Rask Named to Hogan Award Watch List

Minnesota senior Clayton Rask, college golf’s 10th-ranked player according to the latest Golfweek national rankings, has been named to the 2008 Ben Hogan Award Watch List, the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) announced.

The most prestigious award in men’s college golf, the Hogan Award is presented annually to the top men’s NCAA Division I, II or III, NAIA or junior college golfer, taking into account all collegiate and amateur competitions during the last 12 months.

One of just two members of the watch list from the Big Ten, Rask is coming off a tremendous fall that saw the Otsego, Minn., product average a team-best 71.33 strokes per round and tied for medalist honors at both the Windon Memorial Classic (206/-7) and The Prestige at PGA WEST (208/-8), while posting two of the top 54-hole scores in Minnesota golf history.

Rask’s hot play actually began during the summer with a victory at the Minnesota Golf Champions and runner-up finishes at both the Minnesota Players’ Championship and the Minnesota State Amateur Championship.

Semifinalists the 2008 Ben Hogan Award will be announced on April 16. Three finalists will then be named on May 7. The trio of finalists will be invited to Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, for the 2008 Ben Hogan Award presentation on May 18. Former U.S. Open winner Ken Venturi will be the keynote speaker.

HOGAN AWARD WATCH LIST
Clayton Rask, Minnesota
Jonas Blixt, Florida State
Ryan Brehm, Michigan State
Kevin Chappell, UCLA
Jonas Enander Hedin, Charlotte
Harris English, Georgia
Derek Fathauer, Louisville
Rickie Fowler, Oklahoma State
Rob Grube, Stanford
Chesson Hadley, Georgia Tech
Seung-su Han, UNLV
Brian Harman, Georgia
Mark Harrell, Alabama
Billy Horschel, Florida
Lucas Lee, UCLA
Jamie Lovemark, Southern California
Webb Simpson, Wake Forest
Joel Sjoholm, Georgia State
Kyle Stanley, Clemson
Michael Thompson, Alabama
Jarin Todd, Sonoma State
Cameron Tringale, Georgia Tech
Drew Weaver, Virginia Tech
Stefan Wiedergruen, Charlotte

COLLEGE WOMEN'S RANKINGS VIRTUALLY UNCHANGED FROM NOVEMBER

Through no fault of her own, Samantha Sommers is down two places in the latest batch of Golfweek/Sagarin rankings for NCAA Division I women's golf.

Sommers and the University of Minnesota team haven't played in nearly three months, and she was No. 369 among the more than 1,500 Division I women golfers who were listed at the end of the fall portion of the schedule. But the Gopher freshman -- and three-time state high school champion -- from St. Cloud Apollo is No. 371 in the current rankings.

Basically, though, the new rankings, which are dated Feb. 10, are unchanged from the end of the fall.

Olivia Lansing, a Drake sophomore from Mounds Park Academy, is second among players with Minnesota connections, at 404. Lansing and her team are playing this week, at the Baja Invitational, but those results won't be reflected in the rankings until next week.

NCAA Division I Women's Rankings

Golfweek/Sagarin (based on head-to-head competition)

Rank Name (Prev. Rank) High School College Rating (not scoring avg.)

371. Samantha Sommers, (369), St. Cloud Apollo -- Minnesota -- 76.64

404. Olivia Lansing (400), Mounds Park Academy -- Drake -- 76.00

449. Christine Herzog (449), Detroit Lakes -- Minnesota -- 77.44

480. Katie Detlefsen (478), Minnehaha Academy -- Central Fla. -- 77.64

496. Jeana Dahl (495), Fargo South -- Wisconsin -- 77.77

516. Sydney Liles (514), Phoenix (Desert Vista) -- Minnesota -- 77.99

574. Young Na Lee (572), Tamuning, Guam -- Minnesota --78.50

582. Hillary Gerster (576), Andover -- South Dakota State -- 78.53

623. Mary Narzisi (623), Omaha (Martin) -- Minnesota -- 78.91

635. Becky Quinby (636), Benilde-St. Margaret's -- Iowa -- 79.09

833. Paige Bromen (833), Stillwater -- Minnesota -- 80.60

868. Alyssa Williamson (869), Bemidji -- Montana -- 80.87

976. Holly Opatz (978), Bloom. Kennedy -- So. Dakota State -- 81.96

1040. Lauren Huhnerkoch (1040), Burnsville -- Rutgers -- 82.56

1046. Brittany Williamson (1045), Bemidji -- Montana -- 82.63

1131. Kelly Godwin (1132), Centennial -- Drake -- 83.50

1358. Maviann Schuler (1355), Breckenridge -- No. Dakota State -- 88.82

1416. Alyssa Klein (1413), Luverne -- NDSU -- 93.26

Supplemental list, for players who haven't played enough tournaments

89.* Katie Myos, Faribault -- Toledo -- 81.10

107.* Emily Brand, Alexandria -- Minnesota -- 82.08

183.* Chelsey Gannon, Eden Prairie -- Drake -- 87.89

240.* Kim Larson, Pequot Lakes -- NDSU -- 101.78

Golfstat.com Rankings

(These rankings are based on scores, and include some Division II and III players.)

Rank Name High School College Scoring avg. Relative to par

162. Rachael Schmidt Elk River Upper Iowa 75.75 +5.839

STILES WINS, SCHULTZ TIES FOR 5TH IN NEW ZEALAND

CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand -- Darron Stiles' putter went south on him in the middle of the round, but he managed to make a 7-footer on the last hole to claim the victory in the rain-plagued HSBC New Zealand PGA.

He birdied five of the first six holes at Clearwater Country Club to build a four-stroke lead in Sunday's final round, then started missing short putts, beginning with a little one for par at the ninth and then another little one for par at the 10th. However, he didn't make any bogeys -- or birdies, either -- on the back nine, and the not exactly ho-hum, two-putt par at the last hole gave him a 4-under 68 and a 36-hole total of 134.

That was just good enough to win the tournament, which was co-sponsored by the Nationwide and Australasian tours. Unfortunately, no one from either of the tours could provide anything resembling decent weather on Friday or Saturday, and as a result the event had to be reduced to 36 holes.

David Smail, who was attempting to become the first New Zealander to win this tournament since it became a part of the Nationwide Tour in 2002, finished one stroke behind at 135 after closing with a the best round of the day, a 66. The 2007 New Zealand PGA player of the year had six birdies and no bogeys in the first 15 holes. He then bogeyed No. 16, but got that one back with a birdie at No. 18.

Rick Price shot 69 to slip in at 136, which gave him third place alone. Adam Crawford'posted a 68 for an overall 137, and he finished fourth.

David Schultz, the former Birchmont and Pine to Palm champion from Fargo, was in position to tie Price for third until he made a double bogey 6 at the 17th hole. That bumped his Sunday score to 71, giving him an aggregate of 138 and a tie for fifth place.

It was a disappointing finish for Schultz, who turned professional in 2006 and won the North Dakota Open shortly thereafter. Nevertheless, he earned his first check in three Nationwide tournaments this year, and the approximately $22,200 that he made (24,509.30 in Australian dollars) should put him in the top 25 on the money list. The top 25 on the Nationwide list at year's end will graduate to the PGA Tour.

The 34-year-old Stiles (born June 1, 1973, which was a Friday), a veteran of both the PGA and Nationwide tours, shot a 66 in Thursday's first round, and that was the only round that counted during the first three days. Rain flooded Clearwater on Friday, and on Saturday, although play was begun, more rain forced everyone off the course after a couple of hours.

The rain also wiped out the scores for the holes that were played Saturday, which was a good thing for Stiles. He was 2 over through five holes. On Sunday, he was six better after five holes than he had been the day before on the way to his fifth Nationwide victory. The victory is not official, because the tournament was only 36 holes. The $117,000 he won, on the other hand, is official.

Bronson La'Cassie, who completed a distinguished college career at the University of Minnesota last spring, was also in the field. The four-time all-American from Brisbane, Australia -- who won the Australasian qualifying school by 10 strokes in December -- shot 70-71--141 and tied for 28th. That was worth approximately $4,100 (4,516.23 in Australian dollars).

NATIONWIDE/AUSTRALASIAN TOURS

HSBC New Zealand PGA Championship

At Clearwater Resort

Par 72, 7,137 yards

Final results

(Tournament shortened to 36 holes because of rain)

1. Darron Stiles $117,000 66-68--134

2. David Smail 65,900 69-66--135

3. Rick Price 43,760 67-69--136

4. Adam Crawford 31,100 69-68--137

T5. David Schultz 22,215 67-71--138

T5. Kris Blanks 22,215 68-70--138

T5. Sebastian Fernandez 22,215 69-69--138

T5. D.A. Points 22,215 66-72--138

T28. Bronson La'Cassie 4,100 70-71--141

T98. Michael Campbell 0 70-77--147

HANSTAD TIES FOR 10TH IN NORTH TEXAS CLASSIC

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico -- Bryce Hanstad was 1 under par, shooting 72-70-73--215, as the Colorado State sophomore from Alexandria tied for 10th place Monday in the GADO North Texas Classic.

