SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S WHISPERING LAKES WINS MCGLADREY TEAM CHAMP.

PINEHURST, N.C. -- Californians are often credited with inspiring the latest trends in this country.

Perhaps PGA Professional Tim Walsh of Huntington Beach may take ownership of a new slogan for The McGladrey Team Championship.

"With the Right Coach Anything is Possible."

Walsh, the 51-year-old PGA head professional at Whispering Lakes Golf Course in Ontario, Calif., guided his trio of amateur partners with sage putting advice and a timely chipping lesson for one teammate prior to competition that yielded the biggest prize of all -- a national championship.

The Southern California PGA Section Team during the final round of The McGladrey Team Championship at Pinehurst. (Pritchard/The PGA of America)

Beginning play Wednesday on the back side of Pinehurst No. 4, Whispering Lakes broke out of a tie with defending champion Stonebridge Ranch Country Club of McKinney, Texas. The Californians collected five of their seven birdies over the nine-hole stretch on their way to a sizzling 23-under-par 121 and an event-record 54-hole total of 65-under-par 367.

It was a 180-degree turnaround for Whispering Lakes' three amateur members -- Jim Erdman and Bill Minnis of Palmdale, Calif., and Larry Metter of Valencia, Calif. The trio had competed with a different PGA Professional and for another club a year ago, finishing tied for 29th place.

"The difference this year is that we practiced, but practiced the right things," said Metter, who was a member of the University of Southern California's 1978 national champion football team. "And, we had a great leader in Tim, who kept us up, was fun to be with and who gave us the best putting advice anybody could have on these greens."

Tavistock Country Club of Hattonfield, N.J., the Philadelphia PGA Section Champion, finished seven strokes back at 374, after closing on difficult Pinehurst No. 2 with a 127, and recording just one birdie on the par-5 holes. Northern Ohio's Steubenville Country Club was another stroke back in third at 375, and Stonewall Orchard Golf Club of Grayslake, Ill., was fourth at 377.

Northern Texas' defending champion Stonebridge Ranch Country Club staggered from the start, posting a 9-under-par 135 and finished alone in fifth at 381.

"We ran out of gas and the old pro didn't play well for them," said Stonebridge Ranch PGA head professional Joe Menton. "We were not seeing the line on the greens. We got off to a sloppy start and you can't play these courses like that."

Walsh, who earned a first-place check of $16,000 from the overall $200,000 purse, had played at Pinehurst over a decade ago. He said that experience stayed in his mind, and that he had not forgotten the "severity of the greens."

"Chipping and putting is at a premium here," said Walsh. "I felt I could help the team by giving good advice and they went out and played so well. I did feel more like a coach than someone who was contributing by my own game."

Minnis started things off for his team with birdies at 11 and 12, while Metter birdied 14, Erdman 15 and Walsh contributed his only birdie of the day at the par-5 17th. The team added birdies on the second, fifth and seventh holes to ease to the victory.

Minnis, a 1990 graduate of the University of Florida and who played shortstop on the Gators' baseball team and later for four seasons with the California Angels' Triple-A organization before suffering a career-ending rotator cuff surgery. Metter and Minnis, who are longtime golf partners, are the respective vice president and director of operations for Waste Management Inc.

"This year we brought a professional who was a tremendous reader of the greens," said Minnis. "You have to stay focused at Pinehurst on these greens. If you do, you can do well. All we did was practice before we got here. Larry and I won the club match play championship this year."

Erdman, a 49-year-old mortgage banker in Palmdale, Calif., went a step further in seeking Walsh's advice.

"I got here Sunday and could not hit my wedge and was in a panic," said Erdman. "Tim spent four hours with me working on my wedge play, and then helped me for the next three days. I could not miss a chip after that. I want to tell you that Tim was better than caddies. His reading ability on the greens was money."

Whispering Lakes Golf Course of Ontario, Calif., each used round-saving performances Tuesday afternoon on famed Pinehurst No. 2 to set up a shootout finale in the third McGladrey Team Championship.

Tavistock Country Club of Haddonfield, N.J., the Philadelphia PGA Section champion, finished with a 127 on Pinehurst No. 2, posting a 374 overall total that failed to meet team goals.

