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

July 15, 2003

In order to make the third event the best ever, the format has been changed for the Chattanooga District Golf Association Four-Ball Match Play Tournament in August.

CDGA co-tournament directors Mike Jenkins and Richard Keene announced the changes this week for the tournament scheduled for Aug. 21-24 at four of the area's best golf courses.

In the first two years of the Four-Ball, the first two days featured straight match play. This year, the total entries will be divided in half and the golfers will participate in two, two-day qualifiers.

Out of each qualifier will come four teams, with those eight teams competing in the quarterfinals on Aug. 23 at the Chattanooga Golf and Country Club.

The qualifiers on Aug. 21-22 will be held at the Valleybrook and Signal Mountain courses. The teams will flip-flop between the courses.

"The reason we're doing this instead of one big qualifier is because we're trying not to tie up the golf courses so much,'' Jenkins said. "And in talking about the event, people didn't want to pay the entry fee and then be eliminated by losing their first match. This guarantees everybody at least two rounds.

"Also, it eliminates byes and that is good. This is the third year for the tournament and we've had 14 teams each of the previous two years. We're expecting more than 25-to-30 teams from conversations I've had with golfers around town.''

The semifinals and final will be held Aug. 24 at Council Fire.

"This tournament is beginning to catch on and the stroke-play qualifier makes it more receptive,'' Keene said.

Don Gregory and John Lambert from Valleybrook have won the Four-Ball championship the last two years. The final was held at The Honors Course in 2001 and last year at Black Creek.

CDGA FOUR-BALL ENTRY DEADLINE: All entrants must file an application by Monday, Aug. 11 at 6 p.m. EDT to be eligible to compete in the tournament. Team members must be from the same CDGA club. 

The entry fees is $80 per player, including all green fees, cart fees, range balls, lunch on Sunday for semifinal participants, and prizes.  Applications are available on www.chattanoogatpc.com in the 2003 Tournament Entry Information section.

Trophies will be awarded to champion and runner-up team members. The Michael C. Jenkins traveling trophy will be displayed at the CDGA member club represented by the champions.

HONEYCUTT STILL HEADED TO UT: Ricky Honeycutt, who won the Signal Mountain Invitational and the Red Bud Invitational, still plans to play golf at the University of Tennessee the next two years.

Honeycutt, who had been expected to sign with either UTC or Carson-Newman, said before last weekend's Metro that he would probably sign with the Vols. He reaffirmed that decision on Monday, but said he has not committed to the Tennessee coaching staff yet.

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

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