Lee Knox will defend his title at the 92nd Georgia Amateur Championship, which begins Thursday at Pinetree Country Club in Kennesaw.
Knox, who recently finished his career at Alabama, beat 2011 champion David Noll Jr. of Dalton by one shot last year at Ansley Golf Club at Settindown Creek to become the 16th player to win the Georgia Amateur more than once.
Pinetree will host the event for the fourth time, most recently in 2003 when Noll won his first title. Noll is expected to be in the hunt again. He has finished among the top six at the Georgia Amateur for eight straight years.
Others expected to contend are: Mark Strickland of Woodstock, a member at Pinetree who was second at the Georgia Amateur in 2007; Cameron Hooper of Atlanta, a reinstated professional who won the Georgia Mid-Am this spring; and Jeff Knox of Augusta, Lee’s father and two-time Georgia Mid-Am champion.
Jimmy Beck of Kennesaw State leads a solid list of college players. Beck tied for 11th in the Georgia Am last year and was second at the Southeastern Amateur last month. Other college players expected to contend are Gus Wagoner, Damon Stephenson and Grant Cagle of Georgia State, Brian Carter, Mookie DeMoss and Sepp Straka of Georgia and Justin Cho of Purdue.
The field of 144 players will be cut to the low 70 and ties after 36 holes. Pinetree was renovated in 2007-08 by architect Bill Bergin, the 1981 Georgia Am champion, who is also competing.
Wagoner beats the pros: Amateur Gus Wagoner of Duluth beat some of the state's best pros to win the fourth annual Players Championship at Berkeley Hills. Wagoner shot back-to-back 68s to defeat Tim Weinhart of Nuclear Golf at the Standard Club and Shawn Koch of the County Club of the South by three shots.
Wagoner is the son of River Pines professional Phil Wagoner. He will play at Georgia State this fall.
Hanzel returns to Senior Open: Savannah's Doug Hanzel leads the field of Georgians who will compete at this week's U.S. Senior Open in Omaha, Neb. Hanzel was low amateur at last year's Senior Open.
Bob Flanagan of Lawrenceville earned his place by winning a qualifier in Charleston, S.C. They will be joined by fellow amateurs Jeff Belk of Marietta and Jack Hall of Sea Island, along with professionals Larry Mize, Larry Nelson and Craig Stevens. Allen Doyle of LaGrange, who won the Senior Open in 2005 and 2006, withdrew because of a medical issue.
LPGA Legends in Roswell: The Judson Collegiate and Legends Pro-Am Challenge, which features college players and 30 members of the LPGA's Legends Tour, begins play Friday at Roswell Country Club.
Five LPGA Hall of Fame members are in the field: Nancy Lopez, Amy Alcott, Pat Bradley, Donna Caponi and Betsy King. Others competing include host Rosie Jones, defending champion Alicia Dibos and 2012 runner-up Sherri Steinhauer.
College players in the tournament include Hannah Collier of 2012 NCAA champion Alabama, Sylvie Brick and Amira Alexander from Georgia, and Haley Austin and Lacey Fears of Mercer. Fears recently reached match play at the U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship.
The unique format starts with a pro-am on Friday that includes one Legends player, one collegiate player and three amateurs. On Saturday two collegiate players will be paired with one Legends player in the first round of stroke play. The Sunday and Monday rounds are for college players only.
Etc.: Michaela Owen of Cumming won the U.S. Girls' Championship at the Prattville, Ala. … Oglethorpe's Anthony Maccaglia was named to the All-Nicklaus team, elected by the Golf Coaches Association of America, for the second straight year. Maccaglia, Eric Quinn and Hayden Jones were named to the Division III All-America team. … Haley Austin of McDonough, who will play at Mercer in the fall, won the GSGA's Top 60 Women's Classic at Green Island in Columbus. Austin shot a 4-under 142 and beat Mercedes Huarte of Suwanee by three shots. Caitlin Watts of LaGrange finished third at 2-over. … Sloan Shanahan of Suwanee won a playoff to take the final spot at the U.S. Women's Amateur qualifier at Dalton Country Club.
About the Author
