In the News

Michelle Wie’s first victory at the Lorena Ochoa Invitational garnered one of the year’s best LPGA Tour ratings for Golf Channel.

Sunday’s 0.72 final-round rating represents the second-highest-rated LPGA Tour round on Golf Channel and second-most-watched LPGA Tour telecast on any cable network this year. Day 3 of the 2009 Solheim Cup owns the top spot.

2010 marks another milestone in golf history as The Open Championship celebrates its 150th Anniversary in July.

Musselburgh Old Course Golf Club (MOCGC), the club at the world's oldest golf course, is hosting the official Scottish Golf Heritage Festival, a golf tournament and festival celebration on July 9-12, 2010. The tournament, open to golfers worldwide, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first Open Champion Willie Park Senior.

Leading golf architect Tom Doak will speak at the European Golf Course Owners' Association conference in Amsterdam this December.

Doak's firm Renaissance Golf Design has created some of the most iconic courses of the last 20 years, such as Pacific Dunes, Ballyneal and Barnbougle Dunes. He opened his first European course, the Renaissance Club at Archerfield, next door to Muirfield in Scotland, two years ago.

BRYAN, Tx. - Bret Nutt, head golf professional at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, closed out Gilbert Freeman, head golf professional at Dallas’ Lakewood Country Club, with a par on the 16th hole to win their singles match 3&2 and give the Southern Texas PGA a 13-11 victory in the 2009 Texas Joe Black Cup Matches at Bryan’s Miramont Country Club.

“It was a great week of fun and competition,” said Nutt after the victory. “Marc DeWall, our president, asked me if there was any additional pressure being the Captain’s Pick, and there was. I didn’t want to let Jeff Strong or our Section down."

Chris DiMarco and friends had another successful year at the Norma DiMarco Tee Up For Life event. The charity tournament held at the Country Club at Heathrow on Monday, Nov. 2 raised more than $330,000, bringing the event's nine-year total to more than $4 million.

The annual outing, named for Chris DiMarco's mother who died in 2006, included a celebrity pairing party on Nov. 1 followed by a golf clinic and 18-hole shotgun tournament at the PGA Tour star's home course on Nov. 2.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - As curious little boys evolve into men who know everything, they gleam much of their worldly knowledge from their fathers, absorbing behaviors, vocabulary, values, work ethic and a sense of who they will be - like freshly unwrapped sponges. Of course all of that information and understanding doesn’t pass from parent to child through osmosis. As is often the case, father and son will discover a shared passion or common ground ideal for cultivating the closest of bonds.

Whether it’s Little League baseball, Pop Warner football or a Saturday morning soccer league, sports often serve as the vehicle for forming that special friendship. But is there any better way for a father and son to learn about life and each other than by playing a round of golf together?

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The reigning National Teacher of the Year, Mike Bender, will be on stage and provide free seminars at the 22nd West Michigan Golf Show to be held Feb. 12-14, 2010 at the DeVos Place in downtown Grand Rapids.

With his Golf Academy based at Timacuan Golf & Country Club in Lake Mary, Florida, Mike Bender attained the highest honor that can be earned by a golf instructor when he was named the 2009 National Teacher of the Year in September 2009 by the PGA of America.

SCOTTSDALE, Az. - Troon Golf, an industry leader in upscale golf course management, development and marketing has announced the launch of the 2010 Troon Card Program, offering green fee discounts of up to 50 percent.

With more than 40 participating facilities, the 2010 Troon Card offers discounts at more luxury golf courses than ever before. Additionally, this year's Arizona TwoSome card is priced at $375 until Nov. 6, 2009, offering prospective buyers a $150 savings compared to last year's price. The National Twosome card is priced at $500, saving cardholders $175 on purchases made prior to Dec. 7, 2009.

Mary Kathryn "Mickey" Wright, the 1952 U.S. Girls' Junior champion and four-time U.S. Women's Open champion, has been chosen to receive the United States Golf Association's 2010 Bob Jones Award. Presented annually since 1955, the USGA's highest honor is given in recognition of distinguished sportsmanship in golf. The Award seeks to recognize a person who emulates Jones' spirit, his personal qualities and his attitude toward the game and its players.

The award will be presented Feb. 6, 2010, at the USGA's Annual Meeting in the Village of Pinehurst, N.C.

The LPGA's exhaustive search to replace Carolyn Bivens finally came to an end Wednesday morning when the Tour named 44-year-old former marketing executive Michael Whan as its new commissioner.

"We established very strict criteria for the position of Commissioner and Mike impressed us not only with his background and intellect but also his passion for golf," Board of Directors Chairman Dawn Hudson said at the announcement of the LPGA's new leading man.