"We had a number in mind -- somewhere between 120 and 122 -- but could not get there," said PGA Professional Rick Hughart, who earned $11,000. "Pinehurst No. 2 is the hardest of the three courses [Nos. 2, 4 and 8] in the Championship. It's all about the greens on No. 2. Our putting was not there and around the greens hurt us today. We didn't convert on the par-5s today." Tavistock finished just 1-under-par on the par-5s for the day, while collecting five overall birdies.

The 164-player field was represented by 41 PGA Section champions. Nearly 20,000 players nationally had attempted to earn a berth in the national championship.

The McGladrey Team Championship, The PGA of America's first nationwide grassroots best-ball amateur championship. Amateur players receive 75 percent of their course handicap allowance and each player must post a score on three of the holes. Two net best-ball scores are used to determine the overall 18-hole score.

The McGladrey Team Championship is a result of a partnership between The PGA of America and RSM McGladrey, the Official Accounting, Tax and Business Consulting firm of The PGA of America. RSM McGladrey is the fifth largest accounting, tax and business consulting firm in the country when considered with McGladrey & Pullen LLP (a partner-owned CPA firm).

For more information, please visit www.PGA.com/teamchampionship.

Final-Round Results
Third McGladrey Team Championship
Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort -- Oct. 26-28
Pinehurst No. 2 (par-72, 6,767 yards)
Pinehurst No. 4 (par-72, 6,658 yards)
Pinehurst No. 8 (par-72, 6,698 yards)

1-Southern California PGA Section--Whispering Lakes GC- Tim Walsh, PGA, Jim Erdman, Larry Metter, Bill Minnis--120-126-121---367

2-Philadelphia PGA Section--Tavistock Country Club-Rick Hughart, PGA, Brad Cusick, Ron Cusick, Anthony Maglio Jr.--126-121-127---374

3-Northern Ohio PGA Section--Steubenville Country Club- John Denholm, PGA, Larry Anderson, Von Kurty, Von / Dave Shaffer --130-122-123---375

4-Illinois PGA Section---Stonewall Orchard Golf Club-Jeff Pajula, PGA, Andre Lozier, Michael Sargent, Michael / Dane Yarnell --128-122-127---377

5-Northern Texas PGA Section---Stonebridge Ranch- Joe Menton, PGA, James Freed, Mickey Freed, Eric Kelley --124-122-135---381

6-Northeastern NY PGA Section---Massena Country Club-Tom Siddon, PGA, Tim Peets, Craig Siddon, Benton Sullivan ---128-130-124---382

T7-Rocky Mountain PGA Section---Sand Creek Golf Course-John Graham, PGA, Rick Daw, Terrell Daw, Terrell / Michael Rose -- 132-135-129---396

-South Florida PGA Section---Frenchman's Reserve--Frank Petitti, PGA, George Blank, Ken Nelson, John Wineapple-133-130-133---396

9-Sun Country PGA Section---Arroyo Del Oso Golf Course-Bill Harvey, PGA, Luis Luna, Flint McCullough, Alvino Vigil ---130-133-134---397

T10-Metropolitan PGA Section---The Apawamis Club- KyleBaehler, PGA, Jeff Glat, Paul Knight, Colin Sanderson, Colin--134-131-135---400

-Utah PGA Section---Glen Eagle at Syracuse-Jared Shears, PGA, Gerald Broad, Scott Fowler, Mark Lawrence, Mark--133-134-133---400

T12-Gateway PGA Section---Spring Lake Country Club-- David Morgan, PGA, Jay Dieckhoff, Scott Lewis, Scott , John Ridder--131-133-137---401

-Pacific NW PGA Section---Sunland Golf & Country Club-- William Sweet, PGA, Walter Clark, Mike Phealan, Fred Smith ----142-129-130---401

-N. California PGA Section---Diamond Oaks Golf Course- Scott Prenez, PGA, Kent Baker, Steven Foster, Dev Rahal ---139-134-128---401

T15-Dixie PGA Section---Grand Hotel Marriott Resort- Bryan Clarke, Joe McCarron, Kevin McCarron, Doug Sizemore ---135-133-134---402

Middle Atlantic PGA Section---Suburban Club- Mark Helffrich, PGA, Joe Eaton, Jasson Seiden, Brian Stander ---140-133-129---402

