The four inductees chosen for the next class in the Georgia Golf Hall of Fame come with impeccable credentials and span different aspects of the game.
Selected for induction in January were professional Ray Cutright, superintendent Ken Mangum, accomplished amateur Carter Mize, and nationally recognized volunteer Gene McClure.
Cutright is the director of golf at the Idle Hour Club in Macon. The Auburn graduate has been the head professional at the Toccoa Golf Club and Riverside Country Club in Macon (now known as Brickyard) before spending seven years as director of golf at the Sea Island Golf Club. He’s been at Idle Hour since 1993.
Mangum is director of golf courses and grounds at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek. Mangum is a leader in the turfgrass and golf-course industries. He has been at the Athletic Club since 1988 and has prepared the course for four national championships; he’ll add another in August when the club hosts the U.S. Amateur.
Mize, a Columbus native who played at Auburn, is a two-time time winner of the Georgia Amateur and the Southeastern Amateur. Mize teamed with Wright Waddell to win four Georgia Four-Ball Championship and finish second three other times. He qualified for the U.S. Amateur three times and reached the round of 32 at the U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1991.
McClure is an Atlanta lawyer who has volunteered extensively with the Georgia State Golf Association and U.S. Golf Association. He is an accomplished rules official and was co-chairman of the U.S. Women’s Amateur when it was held at the Ansley Golf Club. McClure is a two-term president of the GSGA and a member of the USGA’s Executive Committee from 2008-12.
Potential payoff: Two-time winner Carlos Ortiz would earn an instant promotion to the PGA Tour if he can win this week's South Georgia Classic, the only Georgia stop for the Web.com Tour. Ruiz has won the Panama Championship and the El Bosque Mexico Championship and has four top-10s in seven starts with earnings of $318,858.
The South Georgia Classic is contested at Kinderlou Forest, a Davis Love III design that plays 7,781 yards, the longest on the PGA or Web.com Tours. Clayton State product Will Wilcox won last year’s tournament and went on to earn his PGA Tour card.
Five other Web.com winners are in the field this week, including Georgian Kris Blanks, who prevailed at the Louisiana Open. Also in the field is two-time defending Georgia Open champion Jonathan Fricke.
Etc.: Georgia grad Harris English will be one of the rising stars featured on a special on CBS. English, 24, has won twice on the PGA Tour and is seventh on the Ryder Cup points list. English, a former Georgia Amateur champion, will be highlighted on the program at 2 p.m. Sunday, along with Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Jimmy Walker and Jonas Blixt. … Greg Johnson of Cartersville and Cres Dodd of Calhoun teamed to win the 43rd annual Georgia State Golf Association's Four-Ball Championship at Cartersville Country Club. The duo, which tied for fifth last year, shot a 20-under 196 and won by three strokes over Tim Arnoult Jr. of Decatur and Michael Morris of Marietta. … Spencer Ralston of Gainesville finished second in the American Junior Golf Association's Wells Fargo Junior Championship at the Country Club of the South. Tye Waller of Griffin finished fifth, and David Mackey of Bogart tied for sixth. Rachel Dai of Milton was second in the girls division, and Janet Mao of Johns Creek tied for eighth.
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