Category: Tournament Reports

Another first-time winner in the JDC? Smalley could be the man

Alex Smalley had his game in top form in the third round of the John Deere Classic. Can he do it again and become the 24th first-time winner at Illinois’ only annual PGA Tour stop?  (Joy Sarver Photos)

SILVIS, IL. – Every year a prominent story line at the John Deere Classic is who will be the next first-time winner on the PGA Tour and this year is no exception.

The JDC has had 23 champions who won for the first time in its 51-year history. That’s an extraordinarily high number, and they range from big names like Deane Beman, D.A. Weibring, Payne Stewart, Jordan Spieth and Bryson DeChambeau to the not-so-famous like Mike Morley, Blaine McCallister, J.L. Lewis, Michael Clark II, David Gossett and Michael Kim.

The stage was set to add another first-timer to the list Saturday when Alex Smalley charged into contention with the best score of the week – a 9-under-par 62 —  in the third round at TPC Deere Run.

Smalley will start Sunday’s final round one shot behind leader Brendon Todd, who shot 66 on Saturday. He stands at 16-under-par 197 after 54 holes and won’t be in the “first win’’ battle because he already has three titles on the PGA Tour. That doesn’t lessen the intensity ahead in the final 18 holes.

“You always want to be the guy being chased,’’ said Todd. “It’s just head down and made birdies.  It’s going to be hard to run away and hide here.’’

Especially considering his closest pursuers. Smalley’s colleagues at one back include Denny McCarthy and Adam Schenk. They’re also hungry for that first win, but Smalley fits into the list of new champions perfectly if he can get the job done. He has special ties to the JDC.

The JDC has always been receptive to giving promising young players a chance through its issuing of sponsor’s exemptions each year.  Smalley wasn’t one of those lucky ones, but he has his own story to tell.

Smalley Monday qualified for the JDC in 2021 with his mother Maria  working as his caddie.

His agent landed Smalley a veteran caddie, Don Donatello, in time for the tournament that year and he tied for 47th. That meant a $17,339 payday for a young player just out of Duke University who hadn’t earned his PGA Tour card yet.

Donatello became his regular caddie and last year they came back and did even better. Smalley tied for 16th and earned $115,141.

Now TPC Deere Run seems the perfect place for Smalley’s first PGA Tour win after his hot round Saturday. He started birdie-eagle, shot 30 on the front nine and added four birdies on the back side.

“It was a dream start,’’ admitted Smalley. “I feel comfortable here.  After my first experience here in 2021 I liked the course. I like the atmosphere, the vibes, at the tournament. I don’t know why the next first-time winner here couldn’t be me.’’

The only trouble with that is that a few other players know the JDC’s reputation for first-time winners. They feel the same way and have come tantalizingly close already this year.

McCarthy lost to Norway’s Viktor Hovland in a playoff at the Memorial. Schenk, who also used Donatello as his caddie in the past, has two runner-up finishes.

When the last putt drops the champion will get $1,258,000 from a $7.4 million purse.  A spot in the British Open, coming up in two weeks at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, England, is also on the line.

That’s particularly enticing for Smalley, who will play in next week’s Scottish Open no matter how the JDC turns out but still hopes to play in the British, the year’s last major championship.

Last year he missed a spot in the British when he made bogey on the last hole of the Scottish Open. He has a history at Hoylake, though. The 2019 Walker Cup amateur team matches were played there, and Smalley was a star for the U.S. team.

“I was 3-1 in the matches, and that was the first Walker Cup we won on foreign soil since 2007, so I certainly have good memories there,’’ said Smalley. “It was also the first time I played links golf.  It would be great to go back and draw on those memories.’’

Brendon Todd took the lead in the JDC but there’s still one round to go.

 

 

Streelman posts his best round ever in the John Deere Classic

Kevin Streelman celebrates his best round ever in Illinois’ only annual PGA stop.

 

SILVIS, IL. – Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman has been Chicago’s best PGA Tour player for years, but this season hasn’t been one of his best. Qualifying for the FedEx Cup Playoffs was even in serious doubt when the John Deere Classic teed off this week.

Only players ranked in the top 70 in the FedEx point standings qualify for the first  event of the lucrative three-tournament series that starts on Aug. 10. Streelman is No. 116 now, but still hopeful.

He should be, especially after shooting Friday’s low round – an 8-under-par 63 – in the second round of the JDC.

“My goal was always to get to 45 (years of age), then be home with my family for a few years before Champions,’’ said Streelman, who is 44 and can’t play on PGA Tour Champions until he’s 50. “But now that I feel I can shoot scores like this I’m not ready to give it up yet.’’

