2023 is shaping up to be an eventful year for Mayacama’s Honorary Golf Professional; Ted Antonopoulos. While he has maintained his position as a golf instructor, Ted’s ongoing Rules of Golf expertise and knowledge have earned him invitations to some of this year's exclusive golf championships.

We had the immense pleasure - and privilege - of interviewing Ted about his experience being on the Rules Committee of such esteemed events.

For 2023, it looks like you’re off to a fast start, spending two weeks in April back in your hometown of Augusta, starting with the Augusta National Women’s Amateur and then on to The Masters.

Actually, I started with a 54-hole Women’s Collegiate Tournament at Meadow Club in early March, the Julie Inkster Invitational. It’s a great field on a wonderful Alister Mackenzie course and won by Stanford. They’re a strong team, led by World #1 Amateur Rose Zhang who along with Rachael Heck and Brooke Sea, played at Mayacama’s Wyndham Cup. I’ll see Rose and Brooke at the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, along with another Wyndham Cupper Erica Shepherd, now a senior at Duke.

It's definitely a great two weeks. Four of us on the PGA of America Rules Committee go down to Augusta National early and mark the golf course prior to the Women’s Amateur. We then officiate the final round played at Augusta National, and on Tuesday and Wednesday of Masters week, we go back and touch up all of our penalty area lines and drop zones to get ready for The Masters. It’s special painting the Penalty Area and Drop Zone on the 11th because I worked that scoreboard as a high-school student at Richmond Academy in Augusta. All of the Rules Officials attend The Masters Rules Committee meeting early on Wednesday morning, followed by a group photo and then a course tour. The Members of Augusta National host a reception for the Rules Committee and our spouses on Wednesday evening. The setting on the lawn under the big oak tree outside the Clubhouse is magical, as is the reception. The evening is a great start to Masters Week. The Tournament Headquarters is our home for the week. It’s a comfortable setting staffed with familiar faces, and offering all of the traditional Masters fare. The grits at breakfast are to die for, as is the Fried Chicken! Always interesting conversations between all of the associations involved on the Rules Committee … PGA Tour, DP World Tour, Masters Tournament Committee, Royal & Ancient Golf Club, USGA, LPGA, and PGA of America. Conversation should be lively now that the Model Local Rule on the golf ball “rollback” is being considered. I’m also anxious to see the newly lengthened 13th hole. Like most changes that occur at Augusta National over the years, I am sure that it will look like it’s been that way since the beginning. The highlight of the week for me, outside of driving down Magnolia Lane each morning, is being part of the Green Jacket Ceremony on the Putting Green on Sunday afternoon. Growing up in Augusta, I always watched that ceremony from outside the ropes, impressed by the group of officials from all over the world assembled together to conduct The Masters Tournament. Now, having the opportunity to be one of those officials is like an out of body experience. I cannot resist looking South, out over the pine trees towards my old home and The Cabbage Patch where I grew up playing golf … its emotional and it never gets old!

We enjoyed watching you last year as the Referee in the final group at The PGA Championship. Will you be doing that again this year?

That was a great walk, although it was tough to watch what happened to Mito at the last hole. He played so well all week and that one swing off the tee of the 72nd hole cost him the Championship. Both Mito and Matthew Fitzpatrick were perfect gentlemen and it was a pleasure to walk with them. Rulings were minimal once we got past the first hole. I could not help but notice the result of the hard work that Matthew put in to increase his clubhead speed, and it paid off with him winning the US Open at Brookline later in the year. As a Vice Chair on the PGA Rules Committee, my assignments will likely remain the same … beginning at sunrise every day with course set-up … followed by scoring on Thursday – Saturday, and then a walking Referee with one of the final groups on Sunday. The PGA Championship always has Referees accompany each of the final 4 or 5 groups on the weekend. This year the Championship returns for the fourth time to Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, NY. Oak Hill is a storied venue and has hosted several US Opens, The Ryder Cup, US Amateur Championships and more. Hopefully with our May date, the weather will cooperate.

You are working a couple of Collegiate Championships again this year. What are they like?

Yes, I have the Men’s PAC-12 Championship at the end of April, which we hosted in 2021 at Mayacama. This year Stanford is the host school. The Stanford course is a great venue, designed by George Thomas and Billy Bell, who also designed Riviera, LACC and Bel Air. It’s a 72 hole championship played at stroke play. I’m typically a Starter and then walk with the final group each day as the Referee. There’s a great group of former PAC-12 Players leading the PGA Tour … Collin, John Rahm, Max Homa, Patrick Cantlay, so you can imagine the quality of the play in the PAC-12 Championship, as we saw last year at Mayacama.

At the end of May I’ve got the NCAA Men’s Golf Championship at Gray Hawk in Scottsdale. It will be hot! We start the Championship with Stroke Play and then cut to the low 8 teams for match play. We have Referees assigned to each match, and on a desert course like Gray Hawk, you can get called on for rulings fairly often.

In addition to the Augusta National Women’s Amateur, it looks like you have several Women’s Championships; The Women’s PGA Championship, The US Women’s Open, US Women’s Amateur, and a new event at Harding Park. How do you like working those championships in comparison to the Men’s game?

I love it! I always tell the Members … THAT is who we should watch play golf! They are among the best players in the world, and they are a pleasure to watch. It’s so good to finally see their purses trending in the right direction. The USGA started it with the Women’s Open going to 10 million last year, and our Women’s PGA followed suit by increasing our purse to 9 million last year, with the champion taking home $1.35 million … awesome to see!  Another great thing to see in the Women’s game is the quality of the venues that they are now playing in their Major Championships. This year is no exception … the US Women’s Open will be played at Pebble Beach for the first time, and our Women’s PGA Championship  is being played at Baltusrol. Both are historic and worthy of these great championships, and I’m totally excited about officiating at two of their Major Championships.

