The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Duluth teen excited to play in Women’s Open
The amazing spring of Duluth’s Sara Im continues this week when the rising Lambert High School senior competes in the U.S. Women’s Open Championship, the ultimate prize in women’s golf, at Pine Needles Lodge and Resort in Southern Pines, N.C.
Im, 17, said it began to sink in when she and her father showed up to register Saturday.
“Everyone was just so nice,” she said. “We got our own lockers, and we got all this stuff, so I feel like that’s when it hit me.”
She’s even been asked to sign a few autographs.
“They don’t know who I am, but because I’m a player, they come up and ask me to sign and they want to know who I am,” she said. “It’s pretty cool.”
Im qualified for the championship at Dunwoody Country Club, shooting a 5 under over 36 holes to win one of two spots. This spring she also has teamed with friend Thienna Huynh to win the U.S. Women’s Amateur Fourball Championship and was the medalist at the state high school championship.
“I feel like my game right now is just solid,” she said. “I’m putting a lot better, and that’s what’s really been helping me out. And I feel like after this tournament, a lot of other things will be a lot better with my game, whether or not I make the cut, just from the experience here. Everything I’m learning is going to help me a lot later.”
The national experience at the U.S. Four-ball will be helpful, Im said.
“Hitting those clutch putts when I needed and playing such a hard course … and the wind was insane that week,” she said. “It definitely helped me for this tournament.”
Im is paired with Bianca Pagdanganan of the Philippines and Canadian Maude-aimee Leblanc for the first two rounds (today-friday).
Im is not the youngest player in the field. That honor belongs to Anna Davis, 16, who won the Augusta National Women’s Amateur earlier this spring.
Brazell’s Creek team wins Georgia State Parks Cup
The team of Brandon Simmons, Bradley Abbgy, Zach Robinson and Patrick Edwards won the second annual Georgia Golf Cup at the Lakes Golf Course at Laura S. Walker Park in Waycross.
The team, which qualified at Brazell’s Creek, shot a 17-under 55 in the best-ball format and beat the Wallace Adams Golf Course team of Russ Bell, Wally Adams, Matt Bell and Chris Seabolt by one shot.
The winners received an expense-paid golf trip to Brasstown Valley Resort in Young Harris. The 13 teams in the field got in by winning a qualifier at one of the Georgia State Parks golf courses.
UGA’S Phillips leads All-american honors
The University of Georgia’s Trent Phillips finished his college career by being named an All-american by the Golf Coaches Association of America.
Phillips joins Harris English, Russell Henley, Kevin Kisner and Brendon Todd as the only fourtime All-american picks in school history.
Phillips finished with school records for scoring average (70.35) and the tournament scoring record at 20 under. He is the first Bulldog to be named ALL-SEC four times.
He will make his professional debut this week at the Korn Ferry Tour’s Rex Hospital Open, an exemption he earned by winning The Williams Cup this season. He finished eighth on the PGA Tour University standings and is eligible to play on PGA Tour Canada this summer. He is exempt into the second stage of the Korn Ferry qualifying tournament.
Joining Phillips on the GCAA All-southeast Region team were teammate Maxwell Ford and Georgia Southern’s Ben Carr and Mason Williams. Georgia Tech placed four on the All-east Region team — Christo Lamprecht, Connor Howe, Bartley Forrester and Ross Steelman.
Austin Fulton of West Georgia and Blairsville native Beck Burnette of Lee University were named to the NCAA Division II All-america team. Jackson Klutznick of Emory was named Division III All-american.
Matthew Cleary of Dalton State was named to the NAIA All-american team.
Oklahoma’s Gotterup wins Haskins Award
Chris Gotterup of Oklahoma won the Fred Haskins Award, presented since 1971 by the Columbus-based foundation to the best player in college golf.
Gotterup spent four seasons at Rutgers before transferring to Oklahoma for the 2021-22 seasons. He won twice and had eight top-10 finishes. He finished fifth among individuals at the NCAA Championships.
The award was won its first three years by Ben Crenshaw of the University of Texas. Other winners have included Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Justin Thomas.
“I’m kind of lost for words,” Gotterup said. “Looking at all these names on here, to be associated with those names is awesome.”
Ex-tech star Ogletree will play in LIV Golf event
Former Georgia Tech All-american and U.S. Amateur champion Andy Ogletree will play in the first tournament staged by LIV Golf, a decision that could complicate his chances to play on the PGA Tour. Ogletree’s name was on a list of 42 players, most notably two-time major champion Dustin Johnson, who have committed to play in the first LIV Golf event that was released Tuesday.
Ogletree is not a PGA Tour member, so it’s unclear how his participation in LIV Golf would impact him.
Ogletree, who won the 2019 U.S. Amateur championship while at Tech, turned professional in November 2020 (after he was low amateur at the Masters, an appearance earned from his U.S. Amateur victory) and has been beset by injuries and poor results. He played in four PGA Tour events early in the 2020-21 season as a professional, making the cut once, and then had hip surgery in April 2021, rendering him unable to compete for several months. Since then, he has played in events on a limited basis, including a regional tour event in February in Daytona Beach, Fla., where the purse was $83,365.