Albany’s Sonny Skinner, a two-time PGA Professional of the Year, turned it his best performance in a major championship last week when he tied for 35th at the Senior PGA Championship in St. Louis.
Skinner, a PGA teaching professional at River Pointe Golf Club, was one shot away from tying two others for low club professional. He nearly holed a bunker shot for birdie on the 72nd hole, finishing at 3-under 285.
“You always want to shoot as low as you can,” said Skinner, whose first-round 67 put him on the leaderboard. “We all fought hard, we all had to play 72, holes. I tried just as hard as they did. They just outed me by one.”
Skinner, 52, has now played in two events on the Champions Tour this spring and made the cut both times. He failed to make the cut in two appearances on the Web.com Tour.
Japan’s Kohki Idoki was the surprise winner in his first trip to America, becoming the first Asian to win a men’s senior major. Idoki isn’t likely to join the Champions Tour. He said, “I prefer to just stay in Japan.”
U.S. Open qualifier: PGA Tour members Heath Slocum, Kris Blanks and Billy Andrade are among the 51 players competing at the U.S. Open Sectional at Hawks Ridge on Monday. Hudson Swafford, a Georgia graduate and winner on the Web.com Tour, and former Georgia Tech standout James White will join the quest for at least two exempt spots in next month's U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club.
The qualifiers are open to the public. There are 10 other qualifying sites around the country.
Around the tours: Hard to believe that Boo Weekley had not won since 2008. His victory at Colonial last weekend was 65 starts ago. The colorful pro from the Florida Panhandle was a star on the 2008 Ryder Cup team, but lost his game. He dropped to 85th on the money list in 2009 and then finished 111th in 2010, 180th in 2011 and 108th in 2012.
When asked to compare the differences between his success of 2008 and his latest win, Weekley said, “I couldn’t tell you, it’s been so long.” He had a great week with the putter, making seven putts of at least 20 feet. Weekley has shown signs of re-emerging; he closed with a 63 at the Tampa Bay Championship and finished second. With the victory, he’s back to No. 6 in the FedEx standings and No. 55 in the World Golf Ranking, which gets him in the U.S. Open. …
For the fifth straight year, the third-round leader at the Crowne Plaza Invitational was unable to win the tournament. This time it was Matt Kuchar, who has not missed a cut in five trips to Colonial. Kuchar moved up two places into the No. 3 spot in the FedEx Cup standings. “This is a tournament, this is a golf course that I love,” Kuchar said. “It’s difficult coming just one shot short, but you can’t control what the other guys do.” …
It was like an Augusta State reunion at Colonial, where Vaughn Taylor, Patrick Reed and Henrik Norlander each made the cut. Reed had the best finish with a tie for 46th. … Former Georgia Tech standout Chesson Hadley tied for sixth at the Mexico Championship, giving him two straight top-10s on the Web.com Tour and moving him up to No. 25 on the money list. …
Matteo Manassero won the European Tour’s flagship event, the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, in a four-hole playoff. Manassero is a former winner of the Georgia Cup and a member at the Golf Club of Georgia. Manaserro, 20, has now won four times on the European Tour. …
Etc.: Brenda Pictor of Marietta won the GSGA Senior Women's Match Play Championship at Sunset Hills in Carrollton. Pictor beat Susan Rheney of Greensboro 6 and 4 in the final match to win the event for the second time. Pictor never had to play more than 14 holes in any of her three matches. … There will be two qualifiers in Georgia for the 107th Southern Amateur. The qualifiers will be June 18 at Rivermont Country Club in Johns Creek and Savannah Harbor. The Southern Am is July 17-20 at Carlton Woods in Houston. Information is available at www.sgagolf.com.
