SANTA ANA PUEBLO, N.M. - Forgive Mike Small if he wasn’t hanging on his cell phone Wednesday afternoon to mark the first day that college golf coaches can contact recruits. The 2009 Big Ten Conference Coach of the Year was playing hooky by winning a second PGA Professional National Championship.

You’re off the hook, Coach.

The 43-year-old Small arrived in the showcase event for PGA Professionals with what he called a “so-so” game the past few months and a bad back that caused him fits the night before the opening round. Yet, he rallied on the back nine at Twin Warriors Golf Club, while those ahead of him on the leader board backed up.

He closed with a 3-under-par 68 for a one-stroke victory over third-round leader Mark Sheftic of Ambler, Pa., and 1995 National Champion Steve Schneiter of Sandy, Utah.

Oklahoma City’s Tim Graves of Graves Golf Academy finished tied for 16th at 2-under. He was among eight others tied for 16th with only four spots available to advance to the PGA Championship. Graves just missed out on a spot, losing in a playoff.

After being just a stroke off the lead after the first two rounds, Quail Creek’s Kyle Flinton closed with rounds of 76 and 74 to finish at 2-over, tied for 34th.  Mark Fuller from Oak Tree Country Club also finished at 2-over tied for 34th.  Fellow South Central Section pro Tim Fleming of Oklahoma City Golf & Country Club finished at 9-over, tied for 69th.

From the Tulsa World:

Want to tread in the footsteps of 2007 PGA champ Tiger Woods?

Want to know what prompted Ben Hogan and Arnold Palmer to call No. 12 at Southern Hills one of the best par four holes in the country?

Want to know how Southern Hills' 18th green could bedevil all those guys on the final hole of regulation at the 2001 U.S. Open? Is the putting surface really that tricky?

Feel free to go find the answers. Southern Hills Country Club has hosted seven major golf championships. Now it could host you.

As an incentive to attract volunteers for the 2009 U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills, all volunteers will be given a complimentary spot in a golf outing at the tradition-rich course.

Southern Hills is breaking new ground by choosing to reward golfers with a round of golf at the championship course. The unprecedented offer was recently approved by the club's board of governors and the offer will be extended to volunteers who had already enlisted for duty at the 2009 U.S. Amateur and to new volunteers who sign up by July 20.

For anyone that has never had the opportunity to play Southern Hills, this is a chance of a lifetime. The course is amazing from the moment you drive through the front gate. Don't miss out on this chance to play one of the nation's greatest golf courses and to see the world's best amateurs.

Click here for the full story, available on the Tulsa World website.

( SILVERTHORNE, CO.) - Raven Golf Club at Three Peaks - located an hour west of Denver in the scenic " Front Range" of the U.S. Rockies - has been rated one of the best courses in Colorado by ZAGAT and Golfweek.

Raven Three Peaks received an average score of " 28" out of a possible 30 points the 2009/2010 ZAGAT Survey of "America's Top Golf Courses," placing it alongside the Norman Course at Red Sky as the second highest-rated course in the state and among the highest-rated courses in the U.S. In Golfweek's "2009 Best Courses You Can Play" annual, it was ranked seventh in the state.

"These ratings are resounding, third-party endorsements of Raven Three Peaks' service, design quality and course conditioning, says Rhonda Boutelle, General Manager. "To be ranked among the best in state by golfers and industry insiders is an honor and validates everything we're striving to achieve with this golf club."

It is in venues such as the PGA Professional National Championship and 41 Sectional events where Titleist receives affirmation from serious players that its equipment objectives of quality and high performance across every category are met and exceeded.  PGA professionals devote their careers to helping golfers improve and enjoy the game of golf.  So when it comes to choosing the highest performing equipment for their own games, just look in their bags.  Below is a breakdown of Titleist equipment success at the 2009 PGA Professional National Championship by category: