http://www.bamagolf.com/newsletters/AGAnewsletterjan12.pdf

AGA Tournament/Invitational Calendars

*Schedule is updated as events are confirmed. Sites and dates are subject to change.

Kathy Hartwiger

Kathy Hartwiger won this year’s Women’s State Amateur title, as well as capturing it in 2010, 2007, 06, 05, 04, 03, 02 and 1999. Her nine wins is a record by some margin.

Long dominating state golf, she captured the Alabama Golf Association’s Women’s Player of the Year honors for the second year in a row.

Her win in this year’s State Amateur garnered her 400 points in the POY race and went a long way to cementing this award. She added points by also winning Willow Point’s Invitational and finishing second in the State Stroke Play Championship to Haley Lawrence. Hartwiger’s overall total of 675 points bested runner-up Gabi Oubre of Mobile, who she also beat in the final of the State Amateur. Oubre ended up with 420 points.

Hartwiger won the 2002 U.S. Mid-Amateur Championship and was on the winning Alabama team in the USGA’s inaugural State Team Championship (with Virginia Derby Grimes and Beth Williams) and has long been
a top competitive golfer. She plays golf at Hoover Country Club.

Bobby Wyatt

“Mr. 57″ Bobby Wyatt is this year’s Alabama Golf Association Men’s Player of the Year.

His nickname, of course, pays homage to his record-breaking round of 57 in the last year’s State Junior Championship, in which he captured the overall title for the fourth year in a row and seventh year in a row for his age group.

This year he parlayed three top two finishes in top notch events to earn the Player of the Year title. He was second in the State Amateur Championship (to Luckie Kaufman) and in the Dogwood Invitational; as well as tied second in the prestigious Southern Amateur Championship.

He knocked Steve Hudson off his perch as the reigning two-time POY (Hudson has won it a total of three times) with 1298 points. Wyatt is from Mobile and is a sophomore on the golf team at the University of Alabama.

Will McCurdy, a senior at Auburn, finished in second place on 1000 points.

Mike Greer of Birmingham and Tom Jungkind of Bessemer successfully defended their title in the State Senior Four Ball Championship after three picture perfect days at Willow Point Golf & Country Club in Alexander City.

After being three strokes back after an opening round of 69, they stormed through the field with a second round 62 and followed that up with a closing 65 to finish at 20-under-par 196, which left them one clear of the team of Flip Bradley of Huntsville and Bill Moquin of Madison, who shot 66-67-64–197.

Four teams finished tied for third on 200: Joey Holley of Troy and Montgomery’s Stan Sherlin; Mark Harris of Montgomery and Birmingham’s Allen Ritchie; David Head of Sterrett and Randy Smith of Sylacauga; and Chip Howell of Anniston with Oxford’s David Sanders.

But the day belonged to Greer and Jungkind.

“Mike kept us in it the first days. He made 11 birdies in the first two rounds. We both hit the ball good and he made some putts for us,” Jungkind said.

Saturday was key with Greer making six birdies to Jungkind’s four and all of them were on different holes, hence they shot 10-under to take a two shot lead heading into the final round.

A key stretch Sunday for the eventual winners was holes 9-11 where they made three birdies to go from being tied for the lead to up by two.

“We then had a dry spell (no birdies) for a few holes and found out we were tied again with three holes to play,” Jungkind said.

A birdie on No. 16, followed by another on 17, re-established their lead, which they would keep for good.

“We looked at the field (before this state championship started) and said it was like a Who’s Who of golf from our era for the last 20 years. There were a lot of great players teeing it up,” Jungkind, 57, said. He has now won four Alabama Golf Association titles; while Greer, 54, has seven.

“There is no better venue to play golf and the course and weather were just incredible. We went there to win and are thrilled to win the title in back-to-back years,” Jungkind said.

After a picture perfect day at Willow Point Golf & Country Club in Alexander City, there is a logjam at the top of the State Senior Four Ball Championship.

No less than five teams lead after the first round after shooting six-under-par 66′s in this state championship that will conclude on Sunday.

Flip Bradley of Huntsville and Madison’s Bill Moquin; David Williams and Del Wood III, both of Hoover; David Head of Sterrett and Randy Smith of Sylacauga; Bob Cox of Guin and René Williams of Dora; and former champions John Stewart of Birmingham and Courtland’s Bob Straub all lead the way.

The logjam continues just one stroke back on five-under-par 67 with no less than 11 teams tied for sixth place. They include former State Amateur, State Four Ball and State Mid-Amateur champion John Coles III of Hoover with former State Four Ball champion Mark Lindsey of Trussville; Willow Point golf course superintendent Cole McInnis and former State Mid-Amateur and Senior champion Emile Vaughan of Pike Road; former State Senior and State Senior Four Ball champion Don Blanton of Selma and current Alabama Golf Association president George Walker of Mobile; and former State Senior Four Ball champion David Fry of Montgomery and Humphries Windell of Auburn.

