Green Reading

Dustin returning to action next week

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson hasn't played the past two weeks since missing the cut at the British Open, and he said Thursday it has nothing to do with an injury, it was just a personal choice to take some time off. Johnson has played only three rounds on the PGA Tour since the final round of the U.S. Open on June 21. A mild sprain of his left wrist led to a withdrawal from the next week's Travelers Championship following an opening-round 68 and kept him out of action before the British, where he played two rounds.
Johnson said his wrist is fine, and he is playing the next two weeks in the $8.5 million WGC-Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone CC in Akron, Ohio, ,and the $7.2 million PGA Championship at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minn. Entering this week's Buick Open, Johnson was 18th in FedEx Cup points and 18th on the money list with nearly $2.12 earned in 2009.

Kidney Foundation tournament not scheduled

Just wanted to let area golfers know a calendar item on last week's Recreation page had a tournament listed for tomorrow (July 28) and that tournament is not being held.

The Myrtle Beach National Kidney Foundation Golf Classic is not scheduled to be held this year and the complete item was incorrect information. Sorry for the confusion.

Posted by Shane Bowen, Sports Editor

Gentleman Tom doing the unthinkable

After the first round it was a good story. After the second round it turned into a fairy tale. Now, after the third round of the 138th British Open at Turnberry, it has reached the point of being unbelievable. Tom Watson is leading the British Open after 54 holes! It seems like a headline out of 1983, when Watson won the fifth of his five British Opens and eighth of his eight major championships. But it's 26 years later, and two months shy of his 60th birthday, Watson can claim his ninth major Sunday. Watson is a great champion and just as great a person. Despite being one of golf's greatest champions he has always been one of its most accessible players, and exudes kindness with every interaction. After learning at the 2004 Masters of the death of his 30-year caddie Bruce Edwards, Watson denounced the ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) that took Edwards' life: ``Damn this disease! Damn it!'' Watson said with tears welling in his eyes. He has worked tirelessly to raise money to fight the disease since learning of Edwards' diagnosis.
Watson, who won the 2000 Senior Tour Championship at the TPC of Myrtle Beach in the event's final year of a seven-year run on the Grand Strand, is paired in Sunday's final pairing with Matthew Goggin. Goggin is an Australian who lives in Charlotte and receives instruction from Dale Lynch at the new International Institute of Golf in Upstate South Carolina. Lynch also instructs Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley. If you're not pulling for Watson to win today, you either know one of the other contenders or you're not human.

Johnson felled by two holes at Turnberry

There must have been something about the par-4 10^th and 18^th holes at Turnberry’s Ailsa course that Dustin Johnson didn’t like. Those two holes were the primary reason Johnson missed out on the weekend of the 138^th British Open and tied for 147^th at 14-over 154.
Eleven of those shots over par came at the two holes.
Johnson made a quadruple-bogey 8 on the 10^th and triple-bogey 7 on the 18^th in an opening-round 78, and double-bogeyed both holes in a round of 76 Friday.

Father-Son festivities begin today

The 12th annual Martin's PGA Tour Superstore National Father & Son Team Classic features approximately 1,200 players and is being held Thursday through Saturday on about a dozen Grand Strand golf facilities. Events begin Wednesday night with a welcome reception where honor Joe Louis Barrow, Jr. will be honored as the tournament's father of the year. Barrow is the executive director of The First Tee and is an impressive individual. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the University of Denver. In May 2003, Georgetown College awarded Barrow an honorary Doctor of Law degree for his community service and involvement.
Barrow currently is a board member of the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute, American Junior Golf Association, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (chair), and Baptist Health Systems in Jacksonville. He also has served on the boards of the National Golf Foundation (chair), Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Mile High United Way, University of Denver Board of Fellows, Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains, Colorado Health Facilities Finance Authority (chair), Urban League of Colorado (chair), Big Brothers of Metro Denver, Piton Foundation Community Development Project, the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, IZZO (UK) Ltd., National Minority Golf Foundation (chair), the Colorado Golf Association, the Colorado Junior Golf Committee, the Jacksonville Urban League, and the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission.
The Father-Son tournament is open to any father/son type relationships including grandfathers and grandsons, and uncles and nephews. Teams from 45 states and seven countries are scheduled to compete in 2009 with more than $250,000 in team prizes to be awarded.

Masters should evaluate amateur invitees

I greatly appreciate the Masters tradition of inviting amateur champions. It adds story lines to the tournament and continues the tradition and wishes of club founder Bobby Jones. But some of the amateur invitees have been a bit weak in recent years and the tournament committee may choose to evaluate its policy of extending invitations. The U.S. Am winner and runner-up are always worthy. But the U.S. Public Links and Mid Amateur champions have always been hit or miss. Some years there are capable winners, other years their level of play is lacking for a tournament like the Masters.
The British Amateur has become the weakest of all unofficial amateur qualifiers. The tournament used to have a formidable field, but as more and more young European studs play in U.S. colleges, they stay and play summer amateur events in the U.S. and few Americans travel overseas to play. It was great for the area when former Coastal Carolina player Alex Larrazabal of Barcelona, Spain, won the British Am in 2002 and played in the 2003 Masters. But did he really deserve to go? He won the British Am about a month after shooting an 88 in the final round of the NCAA East Regional at Ansley Golf Club in Atlanta.
Next year, 16-year-old Matteo Manassero will be playing at Augusta National. He beat England's Sam Hutsby 4 and 3 in last month's 36-hole British Am final. The Italian is the youngest player to win the tournament at 16 years and two months (62 days), easily surpassing the previous record of 18 years and one month. So he'll still be 16 when he participates in the 2010 Masters. Manassero also led the stroke play qualifying. He did show some promise by finishing 19th in May's Italian Open, and we'll get a glimpse of his talent and see what he's made of this week at Turnberry since he also received an invite to play in the British Open.
The Masters committee could consider extending an invitation to the highest ranked amateur in world rankings or Golfweek's amateur rankings, or to the winners of multiple significant amateur tournaments in one summer. A change in the criteria will result in more worthy amateurs capable of making an impact at Augusta.

