Count the newest star of the Champions Tour among those who oppose the proposed rule that would effectively ban long putters. Rocco Mediate, who won his first event on the senior circuit in January, said he was forced to use one because of back issues.
“I could practice with it,” said Mediate, who will compete in next month’s Greater Gwinnett Championship at TPC Sugarloaf. “For me it was all back-related. If that was the answer, why isn’t everybody doing it?”
The PGA Tour has announced its opposition to the ban on anchoring that was proposed by the USGA and R&A, golf’s two governing bodies. The final ruling is expected by early summer and could lead to a different set of rules for different organizations.
Mediate, best known for losing to Tiger Woods in a playoff for the 2008 U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, has seen his popularity on the PGA Tour carry over to the Champions Tour. He is viewed as a regular guy who is approachable and friendly, a reputation he embraces.
“We are just regular people,” he said. “We just happen to be able to play golf better than most people.”
Mediate will have a built-in fan base at Sugarloaf. He has two sisters who live in the Atlanta area.
Mediate played twice at Sugarloaf when it hosted the BellSouth Classic. His made the cut both times, but his best finish was 63rd. He said he likes the course and enjoys the rolling terrain.
Greater Gwinnett Championship tournament director Stan Hall said the response to sponsorship requests for the first-year event has been strong. The players have been eager to sign on, too, with 28 of last year’s top 30 money winners on board.
The latest commitment this week was from two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw. The popular Texan is today known more as a course designer than a competitor. He and design partner Bill Coore did the work at the acclaimed Golf Club at Cuscowilla in Eatonton. Their course at the Streamsong Resort in central Florida was voted best new course of the year by Golf Digest.
Brown wins first: An Augusta native won on the PGA Tour last week, but it wasn't Charles Howell III. Scott Brown, who led USC-Aiken to three consecutive NCAA Division II championships, birdied the final hole and won won the Puerto Rico Open.
“It’s a dream come true, something you dream about as a kid,” Brown said. “I’ve been playing golf since I was 4 or 5 and growing up in Augusta, I was probably 500 yards from the front gate (of Augusta National). It means a great deal.”
Brown was a rookie last year and finished 148th on the money list. The victory gives him a two-year exemption, as well as a spot in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Memorial Tournament, AT&T National and PGA Championship. Because the win came in an opposite-field event — it was held the same weekend as the WCG Cadillac Championship at Doral — it does not qualify him for inclusion in the Masters.
On the Tours: Former University of Georgia All-American Kevin Kisner took a step toward regaining his PGA Tour card with a win at Web.com Tour's Chile Classic. The Web.com Tour is off this week and returns to the U.S. next week for the Louisiana Open. …
The LPGA Tour plays its first event in the U.S. this week at the RL Donnelly Founders Cup in Phoenix. The event honors the 13 women who started the LPGA, including Atlanta’s Louise Suggs, who won 55 events and 11 major championships. Suggs, 89, now lives in Delray Beach, Fla.
Yani Tseng is the defending champion. The field includes the winners of the first three events, all held overseas. It won’t include Natalie Gulbis, who withdrew to continue treatment for malaria.
Etc.: Kim Cox is the new director for the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame. Cox will continue her role as director of the Georgia State Golf Association Foundation. She replaces Mike Waldron, who had worked for the GSGA for 20 years. … Kevin Bullard of Atlanta is one of ten members of the Callaway Golf X Hot Long Drive Team. … Nick Short is the new general manager at Crystal Lake in Hampton.
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