PGA Tour: Senior Moments: Notes from the Ballwasher

Disclaimer: Any ethnic, racial, nationalistic, sexual preference, ageism slurs contained in these notes are purely intentional.

1).At last, the PGA Tour won't be the biggest show in town this week given the superb field at Wentworth as well as the first of five (in the space of two months - ridiculous) Senior Majors, the Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive. The Tour travels thirty miles west to Fort Worth, for the "Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial", but expedience trumps tradition on Tour these days, and there's a poor field in Texas.

2).We don't talk much about the Champions Tour so let's start there as most of the World's best Senior golfers have assembled at Bellerive CC in the St. Louis area, a Robert Trent Jones design which has seen a US Open win by Gary Player, a PGA Championship victory for Nick Price, and a BMW Championship trophy for Camilo Villegas. Golf's best were assembled at Bellerive on Sept 11th, 2011, for the WGC-American Express Championship which, of course, was cancelled.

3).The Champions Tour these days is comprised largely of golfers who saw their heydays in the 70's, 80's and early 90's; most recent "rookies" on Tour have included old lags such as Whisky Sauers, Duffy Waldorf, Triplett, Magee, Mediate and Steve Elkington. Vijay Singh turned 50 in February but is eschewing the Champions Tour for the time being in favour of hapless cameos on the PGA Tour, presumably enjoying the elixir of life that can only be obtained via an hourly snort of deer-antler spray, and preparing his legal briefs. Montgomerie turns 50 this summer and will doubtless be bloviating his way through a fullish Champions Tour schedule, while Billy Ray Brown and the estimable Jose Coceres may be joining them should they so choose.

4).But next year an intake which potentially includes Messrs Ames, Andrade, Austin, Durant, Goydos, Janzen, LoveIII, Maggert, Sutherland and Verplank (plus, if he qualifies, The Most Interesting Golfer In The World ) will cause a generation of late 50's, early 60's, golfers to be flushed from the Champions Tour. One of those will surely be Bobby Wadkins who nevertheless makes his 1,000th official start (713 on the PGA Tour, 287 on the Champions Tour), and possibly include 1990 Golfer of the Year, Wayne Levi, and Bob Gilder who this week registers his 59th consecutive Senior Major, a record. The most closed shop in sport becomes locked even more tightly, bad news for non-PGA Tour members from overseas who might fancy a crack at it, including Greg Turner who happily joins this week's field.

5).Eleven golfers have won both the PGA Championship and the Senior PGA, but none for nearly twenty years, most recently the likes of Don January, Nicklaus, Trevino, Player and Ray Floyd. Lanny Wadkins, Brooks, Sluman, Tway, Sutton and Elkington are among those who could add to that list this week.

6).Senior Europeans competing include last year's winner, Roger Chapman, plus Langer, Russell, Mouland, Lyle, Woosnam, James, Smyth, Wesselingh, Oldcorn, Golding, Farry, Wolstenholme and Forsbrand. And Barry Lane, who finished T6 in his most recent opportunity on the Champions Tour, after playing his first seven holes in +8!

7).Ken Venturi will only be there in spirit.
Lots of tributes followed his death last week just a few days after he was inducted in to the World Golf Hall Of Fame. Unlike some of the recent inductees whose election may have been premature, Venturi's was long overdue, as remembrances from the respective worlds of Sport, Broadcasting and Entertainment will testify.
Venturi was one the Golf's last links with a bygone world; he teamed with fellow amateur Harvie Ward against superstar pros Byron Nelson and Ben Hogan in "The Match", in 1956 at Cypress Point and, quite apart from his exploits on the course and in the "booth", was personal friends with Sinatra and the Rat Pack, DiMaggio, Bing Crosby & Phil Harris. Not many like him left, perhaps none.
He once said, "The greatest reward in life is to be remembered." And he is.

8).Three eminent Champions Tour players will be avoiding Bellerive to take their place at Colonial as past champions - Frost, Lehman and Pavin - while Vijay will also be playing the Tour he's sued.
Most of the best "International" Tour members are in England, but Team Sweden is out in force, plus Davis, Laird and Owen. No-one has played better tee-to-green recently than Charl Schwartzel and he's playing Colonial for the first time - if he could be relied upon to hole a few putts he'd surely be odds-on favourite - but he can't!

9).Colonial is certainly a horses-for-courses layout, but most of the usual suspects come in without much to shout about recently, like Furyk, Clark, Dufner and Zach Johnson. Karlsson and Laird both have good recent results here, while Brian Davis should arguably have won in 2010. Best I can suggest is to follow Americans in excellent recent form such as Streelman and Chris Kirk.