Streelman went from being in danger of missing the 36-hole cut to getting into a tie for 10th place. He’s within five shots of leader Cameron Young, last year’s PGA Tour rookie-of-the-year who had a 65-64 start.

A strong weekend showing at TPC Deere Run would help Streelman’s playoff hopes significantly and – if he does crack the top 70 – there’s the fact that one of the $20 million playoff events is like a home game.  The BMW Championship is back in the Chicago area, at Olympia Fields’ North Course. It tees off on Aug.17

Streelman played that course when it was used in the 2020 playoffs. The BMW hasn’t been back in the Chicago area since then.

“I love that golf course and I love the renovation it had,’’ said Streelman, “but the course was really rough in that playoff year.’’

Streelman will play in next week’s Barbasol tourney in Kentucky, then take a week off before the last two regular season tournaments – the 3M Open in Minnesota and the Wyndham Championship in South Carolina. Then, even if he cracks the top 70 to get into postseason play, he needs to be in the top 50 after the first playoff event to qualify for Olympia Fields.

“I’ve had my PGA Tour card for 16 years, and I’m proud of that,’’ said Streelman, “but what you really remember are the chances that you’ve had. If I have two more rounds like this one (the 63) I should be fine.’’

Making it to this year’s playoffs is a big challenge now, but there have been other distractions this year in addition to his results in tournament play.  First came the retirement of Tim Clarke, the long-time president of Wilson’s Golf Division. He is Streelman’s “dear friend, like a big brother,’’ and Streelman’s contract with the Chicago equipment manufacturer ends after this year. He’d like an extension.

Then there has been the ongoing battle between the PGA and LIV Tour.  Streelman, a member of several PGA committees, has been an outspoken critic of LIV. The announcement of a “merger’’ of the two tours has left the players in the dark and the month-long leave of absence of PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan is puzzling, even though the PGA Tour announced Friday that Monahan would resume his duties on July 17.

“Honestly we don’t know much more than anybody else,’’ said Streelman.  “The media articles seem accurate, but we haven’t heard from Jay, and that’s strange.  I hope he’s OK, but you’d think we would have heard something by now.’’

Streelman heard something from his caddie, Mike Bestor, that triggered his great round on Friday. His par 71 in the first round was not encouraging.

“I actually hit the ball fine, but Mikey helped me with my putting last night,’’ said Streelman.  “It was one of those 7 p.m. emergency sessions.  He had me adjust my eye line to the left a touch, and I could see the putt line a little cleaner.  I had been tilting.’’

There’s  no time for “tilting’’ now. Low scores are usually commonplace at the JDC, and that’s more so the case this year.  Streelman posted one of five 63s on Friday.  One of the others was by Michael Thorbjornsen, and his was the lowest round ever by an amateur at the JDC.

Still, Streelman climbed 72 places on the leaderboard with his big round.

 

 

 

How `Swede’ it is at the John Deere Classic

A golfer from Sweden was expected to contend in the John Deere Classic this week, but it wasn’t Jonas Blixt in Thursday’s opening round.

Blixt, a 39-year old journeyman, has won three times on the PGA Tour, the last time in the 2016-17 season. He hadn’t even played in a PGA Tour since the Byron Nelson tournament in May, and hadn’t survived a 36-hole in five of his eight tournaments this season.

All that changed once he got to TPC Deere Run in downstate Silvis, IL. Blixt, an early starter playing in ideal weather conditions, made four birdies and a 43-foot eagle putt in his final eight holes to post a 9-under-par 62.

Blixt also made an eagle on the par-5 second hole.  He shot 29 on TPC Deere Run’s back side and ended the day with a two-stroke lead on Grayson Murray, a player who has been similarly unspectacular the last few years.  His 64 was his best round in three years.

Though their scores were great on Thursday, their games have been in decline.  Blixt arrived in the Quad Cities with a No. 210 ranking in the FedEx Cup standings, with only the top 70 advancing to postseaon play, and he is No. 842 in the Official World Golf Rankings.

Murray, 29, is No. 221 in the FedEx and 225 in the OWGR. He got a big boost by winning an event on the Korn Ferry Tour a month ago.

So, what happened to turn their games around?

“I saw my swing coach back home (he lives in Jacksonville, FL., now) and, after six weeks off I just tried to put some swings on it,’’ said Blixt, who played collegiately at Florida State.  “It worked out.’’

The two eagles were obviously the key.

