Local long-driver overcoming odds

By JIMMY BURCH

jburch@star-telegram.com

When the cancer diagnosis arrived, Fort Worth resident Doug Penneman feared that his lifestyle and his golfing habits would be irreparably altered.

"I’m thinking, 'There goes the long-drive competitions, and everything else,’" said Penneman, a competitor on the Long Drivers of America circuit who underwent prostate cancer surgery in December.

Check the list of qualifiers for the 2009 Re/Max World Long Drive Championship, however, and you’ll see Penneman, 50, among the participants in power golf’s premier event, Oct. 25-30 in Mesquite, Nev.

Penneman is entered in the senior division (45-52 age group) and could earn $50,000 with a victory. Regardless of where he finishes, he’s already sent a message to others whose lives have been touched by the disease by bouncing back to earn a berth in the Re/Max event for a fifth consecutive season and the sixth time in 10 years.

"Cancer doesn’t have the same connotation that it used to," said Penneman, whose post-surgical checkups have revealed no recurrence of the disease. "People around me were worried [about the surgery]. But I tried to be positive about it. I really didn’t have a choice … The good news is that, although I had a lot of cancer, it hadn’t gotten out [to other parts of the body] through the prostate."

From Penneman’s perspective, the biggest issue was the two-month, post-surgical rehabilitation period. Even causal rounds at his home course, Trophy Club Country Club, were prohibited during that stretch.

As a result, Penneman said he had not swung his long-drive clubs for several months before showing up in June at the Dallas qualifier for this week’s Re/Max event. But he warmed up quickly, winning his division with a drive of 316 yards, into a 20 mph headwind, in the finals.

"At my age, I’m thinking that might be the secret. Don’t be worn out when you show up," said Penneman, a 1977 Eastern Hills High School graduate.

He plans to follow a similar game plan in Nevada. Regardless of where he places at the Re/Max event, Penneman already has enjoyed his biggest triumph of the year. Off the course. Every time he gets a good report in a follow-up screening.

More Cowtown connections: Penneman will not be Fort Worth’s only representative at the Re/Max event. Another resident, Dennis Trammell, will compete in the super senior division (53 and up) after winning the Dallas qualifier in June. In addition, Penske Truck Leasing of Fort Worth recently signed a sponsorship agreement with tournament officials.

Date change: There has been a date change for the inaugural KIA Scholarships charity event, which will provide scholarships for children of U.S. military personnel who have been killed in action. Originally scheduled for Oct. 19, the event now will be played March 29, 2010, at Bridlewood Golf Club in Flower Mound. For information, visit www.kiascholarship.org.

Lutz takes title: Mary Ann Lutz, a Fort Worth resident, captured the 2009 Executive Women’s Golf Association national championship in the second flight (handicap 16.1 through 24.0) by firing a two-day total of 175 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. The Sept. 25-26 finals drew 205 competitors from in five flights from an original field of more than 2,400 participants.

Wire-to-wire winner: Southlake resident Stephen Cannon rolled to a 12-stroke victory in his flight (handicap 12.0 through 15.9) at the recent 2009 Golf Channel Amateur Tour National Championship. Cannon fired a final-round 83 on Sept. 25 at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, Calif. to complete his triumph. The toughest part?

"Because I was leading each night, a lot of guys were coming up to me, saying stuff and trying to get in my head," Cannon said. "I blocked it all out and got in my groove."

Weather delay: Because of Friday’s storms, the Fort Worth Golf Pro-Am, benefiting the First Tee of Fort Worth, has been postponed until Oct. 23 at Rockwood Golf Course. The event, originally scheduled for Friday, will begin with a 1 p.m. shotgun start on Oct. 23.

Tierra Verde chosen: Tierra Verde Golf Club in Arlington has been selected as the venue for the 2010 Texas Public Links Championship. The event, run by the Texas Golf Association, will be June 3-6.

Deadline approaches: Oct. 22 is the deadline for participants to enter the DFWGolf.com Tournament of Champions, Nov. 3-4 at Lantana Golf Club. The 36-hole event is open to male and female club champions from golf courses in North Texas. For information, visit www.golfdfw.com or call 214-724-1261.

Jimmy Burch, 817-390-7760

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