UT coach shows prowess on course

UT golf coach Jamie Broce teamed with Brittany Lincicome to win the Celebrity Pro/Challenge at Highland Meadows.

The daily to-do list of new University of Toledo's men's golf coach Jamie Broce is 25 tasks long.

None of them calls for Broce to escape his office for a few hours and play a relaxing round of golf.

"But that's OK, we're out here to have a good time," Broce said Tuesday before teeing off in the Image Group Celebrity/Pro Challenge at Highland Meadows.

Broce, who most recently was an assistant at Indiana, will have played in three events this week centered on the Jamie Farr Toledo Classic. It's a departure from the norm, as he has found little time for leisure since arriving at UT in June.

"A lot of work, but it's been really fun," he said.

He teamed Tuesday with the LPGA's Brittany Lincicome to prevail in the six-hole event. The other five teams -- Morgan Pressel and former NBA player Todd Mitchell, Brittany Lang and LPGA commissioner Mike Whan, Christina Kim and comedian Tom Dreesen, Stacy Lewis and former UT quarterback Chuck Ealey, and Na Yeon Choi and Jamie Farr -- featured a male whose golf resume genuflects to Broce's.

Broce spent much of the 2000s toiling on minor tours. He garnered three top-four finishes on the Nationwide Tour and appeared on the NGA Hooters Tour.

At Ball State, Broce was the Mid-American Conference player of the year in 1999 and earned All-America honors.

Awaiting him when practice starts Aug. 20 is a UT team that enjoyed a fruitful summer. Sophomore Chris Selfridge captured the title at the Irish Amateur and his classmate, Mike Lancaster, won the Ontario Men's Match Play Championship. A third sophomore, Pat Cermak, qualified for the U.S. Amateur.

"Being a new coach, I think the fear was that some of my kids wouldn't be coming back," Broce said. "Not only are all of them coming back, they've all played well this summer. For me, it's a great situation to walk into."

MONDAY QUALIFIERS: Amateur Rachel Rohanna and Courtney Harter earned spots in the Farr field after finishing 1-2 in Monday's qualifying at Sylvania Country Club. Rohanna, a three-time All-Big Ten selection heading into her senior year at Ohio State, carded a round of 71. Harter, who made her LPGA debut in June, fired a 73 to top two golfers by one stroke.

University of Toledo's Piyathida Chaiyapan finished tied for ninth with a 79.

PRO-AM RESULTS: The team of Joe Weisenberger, John Getchey, Brian Stoy, Stuart Bebee, and Samantha Richdale posted a 54 on Tuesday to win the Health Care REIT Brooks Insurance Pro-Am at Inverness Club. Capturing first place in net scoring, with 47.62 points, was the team of John Quinn, Steve Poseler, Greg Turco, Tim Waldock, and Irene Cho.