“Those holes, if you take advantage of them, you’re really happy,’’ said Blixt.  “I was happy to make those (eagles) and get going.’’

Murray was bogey-free in the afternoon until his approach to No. 18 landed in a green-side bunker.  He couldn’t get up-and-down to save par but had no complaints.

“I missed a couple of birdie chances early, but stayed patient and it worked out,’’ he said.  “I had such a solid back nine. I’ll take it, even with the bogey to finish.  I’m in a good position going forward.’’

The question is can Blixt and Murray stay there?  Time will tell.

Pre-tournament talk centered on another Swede, 23-year old Ludvig Aberg. He’s shown great promise since sweeping all three collegiate player-of-the-year awards in his final season at Texas Tech. He’s in his fourth PGA Tour event since turning pro and finished in the top 25 twice.

Counting his amateur days Aberg appeared in five PGA Tour events and made the cut in every one. He has been getting noticed, and the JDC gave him a special pairing in Wednesday’s pro-am.  He played the front nine with the event’s celebrity, Iowa basketball star Caitlin Clark. The popular Clark swelled the galleries and impressed Aberg.

“She’s a rock star.  I was just a passenger,’’ said Aberg.  “It was cool.’’

Last week in Detroit he was paired for two rounds with Luke Donald, the European Ryder Cup champion. That spiked talk of Aberg possibly being a Ryder Cup selection for Europe. He called Donald “a great guy’’ but was guarded about the Ryder Cup.

“If I was asked about the Ryder Cup a few weeks ago I’d have said `no way’ because I was still in college,’’ said Aberg.  “All I can do is prepare for every tournament and see where that takes me.’’

Next week it’ll take him to the Scottish Open, the last stop before the year’s final major – the British Open.

Aberg’s 68 on Thursday matched the score of defending champion J.T. Poston, who – like Blixt – started with a 62 en route to leading wire to wire last year.

Best of the Illinois contingent was Northbrook’s Nick Hardy, who is tied for 13th after posting a 67. Doug Ghim, D.A. Points and Dylan Wu all carded 70s and Kevin Streelman is at 71.

 

 

Stanford beats Johnson — and weather — to win Senior LPGA

 

England’s Trish Johnson was the focal point of the Senior LPGA Championship, as she chased her third title in six years at Sultan’s Run. She didn’t win, however. (Joy Sarver Photos)

 

JASPER, Indiana – The Senior LPGA Championship, only six years old, is the youngest of golf’s designated major tournaments. It was first played at French Lick’s Pete Dye Course in 2017 and England’s Trish Johnson was the winner.

This year’s tourney was played only 20 miles away, at Sultan’s Run Golf Club, and Johnson was in position to win for the third time — but she didn’t.  A triple bogey-bogey finish by Johnson handed the title to Texan Angela Stanford, who reached the tourney’s 45-year old age requirement only seven months ago.

That wasn’t the only strange happening at the event, either.  The weather almost trumped the competition, and it was touch-and-go whether the event would finish on time.

Not only could no one in the 72-player field finish the first 18 holes on Thursday’s opening day, but two threesomes couldn’t even tee off.  The day-long rains were that bad, making a marathon second day inevitable.

Angela Stanford celebrates her firs title in the Senior LPGA Championship. (Mike May Photo)

Rain couldn’t dampen Round 2, but some players had to play 36 holes.  That long day ended with Johnson, shooting the day’s low round of 66, opening a three-stroke lead over defending champion Karrie Webb and Becky Morgan with Stanford five strokes back in her first Senior LPGA appearance.

Bad weather was in the forecast for Saturday’s final round, and players were to begin play at 7:30 a.m. with threesomes starting off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees to get the round in as quickly as possible.

Even that strategy didn’t work, and it wasn’t even close.  The first tee shots weren’t hit until 1 p.m. Though the Sultan’s Run course held up well despite the heavy deluge of rain the cart path only rule was put into effect. That slowed up play, and late in the afternoon tournament officials were warned that more bad weather – including tornado threats – was on the way.

Australian Karrie Webb finished third in her Senior LPGA title defense.

Johnson had a four-stroke lead, though, so hopes of a finish before darkness or more storms set in were high.

And then Johnson hit a bad tee shot off at No. 17. That led to a triple bogey.  Stanford, playing a group in front, made birdie at 18 and the four-shot swing left them both at 10-under-par. A Johnson birdie on the finishing hole would still give her the win but a par would force a playoff and more golf in – to put it mildly – questionable weather.

