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60 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, September 17, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 28, 2004 Newsom on his game in time for big events By TIM TROWER Mail Tribune Brooks Newsom hasn’t gotten too big for Rogue Valley golf. Granted, he did qualify for the U.S. Mid-Amateur on Monday. And he did post a top-five showing in the Oregon Golf Association Stroke Play Championships the day before. But when the Rogue Valley Stroke Play Championships unfold today and Sunday at Cedar Links Golf Course and the Southern Oregon Golf Tournament follows next week at Rogue Valley Country Club, Newsom will be right there. Advertisement And he’ll have a healthy respect for the competition. "I have no problem going down to Southern Oregon to play," says the former Medford resident, who lives in Portland. "There are a lot of good players there, and I’ve lost to a lot of them." He’s beaten his share, too. Newsom, whose in-laws live in Medford, is defending champion of this weekend’s city championships. He also won the event in 2001 and captured the SOGT men’s title in 1998. Using recent form as a barometer, it’s safe to say Newsom is a favorite in the valley’s two big tournaments, even if he does protest. The Southern Oregon, he says, has been especially taxing of late. "I’ve gotten my tail whipped for several years in a row," he says. "I’ve definitely fallen off the list of contenders. I have not played well in the Southern Oregon for quite a few years." Don’t count on an early exit this time around. Newsom sets two major goals for himself each year: qualify for the U.S. Amateur and the Mid-Am. He has yet to accomplish the first, but he achieved the second this week when, a quarter of the way into the 18-hole round, he unearthed a swing key that led to a 1-under-par 71 at Tualatin Country Club. Newsom secured one of four spots to the national tournament Oct. 2-7 at Sea Island Golf Club in St. Simons Island, Ga. It’ll be his second trip, having qualified for the Mid-Am in 2000. For a while, the outlook was bleak. Newsom never felt comfortable in three rounds in the OGA tourney at the Running Y Resort in Klamath Falls, but he managed to scrape it around for a co- fifth-place finish at 4 over par. "I was hitting my driver horribly and ended up in a lot of trouble off the tee," he says. "I could not get any consistency going." He had to get up-and-down for par his last seven holes Sunday and shot a 1-over 73. "It was ugly," says Newsom. "That’s not the way you want to make your living on the golf course. I was not playing well at all, but I was scoring OK. I didn’t leave the golf course feeling like I left a lot of shots out there." Part of Sunday night was spent making swings in front of a mirror, searching for a swing thought for the Mid-Am qualifying. With his short game in order, Newsom figured he just needed to stay around par until something clicked. His was the third group out Monday, and he promptly crafted four uneventful pars. On the par-3 fifth hole, he was between clubs for the 221-yard shot. He settled on 4-wood rather than 3-iron, thinking an 85-percent swing would do the trick. He airmailed the green by 25 yards ... and a light bulb clicked on. "I made a bogey," says Newsom, "but that was probably my most important shot of the day." He’d found his swing key. The rest of the day, he tried to swing at 85 percent of normal speed. Tualatin is very narrow, and keeping the ball in the fairway is paramount. "It makes the course real attackable if you’re putting it in the fairway," says Newsom. "I was hitting the ball really well after the fifth hole. Seventy-one was about as high a score as I could have shot." And that nugget of a swing thought? "I’ll forget it in a week," Newsom laughs. "That’s just the way the game is. I’ll definitely forget about it, then somewhere down the road, I’ll remember it again." IN THE where-are-they-now department, Shell Joyner, who starred during Medford High’s run of four straight golf state championships from 1979-82, has rededicated himself to the sport. After playing for Oregon, then turning professional, he became burned out and gave up playing for about 15 years until turning 40 two years ago. A hotel manager in Oceanside, Calif., for 11 years, Joyner has regained his amateur status and is honing his skills. "I’m hoping after playing three or four years, I’ll be at a level where I can be competitive in some bigger events," he says. "I’m not there yet, but I seem to be improving." The bigger events he speaks of are the U.S. Amateur and Mid-Am qualifiers as well as the state amateur tournaments. It didn’t take Joyner long to get back to pretty good form, shooting around par after three months and getting his handicap down to scratch. Always strong in the short game, that area came back quickly. The long ball has prevented him from "being as good as I’d like to be now." His re-emergence was not without adjustment. For one, he can no longer wear his old metal spikes. Also, he was quick to upgrade his equipment. "The technology today is remarkable," he says. "When I do hit it well, I hit it like I’m 25 again, which I’m not. It’s amazing." After starring for the Black Tornado and graduating in 1980, Joyner headed to Oregon, where he would eventually be joined by three other Medford High players — his brother, Tony, the 1982 state champ who lives in Eugene, Paul Weinhold and George Daves. Shell Joyner was an honorable mention All-American in 1981 and played professionally from 1984-87 on minitours. He gave it up when he "figured out I was not going to be the next Jack Nicklaus. "I decided to work for a living." Now, he’s come full circle, working on his golf. Reach sports editor Tim Trower at 776-4479, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities