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This week: Pro golf comes to Gainesville
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Pro golf is headed to Gainesville this week.

The Georgia Sports Orthopedic Specialists Classic, the fourth event this season on the National Golf Association Hooters Tour, starts today at the Chattahoochee Golf Course. The NGA Hooters Tour is the third largest professional golf tour, ranking behind the PGA and Nationwide Tours.

The field for the Georgia Sports Orthopedic Specialists Classic includes 168 entries, all competing for their slice of the $200,000 purse. The winner of the four-day event takes home a check for $30,000.

Along with the main event, which starts Thursday, there will also be a qualifying round today, and a Pro-Am event Wednesday.
The NGA Hooters Tour is a junior circuit, feeding into the PGA. Past members of the NGA Hooters Tour include John Daly, Lee Janzen, Tom Lehman, Jim Furyk, Chad Campbell, Zach Johnson, Ben Curtis and Vaughn Taylor.

The tour previously made stops at the Royal Lakes Golf and Country Club in Flowery Branch in 2005, 2006 and 2009.

ATLANTA HAWKS: The Hawks achieved one major goal when they secured a playoff berth last Thursday night. Now Atlanta (47-26) is jockeying for playoff positioning in the Eastern Conference.

Currently, Atlanta is 4 1/2 games back of the Orlando Magic (52-22) in the Southeast Division standings, and sits in fourth in the Eastern Conference.

This week, the Hawks pick up with a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night at Philips Arena. On Friday, Atlanta travels to the Cleveland Cavaliers, followed by a game Saturday against the Detroit Pistons in Atlanta.

The Hawks have just nine games remaining on the regular season schedule.

ATLANTA BRAVES: Atlanta received more confirmation that Jair Jurrjens’ right shoulder is just fine. On Saturday, he threw five innings for the Braves in a split-squad spring training outing against the Washington Nationals, allowing only one hit with three strike outs recorded.

Jurrjens is now 2-0 in Grapefruit League action, with plans to throw six innings in his last spring training outing this week.

Atlanta also brought an end this week to the dilemma with what to do with super-prospect Jason Heyward, the No. 1 rated prospect by MLB.com: He was named the team’s starter in right field by manager Bobby Cox last Friday. In 16 games during spring training, he’s hit .347 with a .467 on-base percentage, and has shown flashes of power.

Atlanta’s opening day starter, Derek Lowe, also looked strong last Friday with six innings and only one earned run allowed in a 5-3 win against the Detroit Tigers last Friday. He finished his longest spring training outing with four strikeouts and threw 58 of 77 pitches for strikes.

Atlanta has four more spring training games planned in Florida, then wraps up the preseason with a pair of games against the Chicago White Sox at Turner Field on Friday and Saturday.
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