Foundation names latest scholars The Kansas Golf Foundation has awarded Kansas Junior Golf Scholarships to five high school seniors for the 2008-2009 academic year. This year’s class joins 15 Junior Golf Scholars from 2005, 2006 and 2007 whose grants are being renewed. The 2008 Kansas Junior Golf Scholars and the colleges they will be attending next year are Alaina Cleland (of Wichita), WichitaStateUniversity; Patrick Eland (Hoxie), University of Kansas; Amanda Holmberg (Topeka), KansasStateUniversity; Alan Tajchman (Junction City), KansasStateUniversity; Kathryn Unruh (Hays), University of Kansas. Any Kansas high school student who has participated in organized junior golf may apply for the KJGS, although golf skill is not considered in making the selections. The scholarship is awarded based on academic performance, leadership, financial need and the student’s essay about how he or she has benefited from the game of golf. Scholars must attend a Kansas college or university. “The Kansas Junior Golf Scholarship is unique because it is an academic scholarship awarded exclusively to young men and women who have played junior golf in the state of Kansas,” says Phil Miller, executive director of the Kansas Golf Foundation. “Other programs are set up to encourage kids to play junior golf. We take those junior golfers and help them go to college right here in Kansas.” The Kansas Golf Foundation, formed in 1991, has as its mission to “Promote the Future and Preserve the History of Golf in Kansas.” The Foundation provides educational scholarships for junior golfers and turfgrass management students, and operates the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame. More information about the Foundation is available at www.kansasgolf.org.
Kansas golfers get through local qualifying Several players with Kansas ties have made it to the 2008 U.S. Open sectional qualifying round by earning one of the top spots at local qualifying. The U.S. Open is scheduled for June 12-15 at Torrey Pines in San Diego. Cameron Bishop, a former WichitaState golfer and runner-up at last year’s KGA Four-ball with WSU teammate Ty Sanders, shot a 68 to garner medalist honors at the local qualifier at Wichita Country Club to move on. Also playing in that event was Jesse Schulte, a former Shocker from Hutchinson. The 2002 KGA Player of the Year and three-time Kansas Amateur medalist shot a 73 to move on to sectional play. Also qualifying with 73s were amateurs Jordan Smith of Overland Park and Wichita’s Jonathan May, the 2005 KGA High Plains Amateur champ. Chris Thompson, a conference champion at the University of Kansas and a player on the Nationwide Tour, shot a 71 at the local event at West Des Moines Country Club to tie for medalist honors and qualify for the sectional round. In 1998, Thompson won the Kansas Amateur at Wichita Country Club and was KGA Player of the Year. Steve Groom, an amateur from Raytown, Mo., and the 1999 KGA Public Links champion, qualified out of the local event at The Golf Club at Creekmoor in Raymore, Mo. He shot a 72 to tie for second place. Also qualifying from Creekmoor was Topeka amateur Chad Judd. Judd, the 1990 KGA Junior Amateur champion and former K-State golfer, shot 73. More than 8,300 players entered the USGA national championship this year. Local qualifying at 111 sites began May 5. Sectional qualifying at 13 sites will be conducted on June 2, including one in England. A 14th sectional qualifier will be played May 26 in Japan. The Open is one of 13 national championships conducted annually by the USGA. Other championships include the U.S. Women’s Open, the U.S. Senior Open and 10 amateur competitions.
Sand Creek Station gains environmental honor Golf Digest Award-winning Sand Creek Station Golf Course in Newton was recently featured on GCSAA’s Environmental Institute for Golf’s GreenLinks online newsletter. In “Edge”, a monthly feature hosted by certified golf course superintendent Bob Farren of Pinehurst Resort and Country Club, Sand Creek Station and superintendent James Houchen were lauded for their work “to protect an important aquifer and to conserve water within a water sensitive area.” “Sand Creek Station is owned by the City of Newton. The course is located within a 560-unit subdivision and is a wonderful example of positive collaboration between Newton city officials, property developers and Representative Todd Tiahrt from the 4th Congressional District of Kansas,” Farren wrote. “The result is a win-win situation where the residents and golfers are benefiting from having a wonderful golf course and the city is benefiting from having an enhanced tax base.” Farren said Houchens’ work “demonstrates that having good relationships with various governmental agencies can prove to be a great advantage. These relationships can have a very favorable impact the economic success of a project, such as the identification and procurement of alternative funding. In this case, the collaborators helped to secure funding for the infrastructure needed to provide recycled water as the golf course’s irrigation source.” Tiahrt was able to help secure a $400,000 grant through the Environmental Protection Agency for the City of Newton for wastewater infrastructure improvements. This grant allowed the city to divert its effluent gray water away from a nearby water aquifer, known as the Equus Beds Aquifer, which supplies water for residential, agriculture and industrial uses for much of South-Central Kansas. By using this water for irrigation purposes on its golf course, the City of Newton was able to help safeguard the valuable underground water supply. According to the congressman, the use of reclaimed water at Sand Creek Station has proved to be a beneficial venture not only for the golf course, but also for the entire community and the environment. Recycled water is a reliable source during drought periods compared to city wells and lakes. It is also a cost-effective means of waste water disposal for the city.
