INSIDE STATE GOLF

BY GARY D’AMATO

TOURNAMENT TRAIL: Paul Zarek

of Burlington got the competitive golf season in Wisconsin off to a good start Monday, shooting a 3-under-par 67 at Sheboygan Riverdale to win the annual Tournament of Champions. Zarek, the 2014 State Senior Open champion, made a 3½-foot birdie putt on his final hole to secure the victory. “I was nervous over that putt because I knew it was for the win,” he said. Zarek, 58, made five birdies and two Zarek bogeys — both the result of three-putt greens — and had

only two 5s on his scorecard. Craig Czerniejewski of Washington County Golf Course came out on top in a four-man playoff to win the Wisconsin PGA Head Pro Classic at West Bend Country Club. Czerniejewski shot a 73 and tied Joe Leonard, John Freeman and Jeff Ellingson before winning in extra holes. In the concurrent WAGPA/WSGA Stroke Play event, Braden Mork of Nakoma Golf Club fired a 69 to win.

THE FIRST TEE EXPANSION:

The First Tee of Milwaukee County is in the process of becoming The First Tee of Southeast Wisconsin. The organization, which gets kids started in golf, would expand to include Fond du Lac, Racine, Kenosha, Waukesha, Washington, Ozaukee and Walworth counties. A board is being formalized and paperwork has been submitted to The First Tee national office.

PARKS PROGRESS:

A renovation of Greenfield Park Golf Course is halfway done, according to Jon Canavan, golf and recreational turf manager for Milwaukee County Parks. In Phase 1 last fall, several greens and tee boxes were moved to eliminate “pinch points” on the course. This year, another green is being moved, the bunkers are being redone and a new irrigation system is being installed. Plans also are in place for a cart path on the back nine at Oakwood Park and a $400,000 update to the kitchen at Brown Deer Park. “We’re going to make that investment so we’ve got a full-service kitchen,” said Parks director John Dargle. “If we have a dining experience in that historic clubhouse, maybe it will bring out some people that are outside of golf.”