The U.S. Open is over, and Lucas Glover is the new national champion. Congratulations to Lucas.
To me, The Open ended with not much drama. The only drama was if Lucas was going to hit a 5-iron or 6-iron off the tee? I can’t imagine that on the 72nd hole of a major that you could hit a 6-iron, which is what Glover decided on, and then hit a 9-iron on the green and win the U.S. Open.
Other good stories emerged from the Open such as David Duval’s return to form and his bid to win the Open. Then you have the go-for-broke play of Ricky Barnes.
But without a doubt, the play of Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods down the stretch will be talked about. In Tiger’s case, I think it was the putter. He made no putts and missed more putts inside 10 feet than he has in his whole career. Phil was definitely charged by the New York fans, and he obviously feeds off that. His preparation for this event was more casual than usual. His wife’s health is his main concern and the golf has become secondary, so the theory of trying to hard sometimes is definitely in play. We wish the best to Amy and Phil.
Tragedy also has struck here on the Indiana golf scene as Beth Smith, wife of PGA Tour player Chris Smith, was killed last Sunday in a car accident. Their two children also were in the car and are hospitalized. The Smith’s are one of Indiana’s best-known golfing families, residing up in Peru. They own Rock Hollow Golf Club. Our thoughts and prayers are with Chris and the entire Smith family.
This Tuesday, June 30, is a big day for me as I attempt to qualify for the U.S. Senior Open. The good news is the qualifier is here at the Brickyard. The bad news there are 101 players attempting to qualify for three spots.
The U.S. Senior Open is being played at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind. It would be special for me to qualify as I was an assistant at Crooked Stick under Jim Ferriell back in 1985. I think a 4-under 68 will get the job done.
After the qualifier, the Indiana State Open begins July 6 with a Pro-Am and then the actual tournament will be July 7-10, all at Brickyard Crossing.
Remember the Brickyard is one of America’s best public courses you can play, so book your tee time and come out and play the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The U.S. Open has started and now has stopped. Play has been suspended for the day, and it will resume at 7:30 Friday morning. So it is going to be boring day here, with no golf to watch.
I watched a few holes Thursday morning, which was Tiger’s group as it teed off at 8:06 a.m. In his group were Angel Cabrera and Padraig Harrington. They completed six holes and will start on #7 Friday morning. The conditions were really rough, with gusty winds and a constant rain that eventually turned Bethpage Black’s fairways and greens into streams.
The scores were about what everyone thought they would be – somewhere around 1-under or even par. Scores probably will not go low due to the conditions and the length of the course. Throw the rain and the wet rough in the mix, and the course is probably playing two to three shots harder.
I would like to welcome fellow professional and Hoosier Craig Bowden to our blogging team. Craig has been on Tour quite a few years, and if you recall, he came to the Indy 500 this year. Check out his blog as he is playing in the Open and blogging from there all this week. Indiana University player David Erdy, who is from Evansville, also got in the Open as alternate. Good luck to both players this week.
It is less than two weeks until the Brickyard hosts the U.S. Senior Open qualifier, and the field here is strong. One Tour player is entered, left-hander Russ Cochran, and also a few former Tour players such as Ralph Landrum, who led the U.S. Open at Oakmont. There are quite a few fellow Indiana professionals, along with some other club professionals from the surrounding states. There are 101 entries, with only three advancing to the championship at Crooked Stick Golf Course in Carmel, Ind. It will probably take 4-under to secure a spot and maybe 2- or 3-under for the last spots. It all depends on the weather. The course is going to be setup from the back tees with difficult hole locations. If the course is soft, it will play longer, but the greens will be more receptive for approach shots. Spectators are welcome, and there is no admission charge.
After the qualifier, we go right into the Fourth of July week and then the Indiana State Open on July 7-10. Here in Indianapolis, we have had some type of rain nine of the last 11 days. We could use a break from the rain and let things dry out a bit so we can keep up with our mowing.
With no U.S. Open action going on Thursday, the rain has stopped and the sun is out in Indiana. This would be a good time to get some practice in to get ready for the qualifier and State Open. My knee is feeling a lot better but is still sore when I walk up and down hills.
Check out our Web site soon as we are going to be announcing a new promotion and an event in conjunction with the State Open.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
After my last blog, I got back into doing some practicing and also went down to French Lick to play Pete Dye’s new monster course. But before that happened, I had a little injury problem that had to be taken care of in the last week, so here is what happened after the last blog.
