Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2015 - 37

MGANews
Updates on people, places
and events from the MGA
and its Allied Associations.
Spring Opener
Spring 2015 surely marked one of the
earliest golf course openers on record, if
not setting a new record (MGA doesn't
track opening dates). As of Saturday,
March 14, more than 60 golf courses
were reporting an open status (some
were partially open, or walking only,
etc.) on the MGA website, mngolf.org/
opencourses.
Turf conditions are generally good,
according to a March 11 regional golf
course report from Sam Bauer, Matt
Cavanaugh and Dr. Brian Horgan, turf
scientists at the University of Minnesota.
The report can be read in full at turf.
umn.edu.
Due to signifi cantly lower precipitation
over the winter, much of Minnesota
is in a short-term drought, according
to a U.S. Drought Monitor report,
found at droughtmonitor.unl.edu.
Rosemary Iverson
1954-2015
Rosemary Iverson, 60,
of Bloomington, Minn.,
passed away Jan.
28.
" Rosie "
grew up in
Brodhead, Wis., as an
athlete and competitive
golfer. She was inducted
into the University of Wisconsin-Eau
Claire Hall of Fame for her exploits on
both the basketball court and the golf
course. Her career as a golf professional
spanned three decades with stints as a
teaching professional at several prominent
Twin Cities golf clubs, including
The Minikahda Club and Interlachen
Country Club. Golf for Women magazine
named her a top 50 golf instructor, and
she was twice honored by the LPGA as
Midwest Teacher of the Year. She ran her
own golf school, Precision Golf Studio,
in Minnetonka, and in the winters, she
taught golf at the Craft-Zavichas Golf
School in Colorado. Rosie's golf lessons
were also featured in the pages of the
MGA magazine, Minnesota Golfer.
James Finegan
1929-2015
American pilgrims to
the great and lesserknown
golf courses of
the British Isles lost a
font of knowledge in
the March 13 passing
of James Finegan, 85,
of Villanova, Pa. Finegan began caddying
at 11 and became an accomplished
golfer and avid traveler after a career in
the U.S. Navy and retirement as an advertising
agency executive in 1990. He
was the club champ four times at the
Philadelphia Country Club, and the senior
club champion at Pine Valley, but
he is best known for his work writing
regional and club histories, and for his
travel books on the golf courses, especially
seaside links, of Ireland and the
United Kingdom. Finegan, his obituary
reads, was widely viewed as the foremost
American authority on the golf
courses of the U.K. and Ireland. In April
of 2007, Finegan's Where Golf Is Great
was selected by the USGA to receive its
Herbert Warren Wind Award for the
outstanding golf book of 2006.
Western Golf Names
New Area Directors
The Western Golf Association
board has named
49 new directors for 2015,
joining the already more
than 500 WGA directors
who assist in conducting
association championships, and in supporting
the Evans Scholars Foundation.
Locally, at the University of Minnesota
Evans Scholars chapter house (which the
MGA also helps to support), two new
WGA directors were recently named:
Michael P. LeSage, an Evans Scholar
alum from Hopkins, and David Schmid,
from Hazeltine National Golf Club
in Chaska.
Air Time
KFAN's Tee-to-Green
golf show, featuring
Minnesota PGA golf
professional Craig
Waryan and the uncommon perspective
of The Common Man Dan Cole,
airs Saturdays from 10 a.m. to noon
on FM 100.3. The program runs May 2
through July and features notable players
and champions on the local amateur
golf scene.
Drive, Chip and Putt
For golfers between the ages of 7 and 15 (no older than 15 by April 2016), three key golf skills
could earn them a trip to Augusta National Golf Club and the 2016 Drive, Chip and Putt Championship
the Sunday preceding the Masters Tournament. The Minnesota section of the PGA will
be conducting 10 local qualifi ers (seven in Minnesota) between June 23 and July 18.
Golfers compete in four separate age-appropriate categories, getting three putts, three chips
and three drives to earn points and advancement. Local qualifi ers advance to sub-regionals and
then to the regional qualifi er on Sept. 12 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska.
Registration and more information available at drivechipandputt.com,
or contact Kathy Swanson at 763-754-0820.
www.mngolf.org
Spring 2015 MINNESOTAGOLFER
37
PHOTO BY PETER WONG

http://www.mngolf.org/ http://www.umn.edu http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu http://www.drivechipandputt.com http://www.mngolf.org

Minnesota Golfer - Spring 2015

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