Johnson couldn’t shake off the nightmare at the 17th.  She hit another bad tee shot on the 18th and had a 12-foot putt for birdie that would have led to extra holes.  For better or worse, the putt missed.  Stanford was the champion and the weather issues were then of minimal importance. (They would have been a factor, as storms and strong winds emerged as darkness was setting in).

The end result was that Stanford was $60,000 richer after claiming the biggest prize from a $400,000 purse.  The low round of the tournament – a 65 – got her the win, which will go together with the seven she captured on the LPGA Tour.  Stanford then hurried off to California for this week’s U.S. Women’s Open at Pebble Beach.

“I’m leaving with more confidence than when I came here, that’s for sure,’’ she said. “I just figured some things out and got my mind right this week. I’ve had some confidence issues lately.’’

Now confidence issues might be Johnson’s problem.

“My game was great for about 16 holes, then I ended triple bogey-bogey to finish,’’ she said. “There’s not much more you can say, really. It was just a horrible finish. It was very disappointing, literally throwing the tournament away, but life goes on. There are worse things.’’

No. 18, the classic finishing hole at Sultan’s Run, was the scene of great drama in the 2023 Senior LPGA Championship. It’s a great hole for viewing from the clubhouse, too.

 

Koepka brothers are flying high in LIV tourney

 

Brooks Koepka (top photos) is leading the LIV Tour Orlando event and is also captain of the team leader, Smash. His younger brother Chase is also on the Smash team.

ORLANDO, FL. — The Koepka brothers could be in for a big payday on Sunday. Brook owns a three-stroke lead entering the final round of LIV Golf Orlando and their team, Smash, is two ahead in the team competition.

The individual champion gets $20 million and the winning team splits $5 million.

And that’s not all.

Brooks is one of 18 members of the Saudi-backed LIV circuit that will play in nex`t week’s Masters.  He’s won four major tournaments, but not that one, and his game seems more than ready based on the first two rounds at Orange County National’s Crooked Cat Course.

“Getting a `W’ is on my mind,’’ said Koepka.  “If I play well that’s possible, and I like the way I’m playing looking ahead to next week.’’

The Masters is vitally important to the LIV players, who are playing only their third tournament of their first official season. In the circuit’s debut season there were only eight tournaments.  This year there are 14.

LIV players haven’t been allowed to play in PGA Tour events since bolting that circuit, but the Masters is allowing LIV members who met its qualifying standards to tee it up at Augusta National.  It’ll be the first time players from the rival tours are in the same tournament.

Koepka went 65-65 in the first two rounds here.  He trailed first-round leader Sebastian Munoz by two shots after the first 18.  Munoz, who shot a LIV record-tying 62 in Round 1, slipped to a 71 on Saturday but is still Koepka’s closest challenger entering the final round.

Koepka is 12-under-par 130 for the first 36 holes.

Smash used Brooks Koepka, Matt Wolff and Jason Kokrak as its scoring unit on Saturday.  Only three scores on the four-man teams count each round in team scoring.  Chase Koepka, Brooks’ younger brother, didn’t count in the team scoring on Saturday but his 65 was key to Smash getting a fast start in the opening round.

 

Sultan’s Run brings Senior LPGA tourney back to Indiana

Sultan’s Run boasts that its 18th hole is the most dramatic in Indiana.

 

JASPER, Indiana – Golf’s top senior women players found a home at French Lick Resort, which hosted big tournaments for nine straight years. The senior run ended in 2021 when the last of three Senior LPGA Championships was played on the Pete Dye Course there.

“A great run for them, and a great run for us,’’ said Dave Harner, long-time director of golf at French Lick Resort. He triggered the arrival of the Legends Tour, a circuit for players who had starred on the Ladies PGA Tour and wanted to continue to compete after reaching their 45th birthday. And now, 10 years later,  his team at French Lick played a major role in bringing the Senior LPGA Championship back to Southern Indiana.

The Legends Championship was a French Lick fixture from 2013 to 2016.  Then the event was upgraded, to the Senior LPGA Championship – the first major tournament for women in that age group.

French Lick opted to focus on the LPGA’s up-and-coming stars after that, and hosted a Symetra Tour event on its Donald Ross Course. That evolved into the biggest-paying event on what is now the Epson Tour when it makes its final appearance in the small southern Indiana town from Aug. 3-6 with a $335,000 purse on the line.

Women’s championship golf isn’t leaving the area, though, and Harner remains very much a part of it.  He helped steer the Senior LPGA back to Southern Indiana for this year ‘s Senior LPGA.  It’ll be played at Sultan’s Run, a public course located about 20 miles from the resort.

