PGA Tour: Honda Classic notes

Sam Osborne hits a tee shot at a West Florida Golf Tour victory at the Legacy Golf Club. Photo provided by the WFGT.

Some kudos are in order for Sam Osborne.

Osborne, who hails from England but lives in Palmetto, advanced from the pre-qualifier for this week's Honda Classic.

Osborne fired a 68 to get to Monday's qualifier for the PGA Tour event. However, he stumbled with a 76 and didn't earn one of the four spots up for grabs.

Hampton Ballard also missed with a 77 in Monday's qualifier.

Ballard, who made the final stage of this past year's PGA Tour Q-School, works as a caddie at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club and is based in Bradenton.

He didn't have to go through the pre-qualifier.

The Honda Classic is already generating fireworks as the first part of the "Florida Swing" is taking that term literally with Tiger Woods having what the Associated Press described as a "terse exchange with a magazine reporter" on Wednesday.

It all stemmed from former teacher's Hank Haney's new book, and questions arose from an excerpt where Haney indicated that Woods thought about becoming a Navy SEAL and giving up golf.

To read the full story, click here.

Suncoast Ladies Series: Rachel Connor moves up the leaderboard

Two Bradenton-based golfers headed in opposite directions on Wednesday in the Suncoast Ladies Series at the Timacuan Golf Club in Lake Mary.

The women's mini-tour concludes its three-day, 54-hole event on Thursday.

Rachel Connor, who hails from Manchester, England, and trains at IMG Academies, fired a second-round 73 to move into a tie for 19th with a 5-over par total.

Connor tweeted about the round that included 35 putts.

"Please, the putting gods, give me a break," she said on the social media site.

Meanwhile, a former IMG standout went the other direction.

Ginger Howard, who won last week's event for her sixth career victory on the tour, followed up an opening-round 74 with a 76 and is tied for 22nd.

Both players are well behind the runaway leader Misun Cho.

The South Korean has a five-shot lead with an 8-under par total.

Sara Bay Classic: All Faiths tabbed as charity for Sara Bay Classic

The All Faiths Food Bank of Sarasota was chosen as the charitable beneficiary for the inaugural Sara Bay Classic in a press release from the LPGA's Symetra Tour today.

The golf tournament is scheduled for April 20-22 at Sara Bay Country Club in southern Manatee County. The tourney's second round on Saturday, April 21st, fans donating at least a bag of non-perishable food items will receive free admission.

That day is designated as "All Faiths Food Bank Day."

"Bringing new events to communities gives us a great opportunity to develop strong partnerships with local charities and foundations to give back to the region that graciously hosts our tour,” Symetra Tour CEO Zayra Calderon said in the release. “We are extremely fortunate to donate to such an established and respected charity as the All Faiths Food Bank, who we know has such a positive impact on the Sarasota/Bradenton community.”


For more information on the tournament, visit www.SaraBayClassic.com

Local Professional: Jessica Korda plays in a West Florida Golf Tour event

Jessica Korda at the 2010 U.S. Women's Amateur/provided by McClatchy News-Service.

Bradenton's Jessica Korda spent Monday strolling the fairways at the Founders Club in a dynamic threesome.

Korda played with phenom Domenico Geminiani and golfing legend Tony Jacklin in a West Florida Golf Tour event on her 19th birthday.

Geminiani became the youngest player in European Tour history when he competed in the 2010 Italian Open at the age of 14, while Jacklin won two major championships during his career.

Korda and Geminiani hone their games in Bradenton, and Jacklin resides in Manatee County as well.

Korda won her first LPGA Tour event earlier this month at the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open.

Her victory earned her $165,000. That's more than three times what she made in her rookie year last season.

To read more about this story, check out tomorrow's Bradenton Herald.

Women's Golf: Ginger Howard wins sixth career Suncoast Series event

Ginger Howard at last year's LPGA Tour Q-School at the Plantation Golf & Country Club. Photo by Jason Dill/jdill@bradenton.com

Former IMG Academies standout Ginger Howard collected her sixth victory on the Suncoast Ladies Series, picking up $2,000 for first place.