This was the first tournament in the Winter/Spring portion of the Colorado State's 2007-08 schedule, and the Rams finished sixth in a 12-team field.

Hanstad, who won both the Minnesota State Amateur and Resorters championships last summer, finished eight strokes behind the winner, Kyle Nicolson of California State University-Northridge.

Nicolson, who was tied for the 36-hole lead, wrapped up the title with a 67 in the final round at Flamingos Golf Club, for a 207 total. Jose Toledo, the co-leader at the start of play Monday, shot 69 for a 209 and second place.

GADO North Texas Classic

At Flamingos Golf Club

Par 72, 6,853 yards

Final team results

1. Louisiana Lafayette 278-288-282--848

2. Calif. State Northridge 286-294-290--870

3. New Orleans 283-299-290--872

4. Southeastern Louisiana 292-288-293--873

5. Middle Tennessee 291-295-290--876

6. Colorado State 295-288-295--878

7. Troy 291-296-297--884

8. North Texas 297-292-296--885

9. Washington 291-288-307--886

10. Missouri 290-303-301--894

11. UALR (Arkansas-Little Rock) 297-301-296--894

12. Houston 304-294-301--899

Individuals

1. Kyle Nicolson, CSUN 69-71-67--207

2. Jose Toledo, New Orleans 70-70-69--209

3. Matthew Carvell, SE Louisiana 75-66-69--210

T10. Bryce Hanstad, Colo. State 72-70-73--215

HOW THEY'RE DOING: MINNESOTANS ON PRO TOUR MONEY LISTS

How players from Minnesota or with Minnesota connections are doing this year on various professional golf tours.

PGA TOUR

Pos. Player From Events played Earnings

115. Cam Beckman, Burnsville 5 $54,912

134. Tim Herron, Wayzata 4 40,152

160. Tom Lehman, Alexandria 5 25,005

NATIONWIDE

(The places and amounts are approximate, because PGATour.com still hadn't updated the Nationwide money list 36 hours after last week's tournament, the New Zealand PGA, ended.)

T24. David Schultz, Fargo 3 $22,215

T90. Bronson La'Cassie, Brisbane, Aus. 1 4,100*

*Does not count $50,000 he collected for winning the one-day Smart Cup Australian Invitational in January.

CHAMPIONS TOUR

56. John Harris, Roseau 3 $29,326

85. Tom Herzan, St. Paul 1 5,120

GATEWAY TOUR

Desert Winter Series

Phoenix

Pos. Player From Events played Earnings

26. Ross Hammann, Lakeville 5 $6,730

34. Josh Persons, Fargo 5 5,488

35. Kane Hanson, Fargo/DL 5 5,444

45. Rodney Hamblin, St. Paul 5 4,034

67. Tim Moody, Lindstrom 5 2,349

T84. Eric Johnson, Elk River 5 1,102

Niall Turner, Minneapolis 1 --

Beach Winter Series

West Palm Beach, Fla.

20. Shad Muth, Hastings 5 $7,237

HOOTERS TOUR

Bridgestone Winter Series

35. Ian Hessels, Stillwater 8 $8,686

Champions Tour to Support Victims of Bridge Tragedy

Champions Tour officials have announced that the 3M Championship to be played at the TPC Twin Cities Golf Course in Blaine, Minn., will support local efforts related to the bridge-collapse tragedy. The 54-hole event is set for August 3-5.

As part of its support, the tournament will donate additional funds to the local Red Cross over and above the charity dollars already earmarked for Abbott Northwestern, United, Mercy and Unity Hospitals.

"The Champions Tour is about giving back to the communities we serve and our players and staff felt the best way to honor and help those affected by this terrible tragedy is to ensure that our players could assist in supporting local efforts by playing this long-standing event that has such a strong charitable history in the Twin Cities area," said Champions Tour president, Rick George. "By playing as scheduled, we allow the tournament's revenue streams of the pro-am being played today and the official competition over the weekend to continue, which will ensure charitable dollars already earmarked will be available."

Bob MacDonald, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the event's sponsor, 3M Corporation, added: "Our thoughts today are with all those affected by the tragic bridge collapse. 3M Championship charitable contributions this year are directed at emergency services. In addition, the 3M Foundation and 3M employees will make contributions to the local American Red Cross chapter."

"The 3M Championship has annually raised millions of dollars for local hospitals since 1993. We will continue to do that this year and in the future," said the 3M Championship's Executive Director, Hollis Cavner. "In the wake of the recent tragedy in our community, we will additionally raise money for the Minnesota Red Cross through on-site efforts this weekend with support from the tournament, the players and the Champions Tour."