AJGA Blog

AJC Top 100: Todd Corum

Todd Corum

Tour Representative

Bridgestone Golf

Q: What was your time at the AJGA like? 

My time at the AJGA was unbelievable.  I interned in 1999 and was a Tournament Director from 2000 – 2004. My last two years with the AJGA, I ran all of the Association’s major championships.  The players that were playing and winning those events are now winning events on the PGA and LPGA Tours.  [It’s] very cool to see these players continue to have success as they move through each level of golf. 

Q: What was your favorite memory from your time at the AJGA? 

I have so many great memories from my time at the AJGA.  The friendships you make with the AJGA staff last a lifetime.  Also, I had the opportunity to meet some of the greatest players to ever play the game which included Phil Mickelson, Sam Snead and Justin Leonard, but meeting Arnold Palmer at the first HP Boys Championship at Bay Hill is my favorite memory from my time at the AJGA.

Q: How did the AJGA help prepare you for your current role at Bridgestone? 

The AJGA prepared me to do things the right way.  All the little details make an event special for all those involved.  Also, many of the contacts I had at the AJGA are still contacts I see regularly on TOUR now that I am with Bridgestone Golf.  The AJGA has such a great fraternity of people in the golf industry and many doors open for you just because of your association with the AJGA.

Q: What about the Association makes Bridgestone want to be involved? 

The AJGA is not only the best junior golf organization in the world but also one of the best associations in all of golf.  We want to be associated with the best players in the world and being a partner with the AJGA allows us to do that.  We currently sponsor an event, the Bridgestone Golf / Brandt Snedeker Music City Junior, as well as sponsor the low first round award at each event.  This allows us to stay involved with golf’s next generation of superstars.

 

 

In June, Brandt Snedeker will partner with his sponsor, Bridgestone, to host the Bridgestone Golf / Brandt Snedeker Music City Junior presented by Toyota. Snedeker, AJGA alum and current PGA TOUR professional, is devoted to giving back to the community, and along with various children’s charities he supports, he believes in the importance of giving back to junior golf.  Snedeker posted three top-20 AJGA finishes and received Rolex Junior All-America honorable mention honors in 1998. Snedeker went on to attend Vanderbilt University where he was named SEC Male Golfer of the Year during his senior season.  Snedeker was named PGA TOUR “Rookie of the Year” in 2007 and won the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola in 2012.

 

In case you’ve missed something, be sure to check out our full AJC Top 100 interview series. 

News & Notes: TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior All-Star at Chateau Elan

By Chris Richards (@AJGARichards), AJGA Communications

The TaylorMade-adidas Golf Junior All-Star at Château Élan was a 54-hole stroke play competition played on the par-71 Château Course at Château Élan. The event featured 102 boys and 36 girls, ages 12-15, from 28 states and six countries. The Boys Division played the course at 6,601 yards and the Girls Division played the course at 5,604 yards.

The junior Junior All-Stars…
Both the youngest boy and youngest girl in the 138-player field made the cut in their AJGA debuts. Tyler Lipscomb of Carrolton, Ga., (12 years, 23 days) and Isabella Fierro of Mexico (12 years, 3 months, 5 days) were among the 56 boys and 19 girls to qualify for Sunday’s final round.

…the senior Junior All-Star…
By contrast, 15-year-old Lauren Stephenson of Lexington, S.C., competed in her fourth AJGA tournament at Château Élan. Her track record at the Château Course remains stellar, as she added a win to a resume that includes co-medalist honors at the 2011 Preseason Junior at Château Élan and a third-place finish at this event in 2012.

…and the AJGA All-Stars.
The extended AJGA family came together at Château Élan this weekend, as the volunteers were largely made up of former staff, future staff, current players and staff families.

Among the guest rules officials were recently departed tournament directors, including Annie Giangrosso (@Annie_jo_g), who is a rules official on the Symetra Tour. Two members of the AJGA Intern Class of 2013 got their first taste of AJGA competition by serving as timing station volunteers alongside 2011 Rolex Junior All-American Rinko Mitsunaga (@RinkoMitsunaga), who traveled 38 miles from her home in Roswell, Ga., to volunteer Easter Sunday.

Spouses of current employees drove shuttles, while the parents of Tournament Director Katie Tahara (@KatieJoTahara) managed FJ Live Scoring and monitored their daughter at work.

