Golf FanHouse

Dreams Still in Sight for Ken Green

Mick Elliott — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Champions Tour

ORMOND BEACH, Fla. -- Ken Green, with the stump that used to be his lower right leg still tender and frail less than five months after the accident, eases himself out of a wheelchair and plops downward onto a mattress that lays flat on the floor. Although a stylish bedroom set fills the guest room, it has been pushed, for good reason, to the side to provide room for Green's ground-level living space.

"You have to pay attention when you get out of bed," Green says. "Because if you are not thinking and you step with the leg that's not there, it's not a good result."

Green allows himself a soft laugh. The RV crash in June took the lives of Green's older brother, Billy, long-time girlfriend, Jeannie Hodgin, and beloved German shepherd, Nip. It took his leg. It will not take his style.

A prosthetic leg sits nearby, the toenails -- if it had toenails -- painted bright green, a subtle reminder of the gaudy-hued golf shoes that were his trademark when winning five times on the PGA Tour. Munch, a 12-week-old German shepherd puppy, having just lost interest in trying to chew Green's cell phone, is curled up next to his new master.

The floor where Green, 51, has reclined is a guest room in the home that belongs to brother-in-law Slugger White and sister Shelley. After being released from the hospital following the accident, this is where Green has come to rehab body and mind.

"It's OK. I have to handle this," Green says. "The loss, as I perceive it, is my three best friends. They are gone. There is no other way around that. Then you throw in the leg on top of that."

How much more can this man take? Green's life odyssey already included an ugly divorce, a bad back, the loss of his golf game, financial troubles and clinical depression. Now, a front-tire blowout on the Monday afternoon of June 8 as Green's 40-foot Holiday Rambler whizzed east on Interstate 20 near Hickory, Miss., has raised the ante.

"I won't argue with you that I've had maybe more than the average share of curveballs," Green says. "You sit here and question it sometimes. Whoa, are you going to be strong enough? Are you going to be able to fight through this one?
"I want to play golf. I don't want to just get back on my feet. It will be an absolute failure if I don't get back. I will be disgusted by myself if I don't. And I mean competitively. I mean playing well, even better."
- Ken Green
"I feel like I am. I do have more faith in God than I did when I went through the depression and some of the other issues. So that helps. But the one thing that scares me is will this set off the depression again?"

Not, not this time, please. By Green's estimation, he has only one thing left that's truly worthy of a fight. Damned if he will lose it, too.

On one leg, he vows to return next year to compete on the Champions Tour.

"I want to play golf," he says. "I don't want to just get back on my feet. It will be an absolute failure if I don't get back. I will be disgusted by myself if I don't. And I mean competitively. I mean playing well, even better.

"Golf is my biggest love on the planet, besides basically those three people I have already lost. I was just starting to get it back. The demons were gone. It was a slow process. It took me almost a year since I turned 50. Things were turning around. They were going really well."

******

Green had good reason to believe he had taken and weathered life's best shots.

After turning 50 in July of 2008 and becoming eligible to play the Champions Tour, good things finally began to again happen to a hard-luck guy. Mainly, he was playing well.

In 11 events this season there had been $123,906 in earnings, more money than he had earned in about the last 10 years combined. He had finished seventh at the AT&T Championship in March, and, the day before the accident, shot 71-75-72 in Austin, Texas to tie for 37th and collect $8,486.

"I was beating the demons," he says.

Green once had been a marquee name on the PGA Tour, a man with a good game and a smart ass -- both good at drawing attention.

At the 1997 Masters, when paired with Arnold Palmer, he ordered a friend to hand off a beer as they played the 15th hole, so he could forever brag about having a drink with Arnie at Augusta.

He was fined.

When LPGA star Annika Sorenstam received an invitation to play Colonial, Green protested by vowing to "shave my legs and put on a bra," to see if he would get an invitation to play on the women's tour.

He was shushed.

"I still think I didn't even come close to saying everything I wanted to say," Green insists. "I thought I was actually very well mannered. People remember me for saying things that maybe you were not supposed to say, but all I did was try to be truthful."

