Lauren Pettoruto from Windham, New Hampshire, comes to the Kansas City Golf Association with a background in communications and media. She graduated from Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications where she played on both the Valient field hockey and softball teams. Her interest in golf administration led her to the USGA P.J. Boatwright Internship and she looks forward to this opportunity working with the KCGA.

“We are excited to have Lauren working with the KCGA this year. We feel that her strengths will add to the team and make 2013 a great season.” -Doug Habel

Play the best Junior events in town…

Brookridge Golf & Fitness | May 20, 2013

SCORING AND PAIRINGS MENU

Play the best Junior events in town…

Meadowbrook Country Club | May 20, 2013

SCORING AND PAIRINGS MENU

Raymore, MO – Breezy conditions made for fast greens today for US Open Local qualifying at The Golf Club at Creekmoor, giving players a test made strictly for the most elite. Zachary Coats from Springdale, AR and Erick Justesen from San Jose, CA proved that they belong among the elite competitors by firing the only rounds under par for the day. Both players shot one under par to take the medalist honors for the top two qualifying spots. Justesen started off the day with a one over on the front nine and then lit up on the back nine with a two under par to medal. Coats was on fire from the beginning, shooting 34 on the front nine and held it together on the back nine to shoot 37 to finish the day at 71.

Brad Nurski from St. Joseph, MO , Tyler Shelton from Prairie Village, KS and Chris Thompson from Lawrence, KS went into a playoff for the last two qualifying spots after firing rounds of even par, 72 in regulation. Shelton and Thompson both made par on the second playoff hole to take the final two positions from Nurski after a double bogey.

Addison White from Springfield, MO and Matt Miller from Eldon, MO also found themselves in a playoff for the second alternate position. White managed to chip in for birdie on the first playoff hole, number ten, over Miller.

Thank you to The Golf Club at Creekmoor for playing host to the US Open Local qualifying and to our competitors for participating. Good luck to all qualifiers and alternates in Sectional qualifying!

For full results, please click here >>

Kansas City, MO – With the sun shining, a light breeze and temperatures in the mid 70’s, it quickly became a picture-perfect day at Monday’s Stateline Amateur at Fred Arbanas Golf Course. Michael Greene of Overland Park, KS lapped the field in the Open Division shooting par 72. Greene would bogey the first hole, but quickly recovered making pars on the next two holes and remained at par for the rest of the round.  A simple tap-in par at eighteen would give Greene the victory by four strokes over Craig Johnston and Chad Coombes.

Steve Groom of Raytown, MO, won the Senior Division firing a 67, winning the division by eight strokes. Groom, who is no stranger to the winning circle these days, was crowed just 24 hours ago as the 2013 Kansas City Match Play Champion. The runner up, David Hamilton, shot a 75 while Chuck Admire and Ernie Swart finished just behind him both shooting 76.  Steve Groom would make seven birdies on the day with his only errors on holes 17 and 18.

Jerry Reid of Kansas City, KS and Don Kuehn of Kansas City, MO both tied for first place shooting one over par 73.  Ron Brewer would finish three strokes behind, shooting a 76. Ronnie Walters of Olathe, KS was victorious in the Legends Net Scoring Division with his Net round of 69.

Kurt Lorenzen of Olathe, KS captured the Players Division title as his par 72 was enough to take the win by three strokes. Matt Barberich finished near the top with a 75 and Richard Wills and Simon Walley would tie for third, both shooting a 78.

Addie Chapin of Olathe, KS and Jettie Bezek of Ottawa, KS tied  for first in the Women’s Players Division, both shooting 88.

Swope Memorial G.C. –  It took eighteen holes to decide the final outcome at the 98th Kansas City Match Play Championship, but the result felt similar to many recent KCGA championships.  Steve Groom of Raytown, MO defeated Curtis Yonke of Overland Park, 1 up to become a two time champion of the event.  Groom adds the 2013 Kansas City Match Play title to his resume that already included the 1998 Kansas City Match Play championship.

“I’ve been playing out here for 40 years… and live only ten minutes away, and I’ve played a lot of golf here at Swope,” said Groom.  “This means a lot to me, to have won the Kansas City Amateur last year and now to win the Kansas City Match Play at age 54… I think that is pretty special.”

The key to Groom’s victory was not the great approach shots he hit, but the incredible recovery shots he played when he found himself in trouble.  Groom displayed an incredible short game with an amazing up and down on hole twelve to stay within striking distance of Yonke.  Groom then dropped a hole after missing a par putt on the 240 yard par three thirteenth hole, but quickly gained the hole back after Yonke found the right trees off the tee on fourteen.

Groom would square the match on fifteen after stuffing his approach within a few feet of the hole.  Yonke’s birdie putt slid past and the match was all square with three holes to play.

It appeared that Groom was in danger of falling behind again after hitting an awful approach shot to the short par 3 16th.  It took a fantastic flop shot to get his ball within twenty feet of the hole and Groom holed the lengthy putt to keep the match at All Square.

Yonke again found trouble off the tee of the par five fifteenth and conceded the hole to Groom.  Groom marched to the eighteenth tee one up with one to play.  After both players played respectable tee balls, Yonke found the left bunker and Groom played safe to the middle of the green.  While Yonke was off the green, Groom faced a lengthy putt to the back left hole location.  Groom’s putt came up well short.  Yonke played a masterful bunker shot to within a couple of feet that was conceded by Groom and set the stage for the final stroke of the championship.  After surveying his line, Groom promptly swung his long putter back and through and found the bottom of the hole.  Immediately raising his hands in the air in a sign of victory and exhaling the tension of three straight days of intense competition, Groom became the 2013 KC Match Play champion.

