Johnson Wagner opened with an even-par 71 at Riviera Country Club, his fourth tournament in as many weeks. He’s back on the course at 3:36 ET and will be working to make his second cut of the season.

You can follow his progress here. The former Garrison resident tied for 68th last week at the Farmers Insurance Open, earning a $10,706 check, his first of the year.

Andrew Svoboda was tied for sixth after the first round of the Moonah Classic in Australia, but the first-year Nationwide Tour player from Larchmont followed a 4-under 68 with a 6-over 78, and missed the cut by a stroke. You can see his scorecard’s here.

The next stop is Panama.

Frank Bensel has two victories in the Taylor Made-adidas Golf PGA Match Play Championship at PGA Golf Club’s Dye Course, and is playing this morning in a quarterfinal match. The Century assistant won 5-and-4 in the first round, 1-up in the second round, and 1-up in the third round.

Sleepy Hollow head pro David Young lost in 20 holes in the second round. Metropolis head pro Craig Thomas lost 2-and-1 in the second round. Metropolis assistant Colin Amaral lost 7-and-6 in the second round.  Old Oaks head pro Bobby Heins lost 1-up in the first round. Mount Kisco head pro Nick Manolios lost 6-and-5 in the first round. Apawamis assistant Kyle Baehler lost 1-up in the first round.

Johnson Wagner is playing this week in the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines. The former Garrison resident is playing for a third consecutive week and is looking to make his first cut of the season. He opened with an ever par 72.

Click here to watch the leaderboard.

Andrew Svoboda is done after two rounds of the Nationwide Tour’s 2010 debut, the Michael Hill New Zealand Open at The Hills Golf Club in Queensland, New Zealand. The Larchmont resident went 73-73 and missed the cut by four strokes. They were apparently eventful rounds. Svoboda, who spent last season working at Old Oaks, carded nine birdies, eight bogeys and one triple.

The Nationwide Tour is next making stops in Australia, Panama and Columbia.

And on the club pro circuit, Trump National’s John Guyton finished sixth at the 2010 TaylorMade-adidas Golf PGA Winter Stroke Play Championships at PGA Golf Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla. He was five strokes off the winner, shooting a 7-under 281. Old Oak’s Bobby Heins and St. Andrews’ Greg Bisconti tied for seventh.

Century’s Frank Bensel and Fairview’s Shaun Powers also finished inside the top 20.

In the PGA Women’s Stroke Play Championship, C.J. Reeves, a teaching pro at Century, won the event on with a birdie on the first playoff hole. She also won the event in 2005. Reeves bogeyed the 18th at PGA Golf Club to fall into a four-way tie, then rolled in a 12-footer on the first extra hole.

There will be another opportunity for Meaghan Francella to stop in for some home cooking when the LPGA visits  Hamilton Farm Golf Club to play the Sybase Match Play Championship, which runs May 20-23.

A field of 64 top players will be invited to compete for a $1.5 million purse.

Francella was 48th on the LPGA’s 2009 money list, which automatically gets her an invitation to the Sybase championship. The Port Chester native has a history of performing well in front of her friends and family. She made it to the quarterfinals of the HSBC World Match Play Championship at Wykagyl in 2007, knocking out Lorena Ochoa and Pat Hurst along the way.

Hamilton Farm hosted the HSBC Women’s World Match Play Championship in 2005 and 2006, and is located in Somerset County, about 90 minutes from White Plains.

For tickets and information about the event, visit the official tournament website. A one-day ticket costs $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. A week-long ticket costs $40 in advance, $50 at the gate.

The LPGA is letting kids 15 and under in free this year. And believe me, the course is worth a look if you don’t mind walking up and down a few hills.

The list of changes new ownership is bringing to the Canyon Club includes a new name, Brynwood Golf and Country Club.

Plans for the private Armonk club also include a clubhouse renovation, upgrading the pool and tennis facilities, bringing in a fleet of new carts and a new fitness area.

