Golf update and a swing tip
There are currently some good stories about golfers from our region that have done well. Northern California has a rich history of great golfers, and it may be hard to argue that no part of the country is stronger.
Recently, 17 year old Mina Harigae of Monterey, defeated 20 year old Stephany Fleet of DeWitt Michigan, to win the WAPL (Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship) conducted by the USGA. Mina has played in 13 USGA Championships including the recent U.S. Women’s Open, for which she qualified. Mina is no late comer as she won the California State Women’s Championship at the virtually unbelievable age of 11, and has won it several times since.
This opens the question, why are women more competitive at younger ages than young men at their early age? There has been a lot of talk about Michelle Wie with limited success, but look at Morgan Pressel and Natalie Gulbis, who have done very well.
Recently the National Club Professional Championship was held in Sunriver Oregon, where the top-20 finishers go on to the PGA Championship. The top prize this year was $75,000, and a couple of local guys made it through. Bob McGrath from San Jose Municipal Golf Course made it in a playoff, as did Butch Sheehan, teaching professional at Mission Hills in Palm Springs and more well known as the brother of Patty Sheehan from Reno.
What is quite a story here is the fact that both Bob and Butch are seniors, with Butch currently being 57-years old. In the late ‘60s I played in a junior tournament in Reno called the All-Teen invitational at Hidden Valley Country Club. The organizers would put us up in homes and my friend and I were assigned to the Sheehan home because Butch and Steve Sheehan were about the age of my friend Phil, and me. They said…they have a sister who is about 7. Her name is Patty, and she is a nice little girl…Plays golf too. What a career this little girl had.
Also making it to the PGA Championship is my cousin Scott Hebert from Escanaba, Michigan and now the head professional at the Grand Travers Resort, near Grand Rapids Michigan. Scott has won the Michigan State Open 6-times, so watch for him in the PGA Championship in a few weeks at Southern Hills in Tulsa.
One last great story in the news is about Drew Weaver. Drew recently won the British Amateur, being the first American to win that great title since Jay Sigel in 1979. Drew is from Virginia Tech University where the horrible shootings happened this spring and Weaver dedicated his win to the victims. He was also part of their college team that won the ACC title shortly after the tragedy. The victory will have him exempt into the British Open and the Masters. Imagine when he writes his “What I did last summer paper.”
Golf Tip: Work on good balance through your swing. If you swing fast or slow, you need good balance. It comes from good foot work. Be careful that you are not too far from the ball, that will tend to get you weight too much on your toes.
