Golf Etail Blog

Close, but no car.

Thirteen-year-old Casie Cathrea – a high school freshman from Livermore, Calif. – made a hole-in-one in the first round of an LPGA tournament last Thursday.

The 165-yard shot came on the 12th hole, which, according to Fox Sports, was the hole the tournament fitted with a prize car for those who sunk a hole-in-one. Unfortunately for Cathrea, she cannot accept the car without losing her amateur status.

What luck – the DealTeam is truly devastated!

But we’re comforted by the prospect of her bright future!

Cathrea, who is the second-youngest player to ever qualify for an LPGA Tour event, earned her spot in the CVS Pharmacy LPGA Challenge by finishing second in a qualifier early last week. She ended the tournament with a 2-over-par 74.

The hole-in-one wasn’t a fluke, either. The emerging lady golfer said this was her third.

Psst… Cathrea, we’re sorry you couldn’t ride away with victory, but you’ve got bigger fish to fry. Plus, you’re not old enough to get behind the wheel, anyway. In time, my dear, in time.

Keep up the good work and you’ll have plenty of time to pick out the car of your dreams.

Don’t tell the GolfEtail head honchos, but The DealTeam is quietly celebrating some of the lovely LPGA ladies. Hey, we all gotta cut loose sometime, right?

And talk about cutting loose… in just a few hours, a ponytail cutting event will take place on the clubhouse patio of the Pinnacle Country Club. That’s right – a ponytail cutting event, which will help create free, high-quality wigs for women who have lost their hair due to cancer treatment.

A few LPGA Tour players, including Paige Mackenzie, Carri Wood, Lisa Strom, Chella Choi, Vicky Hurst, Stacy Lewis and Heather Daly-Donofrio, are expected to participate in the event, dubbed Pantene Beautiful Lengths, to celebrate women’s health and the P&G Beauty NW Arkansas Championship presented by John Q. Hammons. In addition, many other LPGA Tour players are expected to stop by the event, either as honorary cutters, or to simply enjoy the festivities.

Let’s hear it for the girls!

I’d be right there with ya, ladies … if only my hair weren’t painted on.

Depending where you’re located, the rest of your week might be bleak.

(We’re talkin’ weather-wise; personal dilemmas aren’t our deal. But if you want to know what our deal is, look here! Shameless, we know.)

In any case, courtesy of the Associated Press and InsideBayArea.com, here’s a list of this week’s tournies to help you ride out those summer storms.

Let the thunder roll…

• PGA TOUR: Buick Open, today-Sunday, Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club, Grand Blanc, Mich. TV: Golf Channel (today-Friday, noon-3 p.m. and CBS (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.). Notes: Tiger Woods, the 2002 and 2006 winner, is in the field. After Woods won his own AT&T National for his third victory of the year, he missed the cut in the British Open. … Woods and rock ‘n’ roll legend Bob Seger headlined Wednesday’s pro-am, and their fivesome finished 8 under par. At least one member of the group paid more than $100,000 for the opportunity to play with Woods and Seger. … Defending champion Kenny Perry is skipping the tournament to stay near his cancer-stricken mother. Mildred Perry is battling blood cancer. … General Motors Co. will end its half-century run as sponsor of the Buick Open, a person briefed on the decision said Tuesday. The decision calls into question the fate of the other tour stop sponsored by GM, the Buick Invitational held in February in San Diego.
• LADIES GOLF UNION: Women’s British Open, today-Sunday, Royal Lytham & St. Annes Golf Club, Lytham St. Annes, England. TV: TNT (today-Friday, 7-9 a.m.) and ABC (Saturday, 10:30 a.m.-noon; Sunday, 10 a.m.-noon). Notes: Last year, Jiyai Shin won her first major title, a three-shot victory over Yani Tseng at Sunningdale. … The tournament became an official LPGA Tour event in 1994 and was elevated to major status in 2001, replacing the du Maurier in Canada.
• USGA: U.S. Senior Open, today-Sunday, Crooked Stick Golf Club, Carmel, Ind. TV: ESPN (today-Friday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m.) and NBC (Saturday-Sunday, noon-3 p.m.). Notes: Last year, Eduardo Romero won at the Broadmoor (Colo.), beating Fred Funk by four shots. … The Pete Dye-designed course opened in 1964. … John Daly won the 1991 PGA at Crooked Stick. … The 2010 tournament will be played at Sahalee (Wash.).
• PGA EUROPEAN TOUR: Moravia Silesia Open, today-Sunday, Prosper Golf Resort, Celadna, Czech Republic. TV: Golf Channel (today-Friday, 6-9 a.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 5:30-8 a.m.). Note: This is the inaugural event, and Miguel Angel Jiminez, the course designer, tops the field.
• NATIONWIDE TOUR: Nationwide Children’s Hospital Invitational, today-Sunday, Ohio State University Golf Club, Columbus. TV: Golf Channel (today-Friday, 3:30-5:30 p.m.; Saturday, 3:30-6:30 p.m.; Sunday, 4-6:30 p.m.). Note: In 2007, BYU star Daniel Summerhays won the inaugural event to become the first amateur champion in tour history.

Let’s hear it for the ladies!

Defending champ Lorena Ochoa won the Corona Championship with score of 25 strokes under par, holding off Norway’s Suzann Pettersen by a stroke in a dramatic final round. 27-year-old Ochoa, who has won the Morelia, Mexico-based event three times since 2006, had back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th holes to break a tie with Pettersen.

Next up for Ochoa is the Michelob ULTRA Open at Kingsmill Resort, from May 7 to 10.

Good vibes go out to Ochoa and all her female opponents – may the best lady golfer win!