John Beale, Post-Gazette The biggest change to Mystic Rock is at No. 5, a 598-yard par 5, where a new green has been constructed left of the existing green and sits closer to the $600,000 waterfall and rock formation owner Joe Hardy had built several years ago. Click photo for larger image. Birdies & Bogeys: 6/28/06 This week's Lipouts: 6/28/06 Next on the tee: 6/28/06

Despite being the last year of the tournament, the 84 Lumber Classic continues to spend money and act as if it plans to stick around longer than 2006.

Mystic Rock, the course at Nemacolin Woodlands Resort & Spa that hosts the PGA Tour event, has been reconfigured again by architect Pete Dye and the changes will be in place for the tournament, which is Sept. 14-17. And the changes are not just cosmetic.

The biggest change is at No. 5, a 598-yard par 5, where a new green has been constructed left of the existing green and sits closer to the $600,000 waterfall and rock formation owner Joe Hardy had built several years ago. The entire left side of the green abuts a lake, with a bailout area to the right.

The other change is at No. 13, a 394-yard par 4 where all the trees on the right side of the hole have been removed and replaced with a lake that runs around the back of the green. The new look is as appealing as it is dramatic because it allows spectators near the 13th green an unobstructed view of the 11th fairway and the par-3 12th hole.

What's more, several new tees have been added to the 7,516-yard layout, including at Nos. 1, 2 and 9. But those are minor compared to the other renovations, each of which will greatly enhance the look of the course -- unlike some of Dye's other renovations in past years.

But, to his credit, Dye came in and either altered or removed some of those, uh, features. Among them:

The unplayable narrow green complex at the 209-yard 12th, which prohibited the PGA Tour from using the back tee. A bunker left of the green was removed to create a wider, more playable area that has been sodded with bentgrass.

The ridiculous pot bunker beyond the fairway bunker at the par-4 14th, which was added to affect long-hitting players such as John Daly and Vijay Singh.

The short tee at the par-3 17th, which reduced the hole from 204 yards to 157 yards and created an easier angle to hit the green.

Now, if he would just get rid of that back tee at the par-5 11th ...

Trivia

Who holds the PGA Tour's all-time record for cuts made? Answer at end.

Fake ID?

Biff Bevan is no Maurice Flitcroft, though it was starting to appear that way during the recent U.S. Senior Open qualifier at South Hills Country Club.

Bevan, who was registered as a professional from Chardon, Ohio, withdrew on the par-3 12th hole at the behest of a tournament official who feared he was holding up the field. And perhaps embarrassing himself.

Bevan shot 55 on the front after taking a 9 on the par-5 ninth hole, then started on the back with 7-6 to be at 68 after 11 holes. He was playing in a threesome with Oakmont pro Bob Ford and former Montour pro John Mazza, who ignored what was happening to shoot 68 and gain the only qualifying spot in the U.S. Senior Open

"These guys enter as pros because if they enter as amateurs their handicap isn't low enough," said Jeff Rivard, executive director of the West Penn Golf Association, which runs the qualifier. "We did persuade [Bevan] to leave. And we turned him into the USGA."

In golf lexicon, he pulled a Flitcroft.

Flitcroft is part of British golfing lore, a former English crane operator who was nothing more than a hacker, yet pretended to be a professional in his attempts to qualify for the British Open.

Flitcroft had played golf for only 18 months and had never played 18 holes when he entered a qualifier for the 1976 British Open. He shot 121 at Formby Golf Club, believed to be the highest qualifying-round score in the Open's 141-year history.

Upset that he had misrepresented himself, the Royal & Ancient Golf Club effectively banned Flitcroft from future qualifying. He sat out from qualifying the following year, but, in 1978 and again in 1981, Flitcroft returned, posing as a professional named Gene Pacecki ("As in paycheck," he later explained). Each time, he was discovered and tossed after a few holes.

Undaunted, Flitcroft returned in 1983, this time posing as a Swiss pro named Gerald Hoppy in a qualifier at Pleasington. He made it through nine holes -- he shot 63 -- before the R&A realized it was Flitcroft.

Still, he would not go away. Seven years later, in a 1990 qualifier at Ormskirk, a pro named James Beau Jolley was a respectable 3-over par after two holes when a cart of R&A officials approached him on the third hole and discovered the man with the strange mustache and dark hair was indeed Flitcroft.

"I was under more pressure than anyone else," Flitcroft said at the time. "I had qualifying to contend with and being recognized."

Miller time

William Miller did more than just become the first West Penn Junior champion to win the West Penn Amateur championship since Arnold Palmer in 1947.

He also set two records en route to winning the title by eight shots at Fox Chapel Country Club -- lowest 18-hole score (62) and lowest 36-hole score (130) in any West Penn championship in 106 years. Miller, 17, shot a course-record 8-under 62 in the second round Monday to take an eight-shot lead into the final round yesterday of the 54-hole event.

But rain forced cancellation of the final round and Miller, who lives in McMurray, was declared the winner.

Miller is the only three-time winner of the West Penn Junior Championship (2003, 2004, 2005), though he elected not to compete in the event this year. Palmer is the only person to win the West Penn Junior and the West Penn Amateur in the same year.

Fruits of labor

Tim McNulty opened Strawberry Ridge Golf Course in Harmony five years ago on a 138-acre parcel of land that formerly grew fruits and vegetables. He designed and built the 18 holes himself, though he is quick to acknowledge, "I had a lot of help."

What he constructed was a 6,206-yard layout with an intriguing par 5, a couple of nifty par 3s, eight man-made lakes and probably the biggest greens anywhere in Western Pennsylvania. Most of Strawberry Ridge's putting surfaces are between 45 yards and 50 yards deep, with the biggest being 165 feet at the 185-yard eighth hole.

"We think we have some of the best surfaces in the area," McNulty said.

McNulty used the natural terrain to weave holes among the changing elevation. It is especially evident at No. 2, a 487-yard par 5 that plays much shorter because of the severe drop from tee to green. Still, the hole requires great precision because a lake guards the left side of a narrow landing area, with trees on the right.

Water comes into play off the tee on two back-to-back par 4s -- the 352-yard ninth and the 360-yard 10th -- just before the longest hole on the course, the 606-yard 12th.

"It's coming along," McNulty said. "We're still a work in progress, but we're getting there."

Dissa and data

Greensburg native Rocco Mediate and Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson will be featured in the debut of "Personal Lessons" Monday at 7:30 p.m. on The Golf Channel. They will play a round of golf, along with an amateur partner, at Tuscany Reserve in Naples, Fla. Mediate, who is friends with Lifeson, will provide on-course tips, advice and instruction.

Deadline for the Westfield Junior PGA Tri-State Championship, scheduled for July 12 at Fox Run, is today. Call, 724-774-2224.

Trivia answer

Jay Haas made the cut at the U.S. Open, giving him a tour-record 591 cuts in his career.