It took a team of only three LPGA stars to defeat a celebrity foursome of men Tuesday in a Short Game Challenge that kicked off the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
Eun Hee Ji, the tournament’s winner last year, blasted a 30-foot sand shot to four inches from the hole, barely beating John Smoltz for the first 10 points.
The celebrities went ahead 15-10 when seven-time Cy Young Award winner Roger Clemens had the best chip among the seven players, hitting a 15-yard chip to within 11 inches of the hole.
At the third and final station, Pernilla Lindberg clinched LPGA victory when her knockdown 7-iron shot from 15 yards away broke a 3-by-3-foot pane of glass situated 7 feet above ground. It was worth 25 points and victory.
In an unofficial competition afterward, Diamond Resorts CEO and tournament founder Mike Flaskey won a putting competition by dropping two putts from 6 feet and another from 9 feet.
The entertainment continued afterward when comedy legend Larry The Cable Guy, one of the celebrity team members, held court:
“(It’s so hot here) you could film an entire episode of Swamp People in my shorts.”
“I went to get a physical this morning and three mushrooms fell out (because of moisture).”
“It’s so cold in Lincoln (Nebraska, his residence) that the ice cream machine at McDonald’s is working.”
The tournament features 26 LPGA winners from the previous two seasons competing alongside 49 celebrities from sports and entertainment. The event runs Thursday-Sunday at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando.
The LPGA champions will play four days of stroke play, with no cut, for $1.2 million. The celebrities will play for a separate $500,000 purse, using a modified Stableford scoring format.
The LPGA field features Lexi Thompson, Brittany Lincicome, Brooke Henderson, Inbee Park, Nelly and Jessica Korda, Ariya Jutanugarn and defending champion Eun Hee Ji.
In the celebrity division, former major league pitcher Mark Mulder is listed as a slight favorite over two fellow past champions, ex-tennis star Mardy Fish and baseball Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz. Smoltz, the Atlanta Braves legend turned broadcaster, edged Mulder in the final round last year.
[ngg src=”galleries” ids=”17″ display=”basic_imagebrowser”]Stay tuned for more news and other updates from the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions
World’s Largest Golf Outing (WLGO) – the single largest charity golf tournament to be held on Monday, August 5 – is now open for golfers to register.
The World’s Largest Golf Outing has officially opened golfer registration to individual and team players. Over the past week, more than $16,000 has been raised in donations and registrations for this event. WLGO is an annual national golf fundraiser conceived by Peter Hill, Billy Casper Golf’s chief executive officer. Since the WLGO’s inception in 2011, more than 62,000 men, women, juniors and seniors have played in 34 states to raise $4.1 million for military charities.
Fisher House Foundation is this year’s selected charity for the fourth consecutive year. For over 25 years, Fisher House has provided a “home away from home” for families of patients receiving medical care at major military and VA medical centers. The 82 Fisher Houses across the United States, United Kingdom and Germany offer free, temporary lodging to military and veterans’ families during medical crises and the healing process.
“Billy Casper Golf’s continuous support for Fisher House while simultaneously growing the game of golf is truly inspiring,” says Dave Coker, president of Fisher House Foundation. “We could not be more excited for another fantastic year with the WLGO and we appreciate every golfer who signs up to be a part of this worthy cause.”
Golfer registration is now open nationwide at participating public and private facilities. Donations are included in the registration fees. No USGA handicap is needed and players can sign up to play as a single, twosome or foursome.
Need a place to play? Golf course registration is also open nationwide to any public or private facility. There is no sign-up fee to participate in the WLGO. Golf courses can host an event or sign up a team to play at any participating locations.
Donations can be made here or by calling (703) 940-3600.
Gary Woodland wasn’t the only one celebrating at Pebble Beach on Sunday night of the U.S. Open. So were the fortunate few that had access to the five main hospitality suites that lined the 18th fairway, some 100 yards from the green.
Not only did these privileged folks enjoy an elevated, unobstructed view of the action at one of the world’s most iconic golf holes, they also experienced a level of comfort usually reserved for the swankiest living rooms. Hooray! For one day, I was one of the lucky ones.
Rolex, Cisco, Deloitte and American Express occupied four of the five 18th hole hospitality suites at Partner Village. Each has a special relationship with the USGA. Cisco, for instance, supplied a “Connected Course” experience that provided unprecedented wi-fi , plus an interactive on-site map available through the U.S. Open Mobile App. Deloitte created an augmented reality (AR) App that let users view shot trails in real time, select players to compare their performances and relive the shots of past champions at Pebble Beach on holes 6, 7 and 18.
