May 2011 Archives

Mrs. Elizabeth Caron, a.k.a. Liz Janangelo, had a successful return to the Connecticut golf scene Tuesday.

After bogeys on three of the first seven holes, Caron birdied five of six holes around the turn and added a sixth birdie at No. 16 to shoot an even-par 72 and the first-round lead in the Connecticut Women's Open at the Golf Club at Oxford Greens in Oxford.

Caron, the first-year teaching pro at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford, is two shots ahead of 2007 champion Sue Ginter, another former LPGA Tour player who is a teaching pro at Rolling Hills CC in Wilton and rallied from double-bogey 7 at No. 3 and bogey at No. 4. Tied for third at 75 entering the final round on Wednesday are Jordan Lintz of Great River CC in Milford and Karen Davies of Pinnacle Peak in Carefree, Ariz. Davies had four birdies in the first eight holes and held the lead at 1 under until she finished bogey-bogey-double bogey.

"I was a little nervous at first, hit a bad shot into a bunker and made bogey on the first hole," Caron said. "I was still struggling for awhile but then started to hit it closer and made some putts, especially a nice 10-footer at the ninth. I left a few (shots) out there, should have got up-and-down a few times for birdie and had some three-putts so I practiced putting for about 45 minutes working on my speed."

Caron, 27, a four-time All-American at Duke, is trying to extend her record for State Women's Open titles to five. She won in 2003-06 before qualifying for the Futures and LPGA Tours and then finished a shot behind winner C.J. Reeves in 2009. Caron didn't play last year because she was on the LPGA Tour before taking a medical exemption because of persistent hip and shoulder pain helped cause her to miss 14 of 15 cuts. Caron, who married from Nationwide Tour player Jason Caron on Jan. 8, is exempt into the LPGA qualifying school finals in November but is undecided if she will play.

East Lyme native and University of Hartford grad Lynn Valentine, the 2008 champion, made eagle 3 at No. 10 and birdies at the 11^th and 18^th to offset three bogeys in a back-nine, 1-under 35 for 76 and a five-way tie for fifth that included Sarah Sideranko of New Britain, who just completed her sophomore year at U of H. Sideranko, a four-time all-state golfer who also played basketball at New Britain High School, is low amateur by three strokes over three players, including Mia Landegren of Bridgewater and Kelly Whaley, the 14-year-old daughter of non-competing three-time champion Suzy Whaley and the youngest in the 75-player field. The eighth-grader's older sister, Jenn, was scheduled to play but withdraw so she could compete for the Farmington High School girls' team. She is a junior and captain of the team.

Reeves, an assistant at Purchase (N.Y.) CC, shot 77 and is in a four-way tie for 10^th that includes former LPGA Tour player Jill Briles-Hinton.

Lauren Mueller of Neptune, N.J., birdied Nos. 5-8 and made the turn at even-par 36 and tied for the lead. But she made double-bogey 7 at No. 10 and then finished bogey-bogey-bogey-quadruple bogey for 82 and a tie for 33^rd.

Natalie Sheary and former LPGA Tour player Jean Bartholomew, the winner and low pro last year at Wethersfield CC, aren't playing. Sheary, who grew up in West Hartford idolizing Caron as they played at Wampanoag CC, left Sunday for her pro debut in the LPGA Futures Tour's Ladies Titan Tire Challenge on Friday through Sunday in Marion, Iowa. She earned a full Futures Tour exemption for 2011 when she was medalist in the qualifying school last fall.

Sheary had been working and practicing with teacher Dave Pianki since she tied for eighth in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship on May 20, her best finish in four years at Wake Forest, where she was a three-time honorable mention All-American. Sheary's goal is to earn her 2012 LPGA card by finishing in the Top 10 on the Futures Tour money list, but she missed the first four events. She plans to play in the remaining 12 tournaments, including the ING New England Classic at Wintonbury Hills CC in Bloomfield on July 15-17.

The final round begins Wednesday at 8 a.m., and the last group of Janangelo, Ginter and Lintz tees off at 11:40.

Mrs. Elizabeth Caron makes her return to competitive golf in Connecticut on Tuesday at the Golf Club at Oxford Greens in Oxford.

Caron, alias Liz Janangelo of West Hartford, will try to extend her record for Connecticut Women's Open victories to five against 74 of the top female players in the region.

Caron, the first-year teaching pro at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford, finished second in a Metropolitan (N.Y.) Section PGA Assistants Tournament on April 25, shooting 2-under-par 69, one behind John Bushka of Aspetuck Valley CC in Easton, who birdied the 18^th hole to win. Her previous event in Connecticut was the 2009 Connecticut Women's Open when she finished second to C.J. Reeves by a shot.

"I warmed up with 30 lessons this week and played six holes with (husband) Jason at Oxford Greens late (Sunday) and then took a look at the rest of the holes," Liz said with a chuckle via cell phone on the way to Oxford on Monday night. "I made two birdies in the six holes and felt pretty good, so we'll see what happens."

Liz married Jason on Jan. 8, and the couple lives in Greenwich and plans to reside in the winter in Jupiter, Fla., where they met Vermont's Keegan Bradley, who beat Ryan Palmer in a playoff to win the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday. Jason tied for fourth in Cape Cod Open two weeks ago and will play in several New England events before trying to qualify for the Travelers Championship, which is June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

Liz, 27, feels better physically after missing 14 of 15 cuts on the LPGA Tour in 2010 due largely to persistent hip and shoulder problems that caused her to take a medical exemption for the last half of the year and 2011. She received a tour exemption into the qualifying school finals in November but is undecided if she will try to regain her card.

Caron, 27, will tee off Tuesday at 8:10 a.m. in the second group, which will follow a threesome that includes 2008 champion Lynn Valentine, an East Lyme native and University of Hartford grad. Other past winners in the field are Reeves and former LPGA Tour player Sue Ginter (2007). Janangelo won in 2003-06, bettering the record of three consecutive victories set by Suzy Whaley of Farmington in 2000-02.

Other notables entered include former LPGA player and University of Florida women's golf coach Jill Briles-Hilton, former Futures Tour player and Yale women's coach Chawwadee Rompathong, four-time Connecticut Women's Golf Association Championship winner and University of Hartford coach Donna Harris, the Stepanek sisters of Guilford, pro Kate and amateur Brooke, and 14-year-old Kelly Whaley, an eighth-grader and youngest golfing daughter of Suzy Whaley. Jenn Whaley, 16, a junior and captain of the Farmington High School girls' team, was scheduled to compete but had to withdraw because several rained-out matches were postponed to this week.

Natalie Sheary and former LPGA Tour player Jean Bartholomew, the winner and low pro last year at Wethersfield CC, also won't be playing. Sheary, who grew up in West Hartford idolizing Caron as they played at Wampanoag CC, left Sunday for her pro debut in the LPGA Futures Tour's Ladies Titan Tire Challenge on Friday through Sunday in Marion, Iowa. She earned a full Futures Tour exemption for 2011 when she was medalist in the qualifying school last fall.

Sheary had been working and practicing with teacher Dave Pianki since she tied for eighth in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship on May 20, her best finish in four years at Wake Forest, where she was a three-time honorable mention All-American. Sheary's goal is to earn her 2012 LPGA card by finishing in the Top 10 on the Futures Tour money list, but she has already missed the first four events of the year. So she plans to play in the remaining 12 tournaments, including the ING New England Classic at Wintonbury Hills CC in Bloomfield on July 15-17.

The 36-hole Connecticut Women's Open concludes Wednesday.

While the women start their biggest event of the year in the state, Alling Memorial Golf Course in New Haven will be recognized with the Connecticut Section PGA's Walter Lowell Public Golf Course Distinguished Service Award during the Walter Lowell PGA Tournament at Clinton CC.

The award is named for the longtime pro at the former Canton Golf Course, section president and 1978 national Professional of the Year.

Alling Memorial is being recognized for its service an a $1.2 million renovation of the bunkers, tees, drainage system and cart path the past decade that has improved the quality and look of the course. The club continues to serve pros, junior, high school students and Knickerbocker Golf Club members.

Alling Memorial officials, including pro Larry Thornton, are scheduled to be on hand for the presentation from Lowell. Congratulations to the entire Alling Memorial family and the terrific job they have done to upgrade the facility.

The Travelers Championship added another PGA Tour winner when Vermont's Keegan Bradley, fresh off a playoff victory in the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday, committed to Connecticut's largest sporting event at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell on June 23-26.

Bradley, a tour rookie and nephew of LPGA and World Golf Hall of Fame member Pat Bradley from Woodstock, Vt., made a scrambling par on the first playoff hole to beat hometown favorite Ryan Palmer and notch his first tour victory in only his 16^th start at wind-swept TPC Four Seasons in Irvine, Texas.

"I don't know what to say," said Bradley, whose win came nine days before his 25^th birthday. "This is a dream come true. I've waited for this my whole life."

Bradley, a St. John's University graduate whose favorite teams are the Celtics, Red Sox and Patriots, is the tour's youngest winner this year and now gets to play the course he'd most like to play, Augusta National, in the 2012 Masters. He also qualified for this year's PGA Championship.

Bradley closed with a 2-under-par 68, four less than Palmer, who made a 6-foot putt to join University of Hartford grad Jerry Kelly as the only players to birdie the 18^th hole in regulation. Bradley and Palmer finished at 3-under-par 277, the highest winning score on the tour this year by five strokes and highest in relation to par in a non-major since 1999. The other 2011 tour winners in the field are defending champion Bubba Watson, Jhonattan Vegas, Lucas Glover and David Toms, who captured the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial the previous week.

And to think Bradley wasn't planning to play the Nelson until caddie Stephen "Pepsi" Hale convinced him the TPC Four Seasons course was a better fit for his game than tight and turning Colonial Country Club, site of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Bradley and Hale started working together only six weeks ago. Hale caddied for Jamie Lovemark, the 2010 Nationwide Tour player of the year, during the latter half of last year. Bradley and Lovemark are good friends and fellow Nationwide Tour graduates in 2010, when Bradley didn't win but finished 14^th on the money list to earn his PGA Tour card for this year.

Now, after top-10 finishes in the Bob Hope Classic and Valero Texas Open, the first event where Hale carried his bag, Bradley won for the first time since 2009, when he captured his second Hooters Tour title. Fittingly, Hale received a 2011 Cadillac Escalade Hybrid for being the caddie of the winner. It's the second time the tournament offered such a prize in the Caddy for a Caddie promotion, the first of its kind on the PGA Tour. When Adam Scott won in 2008, his caddie, Tony Navarro, was awarded a Cadillac XLR-V. Ironically, Scott and Navarro just ended their working partnership

"I was thinking about that cow bell, and I started to get emotional," Bradley said. "It was like, 'Pull it together, don't start thinking about the cow bell.' The cow bell in my family is an iconic thing."

Bradley calmed himself and two-putted from 60 feet to make par after Palmer got up-and-down for bogey. Adding to the drama was Bradley's second shot coming after a concession stand had to be moved to give him a clear path to the hole and into the winner's circle, much to the delight of Pat and the rest of his most faithful followers.

"She is a lot calmer on the golf course than she is watching me. I'm sure she was by the TV going crazy," Keegan said. "I talk to her regularly through text messages and phone calls about tournaments and what it's like to come down near the end. ... This is the closest thing we ever had in common in term of playing."

Now don't be surprised if Pat and other family members show up in Cromwell in three weeks to watch Keegan up close and personal - as a PGA Tour winner.

Other early commitments to the $6 million tournament include past winners J.J. Henry, a native of Fairfield, Hunter Mahan, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink, major championship titlists Toms, Glover, Padraig Harrington, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson, Trevor Immelman, John Daly, Justin Leonard and Corey Pavin, a playoff loser last year, as well as Rickie Fowler, Ricky Barnes, Anthony Kim, Stuart Appleby, Tommy Gainey, Chris DiMarco and Ian Poulter, who will make his tournament debut after his victory in the European PGA Tour's Volvo Match Play Championship on May 22 made him the first player to win that event and the World Golf Championship Accenture Match Play Championship.

The Travelers Championship begins with opening ceremonies at 9 a.m. on June 20, followed by the Tournament Players Pro-Am. There are several special events on June 21, and Women's Day is June 23, the first round of the tournament.

Major kudos to Ken Green for the most inspiring day of many he has had for nearly two years.

The Danbury native somehow got through 30 holes in the Senior PGA Championship on Friday at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky. Green was forced to put in overtime because of heavy rain Thursday that delayed play for 41/2 hours and limited him to six holes after not teeing off until dinner time.

So Green had to spend more than eight hours playing golf Friday, though a hospital and morphine were also on his mind.

Despite being allowed to use a cart, Green was in tremendous pain as he limped around on a prothesis on what's left of his right leg, amputated from the knee down after a horrific RV accident that claimed the life of his brother, girlfriend and dog on June 8, 2009.

Green has played six events since then, including the 2010 Connecticut Open and the Champions Tour's Legends of Golf with longtime buddy Mark Calcavecchia earlier this month, but he had never played 30 holes in one day. On his blog Friday morning, Green wrote he didn't believe he could play the final 12 holes of the unfinished first round and the entire second round, especially on a soggy, hilly course, after only one hour of sleep.

Then the determination and grit in one of the world's most inspirational people set in.

"Once I got to a certain point, it was like, 'You're not stopping now. You have to go on,' " Green told reporters after his lengthy ordeal was completed. "It's that little fight within myself that I feel I'm still winning. A lot of it is personal. The other is to bring some awareness to amputees."

Green received major props on the Golf Channel telecast, especially during a stretch on Nos. 13-15, where he made a par, a birdie 2 after hitting a 198-yard, 5-wood to 8 feet and a 40-foot putt to save par. But as he stood over a 50-foot putt on his final hole, the uphill par-4 ninth, he said he didn't see ball. He saw a white blur. He'd been crying.

Morris Hatalsky, one of Green's playing partners, said he had been concerned about Green being able to finish for several holes, especially after he chunked two shots on their last hole.

