Third State A Charm For Cloninger?

By Beth Murrison, USGA

The Woodlands, Texas - More than half the players in the field at the USGA Men’s State Team Championship this week at The Club at Carlton Woods’ Fazio course are representing their state for the first time.

For Rick Cloninger, that’s only partially true. True in that it’s the first time he’s representing South Carolina. But it’s not his first appearance.

At the inaugural USGA State Team Championship in 1995, Cloninger was a member of the Florida team that finished second.

He then moved to Georgia in 1997 and represented the Peach State at the 1999 and 2001 Men’s State Team Championships before moving to South Carolina in 2003. Last month, he was selected to represent his current home state at this year’s event at Carlton Woods.

At the USGA Women’s State Team, there are at least two women who have represented more than one state, including Virginia Grimes. Grimes, the 1998 Women’s Mid-Amateur winner and a three-time USA Curtis Cupper, won the team championship with Alabama in 1997 and is representing Mississippi at this week’s championship.

But it’s believed to be a first for someone to represent two different men’s state teams. Let alone three.

So how did the 50-year-old Cloninger accomplish the feat?

"I move too much,” said Cloninger with a laugh.

Cloninger, who has relocated several times as part of his career in construction equipment sales, has enjoyed success in each of his home states. In 1999, he won the Georgia State Amateur. He has won the Mid-Amateur champion at each of his stops – Florida in 1991, Georgia in 2001 and 2002 and the Carolinas Mid-Am in 2003.

“I've played very well at the local level and I've been very fortunate to play in a few national championships,” said Cloninger, who has played in two U.S. Amateurs and two U.S. Mid-Amateurs.

Cloninger would love to add a USGA team title to his accomplishments. This week he’ll team with Steve Liebler, a semifinalist at the 2005 U.S. Mid-Amateur, and Brent Roof, the 2007 South Carolina Amateur runner-up. The trio hopes to improve on South Carolina’s finish in 2005, when the team finished tied for fourth, its best-ever showing at the State Team Championship.

No matter what happens this week, don’t be surprised to someday see Cloninger on another team’s roster – he isn’t ruling out another move.

“I promise, I’m only moving back to Georgia or Florida,” said Cloninger. “I’m going to keep it in this triangle of states.”

Other states might want to keep an eye out for him, just in case.

Beth Murrison is a manager of media relations for the USGA. Contact her at bmurrison@usga.org with questions or comments.