Sultan’s Run, which opened in 1992 and was remodeled by Pete Dye protégé Tim Liddy four years later, has been named the site for this year’s Senior LPGA.  It’ll run from June 26 to July 2.

“Salina Country Club (in Kansas) was the site last year, but there’s a renovation going on out there, so they had no site for 2023,’’ said Chris Tretter, co-owner and general manager of Sultan’s Run. “They reached out to Dave.’’

“Salina had really done a good job and wanted to come back,’’ said Harner. “They wanted to make sure the tournament had an appropriate venue for this year, and Sultan’s Run in a quality venue.’’

The relationship between the French Lick Resort and Sultan’s Run has always been a warm one. There were even talks about the resort buying Sultan’s at one point.  The resort staff managed Sultan’s for two years and Harner considers it “a sister course.’’  When there’s an overflow of play at French Lick or some guests want an extra course to play he sends them to Sultan’s Run.

“It adds another dimension to our golf experience,’’ he said.  “Having the Epson Tour has been super, and I wouldn’t be surprised – based on how the Senior LPGA goes – if the Epson came back here to play at Sultan’s Run.’’

That’s a topic for another day, but Tretter is excited about Sultan’s Run getting its biggest tournament  yet.  The course has received numerous state awards and been well received as the site for many Indiana amateur and professional events.

The course got its name from a legendary race horse, Supreme Sultan, who trained on the grounds before the course was built. The course has what’s been billed as “the most dramatic finishing hole in Indiana.’’

Tretter and Harner invited Tim Kramer of the PGA out for a visit in October.  They toured the course and Kramer immediately said “We’re coming.’’  More details, however, had to be worked out before the announcement could become official.

“This will be our first big women’s event, and we’re thrilled,’’ said Tretter.  “The history of the women’s tour is really robust, and very interesting.’’

The last Legends event at French Lick was won by England’s Trish Johnson in 2016.  Johnson also won the first Senior LPGA the following year. Laura Davies was the Senior LPGA champion in 2018 and Helen Alrfredsson in 2019.  The tourney was cancelled in 2020 due to pandemic issues, then Johnson won again in 2021.

Australian Karrie Webb was the winner last year in Kansas, and now Sultan’s Run is looking to add similarly great  champions to its resume like the ones who won at French Lick.  In addition to the Senior LPGAs played there the Legends winners included Lori Kane, Laurie Rinker and Juli Inkster, and Jan Stephenson won the Super Senior Division when it was part of the Legends format.

The winner at Sultan’s will receive the Steve Ferguson Trophy, honoring the chairman of the board of Cook Group, just like the previous champions did.

French Lick won’t be out of the tournament spotlight either.  The Pete Dye Course will become the site of the men’s Korn Ferry Tour Championship beginning in 2024.  That event will end its run at another Indiana course, Victoria National, this fall.  French Lick has a five-year agreement to take over that big event.

 

 

 

 

 

Langer finally catches Irwin as winningest player on Champions tour

The Chubbs Classic fans were allowed to spill into the 18th fairway of the Black Course at Tiburon Golf Course  as Bernhard Langer closed in on his historic 45th victory on PGA Tour Champions.

 

NAPLES, FL. – Bernhard Langer now shares the honor of being the winningest golfer in the 43-year history of PGA Tour Champions. This great accomplishment was a long time coming.

In winning the Chubbs Classic on Sunday Langer notched his 45th win on the 50-and-over circuit to pull even with Hale Irwin. Irwin, who very rarely plays any more, won for the last time in 2007.  That was the same year that Langer earned his first Champions win.

And more will be coming.  The Chubbs was only the third of 28 events on the  50-and-over circuit this season so it figures Langer will have the cherished record all to himself in the very near future – maybe as soon as the next tournament.  The Cologuard Classic is just two weeks after the Chubbs, and Langer has won that Arizona event previously.

“He continues to amaze us all,’’ said Steve Stricker, one of Langer’s top rivals in every tournament.  “He just keeps going.  He stays in shape, and he’s a nice person, too.  That’s the coolest part; he’s a good guy.’’

That showed immediately after Langer’s final putt dropped at the Chubbs.  It wasn’t just his playing partners, Steven Alker and Jerry Kelly, who were quick to give Langer their best wishes. Scott McCarron, one of Langer’s fellow ambassadors for Illinois-based club manufacturer Tour Edge, waited long after he had finished his round to congratulate Langer.

Also on hand was Langer’s wife, daughter and grandson and Bobby Clampett, the long-time tour player who introduced Langer to a Bible study group.  The has had far-reaching positive effects for Langer.