The fifth hospitality suite belonged to Lexus, the automotive company that practically claims blood relative status to the event. Not only was Lexus the original automotive partner of the USGA, it’s also a longstanding partner with Pebble Beach Resorts. It didn’t take a lot of arm-twisting for me to take a ride this past week with Lexus.
Billy Casper Golf — one of America’s largest owner-operators of golf courses, country clubs and resorts — will have 30 different courses participate in the 4th-annual Women’s Golf Day on Tuesday, June 4.
Women’s Golf Day is an international event dedicated to engaging, empowering and supporting women through golf. The lively day provides all girls and women the opportunity to try the sport alongside existing golfers in a non-intimidating environment. 2019 also marks the first year of Women’s Golf Day partnering with the ANNIKA Foundation, the charity founded by women’s golf legend Annika Sorenstam.
Females of all ages are encouraged to register, either for a lesson or nine-hole round of golf. BCG’s courses taking part this year include:
Sunset Valley Golf Course, Pompton Plains, New Jersey
Southeast
Colony West Golf Club, Taramac, Florida
Dubsdread Golf Course, Orlando, Florida
Dunedin Stirling Links, Dunedin, Florida
Spanish Wells Golf & Country Club, Bonita Springs, Florida
Stonebridge Golf Club, Rome, Georgia
The Claw at USF Golf Courses, Tampa, Florida
West
Alhambra Golf Course, Alhambra, California
Antelope Hills Golf Courses, Prescott, Arizona
Arizona National Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
Castle Oaks Golf Club, Iona, California
Eagle Crest Golf Club, Escondido, California
Lincoln Hills Golf Club, Sacramento, California
Palm Desert Resort Country Club, Palm Desert, California
Quarry Pines Golf Club, Tucson, Arizona
Tri-Mountain Golf Course, Ridgefield, Washington
Willowick Golf Course, Santa Ana, California
“We are thrilled to have 128 players already registered to play on our Jones and Player Courses,” says Jason Beffert, general manager of Lyman Orchards Golf Club. “With women representing the largest demographic of growth in golf, we aim to create a welcoming and inclusive environment for them across all of our Billy Casper Golf facilities.”
To register to play or find a participating location, click here.
With less than a week to go until Women’s Golf Day 2019, golfing legend Annika Sorenstam is urging women and girls around the globe to give golf a go, and for all golfers to share their love of the game with the women in their life.
Women’s Golf Day returns for its fourth year on June 4 in what will be the largest single day celebration of Women’s golf that the world has ever seen. Open to women and girls of all ages and abilities, WGD 2019 will unite women across the globe at over 800 events in 46 countries, spanning a full 24-hour period starting from daybreak in Australia, to sunset in Hawaii.
With so many opportunities to participate, WGD 2019 gives absolute beginners and avid golfers alike the chance to be part of a global community and grow the number of women and girls that experience the multiple benefits that golf has to offer, as Annika explains:
“Golf teaches you so much about life. It is so much more than just a game. It’s a community, it’s friendships, it’s fitness, it’s mental well-being, it’s challenging and most of all, it’s fun! I’ve been so lucky to benefit from all of these aspects of the game and would urge women and girls around the world to get involved. If you want to be part of an incredible community or if you’re already a golfer and you want any of the women in your life to share your experience, then sign up for a Women’s Golf Day event and take the first steps on an amazing journey.”
WGD unites women and girls around the world and gives them an incredible platform from which they can share their passion with each other and with newcomers to the sport. Each event is a four-hour celebration that combines golf with socializing, which allows women to make the friendships that will keep them coming back for more.
Elisa Gaudet, founder of Women’s Golf Day, believes that this combination has contributed to the global sense of unity participants feel during WGD and is integral to the overall success of the campaign.
Gaudet said: “Since year one we have made sure that WGD events give the participants the chance to feel part of something much bigger than the event they attend. WGD events are about friendship, networking, and creating communities through playing golf. I passionately believe that golf is an amazing game that offers unique challenges, incredible benefits to our health and well-being and unites people through a shared passion. I am proud to be part of the community which loves this sport – we are the ones who elevate it into something truly wonderful. In just four hours, the women and girls who come to WGD events to swing a club for the first time experience this sense of belonging themselves and that’s what makes WGD the global success that it is.”
Anyone wishing to take part in a WGD event on June 4 should visit www.womensgolfday.com and search for a venue close by. Alternatively, search on social media at @womensgolfday and #WomensGolfDay for news of the latest venues to sign up to host events.
