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| A Look Back: Dec. 17 1936: Babe Didrikson plays her first tournament against male competition by entering the Southern California Open. 1939: Sam Snead wins the Miami Open. 1944: Sam Snead wins the Richmond Open. 1962: Rocco Mediate, a four-time winner on the PGA Tour, is born in Greensburg, Pa. 1995: Fred Couples defeats Vijay Singh and Loren Roberts on the second playoff hole to win the Johnnie Walker World Championship. |
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Associations
Eleven
women in the golf industry have formed a new organization to promote women
in the golf business and to provide a women's networking group for those who
are involved in the sport. The group is in the process of creating a Web site
and bulletin boards that will serve member needs.
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more...
People
The Board of
Directors for National Golf Properties appoints Charles Paul to serve as
chairman of its independent committee and as CEO of the company. Paul is presently
chairman of IFILM Corp. and serves on the board of directors of AMC Entertainment.
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Tournaments
International
players and first-time PGA Tour winners in 2001 Jose Coceres, Sergio Garcia, Retief
Goosen and Shigeki Maruyama join the field of the season-opening 2002 Mercedes
Championships in Kapalua next month. The Mercedes, open to winners of 2001
PGA Tour events, also welcomes back international players Robert Allenby, Jesper
Parnevik and Mike Weir.
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more...
Equipment
Officials
of Columbia ParCar Corp. announce the company has successfully completed
the application submission process to qualify for zero emissions credits. Those
credits issued to certified vehicle manufacturers for each zero emission vehicle
sold and registered in the state of California.
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more...
United
Turf Industries, developer of synthetic SofTrak Putting Greens, designs and
constructs a 12,000-square-foot green for the PGA Tour Radio Testing Facility
in Georgia. Select individuals and industry participants will be able to use the
SofTrak green, UTI's largest to date, by invitation.
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more...
Events
This
year's Wendy's Three-Tour Challenge, an event featuring competition between
teams from the PGA Tour, Senior PGA Tour and LPGA Tour, goes into a playoff for
the first time in its 10-year history. Fuzzy Zoeller competes as a Senior Tour
professional for the first time on television, which airs on ABC Sports Dec. 22-23.
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more...
Golf,
Inc., makes a prime booth location available at the PGA Merchandise Show
2002 in Orlando, Fla., Jan. 24-27. The 10' by 20' booth is situated on the main
floor, next to Nike and the PGA's sponsors and licensees.
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more...
|
The 19th Hole As usual this time of year, there are plenty of lists being checked. So The Wire thought it would check one of its own. We want to know what/who you, the reader, think is (1) the best course in the United States; (2) the course you most want to play; (3) the best course designer -- past or present. Send your picks to stuart@gpagolf.com with RE: Poll in the subject line and the results will be published in The Wire in early January. |
People, Places &
Things
The
Good of Chitengwa's Career
Unlike a Charles Howell or Luke Donald or Bryce Molder, the potential of Lewis Chitengwa will never be fully realized. The 26-year-old native of Zimbabwe, a rookie on the Canadian Tour, died of meningitis during the week of the Telus Edmonton Open.
That is a shame because from all accounts Chitengwa had game and was well-liked, a combination that can carry a young pro far amid the burgeoning big-money purses and marketing possibilities.
He was a two-time All-American at University of Virginia and played the Buy.com Tour in 2000, finishing 100th on the money list after having earned just $39,103. Chitengwa then earned his ticket on the Canadian Tour through the Winter Q-School. He missed his first two cuts on the Canadian Tour's South Carolina swing, but then showed the promise people talked of him. He finished third at the South Carolina Challenge, then posted three more top-20 finishes before his untimely death in June.
"This was a great friend of the tour," Edmonton Open tournament director Ray Horne said at the time of Chitengwa's death. "He was a budding, future star."
Chitengwa's star is now headed in a different direction. Last week, the Canadian Tour announced that the first Lewis Chitengwa Memorial Tournament is to be held at the Keswick Club in Charlottesville, Va., May 9-12.
Proceeds from $100,000 event will go to the Lewis Chitengwa Foundation.
"The Canadian Tour did indeed lose one of its rising stars," said Canadian Tour commissioner Jacques Burelle following the announcement. "But through this tournament and other efforts of the Foundation, Lewis' spirit will stay with us and, I believe, help inspire others to pursue professional golf as a career. Most importantly, his standard of conduct will also influence, in a positive way, the actions of those who will follow. For all that he gave us, we are thankful. For all that he was, we should each try to better ourselves."
Aventis Pasteur, a world leader in vaccine research, development and production, will be the tournament's presenting sponsor. The Pennsylvania-based company produces a vaccine for meningococcal disease, which felled Chitengwa last June.
It's doubtful Chitengwa could have left a greater legacy.