Tiger Woods, Johnny Manziel top Las Vegas golf scene
May 28, 2019 - 1:48 pm
Updated May 28, 2019 - 6:09 pm
Johnny Manziel and Tiger Woods highlighted a busy time in Vegas golf.
Manziel teamed with member Dave Evans to win the recent member-guest tournament at Southern Highlands. Manziel is a former Texas A&M quarterback and Cleveland Browns first-round draft pick whose football career was hampered by off-field issues.
Manziel, an avid golfer, was featured on the Golf Digest cover after being drafted in 2014. He grew up playing junior golf and his family lived on the 16th tee of Hollytree Country Club in Tyler, Texas. He is also a huge Tiger Woods fan.
“I had everything Tiger. I wanted to be just like him,” Manziel said in Golf Digest. “I got my dad to get me that Scotty Cameron putter that Tiger used for all of those years. I wanted one exactly like it.”
As for Woods, the recent Masters champion held his annual Tiger Jam fundraiser in Las Vegas last weekend that featured a poker tournament at MGM hosted by world champion Phil Helmuth, a golf tournament at Shadow Creek — where Woods lost to Phil Mickelson in “The Match” last November — and a private dinner prior to the Janet Jackson concert at MGM on Saturday night. The event has been in Las Vegas for 20 years and raises funds for the Tiger Woods Foundation.
During his clinic, Woods called the recent $85,000 winning bet on him at the Masters “a (expletive) great bet,” but labeled the bettor, James Adduci, an “(expletive)” for following that up by betting he would win all four majors.
Vegas on leaderboard
Southern Highlands member Kevin Na fired a second-round 62 en route to his win at the PGA Tour’s Charles Schwab Challenge and topped several pros with Vegas ties who had solid weeks. Nick Watney tied for eighth, Charley Hoffman tied for 13th and Scott Piercy tied for 19th.
At the Senior PGA Championship, John Riegger finished seventh, Tommy Armour III was 13th and Bob May was 60th.
Cool tourney
The Ely Rotary Club tournament June 8 at White Pine Golf Club in Ely, a four-hour drive from Vegas, features a wine tasting and cash drawing Friday night and a barbecue following play Saturday. Cost is $125 per player and registration is through dlberbidge@gmail.com. Bonus: Ely is usually about 30 degrees cooler than Las Vegas due to its 6,870-foot elevation.
Weekly deal
Visit SNGA.org to buy the gift of golf for $99 ($109 for non-SNGA members and includes a membership) and get rounds at Coyote Springs, Revere and Las Vegas National.
UNLV PGM honor
Cole Christensen, a UNLV PGA Golf Management program student at UNLV, was one of 11 students selected nationwide for the PGA Global Internship Program. Christensen will intern at the Els Performance Golf Academy in Vietnam.
Stars on, off course
Las Vegas’ Anthony Netto finished fourth at the ParaLong Drive Cup in Mesquite last week. He drove the ball 350 yards strapped to a Paramobile machine. He’s also 56, more than three decades older than winner Evan Mathias, 23, from Indiana.
The golf notebook appears Wednesdays. Freelance writer Brian Hurlburt is a two-time author who has covered golf in Las Vegas for more than two decades. He can be reached at bhurlburt5@gmail.com or @LVGolfInsider.
Area golf events
Wednesday-Friday: Mesquite Amateur, several Mesquite courses
Monday: NV Energy United Way tournament, Red Rock – Mountain
Monday: SNGA Social Series, DragonRidge
Monday: AJGA Junior/Am, Reflection Bay
Monday: Discovery Children's Museum Classic, Red Rock
Monday: Golf United benefiting United Way, Red Rock Country Club
June 4-6: AJGA Lake Las Vegas Jr. hosted by Danielle Kang, Reflection Bay
June 8, 9: SNGA Reflection Bay Amateur, Reflection Bay
June 9: SNGA Parent-Child tournament, Las Vegas National
June 11, 12: WSNGA Southern Nevada Am/Silver Cup qualifier, Boulder Creek
June 12: HELP of So. Nevada Round Up, Cascata
June 13: Southern Nevada Sports Hall of Fame, Las Vegas National
June 17: Natalie Gulbis Charity Classic, TPC Summerlin
June 23: Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame Social Day, Primm Valley Lakes
Pro schedule
PGA Tour
What: Memorial Tournament.
Where: Dublin, Ohio; Muirfield Village GC. (7,392 yards; par 72).
When: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 9:30-11:45 a.m. (Golf Channel), Noon-3 p.m. (KLAS-8); Sunday, 9-11:15 a.m. (Golf Channel), 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (KLAS-8).
Purse: $9.1 million. Winner's share: $1,638,000.
Defending champion: Bryson DeChambeau.
Last week: Kevin Na won the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial.
FedEx Cup leader: Matt Kuchar.
U.S. Golf Association
What: U.S. Women's Open.
Where: Country Club of Charleston, South Carolina; (6,535 yards; par 71).
Television: Thursday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. (FS1); Saturday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. (KVVU-5).
Purse: $5.5 million. Winner's share: $1 million.
Defending champion: Ariya Jutanugarn.
PGA Tour Champions
What: Principal Charity Classic.
Where: Des Moines, Iowa; Wakonda Club (6,831 yards, par 72).
When: Friday, 8:30-11 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, Noon-3:30 p.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel).
Purse: $1.85 million. Winner's share: $277,500.
Defending champion: Tom Lehman.
European Tour
What: Belgian Knockout.
Where: Antwerp, Belgium; Rinkven International GC. (6,924 yards, par 71).
When: Thursday, 3-5 a.m., 7-10 a.m. (Golf Channel); Friday, 3-5 a.m., 7-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Saturday, 4-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel); Sunday, 3:30-8:30 a.m. (Golf Channel).
Purse: 1 million euros (U.S. $1.12 million). Winner's share: 166,667 euros (U.S. $186,559).
Defending champion: Adrian Oategui.
Last week: Bernd Wiesberger won Made in Denmark.
Race to Dubai leader: Kevin Kisner.
— The Associated Press