Tiger wins again at Firestone. Tiger Woods came back from missing the cut at the British Open and played in the last Buick-sponsored event on Tour and wins. Then he goes to Akron, Ohio, home of Firestone CC, and wins the Bridgestone Invitational, which is one of the World Championships.
He basically ripped Warwick Hills apart after an opening round of 71 and talk of a second straight missed cut. He fired 63-65-69 to dust everyone off and moved to Firestone, where he beats Paddy Harrington on the 16th hole of the last round with a birdie to Paddy’s triple bogey after a slow play warning. The slow play warning on the group was actually issued by a European official.
Now Tiger is at the last major of the year, the PGA. The PGA is being played at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn. Tiger is major-less since the U.S. Open in 2008. What are the odds he wins? Hazeltine will play at – are you ready for this? – 7,674 yards. That’s right over 7,600 yards for a major championship.
How long must golf courses be to hold a major event? The great old venues of yesteryear are now obsolete. Courses like Merion, where Ben Hogan won, are no longer considered for a major. I have to agree with Pete Dye that equipment and technology have made most courses obsolete. Some courses would have to spend millions in renovations to be even considered for a tournament. Our golf course is listed at 6,995 yards from the back tees, and if we moved pins and tees around it would be well over 7,200. After just having the Indiana State Open here, it is obvious that our course, which is 15 years old, is somewhat short compared to the distance that players hit it today.
With that, let’s move onto some other golf items such as the “summer break” that the LPGA is on right now. The last time the ladies played in the U.S. was July 12, which was the Women’s U.S. Open. The next event here for them is the Solheim Cup in Chicago. The LPGA definitely is hurting, and next year is not looking real strong for that tour as it fights to keep tournaments and sponsors. Just like all golf tours, the economy is hurting the LPGA as corporate America watches its image and spending.
Another item coming up at the end of the month that I am going to touch on is Patriot Golf Day. It is a very noble charity that was started by Major Dan Rooney, a PGA professional and fighter pilot. You can visit the Web site at www.patriotgolfday.com and learn more. We will talk more about this as the event nears on Labor Day weekend.
This coming week, the Indiana Professionals Championship will be played at the French Lick Resort. It is a 54-hole tournament that will be played on the Donald Ross and Pete Dye courses at French Lick. We will play 18 on the Ross and 36 on the Dye.
Remember, the Dye course can play over 8,000 yards. We will probably play it at about 6,800-6,900 (I hope!). Posted in this blog are a few photos from my last visit there in June.
This event is a qualifier for the National Club Professional, which happens next June at French Lick. There will probably be about seven spots or less for the tournament. I have been fortunate enough to play in two National Club Pros and one regional Club Pro in my career. I hope to add another one this year along with a Senior Club Professional Championship spot in September.
It’s time to go hit a few balls and get prepared for next week. Brickyard Crossing is in championship condition, and tee times are available daily. Visit us online and be sure to keep checking our Web sites for information concerning the Brickyard and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
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 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
The big argument in golf after the PGA Championship is: Who is the No. 2 player in the world? We all know Tiger is No. 1.
My thoughts are Padraig Harrington. Paddy wins two majors in a row, and Phil Mickelson stumbles, so it should go without saying that Paddy is No. 2.
Do you think Tiger was sitting home these last two majors wondering, “What if?” Probably not, but I bet he wanted to be there and play two of the most difficult courses in championship golf.
This now leads me to another question: Why is golf not an Olympic sport? Golf has been around forever.