Left-handed golfers think Gadsden is the right place to be

Published May 11, 2006

Twin Bridges Golf Club and people in our town must have made a good impression on the Alabama State Left-handed Golfers Association last year. The annual tournament is going to be held here again this year.

Word came yesterday from Charles Booth of Samford University that the 57th annual tournament will be played at Twin Bridges Golf Club on June 23-25. There will be three rounds of play in the Championship and Open Divisions. The Senior Division will be two rounds, that Saturday and Sunday.

This will be the third time the state tournament has been held in Gadsden. The first time was in 1983, when Stud Clay was president of the association and he staged the tournament at Gadsden Country Club. That year local golfer Johnny Coker won for the fourth time.

Coker had also won the tournament three times in a row from 1970-72 on three different courses. In 1970 Coker won at Altadena Valley in Birmingham; in 1971 he won at Bonnie Crest in Montgomery and in 1972 he won at Cahaba Heights in Birmingham.

Another local golfer, Porter White, also won three years in a row from 1953-55. All three tournaments were played in Montgomery, the first two at Woodly and the third one at Bonnie Crest.

Three other golfers have also won three times in a row. Gene Ferrell of Mobile won from 1959-61; Gerald Stacey of Atmore won from 1996-98 and Tim McCollum of Leeds has won the last three years.

Football Chalktalk

Each week the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame sends out news and notes pertaining to college football. Here are some of the ones the arrived this week:

The NCAA has changed rules to lower the kicking tee from two inches to one inch; and to start the clock when the ball is kicked rather than when it is received. The clock will also start when the ball is spotted on a change of possession.

These changes are expected to shorten the game.

How about shortening the game by eliminating some TV timeouts?

Junior college transfer Mark Dodge will be suiting up for Dennis Franchione this fall at Texas A&M. He has spent four years in the Army and was stationed at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.

Tyrone Prothro's reception of a pass behind the defender's back was not only good for a touchdown against Southern Miss last fall, it earned a $100,000 donation to the University of Alabama's general scholarship fund from Pontiac as the national's top play of the year.

Construction on expansion of Bryant-Denny Stadium will be completed before football season, making it the fifth largest on-campus stadium. Michigan, Penn State, Tennessee and Ohio State still will seat more.

Former Tennessee quarterback Heath Shuler has won the Democratic primary and will oppose incumbent Charles Taylor in the North Carolina 11th District congressional race this fall.

Coach Guy Morriss will be running the spread offense at Baylor this fall that he ran when he coached at Kentucky.

Katharyn Richt, wife of Georgia coach Mark Richt, is expected to make a full recovery following surgery to treat cervical cancer.

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