My Turn

By Sean Pitman

There's got to be a lot of professional golfers smiling this week. With Tiger Woods putting himself on the shelf for about a month with arthroscopic knee surgery, the rest of the field is breathing a little easier.

I wonder if Tiger would have made the move if he would have won at Augusta. If he had taken the Masters, he'd be a favorite to win the Grand Slam, so I'm thinking he would have toughed it out until he lost a major.

Having to go under the knife is the only thing that makes Woods seem human, and it seems to be the only way to stop him. Watching his reactions at the week of the Masters, one would think, "Hey, he's just like me."

But then you look at his scorecard and he's five-under and finishes as the tournament runner-up. If that's his bad game, I hate to think what would have happened if he'd been happy with his play.

It will be interesting to see if anyone steps up to be the "top guy" while Tiger is away.

On the tee

Speaking of golf, the area golf courses are putting the finishing touches on the greens and will be open by the end of the week.

The Williston Municipal Golf Course is already open for business, having unlocked the doors last Sunday.

The Muni was in great shape last year and should be again. It's a great little nine-hole course that will get better and better as it matures.

Running the clubhouse this year will be Troy Walters, while Richard Aisenbrey returns as the head greenskeeper. Aisenbrey and his crew have done a good job in keeping the course looking good.

The Eagle Ridge Golf Club also is ready for business, having opened on Tuesday. The 18-hole course has some challenging holes and with a newly added back nine, it too will just keep getting better as the new holes mature.

Running the pro shop and acting as head greenskeeper will be Brian Tipton, while Bonnie Logelin will be the assistant manager, helping keep tabs on the pro shop.

Eagle Ridge will be running a 50 percent off green fee special for the next couple of weeks, so it would be a good time to check out the course.

Working your way east, a little 26-mile jaunt will have you hitting The Links, that is The Links of North Dakota, which is slated to open for business on Saturday at 8 a.m.

The Links has garnered national attention with its natural layout in native grassland and pro style 18-hole venue.

After surrending the No. 1 spot in North Dakota to Hawktree in Bismarck the last few yeas, The Links has regained its top spot this year in the GolfWeek magazine rankings.

The Links is also rated No. 79 in the Top 100 Modern Course list in GolfWeek, and has been on the list since 1999.

A group of 47 raters from GolfWeek golfed The Links last summer and were thrilled with the isolated course. One experienced rater was even heard to say, "On a scale of 1 to 10, this is a definite 11."

In addition, The Links has earned a 4 1/2 star rating in Golf Digest magazine's Places to Play. There are only 17 five-star courses in the country. The Links is also in the 50 Best Places You Can Play in the United States.

That's a lot of praise for a course that's covered in snow half the year. So if you've ever wanted to hit a pro course or just want a real challenge, a trip to The Links is in order.

Looking to keep the accolades coming this season will be manager and PGA Pro Brian Jerred.

Free fitting

Jerred will offer free 15-minute expert equipment fitting sessions April 25-27 from 3-7 p.m. at The Links in conjunction with the third annual PGA Free Fitting and Trade-Up Month.

"One of our roles as a PGA Professional is to help people play better golf and being properly fit for clubs is just as important as taking a lesson," said Jerred.

So if you're looking to upgrade your clubs or just make sure you have the right clubs, this would be a great opportunity. To beat your buddies, you'll want to take advantage of every improvement you can make.

Along with the free fitting, if golfers send in their cards from the fitting to Golf Digest, they can win an Ultimate Fitting experience in Port St. Lucie, Fla. or other prizes including custom-fit clubs, or a bag.

Now that sounds like a good deal.

Those that decide to get new clubs will be able to trade in their old clubs at a fair market value and save a little on the new set.

Chicago Showcase

Despite the warmer weather, Williston's Colby Rehak and Charlie Miller have opted to stay on the ice as the Williston High School seniors are playing in the Chicago Showcase hockey tournament this week.

They've already had an impact as part of Team North Dakota, which opened the tournament with a 7-2 win over Team Ohio Wednesday.

Rehak scored a goal in the win, while he and Miller each visited the penalty box as well.

The tournament will run through Sunday.

Long ball

Former WHS and Keybird players Tyler Liffrig and Andy Leer hit home runs in the same game for the University of Mary Wednesday. Unfortunately for the Marauders, it was to no avail in the 10-4 loss to Bemidji State.

Leer went 2-for-4 with a double and the homer, while Liffrig hit his eighth dinger of the season, also going 2-4.

The former Williston standouts are putting up pretty good numbers this year, but it hasn't translated into wins as Mary has struggled with a 10-23 mark, although they are still batting .500 at 8-8 in conference play.

Liffrig is fourth on the team in batting average (.303), third in slugging percentage (.626), third in on-base percentage (.434), second in runs scored (27), third in hits (30), second in RBIs (24), third in doubles (6) and second in home runs (8).

Leer is first in doubles (7), tied for first in triples (2), third in home runs (3), second in hits (33), third in runs scored (19), and fourth in slugging percentage (.438).

Sean Pitman | sports@willistonherald.com