Unfortunately, Green's life would move from colorful to dark. Between 1998 and 2008 he faced two issues that, even separate, would torture a soul. Together they tormented him to the core.

Along with suddenly being unable to hit even a semi-quality golf shot, he was diagnosed with full-blown, five-alarm depression. He spoke of hearing voices and admits thoughts of suicide.

That's why even the modest success Green was just starting to find on the Champions Tour was so promising.

"When I first started playing professionally again, as a number, let's say I had a hundred demons that were influencing all the shots," he says. "By the end of last year, I had gotten it down to maybe 80 -- nothing great.

"Just evil thoughts you have before you hit a shot. The fear, the anxiety.

"Then, starting out this year, it just kept getting better and better. And I know this is going to sound like it's a fish story, but I literally had told Jeannie and Billy, out there after we left Austin, that it was down to zero. They were all gone."

The RV, basically Green's home when parked on a friend's empty lot in West Palm Beach, pulled out of Austin, Texas, shortly after Sunday's tournament finish and rolled into Louisiana for the night. The ultimate destination was a week-long break in North Carolina, where Hodgin had family, before driving on to New York for another tournament.

It was quite a crew. Billy, 57, had caddied for his younger brother four years on the PGA Tour and had come back this year to lend his support. Jeannie, "far more than a girlfriend," by Green's account, had been with him for 10 years, through ups and much of the downs.

"I used to beat Billy up unmercifully," Green says. "That's just my style. I beat my friends up. That's my humor. So that part now sucks.

"And Jeannie was Jeannie. She was great."

Then there was Nip, the dog Green loved so much he fought an alligator to save.

Chasing a ball, Nip jumped into a South Florida canal six years ago and was suddenly chomped and pulled under by a gator judged to be seven feet long. Green dove in and swam into the fight, finally freeing the dog and then rushing it to the veterinarian.

"Everybody thinks they have the best relationship with their dogs and all that," Green says. "But this dog and I were kind of psychotic in some respects. She was everything.

"This is going to sound absolutely awful, but there are times I miss her more than I do Jeannie and Billy. Billy and Jeannie I know can understand. Nip, I don't know if she understands why I'm here and she's not. I know only dog people can understand what I'm talking about. People who are not dog people are going to look at me like an idiot."

******

Green says he does not remember anything about the crash that took place near Mississippi mile marker 118 of Interstate 20, about 40 miles west of the Alabama state line.

According to the police report, the right-front tire blew as the camper was traveling approximately 70 mph. A witness reported seeing the vehicle swerve, then go off the road and down a steep embankment before colliding with a large oak tree.

The front of the vehicle was totally destroyed. Billy, Jeannie and Nip were most likely killed instantly. Green, who was thrown through the windshield, believes he survived because he had been laying down in the back while Billy drove.

All he remembers is waking up in a Jackson, Miss., hospital and seeing his sister standing bedside.

"I don't even have a memory of the two hours or so we drove before the accident," he says. "I only remember waking up and seeing Shelley -- 'What are you doing here?' ''

Multiple surgeries were performed as doctors tried the save the mangled leg. But even if they could, Green was told several days later when more lucid, it would require many more surgeries and the limb would never work properly.

"I just remember saying, 'Will I be able to play golf?' '' Green says. "He told me, 'Certainly never again like a professional.' "

With a prosthesis, however, he would have a chance.

"Well then, cut it off."

******

For a guy remembered for ruffling so many feathers, it turns out a lot of people seem to think the world of Ken Green.

Last month a fundraiser in Green's native hometown of Danbury, Conn., drew golf celebrities like Mark Calcavecchia, Greg Kraft, Andy Bean, Fred Funk, Curtis Strange and David Feherty. About $120,000 was raised for the "Ken Green Living Expenses Trust Fund." A similar event has been scheduled Nov. 23 at West Palm Beach.

