Tournament Recaps

It was another eventful Monday on the WPGA tournament calendar, as the season continues to wind down. A nice field of forty-four twosomes teed it up at Rivermoor GC in the always fun Fall Pro-Pro Scramble. Between the storm dodging, a nice lineup of sponsors, and a few side contests, there was plenty to grab the attention of the attendees.

The 2021 WPGA four-player pro-am season came to a close on Monday, with the playing of the 6th annual Oliphant Golf Management Pro-Am Championship. A full field of twenty-nine teams would make the voyage to The GC’s of Lawsonia, to enjoy a day on the top 100 rated Links Course. Once again the field would be made up of teams that had earned their spot at the eight regular season pro-ams in the six months leading up to the championship.

The final WPGA tournament of September came to a close yesterday with the annual competition for the Premier Golf & Utility Vehicles Pro-Assistant title. Over 90 players from throughout the Wisconsin Section gathered at Ozaukee Country Club to enjoy a great day of golf, camaraderie and competition. For the second straight year the field was faced with a gusty day, which was accompanied by another set of undulating fast greens. The combination of the two made for some tough scoring in the 1 better ball of 2 format.

The WPGA wrapped up the regular season of its 4-player pro-am series on Monday. The eighth and final event brought a field of 27 teams up to Door County to enjoy the challenging and scenic Horseshoe Bay Golf Club. The fescue lined fairways and greens were in terrific shape, and the only negative to the day was the windy and rainy conditions that accompanied the players at times.

Navigating the weather and the golf course the best was the foursome of Brian Brodell, John Lukas, Joe Dias and Paul Kundinger.

As they say, letting go can be the hardest thing to do. When the WPGA Professional Championship got underway on Monday morning a familiar item would appear on the no. 1 tee. 2020 champion Mick Smith would arrive with the traveling trophy in hand, and of course a joke about letting the WPGA use it for a few days. However, to Smith it most likely wasn’t a joke. In just under three years as a WPGA member the Australian has quickly earned a reputation as one of the top players in the Wisconsin Section.

At the same time his brother-in-law Steve Stricker was making the final selections for the Ryder Cup team he will lead this month, Mario Tiziani made his own history Wednesday at the Wisconsin State Senior Open. Tiziani, who at 51 made his debut appearance in the State Senior Open this week at Blackhawk CC in Madison, won the title in a five-hole sudden-death playoff over Kurt Mantyla, a PGA professional from Wauwatosa.

After venturing just outside of Madison for the Spring Pro-Ladies in early June, it was time for the Milwaukee area to take their turn in hosting the other annual Pro-Ladies event on Monday. The event once again featured a sold out field of twenty-four fivesomes, with teams participating from throughout the Wisconsin Section. Teams from as far as St. Germain made the trip down to enjoy some fun at The Legend at Merrill Hills.

The WPGA fast forwarded the clock a bit on Monday as the Fall Pro-Pro Better Ball found a unfamiliar home in the fourth week of August. The early slot in the schedule was just how the “cards fell” with this year’s schedule. It turned out to be the first time the event has been played in August. Hosting this year’s Fall Pro-Pro Better Ball was the the former host site of the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic, Thornberry Creek at Oneida.

Two of Wisconsin’s top amateur players tried to make state golf history this week in the Sheboygan area, but on Wednesday afternoon it was the defending champion, Harrison Ott, who won the 101st Suter Ward Group at Morgan Stanley Wisconsin State Open Championship. And he made history, aligning himself with state golf hall-of-famer Bob Brue as the only players to win consecutive State Opens as amateurs.

Another sold out field made their way to Destination Kohler to enjoy a first class pro-am on Monday. This year’s stop featured the always fun and challenging Meadow Valleys course at Blackwolf Run. It marked the fifth straight year that the WPGA has been fortunate to have one our four-player pro-ams at Destination Kohler. The run of hosting actually started in 2014 and only took a one year hiatus during 2016, when the Meadow Valleys course hosted the Wisconsin State Open.