VIEWS FROM THE PGA TOUR CHAMPIONS INSPERITY INVITATIONAL

The Woodlands, Texas: Day one of the PGA Tour Champions Insperity Invitational was highlighted by one very low round, a golf course in perfect condition and characteristically southeast Texas heat and humidity.  I followed two groups and had the following observations.

John Daly at the 14th hole

John Daly: In Wednesday’s pro-am, I had a brief conversation with the defending champion and his caddy, Peter VanDerriet. Daly, when I asked him how he was hitting it, remarked “Fair to middling”. The comment came after he had come about a foot from making a double eagle two at the par five 15th hole. The former PGA and Open Championship winner is still nursing a knee injury sustained at the Masters Tournament when his bus was hit by another vehicle while parked near Washington Road in Augusta and he pushed one of his party out of the way. As I followed Daly on Friday, it appeared that the knee was bothering him but at least he had the benefit of riding in a golf cart rather than having to walk  18 holes. Adorned in a bright green shirt and his patented patterned pants, he battled a balky putter most of the round and struggled to an even par 72.

 

 

Entrance to the Caddie Tent at the Insperity Invitational

Unsung Team Members: Wayne Gilmore has been caddying on the PGA Tour Champions since 1982 when he carried the bag for Art Wall. In the ensuing 36 years, he’s also caddied for Al Geiberger, Don Bies and at least 35 other players. He was on the bag for Bies when he won the 1992 PaineWebber Invitational in Charlotte, North Carolina. I was able to chat with Wayne for a few minutes during our short ride from The Woodlands Country Club to Lot B, where our cars were parked. I mentioned to him that no one seems to pay much attention to the caddies, unless it’s one of the well known ones such as Fluff Cowan, Bones McCay or Fanny Sunesson. Gilmore remarked with “Yeah, we’re the rodeo clowns of sports.” There wasn’t much more for me to add to that.

 

Tom Lehman Teeing Off at the 15th Hole

Premier pairing: Walking down the fairway behind John Daly, Colin Montgomery and Tom Lehman felt more like a late 1990’s British Open than it did the 2018 Insperity Invitational. Montgomery came out hot with four consecutive birdies to start the round. An ugly double bogey on the par three 14th derailed him, but a bounce back birdie on the par five 15th allowed him to post a four under par 68, five shots behind Bernhard Langer, who is three shots clear of the field. Tom Lehman was the best of the group, making birdie on the final hole for a bogey-free, five under par 67. He looks every bit as fit as when he was winning five PGA Tour events, including the 1996 Open Championship. He has also won 10 times on the PGA Tour , including three majors. Tom is the most recent recipient of the Dave Marr Award, presented annually to individuals who exemplify “sportsmanship, honesty, character, integrity and a passion for the game of golf.”

David Toms, Michael Bradley and Mike Goodes

David Toms: From a short distance away, the 51 year-old 2001 PGA Champion looks like the kid a retired group of guys brings in as a ringer to finally win a Saturday morning match. Toms was paired with Michael Bradley, who is the same age as him, and 61 year-old Mike Goodes, but looked like the junior member of the group. He was followed by a fairly substantial gallery, most sporting the purple and gold of Toms’ alma mater, LSU. Toms had a little trouble with his accuracy off the tee on the front nine and managed four birdies and two bogeys on his way to a two-under par 70. Both of his playing partners were a couple of shots better.

THE LOST MASTERS TOURNAMENTS

Everyone knows about the 1986 Masters Tournament won by Jack Nicklaus with a back nine score of 30 to win his sixth green jacket, or Nick Faldo’s comeback to win the 1996 Masters over crestfallen Greg Norman, or the monster chip in by Larry Mize in 1987 to rip victory away from, yes, you guessed it, Greg Norman. Then there was Tiger Woods’ historic victory in 1997 that not only rewrote the record books, but prompted Augusta National to make significant changes to the golf course. But there are several equally dramatic or historic Masters that don’t get nearly the attention of those just mentioned.

1976: Raymond Floyd, arguably one of the most underappreciated professional golfers of all time, won 22 times on the PGA Tour, including four majors. He also racked up 15 wins on the then senior tour, including three senior majors. In 1976, Floyd tied Jack Nicklaus’ scoring record at Augusta that stood until it was broken by Tiger Woods in 1997. Floyd won by eight shots, one short of the record set by Jack Nicklaus in 1965, the same year he established the scoring mark. Floyd had the misfortune to have his record tying effort sandwiched between two of the most exciting Masters in memory, with Jack Nicklaus’ breathtaking win over Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf in 1975 and then Tom Watson’s victory over Jack Nicklaus in 1977. But for my money, Floyd’s win was every bit as significant as almost any at Augusta.

