Mickelson deciding soon on playing Schwab Cup
He hasn’t officially entered yet but Phil Mickelson has until 5 p.m. Friday to commit to next week’s Charles Schwab Cup Championship. Lefty played the first of the circuit’s three playoff events but is skipping the second leg this week at the TimberTech Championship in Florida. Mickelson is 24th in the points and the top 36 will be at Phoenix Country Club for the finale.
Three weeks ago, he indicated he was looking forward to returning to Arizona.
“I enjoy playing golf in Phoenix and I haven’t played there in a couple years and I’m looking forward to playing there,” Mickelson said after winning the Furyk & Friends event in Jacksonville.
A happy couple
Phoenix Xavier College Prep graduate Cheyenne Woods announced on Instagram her engagement to New York Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks. The couple told Golfweek in January that they first met when Woods interviewed Hicks for her podcast, “Birdies Not BS,” in early 2020 and began dating later that spring. Woods, a longtime tour professional and niece of Tiger Woods, wrote “YESSS to forever with my best friend and my (heart emoji)” on her Instagram post that pictured Hicks proposing on bended knee. Woods, 31, played college golf at Wake Forest.
OB Sports founder dies
Orrin Vincent, founder of Scottsdale-based OB Sports Golf Management, died Oct. 25 at his home in La Quinta, California. He was 76 years old. No cause of death was included in an announcement of his passing by Troon golf management company, which acquired OB in 2019.
Vincent founded OB in 1972 and grew it into a powerful management group with more than 70 courses in its portfolio at the time Troon acquired it. Troon noted in its media release that “Vincent’s impressive background and specialties included playing on the PGA TOUR; coaching and mentoring numerous aspiring junior, collegiate, and professional golfers; golf course design; golf course construction; premium facility maintenance; innovative marketing and brand development; retail sales; and growing every component of the great game and business he loved.”
NCAA regional shake-up
A request from the NCAA Division I Women’s Golf Committee to move to a six-regional format was approved by the NCAA Competition Oversight Committee. The change will go into effect for this upcoming spring championship, May 20-25 at Grayhawk Golf Club in Scottsdale.
Each regional site will now be comprised of 12 teams and six individuals, just as it is on the men’s side. The top four teams and top two individuals (not on an advancing team) will qualify for the championship. According to a release from the NCAA: “72 teams will still qualify for regional play, with the number of individuals not on an advancing team increasing from 24 to 36.”
Fall college season comes to close
The Arizona State men’s golf team closed out its fall season with a move up in the rankings.
ASU is No. 2 in the latest Bushnell/ Golfweek Coaches Poll. The Sun Devils reached the third-place match at the East Lake Cup in Atlanta before falling to defending national champion Pepperdine. Freshman Preston Summerhays had a strong week, sharing medalist honors with Oklahoma’s Chris Gotterup.
ASU’s next event will be the Copper Cup on Jan. 16 at Ak-Chin Southern Dunes in Maricopa against rival Arizona, which kicks off the spring season.
On the women’s side, the most recent Mizuno Women’s Golf Coaches Association Division I Coaches Poll has Arizona at No. 17 and ASU at No. 20.
In the latest Golfweek/Sagarin men’s golf rankings, the ASU is third, Arizona is 37th, Grand Canyon is No. 115.
Junior All-Americans
The 2021 Rolex Junior All-America Teams were announced last week and three Arizona golfers were honored.
Kendall Todd of Goodyear was named to the first team on the women’s side. On the men’s side, Anawin Pikulthong of Gilbert made Second Team, while Gavin Aurilia of Phoenix was named Honorable Mention. Both teams will be honored virtually through a Rolex Junior All-America Awards celebration on Friday, Dec. 3, dubbed “The Greatest Night in Junior Golf.”
Learn the rules
The Arizona Golf Association is hosting a free Rules of Golf workshop Wednesday at Oakcreek CC in Sedona. There will be two more after that: Nov. 22 at Quail Creek in Green Valley and Dec. 2 at McCormick Ranch in Scottsdale. Go to azgolf.org to register.
Talking golf
In Arizona, there are over 300 golf courses and more than 200 of them can be found in metro Phoenix. More than 10 million rounds of golf were played in the state in 2019, according to a study commissioned by the Arizona Alliance for Golf. The state is largely seen as a golf destination, but how did that happen? In this week’s episode of Valley 101, a podcast from The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com, producer Maritza Dominguez breaks down how golf’s popularity grew in the Valley.