Tiger, Phil are cash cows

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson cash in on their fame more than any other athletes in American sports. For the sixth consecutive year, Sports Illustrated has compiled a list of the 50 top-earning American athletes in salary, bonuses, winnings, endorsements and appearance fees. And the slumping economy took its toll as for the first time, the average earnings of those on the list fell _ down $1.5 million per athlete to $23.6 million.
That falloff is mostly due to lower earnings for No. 1 Woods and No. 2 Mickelson, both of whom saw their on-course income shrink while also losing key endorsement deals. Woods also lost appearance fees as he rehabbed following knee surgery. Yet Woods still earned an estimated $99.74 million, including $92 million in endorsements, and Mickelson earned nearly $53 million, including $46.6 million in endorsements. LeBron James is third with $42.4 amassed. This year's list features 22 basketball players (a record nine who earned more than $20 million), 14 major leaguers, nine football players, three golfers and two NASCAR drivers.
Meanwhile, the average income of the athletes on SI's International 20 list of the top-earning non-American sportsmen hit an all-time high $29.5 million (up slightly from 2008), thanks to big gains by those in soccer and Formula 1 racing.
SI consulted players' associations, tour records, agents and news reports. Endorsement estimates came from Burns Entertainment & Sports Marketing, other sports-marketing executives and analysts, and agents. Salary figures were based on current or most recently completed seasons (the upcoming '09 season for the NFL). For winnings-based sports (auto racing, golf, tennis), SI used the '08 calendar year. Candidates for the U.S. 50 had to be American citizens. View the entire Fortunate 50 list.

Johnson playing with European Tour regulars at Turnberry

Myrtle Beach resident Dustin Johnson is playing with Peter Hanson of Sweden and Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa in the opening two rounds of the 138th British Open Championship at Turnberry in Scotland. He tees off at 3:09 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time in Thursday's first round and 8:20 a.m. in Friday's second round.
Both playing partners are regulars on the European Tour. Hanson's best finish on the European Tour this year is a tie for fourth in the French Open two weeks ago. In his three tournaments on U.S. soil this year, Hanson tied for 18th in the U.S. Open, tied for 40th in the WGC CA Championship and reached the third round of the WGC Accenture Match Play Championship. Though Oosthuizen hasn't won on the European Tour, he recorded a pair of consecutive runner-up finishes early this season.
Johnson is returning to action for the first time since June 28, when he withdrew from the Travelers Championship after shooting a 68 in the first round because of a sprained left wrist. Johnson is 16th on the 2009 PGA Tour money list with nearly $2.12 million earned, a win and three top-10s.

GE highest bidder for Legends Group courses

CONWAY -- Lienholder General Electric Capital Corp. was the highest bidder in foreclosure sales Monday for the four Grand Strand golf courses formerly owned by Legends Group, which likely means few changes for the courses.
GE is expected to retain Century Golf Partners to manage Heritage Club in Pawleys Island and the Heathland, Moorland and Parkland courses at Legends Resort in Myrtle Beach.
The Dallas-based company has been managing the layouts since June 1 after GE foreclosed on the them from the Young family's Legends Group. Century Golf owns Arnold Palmer Golf Management and operates numerous golf clubs throughout the U.S.
``We clearly are excited to be in the market,'' said Century Golf Partners Regional Manager Jon Whittemore. ``We're obviously looking to play a role in Myrtle Beach long-term.''
GE bid $10 million for Heritage Club at a foreclosure sale in Georgetown, and $33.5 million for the three Legends Resort courses at a separate sale in Conway. If the bids aren't bettered by another party in the next 30 days, GE retains ownership and Century Golf will remain in place as the management company, Whittemore said.
Court documents show GE is owed more than $52 million by Legends Group for the four courses and a lease to manage Oyster Bay Golf Links in Sunset Beach, N.C., through 2032.
GE purchased the Oyster Bay lease through a foreclosure sale in Brunswick County on June 25, and Whittemore said a 10-day waiting period for other offers has expired and Century Golf Partners has officially been hired as the course's management company.
Century Golf has retained most if not all former Legends Group employees at the five courses, according to Larry Woodberry, the courses' director of operations.

Kristy paired with pair of Asian players at Open

Conway native Kristy McPherson isn't averse to chatting during a competitive round of golf, so she might have a number of conversations with her caddie in the first two rounds of the U.S. Women's Open Thursday and Friday (July 9-10) at the 6,740-yard, par-71 Old Course at Saucon Valley Country Club in Bethlehem, Pa. McPherson is paired with Yuri Fudoh of Japan and Hee-Won Han of Korea in the opening two rounds. The group goes off the first tee Thursday at 1:36 p.m. and the 10th tee Friday at 8:06 a.m. If McPherson makes the cut this week (she's even par for the tournament through 11 holes of her second round and a couple shots shy of the projected cut line) she will likely surpass $1 million in earnings in her three-year LPGA Tour career. McPherson enters the final round $735 shy of the $1 million mark. McPherson is playing in her first U.S. Women's Open but has built an impressive track record in majors this year. She tied for second in the Kraft Nabisco Championship and tied for fifth in the McDonald's LPGA Championship.