By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
By PGA standards, Larry Mize probably isn't the winningest pro golfer to appear at the Forrest City Grocery Charity Golf Tournament, but for the crowd at Monday's eighth annual event, it didn't matter that he is ranked 169th in position.
The tournament helps raise money to benefit the Forrest City Education Foundation.
Danny Tate, the tournament's special events coordinator, said the total amount raised Monday was $240,000, with 33 teams involved in the tournament.
"We were down just a little bit from a year ago," Tate said. A year ago, 35 teams helped raise close to $260,000.
Mize, 44, used his easy-going nature to delight and amuse the crowd while he gave a brief demonstration on how to properly grip a golf club and then turned his attention to getting your body square at the tee.
It was the first trip to Forrest City for Mize, a native of Augusta, Ga.
If he is remembered for one thing it is more than likely his Master's championship in 1987, just seven years after turning pro.
The win was a far cry from being a worker on a Masters scoreboard on the third hole when he was just a teenager.
At the 18th hole in the final round of the 1987 Masters, Mize needed a birdie to tie for first place with Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman.
His putt dropped, landing him in a playoff with the two world-class players.
Even though Mize admits he was very nervous, he was confident, because as he will tell you, "I certainly wasn't favored to win."
On the first playoff hole, Ballesteros' bogey knocked him out right away, but Mize continued on to the 11th with Norman.
"I pushed my second shot about 100 feet right of the hole, well off the green," Mize recounts in a recent article about the victory. "Greg hit his on the right fringe about 50 feet from the hole. I told myself I'll just hit a good chip shot and put some pressure back on him. I hit a good chip shot. In fact, it was so good, it rolled straight into the cup. It was the biggest golf thrill I've ever had. I almost went into orbit."
Mize followed that win with a couple of off years in 1988 and 1989.
"I was focusing on my Masters victory and thinking of myself as a Masters champion rather than as a person who is capable of making mistakes."
He has since bounced back and while he is not as close to the top of the tour standings as he might wish, his sense of humor remains in tact.
He was able to turn a question from one gallery member into a light-hearted moment Monday when he was asked how much he has made this year on the PGA Tour.
"Not nearly enough," Mize said with a broad smile. "not nearly enough."
His best finish on the PGA Tour so far this year has been a tie for 24th at the Wachovia Championship.
He has made the cut in just four of the 13 events he has entered this year.
Mize owns four PGA Tour victories winning the Danny Thomas Memphis Classic in 1983, the 1993 Northern Telecom Open, the Buick Open and of course, his '87 Masters title.
He also has four international victories and has earned just a shade over $86,000 in 2003.
His best round this year was a 68, put up in Round 1 at the Buick Invitational.
A year ago, Mize played in 10 tournaments -- limited mostly by injuries -- and had no top 10 finishes.
In fact, it was the first time in 21 seasons that Mize failed to finish in the top 125.
He was granted a major medical extension for the 2003 season due to a lower back injury he suffered at the Greater Milwaukee Open.
By FRED CONLEY
T-H Sports Editor
On the final playing date for the Bambino 11-12 League, Pearson Insurance didn't even have to throw a pitch or swing a bat to capture the league title.
Pearson was awarded a forfeit win over Houser Monday night which gave the team the outright championship in a league race that has been tightly contested from the very start of the season.
Pearson finishes the season at 10-2 while Lucas Trucking, also 10-2 finishes the year in second.
Lucas defeated Taco Bell 6-4 Monday night to close out their schedule.
Wholesale Metal, the fourth team in the league chase, downed Vaccaro 4-0 Monday. Wholesale and Taco Bell both end the year at 9-3 and finish in a tie for third.
Vaccaro and Rideout end the year in a tie for fourth. Both teams finished 4-8. Rideout defeated H&H 11-8 Monday night.
Now, for several of the 11-12-year-old players, it's off to district tournament play. The 11s will open play this weekend at El Dorado while the 12s will open play at Pine Bluff.
In Minor League play Monday, T&J Properties clinched the league title and improved to 12-0 with a 10-0 shut out win over Hill's Delta while Devazier Brothers moved to 9-2 for the year with an 18-0 win over Lion's Club.
T&J closed out their part of the schedule Monday while Devazier will play one more game Thursday, the league's final playing date for the year.
The 10-under girls slow pitch softball league will close out their season tonight with games beginning at 7 p.m.
Barnes Timber, last year's adult men's softball league champions, are staying close to this year's leader, Gym 2000, but just barely.
Monday night, Barnes improved to 9-1 for the year by just scrapping by Poison 18-15. The Poison team, formerly Sanyo, stands at 5-7 for the season.
Gym 2000 moved to 10-0 Monday with a convincing 17-7 win over M&T Paving.
Kerby's, who were idle Monday night, have won their last five games and are sitting in third place at 6-4 for the year behind Gym and Barnes.
Morgan improved to 5-5 for the year Monday by putting away Boar's Head 19-10 while the Bulldogs continued to score plenty of runs, defeating Food Giant 15-7. The Bulldogs won last Thursday, 33-1 over Boar's Head.
The league will play again on Thursday.
WALNUT RIDGE -- Brandon Fortenberry of Lepanto will play baseball for Williams Baptist College starting this year. Fortenberry, an East Poinsett County High School graduate, signed his national letter of intent Monday with Williams.
Fortenberry was a left-handed pitcher and outfielder at EPC. He had a .478 batting average and an earned run average of 3.5 his senior year.
He is the son of Regina Fortenberry of Lepanto and Johnny and Tracy Fortenberry of Paris, Ark. Johnny Fortenberry is a former Forrest City coach.
Williams is a four-year college at Walnut Ridge.
Highly recruited senior to be has Forrest City tiesClenton Stewart Jr., son of Clent and Vanessa Stewart, formerly of Forrest City, and the grandson of Ernestine Weaver, recently attended the National Basketball Players Association Camp, held in Richmond, Va.
The camp is sponsored by the NBA Players Association and is held to help seek out the top 100 upcoming high school seniors in the nation.
Stewart has also been selected to attend the Nike All-American Camp, which will be held July 5-10, in Indianapolis.
Stewart attends Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma and is bering recruited by Oklahoma, Florida State, UConn, Tulsa, Arkansas, Stanford, Vanderbilt and several other Division I schools.
He is an established student in the classroom and carries a 4.3 GPA. Stewart will be playing in various AAU tournaments during the summer with the Athletes First team.
Palestine-Wheatley High School will give athletic physical examinations for all junior and senior high students who want to participate in any of the school's sports or cheerleading, on July 31, from 8 until 10:30 a.m.
The physicals are free and will be held at the high school.