Short Shots

Second chance puts final 13 players into Kansas Amateur
   Alvamar PGA Professional David Dunn urged staff member Tyler Henderson to take a shot in the KGA’s Kansas Amateur Second Chance Qualifier at the course earlier this month.
   And now the 22-year-old University of Kansas student is really glad he did.
   Henderson, a former Dodge City Community College golfer, was one of two players who shot one-under 71 to earn medalist honors at the qualifier and one of 13 to claim the final slots in the 100th Kansas Amateur Championship July 20-25 at Prairie Dunes County Club in Hutchinson.
   “I didn’t play in any of the previous qualifiers and I wasn’t going to play until a week ago. My boss kind of talked me into it. It was kind of a last-minute thing. He said ‘You have the ability and you play here a lot,’” said Henderson, a Liberal native. “I’ve gone to (Prairie Dunes) a lot and watched the Senior Open there, but never played there. I made the match play two years ago at Wichita Country Club. I’d like to make match play and go from there. Once you get into the matches it can go either way.”
   Henderson played in the first group of the day in the first-time event for players who had yet qualify for the Amateur through one of the KGA’s five previous qualifiers. His round included a birdie at the par-5 second, an eagle on the par-5 eighth, and birdies at Nos. 9 and 11.
   “I played the last couple days and felt pretty good,” Henderson said. “I thought anything around par would be pretty good. I had to get up and down a bunch on the back. I only had 25 putts, so that helped. I was getting up and down from everywhere.”
   It appeared Henderson would claim the top spot all to himself as scores were posted. But later in the day Olathe’s R.J. Oplinger matched the 71 to share the top spot. Three players had even-par 72s to qualify including Grady Millikan of Salina, Harry Higgs of Overland Park and Hutchinson’s Jamie Winchester. Five more players grabbed Amateur spots with 73s including Ben Lowman of Manhattan, Mark Elliott of Topeka, Michael McGee of Kansas City, Padden Nelson of Wichita and Trey Hayden of Augusta.
   Five players tied for 11th at two-over 74 and headed to a playoff for the final three spots. Verl Seger of Ulysses, David Rhodes of Olathe and Overland Park’s Jeffrey Lee parred Alvamar public’s first hole to get into the Amateur field. Overland Park’s Rob Gleissner and Brian Morfeld of Boulder, Colo., had bogeys and became the first two alternates.

KGF team event returns to Flint Hills National
   On Aug. 9, the KGF Team Championship will return to Flint Hills National Golf Club in Andover. The field will be limited to 36 teams (72 players) who will be treated to lunch in the Flint Hills clubhouse before golf and a first-class cocktail party afterwards.
   The 18-hole team event is a four-ball stroke play with a shamble format. The entry fee is

$550 per team. A portion of the entry fee is tax-deductible. Players who participated in the first KGF Team Championship will have entry priority for the 2010 event. Online entry is available at www.kansasgolf.org.
   All funds raised will go to support the Kansas Junior Golf Scholarship, which is given annually to five deserving junior golfers who will attend a Kansas college or university. Nineteen Scholars currently are receiving grants. For more information about the KJGS, go to www.kansasgolf.org/foundation/scholarships.
   For information about playing or becoming a sponsor, contact Phil Miller, Kansas Golf Foundation executive director, 800-844-4833 ext. 205 or by email to phil@kansasgolf.org.

Nuckolls gains Senior Open spot
   Willowbend Director of Golf Rod Nuckolls had a six-under 66 and grabbed the only qualifying spot for the U.S. Senior Open from a qualifying event at the course early this month. Nuckolls’ round included six birdies and an eagle as he took the top spot among the 25 entries. Perry Arthur of Plano, Texas, and Jim Kane of Edmond, Okla., tied for second with 67s.
   Nuckolls, who tied for 40th at the 2008 Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., holed out from 119 yards for eagle at the par-4 fifth hole to really get his round going. The 53-year-old former PGA Tour player birdied four holes to offset a pair of bogeys on Willowbend’s back nine.
   Nuckolls also played in this year’s Senior PGA Championship in May. He missed the cut at the event played at Colorado Golf Club outside of Denver.
   The U.S. Senior Open is set for July 29-Aug. 1 at Sahalee County Club in Sammamish, Wash. PGA Tour standout Vijay Singh won the 1998 PGA Championship on the course.

Wichita CC seeks volunteers for Women’s Mid-Am
   Wichita Country Club is seeking volunteers in many different areas for the upcoming USGA Women’s Mid-Amateur Championship that is being held Sept. 25-30.
   The Women’s Mid-Amateur marks the third USGA championship conducted at Wichita

Country Club and the first since 1969. While the 2010 edition was initially awarded to another club, a proposed course renovation necessitated moving the Women’s Mid-Amateur to an alternate facility.
   According to Cary Cozby, Wichita’s chief executive officer and head professional, the club was prepared to host a USGA championship in five to six years. Eighteen months, however, proved more of a challenge.
   “We have 17 various committees headed by 17 members of the club,” said Cozby. “They’re doing a tremendous amount of work. You cannot keep up with the amount of e-mails that are going back and forth between everybody. This demonstrates their love for the club and their love for this great game.”
   Anyone interested in volunteering for one of the premier amateur championships in women’s golf in the United States can get further information at: http://www.wichitacountryclub.org/Default.aspx?p=DynamicModule&pageid=300311&ssid=184528&vnf=1