Lopatcong’s Sarah Brown Advances to LPGA Tour Q-School Finals

Oct 9, 2009

Final round scores Friday in the LPGA Tour’s
LPGA SECTIONAL QUALIFIER
at the 6488-yard, par 36-36 - 72, Bobcat Course,
Plantation Golf & Country Club,Venice
(a-denotes amateur):

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1 Stephanie Connelly (Pasadena, Md.) 76-68-70-71 - 285 (-3)

2 Gwladys Nocera (France) 72-70-68-76 - 286 (-2)

3 Briana Vega (Andover, Mass.) 73-71-72-71 - 287 (-1)

T4 Lauren Doughtie (Suffolk,Va.) 73-71-73-71 - 288 (E)
Tiffany Joh (San Diego, Calif.) 69-71-75-73 - 288 (E)

T6 Cathryn Bristow (a) (Auckland, New Zealand) 74-69-76-70 - 289 (+1)
Izzy Beisiegel (Montreal, Canada) 72-72-71-74 - 289 (+1)

T8 Sarah Brown (a) (Phillipsburg, N.J.) 72-74-74-70 - 290 (+2)
Paola Moreno (Cali, Colombia) 75-73-71-71 - 290 (+2)
Leanne Bowditch (a) (Peregian Bch, Australia) 71-72-74-73 - 290 (+2)

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Golfer Brian Bergstol going for the Hooters Tour

Oct 9, 2009

When Brian Bergstol of Upper Mount Bethel Township teed off Tuesday morning in the first round of a three-day mini-tour event at Crow Creek Golf Club in Calabash, N.C., he was playing for much more than a tournament title.

Bergstol, 25, is looking for a spot on the 2010 Hooters Tour — the world’s third-largest series of 72-hole tournaments that is just one step below the PGA Tour’s Nationwide Tour.

The former Bangor Area High School (’03) and Moravian College (’07) golf standout is competing this winter on the 2009 Hooters Carolina Winter Series.

He shot an even-par 72, tied for seventh place, and was one of 22 golfers to advance to today’s second round. Chip Lynn of Hope Mills, N.C., leads with a 68.

Bergstol won his first career professional title two weeks ago when he won the circuit’s 54-hole event at the Meadowlands Golf Club in Winston-Salem, N.C., with a 13-under-par score of 203.

The victory — worth $3,500 — catapulted Bergstol to the top of the tour’s money-leaders list at $4,125. The top-five players on the 12-event circuit will earn exempt status on the 2010 Hooter’s Tour.

“I want to finish among the top-five and get exempt on the Hooters Tour,” said Bergstol, who was the Lehigh Valley Player of the Year in 2006 and 2007. “You get housing, and the tour is very good.”

Coming off a stellar amateur career, Bergstol struggled last winter on the 2008 Hooters Bridgestone Winter Series when he made just two cuts in nine tournaments.

“When I was an amateur, I thought I was a good ball-striker, but I’m much better now,” Bergstol said. “I’m doing everything better. I may not hit the 350-yard drives like I used to as an amateur, but I hit it straight and it’s going 300 yards in the air. I’m also using other clubs off the tee like a 3-wood and a 2-iron.”

“I can stand over an 4-iron now like an 8-iron,” Bergstol continued. “Before, I used to think I would make a bogey with a 4-iron. You have to give yourself 10-to-12 good birdie chances a round. Now when I don’t hit an iron within 15 feet, I get upset.”

Bergstol said his confidence got a boost this summer when he contended in some state open championships up north, and played well in a October PGA Tour qualifying school first stage event until a high final round score prevented him from advancing.

“I contended in the state open’s up north, and those tournaments are good,” said Bergstol, who won the 2006 and 2007 Lehigh Valley Tournament of Champions. “At the tour school, I played well, and I found out could compete with those guys there.”

Switching to a long belly putter last summer also lowered Bergstol’s scores.

“It get’s the ball on line consistently,’ Bergstol said. “I just have to get the speed right.”

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/sports/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/1259730339165480.xml&coll=3

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