Freeman first began her trophies quest by playing junior golf in Washington. “She absolutely loved it right away,” said Tonya Freeman, Cara’s mother.  At age 12, Freeman competed in the Washington Junior State Golf Championship, and won the playoff to clinch the state title. She then competed in the 2006 Walmart First Tee Open, and in 2009, she competed in the U.S. Women’s Amateur Championship. She was also the low amateur at the 2010 Arizona Women’s Open.

“She’s got a lot of trophies at home,” Tonya said summing up her daughter’s accomplishments so far.

“We look forward to a better performance this year from all five of our teams, since they all look pretty strong and competitive. There’s no reason why we cannot improve our results from at least the past two years, where we won the George Teale and Arthur Ziadie trophies (Barbados 2010). Our goals are to successfully defend two titles and try to win another to other competitions, including the Hoerman Cup,” explained Wolf.

The Puerto Rican teams are intent on dominating at this year’s tournament and have been working hard toward preparing for the regional event. Their 14-member squad consists of many experienced players who have already participated in this competition.

Reece Thorlby-Coy and Connor Stansbury walked away with PING golf bags, after capturing the scratch and stableford trophies respectively at Worksop Golf Club. Every competitor went home with a prize from PING, and Westwood was the special guest at the event, organized by the Standard’s sister paper the Worksop Guardian. Sports editor Graham Smyth conducted a live Q and A session with Westwood, giving the 38-year-old the chance to dispense advice and talk about life as a world class golfer.

For the first time since the rankings began in 1986 three United Kingdom golfers are at the top, US Open champion Rory McIlroy having now overtaken German Martin Kaymer to move into third place.

Jacobson finished one stroke ahead of Ryan Moore and John Rollins at the Travelers Championship to claim his maiden win on the PGA Tour. The 36-year-old shot 66 in his final round to reach 20 under with just one bogey in his 72 holes in Cromwell, Connecticut.

Now Jacobson can fulfill a promise to his five-year-old daughter Emmie that he would finally bring home a trophy this year – and he could well be heading to Sandwich for the Open in a fortnight’s time. He leads a mini money list on the American circuit with a week to go – two places are on offer. So, a month after missing out by a shot in a qualifier, there might still be a return to the course on which he came sixth in 2003. Jacobson remembers sitting with his three children before this season started and watching a highlights show of last year’s Tour.  “Everybody was just hoisting trophies left and right and my middle one Emmie goes ’Daddy, why don’t you have any trophies at home?’ “Well I got a couple in Sweden, but they’re in the garage. But I told her ’I promise you I’ll get one this year for you’.”

The US Open may be the most difficult tournament in golf, but where does its trophy rank when compared to trophies given out for other championships?

Well, that’s a difficult question to answer. The tournament may be the most rewarding golf tournament to win. It represents the four most grueling days that golf has every year and for American golfers, it’s their national championship. But the trophy itself isn’t particularly noteworthy when compared to other trophies. Sure, it represents a lot and it’s a beautiful trophy, but it’s not particularly identified with the US Open. The trophy is called the US Open Trophy. So hearing its name would hopefully be a dead giveaway of anyone is wondering what it represents. But looking at it, how many casual sports fans would know what championship it represents?

Though it’s doubtful the South African had time to peruse the latest runway looks in between time on the green, in addition to winning the 75th Annual Masters Tournament, Schwartzel won some major style points with his blazer. The green jacket, awarded to the Masters Tournament Champion each year, has to be one of the most unique trophies in the sports world— it’s much cooler than a hunk of metal.

Trophy winners kiss their prize, hold it above their heads and cry tears of joy. For the athlete, trophies represent everything that they have worked for — a physical manifestation of the early mornings, the sore muscles and desire to win no matter what the circumstances.Years from now Schwartzel will look back on pictures of Phil Mickelson awarding him the legendary green jacket as he grinned from ear to ear, and vividly remember that moment of the first big win of his career.

A sport the U.S. has dominated—and to many Americans more importantly—there has always been an American golfer with a major championship trophy on his mantle.  That run ended late Sunday afternoon at Augusta National when the 26-year-old South African Charl Schwartzel birdied his last four holes to win the Masters over Jason Day at 11 under par.

All of golf’s major championship trophies now belong to non-American golfers. You can spot the trend and the power of golf begin to swing to the Europeans in major championships in 2007. This was the first time in a long time that there was balance in the majors as two Europeans and two Americans split the tournaments that year.  Since that year, the Americans have won no more than two majors in a year, culminating in 2011 as Charl Schwartzel won the Masters, assuring all of golf’s major championships were held by European players.

It was an incredible Sunday at Augusta National, where the roars came from everywhere and for everyone and didn’t stop until it was over. Schwartzel emerged from the madness by becoming the first Masters champion to close with four straight birdies. His final putt from 20 feet curled into the side of the cup for a 6-under 66, the best closing round at the Masters in 22 years. It gave the 26-year-old South African a two-shot victory over Australians Adam Scott and Jason Day.

Indeed, this final round quest for the stylish of all trophies, the green jacket, had it all.

First came a patented fist-pumping charge by Tiger Woods, who erased a seven-shot deficit in nine holes only to fade to mediocrity on the back nine. Then came the stunning collapse of 54 hole leader, 21-year-old Rory McIlroy, who put his name in Masters lore for all the wrong reasons. McIlroy shot 80, the highest final round by the 54-hole leader since Ken Venturi in 1956. Not since Jean Van de Velde at Carnoustie had someone blown at least a four-shot lead going into the last round of the major.