Howard, based out of Bradenton, fired two 66s and a final round 73 to finish at 8-under par.

That total was good for a two-shot victory at Sanctuary Ridge in Clermont. It's Howard's first victory on the circuit since September 2011.

Natalie Sheary, who also is a former IMG standout and trains in Bradenton, tied for 17th with a 6-over par 219 total in the 54-hole tournament.

She finished five shots out of the money.

Also finishing outside the money from the area was Rachel Connor, who trains out of IMG as well.

Connor posted a 9-over par 222 total.

Tip of the Week: The Power Lag

Want to hit the ball farther?

Want to increase your distance with every club in the bag?

Well, this week's tip focuses on that.

Bradenton resident and former Sarasota High and Ryder Cup winning captain Paul Azinger shows just how to do that.

Lag is what every golfer needs, and Zinger, who won the 1993 PGA Championship, provides that perfect tip in his Golfplan series.

Check it out below:

LPGA Tour: Jessica Korda on break, playing WFGT event Monday

Now that Bradenton’s Jessica Korda has her first LPGA and Ladies European Tour victory under her belt, it means she has the luxury of choosing her own schedule the rest of the year.

It also means she doesn’t have to play week-in and week-out. So Korda, who arrived back to Florida right after winning the Women’s Australian Open in a playoff, is scheduled to resume some competitive golf — albeit against the men — in Monday’s West Florida Golf Tour event at the Founders Club in Sarasota.

Argentinian star and IMG standout Victoria Tanco is also scheduled to play.

Local Golf: Charity tournament has huge turnout

Photo by Nick Williams/nwilliams@bradenton.com

Bradenton Herald colleague Nick Williams covered Monday's Junior Achievement Pro-Am golf tournament held at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in East Manatee.

The tournament attracted a record-setting turnout, and that was due to the West Florida Golf Tour's involvement.

The WFGT joined forces for the second consecutive year to supply the professionals for the event.

David Morland IV won the professional side of the event with a splendid 66. That was good for a one-shot victory over former Cardinal Mooney and University of North Florida standout Chris Kennedy.

Morland collected $2,000 for first place.

To read more about the story, check it out here.

Local Amateur: Bradenton City Senior Two-Man Results

David Brown and Gene Shires shot 67 on Sunday to go with their opening round 62 for a one-shot victory in the 2012 Bradenton City Senior Two-Man Championship at River Run Golf Links.

The duo bested Jim Stone and Chris Muscara, who finished with a 68. Both teams posted superb 62s in Saturday's first round.

The tournament was the first in the city series for 2012.

The 15th Annual City Senior Championship is next up, scheduled for March 17-18.

Other flight winners included: David Peabody and Ray Wenck (first flight); Michael McGowan and Ed Scheid (second flight) and Bill Ball and David Poje (third flight).

You'll find the full results below:

		CHAMPIONSHIP FLIGHT
				NAME	NAME	1st Round	2nd Round	Final
		1		Brown, David	Shires, Greg	62	67	129
		2		Stone, Jim	Muscara, Chris	62	68	130
		3		Bass, Eddie	Schuchat, Brad	66	66	132
		4		Bennett, Lee	Smith, Dan	69	65	134
		5		Belcastro, Mark	Lacher, Steve	69	67	136
		6		Kirby, Paul	Soucie, Bill	67	70	137
				Ramey, Rob	Hodges, Charlie	68	70	138
				Gering, John	Quick, Jay	69	70	139
				White, James	Smith, Gary	68	73	141
				Moore, Andy	Walters, Charles	68	75	143
				Eiffert, Eric	Maglich, Rick	68	76	144
				Knowles, Mike	Miller Russell	69	81	150
				1ST FLIGHT
				NAME	NAME	1st Round	2nd Round	Final
		1		Peabody, David	Wenck, Ray	70	69	139
		2		Adams, Carl	Gromko, Dave	70	70	140
		3		Tanner, John	Kyllonen, Rich	70	70	140
		4		Putrino, Dennis	Jones, Billy	70	70	140
		5		Adrian, Ralph	Walker, Pete	70	70	140
		6		McParland, Jerry	Gillis, Peter	72	69	141
				Morrissey, Tim	Belajac, Dave	71	71	142
				Smith, Jeff	Clark, Randy	70	72	142
				Dolison, Drew	Reasoner, Greg	71	72	143
				Petti, Nick	Stang, Gene	71	72	143
				Harrington, Michael	Fine, Terry	72	72	144
				Coffee, Craig	Etcheverry, Mike	71	75	146
				Cooper, Rick	Frost, John	70	76	146
				Coulter, Mike	Farrer, Richard	70	76	146
				Ash, Jerry	Blevins, Dick	70	77	147
				Francis, Richard	MacGowan, Doug	72	75	147
				Lyerly, Steve	Gault, Ray	71	77	148
				Bell, Greg	Sindoris, Paul	72	79	151
				2ND FLIGHT
				NAME	NAME	1st Round	2nd Round	Final
		1		McGowan, Michael	Scheid, Ed	73	69	142
		2		Cullagh, Patrick	Gleeson, Liam	73	71	144
		3		Hodges, Boots	Jaudon Jeff	73	72	145
		4		Holden, Joe	Shondel, James	74	71	145
		5		Loper, Ralph	Munro, Bruce	75	73	148
		6		Bernhard, John	Ramsey, Jim	73	77	150
				Farrell, Tony	Reed, Mike	73	77	150
				Lovette, Dale	Osborne, Chris	73	77	150
				Blackwell, Jerry	Poston, Wayne	77	75	152
				Bozzetti, Ted	Burke, Kevin	75	77	152
				McGrath, Steven	Danziger, Steve	74	78	152
				Godfrey, Bill	Woods, Lewis	75	78	153
				Neville, John	Ruffino, Mick	74	79	153
				Kemmedy, Richard	Prigoda, Dennis	74	80	154
				Mulvaney, Vinnie	Zinno, Rich	77	77	154
				Pratt, Dana	Arnold, Bill	77	77	154
				Straub, Jim	Tennant, Thomas	74	80	154
				Brickse, Ken	Stufflebeam, Jim	74	83	157
				Proos, Gary	Rebh, Steve	77	80	157
				Booth, Roosevelt	Poole, Clyde	74	84	158
				McGrath, Terrence	Piccirillo, William	76	82	158
				Kelley, Bob	Jessen, Larry	77	83	160
				3RD FLIGHT
				NAME	NAME	1st Round	2nd Round	Final
		1		Ball, Bill	Poje, David	78	74	152
		2		Dickinson, Duane	Hryhorchuk, John	81	72	153
		3		Liddell, Mike	Tally, Marshall	80	75	155
		4		Pinke, Ron	TenHarmsel, Jason	78	78	156
		5		Bennett, Jack	Blassick, Kenneth	79	77	156
		6		Costigan, Patrich	Witte, Willie	80	77	157
				Beauchamp, Dave	Beauchamp, Marshall	82	78	160
				Close, Eric	Orav, Carl	80	80	160
				Love, Larry	Beauregard, Paul	79	81	160
				Malone, Connie	Gallogley, Reggie	79	83	162
				Dobbs, Doug	McLellan, Jim	84	79	163
				Hegarty, James	Lowry, Austin	81	83	164
				Darden, Ron	Murphy, Mark	82	84	166
				Martin, Bruce	Wilks, Leonard	85	83	168
				Passaro, Dominick	Vittorini, Richard	84	84	168
				Bassett, Dane	McNaughton, John	86	84	170
				O'Shea, Frank	Wilson, Bob	83	89	172
				Landis, Don	Murray, John	86	90	176
				Steele, Alan	Alvarado, Arnold	91	89	180
				Hocker, Bill	Rupert, George	96	90	186