Defending champions Mike Greer of Birmingham and Tom Jungkind of Bessemer are on three-under-par.

Willow Point Golf & Country Club is the host for the 17th State Senior Four Ball Championship which begins Friday, Oct. 14.

A strong field of 60 teams will play three rounds of best ball stroke play with the championship concluding on Sunday.

Defending champions Tom Jungkind of Bessemer and Mike Greer of Birmingham are teeing it up and are included in an impressive list of 19 former winners of Alabama Golf Association championships in the field.

Greer has six AGA titles. He won the State Mid-Amateur in 1992, ‘93 and ‘98, and the State Four Ball in 1992 with John Stewart and ‘95 with Robbie Cotten. Greer is defending the title with Jungkind, who has won the State Four Ball twice: in 2006 with Mark Lindsey and in 1993 with David Minshew.

Lindsey is in the field with John Coles III of Birmingham. Coles has also won the State Amateur in 1996 and the State Four Ball with Stan Sherlin in 2001.

Former State Senior Four Ball champions Ralph Mathews of Andalusia and David Hancock of Greenville are playing. Mathews also won the 1974 State Junior and the 2010 State Senior title.

2008 State Senior Four Ball champions Mark Miller of Birmingham and Richard Jeffers of Mobile are also teeing it up. Jeffers has won more different AGA titles than anyone else. He has won the State Four Ball with Joey Dzwonkowski in 1996 and 2002; the State Amateur in 1997; the Mid-Amateur in 2004; the State Senior in 2005; and the State Senior Four Ball with Miller.

Selma’s Don Blanton won the ‘09 State Senior, as well as three wins in the State Senior Four Ball with Sam Farlow and he also won it in 1998 with Art Gleason. Farlow is not playing, but Blanton is and he is partnering with Alabama Golf Association president George Walker of Mobile.

Pike Road’s Emile Vaughan won the State Mid-Amateur in 1989 and the 2007 State Senior. He is playing this week with Cole McInnis, who will be playing at home as he is the golf course superintendent at Willow Point.

Jasper’s Tab Hudson won the 1990 State Mid-Amateur, and he also won the 1980 Alabama Open. He’s playing this week with his brother Steve, a multiple-times AGA Player of the Year. Steve won the 2010 State Mid-Amateur and this year’s State Senior.

David Stanfield of Lanett won the 2001 State Senior Four Ball with Dave Pruett. He is playing this time with Bob Dumas of Auburn, who won the State Senior in 2008.

Montgomery’s Stan Sherlin is playing with Troy’s Joey Holley. Both are state champions. Sherlin won the State Mid-Amateur in 1996 and ‘97, as well as the ‘01 State Four Ball with Coles. Holley won the ‘94 State Four Ball with Terry Mobley, who is not playing.

Montgomery’s David Fry won the 2003 State Senior Four Ball with John Pitcher. Fry is playing this week with Humphries Windell; Pitcher is not playing.

John Stewart of Birmingham and Bob Straub of Courtland won the title in 2005 and are playing together again.

Matt Johnson carded a closing round 67 to capture the 23rd State Mid-Amateur Championship at Gadsden Country Club by three from two-time State Mid-Amateur champion Robbie Cotten of Brewton.

Johnson, who played golf for Troy University and lives in Dothan, had rounds of 67-71-67–205, five-under-par over the par 70 layout.

Cotten, as well as winning the State Mid-Amateur in 1999 and 2005, has won the State Amateur in 1990 and the 1995 State Four Ball with Mike Greer, had rounds of 72-66-70–208, with overnight leader Chris Hummel shooting 71-65-74–210, to finish on level par.

But it was Johnson’s day. He finished third in this state championship last year, one stroke out of the playoff won by Steve Hudson over Jeff Taylor. Sunday he made a fast start reaching the turn in 31 to take the lead, which he padded to five strokes with an eagle on No. 12.

Despite two bogeys in his final four holes he ran out a comfortable winner.

“I got off to a great start with birdies on (holes) 2, 3, 5 and 7 and Chris (Hummel) struggled so I overtook him, but I wanted to keep playing aggressive, not let up and see how many under par I could get.”

But he didn’t have it all his way. Seemingly coasting to victory with a five-shot lead with just four holes left, he dumped his tee shot in the water fronting the green on the par three 15th. When Cotten hit a fine tee shot to 10 feet, a potential three-shot swing looked quite possible. However, Johnson hit his wedge third shot eight feet from the hole and after Cotten missed his birdie putt and Johnson made his bogey putt, the difference was only one shot.

“I thought I had a chance to put some pressure on him there (the 15th green), but my putt broke more than I thought,” Cotten said. “It felt good to be in contention…it’s been a while and I played good.

“I’m proud of Matt though. He played well and deserved to win.”

“I knew if I could piece three solid rounds together I had a good shot (to win),” Johnson said. “It’s amazing how nervous you can get, but it was a good nervous. I’ll enjoy this state title forever,” said the 31-year-old.