On the last Saturday in May, my friend from bowling and ESPN commentator Randy Petersen was in town, so we played that day. I was playing pretty good, and then I hit a shot on the 16th hole and felt something in my left knee give like it was buckling. The pain went away, and I finished the round.
But on Sunday, my knee was really sore. I didn’t think I was going to be able to go to French Lick on Monday. I put a brace on it and went to French Lick to play the Pete Dye Course and then play the Ross course on Tuesday morning. I got to the range on Monday and tried to hit a few balls, and it just wasn’t working. So I improvised and came up with an arm swing to play that day.
The problem was every time I shifted my weight to the left leg on the follow-through, a sharp pain and what felt like my knee buckling occurred. I finished the day and headed home to get it looked at by a doctor.
I went to Ortho Indy on Thursday and saw Dr. Kollias and got some X-rays. He then sent me Friday morning to get an MRI to see if I had actually torn my meniscus or some ligaments. On Tuesday, I got the call from Dr. Kollias with good news, bad news.
The good news is there are no tears or damages to the ligaments or meniscus. The bad news is I had a bad bruise on the outside of my left knee that was causing some swelling and pain, and the big issue is a cyst in my tibia bone in which my knee sits atop and where all my weight is placed. So that was some relief, but I will have to address the cyst at some point in the future. There is still some discomfort there, especially when walking up hills and side slopes. I have been released to start playing again and will do so in the coming days.
Meanwhile back at French Lick, the new Dye course is very good and very hard depending on the tees you choose to play. We chose to play the course at 6,700 yards and found it very challenging. Pete found the 36 high and low spots and put a tee and green on those spots, so about every hole is either uphill or downhill.
The views are spectacular. The clubhouse sits atop the highest point and is an old, colonial-looking farm house from which you can see all around the course.
After we finished our first round, we decided to play a scramble from the back edge of every tee which equates to over 8,000 yards. We had two groups, so the first hole was a 519-yard par 4 downhill into the wind, and no one got it on the green in two. The course from the back tees has six par 4’s that are over 500 yards and has a 300-yard par 3 with junk left, a lake right and a layup area about the size of a small bathroom. To play your own ball from all the way back might take all day.
Rumor has it that the lowest score shot from the back tees is reportedly 86. We want to thank Jan Tellstrom, the professional, for taking good care of us on our visit and also to Dave Harner, the director of golf, for his hospitality. The fee to play the course is little salty at $350 per player, but your foursome does get a nice wooden box set with a bottle of whiskey, four shot glasses and four premium cigars.
My advice is to take the shot of whiskey before you pay the fee and then another shot before you tee off. It is definitely worth the trip to play – and don’t forget there is a casino there, too!
Last week on the Tour, Tiger showed that he still is the player to beat as he won the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus. If you notice a trend here, Tiger seems to bring his best game to all the majors, obviously, but he really turns it on when he plays at Arnie’s Bay Hill tournament and at Jack’s Memorial tournament.
By the way, did you see the skins’ game they had at the Memorial? They had a chip-off to determine a winner between Jack, Tiger, Kenny Perry and Stewart Cink. Of course, Tiger chipped it in to win the most skins.
It has been one year since Tiger won a major and then had surgery, so I am going to go out on a limb and pick Tiger for the U.S. Open again as it is being played at Bethpage Black, which is extremely long and difficult, just how Tiger likes them.
Phil Mickelson also made his return this week at Memphis in preparation for the Open. Phil has been off tour since his wife, Amy, had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Congratulations also go to Bedford native Craig Bowden, who qualified for the Open this week at Columbus, Ohio. If you recall, Craig came to the Indy 500 this year and has been friend of ours for a while. Craig made the cut at Bethpage the last time the Open was played there.
Back here at the Brickyard, the course conditions are awesome. Our superintendent, Jeff Stuart, and his staff have done an outstanding job of keeping the course in what I call tournament condition. We have the U.S. Senior Open qualifying at the end of this month and then the Indiana State Open the second week of July.
Remember, Brickyard Crossing is open to the public, and we have Twilight Golf with reduced greens fees daily beginning at 4 p.m. Check our Web site for upcoming specials.
The Brickyard Senior Series returns on June 18, hosted by our Pro Emeritus, Rollie Schroeder. Visit www.brickyardseniorgolfseries.com for more information. Don’t forget Father’s Day is coming up, and a great gift would be a round of golf for your father. Better yet: Book a tee time for you and your father and play on Father’s Day, Sunday, June 21!
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing