Augusta’s Patrick Reed will be the defending champion at this week’s Humana Challenge in Palm Desert, Calif. But most eyes will be on veteran Phil Mickelson, who is making his 2015 debut.
Mickelson is coming off a poor season by his standards; he failed to win for the first time since 2003, had only one top-10 finish and did not reach the Tour Championship. Mickelson even called it, “the worst year of my career.”
Mickelson, 42, said he’s seen positive results from an offseason workout regimen that has left him weighing less, but swinging the club faster. Mickelson has focused on developing more core strength, and he expressed confidence about the coming year.
He will play at next week’s Phoenix Open and at the Farmers Insurance Open in Torrey Pines. He will not play the Pebble Beach National Pro-Am or the Northern Trust Open at Riviera. It will be the first time he’s missed Pebble Beach in 20 years and the first time he’s skipped Riviera in seven.
Shirley gets GSGA's top honor: Margaret Shirley, who won the 2014 U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur Championship, won the Georgia State Golf Association's Tommy Barnes Award, given annual to its player of the year.
Shirley played at Auburn, turned professional for about two minutes and returned to college as an assistant coach at Georgia and Auburn. She is the director of competitions for the Atlanta Junior Golf Association.
“This is an amazing honor,” said Shirley, who received the award at the annual GSGA Awards Luncheon at Cherokee Town and Country Club. “I had no idea. It caught me completely off-guard.” She was also named the GSGA’s Women’s Player of the Year.
This week Shirley is among the four Americans chosen to compete in the South American Amateur Championship in Lima, Peru. It is the first trip to South America for Shirley, who said, “I’m looking forward to going someplace that’s warm.”
Other player-of-the-year awards went to Will Chandler of Atlanta (junior boys), Janet Mao of Johns Creek (junior girls), Doug Hanzel of Savannah (senior men) and Brenda Pictor of Marietta (senior women). The men’s player of the year award was shared by Kelby Burton of Evans, Robert Mize of Columbus and David Noll Jr. of Dalton, who were tied in points. Paul Murphy of Fayetteville was given the Bill Todd Award for his years of volunteer service. Dave Ballard of Marietta was sworn in as president of GSGA, taking over for Atlanta’s Chuck Palmer, who completed his two-year term.
Etc.: Former Georgia Tech All-Americans Kyle Scott and Richy Werenski have been named to the cast for the 23rd season of Golf Channel's "The Big Break." … Matias Dominguez won the Latin America Amateur in Buenos Aires and became the first Chilean player to qualify for the Masters in more than 50 years. … Five players emerged from Monday's qualifier at Sea Island's Plantation Course with a spot in the Jones Cup, which is Jan. 30-Feb. 1 at Ocean Forest. Qualifiers were: South Carolina's Keenan Huskey, Augusta State's Jake Marriott, Iowa's Joseph Winslow, Chattanooga's Ewan Scott and Vanderbilt's Spencer Ciesla.
