Two down, one to go – races, that is – here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The Brickyard 400 was run last Sunday, with Jimmie Johnson winning for the second time in a row and third time overall. Jimmie was at the course Friday, July 24 to accept his ring for last year’s victory and to also announce the Jimmie Foundation golf outing to be played at a later date.
Boo Weekley showed up on Friday to check out the action at the Brickyard and got in a little golf that afternoon. Boo is exactly what you see. He is very friendly, courteous and just a lot of fun to meet and be around. He went over to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. and picked up a few items for a charity auction he is doing later this year. He picked a door and spoiler from the 88 car. Also from the Tour, our good friend Jim Gallagher Jr. and his son Thomas and friend Jake came to the race. It is always good to see Jim. Jim represented the Brickyard on Tour for a number of years and has always been a good friend to the IMS and Brickyard. Jim and the boys got in a little ball-hocking in the creek before the race and walked away with some nice golf balls. Our blogger from the Nationwide Tour, Craig Bowden, also came to the track to watch the race.
Speaking of the Gallagher’s, Jim’s sister, LPGA tour player Jackie Gallagher Smith, is here this week. Local company Allison Transmissions is entertaining some customers this week and decided to tie in some golf with their visit. Jackie, myself and the rest of the professional staff have been doing two clinics a day for their customers, then taking them out on the course for a round of golf. The clinics concluded Friday.
The U.S. Senior Open started Thursday at Crooked Stick, and the leaderboard is full of stars. Greg Norman got off to a good start and was tied for the lead with Joey Sindelar at 6-under par. This is going to turn out to be a very exciting tournament with plenty of birdies to be had, but Crooked Stick will jump up and bite you very quickly. Fuzzy Zoeller is playing, and fellow Hoosiers Randy Nichols and Scott Morris shot 75 and 76 in the first round, respectively. Randy was at 1-under when the Stick got him on No. 14 and No. 16 with double-bogeys.
As far as predictions, I think it is wide open. Weather right now has not been a factor as Thursday the rain stayed south, and the winds have been somewhat light. Scoring conditions should be ideal with good weather scheduled for the weekend.
Last Friday, I participated in the Meridian Hills Shootout and got to see the renovations that took place over the past year. I must admit: The course definitely got harder. During the shootout, I partnered with Pat Welch of Woodland Country Club, and we finished fifth. My putter was not very good as the first six holes are alternate shot.
Coming up here at the Brickyard next week are the Challenge Cup matches where the top amateurs in the state take on the top professionals. It is 36 holes and is contended very much like the Ryder Cup, with the morning being best-ball matches and the afternoon being singles matches. I am happy to report that I will participate. I was hoping to play in the senior division, but unfortunately I am in the regular division, so I have to say hello to those back tees once again.
I need to give a shout-out to my good friend and fellow professional Will Hutter. Will was the professional at Wolf Run and Sea Island and is now at the Governors Towne Club in Atlanta. Will had to have some surgery to remove a kidney on Tuesday of this week. Will is recovering nicely, and his results are very favorable. I want him to know that just because he is short a kidney, he is not getting any shots, no matter how much he whines!
Remember, the Brickyard is in awesome shape and tee times can be made daily through our Web site.
Until next week, keep practicing, and remember fairways and greens lead to lower scores.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
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’s Masters week! Most feel this is the start of spring and the golf season across the Midwest.
I’m going to start by making some picks and observations about the tournament and the players in the field. First, the field is somewhat limited with about 70 players. Of course, my pick to win this year is Tiger – bold pick, huh? – for a few reasons.
First, Tiger is coming off a dramatic victory at Bay Hill in which he birdied the last hole for a one-shot victory. He also still has the passion for the game, and by his expressions after making the winning putt he still shows his emotions for the win. His mental game is such that it almost gives him a two-shot advantage every round over the field. He loves Augusta and the atmosphere.
Now let’s talk about who will contend this week with Tiger. Phil Mickelson has been touted by the media to be his rival. Well, remember there are 70-plus players this week, and 140 players other weeks, who want to beat Tiger. You have to beat the best to become the best.
So let’s move on to a host of players that are ready to win their first major. The foreign contingent is led by last week’s winner, Paul Casey. Then you have Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, Nick Watney, Justin Rose, Luke Donald and the list goes on. And let’s not forget the defending champion, Trevor Immelman.
Now we can move to some of the older players. We have a crowd favorite in Fred Couples. At age 49, Freddie is playing some very good golf this season with a couple of top-five finishes, including last week when he bogeyed his last three holes for a third-place finish. Also playing this week is 48-year-old Kenny Perry, who has been one of the hottest players over the last year and could challenge this week for his first green jacket.
We also have Greg Norman returning to Augusta, a place where the green jacket has eluded him numerous times with a meltdown in 1996 in which he lost a six-shot lead over eventual winner Nick Faldo. And last but not least, the lone Hoosier to win The Masters, Fuzzy Zoeller. Fuzzy won his green jacket in 1979, his first start at Augusta, in a playoff over Ed Sneed and Tom Watson. This is the 30th anniversary of his victory, and he has decided it will be his last Masters as a competitor. Thanks, Fuzzy, for all the memories, and good luck in your final appearance as a player.
Here are some interesting notes about Augusta. It limits the amount of spectators. You must either already have tickets, or badges, as they call them, to attend the tournament Thursday through Sunday. They have a lottery for practice tickets, in which they also limit the amount of spectators. They also have a waiting list for volunteers. You never see any debris laying around the course. The prices at the concession stands are considered among the least expensive of all major sporting events, and they limit the amount of TV time along with the amount of commercials during the broadcast.
I have been fortunate enough to go to The Masters twice and can tell you that it is well worth the trip if you ever get the chance. It is most likely on every sports-minded person’s bucket list, along with the Indianapolis 500.
With The Masters this week and tax day next week, we hope that we get some good weather here and see lots of golfers. We go into a full schedule starting this weekend with a NAIA college tournament here hosted by Indiana Wesleyan. There are teams from all over the country coming to play the Brickyard. There are some very good players on these teams, and I will report back on the results next week.
Jeff Schroeder
PGA Head Professional
Brickyard Crossing
The Indiana Open concluded this week and unfortunately I did not make the cut. In my first round though I did achieve my goal which was to shoot 75 or better. I started off strong by making birdies on the 3rd and 5th holes to get to two-under-par but closed out the front nine with a bogey on Hole 9.
A side note to this round is the fact that our tee time was delayed over 2 hours. We did not tee off until 4pm and did not finish the round until 9 pm. Any way on the back nine I faltered and got a little tired and bogeyed three out of the last four holes to shoot 75.