Championship, including a 3&2 finals victory over Martin Kaymer. Donald's win in his final start of the year at the Children's Miracle Network Classic clinched the money title with $6,683,214, earning him the Arnold Palmer Award. He also wrapped up the Byron Nelson Trophy and Vardon Award for lowest adjusted scoring average (68.86).

Currently No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking, Donald led the PGA TOUR with 14 top-10 finishes in 19 starts with runner-up finishes the RBC Heritage (playoff) and the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational (T2). For the second consecutive year, Donald finished third in the season-long FedExCup competition, posting top-five finishes in three of the four PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup events.

Donald, who will receive the Jack Nicklaus Trophy as Player of the Year, was selected over Keegan Bradley, Bill Haas, Webb Simpson and Nick Watney.

Keegan Bradley - PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year

Bradley, 25, earned playoff victories at the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the PGA Championship, becoming the first rookie since Todd Hamilton (2004) to win twice. With his PGA Championship playoff victory over Jason Dufner at Atlanta Athletic Club, Bradley became the first player since Ben Curtis (2003) to win a major championship in his first major start.

On the season, the Vermont native totaled four top 10s in 29 starts and finished 20^th on the final FedExCup points list. Bradley became just the fourth rookie to play his way into Playoff finale, the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola, since the inception of the FedExCup, joining Brandt Snedeker (2007), Andres Romero (2008) and Marc Leishman (2009).

Other players nominated for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year were Chris Kirk, Charl Schwartzel, Scott Stallings, Brendan Steele and Jhonattan Vegas.

Sheary in Florida waiting

D.J. remains an inspiration

Begay to receive Bartlett Award

Extra duty for Sheehan, Cink

Congratulations, Suzy

Glover WDs; Casey hurt, too

GWAA cites Faxon, 2 others

No surprise for POYs

Extra Merry Christmas

Donald, Bradley cited

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