10).And it's "Open" qualifying season, both for Merion and Muirfield. Apart from other avenues that can gain entry, each tournament rewards qualifiers via the world rankings as at May 27th:
Merion: Top 60 May 27th AND Top 60 June 10th.
Muirfield: Top 50 May 27th.

With The Open being the most immediate concern, this will be a big week for the likes of:
#47: Jacobson (playing Colonial)
#48: Michael Thompson (Colonial)
#50: Sterne (Wentworth)
#51: Horschel (should qualify via FedEx ranking)
#53: Clark (Colonial)
#53: Laird (Colonial)
#55: Henley (may qualify via FedEx ranking)
#58: Leishman (Colonial)
. . . . among others.

Wouldn't it be nice if this week's news was made on the course, instead of in front of a microphone, on Twitter or from the USGA and/or R&A?

Nice to have a big tournament in my home state. Missouri is relatively large state in both population and area and they almost completely ignored on the PGAT. Since I moved here over 20 years ago, I think there has been two tournaments (and one cancelled) in Missouri. The 1992 PGA Championship and the 2008 BMW.

And they choose to go to Bellerive which is just a boring golf course IMO.

Kwini,

You know as much about the Senior tour as the PGA.

Monty "bloviating". I think this word was created after Sky hired him for the Ryder Cup a few years ago.

Monty will be desperate to get his first US win and his first Major. I'm not too sure he'll achieve these goals.

Cheers Chaps,

GPB: US Senior Open, 2004-ish, won by Jacobsen? Yeah, not a great RTJ fan myself, but looking forward to a reminder of the course.


Scottie, Good news and bad news:
Good that I keep track of these guys.
Bad that a primary reason for that is that these guys (or their recent fore-runners) are the reason I got interested in golf a couple of generations ago!

Kwini, I know that feeling. Pity I wasn't a lot, lot better or I'd be joining the Senios in a few months. Getting old is not good, but it's the better of the two options.

ScottieD18 wrote:Kwini, I know that feeling. Pity I wasn't a lot, lot better or I'd be joining the Senios in a few months. Getting old is not good, but it's the better of the two options.

Come on Scottie... It's not the getting old that's the problem... it's the %$it that goes along with it...

They're underway at Colonial on what should become a warm, sunny day. Dry weather forecast thru' Sunday and the only defence will be 10 - 15 mph breezes, not too much of a problem with greens expected to be on the soft side.

Can't let Colonial pass without remembering ten years ago and Annika Sorenstam's inspiring 36 holes where, despite obvious lack of length, she barely missed the cut and, with grace, skill and determination, proved that the very best women golfers, on certain PGA Tour courses, can be competitive. No downside to that experience, either for the Tour or for Annika. Great performance, great theatre.
(And kudos to playing partners Aaron Barber and Dean Wilson, each of whom seemed to enjoy the experience as much as the rest of us.)

kwinigolfer wrote:Cheers Chaps,

GPB: US Senior Open, 2004-ish, won by Jacobsen? Yeah, not a great RTJ fan myself, but looking forward to a reminder of the course.

I tend to forget events on the "See Alice" Tour.

Went to the Senior PGA last time it was in the North-East, loved it. Hoping to get to Montreal for the tournament in September - you should come up, GPB, just across the border from your native land.

Watching the Champions Tour for me is a bit like listening to Radio 2 (apologies for the UK centric analogy) - I'm not quite ready yet, but I can see the day approaching.

Three backmarkers at the Colonial early in Round 1:
Last: Steele +5: A poor advertisement for long putters (altho's Pettersson looks to be doing famously with his)
Second to last: Crane: Poor advertisement for slow play and unfunny videos.
Third last: Vijay: A poor advertisement for whatever borderline product he's snorting today.

Low scoring in Fort Worth today and Ryan Palmer is playing like I thought he would last week!

Not many non-North Americans in early contention, but a refreshing return to form for Carl Pettersson - make hay while you can Carl!

Ho-hum round for Laird, but Davis off to a good start.

Shocked and appalled by Bernhard Langer's fiasco on Bellerive's green and pleasant fairways - +8, in 146th place.

Who's most likely to make the cut?
Luke Donald at Wentworth?
Or Langer at Bellerive?
Who'd be a favourite . . . . . .

Luke is +2 after 2 today.

After so many years without missing a cut at an ET event, he's in serious danger of doing so twice within a short space of time.