The roots of the AJGA Family Tree are deep, and they were on full display during one of the AJGA’s busiest weekends.

Volunteers Assemble!

If you haven’t done so already, be sure to check out this month’s issue of The Insider. Our Editor-in-Chief Abby Liebenthal (@AJGALiebs) did an awesome job this month to put together an issue that really tells the story of AJGA volunteers. We really couldn’t do what we do without them and in this issue you learn more about some of the incredible people that do so many volunteer jobs at our events.

With so many great stories that deserve to be shared, Abby didn’t have enough space to include them all within the pages of The Insider. That said, I’ve got three additional stories to share with you here, so take a look, and learn a little bit more about some of these awesome people.

Ben Barkey – Tournament Chairman, AJGA Stonehenge Junior Open

Ben is the men's golf coach at Warsaw Community High School in Warsaw, Indiana and has been the Tournament Chairmen for the AJGA Stonehenge Junior Open since it was created in 2011.

On how he got started with the AJGA:

I called the AJGA on a whim, which was one of the first steps in giving my players another opportunity to get better. I knew about the AJGA's quality of competition and tournaments, but had no idea about the ins and outs of being a tournament chairman, having tournament exemptions, etc. At the time the AJGA committed to hosting an event at Stonehenge, the head professional was a good friend of mine and came to me and said 'You need to do this.' It was a great feeling knowing that I could really help out and be a part of the AJGA team for this.

In the beginning, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but after seeing the results it makes it so worth it. And, the AJGA is so thankful for everyone's help from our committee and community, it makes it so great to be a part of the team.

What is your favorite aspect of being involved as a Tournament Chairman?

Getting to know all the kids from all over the area is definitely my favorite aspect of being involved. If I was just the golf coach out there watching my kids, no one would really know who I was. But as the TC, I get a lot of kids coming up and saying thank you for helping. Seeing the same kids, same parents and creating relationships, after only a week at the course, that last over the years makes it really worth. That's the really neat thing about the whole event.

Jack Heda – Tournament Chairman, Under Armour® / Steve Marino Championship

What do you find important about supporting junior golf?

I firmly believe that golf is the ultimate junior sport to teach life lessons.  It’s the perfect complement to an academic education.  I enjoy making the sport more accessible to juniors who otherwise might not have the opportunity.

Why did you get involved with the AJGA?

I noted that South Florida did not have an AJGA tournament, despite being such a great golf community. I contacted the regional director and offered to be a liaison to facilitate my home course, Weston Hills Country Club as a host. Both the AJGA and Weston Hills were receptive for this perfect marriage.

Do you have any advice for people who want to help in their communities?

Just do it! Get out there are plenty of opportunities.  Nothing is greater than giving back.

Lastly, Morgan Seeley, who works closely with our Development Office and our Leadership Links campaign as a Partnership Coordinator, wrote a great article about one of our juniors, Jens Verhey, and his work with Leadership Links. After all, not only do we have great volunteers that help us at our events, our juniors are also great volunteers themselves.

Golfing and giving

For junior golfer Jens Verhey, being a member of the AJGA is benefiting both his golfing and giving skills. Working with the AJGA Leadership Links program, Verhey has raised more than $1,500 for CureSearch for Children’s Cancer in honor of his friend and golfing partner Anthony Decker.

Decker has been battling reoccurring retinoblastoma in his eye for the past couple of years and is just beginning to see improvement. Verhey knows that with his friend’s recent improvement there would be nothing better than a good round of golf to keep his spirits up.  

“I want to get him back on the golf course again,” Verhey said. “It is the least I could do because he is such a nice, good kid and stays so positive. I am going to keep going with it and raise as much money as possible."

Wanting to do more for his friend, Verhey looked into the Leadership Links program which is designed to encourage juniors to give back by giving them all the tools to donate their time, talent and resources to charitable giving.   

"I was on the AJGA Leadership Links website a lot and it looked like a good program to get involved in,” Verhey said. “I have always felt that community service was a great thing to be a part of."

Once he found out more information and decided to dedicate his work in honor of Decker, he jumped right into raising money.

"I started out talking to a lot of my dad’s coworkers,” Verhey said. “They were all really supportive and then I decided to put it on Facebook, the more people that I can reach in the future the better, so I am going to keep going."

As Verhey continues to work towards helping his friend, he hopes that juniors will take advantage of programs like AJGA’s Leadership Links.

"It is really good to build a good foundation as a kid and not get so hung up on yourself about everyday life,” Verhey said. “I think we should all broaden our horizons and think about other people, because if you are out on the golf course having a good time playing AJGA golf, you are part of a lucky group.  There are a lot of people that can use that help to raise money. I think it is a good thing to do to realize how lucky you are."

 

If you didn’t already realize it, I’m sure you can see now that the AJGA is full of great people that, in addition to their love of and dedication to the game of golf, have a heart for the people and communities around them.

Quick shout out to Stephanie (@AJGADittmer) and our awesome intern Courtney Keppen for their help with the first two interviews on today's post.

Do you have a great volunteer story from an AJGA event? Do you volunteer in your local community? I’d love to hear your stories, so make sure you connect with me in the comments section or on Twitter -- @AJGAWitman.

Until next time –

Alexis (@AJGAWitman)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hangin’ with Webb

AJGA alum and 2012 U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson stopped by Bryan Park Golf & Conference Center Tuesday and spent some time with the juniors playing in the tournament that bears his name. While there, he talked to members of the local media, signed autographs for juniors and met with a few of the players on the putting green.

The four-time first-team Rolex Junior All-American spoke to the media about his recent run on the PGA Tour — including the U.S. Open title — and about his junior golf experience with the AJGA. Simpson spoke highly of his time in the AJGA, talking about how it helped him prepare for life in professional and competitive golf.

After the interviews, Simpson met with the juniors playing in his tournament, talked about their rounds today, signed autographs for the kids, and posed for photos with everyone, including Alaina Yeatts of Durham, N.C. (pictured right).

Simpson isn’t in the Greensboro, N.C., area just for his AJGA tournament, however. He begins his quest to earn a second consecutive Wyndham Championship title Thursday at Sedgefield Country Club. Following his victory in 2011, Webb has collected two more wins on the PGA TOUR, including his U.S. Open victory June 17 at Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Watch the Golf Channel feature on Webb Simpson here.

By Kyle Scholzen and Stephanie Dittmer, AJGA Communications

The AJGA at the U.S. Women's Open

Among a record 14 AJGA members playing in the 2012 U.S. Women’s Open, Emma Talley led them all. Talley and Alison Lee were two of only three amateurs to make the cut, with Talley shooting 73-75-81-72 to tie for 46^th place. Lee finished just behind her, with rounds of 75-74-79-78 to finish in a tie for 60^th.

Talley now prepares to join Alabama’s national championship team in the fall, while Lee preps for Wyndham Cup, where she hopes to bring the Cup back West this year.

Talley, of Glasgow, Ky., closes out her AJGA career with 10 victories, including four-in-a-row during a record-setting streak in the summer of 2011. She has been honored four times as a Rolex Junior All-American.

Lee, a rising senior from Valencia, Calif., has enjoyed a long run of success in AJGA competition, earning first-team Rolex Junior All-America honors in four straight years. Her victory at the 2012 ANNIKA Invitational was her fifth - and biggest - AJGA victory.

NOTES FROM THE OPEN

WRONG KIND OF BIRDIE: A stroke of bad luck at the 12^th hole will be difficult for Kyung Kim to forget. As she fought to stay inside the cutline during her second round, Kyung hit an apparently good approach into 12, but her ball struck a bird in flight. Instead of being on the green, her ball fell into a bunker 50 yards short, leading to a double bogey. She missed the cut by one stroke.

EMMA’S RALLY: After a dismal start to her third round, Emma Talley was 9-over through 6 holes. She never stopped fighting, however, as she shot even-par over her final 12 holes. Her chip for birdie at No. 18 was dead-on target, but bounced off the flagstick. In the fourth round, Emma continued to hold steady, firing her low round of the week – and even-par 72.

KENTUCKY CONNECTION: On the bag for Talley was Fred Sanders, the former caddie of a fellow Kentucky great, Kenny Perry.

