Back to Blogging

I have not been a very good blogger, but will try to do better. With the website, facebook, twitter, and eblasts, there is not much time left to blog. This has been the busiest summer for the association and the MJGA. we will have 48 tournaments in 2010. We are spending a lot of time in the office in September. Which is nice, so we can get caught up. I will try some back blogging, but mostly doing a better job from here forth.

The USGA hosts the Biennial Men's State Team Championship. This year it is being played in Sonoma County in California at Mayacama Golf Club in Santa Rosa. The MGA sends three players to represent Mississippi. Team Mississippi for 2010 will be Fletcher Johnson, Lane Pippin, and Scott Rhodes. I am going as the captain and we are all looking forward to a great trip. Hopefully I will make some time to blog about our trip.

Ronnie Posey and Brother Sandifer Win Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball

The Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball has been played concurrently with the State Four-Ball since 2006. The field of 21 senior teams (players over the age of 50) teed it up at Windance Country Club April 23-25, 2010, for the 2010 Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball. The team of Davis Sellers and Curt Miller lead the first round with a round of three under par 69. The first round was interrupted several times with weather delays. the entire field came back out Saturday morning to finish their first round. The duo of Ronnie Posey and Brother Sandifer fired a six under par 66 on Saturday to take the lead heading into the final round on Sunday. Posey and Sandifer were paired with Ricky Sims and Bobby Maddox in the final round. Posey and Sandifer shot one under 71 in the final round to finish at 7 under par 209. Tied for second place were defending champions, Russ Aldrich and Peter Marks and Bobby Maddox and Ricky Sims four strokes back at three under par 213.

Thanks to everyone for playing in the Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball. A special Thank you for David Lee and his staff for a great state championship. The course was in fantastic condition and we thank Gavin and his staff for a job well done as well.

Alan Ellis and Robert Pannell Win State Four-Ball

Alan Ellis and Robert Pannell led the 2010 State Four-Ball at Windance Country Club wire to wire through multiple weather delays to claim their first state championship. Ellis and Pannell shot 6 under in the first round which was suspended on Friday at 3:30 pm due to dangerous weather. They completed the first round and shot two over par 74 in the second round on Saturday. The Greenwood duo held a slight lead heading into the final round. Paired with Ben Snow and Stephen Yelverton in the final pairing in the final round, Ellis and Pannel held on by firing 4 under par 68 on Sunday to win by three over Snow and Yelverton. Ellis and Pannell finished the tournament at 8 under par 208. Snow and Yelverton finish with 5 under par 211. Scott Rhodes and Ham Bates of Jackson shot one over par 73 in the final round to finish at one under par 215 for the tournament and secure third place. Bates and Rhodes were the defending champions from 2009 at Hattiesburg Country Club. Monty Hilton and Hall Lusk, III finished in fourth place at even par 216. Rounding out the top 5 tied for fifth place are local MS Gulf Coast Golfers, Tim McCabe, Jr. and John Carter and Mickey D'Angelo and Bo Mandal at one over par 217.

Congrats to all the players for great playing in the 2010 State Four-Ball at Windance CC. Thank you to the staff at Windance Country Club for a great state championship

Sims, Keeton and Sears

Ricky Sims in the center holding his Patrick Farms Senior Division Trophy. On the left is runner up Charlie Keeton and on the right is third place finisher, Ray Sears. This is the first year for the Senior Division of the Patrick Farms Invitational, which kicks off the MGA Tournament Season.

Ellis and Sims Win Patrick Farms Invitational

Once again, the weather was perfect for our first sanctioned tournament of the year. The highs reached the upper 70s with only a few clouds in the sky and a light breeze during the second round. The conditions were ideal for great scoring.

The course proved just as tough on day two as it did on day one, but Alan Ellis of Greenwood managed to hang on and win the first event of the year. After carding a 69 in the first round, Ellis shot a one-over par 37 on the front nine, but bounced back with an amazing 32 on the back nine for a solid 69 and two day total of six under par 138. In second place was Lane Pippin of Ocean Springs who also fired a 69 in the final round. He shot two under par 142. Lee Gladden rounded out the top three with two rounds of even par.

