So what's all this com-motion about the twentysomething set winning the year's first three majors on the men's side for the first time? Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Justin Leonard border on geezers next to Elizabeth Janangelo, a state champion 12 days before she entered eighth grade.

Janangelo remembers taking her first swings and riding with her father and brother in a golf cart. She'd mimic John and John Jr. "I'd jam my little bag between theirs," Janangelo said, smiling through her braces. "I just wanted to get the ball past the 50-yard marker on the practice range."

At 4, she was lofting whiffle balls over the roof of the Renbrook School in West Hartford, Conn., with her nursery school teacher. A year later, she was on the practice range at Rockledge Country Club in West Hartford, amazing pro Rich Crowe with her modified baseball grip.

"I knew from the beginning she was going to be good because of her natural ability and natural motion," Crowe said. "She's always absolutely killed the ball, which is a big advantage. And she has a pretty good short game, a tremendous feel, to back it up."

Janangelo, who turned 14 on Columbus Day, demonstrated all those qualities in mid-August when she won the Connecticut Women's Amateur, scheduled for 54 holes but shortened to 36 because of rain, by three shots, becoming the youngest champion in state history. She also is believed to be the second-youngest to win a state title, falling one year shy of Hall of Famer Nancy Lopez, who was 12 when she won the New Mexico Amateur, a match-play event, in 1969.

Her historic victory brought about 50 congratulatory phone calls and nearly as many thank-you notes. Her success wasn't all that surprising to her brother, who also has a 5 handicap and is among many male opponents who now show her respect.

"At first she'd walk on the tee and guys would go, ÔOh, come on, this kid's out here, and it's a girl,' " said John Jr., 18, who chauffers sis to many tournaments and caddied for her in the State Amateur. "Then she'd rip it down the fairway, and it was comical the way the guys' eyes would pop open. Now they all talk to her and want her as a partner."

Because of her playing ability, etiquette on the course and knowledge of the Rules, Elizabeth has played at Rockledge since she was 10, four years sooner than the town of West Hartford rules normally allow.

The scary part is that until this year she was more interested in soccer, playing goalie and midfield, and baseball. She led the West Hartford Little League in home runs (five) in 1996, and she still plays on travel soccer and basketball teams in West Hartford.

"The other sports were like cross-training for golf," said Elizabeth, who in September began eighth grade at Sedgwick Middle School.

But the individuality and enjoyment of golf piqued Janangelo's interest and helped her enter the record book.

Doing things ahead of schedule seemingly has followed Elizabeth since she was born nine weeks premature and spent six weeks in the intensive care unit.

But from a tyke of 2 pounds, she has grown into a sturdy 5-foot-5 teenager who has turned into a very long hitter. It's comparable to Nicole Faniola, 16, who in June became the youngest winner of the Connecticut Women's Golf Association Championship, a match-play event. Janangelo and Faniola beat the age record held by LPGA player Caroline Keggi, who was 18 when she won both tournaments in 1984.

"I must have been in a cave for five years because the ball-striking of these young kids is amazing," said 13-time state champion Marcia Dolan, who played in several LPGA events in the 1960s and with Janangelo in the first round of the State Amateur. "I don't think even Keggi, at 13, had the capabilities Liz has. And Liz has a great demeanor. She hit some bad shots, but I didn't see any anger, any loss of control. She's mature beyond her years."

Janangelo, who was second in the CWGA Junior, has to improve her putting and course management. And the Janangelos have addressed the possibility of too much too soon by turning down invitations to several national tournaments. "I try to play golf as much as I can, but you have to have a balance -- go to school, do my homework, do other things," Liz said.

"We've always taught Liz and her brother that family comes first, then school, then sports," said Anne Janangelo, Liz's mother. "She's very self-motivated and very competitive, and as long as she likes something, we support her completely. But we also try to keep things at a slow pace and in perspective. . . . She's pretty normal. She's got a messy room, just like most kids."

