Golfweek

The Copa de las Americas – a biennial amateur team competition for countries in North America, South America, Central America and the Caribbean – is quickly approaching, and the U.S. players have been selected.

Nathan Smith, U.S. Mid-Amateur Champion, and Peter Uihlein, a sophomore at Oklahoma State, have been named to the men’s team. Both players also represented the U.S. in the Walker Cup in September, and Uihlein went undefeated in his matches.

Mike McCoy, co-medalist with Smith at the U.S. Mid-Amateur, was chosen as an alternate.

On the women’s side, Jennifer Song, who won both the U.S. Women’s Amateur and the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links this summer, and Jessica Korda, a quarterfinalist at the U.S. Women’s Amateur, will represent the U.S. Song is a sophomore at USC, and Korda is a 16-year-old from Bradenton, Fla.

Kimberly Kim, who was the runner-up at this year’s U.S. Junior Girls’ Championship and U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links, is the women’s team alternate.

Teams were selected by the USGA's International Team Selection Committee.

The tournament will be played Jan. 6-9 at Buenos Aires Golf Club ...

SHENZHEN, China – Barely missing out on a spot in the Masters has to be a tough pill to swallow. But Eric Chun’s runner-up finish at the Asian Amateur gives him a chance for redemption.

Chun played his final three holes 1 under par to finish runner-up and earn a spot in International Final Qualifying for the 2010 British Open. Chun two-putted for birdie on the par-5 16th, made a 6-foot par putt on No. 17 and a routine par on the difficult par-4 18th.

Chun advanced to sectional qualifying for this year’s U.S. Open. He was leading his qualifier in Grayslake, Ill., by two shots with three holes to play, but made bogey on two of his final three holes, then lost a playoff to Western Illinois’ Kyle Peterman.

“That is a bad memory, so I am hoping to get a little payback,” Chun said.

SHENZHEN, China – Matt Giles made one final push Sunday to try to claim the Asian Amateur title, but came up short. Giles, a first-team All-American at USC, started the final round nine strokes off the pace, but made birdies on seven of his first 11 holes.

He was 8 under par for the tournament before hitting a 7-iron into the water on the par-3 13th for a double bogey, then made bogey on the par-5 16th. He finished with a 68 (31-37) for a 5-under 283 at Mission Hills’ World Cup Course.

Now that the Asian Amateur is over, Giles embarks on a hectic schedule.

After a brief stop at school in Los Angeles, Giles will head to Sydney for the Australian Masters.

Giles will leave China on Monday afternoon, go to class Tuesday and Thursday, then leave Thursday evening for Sydney.

“My schedule’s a joke,” Giles said Sunday. “I have to go to class. If I didn’t, my professors would kill me. I get in Sydney Saturday morning, so it gives me a couple days to get over jet lag and get some practice in, then try and battle Tiger.”

SHENZHEN, China – The Asian Amateur will be televised live at 2 a.m. EST on Sunday morning. While most Americans won’t be awake, there will be a captive audience in Evanston, Ill., the home of Northwestern University.

Northwestern sophomore Eric Chun is in second place at the Asian Amateur, two shots behind leader Chang-won Han with 18 holes.

The winner will earn a ticket to the 2010 Masters, and Chun’s teammates want to be awake to view the action as it happens.

“I think I’m going to have a few guys over at my apartment and order some pizza and watch it tonight,” Northwestern junior Josh Dupont said in an e-mail. “We’re super pumped for him!”

It's not unusual for college students to be awake at 2 a.m. Sunday. But what about a college golf coach?

“My plan is to watch it live, but 2 a.m. is not an hour I see often!” Northwestern coach Pat Goss said in an e-mail.

SHENZHEN, China – Scoring has been low at the Asian Amateur. Ten under par is leading after three rounds at Mission Hills’ World Cup Course, which is playing 7,149 yards, and 21 players are under par through 54 holes.

But how difficult is the course playing? I asked two players who compete at U.S. colleges to tell me how these red numbers would stand up if other top collegians were in the field.

Said USC’s Matt Giles, a first-team All-American last season: “The greens are relatively slow. You can be pretty aggressive with them. There is a little bit of rough on some holes, but generally the fairways are relatively wide. You get some tangly lies here and there, but it’s not like NCAA rough. It’s not playing too difficult out there.”

Signs posted near the first tee said greens were running 10.5 on the Stimpmeter, relatively slow compared to high-level amateur competition in the United States. Giles estimated a score of about 16 under par would be needed to win a four-round college event at the course.

Said Northwestern’s Eric Chun, the reigning Big Ten champ: “I would say it’s probably the ...

SHENZHEN, China – Here’s a breakdown of the 60 players that made the cut at the Asian Amateur by country, provided to give an idea of the strongest golfing countries in the region. It’s not a perfect gauge since it’s based only on 36 holes of play, and impacted by the number of players in each country’s contingent.