"He was losing his breath and closing his eyes," Hatalsky told reporters. "You could just tell he was in tremendous pain. It was pretty inspiring just to watch him compete."

Fittingly, Green's ball broke from left to right on the severely sloped green and disappeared into the cup for perhaps the most memorable bogey in his career. It gave him an 82 after an opening 80. He missed the cut by 14 strokes, but it hardly mattered. He had finished. He had provided the most inspiring display of courage in his already inspiring life.

"Isn't that kind of fitting?" Green said. "You can barely see the ball and you hit two fat wedges, and then you make a 50-footer. It's a different kind of joy. For me, this was good."

Likely even better than those five PGA Tour victories or playing in the 1989 Ryder Cup. Finishing tied for 146th and beating two guys (former PGA Tour players Mark Hayes and Anders Forsbrand) on 11/2 legs might have been Green's greatest triumph. All while beating the urge to quit as his pain increased from a 5 to an 8 or 9 on a 10-point scale after his drive on the 15th hole.

The always fiery Green finished that hole -- and 12 more, occassionally pulling his khaki hat down near his eyes to hide the pain.

"It wouldn't shock me if I had to go to a hospital (for pain management with morphine)," Green said. "It was constant electricity in there. ... I wasn't (going to quit). I just wasn't going to do that. Which is kind of bizarre because I've certainly done that numerous times when I've had other injuries. But this one, it's personal."

And it likely had to do with this being Green's first major championship since he was injured after his RV blew a tire and tumbled down an embankment near Meridian, Miss., two weeks after he played in his other Senior PGA Championship. His brother, William, his girlfriend, Jean Hodgin, and his German Shepherd, Nip, were killed. Green's lower right leg was later amputated, and months of therapy and anguish have followed, including dealing with the death of 21-year-old son Hunter from an accidental overdose of medication and drugs while in his dorm room at SMU.

But this was "good."

"I hit good shots, and it was fun," Green said through the lingering pain. "And then you start thinking, wow, you know, I knew the back side was way too hard for me, but I was thinking 3 over maybe and shoot a decent score. I mean it's amazing how you start getting excited. That's what golf does. That's part of the reason I keep still trying to play is to have those kind of moments and those kind of feelings. And then on the reverse side, it's the complete total ... wow, I mean it hurts as much as it's ever hurt to have something just fall apart. It's cold."

Though Green said he desperately wants to have one good tournament so he feels as if he could walk away with his head held high, he's already won. Somehow, golf always seems to make you feel warm inside. Like that 50-foot putt at Valhalla on Friday afternoon. Best bogey that Ken Green ever made. A victory for the moment -- and a lifetime.

And to show the pain hadn't caused him to lose his sense of humor, Green posted this on his blog Saturday afternoon, when NBC's Jimmy Roberts did a nice piece on him.

So when is qualifying for the Travelers Championship a pain?

When it's the third major tournament you'd like to play in the same week.

That's the dilemma facing Canaan Country Club pro Fran Marrello, whose 1-under-par 143 for 36 holes at The Farms CC in Wallingford on Tuesday and Wednesday earned him the Connecticut Section PGA Spring Stroke Play and a spot in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell on June 23-26.

It will be the ninth tournament appearance for Marrello, who finished four ahead of New Haven CC assistant Bill Street, who shared the first-round lead at 71 with Marrello and Paul Barsley. Street closed with 76, one less than Barsley, who tied for third with defending champion Kevin Giancola. Condolences to Barsley, who played the final round after his father, Tom, died in Australia on Tuesday night.

Marrello has never made the cut in Cromwell while playing in the Canon Greater Hartford Open and Buick Championship in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 2001, 2002 and 2006. His low score is a 70 in the second round in 1994, when he was paired with Mark Wurtz and John Walker, both of whom he knew from while working in Palm Springs, Calif.

"It was an unbelievable pairing," Marrello recalled Thursday while ringing up greens fees in the Canaan CC pro shop. "I remember making 15 pars and three bogeys in the first round and putting like a pig. Then I shot 70 but bogeyed the last two holes to miss the cut by two."

The 56-year-old Marrello is now believed to be the oldest section player to qualify for Connecticut's largest sporting event, but he also has to concern himself with trying to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open and playing in the PGA of America's Club Pro Championship at Hershey (Pa.) Country Club.

Marrello planned to try to qualify for the Senior Open in Purchase, N.Y., on June 23, but that's the first day of the Travelers Championship. So he now hopes to play in the qualifier at Mattapoisett (Mass.) CC on June 21, but he needs to find time to play a practice round at a course he has never seen.

Marrello is already one of four current or former section players in the Club Pro Championship, which begins June 26, the final day of the Travelers Championship. He also has never played either of the courses being used in Hershey, Pa., and is wondering how he's going to get in practice rounds there while still competing in section events such as the Senior Connecticut PGA Championship, moved to June 13-14 at Fox Hopyard GC in East Haddam, and attending to the clientele at his home course.

"It'll be a crazy, crazy week, and I'm just trying to piece it all together," Marrello said. "It's exciting, but it's also really nerve-wracking and distracting. I really want to enjoy it, but I also don't want to run myself into the ground and shoot 80 everywhere I go. These are three events that really mean a lot to me."

Marrello is a six-time Section Player of the Year, four-time Senior Player of the Year and the only person to win both in the same year (2007). He earned $1,800 for his record 17^th major section title and doesn't want to embarrass himself against some of the world's best players competing for $6 million in the Travelers Championship.

"I've never really got close to any of the (tour) pros because I've always been someone who keeps to myself and is self-conscious about my game," Marrello said. "And 2006 is a long time ago, and the game is kind of passing me by. But (close friend and Norwich GC pro) John Paesani told me just to do my thing and enjoy it, and that's what I want to do.

"I was steady in the (Travelers) qualifying except for butchering the last hole on my way to a double bogey and the only three-putt of the tournament, and fortunately most of the places I have to go for the other events aren't too far away. But it's crazy how things have worked out. The U.S. Senior is even at the Inverness Club (in Toledo, Ohio), where I played in my first U.S. Open in 1979 as an amateur."

So what if Marrello becomes the first section player since Doug Dalziel in 1981 to make the cut in the annual tour stop in Connecticut?

"That would be a miracle, a thousand-to-one shot, but it would also be the biggest thing and biggest thrill of my life," Marrello said. "If it did happen, I would pull out of the Club Pro Championship."

If so, that would leave the section represented by Giancola, Kevin Mahaffy and Brian Keiser, the former Wethersfield CC assistant now working at Aronimink GC in Newtown Square, Pa., home of the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods.

But for now, let's just hope Fran works out his dilemmas, plays some good golf and gets to enjoy what 99 percent of us could only dream about. He definitely deserves it. Good luck, Fran.

Major ups to K.J. Choi.

Choi has been the toast of his native Korea after winning The Players Championship on May 15, including receiving a congratulatory text from the country's president, Myung Bak Lee, among the hundreds of messages he got.

Choi also should be feted in the southeastern part of the United States after pledging $200,000 of his earnings from his eighth PGA Tour victory to tornado relief. The donation through the K.J. Choi Foundation came after $100,000 pledges to help the victims of the Japanese tsunami and the earthquake in Haiti.

"When I heard the news about the tornadoes, not far after the Japan tsunami disaster, I knew I had to do something help them as well," Choi told pgatour.com. "While winning The Players Championship was a defining point in my life, there were those who were going through their low point. I want the victims of the tornadoes know that their misfortunes will not be ignored."

Choi said his foundation will work with relief organizations like the Red Cross to ensure the funds go to help the victims of the tornadoes, which killed more than 300 people and destroyed entire towns. Choi has made his home in the United States since 1999 and now lives at The Woodlands outside Houston, Texas.

An autographed driver that Choi used at TPC Sawgrass sold for $9,000 at a live auction during the SK Telecom Open gala in Seoul last week. He also received a painting of his tee shot at the 17th hole, where he beat David Toms on the first playoff hole and created in only one day by one of Korea's most well-known artists.

With his Players Championship victory, Choi rose to second in the standings for Greg Norman's International Team that will play in the Presidents Cup on Nov. 14-20 in Melbourne, Australia.  He also jumped from 31st to sixth in the FedEx Cup standings but slipped to seventh after Toms rebounded to win the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial on Sunday. Toms, who committed to play in the Travelers Championship June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell last week, jumped to fourth in the standings.

The First Tee of Connecticut will again be the beneficiary of the Final Final Open at Glastonbury Hills Country Club on June 13.

The tournament, played in memory of Thomas Altmann, has a noon shotgun start and a buffet dinner at 5 p.m. Entry fee is $250 per person, $900 for a foursome and $75 for dinner only. Entry deadline for foursomes is June 6.

Sponsorships range from $250 to $2,000, and all participants are encouraged to bring old and used golf gear for donation to the First Tee of Connecticut, which has received $84,000 from the first five years of the tournament.

To enter, make checks payable to The First Tee of Connecticut and mail all correspondence to: DISH Bar and Grill, 900 Main Street, Hartford, Conn. 06103. For more information, contact Bill Carbone at 860-543-5830, Dan Keller at 860-543-5831 or Dr. Paul Bocciarelli at 860-916-4463.

Supporting the First Tee of Connecticut is always a good idea for a multitude of reasons, most of them having more to do with life lessons than golf.

Danbury native Ken Green has been hit by the bad and good as he prepares to play in the Senior PGA Championship on a thoughtful special exemption from the PGA of America.

Green is approaching the two-year anniersary of his horrific RV accident that led to the death of his brother, girlfriend and dog and the loss of the lower part of his right leg.

In practice rounds at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., Green discovered the course is too long for the current state of his game. But his new foot has proven to be "a home run." Now that's wonderful news in light of all that Green has suffered through the past two years.

So here's hoping the positive helps overcome the negative in Green's first appearance in the Champions Tour's second major of the year that starts Thursday.

Here's a look at his latest blog post and a few other happenings:

5-24-11: "Amputee Ken Green Is Back in the Swing of Pro Golf at Senior PGA Championship - 'Inspirational' Fits Him To A Tee"

Louisville Courier-Journal

. . . "I don't want to make an absolute fool out of myself. I will absolutely give it everything I have. I don't want to call it a blessing, but you know every time I go out on the golf course I am just happy to be on the golf course. It does mean everything to me.". . .

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20110524/SPORTS10/305240050

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KG's Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000038212275

= = = = = = = = = = = =For Backberry readers:

KG's Blog Post #105 - 5/24/11 7:55pm (Valhalla: "Fight like Hell")

Ouch! I've made mistake number 78,964.  Valhalla is way too hard for me at this stage of life. The rain has turned this place into a bomber's paradise. 7,250 with zero roll is for the Calc, Lehman, Lyle, and those style of players. This course is also much hillier than I was led to believe.  All that said, I'm still going to go out there and fight like hell.

[May 26-29 2011: 72nd Senior PGA Championship, Valhalla Golf Club, Louisville http://www.pga.com/seniorpga/2011 ]

So, it doesn't look like I'm a pile of negativity, I will say that the new foot that I was fortunate enough to try is a home run. It makes walking so much easier. The balance on hills is also incredible. I do think it will make this world that we amputees live a tad more enjoyable.  The price tag is nasty hard, but eventually it will go down where the average person might be able to afford it.  Sadly, insurance doesn't cover this. Isn't it forked up that insurance doesn't cover something that is supposed to make you better?  Obama care won't, Green care doesn't, Munch care would. We will find a way to afford this because it's just that good.

Back to Valhalla, I may have as many as 6 fairway woods into the greens. There was a time I would have loved that, but right now the angles are just too much. I will try and keep you posted each day on the adventures of Sir Greensdoom.  I'm going to the vans early tomorrow and find some magic driver and woods that will kick the ball up in the faster with no roll. The great advantage that pros have is the equipment vans that will allow you to make daily changes to fit the golf course.

Off to the world of filet mignon...

Ken

= = = = = = HOW TO JOIN THE NIPPER CLUB:

To join The Nipper Club, email KG directly at kjg85@pgatour.com and tell him "I want to join The Nipper Club", and give him: your name, email, phone, address, shirt size, hdcp.

Then, mail your $60 check to:

Green's Dog Haven

11854 Orange Grove Blvd.

W. Palm Beach, FL 33411

Up-and-coming, long-hitting star Dustin Johnson has officially hired Newtown native Joe Lacava as his caddie after firing Bobby Brown in April.

Johnson, who nearly won the U.S. Open and PGA Championship last year, will make his debut with Couples in the HP Byron Nelson Championship, which begins Thursday at the Four Seasons Resort in Irving, Texas. Aussie Jason Day is defending champion.

Lacava has worked primarily for Fred Couples for two decades, but the popular Couples continues to have back problems and recently had skin cancer and lesions removed from both hands. That forced him to withdraw from this week's Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky. He was replaced by Blaine McCallister but hopes to play in next week's Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus in Dublin, Ohio.

Danbury native Ken Green is playing in his second Champions Tour event this year on a sponsors exemption from the PGA of America. Green lost his brother, girlfriend, dog and eventually the lower part of his right leg in a horrific RV accident nearly two years ago. He played with longtime friend Mark Calcavecchia in the Legends of Golf tournament last month.

Fairfield native J.J. Henry received some nice, well-deserved props on pgatour.com for the Henry House Hideway, a popular place for kids at last week's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Hideaway has many fun activities for kids and their families as they get a look at the 10th fairway and 18th green at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, where Henry now resides.

May 21 was the official First Tee of Fort Worth day at the Henry House Hideaway, and his foundation donated $50,000 to The First Tee of Fort Worth. The money will go toward the new Ben Hogan Learning Center at Rockwood Golf Course in Forth Worth.

Henry has also had a fundraiser and donated to the First Tee of Connecticut, which is raising money to build a learning center at the practice tee at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, where he won his only PGA Tour title in the 2006 Buick (now Travelers) Championship. Henry has committed to the 2011 Travelers on June 23-26.