-- Bruce Berlet

Retire These Trophies? Not Quite Yet

If you are a woman bent on winning a club championship, and doing it now, steer clear of Roselle (N.J.) Golf Club and El Caballero Country Club in Tarzana, Calif. Those titles have been unavailable for a while, and there's no sign of their being surrendered soon.

Pat Hatfield and Helen Knight each won their respective club championships this summer -- the 41st time for Hatfield and the 35th for Knight. It's difficult enough to find someone who has played over the same course for four decades, let alone having one name repeated endlessly on the clubhouse roster.

Hatfield, 62, literally grew up on the grounds of Roselle Golf Club; her father, James Grady, was the pro and greenkeeper at the nine-hole club. "For help then there was only one man who cut the grass with a mower," she recalls. "He would watch me coming up the dirt road from school, so he was a babysitter before nursery schools."

Hatfield played constantly as she was growing up and won her first club championship in 1952, at age 17. That is where the plaque in Roselle's clubhouse begins tracing the event's history. "There must have been club championships before then," she muses, "but nobody has the records."

For the past 25-plus years, Hatfield has spent nine months of the year working as a nursery school teacher. "I only really play the end of June, July and August, and weekends in the spring," she says. Although she does not break 80 regularly as she did for many years -- "Those days are long gone," she claims -- she remained competitive enough this year to win the championship by four shots.

Hatfield's competitive nature has not taken her far from Roselle. Describing herself as "a nervous person," Hatfield recalls the time she entered a tournament at a nearby private club, only to shy from the serious attitudes of the others. "Nobody talked to me," she says. "I didn't enjoy it, and decided it wasn't for me."

That certainly has not been the case at Roselle, although she senses her domination of the championship may be drawing to a close. "I expected to lose this year because there are some really good ladies playing at the club," she says.

Knight knows the feeling. A grandmother now in her 70s, she began playing the game in Chicago during World War II when she could no longer ignore the continual fixation on golf in her family's household. Not only was her mother, Sadie Klein, a club champion at Idlewild C.C. in Flossmoor, Ill., her five uncles spent every available hour on the course.

Her first days with a club in her hand were spent just before enrolling at the University of Michigan. The following summer she took lessons from 1927 U.S. Open champion Tommy Armour. Then, after he left the Chicago area, Johnny Revolta became her instructor.

After relocating to California, Knight entered El Caballero's first club championship and won. And won. And won -- for 32 years. Her streak was broken, but she's back on a two-year run after this summer. "I don't get very upset if I make a bad shot," Knight says. "I don't brood about it. You don't know when you hit it if you'll love it or hate it, but you end up with it."

Both know that one day, they'll end up without a club title. Says Hatfield, "I think I would still keep playing in the club championship, even if I lost."

Family Affair

And while we're on the subject of unique club championship stories, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention the recent accomplishments of the fabulous Hruska family from the Lake Superior shore community of Marquette, Mich.

Four members of the family -- Ken Sr., his wife, Janet, and two sons, Dennis and Ken Jr. -- were participants in the match-play finals of three club championships at Marquette Golf and Country Club this year. While Ken Sr. won the senior club championship and Janet was runner-up in the ladies final -- she lost to Kendra Palmer, the second consecutive year the two met for the title -- Ken Jr. and Dennis met for the men's crown with Dennis winning, 5 and 4.

While it was the first time in the 70-year history of the club that brothers met in the final, success is nothing new to the Hruska family. When he won the Upper Peninsula Championship, Ken Sr., a retired banking executive, completed the first father-son combination to claim that honor. Both he and his wife own four club championships, and this year's title was the third for Dennis, an opthomologist.

Want to putt like Dale Miller? You'd better have his okay

Dale Miller has a one-of-a-kind putting grip -- and the patent to prove it.

Several months ago, nearly a year after Miller filed an application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, he was granted Patent Number 5,616,089 for his "Dominant Hand Putting Method," believed to be the first patent ever issued for a sports method.