Winner of the Senior Division was a familiar name, Ricky Sims of Canton who posted a 72 on Sunday for two day total of three under par 141. Four shots back was Charlie Keeton of Brandon at 145. Rounding out the top three was Ray Sears of Jackson at 146.

The MGA wishes to thank all of those who participated as well as Jay Coalter and Bitt Hammons adn all the staff at Patrick Farms GC for hosting the first event of the MGA season. It was a huge success. For complete results visit our website http://www.missgolf.org/.

MGA to Assist with Collegiate Tournaments

The Mississippi Golf Association's staff and volunteers are working two collegiate tournaments this weekend. Ole Miss Men's and Women's Golf teams are hosting tournaments. The Rebel Invitational is Friday, April 2- Sunday, April 4 at the Ole Miss Golf Club in Oxford. There are 21 teams and 12 individuals teeing it up at 8:00 am on Friday. This is the second annual tournament with Tulane winning the inaugural event. Players will play 18 holes each day.

The Reunion Invitational will be played Monday, April 5-Tuesday, April 6 at Reunion Golf and CC in Madison. This is the third invitational for the men's golf team. Twenty teams will be teeing it up Monday for 36holes of play with 18 holes being played on Tuesday.

Three Mississippi teams- Ole Miss, Mississippi State University, and Southern Miss have teams playing both of the tournaments. If you are in Oxford or Madison, come on out to support college golf in Mississippi....Admission is free to both tournaments. Thank you to my staff and volunteers for working these tournaments. They are the reason these tournaments are successful

State Four-Ball/Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball

The golf season is upon us and we are ready for the Mississippi Golf Association's State Four-Ball/Bill Cass Senior Four-Ball. The State Four-Ball is being played at Windance Country Club in Gulfport. Entries are open online and invitations have been mailed to members. The State Four-Ball has three divisions- Regular, Senior, and Super Senior. Don't miss out on the first State Championship of 2010!

Randolph Leading the State Amateur Heading Into the Final Round

College experience proves to help players climb the leader board. Four college players lead the field in the 94th MS State Amateur Championship. Jonathan Randolph shot 69 in the third round of the MS State Amateur Championship to move past second round leader, Thomas Watkins. Randolph (210) has a three stroke lead over Watkins (213). Freddie Janneck shot two under par 70 in the third round to move into a two way tie with Richie Williams at 216, six strokes behind Randolph.

Mississippi's college teams are shining through in the Amateur:Randolph is a junior on the Ole Miss golf team, Watkins will be a freshman in the fall on the Ole Miss golf team, Janneck is a junior on the USM golf team, and Williams is a sophomore at MS Gulf Coast Community College. Clay Homan, the Mississippi State University Men's golf coach is 8 stokes off the lead at 218.

Windance Country Club is playing about 6,600 and the greens are rolling fast and smooth. Ball placement is the key to scoring this week. Players are talking about the holes where they have left the ball above the hole or missed the green on the wrong side according to the hole location. The player whose putter is hot today will certainly win this championship.

The stroke average of the 60 players who made the cut was 75.28 in the third round, four strokes lower than the 79.10 average of the second round. All course statistics are available in the scoring section of the results and pairings on our website.

The staff of Windance Country Club has been tremendous to work with. "David Lee, Director of Golf, has accommodated our every need and has been instrumental in running a smooth and snag free championship,"said Margo Coleman, executive director. Gavan Bauer, Golf Course Superintendent, has been working very hard to get and the course in fantastic shape,"said William Morgan, tournament director. " Gavan and his staff have been at the course before dawn each day mowing and preparing the course for day. "We have been lucky in that the fairways, teeing grounds, and greens are being mowed each day prior to the round," said Morgan.

The final round began today at 7:30 am. The leaders begin their final round at 10:40 am. We are hosting live scoring through our website http://www.missgolf.org/. Keep up with the action throughout the round.