ROLEX GREATS: Four former Rolex Junior Players of the Year contended throughout the week. Cristie Kerr (1995 Rolex Junior POY), Inbee Park (2002), and Paula Creamer (2003) are all previous champions of the U.S. Women’s Open and finished in the top 10, while Vicky Hurst (2007) is the youngest of the foursome whose best major finish was her T11 at the 2012 Kraft Nabisco Championship. Hurst tied for 18th place.

BUSY WEEK: Stacy Lewis is the second-ranked player in the world, yet with the Women’s Open looming this week, she still took time out Sunday to spend with AJGA juniors at the KPMG Stacy Lewis Junior Open in her home state of Arkansas. Classy.

THE MAN IN CHARGE: Former AJGA tournament director Ben Kimball ran the U.S. Women’s Open for the second straight year. After fighting through severe thunderstorms in Colorado last year that led to a Monday finish, it was a nice change of pace to experience a year without weather delays.

RULES GURU: Another former AJGA tournament director, Rob Ockenfuss, was the author of the Rules Corner Blog throughout the week. Ockenfuss is the Manager of Rules Inquiries at the USGA.

SIGNING DAY: Briana Mao, a former AJGA player who just completed her freshman year at Virginia, signed autographs for young fans at the driving range on Saturday.

- Rob Coleman, AJGA Communications

Egypt, to IMG, to OCU

The international influence within the membership of the American Junior Golf Association grows year after year, with more and more players who were born abroad competing in the United States’ premier junior golf organization.

That international influence had some noteworthy growth at the Preseason Junior at Sterling as Issa Abou el Ela, a native of Egypt who plays out of Bradenton, Fla., and the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy, played in his first AJGA event.

The move to the United States came in part because of practice limitations back in Egypt.

“My parents knew that I loved golf, but in Egypt school ends at 4 p.m. and it gets dark at six, so by the time I got to the golf course it was almost dark,” Abou el Ela said. “We had heard of IMG, and once my parents saw in me that I wanted to play seriously, they let me go.”

Abou el Ela has been at the IMG Leadbetter Golf Academy since January of 2011. Since then he has decided to attend Oklahoma City University this coming fall, and this week he finished runner-up in his first AJGA event. All of that has made Abou el Ela very thankful to have the game of golf in his life.

“Golf has given me something that I know I want to do,” Abou el Ela said. “I’m going to play college golf, enjoy it as much as I can. If I get good enough where I can turn pro, I’d be lucky, but if not I’ll still play golf no matter what, so it’s all right.”

- by Jenna Galloway and Teddy Newton, AJGA Communications Interns

The Bangkok Connection

When they were seven years old, KK Limbhasut and Pailin Ruttanasupagid played golf together in Bangkok, Thailand. Nearly one decade later and 9,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean, the two were joined together again as champions of the Under Armour ® / Gary Woodland Championship.

Outside the clubhouse at Diablo Grande Golf & Country Club, the pair gathered for champions’ photos, while sharing with the AJGA staff how long they have been friends. After growing up in Thailand, KK, now 16, moved to the States just two years ago; Pailin about a year and a half ago.

Now residing in southern California, KK and Pailin live about 100 miles apart, with KK in Loma Linda and Pailin in San Diego. Sunday afternoon, as they patiently posed for photos, they stood just inches apart – their golf journey taking them from young kids in Thailand to AJGA champions in Patterson, California.

- by Rob Coleman, AJGA Communications

News Nuggets from Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic

by Rob Coleman, AJGA Communications

Parting thoughts from Mesa, Ariz., as we wrap up the Winn Grips Heather Farr Classic hosted by Longbow Golf Club:

LOOK OUT BELOW: Records were falling in the final round. The women’s course record was broken by Lindsey Weaver who closed with a 7-under-par 64. The boys’ tournament record was claimed by Beau Hossler, who shot 66-68-64—198 to win by five shots.

SEVEN-LETTER PAIRING: There’s no official record for this category, but when Bethany Wu, Lidia Vu and Minjia Luo were paired together in the final round, there were only seven letters combined in their last names. By contrast, there are 18 letters in the last name of this week’s tournament director Tommy Tangtiphaiboontana.

CLUTCH CHIP: Cha Cha Willhoite made the girls’ 36-hole cut on the number. What the scorecard doesn’t tell us is that she chipped in for par on her 36^th hole to hit that number.

