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Michael Allen makes remarkable turnaround at Senior PGA

Friday, May 25, 2012 Comments

blog_allen_fields_0525.jpgBENTON HARBOR, Mich. -- Same guy, same course, different day.

Michael Allen shot a 77 Thursday in the first round of the 73rd Senior PGA Championship. He was 13 strokes better than that Friday, carding a course-record, seven-under 64 to vault into contention on a much calmer day at Harbor Shores.

Allen, 102nd after his six-over opening round, was T-5 at one-under 141 when he got to the clubhouse, three strokes behind leader Roger Chapman, who was early in his second round.

It was the lowest round shot in the Senior PGA since Allen Doyle closed with a 64 to win the event in 1999 at PGA National GC. His turnaround equaled the 13-shot swings by Brad Bryant (80-67) and Bill Loeffler (82-69) from the second to third rounds during the 2010 Senior PGA at Colorado GC.

Allen -- the hottest player on the Champions Tour this season with two victories and four other top-four finishes -- made seven birdies (only one on a par 5), saved par after hitting his approach long on No. 7 and didn't have a bogey.

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Greens at Nicklaus' Senior PGA course drawing sharp criticism

Wednesday, May 23, 2012 Comments
BENTON HARBOR, Mich. - What course architect Jack Nicklaus calls "a little spice in the greens" at Harbor Shores is a flavor that isn't tasting very good to some competitors at the 73rd Senior PGA Championship.

jack_nicklaus_300.jpgDuring one period in his long design career, Nicklaus (left) was known for building greens with drastic undulations. At Harbor Shores, which has only been open for a couple of years, he has done it again. They are confounding, "buried elephant" putting surfaces of the highest order, the sharp teeth in a creative and scenic layout that is otherwise drawing architectural praise.
 
"In terms of the golf course, I think it's a phenomenal golf course from tee to green," Bernhard Langer said Wednesday. "One of the world's best, I would say. But [they] could be the most severe or worst green complexes I've ever seen in my life."

Nicklaus himself acknowledged the dastardly edge to his work this week. "So many players are walking up to me and saying, 'Jack, what a phenomenal golf course. What a beautiful place,' " said Nicklaus. "[I said], 'Well, have you putted the greens yet?' "
 
In the prelude to the year's first Champions Tour major, the players have putted them -- and tried to figure out how to hit approach shots (from generous fairways) that finish where they want them to finish. It won't be easy.  
 
"I could be wrong, but I'm not sure it rewards the precise shot every time," said Fred Funk. "You think you hit the shot you wanted and you may not get rewarded for it. "


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Couples, fresh off win, downplays Masters chances

Wednesday, March 28, 2012 Comments
HUMBLE, Texas -- Fred Couples is cool. Not news. Fred Couples is intimidating. Now there's a surprise.

On the eve of the Shell Houston Open -- a day when the reigning Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and 2010 US Open champion Graeme McDowell found time to visit with the press -- the apparently threatening aura emitted by the now-former Presidents Cup captain so cowed PGA Tour officials that they were reportedly "afraid" to ask him to make the two-minute trip from clubhouse to media center. So it was that Couples fulfilled one of the most important aspects of his job as a professional golfer standing rather incongruously in the middle of range at the Redstone Golf Club.

fred_couples_470.jpgThe strange thing was, he didn't look or sound either frightening or aggressive. He was, as ever, just Fred -- calm, friendly, charming and clearly perfectly happy to be back in the city where he played his college golf. What can those tour personnel have been thinking? Is one of golf's nicest people really possessed of a split personality?

Related: Fred Couples' effortless swing

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Video: Left-handed par save a "once-in-a-lifetime" shot for Pavin

Monday, February 13, 2012 Comments
It's not every day that you practice left-handed 8-iron shots from next to a tree root.

How about executing it on Sunday while tied for the lead, seeking your first Champions Tour victory?

You have to watch the video to truly appreciate Corey Pavin's spectacular par save on Sunday. He called it a "once-in-a-lifetime" shot, and Mark Calcavecchia said it was the best shot he's ever seen.