“We could not have asked for a better week,” said Matt Williams, KCGA Executive Director.  “Great weather, a great course, and even better matchups on the course made for a successful return of the Kansas City Match Play.  If we have events like this every year, I am sure there will be another 98 Match Play championships,” quipped Williams.

For complete results of the 2013 Kansas City Match Play Championship click here!

The KCGA championship committee would like to thank the staff at Swope Memorial Golf Course and especially Andrew Jones, Matt Roberts and Tony Bertels for their support of the KCGA and the KC Match Play.

Swope Memorial G.C. — After four rounds of elimination play, the field has been reduced to the final four players at Swope Memorial Golf Course.  The final four players could not be more age diverse.  The first semifinal match pits former Kansas State golfer Curis Yonke versus 37 year old Jon Troutman of Spring Hill.  The second semifinal match features KU freshman Jackson Foth versus the senior golf powerhouse known as Steve Groom.

“This is exactly why we brought the Match Play back,” said Matt Williams, KCGA Executive Director.  “In what other event would you see a college freshman, a player whose eligibliliy just ran out, a mid-am and a senior golfer battling it out for the title of Kansas City’s best player?”

Curtis Yonke advanced to the semifinals posting six threes on his scorecard in only thirteen holes while defeating Jon Platz 7 and 6.  He will face Jon Troutman who carded six birdies of his own on his way to defeating Drew Hatten 4 and 3.

Steve Groom continued his steady play by defeating Michael Greene 2 & 1.  His semifinal opponent, Jackson Foth, stood off a furious comeback by John Lovell III to win in extra holes 1 up on the 20th hole.

Semifinal matches commence tomorrow morning at 7:30 a.m. at Swope Memorial Golf Course.  Final round matches are scheduled to begin at 12:00 noon and should finish around 3:30 p.m.  Click Here to view the live match play bracket.

Kansas City, MO- The 98^th Kansas City Match Play started off under slightly damp conditions, but by the end of the day sun prevailed at the beautiful Swope Memorial Golf Course.  Seventy-eight players took to the links this morning with the hopes of securing one of thirty-two positions in the match play bracket.  After eighteen holes of stroke play, Kansas State Wildcat, Curtis Yonke took home medalist honors with a score of 2 under par 70. Craig Broswick also came in under par with a 71. Thirty two players qualified for Match Play with scores of 77 or better.

A round of 32 matches were played today. The round of 16 will be played tomorrow morning followed by the quarter finals in the afternoon. The semi finals and finals will be played on Sunday. Follow the action all weekend long by clicking here!

The 2013 Kansas City Match Play will begin play this weekend at Swope Memorial Golf Course in Kansas City. The championship will be held over the course of three days, with an 18-hole stroke play qualifier to set a 32-player match play bracket.

Notable players competing this weekend include 2011 Kansas City Player of the Year Jon Troutman, 2012 Kansas City Masters Champion Brett Iliff, and 2012 Kansas City Player of the Year Steve Groom.

Swope Memorial, widely considered the most historical golf site in Kansas City, has boasted numerous accomplishments over its storied 79-year existence. These accomplishments include playing host to the Kansas City Open in the 1940s. Swope Memorial also played host to the 2005 U.S. Women’s Amateur Public Links Championship, making it one of the few courses in the Kansas City area to have hosted a United States Golf Association national championship.

Designed in 1934 by the legendary A.W. Tillinghaust, the course has been operated since 1934 by Kansas City, Missouri Parks and Recreation and was closed in 1989 to be restored to the first Tillinghaust design of 1934. The course is named after Thomas H. Swope, an influential Kansas City land developer, who donated the land for the park to Kansas City in 1896.

Swope Memorial was the site of the PGA Tour’s 1949 Kansas City Open and champion Jim Ferrier. The hilly, tree-lined, small green design of Swope Memorial has been walked by the likes of Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Tom Watson and numerous other golf legends.

The Kansas City Match Play looks to continue a storied history as a major regional competition, attracting amateur players from all over the regional area.  The championship marks its recorded beginnings in 1946, when it was contested at Indian Hills Country Club. However, many note that the start of the championship may have dated back to 1902. While the Kansas City Match play took a 10-year break, with the revival of the championship in 2013, the event will be played for the 57^th time in recorded history, with Swope Memorial playing host in 1958. The history of the Kansas City Match Play and the history of Swope Memorial Golf Course make the course and championship a perfect match.

During its more than 57-year-history, the Kansas City Match Play has played host to some of the greatest players in Kansas City golf history. Some of those players include:

- Jim Colbert (1958, 1959)

• o 33 professional wins (8 wins on PGA Tour, 20 wins on Champions Tour)

- Tom Watson (1964 Champion, 1967 Champion)

• o 70 professional wins (39 wins on PGA Tour, 14 wins on Champions Tour)
• o U.S. Open Champion – 1982
• o Masters Champion – 1977, 1981
• o The Open Championship Winner – 1975, 1977, 1980, 1982, 1983

- Mike Peck (1973, 1974)

• o Walker Cup Member – 1979

- Tom Pernice (1975, 1976, 1977, 1981)

• o 4 professional wins (2 wins on PGA Tour, 1 win on Champions Tour)

The Kansas City Golf Association looks forward to the Kansas City Match Play championship later this week at Swope Memorial Golf Course. For more information on the championship, including starting times and results, please click here >>

The correct answer to this week’s poll is….. “E” – The origin of the baskets remains a mystery to this day.

What do you think? The KCGA Golfer Poll is all about you. Today’s Poll asks…

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Click here for the correct answer>>