News Release
For Immediate Release: September 18, 2003
The following story is courtesy of the USGA Media Relations Department.
Tennessee, propelled by a 3-under-par 67 from Danny Green, won the 2003 USGA Men’s State Team Championship by four strokes over California and North Carolina Thursday at Charles River Country Club.
“The objective when you leave home is to win,” said Green, the 1999 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion. “Unfortunately, golf is more about losing than winning so it makes it even sweeter when you win. Anything less than winning is not a successful tournament for us.”
Green, 46, a 2001 USA Walker Cup squad member, made three birdies on the inward nine for the day’s low round. Tim Jackson, of Germantown, the 1994 and 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateur champion, added an even par 70.
“It means a lot,” said, Jackson, 43, who is a two-time USA Walker Cup squad member. “To represent your state and win a national championship, it’s why we play -- to win those gold medals. Everybody contributed for the week. That’s the way it ought to be.”
In the 54-hole, three-day championship, in which the lowest two individual scores for the day count as the team total, Tennessee shot 7-under-par 413 on Charles River’s 6,513-yard, par 70 course. It was the second-lowest team score in the championship, behind the 10-under shot by Minnesota in winning in 1997.
California and North Carolina tied for second at 3-under-par 417, with Georgia in fourth at 421 and Massachusetts, the second-round leader, in fifth at 422.
On a windy but warm day that showed the affects of Hurricane Isabel, scoring conditions were difficult.
“I was really glad the conditions got tough (Thursday) because Tim (Jackson) and I know how to handle it,” said Green. “I heard the scores and I was trying to make it easy on Tim behind me.”
Green and Jackson, who have both competed in over 20 USGA Championships each, felt their experience was a factor in Tennessee’s victory.
“You can count on my performance,” said Green. “I’m not going to dog it. I may hit some bad shots but it’s not going to be from the pressure. I’ve handled it before and I can take the heat.”
Jackson, along with teammate Brandt Snedeker, of Nashville, the 2003 U.S. Public Links Champion, knew Green was capable of his outstanding round.
“This is a perfect golf course for Danny,” said Jackson, “with a good set of greens for Danny. This course is made for him. We had got some tough conditions (Thursday) that helped our overall team. Generally speaking, the people with the most experience in tougher conditions handle it better.”
Massachusetts, which had set a 36-hole scoring record of 7-under-par 273 and had a three-stroke lead over California, North Carolina and Tennessee, could not hold their edge. Frank Vana Jr., 40, of Shrewsbury fired a 3-over-par 73 and Kevin Quinn, 37, of Needham, shot 76.
Tennessee was the only team to post a sub-par total on the third day as only eight players in the field broke par.
Because of the approach of Hurricane Isabel, the Championship Committee implemented a cut Wednesday in order to conduct the championship over 54 holes. A total of 36 teams made the cut at 13-over-par 294.
The USGA Men’s State Team Championship is one of the national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, most of which are strictly for amateurs.
Highlights From September 17, 2003:
The following story is courtesy of the USGA Media Relations Department.
Massachusetts set a USGA Men’s State Team Championship 36-hole scoring record of 7-under-par 273 to take a three-stroke lead over California, North Carolina and Tennessee on the second day of the 2003 Championship at Charles River Country Club.
Kevin Quinn, 37, of Needham, fired a 4-under-par 66, and, combined with a 1-over-par 71 from Frank Vana Jr., 40, of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts moved past California, the first-day leader in this three-day event.
Quinn, an investment firm trader, is a member of Charles River and used his ‘local knowledge’ to post four birdies for the day’s low round on the par-70, 6,513-yard course.
“We’re going to play it the same, play it pretty patient but conservatively aggressive,” Quinn said of the possibility of winning a national title. “It’s very important to us. We are going to go out and play real hard (Thursday).”
Quinn, the winner of the 1999 Massachusetts Open, who ironically hasn’t won a club championship because “it’s tough to win here,” said he sees a positive in the team’s experience in USGA Championships.
“We’ve been there before,” he said. “This is my home course so that doesn’t hurt either. You have to patient here. This course can drive you nuts as all Donald Ross courses can. This is one of the great ones.”
For second-place California, Rick Reinsburg, 31, of Lafayette, shot even-par 70 and Chris Botsford, 22, of Pasadena, posted a 71 to give them a 36-hole total of 4-under-par 276. Tennessee, with three USGA Champions, registered a 3-under-par 67 from Brandt Snedeker, 22, of Nashville, and a pair of 3-over-par 73s from Danny Green, 46, of Jackson, and Tim Jackson, 43, of Germantown. North Carolina was tied for second because of 2-under 68 from Greg Earnhardt, of Greensboro and 70s from Paul Simson, of Raleigh and Bill McGirt, of Fairmont.
"We’d rather improve each day,” said Tennessee’s Jackson, who won the 1994 and 2001 U.S. Mid-Amateurs. “It may be that we got our bad day out the way (Wednesday) and (Thursday) everybody will click on all cylinders. We’ll all be sharp and focused and try to shoot low. I like our chances.”
Snedeker, the 2003 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, agreed that Charles River begs for patience and accuracy.
“This course demands being in the fairway off the tee and placing your ball on the green in good positions to have a chance of playing well,” said Snedeker, who was a first-team All-American at Vanderbilt in 2003. “Danny and Tim are two of the best at doing that. Our chances are really good. They are still the backbone of our team. I’m just glad I could chip in and help.”
In fifth-place was Georgia at 3-under-par 277. Ohio and Maryland stood in sixth-place at even-par 280. The other contending groups were Missouri (1-over 281) in eighth-place, and Colorado and Connecticut (1-over 282) tied for ninth.
Because the approach of Hurricane Isabelle’s to the East Coast is likely to adversely affect playing conditions and the pace of play, the Championship Committee implemented a cut in order to conduct the championship over 54 holes.
A total of 36 teams made the cut at 13-over-par 294.
The USGA Men’s State Team Championship is one of the national championships conducted by the United States Golf Association, most of which are strictly for amateurs. The two lowest individual scores from each three-player team count as the team total each day in this 54-hole championship.