138830829.jpgPhoto by Stan Badz/PGA Tour

Pavin hit his tee shot on the par-3 14th hole into the woods to the left, right off the cartpath. He calmly flipped his 8-iron and chipped it to within five feet.

Enough explaining--watch the clip below (scroll to the 0:35 second mark).




--Stephen Hennessey


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Tour partnership provides discounted tickets for military

Monday, February 13, 2012 Comments

Golf's commitment to honoring and supporting United States military personnel is manifold, the latest example of which is Birdies for the Brave and Veterans Advantage partnering with select PGA Tour events to provide discounted tickets.

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The first tournament at which Veterans Advantage Card members can receive discounted tickets will be the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship in Marana, Ariz., next week. The tickets are available for $20 each day of the event while general admission for the public is $45 on Wednesday through Friday and $35 on the weekend.

Steve Kupcha, a former Navy Seal and now the PGA Tour's manager of public relations for military outreach, was instrumental in bringing the tour's Birdies for the Brave program and Veterans Advantage together.

"They approached us and wanted to extend what they do to include veterans and their family members," said Scott Higgins, founder of Veterans Advantage and a Vietnam veteran. "Steve thought we had a great program."

Veterans Advantage partners with companies to provide goods and services at a discount to current and past military personnel and their families.

So far, the tournaments at which discounted tickets will be offered are the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, the WGC-Cadillac Championship, the Players Championship and the Champions Tour's Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf. The tickets also provide them access to Patriots Outpost hospitality tents on site.

-- John Strege

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On Crenshaw's 60th birthday, a salute to his generation

Wednesday, January 11, 2012 Comments

blog_crenshaw_fields_0111.jpgIt is, at first thought, a shock to the system to realize that Ben Crenshaw turns 60 today. But then I go through my memories and recall that I first saw him play (and putt) in person at Pinehurst in the fall of 1973, during the 144-hole World Open, where he finished second to Miller Barber. I had a crew cut; Crenshaw, locks flowing, decidedly did not.

Besides wishing a happy birthday to one of the game's gentlemen, it is also a good occasion to pause and salute the abundant crop of American golfers born around the middle of the 20th century of which the Texan is a member.

Crenshaw, born in 1952, won 19 PGA Tour events highlighted by his two Masters titles, a record that looks even better when you consider his peers.

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Club pro is medalist at Champions Tour Q School

Saturday, November 19, 2011 Comments

Q School.jpg

Those earning full exemptions on the Champions Tour (L-R): P.H. Horgan III, Jeff Hart, Jim Rutledge of Canada, Gary Hallberg and Jeff Freeman (Photo courtesy of Champions Tour)

If a golfer doesn't have a gaudy PGA Tour career, the Champions Tour is a tough goal. Five players survived the gauntlet Friday, earning full exemptions for 2012 in the national qualifying tournament at TPC Scottsdale's Champions course.

Jeff Freeman, a club professional at CC of Orlando, cruised to medalist honors, closing with a five-under 66 for a 20-under 264. Freeman won by four strokes over former Champions Tour winner Gary Hallberg and Canadian Jim Rutledge. Jeff Hart and P.H. Horgan III were the others earning fully-exempt status.

Seven golfers earned conditionally-exempt cards: Jim Carter, Sonny Skinner, Bobby Clampett, Mark Mouland, Robin Freeman (the medalist's older brother), James Mason and Dick Mast. The top 30 finishers and ties are eligible to compete in open qualifiers next season.

Freeman, who will be able to start competing after he turns 50 in April, picked up $30,000 for his victory. "Scary day, scary day today," Freeman said of the final round. "When you are in these types of situations, if you don't play well, then you don't have a tournament to play in. I was scared all day, nervous all day and anxious all day. I just tried to play one shot at a time and get through the darned thing."

-- Bill Fields

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Fields: Jay Don Blake's resurgent second act

Monday, November 7, 2011 Comments

SAN FRANCISCO -- It was an afternoon of fake mustaches and real drama Sunday at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship.

The get-ups were courtesy of Jay Don Blake's family and friends in the gallery, who put some levity into the situation at TPC Harding Park by imitating his longtime look. With the good-luck charms doing their job -- Blake entered the final round with a two-stroke lead and kept a working margin most of the day en route to his second win of 2011 -- it was up to the season-long Schwab points race to inject some suspense into the proceedings.

