Sunday, April 18, 2010

“Golf Capsules” plus 3 more

“Golf Capsules” plus 3 more

Golf Capsules

Posted: 17 Apr 2010 05:04 PM PDT

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP)—Jim Furyk withstood a crazy Saturday shootout that could lead to an even wilder final round in the Verizon Heritage.

Furyk shot a 4-under 67 to reach 11 under, good for a one-stroke lead over Brian Davis (66) at Harbour Town Golf Links.

Another stroke back were two-time Verizon champ Boo Weekley (68), Stephen Ames (65), Briny Baird (66), Ricky Barnes (66), Luke Donald (67), Woody Austin (67) and Heath Slocum (67). Right behind them at Harbour Golf Links was a group that included Camilo Villegas (67) and 2006 winner Aaron Baddeley (68).

In all, 23 players were within five strokes.

Furyk, at No. 6 in the world, is the highest-ranked player in the field.

Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am

LUTZ, Fla. (AP)—Bernhard Langer shot a 5-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Mark O'Meara and Mike Reid in the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am.

Langer, the German star who won the Allianz Championship in February in Boca Raton for his ninth Champions Tour title, had a 9-under 133 total at TPC Tampa Bay.

O'Meara shot a 69, and Reid had a 68.

Fred Couples, trying to match the tour record for victories in consecutive starts of four set by Chi Chi Rodriguez in 1987, followed his opening 71—his only score higher than 68 in 14 senior rounds—with a 67 to move into a tie for 12th at 4 under.

China Open

SUZHOU, China (AP)—South Korea's Y.E. Yang shot a bogey-free 4-under 68 to take a one-stroke lead into the final round of the China Open.

Yang had a 14-under 202 total at Jinji Lake Golf Club. Finland's Mikko Ilonen (68) and Wales' Jamie Donaldson (69) were tied for second in the event sanctioned by the European and OneAsia tours.

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Huizenga sells Floridian Golf & Yacht Club to Texas entrepreneur for $25.6 million

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 11:34 AM PDT

PALM CITY -- Billionaire H. Wayne Huizenga sold his private Floridian Golf & Yacht Club for $25.6 million to a Texas entrepreneur who plans to revamp the property and maintain a local residence here.

The plush golf course, which straddles Martin and St. Lucie counties, sold on April 1 to Texas-based Floridian Golf Resort, a subsidiary of the Crane Capital Group, whose chairman and CEO is James R. Crane.

"I think Wayne was ready to sell, that was pretty much public," Crane said in an interview Thursday. "I decided it was a beautiful place, and I am a golfer and have been a member of the club for a year and a half. ... It's a great purchase. I'll be there (Friday)."

Crane, based in Houston, said he plans to invest more money in the exclusive golf course by building more cottages and a new fitness center for members.

"We'll keep the staff intact and probably add more jobs so it will be a positive for the community," Crane said. "I am still working with architects and developers to ... figure out what our strategy will be."

Crane ran Houston-based EGL Inc., a global transportation and supply chain management company, before it sold to supply chain management company CEVA Logistics in 2007.

A representative from Fort Lauderdale-based Huizenga Holdings said the sale was a "private transaction" and declined to comment.

"I've met (Huizenga) numerous times, played some golf with him but we've never done business together, other than this deal," Crane said. "He's a great guy. I guess he thought it was time to turn it over to someone to move it forward. It's a deal that worked for him and worked for me."

According to Business Week, Huizenga once extended "free privileges to some 200 friends, relatives and business associates, including actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and retired General Electric Corp. Chairman Jack Welch" at the Floridian Golf & Yacht Club.

Spread over 300 acres, the 6,916-yard, par-72 layout golf course boasts two helicopter landing pads, four guest cottages, a deepwater marina, a sprawling four-story clubhouse and lush landscaping. The 18-hole Floridian Yacht & Golf Club opened in 1996 and was designed by Gary Player.

Huizenga, under his company Stuart Property Holdings Ltd., started amassing property connected to the golf course in 1982, according to public records. The deed includes 12 properties in Martin County, which previously sold for $2.6 million collectively, and four in St. Lucie County, which together had a price tag of $5 million.

Martin County's Assistant Property Appraiser Mike Fribourg said Huizenga still owns two vacant parcels and a home at the Rivers End subdivision on Wiregrass Court. Additionally, Huizenga owns the AA Marina on the Indian River in Jensen Beach.