First & Second Round of the MS State Amateur

The first two rounds of the MS State Amateur Championship is in the books. 141 players started the championship on Thursday, June 4th at Windance Country Club. After 36 holes, the field was cut to 60 players and ties. The cut was at 11 over par (155). Thomas Watkins has lead the field in the first two rounds. Watkins shot (70-70-140) 4 under par. He has a one stroke lead over Jonathan Randolph who shot 68 in the second round (73-68-141). Randolph will be a junior at Ole Miss this fall and Watkins is a signee for the Rebels and will join the team in the fall.

Round one had two weather delays, the first came in the morning and delayed the morning wave about an hour and half and the tee times for the afternoon were delayed 1 hour. The second delay came about 7:00pm when a thunderstorm cell rolled in very quickly. Approximately 32 players came out on Friday morning at 7:30 am to complete their first round.

The weather on Friday was positively perfect. The skies has cloud cover for most of the day and when the sun broke through the clouds, the temperature and humidty remained low. The undulation on the greens has proven to be a test for the players. those who are posting low numbers are keeping the bal below the hole and putting really well.

Round three began at 7:30 today with the leaders teeing off at 10:40 am. You can watch the scores live at www.missgolf.org.

First and Second Round of the Mid Am Soggy

The first round of the Mid Amateur championship was soggy, but the sun was shining and the temperatures reached 78 degrees. The wet conditions did not stop Ricky Sims from shooting 4 under par 68 on Friday. Sims turned 3 under par to lead the field for most of the day. Scott Rhodes shot two under par on the front nine and one under par on the back nine, by birdieing the 18th hole, to finish one back of Sims with 3 under 69. The 2008 Senior Player of the Year, Robert Willis, shot one under par 71 to round out the top three. Sims, Rhodes and Willis are paired in the final group for round two.

Colonial Country Club- Deerfield, received another .75" on Friday night to make the rain total approximately 4.5" for the week.

The weather conditions for the second round have improved dramatically from 7:30 am today. The temps at 7:30 were 50 with drizzle and heavy cloud cover. The temperatures are in the high 50s and the sun is shinning brightly. The 15-20 mph winds will make the course play even tougher, but hopefully dry out the course.

Steve Wilson, Mid Amateur Defending Champion

Mid Amateur Championship Kicks Off Friday

The 2009 Mid Amateur starts Friday at Colonial Deerfield. The pairings posted on the website. The weather outlook is not great, but I am optimistic, we will get the tournament in anyway. The Field is strong with four defending champions, Steve Wilson, Clay Homan, Scott Rhodes, and Ricky Sims. The field also has many current and former cup team members. Check out our live scoring on the website throughout the tournament.

Oller Wins Patrick Farms Invitational

With a soggy course and cool temperatures to start the final round, Josh Oller of Pearl, took no time in spacing himself from the field making four birdies in the front nine to turn at 4 under par. He finished up his final round at 6 under par 66. Oller finished the tournament at 7 under par 137 (71-66) and his round of 66 was the low round of the tournament. Runner up Ben Snow of Hattiesburg, shot 2 under par 70 on Sunday to finish three strokes back of Oller at 4 under par 140 (70-70) for the tournament . Finishing out the top five were David Sellers of Clinton finished in third place with a two under par 142 and Dane Christiansen, and Brian Haley tied for fourth place at one under par 143.

Joel Edwards, Michael Dowst, and Scott Anderson tied for first place in the first flight at 146. Donny Holman won the second flight at 147 , Richard Reed of Starkville, won the third flight a 149 and Joseph Presley and Dana Ellis tied for first place in the fourth flight at 158.

Bryan Morganti won the Net Division with a net score of four under par 140. Complete results are posted on the Patrick Farms Invitational Homepage

Patrick Farms Invitational Kicks Off the Season

The Patrick Farms Invitational kicks off the MGA Tournament seaon. The tournament is March 14-15. Pairings and tee times are posted on the MGA website http://www.missgolf.org/. Ricky Sims of Canton will be defending his title. The weather is forecasted to be cooler and cloudy. The chances of rain are slowy diminshing.