Family Fun Day Announcement
All non-golf related Family Fun Day activities have been cancelled due to the weather. Weather permitting, the U.S. Kids Golf demo clubs will still be available to try at the upper range. GolfZilla will not be utilized today due to the rain. The tournament is still offering free admission for parents and their children between 10:00am and 1:00pm. Thank you for your understanding.
Saturday Tee Time Announcement
Saturday tee times will begin at approximately 8:00am off of both the first and tenth tees. Tee times will end around 10:00am. Play is expected to conclude around 3:00pm on Saturday if there are no weather delays during the round. Family Fun Day is still on, but inclement weather may limit the number of activities involved. Parents attending Family Fun Day and the tournament with their children will be admitted free from 10am until 1pm on Saturday. Children 14 and under are admitted free all week. The schedule for Sunday tee times will be determined sometime Saturday afternoon.
Todd, Echenique, Kim Leading Stadion Classic at UGA
ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia grad Brendon Todd, Rafael Echenique of Argentina and Korea’s Whee Kim all posted 5-under 66s Thursday to share the first-round lead at the Web.com Tour’s Stadion Classic at UGA.
New Zealand’s Tim Wilkinson, Brenden Pappas of South Africa and Michael Putnam of Washington are tied at 4-under 67. Seven more players – including former Bulldog Ryuji Imada, 2010 champion Martin Piller and leading money winner Edward Loar – are knotted in seventh place, two off the pace.
Todd three-putted the final hole for bogey and otherwise would have held the outright lead and taking his turn to carry the Bulldog banner for the home team. The tournament is played at the University of Georgia Golf Course where UGA players Russell Henley (2011) and Hudson Swafford (2012) have captured the past two titles.
“As I was making putts out there I was thinking that maybe I was remembering some of these lines a little better than I thought I would,” said Todd, a 2007 UGA grad. “I think you just don’t pull out your yardage book as often and second-guess yourself. I think you step up there with a little bit more familiarity and you’re able to rip off the shot you see with a little more confidence.”
Todd didn’t hit many fairways (8 of 14) or greens in regulation (9 of 18) but was nearly flawless on the greens prior to the hiccup at the last.
“I pretty much made every putt I saw from 14 through 8,” he said after finishing with 21 total putts. “These are bent grass greens and look good to my eye. The ball just rolls off the putter a little better and I trust the lines I see.”
Echenique, a 32-year old Tour rookie, also did his best work on the greens, thanks to a new putter he put in his bag earlier this week.
“This putter gives me better rhythm,” he said. “I was putting so-so the last few weeks and for me today was very good. I tried to focus more on my rhythm and it worked better today. I didn’t make any long putts but I made a lot of shorter ones.”
Echenique, who averaged 27 starts on the European Tour from 2007-11, admitted he’s a homesick and looking forward to heading back to South America next week but for now he has to keep his mind on the present.
“My mind is focused on this week,” he said. “I’ve started to play better and have been working on my concentration. I’m just concentrating on what I have to do here.”
Kim, a 21-year old rookie, joined the leaders when he canned a 35-foot birdie putt on his final hole.
First-Round Notes & Quotes:
* Thursday weather: Overcast skies with some light mist in the morning and temperatures holding in the upper 50s. Winds E-NE 7-14 mph. Some light rain showers in the afternoon with a high of 68. Winds E-NE 10-15 mph with occasional gusts.
* This week’s purse is $600,000 with $108,000 going to the champion.
* Brett Wetterich withdrew prior to the start of the first round. There were no alternates available to fill his time slot and he was not replaced in the field.
* Will Wilcox, winner of last week’s South Georgia Classic presented by First State Bank and Trust Co., birdied his final two holes for a 1-under 70.
* Defending champion Hudson Swafford closed his day with back-to-back bogeys and settled for an even-par 71.
* Leading money winner Edward Loar finished birdie-birdie for a 3-under 68.
* This week’s field includes 45 of the top-50 money winners through the first seven events on the schedule. There are 37 of the top-40 competing, including the top 16 players.
* A total of 22 players posted sub-70 scores and 65 shot par-or-better scores.
* Russell Knox (69) hit 14 of 14 fairways and leads in driving accuracy.
* Jeff Klauk (70) leads the field in greens in regulation (17 of 18).
