Published by
The Tennessean
Wednesday, 4/28/99
GOLF NOTEBOOK

Open qualifier to attract many Sara Lee participants

Many of the LPGA stars coming totown for the Sara Lee Classic May14-16 will take a curtain call, andthe additional peek at the pros willbe free of charge.

An 18-hole sectional qualifierfor the U.S. Women's Open will beheld at Franklin's Legends Club onMonday, May 17, the day after thefinal round of the $750,000 Sara LeeClassic.

There will be some familiar namesin the field of 128 qualifiers. Theentries include tour pros JanStephenson, Pat Bradley, ValSkinner, Elaine Crosby, ColleenWalker, Kim Williams, MuffinSpencer-Devlin, LaurieRinker-Graham, and two former SaraLee Classic champions, Maggie Will(1992) and Terry-Jo Myers (1997).

"Really a good field because thetour is here and the players canjust stick around one more night,"said Mark Hill of the Tennessee GolfAssociation.

Hill said the USGA has not yetnotified his office as to the numberof U.S. Open qualifying spots thatwill be up for grabs.

The U.S. Women's Open is June 3-6at the Old Waverly Golf Club in WestPoint, Miss.

The state's top 10: Three areaprivate courses are listed amongTennessee's top 10 by Golf Digest.They are Golf Club of Tennessee (No.2 behind The Honors Course,Chattanooga), Belle Meade CountryClub (4) and Richland Country Club(9).

Others on the list are FairfieldGlade's Stonehenge (3), Knoxville'sHolston Hills (5), The Ridges Golfand Country Club in Jonesborough(6), Cordova's Colonial Country Club(7), River Islands at Kodak (8) andTPC at Southwind in Germantown (10).

"It's nice to be included. I likeit that they would think of us,"said Richland Pro John Spelman.

"The membership will certainlyhave an amount of pride," said BelleMeade's Willie Gibbons.

Arnold Palmer coming: You can'tparticipate unless invited, but theGovernors Club Golf Club will have agrand opening next Tuesday whichwill include a visit from coursedesigner Arnold Palmer. Palmer,entertainer Amy Grant and DaveMiller will play an 18-holeexhibition round and invited guestswill provide the gallery.

Record State Open field: A record386 entries made the entry deadlinefor State Open regional qualifying.The tournament will be held May26-28 at Dickson's GreyStone GolfClub.

The previous high entry was 360two years ago when the championshipwas held at Richland.

The largest entry came fromMiddle Tennessee and will requiretwo golf courses in Murfreesboro forqualifying next Monday, with 100players competing for 31 spots atStones River Country Club and 87going for 27 spots at Indian Hills.

Richard Smith, talented amateurfrom Dresden, is defending his 1998State Open championship. Butrunner-up Jesse Lanham, who lastyear was working at Nashboro GolfClub, is now on the mini-tours andwill not play. PGA Tour regularLoren Roberts of Memphis will play.

Golf With Titans: There are stillteams available for The TennesseeTitans Charity Golf Classic June 5-6at The Legends Club. Proceedsbenefit the Salvation Army's RedShield Family initiative. Twenty-sixteams will compete, with a Titansplayer or coach playing with eachteam. Call Bill Wainwright(341-7628) or Bob Hyde (733-3000)for a team opening.

Big Orange trivia: One-timeTennessee football player CarrollYoung had a hole-in-one recently atBrentwood Country Club, where he hasbeen a member for years. For triviabuffs, Young had thefortune/misfortune to be the No. 2UT tailback behind Heisman Trophycandidate Johnny Majors in 1956.

Winning with power: EntertainerVince Gill and former Vanderbilt andNBA star Charles Davis supplied thepower for the winning team in anOperation Smile scramble at The GolfClub of Tennessee Monday. Theirteam, which included Clay Taylor andKathy Folin, was a net 22-under-par.Folin is a club member and a boardmember of Operation Smile, whichsupports treatment of children withfacial deformities.

Jimmy Davy covers local golf forThe Tennessean. Fax information tohim at 259-8826.