"The fact that this was the first sports method patent didn't even seem to come up," explained Miller, a Wisconsin attorney and an avid player. "The Patent and Trademark Office grants so many patents for methods used in business and science I guess they considered this to be just another method patent. Perhaps they never thought of its significance in the sports world."

That significance, though, has not been lost on golf industry experts, who are now left wondering just how far players can take this new ability to patent their golf techniques. Can John Daly now patent his incredibly long backswing? What about Jim Furyk's unique takeaway? Or Isao Aoki's heel-only putting style?

Miller defends his patent, arguing that, like artists or entertainers, athletes should be permitted, and perhaps even encouraged, to obtain patents for their unique playing methods. "Songs are copyrighted, and plays and movies are protected," explains Miller. "Why not sports methods?"

With his patent comes a great deal of power over the use of the technique. Miller now holds the exclusive rights to his Dominant Hand Putting Method until March 29, 2016. Anyone, be they an instructor, a touring professional or even a beginning player, hoping to use Miller's method must now gain the proper approval, which may include paying Miller a fee for the right.

Two years ago, a wrist injury left Miller unable to putt comfortably. To compensate for his difficulties, he developed a new putting grip, holding the club normally in his right hand and clamping his left hand over the top of his right wrist. After regular use of the new method, Miller says his handicap fell from 15 to 8.

Miller is seeking a club manufacturer to handle production and marketing of his specially designed -- and patented, of course -- 38-inch putter that provides for a supposed optimum performance of his technique.

"You know, I never really thought of myself as an inventor," said Miller, who admits that he has been tinkering with club design for years. "I guess I should."

-- Ted Curtis

Through The Roof

What's the limit on the number of USGA entries? At this rate, there isn't one.

The USGA accepted 37,888 entries for its 13 championships this year, an improvement from 1996 of some 4,305, a phenomenal jump considering only once in its 102-year history of conducting competitions had the USGA experienced an increase of 2,000 or more.

The heightened interest from players who desire to compete in a national championship does have a downside. So many players filed entries for this year's U.S. Amateur that it was virtually impossible to accommodate every entrant's desired qualifying site. Nearly a thousand players -- 992 to be exact -- off the original list of 6,666 were moved to alternate sites.

A similar situation occurred with the U.S. Mid-Amateur. When entry applications were distributed and Mid-Am hopefuls saw Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa, Okla., on the list of qualifying sites, many believed it was a chance too good to pass up. After all, is there a better deal in golf than getting two rounds (the qualifier and a practice round) at an Open and PGA Championship site for the $80 entry fee? Apparently not. Coming from as far away as California, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, Florida, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey, 304 players signed up to qualify at Southern Hills, which was able to handle less than half that number. (FYI, 56 percent of the 304 hailed from outside Oklahoma.)

The USGA Executive Committee has at least preliminarily discussed the idea of lowering the handicap indexes required to enter some USGA championships, which theoretically would slow the tremendous numbers and at the same time lessen the increasing number of players who have been unable to play at a level indicative of their stated handicap index. After the numbers from this year are reviewed, that talk most likely will be renewed.

One final note on USGA entries from 1997. Among those championships drawing a record entry was the Senior Women's Amateur, which composes its 120-player field from the entrants with the lowest handicap indexes. When entries closed on Sept. 24, the 23rd alternate on the list was USGA President Judy Bell.

He Saves The Day

The Metropolitan (New York) Golf Association, which annually bestows an honor named for Mary Bea Porter, the former LPGA Tour player who saved a drowning boy several years ago, would seem to have a solid candidate for its '98 award.

When 70-year-old Charles Upchurch, a member of Greensboro (N.C.) Country Club, went into cardiac arrest on the practice range of the club one day earlier this summer, he was fortunate his dentist, Dr. Eugene Grubb, was nearby instead of in his office. Grubb, certified in CPR because of his practice, immediately went to Upchurch's assistance, a move that saved Upchurch's life. When paramedics arrived, they revived Upchurch's heart and then transported him to a hospital, where doctors implanted a pacemaker.