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Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images

The permutations about such competitions can be tedious supplements to the main show at golf tournaments, but as the last day of the Champions Tour season came to a close, most everyone (sort of) knew the possible scenarios.

Since Tom Lehman had a so-so week at Harding Park (T-18), Mark Calcavecchia had a good chance to bridge the 382-point gap and overtake Lehman for the $1 million annuity. While Lehman waited in the clubhouse, Calcavecchia needed to finish in no worse than a two-way tie for second place to beat Lehman, who had topped the points almost all year.

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Roberts shoots 65, despite near whiff

Saturday, November 5, 2011 Comments

SAN FRANCISO - We should all feel better. It can happen to the best of them.

For Loren Roberts, whose third-round performance at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship was otherwise a thing of beauty, it took place on the tee of the 473-yard, par-4 sixth hole at TPC Harding Park.

"I've never hit one that bad," Roberts said. "Oh my gosh, I was embarrassed."

This is why.

"I hit a drive that went about 120 yards with a full swing that didn't get to the fairway and didn't hit a tree," he explained. "I hit about eight inches behind it."

The difference between a successful tour pro and the rest of us is that, despite the ugly-bad tee shot and the ensuing bogey, Roberts shrugged it off. "I birdied the next hole. I probably should have hit 3-wood, but I said, 'I've got to his this driver again,'" said Roberts, who made one of his seven birdies on No. 7.

He went on to shoot a six-under 65, moving into fifth place after 54 holes, three strokes behind tournament leader Jay Don Blake. Swing help this week from instructor Jim Suttie and fellow pro Mark Wiebe have given Roberts encouragement that a lean season (for him), could end on a high note and be a springboard into another stellar campaign.

"I finally feel like I'm going in the right direction," said Roberts, who has 12 career wins on the Champions Tour. "I'm looking to finish the year and to get ready for next year. I'm fired up about next year. I'm 56 now. I really want to see if I can make one more run. I just haven't really done much this year at all."

-- Bill Fields

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Eger, 59, playing like a youngster

Saturday, November 5, 2011 Comments
SAN FRANCISCO - David Eger bogeyed the last hole of the third round at the Charles Schwab Cup Championship Saturday afternoon. He wasn't happy about that, but he wasn't exactly steaming mad either. Eger still finished with a five-under 66 at TPC Harding Park and made a nice move up the leader board to T-9, within striking distance (six shots) of leader Jay Don Blake with another hot round. The fact that Eger was even in the field, which is limited to the top 30 money winners on the Champions Tour prior to the season-ending event, was an accomplishment in itself. On the Champions Tour, where those arriving without a cushion of all-time earnings on the PGA Tour have to prove themselves year by year and finish in the top 30 or win a tournament to stay fully exempt for the following season, Eger, 59, has beaten the odds. After recovering from a broken ankle suffered in June 2010, Eger had his best season in 2011, winning the Liberty Mutual Legends of Golf with Mark McNulty, finishing second at the Senior PGA Championship and ranking 13th in earnings coming into this week, the seventh time since turning 50 he has cracked the top 30. He has $6,582,611 in career winnings on the Champions Tour, a far cry from the $12,804 he earned in 1979, his best of four unspectacular PGA Tour seasons from 1978-1981 prior to becoming a golf rules official and administrator with the PGA Tour and USGA "When I started playing out here, I gave myself three or four years," Eger said at Harding Park. "Now, I'm going to start my 11th season next year. I've been very fortunate, except for the broken ankle last year. I've played better than I've ever played in my life." Eger's golf improved when he was in his 40s after having gotten his amateur status reinstated. He made the United States Walker Cup team at age 49 and competed well against players such as Luke Donald and Bryce Molder. "One of the biggest things was making that Walker cup team when I was almost 50," Eger said. "That kind of catapulted me into thinking maybe I could make it out here. But I had no plans. I just wanted to give this 100 percent." A decade later, the effort has paid off. "I've had a good run," Eger said. "I'd like to have another two, three years, keep playing out here into my 60s. I'm certainly very lucky where my life is right now. I've been very blessed." -- Bill Fields
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