The official schedule has been set for the 2019 Troon Challenge presented by Callaway Golf. Now in its 17th year, the Troon Challenge is Troon’s largest amateur golf event, attracting more than 1,600 golfers competing in regional qualifying events across the United States. From May through November, regional qualifying events will be held at over 34 facilities in 11 different states. Two-person teams in both Net and Gross Divisions will compete to qualify for spots in the Troon Challenge National Finals, to be held in Scottsdale, Ariz. December 6-8, 2019. The Troon Challenge National Finals will be played at The Phoenician Golf Club and Troon North Golf Club’s Monument Course — two of the top ranked golf courses in Arizona.
Regional qualifying events kickoff May 5th at Lake of Isles in North Stonington, Conn. and Shadow Hills Golf Club in Indio, California. Entry into qualifying events includes green fee, cart, practice balls, Callaway golf balls, an Ogio shoe bag, an official AHEAD Troon Challenge hat, event prizes and a post-tournament awards reception.
“Last year was a record year for the Troon Challenge with more than 1,600 regional golfers vying for a chance to come to Scottsdale for the Troon Challenge Finals at Troon North,” said Kris Strauss, senior vice president, sales and marketing, Troon. “This year, with over 34 regional qualifying events in 11 states, we know 2019 will be even bigger and better. We are looking forward to seeing how the exciting qualifying events unfold and hosting the 2019 Finals at The Phoenician and Troon North.”
“We certainly couldn’t pull off events of this scale without the support of our loyal golf guests, Troon Cardholders, host venues and of course, our sponsors such as Callaway Golf, Golf Genius, Experience Scottsdale, AHEAD, Pepsi and Ship Sticks,” added Strauss. “To all involved, thank you, and we look forward to a great Troon Challenge season!”
For more information or to register for the 2019 Troon Challenge presented by Callaway Golf, visit www.troon.com/troon_challenge.
The 36th annual PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur Handicap Championship begins accepting entries Wednesday March 13. A 72-hole, net stroke play tournament, the Myrtle Beach World Amateur will be played August 26-30 on 60 of Myrtle Beach’s best courses. More than 3,000 players from across America and more than 20 countries are again expected to participate in golf’s largest single-site tournament.
Early entry into the event, which includes at least four rounds of golf, nightly admission to the World’s Largest 19th Hole and a gift bag, is $535 through May 16, a $100 savings off the regular cost. The tournament, which flights players based on age, gender and handicap, is open to all golfers 17 years of age and older.
“The PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com World Amateur Handicap Championship is golf’s greatest amateur tournament, and we are looking forward to year 36 being the best event yet,” tournament director Scott Tomasello said. “Myrtle Beach is the only destination capable of hosting a 3,000-player tournament, and we can’t wait to welcome golfers from across America and the world to the area.”
Players who register by April 12 will be eligible to win one of 55 random drawing prizes collectively valued at $10,000, including Cleveland wedges, Srixon golf travel bags, TaylorMade TP Collection putters, TaylorMade M4 Drivers, PeakVision LX2 Sunglasses and more.
The Myrtle Beach World Am flights players into nine divisions – men 49 and under, senior men (50-59), mid-senior men (60-69), super senior men (70-79), seasoned seniors (80+), women 49 and under, the gross division, senior (50+) gross division. There is also a “Just For Fun” flight, created for players who want to enjoy the World Am experience without the pressure of competition.
After four days of competition, all flight winners and ties advance to the World Championship Playoff, an 18-hole shootout that crowns the event’s winner.
While the competition is initially what lures players to the event, it’s only part of what keeps them coming back. At the heart of the World Am’s appeal is the camaraderie among its participants and much of that kinship is fostered at the World’s Largest 19th Hole.
Each night of the event, the 19th Hole overtakes all 120,000-square feet of the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, providing participants with free food and drinks, live entertainment, celebrity guest appearances, a golf expo and more.
Among the big names that have appeared at the 19th Hole in recent years are David Feherty, Brandel Chamblee, Charlie Rymer and John Daly.
Players will also receive a gift bag that includes a Chase 54 polo, a pullover, a logo’d hat, a PGA Tour Superstore gift card and an assortment of other goodies.
The world’s best female players, a slew of golf-loving celebrities and lots of central Florida sun: That’s the party time prescription Jan. 17-20 for the first-ever Diamond Resorts LPGA Tournament of Champions Presented by Insurance Office of America, which turns Tranquilo Golf Club at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando into a unique, made-in-media-heaven matchup that simply has no peer in modern professional or amateur golf.
