It’s Women’s Golf Week at Pinehurst Resort, while the Country Club of North Carolina is hosting the Women’s Southern Golf Association Amateur Championship.
Gene Jones was at his best in the Kelly’s Classic Autos Charity Championship held at Whispering Woods Golf Club. And he had to be as he shot 63-64-69 — 196 to defend his title in the Sunbelt Tour event.
Jones, an Orlando, Fla., native and a part-time player on the Nationwide Tour who obviously has taken a liking to the Ellis Maples-designed layout, earned $10,000 for the win, beating out Don Reese by three strokes.
Reese, who always brings a strong game to the Sandhills and has won back-to-back championships in The Patriot, another Sunbelt event held at National Golf Club, earned $6,000 by shooting 66-64-69—199.
Bill Anderson of Covington, La., took third place with 203, followed by Tim Conley of Braselton, Ga., and Mike Blackburn of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., at 205. Anderson also earned $2,000 for winning the Super Senior Division.
Jones had nothing but praise for the Whispering Woods course.
“The course was in the best condition I’ve seen it in four years,” he said. “It’s the best short course that we play on the Sunbelt Tour. I like it because you have to manage your shots here and you have to put the ball in the right position to score well. You can’t just stand on the tee and bust it.”
Stuart Taylor, Whispering Woods general manager, was proud of the reaction of the professional players, but he was even more proud of the role the tournament plays in benefiting The First Tee of the Sandhills and the sponsorship of Kelly’s Classic Autos.
“This tournament wouldn’t even be possible if were not for Mr. Joe Kelly,” Taylor said. “He’s a big believer in The First Tee program and its values of sportsmanship, perseverance and all the best qualities that golf gives to people.
“Mr. Kelly lives on the 18th hole here and he spent the day talking to the kids and he loved it. He wanted to give something to an organization he believes in.
“It’s not all that easy for the average kids to break into the game these days. When I was growing up, our dads would drop us off at the course and the pro would have to put up with us all day. But it’s not that way anymore.”
As for the course compliments, Taylor passed them along to course superintendent Randy Hilburn.
“Randy had the course in peak condition,” he said. “May is the best time for a tournament if you can get it in before the greens have to be aerified.”
Taylor was as proud of the involvement of several First Tee kids as he was of the course.
“Most of the teams in the pro-am had a kid,” he said, “some of them as young as 8 years old. All of the kids were basically adopted by the other team members and the pros. Some of the pros gave them balls and some even signed gloves and gave them to the kids.
“All the pros showed up at the cookout later and some of the kids gave speeches about what The First Tee meant to them.
“One of the nice things about the tournament was that it introduced the kids to community leaders and they were able to see how those leaders conduct themselves. It all instills something into them.
“The entire event is just a worthwhile venture. It made people aware of what we have here at Whispering Woods with the new clubhouse and the condition of the course.”
The youngsters who participated in the pro-am included Ryan Howard, Ben Chrystler, Bryan D’Ostoph, Greg Bolander, John Rea, Alex Bryan, Bradley Chandler, Lisa Chandler, Jason Myrick, Cody Fitzgerald, Josh Stockwell, Robert Dunlap and Sam Tucker.
Women’s Southern: The Women’s Southern Golf Association is holding its 91st Amateur Championship on the Country Club of North Carolina’s Dogwood Course Monday through Friday.
A field of 128 players, of which 40 percent have handicaps of 3 or lower, is participating in the national event which draws entrants from across the nation.
Laura Coble of Augusta, Ga., is defending her title. Coble carries a handicap index of minus 1.9.
Twelve North Carolina women are entered, including Dianne Yelovich and Jane Wilkinson of Pinehurst, Patty Moore of Charlotte, Betsey Mitchell of Southport, Eleanor Walker of Greensboro, Maggie Weder of Greenville, Brenda Corrie Kuehn and Debbie Adams of Asheville, Michelle Jarman of Wilmington, Nancy Mountcastle of Wallace, Maggie Simons of Raleigh and Jesse Vincent of Burlington.
Following stroke play qualifying, the field will be broken into flights for the match play, with the low 32 qualifiers making up the Championship Flight.
The Championship Flight final will be contested over 36 holes, while all other flights will consist of 18 holes.