1985: When Curtis Strange stepped off the 18th green in his first round of the 1985 Masters, he was coming off an eight over par round of 80 on his opening round, making any run at the title very unlikely. But by the time he reached the 10th tee on Sunday, he was leading by three shots and only had to navigate the last nine holes of the tournament for his first major victory. It was a stunning turnaround on a course that played fairly tough for the week. He had maintained the lead by the time he had reached the 13th hole. The dogleg left par-five awaited, always presenting the tough decision to go for the green in two. Strange, for whom I shagged balls and caddied while we were in high school, decided to put his closest competitors behind him by taking the chance to put himself in position for eagle. Unfortunately, his fairway wood shot found Rae’s Creek in front of the green, resulting in a bogey six. Bernhard Langer made birdie, cutting Strange’s lead to one. On the other par five on the back nine, Strange once again missed the green with his second shot on the 15th hole, making bogey again as Langer birdied, giving him the lead and propelling him to a two shot victory over Raymond Floyd, Severiano Ballesteros and Strange. It was the first major championship by a German player. Langer would go on to win a second green jacket in 1993. Strange ended up chalking up consecutive U.S. Open victories in 1988 and 1989, the only player to do so since Ben Hogan won in 1950 and 1951.

1990 and 1992: Both of these tournaments are remembered for who won them, with Nick Faldo winning his second Masters in a row in 1990 and Fred Couples capturing his lone major victory in 1992. What is lost in those memories is that in both tournaments, Raymond Floyd finished second in his bid to win major championships in four different decades. The 1990 loss by the 47 year-old Floyd was particularly heartbreaking, as the 1976 champion began the final round with a two-shot lead over John Huston with Faldo another stroke behind. Faldo double-bogeyed the first and Huston bogeyed the second hole, giving Floyd a four shot lead heading to the third. Huston eventually fell out of contention and reminiscent of Curtis Strange five years before, Floyd had a four shot lead standing on the tee at the 13th hole. Unlike Strange, Floyd made par at the next four holes, but Faldo made three birdies to get within a shot of Floyd after 16 holes. Playing in the group in front of Floyd, Faldo parred the 17th, but Floyd stumbled with a bogey. Both parred the 18th and they headed to the 10th tee for a sudden death playoff. The tournament ended on the 11th hole as Floyd ended up in the water next to the green and Faldo made a routine par to collect his third major championship. In the 1992 version, it was the 49 year-old Floyd’s turn to try to chase down Craig Parry and Fred Couples, the two players ahead of him at the start of play on  Sunday. Floyd pulled into a tie for the lead after a birdie on the par-3 sixth hole, but couldn’t mount a charge and finished in second place, two shots behind Couples, whose tee shot on the par-3 12th famously stuck on the bank just a couple of feet from finding a watery grave. Just think how close Floyd was to notching his fifth and six majors and denying Couples his  lone win.

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com. Also check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 8:30 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.

FINAL TICKET PUNCHED TO 2018 MASTERS

When Ian Poulter stood on the 12th tee Sunday afternoon at the Golf Club of Houston, he was four under par for the day and held a three shot lead over playing companion Beau Hossler. Poulter was playing flawless golf and had hit every green in regulation. He was seven holes from winning his first stroke play event in the United States and his first victory of any kind since 2012. With a pair of par fives left it didn’t appear that any of his challengers would be able to mount the kind of charge necessary to keep the 42 year-old Englishman from making a return appearance to Augusta to compete in next week’s Masters Tournament. As he prepared for his tee shot on the par three 16th hole, Poulter had made four consecutive pars, including the par fives at 13 and 15 and fallen a shot behind red hot Hossler, who was coming off four straight birdies. Suddenly, the prospects for Poulter to be playing for a green jacket was in serious jeopardy. A pair of pars on the next two holes only matched Hossler, leaving only the difficult par four 18th, where a scant five players had recorded birdies the entire day.

Hossler’s drive found the fairway bunker, giving Poulter some hope, but both players ended up on the green a couple of feet apart, facing long birdie putts. The closer ball belonged to Poulter and he watched as Hossler’s putt barely missed on the right side of the hole. Always a clutch putter, especially in Ryder Cup competition, Poulter had a good look at the line of Hossler’s putt and stood over his ball with one last shot at forcing a playoff and keeping his Masters’ hopes alive. Benefitting from the read, he ran the ball into the center of the hole, beating his chest over his tremendous heart and headed to the scorer’s tent before taking a golf cart to the 18th tee for the first playoff hole. Unlike the first time the pair played the hole, Poulter was first to play and put his drive in the fairway, putting a bit of pressure on his 23 year-old opponent. Hossler again found the fairway bunker and missed the green in the right sand trap, while Poulter put his ball comfortably on the green. With a tough lie in the bunker, Hossler knew he had to get the shot close to the hole to force a second playoff hole. He watched helplessly, however as his shot from the sand sailed over the green and into the water on the other side of the hole.

