USGA MEN’S STATE TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP FACT SHEET
September 16-18, 2003
Charles River Country Club
Newton Centre, Mass.

PAR AND YARDAGE – Charles River Country Club will be set at 6,513 yards and play to par 35-35—70.

CHARLES RIVER CC – Charles River Country Club was designed by Donald Ross and opened in 1921. The club is hosting its first USGA championship.

FREE ADMISSION – The general public is invited to attend the championship. Both admission and parking are free of charge.

SCHEDULE OF PLAY – The field of golfers will play 18 holes on Sept. 16-18 (Tuesday-Thursday). The lowest two scores from each three-man team will be counted daily toward the team’s total in this biennial championship.

TEAMS ENTERED – Fifty–two teams have entered in 2003 with all 50 states and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico represented. In 1995, 47 teams entered; 51 were in the field in 1997; 50 were entered in 1999; and 52 in 2001.

2001 RE-CAP –. Home state Minnesota rode the confidence of veteran John Harris and won its second USGA State Team Championship by two strokes over Virginia at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. The home state team finished the 54-hole championship at even-par 432 assisted by Harris, then 48, of Minneapolis, the elder statesman of the team, who shot 1-under-par 71. Harris was a member of the 1997 championship team and now plays on the Champions Tour.

John Carlson, then 22, of Bagley, tallied a 2-over-par 74 for Minnesota’s final round total of 145. Jered Gusso, then 22, of Savage, shot a 3-over 75, which did not count in the team standings. “It’s very special, Harris said of adding a second State Team Championship to his already distinguished career that includes the 1993 U.S. Amateur championship and four Walker Cup appearances. “I am proud to play for Minnesota.

The younger Minnesotans looked to Harris for leadership and he was willing to provide it. “He said, ‘You’ve got it in you. We’re all here for each other,’ said Carlson. “Just by that inspiration, knowing that he is caring about us, that’s what I drew from.

DEFENDERS AND HOME STATERS: The Minnesota team includes Mark Christensen of Elk River, Phil Ebner of Minneapolis and Joey Stansberry of Bloomington. The Massachusetts team consists of Brendan Hester of Worcester, Kevin Quinn of Needham and Frank Vana Jr. of Shrewsbury.

USGA AND MASSACHUSETTS – Massachusetts is hosting its first State Team Championship but its 49^th USGA championship or biennial event. The last USGA visit was the 2001 U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club in Peabody. The Commonwealth has seen six U.S. Opens, three U.S. Women’s Opens, one U.S. Senior Open, three Walker Cup matches and two Curtis Cup matches.

CHARLES RIVER HISTORY – The membership list at Charles River C.C. reads like a roll call of USGA champions and nationally prominent golfers. Among its past members are course architect Donald Ross, three-time USGA champion Francis Ouimet (1913 Open, 1914 and 1931 Amateur), Ouimet’s caddie Eddie Lowery, James Driscoll (2000 Amateur and 1995 Junior Amateur runner-up), Marion Maney-McInerney (1992 Women’s Mid-Amateur champion), Mildred Prunaret (chairman of USGA Women’s Committee and USA Curtis Cup and World Amateur Team captain and namesake of the Women’s Mid-Amateur Trophy), and Kevin Quinn (a member of four consecutive Massachusetts teams at the State Team).

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY – The team representing Virginia won the inaugural championship in 1995, followed by Minnesota in 1997, Texas in 1999 and Minnesota in 2001. Massachusetts finished T22nd in 2001 with a best placement of 15th in 1995.

FORMAT – In each of three, 18-hole, stroke play rounds, the two lowest scores by players from each team constitute the team score for each round. The three-day total is the team’s score for the Championship.

ELIGIBILITY – The championship is open to male amateur golfers as selected by each state golf association or administrative body. At present, collegiate players are not eligible to compete in this championship. The NCAA rules state that a player may only play in an international team competition when that team is sponsored by the national governing body, such as the Walker Cup Match or the World Amateur Team Championship. Any infraction of that rule means the collegiate player may be declared ineligible for the remainder of the season and the following season.

FIVE TIME CLUB: Seven players will be making their fifth straight appearance in the USGA State Team Championship in 2003. They are: Jerry Courville of Milford, Conn.; Keith Decker of Fieldale, Va.; Brady Exber of Las Vegas, Nev.; Michael Hall of Wilmington, Del.; Mark Plummer, of Manchester, Maine; Michael Podolak of Oxbow, N.D.; and Frank Vana Jr. of Shrewsbury, Mass.

WALKER CUPPERS AND USGA CHAMPIONS: Historically, the field of competitors includes past USGA Championships and members of the USA Walker Cup squad. At the 5^th State Team Championship, six USGA title-holders are playing: Jerry Courville (1995 U.S. Mid-Amateur), Mike Podolak (1984 Mid-Amateur), Danny Green (1999 Mid-Am), Tim Jackson (1994 Mid-Amateur), and Brandt Snedeker (2003 Public Links). In 2003, the four past Walker Cup team members are Connecticut’s Jerry Courville (1995, 1997), North Dakota’s Mike Podolak (1985), Tennessee’s Danny Green (2001), and Tennessee’s Tim Jackson (1995, 1999).

CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY – The Men’s State Team Championship, like the women’s version, grew out of the celebration of the USGA Centennial and was fashioned after the biennial World Amateur Team Championship.

Each state in was invited to send its three best players, and 47 states sent men’s teams to compete for the new title at the Lake Nona Golf Club in Orlando, Fla in 1995. State associations were given the option to choose their teams by any method, with one restriction: college players were ineligible because of NCAA bylaws. The NCAA rule states that a player may only play in an international team match when that team is sponsored by the national governing body, such as the Walker Cup team or the Men’s World Amateur team. Any infraction of that rule means the college player is faced with being declared ineligible for the remainder of the season and the following season.

As a result, the field for the Men’s State Team Championship was made up almost entirely of mid–amateur and senior players. Some states used a point system to select the three–woman team. Others used the top finishers in their state championships or conducted qualifying tournaments. A few states employed a selection committee to determine team members.

Just as in the Men’s World Amateur Team Championship, the Men’s State Team Championship format meant that only the best two scores of each state’s three players were counted in each of three days.

The inaugural Men’s State Team Championship proved to be such a popular competition that the decision was made to conduct the championship every two years, in odd–numbered years.

USGA MEDIA CONTACT – For more information contact Pete Kowalski, USGA Media Relations staff by phone at the media center: 617-243-0474.

HOLE-BY-HOLE – 6,513 yards, par 70;