While LPGA sanctioned event champions from 2017 and 2018 — up to 36 players in all including superstars Michelle Wie, Lexi Thompson, Stacy Lewis, Lydia Ko and Brooke Henderson (pictured above) — engage in serious stroke play competition for a $1.2 million purse over four days in the Florida sun, big names from the worlds of professional sports and entertainment — from baseball greats like Roger Clemens and Justin Verlander to comedian Larry the Cable Guy to NFL legends Marcus Allen and Jerry Rice — get a shot at their own $500,000 purse in a Modified Stableford format. And it all happens simultaneously, one LPGA star battling alongside two celebs on the links by day, attending parties and concerts together by night, with the Golf Channel and NBC bringing the on-course action live to millions of fans in 135 countries.
Former NFL wide receiver Jerry Rice
This year’s event, the first in a three-year deal among Diamond Resorts, the LPGA and NBC, kicks off the ladies’ tour season with a bang and promises to be a winner for all involved, especially fans who will revel in the best of both worlds: the game played at its highest level and their favorite celebs getting out there and knocking it around, just like they do on the weekends. The Golf Channel will televise the event live on Thursday and Friday and host an hour-long lead-in for both weekend rounds before NBC takes over for two hours of live competition.
The Tournament of Champions is the outgrowth of a celebrity-only fundraiser that Diamond Resorts CEO Mike Flaskey started in Orlando four years ago with players from Major League Baseball. NBC, which owns the American Century Celebrity Championship — now nearing its 30th edition as a marquee summer event at Lake Tahoe — noticed the strength of Flaskey’s field and asked him if he wanted to televise it as the ACC’s winter counterpart. They introduced him to their tournament director, Mike Milthorpe. “We signed a three-year deal with Golf Channel, and our year one ratings exceeded everything on the LPGA and PGA Champions Tour that year,” Flaskey says. “We had something; we saw what moves the needle, what people want to see, and that’s celebrity golf.”
Flaskey ended up inking a two-year deal with the Champions Tour to do a non-sanctioned early season event — 35 players, each paired with two celebs, basically two tournaments in one — which again drew big ratings. It became the blueprint for the LPGA’s first-ever Tournament of Champions this year; four LPGA players took part and loved the experience.
“We knew we had something special and wanted to explore all the available options,” Flaskey says.
Along came LPGA Commissioner Mike Whan, who had expressed earlier interest in the event. Since taking over the help in 2010, Whan had grown the LPGA brand immensely around the world and was looking for new formats and fresh ways to put his players in front of millions of new fans. Flaskey wanted to build on his limited field concept, bringing the LPGA’s “best of the best” instead of a full field event. Whan agreed, telling Flaskey that his tournament “checked all the boxes.”
“I wanted to create something that’s fun not only for the fans, but for us, too. Diamond Resorts asked me, ‘Do you have a party on tour, Mike? You know, a place where you celebrate your winners, play great golf all day, but also have fun every night?’ I thought, you know, we have some great gala parties and parting parties, but nothing like that. So they said, ‘We want to be your week-long party on tour, the thing that people try to qualify for.’ Living in Orlando, I’ve seen their event, so it wasn’t out of the question for me. They also said, ‘We want to take it to the next level, partner with your players, put in on network TV.’
“This event merges two worlds together. That’s cool.”
Whan adds that the handful of LPGA players who had teed it up in the event and were, in Flaskey’s words, “blown away” by Diamond Resorts’ hospitality, the entertainment, the food — all provided free of charge — lobbied him hard to get involved. “They came to me and said, ‘You’ve got to meet with these guys at Diamond Resorts — they’re building something really fun.’”
The feeling was mutual. Flaskey told Whan that he and his athletes loved the LPGA players’ personalities, how they clicked with the celebrities and athletes. Whan knew then that this was a powerful partnership. “My players will have fun, and those celebrities with their own strong followings will see just how good the best female golfers in the world really are. We’re the perfect tour to welcome the fun side of this, the comradery, the teamwork. As each group walks by, you’ll get a little bit of everything. Every player, every group will find its own mojo. Some will be giving verbal jabs back and forth.”
In other words, it’ll be a blast for everyone involved.
“I think it will quickly become the best party on tour. It’s going to be a lot of fun, not only on the course during the day but at night.”
Flaskey agrees that given Diamond Resorts’ reputation for staging over 3,000 top-notch parties and concerts at its venues worldwide each year, the Tournament of Champions’ evening events will be the best on either the LPGA or celeb golf circuits. “You may remember an event that used to be played at Lake Nona called the Tavistock Cup,” he says. “I watched it closely, the entertainment and parties, the level of hospitality, and envisioned that as part of this tournament. Music is a big part of what we do and we’ve integrated it as big part of this week.”