Countries were represented by no more than six players, except Korea, and the host country, China.

The most interesting figure may be that just two New Zealanders made the cut, matching the total from Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and Hong Kong.

7: South Korea; China

6: Chinese Taipei; Japan

5: Australia; Philippines

4: Thailand

3: India; Singapore

2: Malaysia; Hong Kong; Sri Lanka; Indonesia; New Zealand; Bangladesh

1: Vietnam; Myanmar

Korea had seven players in the field - Eric Chun, a sophomore at Northwestern, was invited to the tournament in addition to Korea’s six players because he had a sufficient ranking to gain entry in the field, but had not been invited previously because the Korea Golf Association did not realize he was a Korea resident.

Under the entry criteria, the host country is allowed to invite additional ...

SHENZHEN, China – Golf needs more stars like Gary Player, ones concerned with affairs beyond the fairway.

Player, who turns 74 on Sunday, is one of only five players to have won the career Grand Slam. The ageless South African appeared at Mission Hills Golf Club on Thursday during the first round of the Asian Amateur Championship and gave a lengthy, wide-ranging news conference.

Player covered topics from golf technology to obesity. Some of his statistics may be questionable, but Player’s analyses of many of the world’s problems (on and off the course) are insightful.

Even if you disagree, you have to admire his passion and energy. It's much more entertaining than listen to another player drone on about "taking it one shot at a time.”

In Player’s words:

• “I’ve traveled a long way to come (to the Asian Amateur) because this is an important week for amateur golf, not only in Asia, but actually in the world. . . . I hope players realize how lucky they are, because they’re possibly going to the two best golf tournaments in the world (the Masters and the British Open). It took me a long time, and a lot of ...

SHENZHEN, China – Kasumigaseki Country Club, site of one of the most historic moments in Asian golf history, will host the 2010 Asian Amateur.

Kasumigaseki is located in Kasahata Kawagoe City, Japan, about one hour northwest of Tokyo.

Kasumigaseki’s East Course was the site of the 1957 Canada Cup – the predecessor to the World Cup – which Japan’s Torakichi Nakamura and Koichi Ono won over the United States’ Sam Snead and Jimmy Demaret. Nakamura also won the individual title.

Herbert Warren Wind wrote in Sports Illustrated that the Canada Cup was “the most important international sports event ever held in the Far East.” Golf historians have called Japan’s upset victory one of the starting points of Japan’s golf boom.

The club’s other course, the West Course, will be the site of next year’s Asian Am. Kasumigaseki Country Club was also the venue for the Japan Open in 1933, 1956, 1995 and 2006, and the Japan Women’s Open in 1999. It has hosted the Japan Junior Championship for the past 40 years.

“The APGC is very pleased to announce Kasumigaseki Country Club in Japan as the host of the next Asian Amateur Championship,” said Kwang-soo Hur ...

SHENZHEN, China – The Asian Amateur Championship got underway Thursday morning with a ceremony made famous by Augusta National Golf Club, one of the organizing bodies behind this tournament.

Augusta National Golf Club chairman Billy Payne, R&A captain Colin Brown and Asia Pacific Golf Confederation president Kwang-soo Hur hit ceremonial tee shots into the morning fog shortly before the first group. Play commenced at 7 a.m. Thursday on Mission Hills Golf Club's World Cup Course.

The first tee shot in tournament history was hit by China’s Wenyi Huang, who had the honor of opening play in his homeland. He hit a well-struck high draw with a fairway metal, the ball landing on the left side of the fairway on the 378-yard first hole. Huang made par.

The opening of play was treated as a ceremonious occasion. About two dozen female caddies in red jumpsuits lined both sides of the cart path near the first tee, applauding everyone who walked to the tee (even journalists). Several Augusta National members stood near the first tee in their green jackets, a sight that immediately adds to the credibility of any event. The tournament trophy sat on a podium just off ...

What leaves do remain on the trees up here in the Boston area are still a brilliant blaze of orange and red, a sure sign that our golf days are dwindling.

Before they evaporate for the 2009 season, however, it would fitting if all the flags on all of the flagsticks in our fair state were lowered out of respect. The state of Massachusetts has lost one of its beloved members of the golf community, Fordie Pitts Jr.

Pitts died Tuesday of cancer. He was 79.

If you were to say you never met Fordie, I would suggest you think of that person you are fond of who most emobies the spirit of golf, who goes out there rain or shine with a smile on his or her face, who is willing to tee it up anytime, with anyone, just for the sheer joy of the game.

Whether you hail from the midwest or deep south, far west or sunbelt, there’s no doubt you know such a person. Well, then you do know Fordie, because that was him. He was a legend in Massachusetts amateur circles, having played at the national level every step of the way, starting with ...

The field for the inaugural Asian Amateur Championship, which will be held Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at Mission Hills Golf Club in Shenzhen, China, was released today. The big news next week will be the winner’s invitation to the 2010 Masters.