The club, which is now managed by Troon Golf, is offering a range of memberships. A full family membership is $11,000 annually, a full single membership is $8,800. A family sports membership is $4,400 and a sports single membership is $3,300.

For more information about membership, call Donald DeMasters at (914) 273-9300 or email him at ddemasters@troongolf.com.

The plan is to post a little more often as the season quickly approaches, so check back a couple of times each week. Hopefully, there will be something here that catches your eye.

In today’s Journal News, there was a story about Mamaroneck looking into the possibility of purchasing Hampshire Country Club and making it a municipal facility along the lines of Rye Golf Club or Lake Isle. There’s one major difference, an honest to goodness 6,300-yard Devereaux Emmet course.

Click here if you missed the story.

Also, if you spend a lot of time watching the Golf Channel until the weather begins to warm, Sunningdale head professional Michael Breed is back with The Golf Fix at 7 p.m. tonight. Here’s the show’s website. If you haven’t seen it, Breed gives 100-mph instruction. You’ll be absolutely breathless just watching.

There’s a pretty good article in The Wall Street Journal about what the absence of Tiger Woods means to the PGA Tour, but it lacks a dollar figure. I’m guessing there’s a lot of zeros on the end of that number.

After conducting what appears to be an exhaustive search, Winged Foot today named Mike Gilmore the sixth head professional in club history.

It just got a little harder to beat the man running the shop.

Gilmore has an impressive playing resume, which is something that’s long been a part of Winged Foot’s history. He’s made two U.S. Open appearances, and two PGA Championship appearances. Gilmore was the Met PGA’s player of the year in 2002, and remains a top contender on the local circuit.

“We are delighted that Mike Gilmore has accepted the position of head professional,” Winged Foot president Bill O’Keefe said in a statement. “Mike has an outstanding reputation as a head professional and a player. I have gotten to know Mike during the search process and I believe he is a great fit for the Club.”

Gilmore is leaving Piping Rock after seven years at the exclusive Locust Valley club. He also spent five seasons at Wheatley Hills and spent a decade at Stanwich under Billy Farrell.

“As a young professional growing up in the Met area, Winged Foot Golf Club was always like Yankee Stadium,” he said. “There is no greater honor for me than to have been named head professional at Winged Foot Golf Club.”

Don’t you love modern technology?

Andrew Svoboda and Nannette Hill are both on the course working to secure their respective tour cards, and the scores are being posted online so we can follow along.

Svoboda is among 170 golfers at Bear Lakes in West Palm Beach, Fla. You can see the leaderboard here. He will be playing six rounds and looking to get inside the top 25. Hill is among 106 hopefuls at LPGA International in Daytona Beach, Fla. You can see the leaderboard here. She will be playing five rounds and looking to finish inside the top 20.

I did a story on the two locals for today’s paper. Click here if you haven’t read it.

Wait until the pundits get a look at Golf Digest. The comedic possibilities are truly endless. We only need a couple of thought bubbles to fill in the punch lines.

Check it out, 10 Tips Obama Can Take From Tiger.

Now let’s see what everybody comes up with … “I’m thinking it’s two balls left of the fire hydrant.” … If you’ve got a line, post it on the comments.

I held off putting a post up when Andrew Svoboda opened Stage 2 of PGA Tour qualifying with a 78 at Deerwood Golf Club in Kingwood, Texas. He managed to make up ground over the next three rounds, going 68, 69, 68 to get to 5-under.

The Larchmont resident made 18 birdies the last three days, and leapfrogged 18 players the final round.

Svoboda moves on to final stage qualifying Dec. 2-7 at Bear Lakes Country Club in West Palm Beach, Fla. He’s never been this close to securing a PGA or Nationwide Tour card.

In case you didn’t see the morning paper, Mike Miller signed a National Letter of Intent to play collegiate golf at Penn State. The perennial All-State performer is a two-time Journal News player of the year.

Here’s the link to the story.

Miller, a senior at Brewster who’s father, Bob, is the head professional at Knollwood C.C., also considered Illinois and Coastal Carolina.