Read more about J.J. and Henry House Hideaway, visit pgatour.com.

Parents are almost always proud of their kids in sports, from 5-year-olds in T-ball to stars in the pro ranks. I say "almost" because it must be tough being the mom or dad of the Dennis Rodmans of the world.

But parents' exuberance is usually for a youngster's ability and/or mere attempt to succeed. Then there's a special reason to exude pride, as Bill and Suzy Whaley of Farmington discovered again last week.

Bill is the national director of golf operations for PGA Tour Properties and general manager at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, where Suzy played in the 2003 Greater Hartford Open after being the first woman to qualify for a tour event in 58 years when she won the Connecticut Section PGA Championship the previous year. Suzy was the first woman to win a PGA of America section individual tournament, was ranked as a top five female instructor in the country by Golf Digest last year and is national PGA junior chairperons and the first year of a three-year term on the PGA of America board of directors. She is an LPGA Teaching and Club Professional member who played on the LPGA Tour for several years.

The Whaleys' golfing daughters, Jenn and Kelly, were scheduled to play in the Connecticut Women's Open for the first time on May 30 and June 1 at Oxford Greens Country Club in Oxford, with mom and dad serving at caddies. Sounds like a really nice and wonderful family affair, eh!!!

Unfortunately because of the rainy spring, Jenn's golf coach at Farmington High, Chris Garrahan, rescheduled a few matches the same day(s) as the championship. Bill and Suzy tried to get Garrahan to move the makeup date but no luck. Garrahan gave Jenn the OK to forego the matches, but mom and dad weren't comfortable with that idea because she's the captain and top player on the team even though only a junior.

"Her commitment is first and foremost to the team," emailed Suzy, who won the Connecticut Women's Open in 2000-02. "And the CIAC would not be pleased if we pulled her out of matches for a separate event."

So 16-year-old Jenn decided to play for her team, not herself, so it'll be just Kelly, 14, an eighth grader, competing this year with dad, her usual bag carrier, likely to do the caddying.

"Jenn is great," mom proudly understated. "Now hopefully next year all three Whaleys!"

Now that would be a story worth writing and following. And major kudos to you, Jenn. There's not suppose to be any cheering in the press box (or blogosphere), but here's hoping you excel the rest of year and in the state championship. A title might just be a just reward.

Congratulations to West Hartford's Natalie Sheary on her best finish in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship and being named an All-American for the third time.

Sheary earned honorable mention honors from the National Golf Coaches Association after she tied for eighth at The Traditions in College Station, Texas. Sheary shot 1-over-par 289 for her best showing in three NCAA Championships and ended her career by leading the team in rounds at par or better (16) and top-20 finishes (eight). She also led the Demon Deacons to 14th in the team compeition, won by UCLA by four strokes over defending champion Purdue, and was joined in the honorable mention category by teammates Cheyenne Woods, a junior and niece of Tiger Woods, and sophomore Michelle Shin.

Sheary, Woods and Shin are three of 13 Wake Forest All-Americans, and it was the first time the Demon Deacons had three All-Americans in the same year. Sheary became only the second Demon Deacon to be a three-time All-American, joining Stephanie Neill, who is the school's only four-time All-American. She also was an honorable mention selection as a freshman and sophomore. She led the team in scoring as a freshman and this season, when she had a school-record 73.6, finishing with a career average of 74.43, lowest in school history.

Sheary, who missed graduation last Monday because it was the first day of practice in Texas, will now turn pro. She returned home Sunday night and will spend this week relaxing with her family, working out and getting lessons from instructor Dave Pianki before heading to her first LPGA Futures Tour event on Sunday.

"With the exception of my junior year when I was sick and not able to compete anywhere near the level that I wanted, I am fairly happy with my college career," Sheary said via email. "I am a three-time All-Anerican, and I have the lowest career scoring average in Wake Forest school history and 16 top-10 finishes, including three wins. I have been on the All-ACC team for three years as well as the ACC All-Academic team. I was also the 208 ACC Freshman of the Year as well as the 2009 ACC Player of the Year. This semester I wanted to finish on a good note academically and finished with a 4.0!

"As for my amateur career, I am proud to be the 2010 Connecticut Women's Open champion as well as a three-time winner of the Connecticut Women's Amateur. I also was the 2010 LPGA Futures qualifying school medalist at 9 under par, winning by four strokes. This past week I tied for eight, and I am not happy. I really thought I could have won. I could have handled unusually high winds a lot better than I did."

That might be a driving and motivating force for Sheary when she makes her pro debut in the Futures Tour's Ladies Titan Tire Challenge June 3-5 in Marion, Iowa, as she tries to earn her LPGA card by finishing among the top 10 money winners on the developmental circuit. She plans to play the last 12 tournaments, including the ING New England Classic July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hills Golf Club in Bloomfield.

Sheary's father, Michael, will continue caddying for his daughter, who is seeking sponsors. Anyone interesting in sponsoring Sheary should contact her at nsheary@aol.com.

Because Sheary has already missed four Futures Tour events, she won't defend in the Connecticut Women's Open May 30-June 1 at Oxford Greens Golf Club in Oxford. But Liz Janangelo, a four-time All-American at Duke whom Sheary idolized while they were growing up and playing together at Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford, will try to extend her record for Connecticut Women's Open titles to five, the first three of which she won as an amateur. Janangelo, who also finished second in 2009 and didn't play last year, is the new teaching pro at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford after being married on Jan. 8 to Jason Caron, who tied for fourth in the Cape Cod Open last week.

Janangelo is taking a year's sabbatical from the LPGA Tour after missing 14 of 15 cuts last year largely because of persistent problems with her hip and shoulder. She got a medical exemption into the LPGA qualifying school finals this fall but said she might not go because she's enjoying teaching so much.

The Travelers Championship got a double dose of good news Sunday as two players who committed to the tournamennt last week won in Spain and Texas.

Ian Poulter beat fellow Englishman Luke Donald 2 and 1 to win the Volvo Match Play Championship at Finca Cortesin in Spain. Poulter, who committed to play in the Travelers Championship for the first time on Tuesday, denied Donald the No. 1 spot in the world rankings for the first time. Donald was trying for an unprecedented match play double after winning the World Golf Championship-Accenture title in February but remained No. 2 behind Lee Westwood.

Meanwhile, Poulter celebrated son Luke's seventh birthday in perfect fashion, though he had a forgettable moment when he fell down a bank trying to thrash his way out of a bush.

"Happy birthday, Luke," Poulter said. "I thought it would be pretty special to win this. I finally started holing some putts. I've been frustrated for a few months, and you have to hole putts to win."

In the first all-English final since the event began at Wentworth in England in 1964, Poulter was behind three times before getting even with a 40-foot putt on the par-3 12 and then taking the lead for good two holes later before being helped when Donald three-putted the 15^th, missing a 3-footer that would have won the hole.

Poulter reached the final when he parred the first playoff hole to beat Nicolas Colsaerts, 108^th in the world after winning his first European Tour title in China last month. Donald gained a shot at the title and No. 1 with a 5-and-3 victory over former No. 1 Martin Kaymer, who won the PGA Championship in August. Kaymer could have regained No. 1 but lost in the semifinals, as he did to Donald in the Accenture final in February.

Poulter went to the final hole of every match until closing out Donald on the 17^th.

About five hours later, David Toms beat Charlie Wi by a shot to win the PGA Tour's Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas.

After opening with two 8-under-par 62s, Toms had a tournament-record seven-stroke lead that he lost with a third-round 74. Wi birdied the first two holes Sunday to open a three-stroke lead, but Toms, spurred by an 83-yard wedge shot for eagle 3 at No. 11, rallied for his 13th PGA Tour victory but first since the Sony Open in Hawaii in January 2006.

Toms closed with 67 for 265, one better than Wi (69), who held his first 54-hole lead on the PGA Tour but had to settle for his fourth runner-up finish.

Major kudos to David Toms for his perseverance at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial this week.

After the gut-wrenching, three-putt from 18 feet on the first playoff hole, including a lip-out from 31/2 feet, cost him The Players Championship, Toms rallied from one back entering the final round in Fort Worth, Texas, to overtake Charlie Wi on Sunday.

Toms' closing 3-under-par 67, highlighted by an 83-yard wedge shot for eagle 3 at the 11^th hole, enabled him to beat Wi by a stroke and earn his 13^th PGA Tour victory but first in 125 events over more than five years.

That explains why the loss at TPC Sawgrass hit particularly hard and why Toms deserved a fortuitous shot like the one at No. 11 that hit a few feet short of the cup, bounced past and then spun back in, causing him to throw both arms in the air and break into a wide grin as he moved to 15 under and regained the lead. But a 15-foot birdie putt at the difficult 14^th hole, where he made a three-putt double-bogey 6 from half that distance on Saturday, proved the difference after Wi birdied No. 16 and Toms bogeyed No. 17 at wind-swept Colonial Country Club.

Toms righted himself with a routine par at No. 18 for a 72-hole total of a 15-under 265 and a gritty win of redemption a week after the most disappointing loss of his career.

"It just took a lot of guts," said Toms, who committed last week to play in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell on June 23-26. "That's what I got by on today. It was another tough day on the golf course. I played a great round of golf and was under control all day, and that's what I had to do. Charlie played fantastic and kept making putt after putt when he needed to. I feel so blessed. It's a crazy game, and I'm just glad to be part of it."

Toms opened with two 62s, one off the course record, to tie the PGA Tour 36-hole record set by Pat Perez in the 2009 Bob Hope Classic (61-63) and forge a tournament-record, seven-stroke lead. But a third-round 74 dropped Toms a shot behind Wi, a 54-hole leader for the first time in search of his first tour title.

Wi, a 39-year-old South Korean who made his 100^th PGA Tour cut on Friday, extended his lead to three strokes when he birdied the first two holes Sunday. But Toms, his playing partner in the last twosome, rallied to match Wi's 1-under 34 on the front nine and got even when Wi missed a 13-foot par putt at No. 10.

Then came the 11^th hole, where Toms' playoff loss to South Korean K.J. Choi at The Players turned into good fortune and seemed to reenergize the quiet Louisianan.

"It really was about the most perfect shot I've ever hit," said Toms, who had had six runner-up finishes since his previous win in the Sony Open in Hawaii in 2006. "When stuff like that happens, it's meant to be. If it was meant to be, I just kept plodding along.

"Man, what a great day. I've wanted this tournament for a long time. It's a great course for me, and I'm just glad to have one of those plaid jackets (that goes to the champion). The two 62s and hole-out just showed it was meant to be."

Toms had come close to winning the Colonial on several occasions as he tied for fourth in 2000, tied for second in 2002 and tied for third in 2005. Now he finally was No. 1 and could give a happy hug on the 18^th green to his family, including 13-year-old son Carter, who recently took up golf and got his father more interested in the game. And he had an early present for his wife as the couple celebrates their wedding anniversary Monday.

The 44-year-old Toms is the first player since Phil Mickelson in 2000 to rebound from losing a playoff. Mickelson and Davis Love III lost to Jesper Parnevik in the Byron Nelson Championship and then won the Colonial.

Toms earned 500 FedEx Cup points to move from 22^nd to fourth in the standings with 1,229 points, 154 behind leader and reigning Travelers Championship winner Bubba Watson. He also earned a spot in the British Open as one of three players, not otherwise exempt, from among the top 20 players on the FedEx Cup points through the Colonial. He joined Mark Wilson and Rory Sabbatini.

Wi shot 69 and hung tough down the stretch with 8-foot putts for birdie and a saving par on the 16^th and 17^th holes. But he flew his approach at No. 18 from the rough 44 feet long and left his birdie try 18 inches short, enabling Toms to two-putt for the win and leaving Wi a runner-up for the fourth time.

Bo Van Pelt shot 65 to finish third at 270, one ahead of defending champion Zach Johnson, who also closed with 65. Johnson also has committed to the Travelers Championship.

Stuart Appleby, playing in the group in front of Toms and Wi, had victory in sight after a 4-under 31 on the front nine helped get the Aussie within a stroke with seven holes to go. But just as Toms was holing out on No. 11, Appleby pulled his drive on the 12^th hole into the trees, leading to a back-nine 43 in which he was 8 over the last seven holes, including a triple-bogey 7 at No. 14. He made only one par in that stretch to finish in a tie for 16^th at 274.

Glastonbury native and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic shot 68 to move into a tie for 40^th at 278.

WAY TO GO, CROWNE PLAZA

Toms wasn't the only entity to earn high marks Sunday in Fort Worth.

U.S. Army Specialist Louis Dahlman, wounded in Iraq, and his family were presented with a mortgage-free home by Crowne Plaza during a patriotic celebration.

The tournament also hosted and honored six Medal of Honor recipients during the 150^th anniversary of the Medal of Honor, which is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government.

Lt. General Leroy Sisco, founder of the Military Warriors Support Foundation, surprised Dahlman and his wife, Laura, with the new mortgage-free home in Sugarland, Texas, near Houston. The home resulted from the foundation's initiative called Homes 4 Wounded Heroes, which is sponsored by Chase and Bell Helicopter. MWSF awards mortgage-free homes to wounded heroes injured during combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The homes are for families who have severe and/or unique circumstances due to their injuries received while serving the country. In addition to the home, the families receive three years of family and financial mentoring.

Dahlman, 27, was severely injured by a road side bomb in 2007 while serving in Iraq. Shrapnel to his face resulted in the loss of his lower mandible and all of his lower teeth. He has undergone numerous surgeries, including five that have been more than 12-hour procedures to reconstruct his mandible. In those surgeries, doctors have taken the fibula from both of Dahlman's legs, and bone was harvested from his right hip. He said the bone has finally taken in the jaw, and he is hopeful that he will soon be receiving implants after upcoming reconstructive surgeries are finished.

In a twist of fate, while Dahlman was recovering and undergoing treatment at Brooks Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, he met his wife at a Clay Walker benefit concert for Military Warriors Support Foundation where Laura was volunteering. The couple married in 2009, and they now have a daughter Stella, who will turn 1 on Dec. 29. The Dahlmans' anniversary is May 29.