When the event’s creation was announced eight months ago, critics said the field wouldn't be strong enough to merit a Masters invitation, especially when events like the European Amateur and NCAA Championship don’t receive one.

The Asian Amateur field is weak when considering the big prize awaiting the winner, but the event, which is run by the Asia Pacific Golf Confederation with support from Augusta National and the R&A, wasn't necessarily created to strengthen the Masters field. It was created to "grow the game" in Asia and capitalize on golf's growth in the region.

The highest-ranked player in the Asian Amateur field, according to the R&A's World Amateur Golf Rankings, is No. 44 Daniel Nisbet of Australia. There are just 11 players in the field ranked in the top 200, and only four in the top 100 (see below). Many of the top players in the field aren’t Asian, either ...

KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. – Some final thoughts from the U.S. Mid-Amateur:

• Phil Mickelson should be happy to hear that Nathan Smith won, and he should quickly snatch up Smith as his playing partner in the Par-3 Contest. Mickelson and Smith played the event together in 2004, and Mickelson went on to win his first major that week.

• I expect Smith to make the cut at the 2010 Masters. No reigning Mid-Am champ has accomplished the feat, but Smith came close in his first Masters. He missed the cut by two shots after rounds of 78-72, and would’ve made the weekend if not for a double bogey on his 36th hole. He’s now six years older and wiser, and ...

• ...  he’s one of the best amateurs in the world of any age. He’s No. 4 in the Golfweek/amateurgolf.com Amateur Rankings, and the second-ranked amateur in the U.S. He should be an early front-runner to represent the U.S. at the 2010 World Amateur Team Championship and 2011 Walker Cup.

• The attention at Augusta won’t be on Smith, the 31-year-old career amateur, though. Instead, the focus will be on the teenagers: Matteo Manassero and ...

OCALA, Fla. – The Stacy family has another USGA title to add to the list.

Immediately after Martha (Stacy) Leach won the U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Thursday at Golden Hills Golf and Turf Club in Ocala, Fla., she made it quite clear to her sister.

“This is the 23rd U.S. Women’s Mid-Amateur Champion, Martha Leach,” the 47-year-old winner said as she left a message on sister Hollis’ answering machine.

Minutes later, the six-time USGA winner called back from her home in Denver to offer her congratulations.

“I am so proud of my little sister,” Stacy said. “She has a heart as big as the state of Georgia.”

Leach had already left to catch a plane, but Stacy spent a few minutes telling tales of her younger sister’s golf career, including a picture she had dug up of a 7-year-old Leach carrying Stacy’s bag.

“I wish I had Martha’s swing,” Stacy said, stating her envy at her sister’s compact and efficient golf swing.

Perhaps little sis will add a few more trophies to the family collection before she’s done.

I’m sure Andrew Levanchy is glad he answered his phone at 6:30 Wednesday morning. Levanchy, a caddie at Kiawah Island’s Cassique Course, was being contacted to carry the bag for U.S. Mid-Am participant Robert Gerwin, whose original caddie, Andy Giannella, had to return suddenly to Cincinnati for work.

Giannella dropped Gerwin off at the course, then headed to the airport to return home. Gerwin inquired in the pro shop about getting a caddie, which is when the phone call was placed to Levanchy.

“I was surprised he answered the phone,” said Gerwin, who used two caddies in his second-round match with Jerry Chang. The match began Tuesday, but was delayed because of darkness.

Levanchy carried Gerwin’s bag for the remainder of the Chang match, then helped Gerwin beat Troy Logan, 5 and 4, in the third round, and defending champ Steve Wilson, 2 up, in the quarters. Levanchy is back on the bag Thursday morning as Gerwin takes on Nathan Smith.

For this much work, Levanchy deserves at least 10 percent of Gerwin’s winnings this week.

It is rare that the authority of any golf association is contested or challenged, but the 110-year-old Southern California Golf Association suddenly finds itself with a rival called the California State Golf Association.

The formation of the non-profit CSGA was announced statewide Sept. 21, catching many golf clubs and golfers by surprise. Although the ultimate goal of the CSGA is to enlist golf clubs throughout the state, initially it is focusing on southern California, according to Dan Hon, one of the group’s founders.

The SCGA is one of the largest, most highly regarded golf associations in the country. For more than a century, it has worked hand-in-hand with the U.S. Golf Association. The SCGA handles all USGA course rating in southern California. In 2009, the SCGA conducted 32 USGA qualifying events in addition to 21 SCGA championships of its own.

The association has 155,000 members, all men (women in southern California play under the banner of the Women’s Southern California Golf Association).

Several prominent factors are apparent in the formation of the CSGA:

• Ray Tippet, a 23-year employee of the SCGA and its former assistant executive director, has been prominent in the formation of the CSGA ...