Global Golf Post - November 22, 2010

USGA Issues 16 Walker Cup Invites

Three Walker Cup veterans were among 16 players invited by the USGA to an early January practice session for the 2011 team at Old Memorial GC near Tampa. Peter Uihlein, Bud Cauley and Nathan Smith were all members of the triumphant 2009 team at Merion GC. Combined, they posted a record of 9-1-1.

Uhlien is the reigning U.S. Amateur champion and the No. 1 ranked amateur in the world. Smith is a three time U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. Cauley, ranked No. 35 in the world, is a junior at the University of Alabama.

Also invited were Auburn sophomore Blayne Barber, UCLA freshman Patrick Cantlay, San Diego junior Alex Ching, Stanford junior David Chung, Georgia senior Harris English, Kent State senior John Hahn, Georgia senior Russell Henry, Illinois senior Scott Langley, UCLA junior Gregor Main, Pepperdine senior Andrew Putnam, Augusta State junior Patrick Reed and Stanford sophomore Andrew Yun.

A surprise pick was high school senior Jordan Speith, from Dallas. Missing is 2009 Walker Cup member Morgan Hoffman, who is expected to turn pro after the NCAA Championship next June. The 10-man U.S. Walker Cup team will be captained by 1981 U.S. Mid Amateur champion Jim Holtgrieve. The match will be held at Scotland’s Royal Aberdeen Golf Club next September.

Condoleezza Rice, who served as Secretary
of State during George W. Bush’s second term in
the White House, has been named to the USGA’s
2012 Nominating Committee. The official an-
nouncement will be made at the USGA’s Annual
Meeting in Phoenix in early February. Rice, 55,
currently serves as a professor of political sci-
ence at Stanford University.

Jim Furyk, who won three PGA Tour titles in 2010, including the season-ending Tour Championship, was named the PGA of America’s Player of the Year.

Steve Elling of CBSsports.com reported last week that XM/Sirius likely will not renew its contract with the PGA Tour to carry the PGA Tour Radio Network. XM/Sirius reportedly has been paying $4 million annually for broadcast rights.

The Asian Tour has struck a 12-year deal with IMG Media to manage television production and global distribution, which will see four new tournaments added to its schedule in 2011.

The USGA is offering a holiday gift and a discount for people who buy tickets for the U.S. Open before Jan. 3. The event will be played June 13-19 at Congressional CC in Bethesda, Md. A hat clip/ballmarker will be included while supplies last. For more information, visit www.usga.org/tickets.

John K. Solheim, 36, son of Ping chairman John A. Solheim, has been appointed president of Ping Golf Japan … Robert “Boots” Widener passed away this month. He served as a rules official for the LPGA Tour, PGA Tour, Champions Tour, Nationwide Tour and Legends Tour. l