"Getting his house is incredible," Louis said. "We can't believe it, and we couldn't be happier. This is going to allow me to finish surgeries and not have to worry about howe we will be able to afford to pay rent or a mortgage. Plus, Laura is from Houston, so we will now be close to family."

The World Scholar-Athletes Games are coming to Connecticut this summer, and four Hartford-area courses will host golf events.

Conceived by Institute for International Sport Executive Director Dan Doyle of West Hartford, the World Scholar-Athlete Games has brought together young people from nations around the world who, in a festival of sports and the arts, develop a better understanding of the many qualities that unite rather than divide people. In creating an environment in which competition on the fields is balanced with a commitment to the fine and the performing arts, the games provide the vehicle through which these relationships are developed and nurtured.

The 2011 Games June 26 to July 4 will bring 2,500 new scholar-athletes and scholar-artists from 163 countries to the University of Hartford campus to participate and join many of the more than 25,000 alumni and other participants in the World Youth Peace Summit. The event is designed to empower attendees with the knowledge and skills to implement peace plans in their hometowns and home countries. The 2011 World Youth Peace Summit fulfills a promise Doyle has made at the closing ceremony of every Scholar-Athlete Games: to bring together, educate and motivate participants to be advocates for and agents of peace and social justice.

In addition to its history of serving the needs of young people from 192 countries, the games have attracted the attention and support of authors, politicians, diplomats, artists, musicians, athletes and many other leaders from around the world and the United States. A brief listing of some of the more notable people who have spoken at the Games include President Bill Clinton, General Colin Powell, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres, Elie Wiesel, Sir Roger Bannister, Senators Bill Bradley and George Mitchell, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, and former Olympians Joan Benoit Samuelson, Chi Cheng, Dr. Peter Snell and Kip Keino.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is the honorary chairman of the 2011 WYPS and will kick off the event leading an expected 20,000-person Peace Walk from West Hartford to Hartford on May 21.  Similar walks will be held around the world on May 21 and 22 and will be televised on MTV.

Powell and former Vice President Al Gore will be speaking at the opening and closing ceremonies. ESPN and NBC are scheduled to televise highlights of the Games.

The games will take place at 21 athletic venues in and around Hartford and athletes will range from 15 to 19 years of age. Nick Pahoulis, vice president of the Connecticut State Golf Association, is the Deputy Commissioner of Golf for the games. The golf competition will start on June 27 at Tallwood Country Club in Hebron and continue at Manchester CC on June 28, Long Hills CC in East Hartford on June 29 and Twin Hills CC in Coventry on June 30. Based on past participation, about 50 boys and girls will be competing. The games begin the day after the final round of the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, and efforts are underway to get a PGA Tour player to put on a clinic at Tallwood. 

Volunteers from the CSGA volunteers are being sought to help with the event. More detailed information will be forthcoming, but those interested in helping should contact Pahoulis at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

For additional information on the World Scholar-Athlete Games and World Youth Peace Summit, visit the website of the Institute for International Sport at: www.internationalsport.com and the World Youth Peace Summit web site: www.youthpeacesummit.org.

Jason Caron of Greenwich, who married longtime Connecticut standout Liz Janangelo four months ago, shot a second straight, 2-under-par 69 to finish in a tie for fourth in the Cape Cod Open at Hyannis Golf Club in Hyannis, Mass.

Caron had a 54-hole total of 4-under 209, three more than winner Mark Stevens of Concord, N.H. Stevens closed with 65, which tied the tournament and put him at 206, one better than Michael Carbone (67) of Dennis Pines, Mass., and second-round leader Abbie Valentine (72) of Bayville, N.Y. Stevens earned $4,000 for the win.

Adam Rainaud of Old Lyme shot 70 to finish in a tie for 15th at 216, one ahead of four-time Connecticut Open champion Kyle Gallo of Berlin (71), who shared 17th. Matt Dziubina of Norwalk (73) also tied for 17th and was low amateur.

Andrew Guiliani of Westchester, N.Y., son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, tied for 11th at 215 after shooting 74.

Other Connecticut players to make the cut were Jerry Courville Jr. of Stratford (71-222), Guy Antonacci of Sommerville (75-223) and Edward Kingston of Hamden (76-224).

Janangelo will try to extend her record for Connecticut Women's Open titles to five May 30-June 1 at Oxford Greens Golf Club in Oxford. Janangelo is the new teaching pro at Rockrimmon Country Club in Stamford. She took a year's sabbatical from the LPGA Tour because of persistent shoulder and hip problems but might remain a teaching pro rather than try to requalify for the tour.

If there’s a more engaging player/personality on the PGA Tour than Bubba Watson, you’d be hard pressed to find him.

There are a lot of folks to congratulate as we move past a thrilling Players Championship that ended Sunday with K.J. Choi's first-hole playoff victory over tough luck loser David Toms and look ahead to Travelers Championship week, which begins June 20 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

First, let's salute Alling Memorial Golf Course in New Haven for being named the recipient of the Connecticut Section PGA's Walter Lowell Public Golf Course Distinguished Service Award as the model public golf course serving the game in Connecticut and Western Massachusetts. The award was inaugurated in 2001 in honor of Canton Public Golf Course for the standards it set towards a public course's responsibility to its community to provide playing opportunities for all those who want to play and learn the game.

The will be presented to representataive of the course, city of New Haven and pro Larry Thornhill at the Walter Lowell PGA Tournament on May 31 at Clinton Country Club. Lowell was the longtime pro at the former Canton Golf Course, the 1978 PGA of America Professional of the Year and former president of the Connecticut Section PGA.

Established by the City of New Haven in 1929, Alling Memorial GC is a 6,248 yard, par 72 Robert D. Pryde designed championship golf course that has been open to the public since its inception. The primary purpose for developing the golf course was to provide affordable golf on an equal basis to all individuals in the surrounding communities.

Section president John Korolyshun is the pro at Mill River Country Club in Stratford but served as Alling Memorial's head pro from 1997 through 2004.

"When I was there, the city was more concerned with how many junior players they could service than any other program they were operating," Korolyshun said. "Junior golfers were never charged at Alling Memorial, and they have kept up this tradition by becoming one of The First Tee of Connecticut facilities."

The selection of Alling Memorial as the model public golf facility was made by the PGA Special Awards Committee. All public golf courses are nominated and welcomed to submit applications to be considered.

Thornhill, a former Connecticut Section PGA drector, tournament chairman and rules chairman, has participated in many Play Golf America initiatives as well as serving as a volunteer for Special Olympics golf the past 15 years. He has been instrumental in growing women's participation in golf through the establishment of leagues, clinics and rules and etiquette seminars. Alling also has a well organized men's club of more than 200 members that host weekly tournaments that are administered and supervised for rules and etiquette by Thornhill and the board of directors.

Since the 1950s, Alling has been the home course of The Knickerbockers Golf Club, an organization that promotes opportunities for minority golfers and hosts professional and amateur golf tournaments. Past players include Charlie Sifford and Calvin Peete. A documentary on the history of the Knickerbockers can be viewed at www.tomficklin.blogspot.com. The Knickerbockers now host an annual golf outing at Alling that attracts more than 100 minority golfers from across the Northeast region, and 20 to 25 members of the Knickerbockers organization play every Saturday and Sunday at Alling.

Over the years, PGA professionals employed by Alling have provided clinics, lessons and rules of the game instruction to area junior golfers as well as complimentary rounds for those juniors who could not afford to play. The tradition continues, as in 2005, Alling Memorial golf course was established as an official Chapter of The First Tee of Connecticut, which has been extremely active in providing free instruction, life skills and equipment. As a result, hundreds of kids have been introduced to the game at Alling, which is also the home course for four area high schools located in New Haven and East Haven.

Alling Memorial is also considered an attractive venue to host organized golf competitions. The course has been tabbed to host numerous local, state and national tournaments, including the 2000 United States Mid-Amateur qualifier, the 2004 U.S. Amateur Championship qualifier and the 2002 and 2008 Connecticut State Golf Association Public Links Championship.

The golf course conditions are equally respected.

"The golf course is absolutely beautiful now," Korolyshun said. "I give a lot of credit to golf course superintendent and manager Chris Ryan. He has some of the best public golf course greens in the section."

A proven leader in public golf through its growth of the game initiatives and support of community, state and national golf organizations, Alling Memorial continues to host nearly 45,000 rounds of golf a year, and the demand to play the course continues to grow.

"With the expressed commitment of the City of New Haven, which invested $1.5 million in bunkers, tees, drainage system and cart path renovations in 2005 to improve the golf course, our commitment to provide high quality, public access golf and growth of the game initiatives will undoubtedly continue for many years to come," Thornhill said.

Former recipients of the award were Canton Public Golf Course, East Mountain CC-Waterbury, Lyman Orchards GC-Middlefield, Raceway GC-Thompson, Shennecossett GC-Groton, Skungamaug River GC-Coventry, Stanley GC-New Britain, Tallwood CC-Hebron, Timberlin GC-Berlin and Tunxis Plantation CC-Farmington.

-- Jim McDonald of the Crumpin-Fox Club in Bernardston, Mass., was honored at the Western Massachusetts Tee Party. McDonald, who also achieved Quarter Century PGA Membership status earlier this month, was saluted and roasted by colleagues and associates.

-- Lake of Isles and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation in North Stonington presented their Junior Golf Scholarship Program scholarships to Sadie Martinez, 16, of Hartford; Michael Ford, 16, of Cheshire; Vivek Tedla, 14, of Newtown; Thomas Labbe, 13, of Watertown; Frankie Lee, 14, of Norwich; Spencer Salvas, 14, of Putnam; Eric Austin, 15, of Northford; Daniel "Finn" Boynton, 11, of Milford; Robert Allen III, of Ledyard; Justin Carter Jr., 12, of Mashantucket; and Melissa Iczkowski, 13, of Southwick, Mass.

The scholarship recipients will receive weekly practice and training sessions with a Lake of Isles Golf Academy instructor, complimentary standby playing privileges on Lake of Isles North Course and reduced fees for accompanied adult guests, unlimited use of the Lake of Isles practice facility, and a Lake of Isles golf bag, golf balls, polo shirt, windshirt and cap.

The recipients will begin their practice session May 22 and continue through Sept. 30. For information on Lake of Isles, call 888-475-3746 or visit www.lakeofisles.com.

-- The PGA of America has given high school and college Connecticut Section PGA scholarships to Brenden McMahon, son of Jim McMahon, pro at Wampanoag Country Club in West Hartford, and Paul V. Ryiz, son of pro Paul Ryiz of Brownson CC in Shelton. McMahon, a senior at E.O. Smith Regional High School in Storrs, was named the $2,000 High School Scholarship recipient, and Ryiz, a sophomore at the University of Florida, was named the $2,000 College Scholarship recipient for the second consecutive year.

The Travelers Championship will again be hosting Women's Day presented by the Travelers on June 23 at the TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

Here's the release that Connecticut's largest sporting event put out today:

The Travelers Championship is looking for volunteers, the lifeblood of Connecticut's largest sporting event.

The tournament is June 20-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, and volunteers are needed in a variety of areas, from scoring to helping in the merchandise tent to finance.

Shifts are five hours long, and volunteers can work one shift or the full day. All of the proceeds from the $6 million event are donated to charity. More than $25 million has been raised since the touranment began in 1952 as the Insurance City Open at Wethersfield Country Club.

To offer your services and help people in need, visit www.travelerschampionship.com or call the tournament office at 860-502-6800.

K.J. Choi's gallery at The Players Championship the last six years has included "Choi's Bois," six fans from Nashville, Tenn., who traveled to TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., to cheer on their favorite player.

This year, the sixsome decided to buy T-shirts and give themselves the nickname, and they ended up cheering on the winner early Sunday night.

Choi birdied the famed island green 17^th hole from 10 feet, watched playing partner David Toms make a miraculous birdie from a sand-filled divot on No. 18 and then made a difficult two-putt par in a return visit to the 17^th for the first playoff hole to win The Players Championship.

Choi, who missed three putts of 6 feet or less on the back nine, made a 5-footer for par at No. 18 to get into the playoff and then a 3-footer on the first extra hole. Toms gouged a 5-iron from 178 yards out of the sandy divot to 17 feet at No. 18 to set up the clutch closing birdie. But he ran a 19-foot birdie putt to win on the first playoff hole 31/2 feet past the cup and then lipped out his comebacker.

It was 44-year-old Toms' first three-putt of the tournament, and when Choi made a 3-foot par putt after trickling his birdie bid from 40 feet past the cup, the native of South Korea became the first Asian to win the championship.

"I just wasn't there on the putt," said Toms, who has committed to play in the Travelers Championship June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. "I was probably thinking ahead and thinking about the next hole and I just got up there and missed it."

Choi empathized with Toms.

"When he missed that putt, as a fellow player, I felt very sorry for him because I know how that feels," Choi said. "I felt bad for him."

Choi and Toms each shot closing 2-under-par 70 for a 72-hole total of 13-under 275, two ahead of journeyman Paul Goydos (69), who lost a playoff to Sergio Garcia in 2008 when he hit his tee shot on the 17^th hole into the water.

It was the eighth and biggest PGA Tour victory for Choi, who turns 41 Thursday and became the fourth consecutive international player to win The Players, following Tim Clark (South Africa, 2010), Henrik Stenson (Sweden, 2009) and Garcia (Spain). Choi didn't start playing golf until 16 at the suggestion of a high school teacher and taught himself the game reading Jack Nicklaus' book and watching his video entitled, "Golf My Way."

In the last six years, Choi has worked with swing coach Steve Bann.

"We've done a lot of work together, and to get to this point, I've put in a lot of time," Choi said. "The swing that I have right now doesn't really break down under pressure situations."