Langer turned to Tour Edge clubs in recent years, and that contributed to his success.

The 36th playing of the Chubbs, again at the Greg Norman-designed Black Course at Tiburon Golf Club,  was like a home game for Langer.  He has been a south Florida resident for over 30 years and he has won the Chubbs five times.  He came into his record-tying victory as the event’s defending champion.

Moving ahead of Irwin is, of course, his next challenge but Langer wanted to savor win No. 45 first.

“It was extremely special because I never thought it would happen,’’ said Langer, who extended his record of being the oldest Champions Tour winner to four events. He was 65 years, five months 23 days old for his latest win.

Irwin got his 45 victories in 217 starts and Langer did it in his 319th.  Though the latest was officially a wire-to-wire win, it didn’t seem that way.  Fred Couples, Padraig Harrington, Alker and Dicky Pride all at least shared the lead before Langer wrapped it up with four birdies on the last five holes.

It helped that Harrington, Alker and Pride all made major mistakes down the stretch,  though Langer wasn’t really aware of their problems.

Bernhard Langer’s latest win led to a family celebration for the golfer’s mother, daughter and grandson.

“We didn’t have any problems. We were just trying to make birdies, and we did,’’ he said. “I played solid, but didn’t set it on fire.  All of a sudden I made those birdies coming in.  That’s when you have to do it, when everything is on the line.’’

Langer was tied for the lead after the first round and led by one after the second.  He bettered his age in posting a 64 on Friday and matched his age with a 65 on Sunday.  His 17-under-par 199 score for the 54 holes resulted in a three-stroke victory margin but the historic win wasn’t that easy.

Couples knocked Langer out of the lead by making four birdies in the first six holes.  When he cooled off Harrington shot 29 on the front nine to take the lead and Pride, in the field as a sponsor’s exemption, used a hole-in-one at No. 10 to also move into the top spot.

Langer wasn’t aware what was happening to them as the back nine unfolded, but it was to his benefit.

Harrington put his tee shot near a pond at No. 14 and needed three more shots to just get out of the hazard.  That led to a double bogey that doomed Harrington’s chances.   Alker threatened until putting a fairway bunker shot into the water at No. 13. That also meant a double bogey that stymied Alker’s hopes.

Pride hit his tee shot tee shot deep into the woods on No. 17 and finished bogey-bogey. That left Langer a stroll to the finish, where the gallery piled in behind him in appreciation of his accomplishment.

“My whole life has been an improbable story,’’ said Langer after the celebrating had died down.  “I should have died as a kid when I had an extremely high fever.  Doctors told my mother not to have a child, but she got pregnant anyway.  They told her to abort me, but she decided not to take a chance of killing herself and me.  We both survived.’’

Then came his start in golf.

“I was just a German kid from a village of 800 who started as a caddie,’’ he said.  “Nobody started a career in golf in Germany.  They thought I was crazy.  Just to earn a living at it was incredible.  Maybe some day we can make a movie about my life. That would be cool.’’

The  movie may take a while, as Langer has no intention of cutting back on his tournament schedule any time soon. And, in the end, those who might watch that movie could well find it hard to believe.  The Langer story might well seem too good to be true.

The thrill of victory was obvious when Langer’s last putt dropped.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Henderson gets the LPGA season off to a good start

Oh, Canada! Brooke Henderson dominated the LPGA’s Tournament of Champions.

ORLANDO, FL. — Funny thing about the LPGA.  The premier women’s tour in golf ended its 2022 season and started its 2023 campaign with Florida tournaments that were marred by some discontent.

The sponsor of last November’s CME Championship wasn’t happy that all the players competing for the biggest first-prize in women’s golf didn’t show up for the tournament’s gala banquet.  The players weren’t happy when they arrived at Lake Nona Country Club last week for the season-opening Tournament of Champions and found out that they weren’t provided with lockers in the clubhouse and that their time on the practice range would be limited.

Still, the show — featuring 29 LPGA players who had won tournaments in the last two years and a concurrent co-ed celebrity event, conducted with a Stableford point format for 56 players from the sports and entertainment world — had to go on, and it turned out a good one.

Especially for Canadian Brooke Henderson, who led wire to wire in winning the LPGA event with a 16-under par score of 272 for the 72 holes and earned $225,000. She had a four-stroke advantage on England’s Charley Hull and Sweden’s Maja Stark, neither of whom were disappointed.

“It was a great way to start the season,’’ said Hull.  “When I got here I didn’t know where my swing was at. Now I’ve got three weeks off (the next tournament is in Thailand next month).’’