T17-Wisconsin PGA Section---Idlewild Golf Course- Randall Meyer, PGA, Joe Chike, Mark Hill, Phil Riddle -131-139-133---403

-Southern Ohio PGA Section---Sycamore Creek Country Club- Robert Stephens, PGA, Christy Lincoln, Jason Lincoln, Tony Smith ---136-134-133---403

19-Midwest PGA Section---Sycamore Ridge Golf Course GC- Alexander Eichman, PGA, Todd Field, Tim Martley, Pete Schleicher ---134-138-133---405

T20-Iowa PGA Section---The Preserve on Rathbun Lake- Darin Fisher, PGA, Joe Bates, Jim Campbell, Kevin Pickerell ---136-137-133---406

South Central PGA Section ---Quail Creek Golf & CC- Kyle Flinton, PGA, Billy Stone, Rick Traczyk, Brooks Walker ---135-135-136---406

T22-Central NY PGA Section---Pompey Club- Stanley Gorman, PGA, David Baritell, Bill Evertz, B.J. Evertz ---135-136-138---409

Carolina PGA Section---Pinehurst CC No.6- Chad Gilligan, PGA, David Bowles, Patrick Martin, Darren Rogers--134-143-132---409

24-Southern Texas PGA Section--Twin Creeks Country Club- Kyle O'Brien, PGA, Mike Harkins, John Perez, James Reid ---139-138-134---411

25-Michigan PGA Section---Huron Breeze Golf Club- Thomas Ham, PGA, Dave Pockrandt, Tom Sieggreen, Jim Stoll ---137-142-134---413

T26-Tri-State PGA Section----Tam O'Shanter-Denny Dolci, PGA, Bernie Bible, Drew Evanoka, Mike Sobocinski -139-137-138---414

-Colorado PGA Section---Yampa Valley Golf Club-Brett Etzler, PGA, Nick Bomba, Justin Gallegos, Richard Padon---137-138-139---414

28-Kentucky PGA Section---Wildwood Country Club- Joseph Ohr, Steve Adams, Jeff Lansing, Kevin Martin ---139-138-138---415

T29-Minnesota PGA Section---Hastings Country Club- Brad Schmierer, PGA, Jeff Ferron, Jesse Polk, Mike Polk ---138-140-139---417

T29-Georgia PGA Section---Maple Ridge Golf Club-Allen Matthews, PGA, Larry Jay, Terry Register, Donnie Russell ---137-143-137---417

T31-New Jersey PGA Section---Battleground Country Club- Sal Silvestrone, PGA, Anthony Coniglio, Jared Pacifici, Robert Taptich --135-139-145---419

-New England PGA Section---Foster Country Club- Brian Benson, PGA, Ryan Bank, Steven Labossiere, Stephen Robin --135-140-144---419

33-Aloha PGA Section---Ko Olina Golf Club- Travis Joerger, PGA, Troy Higashiyama, Darrell Izumi, Bronson Maluenda ---144-133-143---420

34-Gulf States PGA Section---Riverlands Golf & Country Club- John Kacpura, PGA, Allen Constantine, Steve Luminais, Brock Waguespack ---141-148-132---421

35-Western NY PGA Section---Chautauqua Golf Club- Richard Burlett, PGA, David Bird, Mark Taylor, Dale West ---141-145-137---423

36-Southwest PGA Section---Vistal Golf Club- Gregory Leicht, PGA, Terry Buck, Clifford Gray, Robert Grier -- -147-140-137---424

37-Connecticut PGA Section---Brownson Country Club-Paul Ryiz, PGA, Frank Menendez, William Miko, William Vietze ---147-139-139---425

38-North Florida PGA Section---Terrace Hill Golf Center- Jeffrey Leonard, PGA, Jim Connell, Robert Lough, Kurt Montwid --139-143-144---426

39-Indiana PGA Section- --Evansville Country Club- Mike Reynolds, PGA, Dave Nussmeier, Mike O'Daniel, Brian Tennyson ---139-149-139---427

40-Nebraska PGA Section---Wayne Country Club- Troy Harder, PGA, Joey Baldwin, Doug Carroll, Pat Riesberg, ---148-142-139---429

41-Tennessee PGA Section---Five Oaks Golf and Country Club -- Bryan Combiths, PGA, Michael Miller, Ken Mitchell, Gabe Ottinger --147-142-144---433