That largely explains why Choi has finished well in several majors, especially the Masters, and played the treacherous 16^th, 17^th and 18^th holes 4 under this week. Choi said being paired with Toms and 2010 U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell in the final round also helped because they're so easy to play with and helped him stay relaxed.

"When I started my day, one thing that I said to myself, that I told myself that I needed to do was not to get swept away by the cheers of the crowd," Choi said. "Not to get swept away by the pressure, by how my other players were doing."

Choi also credited caddie Andy Prodger for helping him achieve that objective. Prodger has caddied for 22 years and won 22 times, including two major championships. That experience went a long way Sunday, especially on the 16^th hole when Prodger reminded Choi to stay positive and that it was OK to lay up on the par-5.

"Andy is like my wife," Choi joked. "I mean, he's like my older brother, big brother. When I'm not playing well, he's got a lot of humor. He cracks a joke and makes me feel better. He's someone that gives me something to dream about. He gives me hope."

Choi gave Prodger a big win after his boss and Toms each had to play 31 holes after the third round was delayed 41/2 hours Saturday and had to be completed Sunday morning. Choi finished off a third-round, 5-under 67 to tie Toms (71) at 205, one more than McDowell of Northern Ireland. McDowell should have led by more except for a horrific bounce off a mound on his second shot at the 18^th hole that caromed 100 feet across the green and into the water, leading to a double-bogey 6 for 68.

After Choi and Toms broke from a pack of would-be challengers in the final round, the difference appeared as if it might be the 15^th hole. But Toms made a 14-foot putt to save par and Choi missed a 10-footer to tie, so instead of a possible lead change, Toms maintained a one-shot edge.

But Toms hit his second shot into the water and made bogey 6 at No. 16, where Choi missed a 6-foot birdie putt, settling for a tie for the lead. Choi then hit a 9 iron to 10 feet on the 17^th hole and curled in the putt for a birdie and the lead for the first time, causing him to punch his right arm.

Choi seemingly was helped at No. 18 when Toms hit his drive into the sandy divot in the middle of the fairway. Choi hit his approach short right in the rough, then Toms hit his approach from the divot to 17 feet. After Choi chipped to 4 feet, Toms drained the 17-footer for birdie, forcing Choi to make his par putt to get into the fourth consecutive playoff on the PGA Tour and 10^th in 20 events.

On the first playoff hole, Choi again hit a 9 iron but pulled it 40 feet left on a mound. Toms also hit another 9 iron left of the cup. Choi trickled his downhill putt to 3 feet, then Toms ran his birdie try past and lipped out the comebacker, giving Choi his first shot at victory that he didn't miss.

"I'm disappointed, but I hung in there," said Toms, a 12-time PGA Tour titlist but winless since the 2006 Sony Open. "It's the first time I've been in this position in a long time, and obviously the way I played 18 shows I still have it. But I think I could have putted a little better, so that's what I'll be working on."

Toms nearly quit the game eight years ago and was felled by a rapid heartbeat midway through the 84 Lumber Classic in 2005 that forced him to be taken off the course in an ambulance and later required surgery. Since then, he has had wrist surgery and back and rotator cuff injuries. It's a major reason he hasn't won in more than five years, but he was recently rejuvenated when his 13-year-old son Carter began playing golf and getting dad on the course more when he's at home in Shreveport, La.

Toms won the 2001 PGA Championship at Atlanta Athletic Club, which will host the year's final major in August and where he had one of the most memorable shots in major championship history, a hole-in-one on No. 15 with a 5 wood in the third round that helped him beat Phil Mickelson by a stroke.

Choi was a power lifter as a teenager in South Korea before taking up golf in 1987 and then winning his first two PGA Tour titles 15 years later. He also won twice in 2007 when he captured the Memorial Tournament hosted by Nicklaus and the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods. But he had special reason to win The Players Championship - for himself and "Choi's Bois."

"When we started coming here, we noticed this is a really nice guy plays the game the way it should be played," said Bobby Page, a vice president of a petroleum products company who forms half of the "Choi's Bois" group with sons Bo and Brad. "We just started following and haven't really cared about following anyone else since."

Before finishing the third round Sunday morning, Choi went to the group, introduced himself and asked them to meet him behind the 18^th green after the round for a picture. Page said Choi's eyes lit up when he saw the T-shirts and he told the group he wanted to put the picture on his website.

As the group fought for position on the first tee for the final pairing of Choi, Toms and McDowell on Sunday afternoon, they let out a loud roar as Choi's drive found the fairway. A few minutes later, Choi made a 45-foot birdie putt, prompting an even louder roar as a smiling Choi acknowledged the gallery.

"Some guys act like they don't enjoy it out there," Page said. "He always seems to be enjoying it, even on bad days. And he definitely always appreciates the fans."

They certainly appreciated Choi's fifth top-10 finish of the year.

"I'm just very thankful to the Lord," Choi said. "It's Him that allowed me to win this tournament. The fan support was tremendous, and I think the key thing was because it was such a long day, to maintain my body and rhythm, to get enough rest in between (rounds) and stay patient and not give up.

"I prayed really hard all through the day, and I think that's why God was able to give me this great gift. I also want to thank my playing partners. Both of them really helped me play the way I did, like a good friend would, like a good younger brother would. They were just fantastic playing partners, and I really kept me in rhythm, they kept me focused and I want to thank them for their attitude."

And Choi appreciated the support of the Tennessee sextet.

"I have no relationship with them," he said. "This is the first time I've seen them, and for them to fly all the way over just because they like me as a player and to support me the way they did, I'm very appreciative. It's really spectacular to see something like that. I felt that with support like that, every shot that I hit, I have to try my best. I didn't want to let them down, so it was a very good thing to see."

The 46-year-old Goydos birdied four of the last 10 holes for a closing 69 to finish third at 277, one ahead of the winners of the two World Golf Championships earlier this year, Nick Watney (71) and Englishman Luke Donald (71), who had a chance to become No. 1 in the world rankings but had to settle for his seventh consecutive top-10 finish.

"I'm actually quite pleased with the way I played," said Goydos, who had seven birdies in 24 holes Sunday. "Quite frankly, it's a tough course. The 13^th hole (three-putt from 45 feet) really was a good number. I hit a perfect distance and just maybe gunned it a little right to avoid the water, and it just didn't catch the wind."

Goydos birdied the par-5 16^th and made a 10-foot par putt at No. 18 to finish third alone.

McDowell, who will defend his U.S. Open title in four weeks at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., had six bogeys and a wet double-bogey 5 at No. 17 on the last 13 holes in shooting 79, which dropped him into a tie for 33^rd at 285 that also included Mickelson (73), the 2007 champion.

"I went back to the hotel and tried to set," McDowell said when asked how he tried to put the bad break at the end of the third round behind him. "I felt a little bit flat after 18 this morning, I really did. But I tried to pick myself back up again. I got off to a decent little start. Hung in there, hung in there, then made the bomb (from 40 feet) at No. 5. But the bogeys on 6 and 7 just killed me, killed my momentum completely. I just couldn't pick myself up.

"There were a few tired swings coming in there for sure. My legwork was pretty sloppy off the back nine. Yeah, it was a pretty ugly finish. I was just trying to get out of the boys' way a little bit, but you feel it's a bit of lonely place up there. But I take away a lot of positives. My game was a mess two weeks ago (he had missed three of his previous four cuts), and I said I was going to take the positives away whatever happened this weekend. I said I was going to stick to my guns. It's going to hurt for a few hours, but it was a tough task today. The golf course and the wind got up. It was tricky, and I just didn't have it."

Bubba Watson, who defends for the first time in the Travelers Championship, completed one of the strangest tournaments in history with a 68, moving him from a tie for 67^th to a share of 45^th at 286. Watson shot 76-66-76-68, making two birdies, four bogeys and a double bogey in both the first and third rounds and 13 birdies and only three bogeys in the second and fourth rounds.

But the three bogeys came on his last four holes Sunday. After starting the final round on No. 10, Watson was 7 under for 13 holes before he bogeyed Nos. 6, 8 and 9. Still, it wasn't all that bad a week for someone who doesn't like the Sawgrass course and didn't play a practice round. He's still No. 1 on the FedEx Cup standings and should be in a pretty good mood for Travelers Championship Media Day on Tuesday. Then again, Bubba is almost always in a good mood -- when he's not crying and hugging wife Angie or mom Molly after winning, which he has done twice this year and three times in less than 11 months.

University of Hartford grad Jerry Kelly birdied the first two holes and made eagle 3 at No. 16 but closed with his seventh bogey of the day for 75-291 and a tie for 64^th.

There's not suppose to be any cheering in the press box -- or from the living room couch -- but I have to admit I'll be rooting for Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell this weekend in The Players Championship.

No, I haven't become a sucker for McDowell's wonderful Irish brogue. No, I'm not being a frontrunner because McDowell won the U.S. Open last year. Heck, the bearded Irishman has struggled most of the season and had missed three of his last four cuts heading to Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

But on Wednesday, McDowell made 13-year-old Michael DeVries' dream come true when they shared some time together on the driving range at TPC Sawgrass. That came after they met outside the clubhouse and McDowell and his parents sat in on McDowell's pre-tournament interview in the press room.

Once on the range, McDowell and DeVries, who needs a liver transplant, spoke freely and thoroughly enjoyed their time together. DeVries, a lefthander, even hit some shots under McDowell's watchful eye, and then McDowell had the two switch clubs and hit from the opposite side. McDowell admitted Michael won the "experiment."

When McDowell asked Michael if he was going to go watch Tiger Woods play a few holes (before he withdrew Tbursday after a 42 on the front nine because of knee and Achilles' injuries), Michael said he was going to go and watch the always entertaining action at the par-3 17th hole with the island green. McDowell agreed that might be a good idea.

When McDowell asked Michael who his favorite player was, no need asking what the teen's answer was. After the two posed for pictures, shared high-fives and were about to go their separate ways, McDowell autographed one of his gloves and gave it to Michael.

McDowell then went out in the first two rounds and shot 67-69, his 8-under-par total putting him in a tie for third, two strokes behind leader David Toms. Nothing against Toms or runner-up Nick Watney or favored Luke Donald or 2009 U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover or Steve Stricker or 2007 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner Hunter Mahan or other would-be challengers like gregarious reigning Travelers Championship titlist Bubba Watson, but my wish is that McDowell's generosity is rewarded come Sunday afternoon.

If you want to watch 21/2 minutes of Graeme and Michael, visit pgatour.com. I recommend it. It'll make you feel good -- and a Graeme McDowell fan.

You can also watch a two-minute clip centering on Fairfield native and 2006 Buick Championship winner J.J. Henry and close friend Chad Campbell reading books to students last week during the Wells Fargo Championship's "Reading Above Par" initiative. Nothing new for Henry, who established the Henry Foundation after winning in Cromwell and now raises money and donates to the First Tee of Connecticut, which has a home base at TPC River Highlands.

For a guy who doesn't like TPC Sawgrass, Bubba Watson sure enjoyed himself Friday in the second round of The Players Championship.

Watson, who will defend his Travelers Championship title in five weeks, had a bogey-free, 6-under-par 66 that was the low round of the day and vaulted him from a tie for 123^rd to a share of 34^th heading into the weekend in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.

After lipping out a 6-foot birdie putt at No. 16, Watson capped his lowest round at TPC Sawgrass with a 47-footer for 2 on the famed island green at the 17^th hole for his sixth birdie of the day. When the ball disappeared into the cup, Watson thrust his arms in the air and then got a tap of the fists with playing partner Luke Donald, who then made a 6-foot putt for birdie.

It was a 10-stroke improvement for Watson, who had only two birdies, four bogeys and a double-bogey 6 in an opening round 76. The 66 was only his fourth par-or-better round in 12 at Sawgrass, and his only other round in the 60s was a 67 in 2009, when his other made cut in four previous starts was a tie for 39th.

After not playing a practice round and looking as if he would miss his second cut of the year, Watson's 36-hole total of 142 is eight behind leader David Toms, who shot 68 and has also committed to the Travelers Championship on June 23-26. Watson, who won the Farmers Insurance Open in January and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in a playoff with close friend Webb Simpson two weeks ago to move into first in the FedEx Cup standings, will be visiting TPC River Highlands in Cromwell on Tuesday for Travelers Championship Media Day.

Toms, who had six birdies and two bogeys after carding six birdies in an opening 66, is one stroke ahead of first-round leader Nick Watney (71) and two in front of Donald (67), Steve Stricker (67) and the last two U.S. Open champions, Lucas Glover (71) and Graeme McDowell (69), who missed three of his previous four cuts.

Donald, who could displace Watson as No. 1 on the FedEx Cup list with a win,  has been out of the Top 10 only once since September and is the first player since former University of Hartford standout Jerry Kelly in 2004 to make it around Sawgrass without a bogey the first two rounds. Glover beat former Clemson teammate Jonathan Byrd on the first playoff hole Sunday to win the Wells Fargo Championship for his first title since the 2009 U.S. Open.

Phil Mickelson, the 2007 champion, shot a 5-under 31 on his first nine holes, the back side, to get within two of the lead. But he had a 41 on the front nine for a second straight 71 and a tie with Watson and nine others, including 2009 Players winner Sergio Garcia (68), two-time U.S. Open titlist Retief Goosen (69), Dustin Johnson (70) and two-time Greater Hartford Open champion Stewart Cink (72), seeking his first victory since the 2009 British Open.

Kelly shot 70 to move into a tie for 47^th at 143. Kelly's former U of H teammate Tim Petrovic (73-148) and Fairfield native and 2006 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner J.J. Henry (73-147) missed the 144 cut.

Mrs. Elizabeth Caron says she's lovin' her new job as a teaching pro.

But the West Hartford native and record-setting, four-time All-American at Duke formerly known as Liz Janangelo is coming out of competitive "retirement" to play in the Connecticut Women's Open on May 30-June 1 at the Golf Club of Oxford Greens in Oxford.

You can only imagine my wife's excitement when I told her about the Travelers Championship's latest announcement Tuesday.

No, Ryan Palmer, her favorite player, hasn't committed to the $6 million event June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. But Huey Lewis and the News, her second favorite musical group behind the Beach Boys, will be appearing June 25 at 7 p.m., about an hour after the third round ends.

My wife and I got to see Huey and his group several years ago when they were the featured attraction at the CVS Charity Classic in Rhode Island hosted by 2005 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade. I was covering the event for the Hartford Courant, and Billy was nice enough to get us into Huey's concert at an awards dinner at a hotel in Providence hosting the players and sponsors.

Eddie Money also will perform June 22 at 7 p.m. in Subway Fan Zone in the center of the coures as part of The Reach Foundation's REACH Concert Series.

"With the support of The REACH Foundation, we are excited to announce these great artists coming to our event in 2011," Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube said in a statement. "Huey Lewis and the News and Eddie Money have been entertaining fans for decades, and we are excited to have them join us this June. In addition to the music, we look forward to building a strong partnership with The REACH Foundation, which will have a direct impact on children throughout our community."

Fans can attend the REACH Concert Series by purchasing any one day ticket, which gives fans access to the tournament and all of the entertainment throughout the day. The Travelers Championship and The Reach Foundation are holding the concerts to raise money and awareness to support charitable organizations and programs focusing on children in need. In addition to its own programs, The REACH Foundation also assists other local and national charities, including The Make-A-Wish Foundation, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, The Petit Family Foundation, YMCA, Girls Scouts, Boys & Girls Club and Big Brothers Big Sisters.

"It is a real opportunity for The REACH Foundation to be partnering with the Travelers Championship, and bringing these two legends of rock to the tournament," Mark Wilson, president and co-founder of The REACH Foundation, said in a statement. "Music has a way of delivering messages to people that often times the spoken or written word cannot. It is my hope that through this partnership with the Travelers Championship, we can utilize this concert series to deliver the message of children's needs while providing exciting post-play entertainment."

Huey Lewis and the News have been rock n' roll stars for more than three decades. The band has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide thanks to classic Top 10 Hits that include "Heart of Rock & Roll," "Stuck with You," "I Want a New Drug," "If this is it," "Hip to be Square" and "Workin' for a Livin." The group also wrote "The Power of Love" for the Academy Award-winning movie "Back to the Future." Huey Lewis and the News has also won two Grammy Awards.

In his tennis Hall of Fame prime, many considered Ivan Lendl little than a robotic metronome.

Little did they really know the real phenom from the Czech Republic. Lendl is a constant jokester and story teller as he demonstrated again Monday at the 16^th annual Hospital for Special Care Ivan Lendl Golf Classic at Wethersfield Country Club. The event has raised nearly $2 million for the care center in New Britain, whose motto is "We Build Lives" and includes an adaptive sports camp that will be held this year at St. Joseph's College in West Hartford on Aug. 8-12.

Lendl got involved with the fundraiser after meeting Jonathan Slifka of West Hartford, whose mother Janeace started the tournament after her son, who has spinal bifida, had been a March of Dimes poster child for the Hartford Whalers in the mid-1980s and then with Lendl in 1988.

After Slifka and his mother learned there were no wheelchair sports camps in the Northeast, Lendl lended a large helping hand. The first camp started in 1991, and then Lendl helped with a tennis fundraiser. After persistent back problems forced Lendl to retire in 1994 after winning 144 career titles, including eight Grand Slam events, the tournament became a golf fundraiser.

"I hooked Jonathan's parents up with people who showed him how to play tennis in a wheelchair," Lendl said. "They came up with the idea of raising money and having the camp in the summer."

"Through Lendl's help and fundraisers such as Monday's tournament, my mother was able to pretty much single-handed start a wheelchair sports camp," Slifka said. "She ran it on her own for about five years, and then she turned it over to the Hospital for Special Care, and they've been running it ever since."

The camp is open free of charge to "mentally able but physically challenged" youngsters age 8-17. Six to eight counselors in wheelchairs will coach the campers. Hospital for Special Care has sponsored the camp for 16 years, raising more than $100,000 annually. Those interested in attending the camp should contact camp director Janet Connolly at connollj@hfsc.org.

The hospital and camp have helped thousands of individuals, including 20-year-old Kristin Michelle Duquette of East Hartford, a sophomore at Trinity College in Hartford majoring in human rights. Duquette, who has muscular dystrophy, has been involved with the Hospital for Special Care's Adaptive Sports Program for four years as a swimmer. She is ranked as one of the top two swimmers in the United States and has represented the country in national and international events.

Duquette is an American and junior national record holder and has completed a Half Ironman open ocean (1.2 miles) swim. In 2009, she competed in her first international event at the Young Parapans in Bogota, Columbia, and a year later, she was captain of the U.S. Paralympic Team for the Greek Open, winning one gold and three silver medals. Last month, she was one of three swimmers and one coach from the Hospital for Special Care selected to participate in the National Paralympic Swim Competition in Minneapolis, Minn.

Duquette's ultimate goal is to compete in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, England, and it would be hard to bet against her after the inspirational speech she delivered at the tournament dinner Monday night.

"I'm so thankful for the Hospital for Special Care enabling me to grow into the role model that I wanted to be," Duquette told about 200 people, including a record 150 that played in the tournament. "It instills hope for the future."

Duquette, a self-professed challenged athlete and motivational speaker, has a publication entitled "Kourage Makes a Difference," a takeoff on her initials. Her website is www.kristinduqette.com, and she can be contacted at 860-722-4577, kmduq369@aol.com or Kouragemakesdif@aol.com. If you want some inspirational words, I recommend Kristin.

One of the newest beneficiaries of the Hospital for Special Care is Newington's Joe "Gypsy" Grillo, 60, a caddie on the PGA Tour for 29 years and the Champions Tour for the last six. Grillo's best known employers have been Curtis Strange, Jay Haas, Steve Elkington and Jim Simons, who lost a tournament-record, six-hole playoff to Howard Twitty in the 1980 Greater Hartford Open at Wethersfield CC.

Grillo, who also was the president and cook for the Professional Tour Caddies Association, recently was diagnosed with a pulmonary problem that was exacerbated by asthma and smoking cigarettes. After three weeks at the Hospital for Special Care, Grillo has started eight weeks of outpatient rehabilitation while in a wheelchair.

"They've helped me so much overcoming something I knew nothing about," Grillo said. "I was completely panicking because I couldn't breathe. I'd actually go into a panic mode where I was gagging for air. I didn't know how to make care of myself, but with all the special training, you can live with lung disease.

"I'll never be able to run the marathon again, but I can definitely live a good life learning how to breathe and exercise and slowing myself down because I've always been such a go-go-go guy. I have clogged ears and ear infection that has made me very dizzy, so a lot of things collided and caught up with me. But they've taught me to overcome a lot of things."

When not helping raise money for charity, Lendl practices and plays golf, plays about 20 tennis exhibitions a year, helps run his academy in Florida or follows the exploits of three golfing daughters. Marika and Isabelle play at the University of Florida, and Danielle, affectionately known as Crash, is finishing high school and will be attending Alabama in the fall.

Marika had shoulder surgery and is out until October, but Isabelle finished 11^th in a regional for the NCAA Women's Golf Championship last week and will competing with her Gators teammates May 18-21 at the Traditions Club in College Station, Texas. Danielle had ankle surgery and will be sidelined several months but plans to play in the Connecticut State Women's Amateur Golf Championship at Timberlin GC in Berlin on Aug. 15-17.

Lendl, 51, who has a plus-2 handicap, will play in the U.S. Open local qualifying Tuesday at Newport (R.I.) Country Club and will also try to qualify for the Connecticut Open and play in senior events throughout New England. For the last three years, he has run the Ivan Lendl Champions Academy in Bradenton, Fla., and now Vera Beach, and he'll soon be starting a tennis academy in Hilton Head, S.C.

A couple of South Africans -- and the PGA Tour -- earned high marks for class Sunday.

First, Thomas Aiken notched his first European Tour title with a two-shot victory in the Spanish Open in Terrassa and then dedicated the win to golf legend Seve Ballesteros, who died early Saturday morning.

Then Tim Clark asked the PGA Tour to fly the Spanish flag at The Players, which begins Thursday at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. The tour normally flies the flag of country of the defending champion at the clubhouse, but Clark asked the South African flag be replaced by that of Spain. The tour agreed.

Aiken prevailed when he shot a 2-under-par 70 for a 10-under total of 278 to beat Denmark's Anders Hansen, who closed with 70.

Ballesteros died from complications of a cancerous brain tumor that he battled for nearly three years. Aiken said the 54-year-old Spaniard, who won the Spanish Open three times, was "everything to the game of golf and I am happy to have won for him."

Ballesteros' 87 victories included a record 50 on the European Tour and five majors.

"It's been a sad week with Seve passing away," Aiken said. "I definitely want to dedicate this win to him with it being his home open and what he gave to his home fans and to golf. He was everything to the game of golf and I am happy to have won for him -- any of us would have won for him."

Ballesteros revolutionized European golf with his Ryder Cup performances and the 50 European Tour wins, the last of which came in the 1995 Spanish Open.

"I remember Seve, how he enjoyed life and how he enjoyed the game," Aiken said. "He has been an inspiration for me and has kept me working hard."

Aiken started the final round with a two-shot lead that he never lost on the way to winning the $450,000 first prize. He is the fifth South African to win an event this season, including Masters champion Charl Schwartzel.

Jose Maria Olazabal's emotional weekend ended with a 77 to finish 18 shots back in 56th place. Olazabal and Ballesteros were the Ryder Cup's most successful pairing, and the Spanish player wept openly on Saturday after his friend's death.

But we can all cheer for Aiken and Clark for their classy acts. Here's hoping Clark has a successful week.

Ditto for the PGA Tour, which held a one-minute moment of silence for Seve on Sunday at 3:08 p.m. on the regular, Champions and Nationwide tours.

The news of Seve Ballesteros' death Saturday morning hit hard in the Berlet household in Glastonbury.

The Spanish genius was one of the first players I interviewed when I covered my first major championship, the 1977 Masters, for The Hartford Courant. I still have the picture that my wife Nancy took of me and several other writers chatting with a 20-year-old Seve in the players' parking lot at Augusta National Golf Club.

And about the only people who followed Seve more at Augusta National and any U.S. Open that my wife attended were his wife and handlers. Three of her most prized possessions are an autographed program from the first round of the 1989 Westchester Classic on June 8, her 40th birthday; an autographed picture of Seve hitting a shot in the 1995 Spanish Open, his 50th and final win on the European Tour; and a scorecard from the 1980 Masters, his first of two victories at Augusta National.

"He was my all-time favorite to watch because he was swashbuckling," Nancy said. "He could get out of trouble from anywhere. And he did the fist pump before Tiger Woods."

Indeed. Seve's signature moment came after he made a 15-foot birdie putt on the 18th green at famed St. Andrews in Scotland to clinch the 1984 British Open. He kept punching his right fist as he slowly did a near 360 salute to the fans surrounding one of the most historic plots of real estate in all of golf.

Even Seve called it "the greatest moment of my career," so much so that he tattooed it on his left forearm.

Seve had plenty of memorable moments, from that final stroke at the home of golf to the birdie he made from a temporary parking lot (there's that place again) in winning his first of three British Opens to the birdie-eagle-birdie start he had in capturing his first of two Masters green jackets.

Seve also was a central figure in the most famous Masters in 1986, when Jack Nicklaus shot 30 on the back nine to win a record sixth green jacket. Seve led most of the way before he chunked his 4-iron second shot into the water at the par-5 15th hole. It brought a chorus of cheers (from Americans) and groans (from Europeans and my wife). He would bogey the hole and the 17th, receiving a warm hand as he walked off the 71st hole from fans who realized his dream to win a third green jacket had disappeared.

But Seve won 87 titles worldwide and was the most influential player in European golf, winning a record 50 times and being the heart and soul of that continent's side in eight Ryder Cups. He was best known for teaming with Jose Marie Olazabal to form the Spanish Armada that lost only twice in 15 matches against the Americans. And when Seve, who was 20-12-5 as a player, captained Europe to victory at Valderamma in his native Spain in 1997, I can still picture him racing around in his golf cart as if a Formula I driver in the Spanish Grand Prix.

It resembled his playing style, a matador in cleats who, as my wife said, seemed as if he could pull a Houdini from any predicament. Unfortunately, no one defeats cancer, which ultimately was his demise at the still young age of 54 after a nearly three-year battle with the horrid disease. He had been recuperating at his home in northern Spain after chemotherapy and four operations to remove tumors and reduce swelling in his skull since he was diagnosed with two malignant brain tumors in 2008 following a collapse at the airport in Madrid.

"He did for European golf what Tiger Woods did for worldwide golf," three-time major winner and 1993 Greater Hartford Open champion Nick Price said at the Champions Tour's first major of the year, the Regions Tradition in Birmingham, Ala. "The European Tour would not be where it is today if not for Seve Ballesteros. The guy, he was an icon, just an incredible golfer. I always said most of us could shoot 65 about 30 or 40 different ways. He had about 10,000 ways of shooting 65."

Rumors circulated late Friday night and early Saturday morning that Seve had died, and the news was confirmed by a statement on his website that said: "Today, at 2:10 a.m. Spanish time, Seve Ballesteros passed away peacefully surrounded by his family at his home in Pedrena. The Ballesteros family is very grateful for all the support and gestures of love that have been received since Seve was diagnosed with a brain tumor on 5th October 2008 at Madrid Hospital la Paz. At this time the family asks for respect and privacy at such a painful time. Thank you very much."

Seve's funeral will be Wednesday at St. Peter's Church in Pedrena at 1 p.m. local time. A wake will follow at his family home, with only family and close friends attending as Seve will be cremated. Miguel Angel Revilla, head of the local Cantabria government, said the region will observe three days of official mourning.

Ironically, Seve died in the midst of the Spanish Open, that last win as a pro in 1995, four years before he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. Players honored Seve's memory Saturday with a moment of silence and black ribbons pinned to their caps. But many players had difficulty speaking Friday when informed Seve's condition had severely deteriorated only two days after he had been re-admitted to the hospital.

Olazabal, a two-time Masters champion inspired by Seve since childhood, was too emotional to speak to reporters after his round, saying, "I can't talk. I can only wait, and cry."

Miguel Angel Jimenez, another Spaniard and Seve's vice captain in the 1997 Ryder Cup, was in tears after he played alongside Olazabal, who had given a touching speech at the Masters champions dinner last month. Olazabal, the European captain for the 2012 Ryder Cup, recently said his dream was to have Seve alongside him in Chicago next fall. The pair met two weeks ago when Seve was in a wheelchair.

But enough negative. I'll always remember Seve as the smiling innovative passionate genius with plenty of chutzpah. He and two-time GHO champion Paul Azinger had some legendary run-ins at the Ryder Cup over coin jingling in pockets and rules interpretations. It was all part of the life of a flamboyant pioneer in European golf almost from the day he turned pro at age 16 in 1974 and finished second to Nicklaus in the British Open at Birkdale two years later.

"Seve was the most passionate player I have ever faced and the most patriotic," Azinger, the 1993 PGA champion, said in a statement released by ESPN for whom he works as an analyst. "Tremendous flare for the game. Even though we've had some tense moments, we respected each other and our differences were resolved after the '91 Ryder Cup. He was one of the first players to call me when I got sick (with cancer) in '93. We played a Shell Wonderful World of Golf match at St. Andrews in '95. One of the most talented and flamboyant players ever to play the game."

Perhaps PGA of America president Allen Wronowski said it best for all of us.

"In every generation, there appears one performer in sport who stands out above another for more than just ability alone," Wronowski said in a statement. "Seve Ballesteros, the gallant warrior from Pedrena, Spain, was the ultimate competitor. We were fortunate to have had him choose golf, where he did more than win championships, but proudly became an ambassador for our sport's global appeal.

"Seve played with a rare combination of talent and heart, and his intensity endeared him to his teammates in the Ryder Cup, a competition that elevated his talent and leadership. As long as the pipes may play to call teams together for the Ryder Cup, they will play for Seve. We shall miss him dearly, and we mourn with his family and his many friends and fans throughout the world."

Seve was the first from Europe to win the Masters, in 1980, a feat he repeated three years later. He won The Open in 1979, '84 and '88 but wasn't well enough to make a planned trip to St. Andrews to say a farewall to the fans at last year's British Open. But at the Masters last month, Phil Mickelson dedicated a Spanish-themed champions' dinner to an absent Seve, the man he credits with getting him to start playing golf.

Little wonder Phil is so imaginative and plays a similar style as Seve, especially after playing a practice round with him before his first PGA Tour event.

"From that day on, he couldn't have been nicer to me," Mickelson said at the Wells Fargo Championship in Charlotte, N.C., where players also wore black ribbons pinned to their caps. "He showed me a few things, showed me a few shots, and ever since then, we've had a good relationship. ... Because of the way he played the game, you were drawn to him."

After a brief stint on the Champions Tour, back trouble and an errant driver forced Seve to retire in 2007, and he turned his attention to course design. Wonder if he built any holes on a beach, which is where he learned to play the game and be so creative at 7, hitting pebbles with a wood-shafted 3 iron near his native Santander.

"I think Seve had a great attitude," fellow swashbuckler Arnold Palmer once said. "He was a flamboyant, high-flying guy that got to the job. And winning the tournaments he won, he did it with style."

Nicklaus, whose Memorial Tournament will honor Seve later this month, said, "His record, his charisma, his passion -- he's been great for the game. His spirit was the European Ryder Cup team."

Seve recently said his 4-iron into the water that helped Jack win the 1986 Masters stalled his career at 26.

"I lose the finishing punch," he told Golf Digest.

The father of three had hoped to win a third green jacket for his father, Baldomero, who had died of lung cancer the previous month.

And now we've lost Seve, one of four pro golfing brothers, to that dreaded disease. In some ways it's a blessing because it's never easy to see someone suffer, especially a legend in his walk of life.

"Seve has been probably the most creative player who's ever played the game," said Woods, who knows a thing or two about creativity with golf clubs. "I've never seen anyone who had had a better short game than him. He was a genius."

But even geniuses can't beat cancer as Seve inferred in 2010 during his final television interview with the BBC.

"You can't have it all in life," he said. "One day you feel fantastic, the next you never know what is going to happen. You just gake a look at how many days of glory I had before. It has been a fantastic life and this, what has happened to me, is what I will call destiny, one test that God is putting on me."

That final test led to a few appearances or public statements in recent years about his Seve Ballesteros Foundation to fight cancer. A classic gentleman and competitor to the end.

RIP, Severiano.

Tiger Woods has recovered enough from knee and Achilles injuries to commit to play in The Players next week at the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedrea Beach, Fla.

This year's event marks the 10-year anniversary of his victory in 2001 when he made a 60-foot downhill, curling putt from the back of the famed island green on the 17th hole that brought the famous "Better Than Most" cal from NBC analyst Gary Koch.

Woods will making his first PGA Tour start he tied for fourth in the Masters four weeks ago. He was scheduled to compete in this week's Wells Fargo Championship but was unable to do so due to what he had described as "minor" injuries.

Woods has never missed the cut in 13 appearances at The Players. He withdrew six holes into the final round in 2010 with a neck injury after rounds of 70-71-71.

Woods sustained a Grade 1 collateral ligament sprain to his left knee and a mild strain to his left Achilles tendon as he was hitting an "awkward" shot from the pine straw near the Eisenhower Pine on the 17th hole during the third round of the Masters.

"Minor injury keeps me from playing Wells Fargo," Woods tweeted at the time. "Apologies to tourney & fans, but working hard to get healthy."

The injuries complicated Woods' attempt to return to form after major knee surgery after his last major win in the 2008 U.S. Open and then a sex scandal that has altered his life on and off the course, including a divorce from wife Elin. Woods has had four surgeries on his left knee as well as an injury to his right Achilles in December, 2008.

Woods has dropped to seventh in the world rankings after not winning a PGA Tour event since September 2009 and a tournament anywhere since November of that year at the Australian Masters.

So sorry to hear Seve Ballesteros has sustained "a severe deterioration" in his condition after brain surgery in 2008.

The 54-year-old Ballesteros is being cared for at home in the northern Spanish town of Pedrena, where he has been recovering from multiple operations performed three years ago to remove a malignant brain tumor.

"The Ballesteros family informs that Seve's neurological condition has suffered a severe deterioration," a statement on the golfer's website said. "The family will inform accordingly about any change in his health condition and takes this opportunity of thanking everyone for the support that both Seve and his own family have been receiving during all this time."

Ballesteros' problems began when he fainted at Madrid's international airport before boarding a flight to Germany on Oct. 6, 2008 and was diagnosed with the brain tumor. He had four operations, including a 6½-hour procedure to remove the tumor and reduce swelling around the brain. After leaving the hospital, his treatment continued with chemotherapy.

While looking more thin and pale, Ballesteros made several public appearances in 2009 after being given what he referred to as the "mulligan of my life." He has rarely been seen in public since March 2010 when he fell off a golf cart and banged his head on the ground. His few appearances or public statements were usually in connection through work with his Seve Ballesteros Foundation to fight cancer.

Ballesteros retired in 2007 because of a long history of back pain and has focused on golf course design since then.

HAMDEN - Lisa Fern-Boros experienced the ultimate in a mixed bag of emotions as she traveled around and played nine holes at New Haven Country Club on Thursday.

Lisa was back at the annual Julius Boros Challenge Cup Matches that pit the top players from the Connecticut Section PGA and Connecticut State Golf Association, sharing some smiles and good times with the players and officials who think so much of the 1982 World Golf Hall of Fame inductee from Fairfield who lent his name to one of the state's best golf events.

Lisa also watched Canaan Country Club pro Fran Marrello play in the matches for the 34^th time, having missed only six since their inception at Tumble Brook Country Club in 1972. Marrello started in the event as an amateur playing with one of his Thursday opponents, Dave Szewczul, who was also making his 34^th appearance. Marrello then joined the pro side after becoming one of the section's top players for nearly three decades while winning a record 15 championships.

Lisa had every reason to follow - and cheer just a bit harder - for Marrello. One of the most influential people in Fran's life was Julius Boros, whom Marrello worked for at Turnberry Isle in North Miami Beach, Fla., in the winters in 1984-86. Turnberry Isle isn't far from where Julius and his wife, Armen, lived at Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Coral Ridge is where Julius died in 1994 at 74 as he quietly slumped in his golf cart under a willow tree beside the 16th green, a heart attack taking him so calmly the first threesome that passed by believed he was only napping. It was his favorite place, a shady spot beside a pond where he liked to watch golfers play through - when not participating in his second favorite pastime, fishing.

Thursday was the first time Lisa attended the Challenge Cup Matches without her beloved husband Lance, who also died suddenly on Feb. 24 at 53.

"This was always one of the highlights of the year for Lance, kind of the start of the season," Lisa said while waiting to hit her tee shot on the 13^th hole.

Like Julius, Lance loved his golf, along with Lisa, family, friends, traveling and cooking after earning a culinary arts degree at the Connecticut Culinary Institute in New Haven.

"Lance's passion was golf because of his connections to his uncle Julius because his father had passed away when he was young," Lisa said. "He was raised by his mother's side of the family, and none of them played golf. He picked up the game himself, and I have my golf game to thank for him teaching himself because when I first met him just out of college I didn't even play golf.

"We met at work, and it's kind of fate because we worked in the same department when we got our first apartment. We were actually houses apart and both lived in the top floor of two-family houses so we could actually see each other's apartment. So I guess it was kind of fate that we met."

Lisa learned to play thanks to lessons that Lance bought for her.

"When I learned, I learned properly," said Lisa, who works at Pitney Bowes in Shelton. "I wasn't excellent right away, but after a couple years I figured out I really liked the game. Now I tell people that he created a monster. I played more golf and took more time off from work to play than he did."

It's a major reason why Lisa got a bit emotional as she related her story/love affair in a five-minute speech during dinner Thursday night.

"Golf is a gift," Lisa said. "It was a gift that was given to Lance through his father. Even though he didn't get it directly, his father was a very efficient amateur golfer. The story goes that he was the best golfer of the three brothers, and he was given that gift of golf. Anyone who's a golfer, whether they're competitive or not, knows that golf can enrich their life. That's what it did for Lance and what it has done for me."

Lisa and Lance occasionally got time off from their jobs to play at least nine holes on the day of the Challenge Cup Matches. If not, they made certain to arrive before dinner to share the stories and camaraderie that make the Challenge Cup Matches so terrific and then present the winning captain with the trophy that bears the name of the greatest player in state golf annals.

Thursday, Lisa played without Lance. I was delighted to have the privilege to ride and play the nine holes with her, but I felt a bit awkward as a "fill-in" for someone who had meant so much to Lisa for so many years.

"Lance was more of a fixture here than anyone else in the family," said Lisa, who lived with her husband in the Huntington section of Shelton when he died.

Thursday was especially difficult for Lisa because it was the 10^th anniversary of their Challenge Cup debut. They were in Florida visiting Armen, Julius' widow, when she handed them an invitation to the Challenge Cup Matches from former CSGA executive director Bruce Wilson.

"I don't know that we were really aware of the event, but I wrote a letter to Bruce explaining the family history in Connecticut and said we'd be willing to stand in if he wanted," Lisa said. "Bruce was thrilled to get my letter and extended the invitation."

That also was about the time Lisa got involved in playing state amateur events. Her first handicap was 16, which is four times her current number. She has played well in numerous state events, winning the Southern New England Women's Golf Association Championship in 2004 and qualifying for several U.S. Golf Association tournaments and the State Team Championship twice, including last year. She's now on the SNEWGA and Connecticut Women's Golf Association board of directors and a new member of the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame selection committee.

"I'm now a history bank of golf in Connecticut for the most part, especially women," Lisa said with a smile.

Like Julius, Lance was born in Bridgeport (April 9, 1957) and then raised in Stratford by the late Lance Boros Jr. and Madeline Soda Boros. He graduated from Bunnell High School in Stratford in 1975 and went on to earn an associate's degree in business at Housatonic Community College and then the culinary arts degree. He was a configuration engineer, working more than 13 years at Sikorsky Aircraft in Stratford. Before that, he worked for Avco Lycoming in Stratford for 13 years and was a chef at the 19th Hole restaurant in Bridgeport for a short time.

Lance's father, a Fairfield native, was an accomplished amateur golfer, and his uncles were noted professionals Ernest and Julius, a four-time U.S. Ryder Cup Team member whose 18 PGA Tour titles included the U.S. Open in 1952 and 1963, the latter in a playoff with Arnold Palmer and Jacky Cupit at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass., and the PGA Championship in 1968, when he beat Palmer and Bob Charles by a shot to become the oldest to win a major at 48. Lance began playing golf as a teenager shortly after his parents died and discovered an affinity for the sport that eventually took him to some of the best courses in the world, including the Old Course at St. Andrews in Scotland.

A special highlight for Lance was caddying for his cousin, Guy Boros, Julius' son, at the Greater Hartford Open and for Lisa in local and USGA events.

"I remember one year, I think it was 1993, when there was a water main break at Sikorsky so a bunch of Lance's friends got the day off and decided to go to the GHO," Lisa said. "When he and Guy were walking along, people kept yelling, 'Hey, Lance.' Guy finally said, 'There are more people here to watch you than me.' "

Lance also was a member of the Highland Golf Club in Shelton, where he served on the board of governors. He is remembered for his smile and laughter that would light up a room and many tees, fairways and greens and for his kindness, generosity and eagerness to help others. I know because I was often a part of that as we spoke and occasionally played together.

A smiling face and terrific disposition is how Marrello remembers Lance.