So wild was this steamy afternoon that eight players had at least a share of the lead on some point during the back nine. Schwartzel had the lead to himself for the first time on the 17th, and then finished in style with a birdie on the 18th.

South Africans now have taken the winners trophies at two of the last three majors, following Louis Oosthuizen winning at St. Andrews last summer. This one came on the 50th anniversary of Gary Player becoming the first international player to win the Masters.

Hunter Mahan was one of the most successful golfers on the PGA Tour in 2009. Even though he didn’t win a single tournament last year, Hunter Mahan had 6 Top 10 finishes including a runner-up finish in the AT&T National.

On Sunday, he finally took home his second PGA Tournament trophy when he beat Rickie Fowler by a single stroke, -16 to -15. Mahan’s victory in the Phoenix Open is his first after winning the Traveler’s Championship in 2007. Mahan did it by shooting a 65 third round and a 65 fourth round for a final score of 268 in the Phoenix Open.

Sunday was a masterful day for Mahan who had to rally from four strokes down in order to win the tournament. He finished the last two rounds of the tournament bogey-free and became the 8th U.S. player in his 20’s to win more than one tournament. Mahan was sort of a forgotten man in the golf sportsbook as he was going off at higher than 20 to 1 to odds to win the Phoenix Open Trophy.

Even though it ended up being Mahan’s day, the real story to come out of the Phoenix Open is 21 year old Rickie Fowler. Fowler, the balley-hooed player from Oklahoma State the same school that produced Hunter Mahan, shot a brilliant final round 68 to finish a stroke off of Mahan.

Fowler didn’t shoot anything higher than a 69 in all four rounds. Although he’s missed the cut in three tournaments in 2010, the Sony Open, Bob Hope Classic, and Northern Trust Open, he scored a 5th place finish in the Farmers Insurance Open and a 27th place finish in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro Am.

Fowler is one to watch. If he continues to improve his game, then he could end up being a solid play in the golf sportsbook to both win and beat his opponent in individual matchups.

Snedeker and Mickelson Fall Flat

Brandt Snedeker, who was leading in the Waste Management Phoenix Open after the 3rd Round, proved that sometimes the pressure can be just a bit too much.

Snedeker shot a ridiculous 78 on Sunday to finish at -7, 9 strokes off of winner Hunter Mahan. Snedeker dropped from 1st to 43rd in the tournament. He just didn’t have it on Sunday even though up until that disastrous 4th Round, he had been putting as well as anybody on the PGA Tour.

Snedeker wasn’t the only one who didn’t have it, however. Phil Mickelson, who has gone off the favorite in every single tournament that he’s entered with Tiger Woods in rehab, finished at -9. That’s better than what Snedeker did, but Snedeker was going off at higher than 20 to 1 odds in the sportsbook to win the Phoenix Open.

Mickelson was going off at +750. Mickelson hasn’t won a tournament yet in 2010. In all four of the tournament’s he’s played in, Lefty has gone off as the favorite. What he has to show for is only one Top 10 finish, an 8th in the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am, and a reputation as a big time underlay in the sportsbook.

Katie Sylvan doesn’t know how to surf. In fact, some of her success might be attributed to staying away from the sand and out of the water.

Francis Parker High School golfer Katie Sylvan outlasted 123 other golfers to win the individual title at the Lady Triton Invitational in San Clemente earlier this month. Instead of the usual trophy, she received a surfboard.

As a standout golfer at Francis Parker High School, Katie must spend time working on her game. Her score depends on it. Maybe her older brother Michael realizes that. For years, he has refused to teach her how to surf.

At the Lady Triton Invitational in San Clemente this month, Katie outlasted 123 other golfers to win the individual title. It wasn’t the senior’s first victory, but it may finally convince her brother that she is ready to test her skills in the water.

Instead of the usual trophy, the winner received a new surfboard.

“A surfboard is way cooler,” said Katie, who lives with her family in Mission Hills. “Plus it’s a cool story. I won it at a golf tournament. It’s just so random.”

It was out of frustration that Katie picked up a golf club for the first time. The game has become one of her passions, but it started simply as a way to challenge her brother for their father’s attention.

“My dad and my brother played together, and I was jealous because they were spending a lot of time together and golfing together,” Katie said. “So I would ask to tag along, and one day I picked up a golf club and tried it.”

These days, golf is something different to Katie. While some players’ emotions fluctuate with every swing, she smiles through bogeys and birdies as if she were at home making her favorite meal, blueberry pancakes. Even with college recruiters paying close attention, her composure never seems to change.

“Even numbers are just bad numbers,” Katie said with a laugh. “Just atheistically, I like the appearance of odd numbers.”

Inside the girl who is just having fun is someone who strives to help others, a trait that runs in her family.

Katie’s parents are physicians who graduated from Yale. Paul Sylvan is a radiologist. Ellen Heyneman is a professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at University of California San Diego and a director at Rady Children’s Hospital.

Katie has volunteered at the San Diego Zoo, considers herself an environmentalist, and one day may join the Peace Corps. For the past year, she has volunteered to help toddlers, many of whom are at risk for autism.

“It’s amazing to interact and connect with these kids,” Katie said. “A lot of the kids are unable to communicate verbally, but at the end they are able to string together 10 sentences. It’s really incredible.”

She also has a passion for language. After studying Spanish in Barcelona, Katie is learning Italian and Chinese.
But she still needs someone to teach her how to surf.

Originally written by Matt Arnold, Special to The Union Tribune