Even more importantly, it means I'm unlikely to see him in action whilst spectating tomorrow. How inconsiderate.

You'll be able to enjoy Westwood forging into a big lead though, Sky . . . . .

Ryan Palmer leading at Colonial, John Rollins one shot back, and John Peterson another stroke adrift in T3; why didn't I mention in advance that they might do well there as they're all members . . . . and Palmer's caddie is Club Champion? Sorry . . . . . . !

Colonial have a suspension of play - haven't we heard that somewhere before this year? Brian Davis safely in, inside the cut-line, Greg Owen started out well only to fritter strokes away on his second nine. He's on his way home.

Freddie Jac just two shots off DeLaet's lead and Karlsson nicely inside the cut-line with three holes to play.

Have enjoyed watching the old farts at Bellerive - PGA Championship returns here in 2018 and I'd say it should be a pretty good test. The European contingent are having an awful time, no-one sure to make the cut yet, but the "afternoon wave" still to play.

Another suspension of play in tornado alley, and Round 2 will conclude Saturday, weather permitting of course.

A terrific field has been published for next week's Memorial, with plenty of intestinally fortified golfers returning from Europe, jet-lag be damned.

Highlights include:
Woods
McIlroy
Rose
Scott
Snedeker
Donald
Westwood
Mickelson
KBradley
Kuchar
Mahan
Schwartzel
Simpson
Els
FDez
Fowler
Furyk
Grace
Dustin
Zach
Colsaerts
Van Pelt
Haas
Watney
Lowry

OK, No Europeans in the Top 30 of the Senior PGA, but a few made the cut:

T37: Oldcorn
T58: Lyle
Mouland
Smyth
Golding
T68: Langer
Woosnam
Chapman
Lane

At least they'll get paid, but further evidence that any Senior Ryder Cup idea is just ludicrous; too many of the better Europeans (and Internationals) don't bother with Senior golf.

Round 2 to resume in Fort Worth at 7.15 a.m., local time, 1.15 p.m. Wentworth time.
Some groups still have 8 holes to play so can't see Round 3 starting any time before 10.00 a.m. local, probably even later. Laird needs at least one bird in his final three holes to make the cut.

More storms possible later.

Job partly done for Martin Laird, birdied 17 and holed a 20-footer for par on 18 to make the cut on the number.
Potentially 7 out of 7 Swedes will make the cut, continuing their great effort at Sawgrass. About time they won something though.

Steve Flesch makes his first cut in nearly two years.


Edit: And John Daly with yet another WD.

Taking a look at the field next week at Memorial.

Rory, Luke, Westy, Rose, Ernie, Colsaerts, Lowry, Coetzee all are in he field after playing in England this week

No PMick, No Stricker.

Rory Sabbatini is only alternate at this point and he finished T2 last year!. That is kind of strange.

I am not sure how is excluded while players Justin Hicks, Erik Compton, Richard H. Lee, Peter Williamson, are in the tournament.

(Not that I will miss Rory Sabbatini)

Yeah, Don't know why I wrote Phil's name down, above.

It IS an Invitational, GPB, presumably Roary is on Nicklaus's sh1t list.
Followed him at Hartford last year and he couldn't have been more engaging with the gallery.

Yes, presumably the Europeans will be hampered by jet lag. Not! You'd think Europeans should fare well at Muirfield Village, but not really - except 1987 of course.

Well the invitationals are forced to invite the Top 70 of the PGAT money (FE?) list.

Rory S. was #90 in Money list #73 in FE List in 2012.

I would think a T2 in the prior year would but you near the top of Invites but I guess not. The other T2 is not even on the alternate list (Andres Romero).

Storms have halted the Senior PGA.

But: Here's an oddity, something I don't think I've heard of before, from Colonial:
"Jeff Overton was waiting to tee off on the 10th hole after making the turn during the third round. While he was waiting, Overton went over to the nearby practice green and used a putting aid while he practiced a few putts.
That violates Rule 14-3/10: use of practice or swing aid during a round."

He was notified of his disqualification after he had completed the 10th hole.

Never heard of such a disqualification before.

And: Since when have golfers been allowed to hit putts or shots as they make the turn?
That's a new one on me; is robo out there? What do you think??!!

from what I read he even asked if it was ok to usee the practice area due to backlog on the tee. so practiced then grassed up!

Something strange about that ben, stranger than fiction.

Jam-packed leaderboard - you'd think the top 30-odd have a shout tomorrow.

