Sarasota Golf News

Paul Azinger will begin competing on the Champions Tour in early 2010, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he is slowing down any.

Actually, Azinger spent last weekend in the fast lane at Phoenix International Raceway. A 12-time PGA Tour winner turned victorious Ryder Cup captain and broadcaster, Azinger watched his friend Kevin Conway, who drives the No. 26 ExtenZe Racing Chevrolet in the Nationwide Series, at Phoenix International Raceway.

The First Tee of Sarasota/Manatee is getting into the holiday spirit.

The youth golf organization is looking to partner with other charities for the benefit of one or more or more of their constituents with a fully decorated tree. The First Tee requests that the charities send an email to their database to advertise the event. The First Tee will be happy to note their participation on its Web site & would request the same in return. Visit the First Tee Web site at www.thefirstteesarasotamanatee.org.

The second annual “Fisk & Friends” Celebrity Golf Classic was a success for the Suncoast Foundation for the Handicapped raising in excess of $29,000. A pre-tournament reception was held at the Hyatt Regency Sarasota and the golf tournament took place at The Founders Golf Club.

Joining hosts Carlton and Linda Fisk were Hall of Fame greats such as Lou Brock, Phil Esposito, Grant Fuhr, John Havlicek, Stan Mikita, and Jim Rice. Other sport celebrities included M.L. Carr, Dwight Evans, Marv Foley and Ken Frailing, just to name a few.

Michelle Wie, who won her first professional tournament last weekend, was once coached by Gary Gilchrist, who was the director of golf at IMG Academies in Bradenton. On occasion, he would caddie for Wie when her father wasn’t available.

About six years ago, she played in a 36-hole U.S. Women’s Open final qualifier at Heathrow in Orlando. Her dad was the caddie.

Aberdeen's Gemma Dryburgh, a 16-year-old resident student at the IMG David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton,  finished tied for  third in the Future Collegians World Tour girls tournament at Bermuda Run Country Club in  North Carolina last weekend.

On a course playing very long after five inches of rain immediately before the event, Gemma had scores of 79 and 77 for 156, five shots behind the American winner Juliet Vongphoumy, who scored 74 and 77 - 151. Gemma has finished in the top 10 in all three FCWT events so far this 2009-2010 season.

The First Tee Sarasota/Manatee now offers an "Open Lesson" class at Pop's Driving Range from 5:30-7 p.m. every Thursday through Dec. 17. The fee is $10 per class.

“This is a great opportunity for students and parents to come experience what The First Tee Golf & Life Skills curriculum is all about in a fun, relaxed environment,” said First Tee Director David Windsor, the 2008 North Florida PGA Teacher of the Year.

Here’s an excellent chance for low-handicap senior golfers to play two awesome courses and eventually play in the 2010  Outback Steakhouse Pro Am.
  
The Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am announced that one golfer will win a spot, valued at $12,000, in the 2010 Champions Tour golf tournament by participating in the Bright House Networks Challenge Golf Series. The Bright House Networks Challenge Golf Series offers two different opportunities for golfers to qualify for a final shot at winning a playing spot in the 2010 Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am held April 12-18 at TPC Tampa Bay. 

One professional and two amateurs from the area are attempting to qualify for the Champions Tour this week at MetroWest in Orlando.

Barry Cheesman, who has  played on the PGA Tour and has won on the Nationwide Tour, is in the field, along with amateurs George DeSear of Bradenton and Moe Guttman of Sarasota.

Jordan Spieth, 16, of Dallas, and Victoria Tanco, 15, of Bradenton, were named the Rolex Junior Players of the Year by the American Junior Golf Association. By earning Rolex Junior Player of the Year honors for the second straight year, Tanco has become the fourth girl in the AJGA's 32-year history to win the award back-to-back.

Introduced by the AJGA in 1978, the Rolex Junior Player of the Year award recognizes one boy and one girl who had the most outstanding year in junior golf events at the national level. Past recipients have gone on to become some of the most esteemed players on the PGA and LPGA Tours, including Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Charles Howell III, Hunter Mahan, Scott Verplank, Cristie Kerr, Paula Creamer and Morgan Pressel.

Joey  Lamielle  and Tommy Rymer of Sarasota have advanced to the second stage of the PGA Tour Qualifying School at the Grasslands Golf and Country Club in Lakeland. A Booker graduate, Lamielle tied for fourth at 15-under par. Rymer, a Florida State graduate, finished at 7-under.

Lamielle struggled on the Nationwide Tour this past summer, but he qualified for the U.S. Open in 2008. He reached the final stage of Q-School one other time but came up short.