Cleaning out the notebook

It's been a while ...

You probably didn’t notice it, but former Jacksonville State golfer Jeff Corr finished in a tie for 10th at the Nationwide Tour’s Miccosukee Championship in Miami last weekend, the tour’s last full-field event of the season.

He shot rounds of 71, 65, 69 and 72, and finished eight shots behind the winner. By virtue of his finish, he’s exempt into next year’s Nationwide opener at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open in Broussard, La., in March.

Corr, who played two seasons for coach James Hobbs (1998-1999), has been playing on the Hooters Tour and was 65th on the money list this year -- eight spots behind another former JSU golfer (and Anniston Star intern) Nick Mackay.

He went right back to the Hooters Tour after his Nationwide success and finished third in this week’s three-day Winter Series event in Florida, one shot out of a playoff.

Corr played in nine events as a Gamecock, with a 74.63 stroke average. His best round with JSU was a 70 and his best finish was a tie for second.

Speaking of JSU golf, after a whirlwind summer that landed him a spot on the GB&I Walker Cup team, Danny Willett has remained overseas to test his game on the European amateur circuit.

That’s not to say he’s done with Jacksonville State. Willett told The Star in an interview before the Walker Cup matches that he liked the college experience and intended to finish his collegiate career with the Gamecocks. He said he'd like to pattern his development to that of PGA Tour star Luke Donald, who came from England to Northwestern, played college golf and went on to the Tour.

He could still return in January and, retaining his eligibility, play for the Gamecocks in the spring semester.


VOLLEYBALL: The OVC race is jumble, but if the Gamecocks can sweep their four remaining matches, they would host the conference tournament for the second year in a row.

Right now, two games separate the top five teams – Morehead (12-3), JSU (12-4), Murray (11-4), SE Missouri (11-5) and Tennessee State (11-6).

The Gamecocks play SEMO Friday and Eastern Illinois Saturday, then get Morehead and Eastern Kentucky next week. SEMO beat JSU in the first meeting of the season. Morehead and Murray still have to play each other.

In a three-way tie with Morehead, JSU and Murray, the Gamecocks would get the tiebreaker by virtue of having beaten Murray and Morehead twice.

The top two seeds draw a bye, but there’s just something about playing the tournament in the friendly confines of your own gym.

SOCCER: What's up with the women's soccer team? The season's over, it missed the playoffs, an assistant coach quit before a key stretch of games and players are either quitting or said to be wanting to quit. The Chanticleer did a big expose recently.

Coach Julie Davis is in the final year of her contract. It should make for some interesting negotiations. With athletic director Jim Fuller being a bottom-line kind of guy, no doubt the record will be examined.

The team's win total has declined overall and in the league each year after an initial 8-9-2 OVC Tournament season. Davis is 17-33-5 in her three seasons, 9-16-3 in the OVC.

THE HARSH REALITY: JSU associate athletic director for external affairs Roger Shultz has gone off to Hollywood to participate on “The Biggest Loser” television show, and it’s creating a hardship on the athletic department.

His responsibilities have fallen to Mike Parris, the assistant AD for marketing & broadcasting. Parris also is picking up the slack in special projects, on top of being the voice of JSU basketball.

Shultz, who runs the stadium video board during home football games, could be gone anywhere from two to 10 more weeks. The sense around campus is if he hasn’t returned by now, he’s probably getting on the show in Season 5.

He has a medical excuse, but his leave also falls under his six-month JSU employee probationary period. He brought time with him when he came to JSU from Troy.

Athletic director Jim Fuller was reluctant to discuss the issue at length, but there was something in his voice that expressed displeasure.

“All of us could lose weight by not going on a reality show,” he said.