The finish was somewhat anticlimactic with Hossler finally getting his ball into the hole with a triple bogey seven, while Poulter routinely two-putted for par to record his third PGA Tour victory to go along with 10 wins on the European Tour. He became the 87th and last player to qualify for the Masters, making him the sixth player in the last 10 Houston Opens to punch his ticket for Augusta with a win at the tournament. What made the win even more remarkable was that Poulter was in 123rd place after an opening round 73, causing him to pack his bags Thursday night in anticipation of missing the cut. But a 64 on Friday followed by a third round 65 put him atop the leaderboard for Sunday’s final round. It was only 12th time and the last 1,463 tour events that a player had come from worse than 100th place to win a tournament. Poulter hasn’t been in great form of late, but with momentum on his side, could a run at his first major be out of the question next week?

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com. Also check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 8:30 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.

NO DOUBT ABOUT IT, TIGER WOODS IS BACK

When the 44 foot putt disappeared into the cup on the 17th hole to pull Tiger Woods within 1 shot of Paul Casey at the Valspar Championship, it didn’t really matter what would happen on the final hole. Despite playing in only his 4th tournament after missing almost a year from the PGA Tour, Woods had shown that he could still generate the excitement, shot making and athleticism that he brought to the Tour as a 20 year-old in 1996. His birdie putt on the 18th came up a foot short to relegate him to a 2nd place tie with Patrick Reed, but Woods clearly established that this latest comeback will look more like the 2012 - 2013 version than the prior one from 2016 - 2017. Despite lacking sharpness with his irons in his final round, he still had that putt on the last hole to force a playoff with Paul Casey.

The Innisbrook Resort, the site of the Valspar, had to add over 6,000 parking spaces to accommodate the record crowds spawned by the presence of Tiger Woods. Galleries were 10 to 12 people deep for every hole Woods played, creating an almost major tournament feel to the event. His playing partners really didn’t have much of a chance of shooting a good round. Two of the world’s best, Jordan Spieth and Henrik Stenson, were laid low by the challenge of being in the same group as the rock star-like Woods.  Neither one of them came close to making the cut, while Tiger was contending for the lead over the first two days. Even Brandt Snedeker, paired with the former world number 1 over the weekend, finally succumbed to the circus atmosphere and slid to a 7 over par 78 on Sunday.

At age 42, what is it about Tiger Woods that makes him so appealing a player? His last tournament win was the Bridgestone Invitational in the summer of 2013 and he hadn’t contended in a PGA Tour event since the 2015 Wyndham Championship. Many analysts had surmised that his chance to come back at the age of 42 and play well after multiple knee and back surgeries was unlikely. Lest we forget, from 1999 to 2008, Woods rewrote the record books, with the exception of Sam Snead’s 82 tournament wins and Jack Nicklaus’ 18 majors. After being written off the first time following personal issues and injuries from 2009 - 2012, he simply won 5 times in 2013 on his way to his 11th PGA Tour Player of the Year award, 10th money title and 9th Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average. To get the answer to the question posed at the beginning of this paragraph, you need look no further than that 44 foot putt on the 17th hole. Because when he’s healthy, Tiger Woods simply does things on the golf course that no one else is capable of doing.  

What’s especially surprising about Woods’ 2nd place finish was that he was playing a golf course he hadn’t seen in over 21 years when he played the JC Penney Classic, a mixed team event where he was paired with LPGA professional Kelly Kehne. The Copperhead Course at Innisbrook is challenging, as evidenced by the winning score of only 10 under par and the cut line of 3 over. To finish as well as he did with very little prior course knowledge was quite an accomplishment and will clearly increase expectations for him as he tees it up in his next two tournaments: The Arnold Palmer Invitational where he has won 8 times at Bay Hill and The Masters Tournament at which he’s captured 4 green jackets at Augusta National. In a blog following the 2016 Hero Challenge, in which Tiger finished 15th out of 18 players in the field, I wrote the following: “Can Tiger win again on tour? Absolutely. Will he win another major? From what I saw this week, and if he stays healthy, I don't see any reason why he can't contend, and if he can contend, he can win.” It was true in December of 2016, and it’s true today.

Hear my recent interview with legendary sports agent Leigh Steinberg, where we discussed his agency, concussions, franchise relocation and philanthropy at http://thechtonsports.com/cold-hard-truth-sports-radio-show-1242017/

Also listen to our conversation with author and sports journalist Mike Carey, as we discussed his latest book "Bad News" about Marvin Barnes and reminisced about Mike's coverage of the Boston Celtics during their glory years with Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Danny Ainge and Robert Parish. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/golongmedia/2017/02/08/the-cold-hard-truth-on-sports-radio-show

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" at  Amazon.com. Also check out www.thechtonsports.com for our podcasts and live broadcast on Tuesday's at 8:30 pm EST. I can also be reached via email at kevin@pkfrazier.com.