|
|
A
Look Back: Sept. 3 1949: Charles Coe defeats Rufus King 11 and 10 to win the U.S. Amateur Championship at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, N.Y. 1973: Billy Casper defeats Bruce Devlin by one stroke at Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open for his 50th PGA Tour title. 1989: Greg Norman shoots a 19-under-par 269 total and wins the Greater Milwaukee Open by three strokes over Andy Bean. 1995: Scott Hoch wins the Greater Milwaukee Open by three shots over Marco Dawson. Hoch shoots a final-round 65. |
Business
Golf apparel designer
Cutter & Buck announces its earnings for the first quarter in its
fiscal year on Sept. 12 via a live webcast conference call. The results
will be for the period that ended July 31.
For
more...
Instruction
Nike Golf hosts
New Golfer Day Sept. 15 at 50 Nike Golf Learning Centers across the U.S.
The event will feature free golf instruction and seminars on rules and
etiquette for those new to the game, as well as a sweepstakes that will
award instruction, equipment, apparel and rounds of golf to lucky participants.
For
more...
People
Royal Precision,
maker of Rifle shafts, appoints James T. Davidson III as executive
vice president of manufacturing.
For
more...
Events
Eighteen-handicapper
David Miller of Virginia wins DuPont CoolMax World Amateur Handicap
Championship at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Miller, who won flight 31, was
given a handicap based on the gross scores he shot during the first four
days of the competition. The 18th annual version of the event attracted
4,686 golfers.
For
more...
People, Places
& Things
The Matter of Being
Exempt
Prior to the Air Canada Championship, Matt Kuchar was best known for his performance at the 1997 U.S. Amateur, when from nowhere he won his first major and became a name in the game he had played since he was a boy.
Sunday, just outside of Vancouver, Canada, Kuchar did not win, but earned enough money to push his earnings on the PGA Tour this year well into the top 150 on the money list. Now he can play in as many PGA Tour events as exemptions will allow. Previously he was limited to only seven sponsors' exemptions -- and Air Canada was his sixth.
The PGA Tour has two full pages in its media guide devoted to listing 34 different exemptions, including No. 32, titled "Special Temporary," which now applies to Kuchar. Charles Howell has also used this exemption in 2001.
Air Canada winner Joel Edwards was in 99th place on the PGA Tour money list, but with his win he falls now into category No. 9 "Winners of PGA Tour Co-Sponsored Events," and will be exempt on the PGA Tour until the end of 2003.
Over the next two months there will be a furious fight to finish in the top 125 on the money list and earn a category No. 20 exemption for 2002, which is essentially a free ticket to play anywhere, any time on the PGA Tour. Last year, 125th place was $391,075. This year, the figure will exceed $400,000 and possibly go as high as $500,000.
The all-exempt tour -- the top 125 players -- was created in 1983 and gave golfers a break from Monday qualifying.
Other exemptions are granted for prominent wins: Majors, World Golf Championships, The Players Championship and the Tour Championship all provide at least three years of exemption.
Finally there are little known medical exemptions, both major and minor, that give a previously exempt, but injured, player a chance once they regain their health. Scott Simpson, who hurt his leg last year in a skiing accident, used this exemption this year and has played well enough that he will likely be exempt in 2002.