Tuesday evening’s pro-am draw party kicks off the festivities, with Lee Brice performing. Wednesday’s post pro-am party will focus on great culinary experiences featuring great chefs from around the world. Finally, the Saturday night gala headlines No. 1 country artist Cole Swindell performing on the heels of silent and live auctions for local charities.
It all adds up to a week to remember, revel in and root for, thanks to Diamond Resort’s proven events expertise … and the LPGA’s passion for making its tour the best it can be.
“One thing I love about our partnership with the LPGA and Mike Whan is they’re open-minded and creative,” Flaskey says. “They sit back, listen and say, ‘That’s a really good idea — what if we do this?’ And the next thing you know, you’re collaborating.
“We think we’ve created a really cool masterpiece here.”
The inaugural World Amateur Match Play Championship, which will take place at Sun City, South Africa in May 2019, is the first of its kind and a unique structure that allows every participating amateur to play through to the last putt on the final day, no eliminations.
Entries can be either as an individual who will be assigned to a 4-ball team made up of individual entries combining, players who are friends from difficult clubs or an entire team from one club . Any official club handicap index is valid, but a maximum of 24 for men and 30 for women. Each player competes in 12 x 6-hole Match Play competitions, rotating every six holes in a four-ball. Each six holes are stroked specifically from one to six for this championship so that there is an even spread of easy and difficult holes across each six holes played, making it equal for everyone. There are eight Trophy categories and the combined team score over 12 matches a day will position the team 1-8 in each of the Trophy divisions.
The final positions on the leaderboard after four days of play will determine who finishes in each trophy division with the Royal Crown including the Top 8 teams (1-8) and the Horseshoe Trophy the bottom eight (57-64). However, no one goes home empty-handed. Golfers are drawn to compete against similar handicaps with no more than a two-shot different after their club handicap indexes have been adjusted to the Championship course handicap.
The Gary Player Country Club, internationally renown as the Home of the Nebank Million Challenge hosted by Gary Player and compliant with strict U.S. PGA standards and the Lost City Golf Course, will be set up as enjoyable but challenging, where golfers will rotate over four days playing six matches on each course.
Packages all include golf and then your own choice of accommodation starting at the Sun Cabanas, Soho, Cascades and through to the absolute premier Sun Palace.
“Non-golfer packages include a choice of the maginificent facilities offered at Sun City and surrounding tourist attractions. We encourage all participants to spend a little extra time during their stay to enjoy pre- or post-championship tourism opportunities into the surrounding, magnificent game parks, further to the Kruger National Park and various other world class wildlife experiences,” says Craig Clay-Smith, tournament spokesperson.
This all-inclusive, true African wildlife, world-first golfing experience, provides a “ Pro Golfer Tour “ experience and all the luxuries and amenities of this world-renown resort, including a Luxury car Hole-in-One prize and thousands of dollars in amateur prizes.
Entries are limited for this Match Play format, so visit WorldAmateurMatchPlay.com for more details and enter your team or as an individual.
Pining for the golf vacation of your dreams while helping kids get involved with the game we love? Once again, some of America’s top athletes, both from within the game and from other sports — ranging from three-time NBA champion Steph Curry to golf legend Tom Watson — are supporting an online Youth On Course auction Nov. 11-15. Proceeds benefit an organization that provides tee times to its member kids ages 6-17 at some of the nation’s top courses for $5 or less per round. To date, 45,000 members have played 10 million holes on 900 courses, in 26 regions of the U.S.
By visiting the Youth on Course website, you can bid on a variety of sports and entertainment experiences. Some of the auction items include rounds at courses from top 100 and 200 courses such as Sand Valley in Wisconsin, Winged Foot in New York, Crystal Downs in Michigan, Baltusrol in New Jersey and Reflection Bay in Nevada. Also on the auction block is The Institute, part of Golf Advisor’s “10 Insanely Private Golf Courses You Will Never Get to Play.”
The details for the Youth On Course auction:
Bidding is done 100% online
Auction opens Sunday Nov. 11 at noon PST
Auction closes Thursday Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. PST
All proceeds from the auction go towards providing the more than 40,000 Youth on Course members with $5 golf
Follow @yocgolf on social media for the latest news and updates regarding the YOC National Online Auction — including item highlights and updates during the auction. Followers can use the hashtag: #YOCauction18
It took a team of only three LPGA stars to defeat a celebrity foursome of men Tuesday in a Short Game Challenge that kicked off the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions.
Gary Woodland wasn’t the only one celebrating at Pebble Beach on Sunday night of the U.S. Open. So were the fortunate few that had access to the five main hospitality suites that lined the 18th fairway, some 100 yards from the green.
