Highland Meadows weathering the storms

7/5/2006

Highland Meadows Golf Club has taken more than seven inches of rain since the first of several serious storms swept through the Toledo area on June 21.

The good news is that the Sylvania course drains very well. The not-so-good news is that the same can't always be said for Ten Mile Creek, which meanders through the property.

As a result, superintendent Mark Mixdorf and his course maintenance staff have been working overtime to satisfy the Meadows' active membership, all the while looking ahead to next Monday.

That's when week-long festivities begin for the LPGA's Jamie Farr Owens Corning Classic.

Mixdorf said tournament-goers will be aware of the storms' aftermath.

"We have some discolored areas, the result of turf loss where the ground was under water," Mixdorf said. "The good thing is that most of it is in out-of-the-way places that aren't in play, especially for professional golfers."

Mixdorf's staff will be hard at it the next couple days, repairing damage to bunkers caused by a storm that dumped 1.5 inches of rain Monday night.

"We fixed them after the first big rains late last month, but we have more work to do after [Monday] night," Mixdorf said. "I don't foresee any problems, though, considering we're supposed to have nice weather the next four or five days."

Tournament week could be a different story, though. Advance forecasts call for the chance of thunderstorms for four straight days starting Monday.

"There's nothing you can do about it, so we'll just take it as it comes," Mixdorf said. "The golf course drains well and it will play just fine. We'll just keep an eye on Ten Mile Creek and hope it stays in its banks."

The Meadows' staff will also keep an eye on the bridge that crosses Ten Mile Creek on the No. 1 hole. It suffered some minor washout damage when the creek, which feeds into the mouth of the Ottawa River, flooded after the June storms.

"It has been repaired and the members have been using it without any problem," Mixdorf said. "We'll be monitoring it, especially if there's more rain."

FARR CELEBS: Tournament host Jamie Farr will have a reunion with fellow M*A*S*H star Mike Farrell, who played surgeon B.J. Honeycutt on the long-running TV hit, during next week's tournament.

Farrell and his wife, actress Shelley Fabares, are the signature celebrities for the '06 Farr Classic. Fabares is best known, perhaps, for her role as Craig T. Nelson's wife on the TV series Coach.

They will join Farr and former University of Toledo quarterback Chuck Ealey in the National City Celebrity Pro-Am next Wednesday.

Farr and Ealey will also play in the six-hole United Healthcare Pro/Celebrity Challenge on Tuesday at 3 p.m., along with sports writer Christine Brennan and several local TV sports anchormen. Each will have an LPGA partner.

FARR JUNIOR: Jordan Fesh earned a $750 college scholarship for her first-place finish in the Farr Classic Junior Girls Amateur held recently at The Legacy. Her 36-hole total of 154 was one shot better than Alyssa Shimel and two strokes better than defending champion Elizabeth Slusher.

MORE JUNIORS: Shimel won four matches, including a 1-up decision over Caroline Powers in the finale, to take the Toledo District Golf Association's junior girls match-play title at Lenawee Country Club.

John Powers defeated Adam Crisp, 1-up in 37 holes, to win the boys division of the TDGA match play.

Powers, from Bowling Green, also recently posted a tie for second place in the Ohio Juniors at Scioto Country Club in Columbus. His 4-under-par 67 in the second round was the only sub-70 score turned in during the event.

OHIO AMATEUR: Local qualifying medalist Steve Mitchell, former champion Alan Fadel and two-time TDGA match-play winner Jeff Blank will head a Toledo area contingent of more than 15 golfers in next week's Ohio Amateur Championship.

The tournament runs for four days starting next Tuesday at Canterbury Golf Club in Cleveland. There will be a cut to low 60 scorers and ties after 36 holes and another cut to low 40 scorers and ties after 54 holes.

JERMAIN STARTS: John Zitkovic should be among the favorites when the Totalink S.P. Jermain Match Play, one of the Toledo Metro Golf Association's major championships, opens its two weekend run at Ottawa Park on Saturday.

Zitkovic leads the Metro's scratch player-of-the-year chase and has the low stroke average at 72.17.

Jermain action will take place Saturday and Sunday, and then will be concluded on Friday-Saturday-Sunday of the following weekend.

Contact Dave Hackenberg at:

dhack@theblade.com

or 419-724-6398.