Sorry for not writing a blog last week; we were a little busy with a few events surrounding the race. A few of the drivers played last week in the Chevrolet Media Day golf tournament. It seems like more drivers are playing than in the past. This takes in account drivers from Sprint Cup, Nationwide and Craftsman Truck series.

Not a whole lot going in golf with the exception of the U.S. Senior Open out in Colorado this week. One of my good friends, Bob Stephens from here in Indy, qualified and shot a very respectable 71 in the first round. Bob does a little practicing here at the Brickyard and has won numerous amateur tournaments here in Indiana.

Speaking of the Senior Open, the Senior Open comes to Crooked Stick Golf Club in suburban Indianapolis next year, and the tournament is looking for volunteers. Contact the tournament office at (317) 571-8742 or visit www.2009ussenioropen.com if you would like more info on being a volunteer.

We have some events coming up here at the Brickyard. The annual IGA-PGA Challenge Cup is Thursday, Aug. 7. This event pits the top amateurs in the state against the top PGA Professionals.

The event is 36 holes in which the morning round is a two-man team best-ball match play, and the afternoon is single-match play. This similar to the Ryder Cup but is only one day. The amateurs have been beating us here lately, so the professionals need to step up and lay one on the amateurs.

I am fortunate to be able to play in this event and am honored to be on the team and to also host this event that is sponsored by the Greg Norman Collection. Speaking of Greg Norman, how about his play in the British Open and the Senior British Open?

The PGA Championship is coming up in about a week. The venue this year is in Detroit at Oakland Hills. This is a very long and demanding course, and I am going to give you a couple of picks I think might do well in next week’s blog.

The Tour is at Firestone CC this week for the Bridgestone Invitational. If you haven’t heard, we are a Bridgestone-exclusive facility and have been now for two years. You can read more about this on our Web site.

Back to the tournament at Firestone. Last year I was invited to the tournament as a guest of Bridgestone. They rolled out the red carpet. I got to stay right at the course in the guest rooms above the clubhouse. Then on the first round of the tournament, I was an honorary observer with Sam Foley, our business manager here at the Brickyard, and walked inside the ropes with a group. Our group consisted of Michael Campbell, Paul Casey and Scott Verplank. They were all nice. Not a lot of conversation, but they hit some golf shots.

Being that close, you watch every move they make, then immediately try to copy that shot or swing. I watched really close when they missed a green to see if I could pick up anything that would help me with my short game.

I did notice that on their shots around the green out of high grass that the clubface did not necessarily open up as much as what I thought it would, so I came back to the Brickyard and practiced that. It did help my short game a little.

Firestone CC is an awesome course that I got play about a month after my visit, and it is one tough, long golf course. The thing people don’t realize is that there are two other courses there that are just as good, and it is definitely worth the visit to play.

I’ll give my picks next week for the PGA, and if you get a chance, try some Bridgestone products. Their golf balls are as good as it gets, and their irons are pure.

Don’t forget that golf is a game of a lifetime.

Jeff Schroeder

PGA Head Professional

Brickyard Crossing