John Daly’s 50th birthday came a week too late for him to compete in last year’s Mitsubishi Electric Classic, but he is among the early commitments for this year’s event, April 10-16 at TPC Sugarloaf in Duluth.
Daly had five top-25 finishes in 15 starts on the PGA Tour Champions circuit as a rookie in 2016. The two-time major winner is off to a fair start; he was 23rd at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at Hualalai and ranks 42nd on the money list.
Other early commitments include defending champion Woody Austin and former Georgia Southern star Gene Sauers, the reigning U.S. Senior Open champion.
It is a good year for rookies on the plus-50 circuit. David Toms, a 13-time winner who claimed the 2001 PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club, and 12-time winner Steve Stricker are both eligible to compete. Neither has yet committed to play the Mitsubishi Classic, but neither has ruled it out.
Georgia PGA award to Day
Pat Day, the Georgia PGA’s respected director of competitions, has been named the section’s Golf Professional of the Year. Day received the award at the Georgia PGA’s annual awards banquet at the College Football Hall of Fame.
Other major winners were: Shawn Koch of Country Club of the South (teacher of the year), Chrissy Felton of Sea Island (youth player development), Will Bartram of Cherokee Town and Country Club (assistant), Daryl Batey of the PGA of America (Horton Smith Award), Trey Lamberth of Crosswinds Golf Club (player development), Chris Cartwright of West Pines Golf Club (Bill Strausbaugh Award), Dave Windsor of the Adaptive Golf Academy (Patriot Award) and Brian Conley of Legacy on Lanier (President’s Award).
Missing at Bay Hill
The impact of Arnold Palmer’s death will be felt when the tournament named in his honor returns to Bay Hill next week. The course is not a favorite among many of the PGA Tour members, but most came to play there out of respect to Palmer.
Rory McIlroy will compete, but World No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth, Phil Mickelson and Ryder Cup star Patrick Reed are among the high profile players who won’t be there. Spieth has never played the event, Mickelson hasn’t made an appearance since 2013 and Johnson hasn’t played there since 2011. FedEx Cup points leader Justin Thomas is skipping it because of a friend’s wedding.
Etc.
Defending champion Alabama and No. 10-ranked Georgia headline the 13-team field for the 12th Linger Longer Invitational, which will be played March 20-22 at Reynolds Lake Oconee’s Great Waters Course. The event is co-hosted by Mercer and No. 25 Kennesaw State, which finished third a year ago. Other top teams in the field are No. 5 Virginia and No. 14 Baylor. … The Harbor Club at Lake Oconee is offering tee times at its celebrated Tom Weiskopf-Jay Morrish designed course during Masters week. There is no residency requirement
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