It’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard week here, and the course has been busy.
Fuzzy Zoeller was here Tuesday, July 21 for the Bob and Tom Fuzzy Navel Open golf tournament benefiting Riley’s Children Hospital in Indianapolis. As always, Fuzzy was very entertaining in his clinic, and then he was even more personable as he went around and played a hole with each group. Needless to say, they raised quite a bit of money that day for Riley.
It looks like Boo Weekley will be attending the race this weekend with a friend of ours, John Cunningham, who works for Bingham EST here in Indy. Along with Boo, our good friend Jim Gallagher Jr. and his son will be here this weekend to catch the race. Jim is a huge NASCAR fan.
Lots of activities going on Friday at the course, with hit a floating green on Hole No. 8 sponsored by Chevy. It is open to all fans and starts at 9 a.m. Those who hit a shot on the green qualify for the High Noon Shootout, with a chance at winning a 2010 Chevrolet Equinox. Check out the Web site for more details.
Let’s talk about major golf now. What a heartbreak for Tom Watson last weekend in his playoff loss to Stewart Cink in the British Open. Cink has been on the verge of winning a major for a long time, and it was nice to see him win.
But I do have to admit that we hold a special spot here for Watson, seeing how he made his Senior Tour debut here at the Brickyard in 1999. He actually shared the lead after round one with a 66. That year, we had the Richard Petty Driving Experience come in and let the players drive a stock car around the track, and Tom got the Rookie of the Year award for his time in the car.
After Allstate 400 at the Brickyard is over this weekend, major championship golf arrives in Indy for the U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick Golf Club in nearby Carmel. If you don’t have tickets, yet you need to get some and watch the best senior players in the world take on Crooked Stick from July 27-Aug. 2.
The first round of the tournament begins Thursday July 30, with the final round Sunday, Aug. 2. Some of the best times to go might be the practice rounds, where you get up close a little easier and the players are much more relaxed.
I want to wish fellow Hoosiers Scott Morris and Randy Nichols good luck during the tournament. Scott qualified here at the Brickyard on June 30, and Randy qualified through his play in the 2008 U.S. Senior Amateur. Randy was a semifinalist at Shady Oaks in Dallas last year. Both are great guys to play with, and I have enjoyed the pleasure of competing against both.
The field for this year’s Senior Open is very strong, with all the big names entered. I am sure Watson will be among the fan favorites, as he always is, along with Fuzzy and Greg Norman. It should be a great tournament, so don’t miss the chance to see these great players up close at Crooked Stick.
As for our playing here, I tee it up Monday with my assistant Jeff Williams in the Indiana PGA Pro-Assistants tournament at the Legends in Franklin, Ind. It is 36 holes, with a best ball in the morning and Pinehurst alternate shot in the afternoon. We hope to build on our top 10 finish of last year.
Until next week, check out all the racing action here at the Brickyard and book a tee time next week here at Brickyard Crossing and play one of the finest conditioned courses in the area.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
It is finally official: I am a Senior!
I survived the birthday party weekend and teed it up early Monday morning, July 13 in the Monticello Open. My first round as a 50-year-old proved to be quite interesting. I played well with the exception of three par 3’s. I played the 9th, 12th and 15th holes, all par 3’s, 7-over par and only shot 4-over par. I am not going into details about those holes, but it was ugly.
Next up is the Senior Pro-Am here at the Brickyard beginning Thursday, July 16, and I am teaming up with Skip Runnels. It is a scratch, best-ball tournament and concludes Friday, July 17.
Now onto the big tournament, The British Open. The Open, as it is called, is being played this year at Turnberry in Scotland. Everyone is saying the course is moderately easy and that Tiger has the edge. Some kind of stat says that every time that the Open has been there that the No. 1 ranked player has won.
You need to remember that strange things happen at The Open. Things to look for are the possible re-emergence of David Duval. He is a former Open winner and is coming off a U.S. Open performance that has him full of confidence. Or how about Todd Hamilton a few years ago?
But let’s not forget that the European Tour is full of talent with some new young guns and the veterans who know how to negotiate The Open courses and pressure. This one should be enjoyable to watch, as most the players not all that familiar with the course.
My picks for this Open are going to be some of the young Euros such as Ross Fisher and Martin Kaymer. Can Padraig win a third Open? Of course, the best bet is Tiger.
Phil Mickelson is stopping his consecutive streak of majors in order to be with him wife and now his mother, who are both fighting breast cancer.
Next week NASCAR comes to town for the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard, and Brickyard Crossing will be busy with events. The week starts out with the Bob and Tom Fuzzy Navel Open. Fuzzy Zoeller will be here to help raise money for Riley’s Children Hospital. That event is followed by the Business at the Brickyard golf day. This is a partnership between the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce and the Brickyard to introduce golf as a business tool.
Then there are open tee times Thursday, July 23, the last day before the cars start running on Friday.
Check out our Web site for all the action coming up here at the Brickyard.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The British Open has started, and the weather is just brutal for the players. Greg Norman, at 53 years of age, led as of early Friday morning.
What wild conditions they are having, and if you listen to interviews with the players who are playing well, they are not complaining about the weather. They’re just playing the course and what it will give them.
That raises another good point on the mental aspect of golf: Don’t let things that are out of your control influence your game. Play each shot and each hole at a time.
The Allstate 400 at the Brickyard starts next week, and the course has a few events related to the race. But this weekend we host The Golf Channel’s Drive, Chip and Putt. This event is for junior golfers age 7-14, both boys and girls. It is a great event and one that is we look forward to hosting every year.
On Wednesday, July 23, we kick off the race week with Business at the Brickyard. This is an event that we stage in partnership with the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.
It is one of the most unique events in the country in that we have a tournament with business leaders from the city, and we also conduct a golf school for those who need to learn golf as a business tool. As everyone knows, the majority of business deals are now being made on the golf course.
After that event, we have Chevrolet media day on the course Thursday, July 24 and then our friends at Miller Brewing have the course Friday afternoon for a little golf. Saturday and Sunday the course is closed due to race activities.
Today, Friday, July 18, I head over to Meridian Hills CC for their annual PGA Pro Shootout. Meridian Hills is one of the nicest clubs in town, and every year they have this event in which 20 pros are invited and split into two-man teams for a nine-hole shootout.
In a shootout, a team with the highest score on the hole is dropped from the competition until there are only two teams left on the ninth hole, where a winner is determined. If there are ties on a hole, those teams participate in a chip-off to determine which team advances.
The membership at Meridian Hills really puts on a great show, and there are upward of 200 spectators watching. Needless to say, it can get very nerve-racking, and some funny things (shots) will happen.
I have a pretty good track record in this event. I have won it six times, so I really look forward to playing.
Got to go for now. Keep your eyes on Greg Norman as he tries to make history and win the British Open. Also Jeff Overton, formerly of Indiana University and a Hoosier resident, also did well across the pond. Here in the States, a couple of other Hoosiers did well at Milwaukee, Chad Collins of Cloverdale and Jim Gallagher Jr., formerly of Marion. Andy Winings of Brownsburg also qualified nicely in the US Publinx tournament in Denver.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing