Celebrating and Playing the Game of Golf

Last week, The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and the Davis Love Foundation (DLF) hosted the Davis Love III Junior Open at Sea Island Golf Club (July 22-24). The 78-player field featured players from 12 states, Canada, China, Japan andn Thailand. They played 54 holes on the Seaside at Sea Island, GA - the same course the pros play during The McGladrey Classic (scheduled for Oct. 20-26 this year). Will Chandler of Atlanta, who has verbally committed to the University of Georgia, won the Boys Division. Capturing the Girls Division was Kelly Whaley of Farmington, Connecticut. Whaley has verbally committed to the University of North Carolina, the alma mater of tournament host Davis Love III. Check out their smiling faces in this picture of them with their trophies. Way to go, Will and Kelly!

Speaking of Sea Island, for the second year in a row, The Lodge and The Cloister have been named two of the top five resorts in the Continental U.S. in the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. Also making the best hotel spas in the country, The Spa at Sea Island was ranked third. Congratulations to Sea Island on all their well deserved achievement this year! We look forward to returning to the island for The McGladrey Classic in October!

All three Team McGladrey members are on the greens this week: Zach Johnson is in Ohio for the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone, while Chris DiMarco and Davis Love III are in Nevada for the Barracuda Championship. DiMarco teed off at 7:22 a.m., PT from tee No. 10 and Davis will tee off at 12:55 p.m., PT from tee No. 1. Zach tees at 2 p.m, CT from tee No. 10 (in OH). As usual, we’ll be pulling for “our guys” this week!

Also this week, Zach was featured in the August issue of Golf Digest magazine. Discussing how to get a power boost at impact, the article, “Snap Your Swing For Distance,” focuses on how players can increase their golf swing speed with their arms – much like Zach does. An excerpt from the article shares:  

Zach Johnson, whom I've worked with since 2000, is a great example of snap speed. He's not a long hitter, but he's in the top 10 on tour in a stat called total distance efficiency, which means he optimizes his speed at impact. If you want more distance, you've got to snap it like Zach.

Mike Bender (@MikeBenderGolf) shared on twitter the breakdown of what he means by snap speed. If you’re interested in learning more, read the full article.
 

 

Before closing this week’s post, here’s a bit of trivia for you. Did you know that August is National Golf Month? It’s true! It’s a real thing! In honor of the month, how do you plan to celebrate? If you need a few ideas, check out these 18 ways to celebrate from the Daily Tee.

Check back next week for more updates on Team McGladrey and The McGladrey Classic. This year’s tournament is only 80 short days away…!

From Canada to Colorado to Sea Island

Congratulations to Rory McIlroy on his big win last weekend at The Open Championship! McIlroy is now a three-time major championship – at the age of 25! Incredible. Way to go Rory, we wish you luck the rest of the 2014 season (and would love to see you at Sea Island for The McGladrey Classic in October)!

Moving on to Team McGladrey, our guys are spread across North America this week. Chris DiMarco is in Canada for the RBC Canadian Open. Chris teed off at 12:15 p.m., ET from tee No. 10. A few extended McGladrey “family members” are playing in the RBC as well: Heath Slocum (2010 McGladrey Classic winner), Ben Crane (2011) and Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey (2012). Zach Johnson is in Colorado for BMW Championship’s media day since he was the 2013 winner. And, Davis Love III is in his hometown and home to The McGladrey Classic, Sea Island. On Tues., July 22, the Davis Love III Junior Open started and is wrapping up today (Thurs., July 24). Speaking of media day and Sea Island, we’re already beginning planning for the 2014 McGladrey Classic Media Day – scheduled for Sept. 15. It’ll be here before we know it – as will this year’s tournament (Oct. 20 – 26). Eighty-seven days and counting…

And while we’re on the topic of The McGladrey Classic, have you checked out this year’s schedule of events? There will be lots of fun activities. Check out the schedule below, and remember to send us your pictures from the events you attend. You never know…we might just post them here on the McGladrey golf blog. Share your personal experiences from the tournament, as well. Use #McGladreyClassic and we’ll follow along with all of you. We are beyond excited about this year’s tournament – and hope you share in the excitement! In preparation, remember to purchase your tickets and merchandise.

Pop back in next week for more updates on all things Team McGladrey and McGladrey Classic!

Keeping Busy with Team McGladrey

What a weekend Team McGladrey Member Zach Johnson had at the John Deere Classic! Congratulations on a strong second place finish, Zach! We hope you carry your great play across the pond this week to England for The Open Championship in Hoylake, England. Zach tees off at 1:38 p.m., ET from tee No. 1. ESPN will be airing the event, so we’ll be tuning in. Will you?  

 Related to the Open Championship, The Golf Channel’s Morning Drive featured Team McGladrey Member Chris DiMarco this week disussing Royal Liverpool’s holes 16-18 for the 2014 British Open. You can watch that video here.  And, yesterday (Wed., July 16), The Golf Channel shared a look from what one of the former Open champions wore. Check out the image to your right, take a minute to guess who it is. Curious? It was none other than John Daly! Daly continues to entertain golf fans with his eclectic on-the-course attire. And speaking of eye-catching golf attire, remember Bill Murray rocking the Pabst Blue Ribbon shorts? What do you think of these less-than-conventional choices?

Also in “current events,” Team McGladrey Member Davis Love III shared some cool news recently. Love Golf Management was selected to manage The Carolina Country Club in Spartanburg, SC! And next week (July 22-24), the American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) and the Davis Love Foundation (DLF) will host the Davis Love III Junior Open at Sea Island Golf Club. The 78-player field will play 54 holes on Seaside, the same course the pros play during The McGladrey Classic. The AJGA and The McGladrey Classic are both celebrating their fifth anniversary of playing in the Golden Isles. If you’d like to learn more about this event or if you’re interested in playing on a foursome, you can contact Jason Ross at jross@AGJGA.or or 678-425-1652.

 Ninety-four days and counting until the 2014 McGladrey Classic (Oct. 20-26)! Check in every Thursday leading up to the tournament for more updates on Team McGladrey, The McGladrey Classic and other golf-related topics!

Deere Zach and Southern Inspiration

This week, Team McGladrey members Zach Johnson and Davis Love III are in Illinois for the John Deere Classic. Zach teed off at 7:30 a.m., CT on tee No. 10 and Davis tees at 12:55 p.m. on tee No. 1. Our team is also accompanied by all previous McGladrey Classic champions: Heath Slocum (2010), Ben Crane (2011), Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey (2012) and Chris Kirk (2013), so it is almost like a family reunion! Zach has been chosen multiple times in the PGA TOUR Expert Picks to be the winner of the John Deere Classic. Who do you think will win? Best of luck to all Team McGladrey members and our “extended family.”  

Speaking of Zach, last week was the fourth annual Zach Johnson Foundation Classic. This year’s event was a big success, with four of the top 21 PGA TOUR players in the world (Jordan Speith, Jason Dufner and Steve Stricker and Zach) particpating. In a KCRG interview, Zach said, “This is something that my wife and I have dreamt about. This is something that my family frankly never dreamed about. The opportunity to do something like this, to come back to the people and the community that gave you everything as a kid, you've got to take advantage of that.” Way to go, Zach. Your friends at McGladrey admire your philanthropic spirit, and we’re proud to have you as part of our team’s efforts to give back to the community.

With all of this talk about “classic” events, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the fact that we’re getting dangerously close to entering the double-digit countdown until our favorite classic event – the 2014 McGladrey Classic! We can’t believe it’s a mere 101 days away! It’ll be here before we know it. With that in mind, below are a few items for you might want to look into:

Tournament Schedule & Events

Tickets

Merchandise

Hospitality Packages

Pro-Am Packages – SOLD OUT

Birdies Fore Love

This year’s tournament promises to offer numerous amazing events, even for those who aren’t rabid golf fans. One of the highlights: the Wed., Oct. 22 “Concert Under the Oaks,” featuring Darius Rucker. There’s something for everyone, so we hope you’ll join us at Sea Island. Check it out to see for yourself why the host location of The McGladrey Classic has been honored with multiple awards, including USA’s Today’s 10 Best Southern Resorts, TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence, USA Today Travel’s Readers’ Choice poll for the Top 10 Golf Destinations, CNN Travel 8 seriously playful hotels, and more!

Check in next week to see what the latest is on Team McGladrey and the 2014 McGladrey Classic (Oct. 20 – 26)!

Celebrating U.S.A.

Happy Fourth of July! Like the rest of this great nation, we owe a huge THANK YOU to those who serve our country, and we hope you’ll take time over the coming holiday weekend to thank an active-duty or retired veteran for all they’ve done to serve our country.  And while we’re celebrating the upcoming holiday, we’d like to give a shout-out to the U.S. Men’s National Soccer Team. What unbelievable fight they showed this week, and throughout their entire participation in the World Cup! Best of luck to the remaining countries who are still competing. Who are YOU rooting for to win it all?  

And in the world of golf, there has been a lot going on recently with Team McGladrey. Davis Love III is in West Virginia this week for the Greenbrier Classic where he teed off this morning (July 3) at 7:40 a.m., ET, from tee No. 1. Zach Johnson is taking a well-needed break this week before his fourth annual Zach Johnson Foundation Classic, which takes place July 6-7 at Elmcrest Country Club in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Funds from the tournament will support Kids on Course, a pilot program at Van Buren Elementary and Harrison Elementary Schools in the state. Davis will also be participating in the fundraising event, along with other PGA TOUR Players and celebrities! You can find out who and all the other tournament details here. If you’re around Cedar Rapids, be sure to stop by the tournament as general admissions is free this year!

Zach has been in other news this week as well. Earlier in the week, he was interviewed by Today’s Golfer discussing the upcoming Open Championship in England July 17-20.  And this past Sun., June 29, Zach was featured in a PGA TOUR video about life on the PGA TOUR. You can watch the trailer below. 

 

  

On a solemn note, we want to send our condolences to the Ball family. Errie Ball, who played in the first Masters Tournament and was the last surviving player from the inaugural tournament passed away yesterday, July 2 at 103 years old. To learn more of Errie’s story, PGA TOUR posted an article here. 

Happy Independence Day. We hope you have an opportunity to celebrate this special day with your friends and family. We'd love to know what you have planned this holiday, so leave a comment below!

Chceck back next week as we talk about Team McGladrey and the McGladrey Classic (Oct. 20-26).