Jerry Stolhand
Jerry Stolhand (c.1935 – February 3, 1989) was an American golfer. As a touring professional, he played primarily in Australia. Amateur career. Stolhand was from Hawaii. In 1968, he won the Hawaiian Amateur Stroke Play Championship. Professional career. Stolhand moved from Hawaii to Australia in 1969. In September, he attempted to qualify for the New South Wales PGA Championship. He was considered one of the favorites. He easily qualified, finishing in sixth place. In the first week of November, he played the Rothman's pro-am golf tournament. Stolhand "set the early pace" and took the clubhouse lead. However , Bruce Devlin overtook him later in the round. Stolhand still finished in joint second, tied with, among others, Peter Oosterhuis and Kel Nagle. In 1970, Stolhand had many highlights in Australia. In January, he played the one-round Tasmanian Open. Stolhand was among a minority of players in the field to break par. He finished near the top ten though well behind champion Tony Mangan. In September, Stolhand had success at the New South Wales PGA Championship. He shot a first-round 72 (E) putting him four back of the lead. In the second round he opened well. He made  a 30-foot putt on the 4th hole and 20-footer on the 6th hole for birdies. His maintained his "accurate putting" for the remainder of the round and finished with a 68 (−4). He was now tied for the lead with Jack Newton. In the third round, however, he "collapsed" with a 75 (+3) to fall out of contention. He ultimately finished in a tie for fifth. In late 1970, Stolhand nearly won two tournaments. In October, he played the West End Tournament at Victor Harbour Golf Club in Victor Harbor, South Australia. In the first round, "handling a  strong north-westernly wind," Stolhand shot a 70. He was in solo third, two back. In the second round, he shot a 69 to move closer to the lead. In the third round, despite a three-putt at the 54th hole, Stolhand managed to shoot a 70 and tie Frank Phillips for lead. In the final round, he played with Phillips. The "brilliant scoring" of both players "burned off all opposition" as the final round turned into a duel between Stolhand and Phillips. At the 72nd hole, Stolhand held a one-stroke lead over Phillips. However, he hit his drive  in the rough while Phillips hit his in the middle of the fairway. Stolhand his hit approach into the rough while Phillips hit his approach to within 15 feet of the hole. Stolhand "hit his chip too firmly" and it went 13 feet past the pin. Phillips then made his 15-foot birdie putt. Stolhand was left with his par putt to tie. He missed and lost to Phillips by one. He won A$475 for his efforts. Six weeks later he nearly won again. In late November he played the North Coast Open at Coffs Harbour, Australia. In the  first round, despite "40 mph southerly" winds, Stolhand shot a 72 (+1) to put him in a tie for fifth, two back of Randall Vines. He shot a second round 71 to stay close to the lead. The third round was the final round of the tournament. Like his performance at the West End against Phillips, the last round turned out to be "an exciting tussle" between Stolhand and his playing partner, this time Bill Dunk. Stolhand began the final round three shots behind Dunk. Stolhand was even-par through the first 13 holes but closed the gap. Then, Stolhand  birdied the 14th hole to tie. On the next hole, however, he bogeyed to again fall behind. On the 16th hole "he threw away his chances," taking three shots to get out of a drain, and making a triple-bogey. He ultimately shot a 76 to finish solo 5th, several shots behind champion Dunk. For the remainder of the early 1970s, he would continue to have success. In May 1971, he played the South Australian PGA Championship. Stolhand finished in a tie for second with Barry Coxon and Bill Dunk, nine shots behind champion Vic Bennetts. Shortly thereafter, he received  an invitation to play the Yass Golf Club's pro-am, an event scheduled for August 14 and 15. He was considered one of the leading professionals to receive an invitation for the event. In August, Stolhand played the two-round event. He played well, shooting 134, one behind champion Bennetts. In March 1972, he received some attention for his play at the two-round Kempsey pro-am. He opened with a 68 (−3) to take the solo lead. However, he followed with a 77 (+6) and "finished well down." As of early 1973, Stolhand was the club professional at  Young Golf Club in Young, New South Wales. He still recorded some successful results as a touring professional during the ensuing years. In late 1973, he won the North Coast Open pro-am. In January 1974, he opened well at the Lakes Open, shooting a 70 (−2) to put him one behind Bill Dunk, tied with Barry Burgess for second. The following month, in February, he played the Ampol Liverpool $6,000 pro-am in Sydney, Australia. The event was played under the best-ball, four-player, "Ambrose system." Among the 64 teams, the team led by Stolhand and Chris  Tickner won the event at 13-under-par. They defeated a team led by Barry Burgess by one stroke. Through the late 1970s and early 1980s, though still a club professional, he continued to play in some notable events. However, he did not record many high finishes. This trend continued in the through the mid-1980s until he turned 50. During this era, Stolhand became a club professional at Tumut Golf Club in Tumut, New South Wales. He was Tumut's first club professional. During this era he also lived in Tumut. In the mid-1980s, Stolhand turned 50. He played in  a number of notable senior events during this period. In February 1986, Stolhand played the inaugural Australian PGA Seniors Championship. He opened with a 68 (−3) to take solo second place, two behind leader Peter Thomson. However, he followed with a second round 76 (+5) to fall out of contention. He managed to finish in solo third, however, only behind champion Orville Moody and runner-up Thomson. In 1988, he played the Australian PGA Seniors Championship again. He opened with rounds of 69 and 70 to take a six-stroke lead over Kel Nagle. Despite final rounds of 73 and  74, he won easily. Death. On February 3, 1989, Stolhand played a pro-am at Oatlands Golf Course in Oatlands, New South Wales. As he was returning home from the pro-am he was involved in a car accident on Hume Highway at Breadalbane, New South Wales. He was killed in accident. He was 53 years old. After he died, Tumut Golf Course created a golf tournament to honor his legacy. It is called the Jerry Stolhand Memorial Golf Tournament. The event has been part of the PGA Tour of Australasia's Legends Tour. Personal life. Stolhand has a son , Chris.