“This wasn’t a normal competition, but if I keep going like this it could be my best year yet,’’ said Stark.

Henderson was the runner-up to Danielle Kang in last year’s Tournament of Champions. On Sunday she claimed her 13th LPGA title in her first tournament after switching to TaylorMade clubs.

“I’m really happy I made the switch,’’ said Henderson.  “I’m super-excited.  This was a dream start, and I love this championship because it’s so unique.’’

The celebrity event was won by Mardy Fish, a former tennis star who had captained the U.S. Davis Cup team. Fish was also the celebrity champion in 2021.

This time that division turned into a unique sideshow because it featured a load of Chicago athletic stars, past and present. Jeremy Roenick, the former Blackhawks’ great, did the best of that lot.  Paired with legendary golfer and Lake Nona member Annika Sorenstam, Roenick finished fifth – one point behind Sorenstam.  Brian Urlacher, the ex-Bears’ star, tied for ninth. Baseballers Ian Happ, Jon Lester, Greg Maddux and A.J. Pierzynski were also in the celebrity field.

 

 

 

ING’s Fall Forum provides a sneak preview of the PGA Show

Rick Versace’s Proud 90 is now the official apparel of the International Network of Golf.

SEBRING, FL. -The International Network of Golf is a fixture at the PGA Merchandise Show and the Myrtle Beach World Amateur Handicap Championship.  ING also hosted an annual Spring Conference around the country prior to pandemic concerns.

Still on the brink of celebrating his group’s 30th anniversary, ING executive director Mike Jamison moved in another direction. He organized his first Fall Forum, an event that was smaller in number of attendees than other events when ING members got together but its format may well be the wave of the future.

Attendees got a more close-up look at new golf gear in advance of January’s PGA Show as well as an informative social marketing seminar led by Sabrina Andolpho, a former college golfer turned social media whiz.

And all that was in addition to two golf outings – the first at the Citrus Golf Tour Open’s pro-am and the second at the return of the Durland Cup scramble. The Citrus Tour is a minor league circuit that offered a $20,000 first prize at its tournament immediately after the pro-am at Sun ‘N Lakes Country Club.  The Durland Cup has been a fixture at ING events over the years.

This time, though, the four — more personalized — new gear presentations may have been the event’s biggest hit.  Here’s what they revealed:

Zero Friction’s John Iacono gives a video preview of the trolley he’ll introduce at the 2023 PGA Show.

ZERO FRICTION’S WHEEL PRO – Illinois-based Zero Friction has come on like gangbusters, with president  John Iacono coming out previously with new tees, gloves, rangefinders  and balls. Now comes the much more cutting edge bags and trolleys.

Iacono introduced his first version at last January’s PGA Show but the launch of the Wheel Pro, a pushcart bag, didn’t go smoothly.  It has removable wheels, weighs only 10 pounds and is great for traveling.

“We had a delay in getting them out,’’ Iacono said.  “They were supposed to arrive in April but didn’t until late August.  Supply issues.’’

That’s been an all too frequent problem in many industries in the aftermath of the pandemic, but Iacono is more optimistic about his newest products – The Hybrid and The Fairway.  He expects the Hybrid – a power version of the Wheel Pro — to hit the marketplace in mid- to late-2023 and he’ll provide a sneak preview of The Fairway on the Thursday of the 2023  PGA Show in Orlando, FL.

The Fairway is an electric, follow me remote control golf bag that is being developed in England.  Golfers can set the speed, and it’ll include a 36-hole rechargeable battery. A ramp is under construction that will be used during the PGA Show introduction.

Weighing 32 pounds, The Fairway is not designed for carrying and Iacono anticipates a market price of $1,899.

Proud 90 has created the official ING apparel for men and women.

PROUD 90 – Want something different in golf apparel? Rick Versace has it, though he isn’t sure his famous clothing designer last name is part of the equation.  Versace founded Proud 90 three years ago and is now its chief executive officer.

“Our mission is to make golf as much fun as possible for all skill levels,’’ said Versace, who said the company name comes from that fact that “most golfers don’t break 90.’’

He got the idea after watching PGA star Rickie Fowler (on television) playing with no shoes on one of the nicest courses in the country.

“We wanted to create a vacation vibe, no matter where you’re at,’’ said Versace. His polos started with Hawaiian prints and progressed from there to include a variety of eye-catching designs.  They’re also known for being especially comfortable. The company’s logo – a dog standing on a green gazing up at a flagstick – underscores that. That dog is Versace’s Great Dane, named Tank.

