Cleveland Golf Blog

What makes golf such an incredible game is the incredible range of emotions and achievements that come with it. Spirit. Determination. Passion. Victory. Cleveland Golf staffers experienced all of these feelings and more in 2012, making it one of the most memorable years in recent memory and living proof of How The Game Should Feel.

Following his breakthrough 2011 season, Keegan Bradley played with tremendous fire and focus in 2012. The 26-year-old validated his superstar status by winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational and wowed millions of viewers with a dominant effort at the Ryder Cup.

Graeme McDowell returned to the winner’s circle at the World Challenge. The native of Northern Ireland truly is a gritty competitor whose future remains very bright, especially after becoming engaged to his longtime girlfriend just before winning.

Proving that dreams really can come true, two talented rookies, Ted Potter Jr. and Charlie Beljan, notched their first career PGA Tour wins in dramatic style – Potter in a playoff at The Greenbrier Classic, Beljan at the Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals Classic after overcoming an on-course panic attack.

There were plenty of other highlights. George McNeill won the Puerto Rico Open. Australian Cameron Percy graduated from the Web.com Tour to the PGA Tour, while Steve LeBrun, Steven Bowditch and Tag Ridings advanced through the final stage of PGA Tour Qualifying School. And let’s not forget Aussie Rhein Gibson, whose 16-under-par round of 55 may have been the lowest score in golf. Ever.

At Cleveland Golf, our staffers’ accomplishments keep pushing us to create the best equipment on the market. We want to ensure that they, along with all golfers around the world, continue to hit amazing shots so they can continue to experience amazing feelings in golf.

It was a banner year for Cleveland Golf. The Classic Driver was a hit with tour players and amateurs alike, and 588 Forged wedges redefined the standard for feel and precision. Now that golfers have had a chance to experience the advanced performance of Rotex Technology – “The New Face of Spin” – there’s no telling how much more we can do to improve the short game and promote lower scores.

You’ll just have to see what’s next. We thank you so much for your support this year and will see you in 2013.

What was your favorite moment of 2012? What is your bold prediction for 2013?

Beating the field by seven shots in professional golf almost never happens, but don’t you dare say that to Jason Kokrak. The Nationwide Tour standout dominated the field at the Miccosukee Championship this week in Miami, FL where he was the leader after all four tournament rounds. This is the second Nationwide Tour victory for Kokrak in the last 5 weeks, and one that he will not soon forget. Kokrak led the field in birdies and Greens in Regulation, as well as ranking inside the top ten in driving distance and Putts per GIR. Kokrak relied on rounds of 63, 66, 69, and 66 to get him to a four day total of -20, seven shots removed from the runner-up.

“I would never have dreamt this. At the beginning of the year you set goals that you want to meet and then you set some that maybe are a little out of reach. I’ve already exceeded all the goals that I set for myself this year.”

By virtue of this tournament, Kokrak moves into fourth place on the Nationwide Tour Money List with only two events left in the season. Cleveland Golf/Srixon currently holds three of the top four places on the money list, including money leader J.J. Killeen and Ted Potter, Jr. Kokrak currently ranks number one on tour in driving distance at 320 yards.

In Kokrak’s bag this week was:

Ball: Z-Star XV

Driver: Cleveland Launcher SL290 with Miyazaki Kusala 83 Shaft

Fairway Wood: Cleveland Launcher FL with Miyazaki Kusala 83 Shaft

Irons: CG16 (3-PW)

Wedges: 588 Forged, 52, 56 and 60

Ted Potter, Jr. has locked up his second win of the year on the Nationwide Tour, and this time in very dramatic fashion.  Potter won the three man playoff  on the second hole of the Country Club of Soboba Spring yesterday, taking down Andres Gonzalez and Miguel Angel Carballo.  The win moved Potter into 3rd place on the Nationwide Tour Money List (a list, by the way, that Cleveland Golf/Srixon is dominating.  We currently boast 6 of the top 12 money winners on the Nationwide Tour.  Great job, Nationwide staff!)

Potter switched this week to a TL310 driver with a Miyazaki Indigo shaft and lead the field in both eagles and greens in regulation.

In Potter’s bag was:

Driver: TL 310—10.5 Miyazaki Indigo 61X

Fairway: FL 15 deg Miyazaki Indigo 83X

Hybrid: Launcher 20.5

Irons: CG-1 tour 4 thru PW

Wedges: CG-16—52-56-60

If you are a sports fan and someone mentions Boise, ID to you during the fall, what first comes to mind?  Most likely it is a bunch of future NFL standouts running around a blue astroturf field.  However, this weekend the Nationwide Tour stole the show, and Cleveland Golf staffer Jason Kokrak received top billing.