"Lance and Lisa became my good friends through the Challenge Cup the past 10 years," Marrello said. "He was always a very gregarious, fun-loving guy who obviously loved his golf. He loved being part of the Challenge Cup Matches and representing the Boros family. I was shocked when Lisa called to tell me of his death, and I called Armen to give her my condolences. He really was quite a guy."

Lisa received many condolences and well wishes Thursday, just as she has since Lance's sudden and sad death 21/2 months ago.

"One fella at Lance's wake said that it didn't matter if he was shooting 72 or a million because he always had a smile on his face and made you feel good, too," Lisa said.

That certainly has been the motto of the Julius Boros Challenge Cup Matches for four decades. Play the best you can, but, more importantly, enjoy your surroundings and your partner and opponents.

For the record, the CSGA beat the PGA 341/2-281/2 Thursday for their third straight consecutive victory, something the amateurs had achieved only once previously in 1981-83. New Haven CC club champion Aaron Gross and Rudy Hermstadt of East Mountain GC in Waterbury led the amateurs by winning 81/2 of a possible nine points in the Nassau-style competition as the CSGA improved to 29-11 in the series.

The amateurs won despite the host club's Evan Beirne, who shot a course-record, 13-under-par 58 last year, turning pro to play in the Massachusetts Open. The tournament isn't until mid-June, but the entry deadline was last week. His replacement, Tom Scarrozzo of Blue Fox Run GC in Avon, teamed with Tom McCarthy of Twin Hills CC in Coventry to split their matches with Tom Gleeton (Waterbury) and Ed Slattery (Candlewood Valley GC-New Milford).

New Haven pro Bill Wallis and assistant Bill Street led the PGA with eight points, two more than Marrello and Greg Farley (Quaboag GC-Monson, Mass.).

But the score often seems irrelevant. A perfect finish every year would be 311/2-311/2. It' more about the friendships and camaraderie, as Lance and Lisa Boros know all too well.

Somewhere Lance was smiling down on the proceedings from The Great Golf Course in the Sky.

He was affectionately known as "the Ayatollah" -- in a good way.

Yes, Frank Chirkinian was one of a kind of "the father of televised golf" for CBS.

Chirkinian died last month, just weeks before he was to be inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame on Monday night.

To celebrate the life and time of Chirkinian, Golf Channel will air a special presentation Friday evening in advance of his posthumous induction, which also will be shown by Golf Channel.

The special, titled Frank Chirkinian, The Master Storyteller, will feature new interviews with members of his family, longtime friends from his hometown of Philadelphia and many of his colleagues in television and professional golf that knew him best. The 30-minute special will premiere Friday at 8 p.m. Re-airs will be Saturday at 6:30 p.m., Sunday at noon and Monday at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m.

"Frank Chirkinian could make the game of golf interesting even when it wasn't interesting," Arnold Palmer siad. "He would say to me, 'Are you planning on doing something different today,' or 'What's your objective?' I would kid him back and say, 'Frank, my objective is to win the golf tournament.' And he, of course, liked that."

Tom Watson, another Hall of Famer, said Palmer and Chirkinian had much in common.

"I give credit to where we are today to Arnold Palmer and television together," Watson said. "And Frank was in the mix right there. He understood the game of golf. He understood the camera angles. He understood what people wanted to see."

Jim Nantz, the lead play-by-play man on CBS Sports golf telecasts, said there's a side of him that wants to say that if it wasn't for Chirkinian, he doesn't know where the game would be.

"Frank took a sport that had not really entered the television age, and he found a way to make golf compelling, riveting and dramatic," Nantz said. "Frank found a way to package the Masters tournament to be everything that Augusta National wanted it to stand for. It was Frank who presented the Masters to the world."

CBS sports coordinating producer Lance Barrow said Chirkinian excelled at instilling in people that couldn't be "a mechanic, which means try something different."

"He always had a great saying, 'I do not run a democracy,' " Barrow said. "When he got in the truck, it was his truck and he was going to do it his way and his way only."

If early returns are any indication, Kevin Giancola of Golf Quest in Southington could have another stellar Connecticut Section PGA season.

In the season-opening Stuart Miller Golf PGA Pro-Am at Wethersfield Country Club, Giancola shot a 4-under-par 67 for a whopping six-stroke victory over Ted Perez, John Paesani and Kevin Mahaffy.

Giancola, a three-time section player of the year and Connecticut Open champion, also led his Golf Quest team with amateurs Mike Reiner, Ken Saffir and Randy Vancoorhies to a combined gross and net score of 14-under 128. That was two better than the Chicopee (Mass.) Country Club team of pro Tom DiRico and amateurs Jim DiRico, Mike Trombley and Roger McMinn.

The Mohegan Sun Pro-Am Series consists of seven tournaments, including the Team Championship, which will be held on Oct. 10. The tournaments take place throughout Connecticut and Western Massachusetts and are conducted by the Connecticut Section PGA. Pro-Am tournaments are open to section pros and their invited amateur club and course members.

The Golf Quest team takes the early lead in the Ben Lewon Cup points race to qualify for the Team Championship. The top nine teams in the Ben Lewon Cup standings will be invited to the Team Championship.

For additional information, visit www.ctpga.com.

One of the Connecticut's most competitive and enjoyable golf events celebrates its 40th birthday Thursday at New Haven Country Club in Hamden.

The Julius Boros Challenge Cup Matches between many of the top players from the Connecticut Section PGA and Connecticut State Golf Association will take place starting at 12:30 p.m. It's always difficult to determine if the golf or the camaraderie and tales are better each year. There have been dozens of the best players in state annals who have played in the event, led by amateur Dave Szewczul and pro Fran Marrello, each of whom is eligible for the 36th time, with Marrello starting on the amateur side. But my personal favorite for entertainment is Norwich Golf Club pro John Paesani, whose love for the game and competition is surpassed only by his storytelling.

Twenty-eight players, including two captain's picks from each side, will compete in individual and best-ball, Nassua-style matches worth three points each. The pros lead the series 28-11, but the amateurs have won the last two, including 34-29 last year, and need 311/2 points to retain the Julius Boros Cup donated by the World Golf Hall of Fame member from Fairfield. The only time that the CSGA team has won three in a row was in 1981-83.

Team captains are Bill Dober (CSGA) and Dennis Coscina (PGA) and made their two selections after 12 players from each team qualified based on their respective performances. Dober won the 1997 Connecticut Senior Amateur Championship and played in two Challenge Cup Matches. Coscina has one of the most impressive playing records in state golf history, having won a record eight section Championships and six section Player of the Year titles. He played in the first 12 Challenge Cup matches and 14 overall and is member of both the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame and the Connecticut Section PGA Professional Hall of Fame.

The competition was held at Tumble Brook CC in Bloomfield from 1972-74, at New Haven CC from 1975-2009 and at Tumble Brook last year. It's back to another wonderful venue, and I highly recommend that anyone who has free time Thursday afternoon should visit New Haven CC. It's a terrific day, and one I look forward to attending every year.

The matches also have special significance/meaning this year because Lance Boros, the nephew of Julius, died suddenly on Feb. 24 at 53. Lance, who lived in the Huntington section of Shelton, was a wonderful person who truly enjoyed his family, cooking, traveling and golf, especially with wife Lisa, one of the better female amateur players in the state. I was stunned and saddened when Lisa informed me of Lance's death, and I'll be thinking of him when everyone reconvenes on Thursday. We'll miss seeing you, Lance, but you won't be forgotten.

Bubba Watson's mother, Molly, asked her son to play in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans this weekend so she would get a chance to visit the Crescent City.

So it wasn't surprising that when Bubba knocked in a 3-foot birdie putt on the second playoff hole to win his third PGA Tour title in 10 months on Sunday, the first person he embraced after shaking the hand of vanquished Webb Simpson was mom.

And, as usual, a few tears flowed as Watson moved on to hug his wife, Angie, just as he had after a 3-foot par putt on the second playoff hole gave him his first tour title last June in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

"I want to ask mom where else I should play at because I liked it," a smiling Watson said in his post-tournament press conference in Avondale, La. "First of all, it was awesome to have my mom here. But for my mom to be there and watch her son win, hopefully, she's happy just like I am.

"The first two (wins) nobody was there. My wife was there, but no mom (and) my dad wasn't there. My dad was obviously sick, so he wasn't going to be there. Then he passed on (Oct. 14), so for my mom to be here, hopefully it means a lot to her that she got to sweat and cry and do everything that I did and all my emotions that went through the 18 holes and the two extra holes.

"Yeah, it was fun. It was a good day. It was glad it worked out this way for mom and everything."

And this time Watson outdueled Simpson, who ultimately lost because he called a one-stroke penalty on himself because his ball moved as he was about to tap in for par at the 15th hole. He had missed his 40-foot birdie putt and walked up to tap in his par putt from a foot. After he took his stance and grounded his putter, he started his stroke when the ball moved, a violation of Rule 18-2.B. After consulting with tour rules official Gary Young, he was required to replace the ball in its original position and add one stroke to his score.

Simpson had rallied from a two-stroke deficit to take a three-shot lead with eight holes left before a bogey at No. 12 and Watson's birdie at No. 14 cut the difference to a stroke. The self-imposed penalty put Simpson and Watson in a tie, and three pars down the stretch left them deadlocked at 15-under-par 273 after each closed with 69 in Avondale, La.

"As a good friend of mine, it was heartbreaking for (Simpson)," Watson said in his post-tournament press conference. "If I hadn't won, he was have been a nice guy to win. It was sad to see it (happen) that way, but if it had been the last hole it probably would have been even more heartbreaking. But since it was 15, we both had to go on. Now we're tied, to just go on.

"But I realized I just had to keep playing. There were other guys trying to beat us, and they don't know what's going on and they don't care. Then I realized if I made the 25-footer (on 15), I was one up instead of tied. So at first it's just heartbreaking to see your friend and win a golf tournament that way. But it happened so far back that the golf tournament wasn't won there. It was won in a playoff." 

It was the second such rules infraction for Simpson, In the final round of the 2009 Bob Hope Classic, he was in contention when on the 11th hole in the final round the exact same thing happened. He had a putt inside of a foot, the wind moved his ball as he addressed it and he was penalized. Simpson tied for fifth.

"The problem with the rule is you get greens like this that they get pretty bare, almost like this table top, wind's blowing, balls can wiggle and move so easily," Simpson said. "I go up to tap it in. It's not like I rushed up there, I took my time. The unfortunate thing and the reason I don't think it's a good rule is golf is supposedly the last gentleman's game. There is so much on the player to call the penalty on themselves. When wind or other natural things affect the golf ball, the player shouldn't be penalized.

"It just stinks, you know. Who knows if that happened or what would happen. It was just unfortunate. ... I think the rule states if you're in a stance where you're going to hit the putt, that's considered your stance, no matter what it looks like. And my putter was already grounded. I don't think it matters how far behind the ball it was."

Simpson is a member of the PGA Tour's Player Advisory Council and said he plans to address the rule in the next meeting.

Watson, who had started the day tied with Simpson but opened par-eagle-birdie-birdie, had a chance to win at TPC Louisiana's par-5 18th hole, but he left a 9-foot birdie putt a few inches short, sending him and Simpson to a playoff.

On the first playoff hole, Simpson, who started birdie-eagle-par-par-birdie, caught a break when his second shot rolled across the green and stopped on a sprinkler head instead of rolling down an embankment. After taking a drop, he chipped to 3 feet, but Watson made a 9-foot birdie putt that brought a fist pump. When Simpson made his 3-footer, the two returned to the 18th tee for the third time.

Watson hit a 329-yard drive into a fairway bunker but then hit a brilliant 221-yard, 7-iron shot into a crosswind that found the right front of the green about 50 feet from the cup. Simpson hit his second shot into a greenside bunker and then blasted to 12 feet, leaving him almost the exact putt that Watson had on the final hole of regulation.

Watson left his eagle putt to win 3 feet short, then Simpson missed his birdie bid to the left. When Watson converted, he had his third victory in a memorable/tumultuous year in which he also lost a playoff to Martin Kaymer in the PGA Championship but qualified for his first Ryder Cup before his father died on Oct. 14 after a lengthy bout with throat cancer.

Watson had to recover from a double-bogey 5 at No. 9, where he a hit a 9-iron that got caught in the wind and went into the water. He fell three behind when Simpson birdied No. 10 but shot 1 under down the stretch while Simpson made two bogeys.

"I didn't get down," Watson said of falling back. "I knew if I made double bogey that I'd be only two down with nine holest to go and told my caddie, 'I've got it covered.' I just let it roll off, and that's what I'm most proud of is that my attitude has always been good when I've won and what's keeping me where I'm at right now. I just kept fighting and grinding it out, and it worked out in my favor."

Jason Dufner, runner-up to Mark Wilson in the Waste Management Phoenix Open in February, had the day's best round, a bogey-free 66, that vaulted him into a tie for third at 275 with K.J. Choi (69), who earned his first tour title in New Orleans in 2002, and Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey, who two-putted the final hole for birdie and 69. It was his fourth top-10 of the year and second in two weeks (he tied for third at the Heritage) for Gainey, who committed to play in the Travelers Championship last week. In 40 career starts before this year, Gainey had only one top-10 finish.

Watson is now 2-1 in playoffs, while Simpson, the 2006 U.S. Amateur semifinalist while a standout at Wake Forest. was in his first playoff as he sought his first tour title.

Watson earned $1,152,000. jumped from No. 16 to No. 10 in the world rankings and No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings. He completed the "Insurance Trifecta," winning the Travelers Championship, the Farmers Insurance Open in January and now the Zurich Classic. Winning the Farmers Insurance-Zurich daily double meant $250,000 would be donated in his name to the tornado-ravaged areas in Louisiana.

"Maybe I can get a deal on insurance, maybe something," Watson said with a smile "Sweetie (Angie), do we have insurance? Do we need insurance? Better rate? Something."

Regardless, Travelers Championship officials will have even more reason to welcome Watson back to the TPC for Media Day on May 17.