* Brendon Todd’s 21 putts were the fewest in the field by three. Rafael Echenique, Bio Kim and Tim Wilkinson all had 24.
• There was only one eagle recorded in Thursday’s opener and it came on the 356-yard, sixth hole. Zecheriah Potter, a 26-year-old Monday qualifier from Kansas, made the two at number six. Potter shot a 2-over 73 (T89).
• Seven additional players from Georgia joined Todd, Imada and Swafford in the field Thursday. Richard Scott and Kevin Kisner shot even-par 71, Paul Claxton and amateur Keith Mitchell fired 1-over 72s, and amateur T.J. Mitchell, Adam Mitchell and Scott Parel each signed for a 2-over 73.
MAJORS WINNERS JOHN DALY, TODD HAMILTON, LEE JANZEN SCHEDULED TO PLAY IN THE STADION CLASSIC AT UGA
For Immediate Release: April 27, 2013
Contact: Steven Colquitt, steven.colquitt.stadionclassic@gmail.com, 706-338-5089
MAJORS WINNERS JOHN DALY, TODD HAMILTON, LEE JANZEN SCHEDULED TO PLAY IN THE STADION CLASSIC AT UGA
ATHENS, Ga. --- John Daly, Todd Hamilton and Lee Janzen, whose careers include victories in at least one of the PGA TOUR’s majors, are scheduled to participate in the Web.com Tour’s Stadion Classic at UGA, according to the field list released Saturday.
The Stadion Classic at UGA will be played next Thursday through Sunday at the UGA Golf Course. Practice rounds are slated for Monday and Tuesday, with the Yamaha Golf-Car Company Pro-Am on tap for Wednesday.
Daly won the PGA Championship in 1991 and the Open Championship in 1995, Hamilton claimed the 2004 Open Championship, and Janzen took the 1993 and 1998 U.S. Open titles.
Players who formerly played for the University of Georgia in the field include Paul Claxton, Ryuji Imada, Kevin Kisner, Richard Scott, Hudson Swafford and Brendon Todd. Scott Parel is a former UGA student who did not play on the golf team, while current Bulldogs Keith Mitchell and T.J. Mitchell earned sponsor’s exemptions as the players with the team’s lowest scoring average. Swafford is the tournament’s defending champion.
In addition to Daly, Hamilton and Janzen, there are several multi-time PGA TOUR winners in the field, including Billy Andrade, Joe Durant, Len Mattiace, Billy Mayfair, Scott McCarron, Heath Slocum, Paul Stankowski, Vaughn Taylor and D.J. Trahan.
The entire field can be found at gado.gs/1oc.
On Monday, the Chick-fil-A UGA Student/Junior Clinic will take place on the UGA Golf Course upper driving range from 4-5:30 p.m. The clinic is free and will be led by Web.com Tour players Swafford, Scott, Imada, Parel, Lee Bedford, Kevin Kim, Edward Loar, Brian Duncan, Byron Smith, Martin Piller, Danny Lee, Scott Harrington, Chris Wilson and Corey Nagy as well as members of the Georgia men’s and women’s golf teams. Piller won the Athens event in 2010.
For information about tickets and the remaining volunteer opportunities, please visit stadionclassic.uga.edu.
Senior T.J. Mitchell, Junior Keith Mitchell Earn Bulldogs' Spots in Stadion Classic at UGA Field
Imada, Broadaway Granted Final Sponsor's Exemptions for Stadion Classic at UGA
For Immediate Release: April 23, 2013
Contact: Steven Colquitt, steven.colquitt.stadionclassic@gmail.com
RYUJI IMADA, JOSH BROADAWAY GRANTED FINAL SPONSOR’S EXEMPTIONS FOR STADION CLASSIC AT UGA
ATHENS, Ga. --- Ryuji Imada and Josh Broadaway have been extended the final two sponsor’s exemptions to participate in the Web.com Tour’s Stadion Classic at UGA next week at the UGA Golf Course.
The Stadion Classic at UGA will be played May 2-5 at the UGA Golf Course.
