Kirkwood's Ben Crancer entered the day a single shot behind 18 hole leader, Corey Connell of Cape Central in the Class 4A State Championship. After near misses the past two seasons, Crancer will have to settle for a 2nd place finish in his final bid at a High School State Championship. The Kirkwood senior will be teeing up for Texas A&M next year and likely in the mix for a NCAA Championship with a thriving Aggies golf program.

In a move that affects only us golf geeks, Golf Channel is apparently making a move with Morning Drive co-host, Erik Kuselias who is shifting to NBC Sports Talk. Kuselias has been doing more work lately with NBC Sports Talk leaving an open chair alongside his former co-host, Gary Williams, on Morning Drive.

Jeff Pelizzaro talks with Dustin Ashby on The Back Nine Online to discuss the importance of golf fitness in game improvement.

The 2012 Publinx Open contested at the Norman K. Probstein Golf Course at Forest Park brought out St. Louis' best amateur and professionals on a May day that felt more like mid summer. Temperatures exceeding 90 degrees and an afternoon breeze welcomed over 200 players competing in three divisions - Amateur, Senior Amateur and Professional.

Qualifying for the 2012 US Open Championship will be held at Fox Run Golf Club in Eureka, MO, on May 8th. It is one of approximately 109 18-hole qualifiers for the US Open Championship, which will be played from June 14-17 at The Olympic Club in San Francisco, CA.