USGTF national course director Mark Harman of Ridgeland, South Carolina, captured a record ninth region title when he won the 2020 USGTF Southeast Region Championship at Rio Pinar Golf Club in Orlando, Florida, January 23-24. Harman fired scores of 71-72 – 143 to best Ron Cox from Nashville, Tennessee by two strokes. Harman began the second round with a two-stroke lead over Cox, building it to a seemingly safe five shots at the turn. But Cox, having other ideas, ripped off three consecutive birdies to open the final nine to pull within two. The pair battled back and forth until Harman’s 60-foot putt from just off the 18th green to one foot sealed the deal.
A record 22 players teed it up, making it the best-attended SE championship yet. Region director Mike Stevens hosted the event and chose the venue, which previously was a PGA Tour stop.
The 10th annual U.S. Professional Hickory Golf Championship, hosted by the USGTF, will be played on Monday, February 24 at historic Temple Terrace Golf & Country Club in Tampa, Florida. This tournament has become an important staple of the hickory golf scene.
A purse of $5,000, the same amount the professionals such as Walter Hagan and Gene Sarazen played for on the same course in 1925, is offered. At an entry fee of just $100, the tournament is a great value. Clubs will be provided to competitors who do not have hickory clubs. For more information and to enter, please visit http://www.usprohickory.com. You may also contact Mike Stevens, tournament director, at ams1172@msn.com. If you are anywhere in Florida, or just want to get out of the cold, you do not want to miss this special event!
Revere Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada, will host the 25th playing of the United States Golf Teachers Cup this coming October. This silver anniversary celebration of the USGTF’s flagship event promises to be very special, with coming surprises. Complete details will be in next month’s e-newsletter.
USGTF member Bob Mullen has written a new book, titled Golf: Learn from the Legends. Mullen said, “In my newly released book, Golf: Learn from the Legends, I explain the problem is not what’s being taught. It’s that the instructors and students lack knowledge about how adults learn. The adult brain gathers information on a regular basis throughout life, but most of this information is not utilized because it is not relevant at that time to the individual, or it is information that proves untrustworthy.”
USGTF president Geoff Bryant wrote the foreword. For more information: Contact Bob Mullen, golfski43@comcast.net, (970) 846-5410, and at www.BobMullenGolf.com. Golf: Learn from the Legends is available on Amazon Books
Most of you probably never heard of Perrine Delacour, but she could be destined for a prominent place in the women’s game. Delacour finished first on the Symetra Tour’s money list, the LPGA Tour’s developmental tour, to earn playing privileges for the 2020 season. Delacour has played on the LPGA Tour before with modest success, but her position atop the Symetra order of merit means she’s someone to look out for in the coming season.
Delacour hails from France, and was on the French national team as an amateur. She reached the semi-finals of the Ladies British Amateur in 2012. She turned professional but never was much of a factor on the LPGA Tour in the following years, although she did fire a career-best 62 in 2017. She played well in 2019 in winning twice on the Symetra Tour to earn her card for this season. She’s a long hitter, which in this day and age is a tremendous asset.