SWEET & LOW: Gordon Neale fired seven birdies and an eagle in the final round en route to a tournament-low 8-under-par 63.

ROUGH START – AMAZING FINISH: Derek Castillo was 6-over-par through five holes in Saturday’s second round. Then he rallied with 10 birdies the rest of the way to shoot a 4-under-par 67, including a back-nine 29.

SISTERLY LOVE: When the Gariepy sisters tied for fourth at Wednesday's TaylorMade-adidas Golf qualifier, they appeared destined for a playoff to claim the final spot in the field. Alexia, an eighth-grader, told big sister Carolane that she'd give the spot to her because Carolane is a junior and needs the exposure for college. Luckily, it never came to that. One player ahead of them couldn't play in the tournament, so they both got in the field.

SHOT OF THE WEEK: Nathan Wunderli aced the 158-yard eighth hole with an 8-iron in the first round. He eventually finished in a tie for 12^th place.

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT: Lindsey Weaver (pictured below) has won an AJGA tournament in seven consecutive years, 2006-2012. Since players can only play in the AJGA from age 12-18, this record might never be broken. Lindsey heads off to Notre Dame this fall, but her name may forever stand in the AJGA record book.

King of the Island

“Whenever you see Jack Nicklaus in the airport, you say ‘Hi Mr. Nicklaus,’ never ‘Hi Jack.’ Unless you want to be arrested.” This was just one small bit of the inspired wisdom provided by Chi Chi Rodriguez to the 79 boys playing this week at the Puerto Rico Junior Open.

The Puerto Rico native took some time to come out to Trump International Golf Club this week to speak to the field and put on a clinic following the first round. Rodriguez entertained the crowd with stories about his idols Ben Hogan and Mother Teresa and reliving his biggest thrill in golf; winning the Denver Open Invitational.

With his brilliant charisma we have come to love and adore, Chi Chi emphasized the importance of honesty and integrity while always believing in yourself. Rodriguez reminded the players that “a hero dies only once, but a coward dies every single day,” as they prepared to tee it up this week in search of the coveted exemption into the Puerto Rico Open that will be awarded to the champion.

Each and every junior was able to soak up guidance and advice from the legend that won eight times on the PGA TOUR and 22 times on the Champions Tour, something they will never forget. Thanks to Chi Chi for being a great role model for all of us and an even better ambassador for the game of golf!

-Photo and blog by Casey Ceman, AJGA Tournament Director

From near and far

Now in its fifth year, The Junior PLAYERS Championship presented by TaylorMade-adidas Golf has featured players from 24 countries, two of which will be represented for the first time in 2011 (Austria and Belgium).

The 18 international invitees in this year’s field bring resumes that include top finishes in some of the world’s best amateur events.

Robin Goger (Austria)

• Medalist, 2011 European Boys Team Championship

Thomas Detry (Belgium)

• Won 2011 Beligum National Match Play

Mads Sogaard (Denmark)

• 2nd, 2011 Danish Amateur

Frederick Hammer (Denmark)

• T10, 2011 Danish Amateur

Maximilian Rottluff (Germany)

• Won 2011 Junior Orange Bowl International

Gary Hurley (Ireland)

• Won 2011 Munster Boys Open

Gavin Moynihan (Ireland)

• T2, 2011 Sir Henry Cooper Junior Masters

Richard Broadhurst (Italy)

• T3, 2011 Italian Boys U-18 Stroke Play

Edoardo Torrieri (Italy)

• Won 2011 Italian Boys U-18 Stroke Play

Takahiro Hataji (Japan)

• T3, 2011 Japan Junior Championship (15-17)

Emilio Maurer (Mexico)

• T8, 2011 Mexican International Amateur

Daniel De la Garza (Mexico)

• Three AJGA top-five finishes in 2011

Alvaro Ortiz (Mexico)

• Won 2011 AJGA Bass Pro Shops / Payne Stewart Junior Championship

Kristoffer Ventura (Norway)

• Won 2011 Norwegian Challenge

Joakim Carlsson (Sweden)

• T7, 2011 JSM Slag

Jamie Clare (United Kingdom)

• 2nd, 2011 English Amateur

Matthew Fitzpatrick (United Kingdom)

• 2nd, 2011 Carris Trophy

David Boote (United Kingdom)

• Won 2011 Welsh Boys' Championship