“Golf: Gahman has another busy summer” plus 3 more

Golf: Gahman has another busy summer
Golf trounament to benefit Weymouth schools and charity
Golf big part of Wis. tourism industry
Golf tournament benefits Loudoun’s Toys for Tots

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 11:53 AM PDT

By Thomas D. McGlinchey
Sportswriter

Golf is a game that has been known to crush a man's spirit with one bad bounce, only to resurrect it two holes later before finally stomping his hopes of finishing at even par into the ground like an unwanted spider crawling along a kitchen floor as he double-bogeys on the 18th.

Yes, this is golf. Frustrating. Mind-numbing. Addictive. Brilliant.

Travis Gahman knows it all too well, and at the age of 21, he feels more comfortable than ever before on a golf course.

"Absolutely," Gahman said. "I haven't been nervous on a golf course this whole year, just because of all those school golf tournaments I had in the fall and spring at Bridgewater [College]. You're not only playing for yourself, you're playing for your team and school, so there's more pressure, and you just deal with it."

Gahman, a 2007 Souderton High graduate who is entering his junior year at Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, VA, played in several amateur tournaments this summer, including the 40th Annual Lakeview Amateur Tournament and the 2010 Loudon Mutual Valley Open, both of which he won.

In the Lakeview Tournament, held in mid-June at Lakeview Golf Course near Harrisonburg, VA, where Gahman lived for part of the summer with his sister and brother-in-law, the Souderton native shot a 72 and a 68 for a combined score of 140 (-4) in the Championship Flight to win by seven strokes.

"I got a new swing in the middle of June, about two days before the Lakeview Amateur in Virginia, and I won that and qualified three days later for Publinks," Gahman said. "My old swing was working here and there, but if my timing was wrong, my miss-hits were bad. And now, with this new swing, my miss-hits are much better than they were. Golf is a game of misses. Golf is a game of the best misses and my misses are getting better."

At the Valley Open—played at Heritage Oak Golf Course (Harrisonburg), Lakeview and Spotswood Country Club (Harrisonburg) in late July—Gahman shot a 66 (-4), a 71 (-1), and a 70 (-1) for a combined score of 207 (-6) to beat the nearest pro by five strokes and the closest amateur by 11 strokes.

In late June, Gahman, after he won at Lakeview, returned to the area to play in the USGA Amateur Public Links Championship Qualifier at Jeffersonville Golf Club. He shot a 69 and a 71 to finish even at 140.

"That was like 38 guys for two spots," Gahman said. "Then that qualified me down to Greensboro, Bryan Park. I played a national tournament."

A few days later, Gahman took second at the PPGA Publinks Championship at Jeffersonville where he shot a 69 (-1). Last summer, Gahman defeated Mike Brown to win the Publinks Championship.

At the USGA Amateur Public Links Championship held at Bryan Park Golf and Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C., the 2009 PPGA Player of the Year qualified for match play by hitting a birdie on the first playoff hole, the 10th hole, of a 13-for-six playoff.

"One hundred and fifty-six guys for 64 match-play spots," Gahman said. "And through six holes I was five-under. And I kind of blew up on the back nine, but I made it through the 36 holes. I made it on the number and I was in a 13-for-6 playoff."

In match play, Gahman, seeded 62nd, was paired up with No. 3 seed Patrick Reed, the third ranked amateur player in the world.

"He played well," Gahman said. "He was five-under through 12 holes. I birdied the first and then it went downhill from there. I didn't play well and lost."

Reed was up seven holes after they had played 12 to clinch the win.

In late July, Gahman shot a 75 (+4) at the Montgomery County Amateur at Ravens Claw before withdrawing in the second round at Blue Bell Country Club on Aug. 1. He also shot an 80 (+8) and a 74 (+2) at the U.S. Amateur Qualifier earlier this month.

On Monday, Gahman began his quest to finally make the cut at the 94th Pennsylvania Open in his third time at the annual event.

"My first goal is to make the cut, but I'm playing much better than I have been," Gahman said, who failed to reach that goal after shooting 78-71—149, six shots shy of the cutline in the tournament held at Applebrook Golf Club.

"First I'd be happy to make the cut because I'm going into this course blind as well. But I feel like my game is good enough that I can hit around, see what's around me and make the cut. Top 10 would be great. Top 20 is plenty good for me for the whole state of Pennsylvania, including amateur and pros."

Gahman entered the spring season with plenty of confidence. In his first season playing for Bridgewater, a Division III program, he set a school record for the best single-season scoring average with a 74.888 average besting Grady Ruckman's record average of 74.909 according to the team's website. Gahman earned a birdie on the final hole of the 2010 NCAA Division III Golf Championships at the Hershey Links Course in Hershey to make school history.

Gahman also set a school record for an 18-hole score during his first tournament round with the team.

"And then I went downhill from there," he joked. "But at the end of the year we made nationals for the first time in school history by winning our conference championship for the first time; that was an automatic bid. At nationals, its four days, but after two days it cuts down to the top 23 teams. We were tied for 24th, but I was fortunate enough to make it through playoffs as an individual."

Gahman said one area he still struggles in, like most golfers, is the mental aspect of the game.

"It's definitely a struggle, especially when you know you can hit shots and you don't, and you see other people hitting those same shots," Gahman said. "Golf is definitely a mental game, I'm trying to work on it, it's not good at all right now, but it's better than what it has been."

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Golf trounament to benefit Weymouth schools and charity

Posted: 11 Aug 2010 03:32 AM PDT

The annual golf tournament co-sponsored by the Weymouth Educational Foundation and the Weymouth Rotary Club is set for Monday, Aug. 30.

The scramble-format tournament will be held at the Presidents Golf Course in Quincy. There will be a 7:30 a.m. shotgun start.

The cost is $125.

The proceeds will be used to support public education in Weymouth and the charitable programs of the Weymouth Rotary Club.

Sponsorship opportunities are available.

For more information, call Bill Garvey at 781-331-9700 or Jim Parker at 781-335-0600.

Golf Zone

Wednesday, August 11, 2010