I also received an invitation to serve on the Rules Committee of the Hanwha International Crown. It’s being played May 4-7 at TPC Harding Park. This is a Match Play team event between LPGA players from eight countries featuring the four best players from each qualifying country. This will be the fourth time for this unique LPGA event and the first since covid. The past winners of the event are Spain, USA and South Korea.

Last year I had the pleasure of working the US Women’s Amateur at Chamber’s Bay and I’m looking forward to working the 2023 US Women’s Amateur at Bel Air Country Club. Last year I had the pleasure of being a Referee, I think it was a quarter final match, for Saki Baba of Japan, who went on to win the Championship. What an impressive player … I’ll see her shortly at Augusta and look forward to seeing how she fares there and at Bel Air as she attempts to defend her title.

You’ve been on the Senior Amateur Championship Committee for several years now. Last year you were the Referee for the final match. Talk about that and also what it’s like to have Mayacama Members competing in a Championship where you are officiating.

I was indeed the Referee in the Championship Match last year in the Senior Amateur, played at Kittansett Club in Massachusetts. It was an “all-Georgia” final, with both finalists (Rusty Strawn and Doug Hanzel) and the Referee (me) all from the Peach State. Hanzel is a past Champion (20-13) but it was Strawn who won the championship 3 & 2. And yes, I’ve worked several Senior Amateur Championships with both Ned Zachar and Brady Exber in the field. I once was the Referee assigned to one of Brady’s matches but had to recuse myself  (USGA Conflict of Interest policy). It's been great seeing both Ned and Brady play so well in our National Championship … both advancing into the quarter finals and beyond. Love to see Mayacama represented so well. The Senior Am is a fun time for me because I know so many of the players and enjoy the accolades that I always hear about Mayacama. It’s being played this year at Martis Camp … their second USGA Championship. I was a Referee at their first … the Junior Amateur won by a kid from Texas named Scottie Scheffler!

So this is the first time that you’ve taken your Rule Book to Europe, this year for the BMW PGA Championship in London, and then The Ryder Cup in Rome. How did that come about?

The BMW is a “Major” on the DP World Tour (formerly known as European Tour). Like most Championships of that caliber, the Rules Committee is made up of the DP World Tour officials and invited guest officials from the Major Tours. We (PGA of America) usually have one invitation and I received the nod this year. The BMW is always played at Wentworth and it was a venue years ago on The Mayacama Traveling Cup. I’m looking forwad to seeing it again and working with our European counterparts, many of whom have become close friends over the years.

One week after the BMW, Team Europe will be hosting us at The Ryder Cup in Rome. When in the States, we (PGA of America) conduct the Matches, and in Europe, the DP World Tour conducts it. Match Referees are from both organizations, and five of us from PGA of America Rules Committee will be on the Committee in Rome.

With the vocal crowds at The Ryder Cup and millions more from around the world watching, how do you deal with that when called upon to make a ruling, knowing that you’re being drawn into something that could possible be controversial?

I’ve been lucky so far. As far as the crowd goes, somehow I’ve been able to block it out. I mean, its present for sure, but once the players and the Referee are announced on the first tee, and the players hit those first tee shots, you get totally focused on the match and don’t really notice the rest. Of course I noticed when announcing the result of each hole, it is impossible for anyone to hear me. But as far as the crowd being a distraction, I’m just a Referee for a golf match and focus on that, like being a Referee in the Mayacama Cup! You are however responsible for acting on any violation that you see, but you try to stay in the background, yet close enough to the players so they can find you if they need you. Most of the questions you get are about order of play …who’s away? And for the most part the players are pretty respectful. I’ve been lucky in that regard … no real confrontations. Disagreement … yes, but no confrontations. But at that level, or in a major championship, I don’t take it personally. I mean I get it … they’re playing for Hall of Fame stuff so when they find themselves in a situation, tension can run high. So just like at Mayacama, when called in, I just ask “how can I help you”. And I’m never afraid to call if there is ever any doubt. No ego … you just want to get it right.  Your radio is your life line, as well as your entertainment when things are slow!

With the different forms of match play that are played in The Ryder Cup, is one more challenging than another?

Fourball for sure. You’ve got four balls in play and they can be miles apart, so when you’re called upon to determine who’s away, it’s a bit of a scramble. And you have to act fast and with confidence. You don’t want to have to tell your match that they are out of position. In Fourball matches, you typically have two forward observers assigned to your match. They stay ahead of the ball and can often determine who’s away and let you know over the radio before you arrive at the drive zone or putting green. They also give you a heads up if you have a ball that may need rules assistance. Sometimes you may have to ask the caddies (discretely) about their yardage to determine who is away, but you often get a response in meters from the European caddies, so that’s awkward to say the least.

You’ve been at this for a while, working elite championships. What’s been the most rewarding aspect of officiating at that level?

The cammaraderie among the Rules Committee has been awesome. Also, the respect and appreciation that you often get from the players has been a nice surprise. And the “Mayacama Factor” … the accolades that I receive from so many people … players, fellow committee members and execs from the various golf associations who have experienced our Club. The compliments that I hear from people in golf who “get it”, and the respect they show for our Club are truly some of the joys that I have taken away from these experiences.