Imada, who played for Georgia in 1998 and 1999, has participated in three PGA TOUR events and one Web.com Tour tournament this year (and he is slated to play in the South Georgia Classic in Valdosta this week). Imada won the PGA TOUR’s AT&T Classic in 2008 and he boasts two Web.com Tour titles. Imada earned All-America and All-SEC honors in 1999 as the catalyst of Georgia national championship squad. He placed second at the NCAAs as the Bulldogs claimed the program’s first national title.
Broadaway is a native of Albany, Ga., who graduated from Troy State in 2000. Perhaps best known for his cross-handed grip and for putting left-handed, Broadaway has participated in four Web.com Tour events this year, highlighted by a 17th-place effort in the Brasil Classic.
A top-25 finish by Imada or Broadaway (or both) in the South Georgia Classic would result in an automatic berth in the Stadion Classic at UGA and adjustments of the sponsor’s exemptions.
The other two sponsor’s exemptions went to current Georgia players T.J. Mitchell and Keith Mitchell, who boast the team’s lowest scoring averages.
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Stadion Classic at UGA's Steve McGrath Named 2012 Web.com Tour Volunteer of the Year
2012 WEB.COM TOUR VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR
ATHENS, Ga. – The Web.com Tour has selected Steve McGrath of the Stadion Classic at UGA as the recipient of the Tour’s 2012 Volunteer of the Year Award, according to an announcement this week by the PGA TOUR.
McGrath has served the past four years as the Co-Chairman of Volunteer Coordination for the Stadion Classic at UGA, a Web.com Tour event that has been played at the UGA Golf Course since 2010. McGrath helps oversee a team of nearly 500 volunteers who play various roles during the tournament, including admission, walking scorers, transportation, standard bearers, marshals and tournament office support.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed working the tournament the past four years for many reasons,” McGrath said. “The greatest reason is you meet so many super people and make some lasting friendships. The award really is the tournament/volunteers award as the total group of more than 475 men and women last year is what made the event such a success.”
The Web.com Tour selected McGrath for the award among its 10,000-plus volunteers from last year’s tournaments around the country. McGrath was presented his award at the Volunteer Committee dinner on Tuesday, March 19, at Hilltop Grille.
“We congratulate Steve on winning the Web.com Tour Volunteer of the Year award,” said Web.com Tour president Bill Calfee. “It is a great pleasure for our staff and players to be associated with an individual who is so dedicated and contributes so much to the success of the Stadion Classic at UGA. People like Steve are the heart and soul of the Web.com Tour and are among the primary reasons Tour events are able to support the UGA Foundation and other worthy causes in Athens as well as charities in all the other communities we visit.”
“Steve is great to work with because he brings a smile to your face each time you see him,” said Keith Wenrich, another Co-Chairman of Volunteer Coordination. “He always has a great story to tell you and will make you feel like you’re part of his family. He is very dedicated to his job and will never ask you to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. Steve is always one of the first people at the course in the morning to ensure everything was starting off right. He provides an extra level of comfort for all of the tournament staff. If a call comes in on the radio, Steve is the first person to address the situation and come up with several alternatives to help out.”
The 2013 Stadion Classic at UGA will be played May 2-5 at the UGA Golf Course.
Pictured: Steve McGrath (center) with Volunteer Co-Chairmen Tom Deus (Left) and Keith Wenrich (Right).
Tags: stadion classic at ugaWeb.comWeb.com TourVolunteerawardAthensUniversity of GeorgiaTICKETS Fore CHARITY- Nonprofit Spotlights
The Wesley Foundation is a campus ministry committed to worshiping God and seeking His Kingdom in Athens. The Wesley Foundation desires to see Christian students fulfill their primary calling and become Christ-like. Small groups and discipleship are the two fundamental avenues that the foundation believes lead students toward that goal. The Wesley Foundation offers students the opportunity to participate and give leadership in one of 15 different ministry areas.
"TICKETS Fore CHARITY has been a perfect match for the Wesley Foundation at UGA. The program has provided a unique thank you gift for donors and an amazing addition to our player gift bags at our golf tournament. As an organization that relies almost exclusively on community and donor support, the funds raise immediately add to our ability to minster to UGA students. In addition, participating has raised awareness about our organization around the community."
-- William Draper / Associate Director-Advancement
To learn more about the Wesley Foundation at UGA, please visit their website: http://ugawesley.org/
To see more information about TICKETS Fore CHARITY, please click here.
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