Well, Jason Kokrak is proud to call himself the most recent champion on this event after sealing a two stoke victory yesterday at the Hillcrest Country Club.  The win moved Kokrak to 13th on the Nationwide Tour money list, virtually guaranteeing him a spot on the PGA Tour next season.

“It hasn’t really set in yet, maybe it will on the plane tomorrow, I have no words to explain it. I honestly have no idea what was going through my mind out there. I just tried to stay calm and keep my heart from racing.”

Kokrak relied on all facets of his game this week, finishing 2nd in the event in driving distance at nearly 318 yards.

The Cleveland Golf/Srixon family now claims 8 of the top 25 money winners on the Nationwide Tour this season, including 6 of the top 13.  Remember that the Top 25 all take up PGA Tour membership in 2012.

In Jason’s bag was:
Driver: SL 290 (9.0), Miyazaki Kusala 83X black
Fairway: 14 deg FL Tour Miyazaki Kusala 83X black
Irons: CG-16 Tour 3-PW
Wedges: CG-16 (52 and 56), 588 (60)
Ball: Z-Star XV

Gary Christian has never played a PGA Tour Event.  That is about to change.

Christian has all but locked up a 2012 Tour Card after winning this weeks Nationwide Tour event, the Mylan Classic at Southpointe Golf Club.  The win moved Christian to number 4 on the Nationwide money list with the Top 25 advancing to the PGA Tour at the end of the season.

Christian shot 67 on Sunday to finish one shot ahead of John Mallinger for his 2nd career victory and his first of the season.

“Deep down, you know you got a shot at doing it. You keep trying to knock that door down.” Christian said after his win. “I think it was meant to be this week,” Christian said. “I kept saying to myself as I walked down the fairway, it’s my time. The chip-in on 14. My last drive [on 18] stopped 6 inches from going in the water. It was my time.”

Christian played a Cleveland Launcher DST Ultralite driver (8.5°), a HiBORE XLS™ fairway wood (13°), a Cleveland CG1™ Tour iron (5), Cleveland CG TOUR™ irons (6-9), Cleveland CG16 wedges (48°, 54°, 60°), and a Srixon Z-STAR™ XV ball.

Russell Knox, who’s seen success on the mini-tours with a number of wins over the past few years, was able to add something extra to the mantle. A Nationwide win! Knox earned his first Nationwide Tour victory this week at the Chiquita Classic, closing out a great week at -25 with rounds of 68, 66, 63 and 66.

“This is very exciting for me because it’s my first trophy. On the mini-tours we just get a check.” Said Knox, after being presented with the Silver jug (filled with fresh fruit!)

Knox entered the day with the 54 hole lead, but was not content limping in.  He stayed aggressive on his way to the closing round 66, carding 5 birdies in a 6 hole stretch on the front and 2 birdies with 7 pars on the back.

“I tried to stay aggressive, I was just trying to stay calm and finish the race.  It took a lot of pressure off me trying to hit it in there close.”

The win moves Knox into 5th place on the Nationwide Tour money list, giving him good position to stay in the top 25 for the remainder of the season.

“I knew this was possible,” he said, regarding the win.  “I’ve played well the last three years since turning pro. I’ve worked hard and dedicated my whole life to playing professional golf.”

In Knox’s bag was:

Launcher TL310, 9.5*

Launcher FL, 15*

Mashie M2

DST3i

CG16 Tour Irons

CG15 48*, 54*

588, 60*

Srixon ZSTAR Ball

Readers,

In the latest installment of “One Nationwide Status To Give”, staffer, Will Wilcox added another dramatic chapter by gaining full status!  Once again, this CG staffer had to Monday Qualify just to get into the event, but wound up among the top of the leader board again.  At the Stadion Classic at UGA, Wilcox fired a pair of 67′s on the weekend to finish T3 and move him into full status on the Nationwide.   This follows staffers, Russell Knox and Ted Potter Jr who both Monday Qualified and, having previously had no status on the Nationwide Tour, qualified for full status.

Wilcox lead the field in driving distance this week and had this tweet to follow up his round on Saturday: “@willwilcoxgolf And my new Cleveland TL 310 has allowed me to average 347.8 off the tee and lead the field in driving distance.”