Last October, Huizenga Holdings sold two Martin County parcels, including the former Holiday Inn, to Jensen Beach LLC, a subsidiary of Delray Beach-based Ocean Properties Ltd., owned by Mark, Michael and William Walsh, for $6 million.

"He still owns property and owns a home there (in Martin County). As far as my knowledge, he told me he would continue to be a member and spend time there," Crane said. "We're happy to have him around."

In March, Huizenga ranked No. 463 on Forbes magazine's list of "The World's Billionaires" with a net worth of $2.1 billion.

Huizenga, 72, turned a small trash-hauling operation into waste-management titan WMX Technologies, resigned in 1984 and shifted to movies. He bought the 19-store video rental chain Blockbuster in 1987, expanded it and sold the business to Viacom seven years later for $8.4 billion, according to Forbes. He sold the Miami Dolphins for $1.1 billion last year, but still owns 5 percent of the team.

Huizenga is involved in several Treasure Coast philanthropic activities with his wife, Marti Huizenga. The couple support Treasure Coast Hospice, United Way agencies of St. Lucie and Martin counties and scholarships with the Horatio Alger Association. The Huizengas also donated $1 million to the Martin Memorial Foundation and $1 million to the Children's Museum of the Treasure Coast.

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Obama skips Polish funeral, heads to golf course

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 11:52 AM PDT

By Joseph Curl

A massive volcanic plume covering most of Europe forced President Obama to cancel a Sunday trip to Poland to attend the funeral of the nation's president. But the last-minute change left an opening in his schedule, so the president headed to the links for a round of golf instead.

On a cool but sun-drenched Sunday, the president and three golfing companions went to Andrews Air Force Base to play 18 holes. It is the 32nd time Mr. Obama has played golf since taking office Jan. 20, 2009, according to CBS Radio's Mark Knoller.

After canceling the Poland trip on Saturday, the White House announced that Mr. Obama had no public schedule for Sunday. He was to have arrived in Krakow in the morning, attend the 2 p.m. funeral and leave for home by 5 p.m., arriving back at the White House after midnight.

Polish President Lech Kaczynski and his wife, Maria, along with dozens of top Polish government officials were killed April 10 when their airplane went down in heavy fog after clipping a tree on approach to Smolensk, Russia.

Mr. Obama has not gone to the Polish Embassy in Washington since the accident, but Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. both have. There, they signed a condolence book.

Mr. Obama was not the only world leader to miss the funeral because of the expanding volcanic ash cloud. French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel also canceled.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, however, flew by plane from Moscow for the funeral.

Other foreign leaders used different modes of transportation to get there. Slovenian President Danilo Turk decided to drive the 500 miles to Krakow. Romanian President Traian Basescu traveled to northwestern Romania by helicopter and then continue by car through Hungary and Slovakia.

Estonian Prime Minister Andrus Ansip made the 18-hour drive to the funeral, while Czech Republic President Vaclav Klaus made the trip by car and train. Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko left Kiev with his wife at 7 a.m. Saturday for the long road trip.

Mr. Obama has played golf far more often than former President George W. Bush. In his eight years in office, Mr. Bush played just 24 times. His last time as president was Oct. 13, 2003.

He said in 2008 that he gave up golf "in solidarity" with the families of soldiers who were dying in Iraq.

"I don't want some mom whose son may have recently died to see the commander in chief playing golf," Mr. Bush said in a White House interview Saturday with the Politico. "I feel I owe it to the families to be as — to be in solidarity as best as I can with them. And I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal."

He stopped playing after he received word of a deadly attack in Iraq while playing golf during a stay at the family ranch near Crawford, Texas.

"They pulled me off the golf course, and I said it's just not worth it anymore to do," Mr. Bush said in the interview.

Since Mr. Obama took office, 397 soldiers have died in Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. Another 151 have died in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

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Y.E. Yang Wins Golf’s China Open; Davies, Dodd Are Joint Second

Posted: 18 Apr 2010 08:10 AM PDT

By Peter-Joseph Hegarty

April 18 (Bloomberg) -- Y.E. Yang scored a final-round 71, 1-under par, to clinch victory in golf's China Open in Suzhou.

The South Korean finished on 15-under par. Welsh duo Rhys Davies and Stephen Dodd were joint second on 13-under.

It was Yang's first victory since he won last year's PGA Championship in Chaska, Minnesota, to become Asia's first major winner.

Last Updated: April 18, 2010 10:43 EDT

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