Versace now has 12 sales reps and his polos are in 250 clubs around the country.  They’re priced at $79 retail and $39 wholesale. They have ING’s support. Jamison declared the Proud 90 “the official ING apparel company for at least six months….We’ll see how that goes, but we love it so far.’’

The adjustable weighting system makes Mayfield Putters something special.

MAKEFIELD PUTTERS – Pennsylvania-based Everett Farr was browsing through a lot of golf ads during pandemic days, and that encouraged him to take his engineering talents into the creation of a state-of-the-art putter. Its adjustable weighting system makes it stand out and provides its users with a wide variety of customization options.

The Makefield putters are designed with Path of Inertia, which guides your stroke, balances the clubface to the path to the hole and provides centeredness of impact.  That encourages an immediate, consistent roll that should lead to lower scores. Five tour players and some Walker Cup players are testing it.

“One of my companies made a prototype,’’ said Farr, who got immediate positive feedback.  Three months later the putter was in construction.

Michael Little, a two-time Philadelphia PGA Player of the Year, is a co-founder of Makefield and Michael Brown, who held the amateur titles of New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware at the same time, is part of the Makefield team.

Farr came up with the Makefield name on a drive through Lower Makefield, a Pennsylvania town on the Delaware River.

“Make’’ is what a putter is designed to do, and `field’ is who you play against in a tournament,’’ said Farr, who still occasionally plays with a Ping putter that his father – a PGA Tour official – gave him in 1968.  The Makefield version has captured his heart, however.

“This is all new to me, but it’s an absolutely amazing putter,’’ said Farr.

Buckets Golf went heavy with Buckey the raccoon as its marketing focal point.

BUCKET GOLF – You’ve got to have fun with this company’s golf balls.  Mac Ross  certainly has.

“We sell golf balls,’’ said Mac Ross, who launched his company last May.   “Buckets is associated with basketball, but it works with golf, too.’’

Mac’s wife is a teaching pro who grew up on a golf course, and he recalls selling balls gathered off a course near his home when he was 10 years old. Both have full-time jobs now but are having fun with their new business venture.

They’ve named the apparel company logo “Buckey’’ and are looking to give their raccoon mascot a marketing personality.  The ball packaging is the best part, though.  Its round shape —like a coffee can — makes it multi-purpose.  It could be converted into putting cup, along with a variety of storage uses.  No other golf ball manufacturer showcases its product the way Bucky does.

Apparel and golf accessories will come later, but for now Bucket balls are working out just fine.  Ross got off to a promising start at the ING Fall Forum. Though not professing to be a great golfer, he won the long drive contest at one of the Fall Forum outings.

“He hit it at least 350,’’ marveled Jamison. Ross, of course, hit a Bucket ball on his long blast and another player made a hole-in-one with the ball at another of the outings.

Bucket balls so far have been made in China, and Ross is looking for manufacturers in South America and Taiwan. Ross has applied for USGA ball approval and expects no problem getting it.  The balls are being sold off the company’s website  (BucketsGolfBalls.com) for $28.99, not including shipping.

Sabrina Andolpho, who played collegiately at Barry in Florida, has become one of golf’s best social media influencers. Her presentation was a highlight of ING’s first Fall Forum at Inn on the Lakes in Sebring, FL.

 

 

 

A special day for Joy

Citrus Tour pro Chris Wiatr (left) showed Joe Sarver how to make a hole-in-one.

SEBRING, FL. — The International Network of Golf’s first Fall Forum in 2022 couldn’t have been scripted better for Joy and me.

In Tuesday’s pro-am for the Citrus Golf Tour Open we played on different teams.  Joy witnessed a hole in one by her professional partner, Chris Wiatr, and my team’s pro, Donnie Trosper, tied Chris for low pro honors by holing out his last shot from the rough.  Donnie, good friend Tony Leodora and I won the team title.

That produced some understandable excitement but nothing like Joy created on Wednesday in the Durland Cup Scramble at Sebring Golf Club. Joy wasn’t happy with her play on Tuesday but that was quickly forgotten in the Durland Cup, an annual feature at ING events.  Joy started her round playing well and made her first-ever hole-in one on the fifth hole, sinking a 7-wood shot from 101 yards.

Joy and I were in the same group this time, with noted golf architect Ron Garl, eSouthernGolf editor Dave Daubert and Joey Johnson of Alabama’s Southern Fairways as our partners.  Joy used the new Buckets golf ball, which was introduced at the Fall Forum by Mac Ross of Palm City, FL.