"IF YOU LIKE GOLF"
weekly online golf column
by
Stran Crawley

May 4, 2004

Ten reasons to take a short trip to the Black Creek Golf Club in Cummings Cove this week for the Chattanooga Classic, the eighth stop on the 2004 Nationwide Golf Tour:

10. To watch the Regions Bank/Morgan Keegan Celebrity Skins Game on "Super Tuesday,'' starting at 2 p.m. The four celebrities are Mark Miller, lead singer for Sawyer Brown, NFL superstar Morten Andersen, former major league baseball pitcher Rick Honeycutt and University of Tennessee at Chattanooga athletic director Steve Sloan. It should also be interesting on Tuesday to watch the Franklin American Mortgage Long Drive Contest that will be staged on the Black Creek's No. 9 hole at 5 p.m.

9. When the tournament begins on Thursday morning at 7:30, many former winners on the PGA Tour will be participating, including Michael Clark II from Dalton, Ga., Gary Hallberg, Brian Henninger, Gabriel Hjerstedt, Dan Pohl, Tom Scherrer, Tim Simpson, Ted Tryba and Garrett Willis. When Willis, the former East Tennessee State star, won his two tour events, his bag was carried by local caddy Brent Henley.

8. Defending champion Jason Bohn will be back to defend his title. He has been playing on the PGA Tour this year, and his caddy has been Chattanoogan Kip Henley, who will be playing in the Chattanooga Classic. Also back this year is Kyle Thompson, who finished runner-up to Bohn at Black Creek last year by one stroke.

7. To see if Jimmy Walker can win his third Nationwide Tour tournament in 2004 and earn a spot on the PGA Tour. Walker already has wins at the BellSouth Panama Championship in Panama City, Fla., and at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in Broussard, La. Walker is the top money winner on the Nationwide Tour with earnings of $205,146.

6. The other six winners this year on the Nationwide Tour will be at Cummings Cove‹Euan Walters (Jacob's Creek Open), Gavin Coles (New Zealand PGA Championship), Daniel Chopra (First Tee Arkansas Classic), Franklin Langham (Rheem Classic) and Ryuji Imada, who won this past weekend at the BMU Charity Pro-Am at The Cliffs in Greenville, S.C.

5. Kip Henley, Mike "Bobcat'' Bennett and Black Creek general manager Rob Riddle qualified for the tournament. Riddle's caddie will be Black Creek assistant pro Bruce Bowen. The local player to watch, however, may be Luke List, the former star at The Baylor School who now plays for Vanderbilt's Commodores. List played in the U.S. Open last year at age 18. He was also a semifinalist in the U.S. Public Links, and once shot a 30 on the back side at Black Creek in a non-competitive round.

4. Don't forget about Victor Schwamkrug, who was a crowd favorite last year. The native of Baytown, Texas, was the longest hitter on the Nationwide Tour last year. He averaged 339.3 yards in 2004, the longest average in the history of the PGA Tour.

3. Plenty of other players will be fun to watch, including the colorful Boo Weekley. And then there is Aaron Barber, who played in the same group with Anika Sorenstam in the Colonial last year. Jeff Quinney is a former U.S. Amateur champion, and the player he beat for the title, James Driscoll, will also be playing in the Chattanooga Classic. Former Chattanooga Classic champion Stan Utley is also in the field, as will be former Georgia Bulldog Nick Cassini, who once won the Signal Mountain Invitational.

2. It is worth the price of admission just to walk the beautiful Black Creek course. Although the area around the clubhouse resembles a trailer park due to the tournament needs, the course is in great shape for the first of May. More than an inch of rain drenched the course on Saturday night, but hot weather by the end of the week should dry out the greens.

1. Other than picking up a few tips just by watching these professionals, fans will be giving to four worthy charities‹First Tee of Chattanooga, the Arthritis Foundation, T.C. Thompson Children's Hospital and Alexian Brothers.

It should be fun. Get on down to Cummings Cove.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)
 

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