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Oxford golfer to play in PGA

Oxford native Todd Lancaster recalls going head to head with Tiger Woods when he was 12.

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By Pete Conrad, Staff Writer 12:52 AM Sunday, August 9, 2009

HAMILTON — Most golfers can only dream about taking on Tiger Woods in one of the majors.

It’s more than a dream for Oxford native Todd Lancaster, who has qualified for this week’s PGA Championship.

In fact, Lancaster has personal knowledge of what it’s like to be in the same tournament, even on the same green, as Woods.

“We were both 12 years old and we battled it out (in a junior national tournament),” Lancaster said. “He had a one-shot lead and made a par putt from 15 feet (on the final hole) to beat me.”

Lancaster, a three-time state qualifier in his days at Talawanda High School, now works as a pro at Westwood Country Club in Rocky River, not far from Cleveland. He lives in Aurora.

The PGA will be held Aug. 13-16 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., and will be televised by CBS and TNT.

Lancaster has been paired with Brett Quigley and Kevin Streelman for the first two rounds. He tees off at 9:15 a.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13, and at 2:25 p.m. the following day.

“Everybody thinks working at a golf course means you practice a lot,” Lancaster said, “but that doesn’t happen. If I play more than two times in a week, that’s a lot of golf for me.

“I’ve been playing pretty good this summer, but this will be a completely different situation,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll keep my nerves down.”

Lancaster, who has been named Northern Ohio PGA Player of the Year twice, qualified by tying for eighth place in the PGA Professional National Championship, held June 28-July 1 at Santa Ana Pueblo, N.M.

“It was kind of a bittersweet finish,” he said. “I had a chance to win with three or four holes left and I faltered a little bit.”

“I have qualified for Nationwide Tour events in Cleveland twice. I never played very well. I missed the cut both times.”

Lancaster played at Kent State, where one of his teammates was Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion. They plan to get together again on the Hazeltine course.

“During practice we’re going to play at least one round together,” Lancaster said.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.

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