If GPB is around, there's a foot of snow in the High Peaks and up toward Jay . . . .

Yikes, Dad is about 20 miles from Jay Peak ski lodge.

He is probably wearing his 91 yr old body out getting wood from the shed to keep the cabin warm. He has caretaker that looks after his cabin in the winter, so hopefully he is helping him.

He should be marching in his hometown's Memorial Day parade on Monday.

BTW, he is probably eating trout caught 30 ft from his deck.

Boo!!!

Love to see this guy win.

I used to play with a fellow whose looked, acted and swung a lot like Boo Weekley. But he had a temper and absolutely no short game.

I swear that if I had his tee to green game I would be a +2 handicap, and I could not putt a lick.

IMO, Boo's move through the ball is one of the best on Tour.

Congratz to Boo. Another PGAT win for the outside the OWGR top 100 crowd.

I guess Boo will be riding his pony all night long.

. . . . . . All the way to Merion.

Am sure Boo could say some things which would make normal people's hair curl, but doesn't he just spank the golf ball?????

Top 30 beginning to turn over . . . . . . .

A delightful guy .... And he are had the flat stick going. Am sure he is very grateful for this "W".

kwinigolfer wrote: . . . . . . All the way to Merion.

Am sure Boo could say some things which would make normal people's hair curl, but doesn't he just spank the golf ball?????

Top 30 beginning to turn over . . . . . . .

Not much of turnover!

Boo never applied to the US Open (same situation as David Lynn). But he would probably "graciously" accept an exemption. (If Boo can be gracious!). Merion should be a perfect venue for him! I would like his chances there over a big golf course!

I think Matteo made the Top 30 though, and some old lags (Bo Van Pelt, Furyk etc) are starting to slide.

Boo Weekley played so well today . . . . .
Like him or loathe him, he's great for golf.

Shame Steve Stricker's not playing Memorial - he played so well there to win a couple of years ago, surprised Mickelson is also avoiding it.

I reckon there's no course on Tour that suits Rory McIlroy more than Muirfield Village - time to get on track Rors.

Kwini,

Since we saw some evidence of Lee "Slow as Molasses" Westwood at Wentworth today, I guess it is fair we can put the 606v2 label as a slow player on his head.

Its a label a player can never shake at the 606v2 board.

"...**** one goat and you are a goat ****er for life...."

GPB wrote: Boo never applied to the US Open (same situation as David Lynn). But he would probably "graciously" accept an exemption. (If Boo can be gracious!). Merion should be a perfect venue for him! I would like his chances there over a big golf course!

Not sure I understand what you are saying as Boo is in the U.S. Open because as it turns out he didn't need to file an entry because he became exempt after the application deadline... In such cases the USGA files a "blank entry" on his behalf of the player as per the following:

S-13. From the current World Rankings, the top 60 point leaders and ties as of May 27, 2013.
(NOTE: Blank entries will be filed by the USGA for players who become exempt after close of entries.)

So the same would apply for any other player not exempt before this week's who now qualifies via the OWGR top-60. (including David Lynn, Manassero (if he weren't entered)... etc.) Granted those players couldn't have played in a sectional qualifier if not entered...

Robo: Exactly what I TRIED to say.

Boo (and David Lynn) can now choose to play the US Open, if they want to.

However I am kind of on the fence about them being exempt through the back door.

Obviously they were ambivalent about playing, because they didn't have any desire to go through sectionals. (Of course there is an outside shot that they had a conflict on sectional day).

GPB wrote:Kwini,

Since we saw some evidence of Lee "Slow as Molasses" Westwood at Wentworth today, I guess it is fair we can put the 606v2 label as a slow player on his head.

Its a label a player can never shake at the 606v2 board.

"...**** one goat and you are a goat ****er for life...."

No chance, as has been evident of late Ryder cup participation for a European makes them beyond reproach in the eyes of most v2 golf posters.

Full details of exemptions for Majors and WGC's as at start of play this (Monday) morning, i.e. pre Monday qualies:

http://www.pgatour.com/news/2013/01/01/major-qualifiers.html

kwinigolfer wrote:
Shocked and appalled by Bernhard Langer's fiasco on Bellerive's green and pleasant fairways - +8, in 146th place.

Who's most likely to make the cut?
Luke Donald at Wentworth?
Or Langer at Bellerive?
Who'd be a favourite . . . . . .

Some comeback from Bernhard. Others might have thrown in their cards. Not Bernhard, goes bogey free for the next 54 holes, three consecutive 67's and a respectable top20 finish.

Legend.