"I'm a very lucky individual," Upchurch told a Greensboro News & Record reporter. "I had a lot of good friends with the know-how nearby to help me."

While doctors won't clear Upchurch to return to the golf course until late November, Grubb went on with his round after paramedics took over -- and shot a 72.

Nicely Done In Shades of Greg Norman

Blair Nicely of Lexington was 1 down to Richmond's Ed Feeney when they reached the 18th tee of the Cascades Course at The Homestead in the final of the super-senior division in the Virginia State Seniors. Feeney struck his tee shot at the 184-yard hole to within 20 feet, close enough to begin feeling comfortable about his chances of winning the 70-and-over state title in his second appearance.

Then Nicely's 3-wood shot wound up in the hole to square the match.

"It took my breath away," Feeney told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Even Greg Norman hadn't had that happen to him."

Feeney had not trailed in a match throughout the week, but had been unshaken earlier in the match when Nicely holed a 20-yard wedge shot for birdie at the 11th hole. After the hole-in-one, however, Feeney was so shaken he played the extra hole poorly, the newspaper reported, and conceded the hole and match.

Nicely, who won the 1982 Virginia Senior title, had made six previous aces but did not see this one since "I can't see that far anymore. I was just trying to get it close."

Blitzes and Birdies

A lot goes through the mind of an NFL quarterback during a game, but not all of it concerns zone blitzes, post patterns and bump-and-runs.

After Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre helped his Packers to a 24-point halftime lead over Minnesota in a game in early September, his mind started to wander. "When we were up 31-7, everyone was kind of coasting," he said. "We were talking about what we were going to do this week, where we're playing golf."

Thoughts about a relaxing day on the course quickly dissipated, though, when the Vikings scored touchdowns following a pair of turnovers to make it a game at 31-22. Although the Packers held on for a 38-32 victory, Favre realized he and his teammates let up a bit prematurely. "We'd never been in that situation before, to be up 31-7 at the half and fighting for your life at the end. The next thing you know, it's, ÔMan, we'd better get a first down or we ain't playing nowhere.' "

The next time you see Favre on the sideline phone in a tight game, rest assured the person on the other end isn't David Leadbetter.

Early Birds

Ever wonder why the relationship between the USGA and manufacturers gets a little strained at times?

Spalding unveiled its new Aero golf ball at the International Golf Show in Las Vegas in early September, with a distribution plan of having the balls in stores by Sept. 15.

That, however, was several weeks before the ball made its first appearance on the USGA's Conforming Ball List.

Necrology

JACK HARDEN was the a co-leader following the first round of the 1983 Senior Open, but he was perhaps best known as the man who crafted the 6-iron that Alan Shepard Jr. took on his Apollo mission for his famous moon shots in 1971. Harden was 84 when he died at his home in San Antonio, Texas, on Aug. 30.

At one time he was also an accomplished player. His 62 tied a course record at the 1954 Long Beach Open, and he won two Texas PGA Championships.

FRED MILLER of Harrisburg, Pa., was in his 25th year as a member of the USGA Sectional Affairs Committee.

DR. CONRAD RICHARD SKOGLEY, 72, of Exeter, R.I., was the 1992 recipient of the USGA Green Section Award for distinguished service to golf through work with turfgrass. Active in turfgrass management programs, primarily at the University of Rhode Island, for nearly 40 years, he was also an internationally recognized researcher and produced several important varieties. He directed the URI Turfgrass Research Program, which originated in 1890 and is recognized as the country's oldest.

He was a member of several agronomic associations and was the recipient of several honors, including the Rhode Island Golf Superintendents' man of the year in 1977 and the New England branch of the Professional Grounds Management Society's Environmental Public Service Award.

For his many years of service, he was made an honorary member of the Rhode Island, Connecticut, New England, Metropolitan New York and Cape Cod Course Superintendents Associations.