For more information on how rare this is (yet, you may stop believing me because CG Staffers have now done it three weeks in a row!) check out this article on hooterstour.com.

Readers,

We are starting to see a trend on the Nationwide Tour that is most uncommon.  Two weeks in a row, Cleveland Golf/Srixon Developmental Staffers, who previously did not have any status on the Nationwide Tour, Monday Qualified for a Nationwide Event and finished high enough to gain full status on the circuit!  Two weeks ago it Russell Knox who finished T2 in a weather shortened tournament, moving him into 11th place on the money list, and full status on the tour.  This past weekend it was Ted Potter Jr who Monday Qualified and went on to win the South Georgia Classic by three shots!

Potter, who has had much success on the Hooters Tour but had yet to break through on the Nationwide, was tied for the lead heading into Sunday before distancing himself from the pack on the front nine with 3 birdies.  The field never caught back up with him as he cruised in to a 3 shot win.  To put this into perspective, Potter is the first person to qualify on a Monday and win a Nationwide event since 2006.

“I was more nervous after I finished the round,” said Potter. “I was fine most of the day. I was just trying to draw back on my past experiences and focus on every shot. I don’t know how to describe it. I was nervous and happy.”

When we caught up with Ted here are some comments he had to make on his play this week:

What was your mentality on the back nine with a three shot lead? Does that change the way you play at all?

I didn’t know I had a 3 shot lead, I was just trying to make pars and birdies, I walked off 16 tee an accidentally saw a leaderboard and that I had a 2 shot lead, I birdied 16 and then parred 17 and 18 with 2 great up and downs.

After all your success on the Hooters Tour, how does it feel to get this W on the Nationwide?

Pretty Awesome! Means I have a set schedule for the rest of the year and knowing I have somewhere to play for the next few years. I’m 4th on the Money List and a great chance of finishing in the Top 25 and avoiding Q-school.

How do you decide when it is a good tournament to try to Monday qualify for?

It was close to home and I had played there before on both the Nationwide and Hooters Tours in past years.

What is comic up for you for the rest of the season?

All about the Nationwide Tour and finishing inside that Top 25.

This feat is truly a rarity, and is a true testament to the level of play on the Developmental Tours such as the Hooters.  Golf Writer, Jason Sobel even went as far as to tweet: “I have said it before and I’ll say it again: Ted Potter Jr. might be a world Top 50 player right now.”

Potter was playing with a Launcher DST Tour  9.5* Driver, Composite 15* 3W, Launcher 20.5* hybrid, CG1 Tour Irons and CG14 Wedges at 52*, 56*, and 60*.

Hi Readers.  I wanted to talk to you briefly about Professional Golf’s most grueling process–PGA Tour Qualifying School.  Cleveland Golf/Srixon will have a large number of Developmental Staffers that will begin the grind in just a couple weeks in hopes of reaching their ultimate goal…The PGA Tour.  The tough part about QSchool is that your year kind of comes down to three tournaments (1st, 2nd, 3rd stage).  Regardless of how much you won or lost on various developmental tours or in college throughout the year, you start QSchool at exactly the same spot (When I say same spot I am definitely not referring to where a player may be mentally based on his good or bad play through the year–that is a different matter all together).  It goes without saying that successfully navigating through isn’t easy.  We will be updating this Post over the next couple months as we follow our staffers as they advance from stage to stage. Here is QSchool by the numbers:

First Stage — begins October 19th.

• 13 sites
• approximately 78 players at each site (over 1000 players)
• 72 holes
• 450 plus ties will advance

Second Stage

• 5 sites
• approximately 78 players at each site (around 450 players)
• 72 holes
• 156 players plus ties will advance

Final Stage

• played at Orange County National Golf Club, Winter Garden, FL
• 108 holes (6 Rounds)
• Top 25 and ties will get their PGA Tour Card
• all players 26 and below will get some sort of status on the PGA Nationwide Tour

Check back here for updates on how our Staffers are progressing!

You can get more information on PGA Tour Qualifying School at http://www.pgatour.com/qschool/

With four Top-5 finishes so far this year (three of the them coming in his last three tournaments) Keegan Bradley is quickly becoming a player to watch on the Nationwide Tour. Bradley currently sits 12th on the money list (the top 25 gain full PGA Tour membership at the end of the year.) I recently had a chance to talk with Bradley about the strives he has made this year and what he looks forward to in the future.

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