"I'm certainly concerned for him," Bean said, a regular practice-round partner with Green during their young days on the PGA Tour. "I truly can not imagine.

"The good part is he's channeling a lot of energy that's going to make him better and get him through these next couple of years."

Friends and strangers alike have been touched by Green's plight and have reached out.

One in particular made an impact.

"I played with a man in a Dallas pro-am probably 20 years ago," Green said. "I remember because he had a love of shepherds, also. He read about my accident and knew the lady he had gotten his dog from just had a litter. So he called and wanted to give me a shepherd. As it turns out, a descendant of Rin Tin Tin.

"I actually turned him down at first but a couple of days later I called him back. Something just told me to go."

The day after the Danbury fundraiser, Green flew to Dallas to accept the new puppy.

"Technically, I'm probably not ready for a dog," Green says. "If I didn't have my sister or somebody helping me, it probably wouldn't be the cleanest of houses. But something just told me this was right. And he's perfect. He's incredibly calm. He's incredibly smart.

"Dogs are the best to me. There's dogs and golf. It's not even close what comes third."

The addition, however, presented yet another challenge.

"I don't believe in putting a dog on a plane," Green said. "I just don't."

The answer was having a friend meet him in Dallas four weeks ago and drive back to Florida. On Interstate 20. Through Mississippi. Past mile marker 118.

"Yeah, drove right by it," he says. "I really intended to stop and see the spot. But there were like three things that happened that day that cost us about a hour, and by the time we got there it was too dark.

"Missed it probably by no more than 20 minutes -- seeing the tree and everything that would have still been down. It's probably better I didn't. But I'm sure one day I will. That's just my nature for whatever reason."
"What (people) are failing to understand is our level is nowhere near their level. There are a lot of wonderful, really good golfers who are amputees. But going out and having to shoot 5 under each day for 54 holes is a big difference than going out and playing with your friends."
- Ken Green
"Have you ever seen a movie where people say, 'I have to do this, or see that?' I've always wondered what the hell are they thinking? That makes no sense. You would never do that. Yet, here I was trying to do the same thing."

******

The timeline Green imagines will have him back to tournament golf by next summer.

Already he is playing, going out six weeks ago for the first time, and, albeit from the red tees, has broken par a couple of times.

Still, let's be realistic.

"Everyone who has had the amputation and goes out and plays golf says it's not a problem: You will be able to play." Green says. "What they are failing to understand is our level is nowhere near their level. There are a lot of wonderful, really good golfers who are amputees. But going out and having to shoot 5 under each day for 54 holes is a big difference than going out and playing with your friends."

On the first Wednesday of November Green took his initial serious step back to competition, returning to West Palm Beach to work with teacher Peter Kostis for the first time since the accident.

"I wanted to get him going in stages," said Kostis, also a CBS golf analysis. "Get him a foundation to start building on. I think he had a good start."

Green was optimistic.

"He knows I desperately want to come back and play," Green said. "We've talked a little about what he thinks some of the things we want to do, but he had to show me.

"There's going to be chances. I'm never going to be able to fire hard. Probably going to be all upper body. I'm going to lose some distance.

"Whether I get back or not, I have no ideal. But I don't want to succeed or do this just to be the first guy without a let to play. That means nothing to me.

"It's about me coming back and doing it. To win the battle. Jeannie was in that battle with me. Billy was part of that battle. They went through all of it with me. So it's more about that than trying to do something special."

Kostis, who has known and worked with Green since the golfer's early days on tour, picked up immediately on a different passion.

"As long as I have known Kenny, I'm not sure I have ever seen him as single-minded, committed and so totally believing in what he's doing as right now," Kostis said. "He showed me a purpose that I had not seen before.

"And I want to tell you. I'm as committed to this as he is. It's going to happen."

******

As Green sits and talks he rubs the gnarly stump that comes to a point just below the knee with a crisscross of stitch marks. It's not nervous habit. It's a necessity.

"I've had what I'd call a decent amount of pain with my back problems, my shoulder problems," he says. "So I thought I was pretty good at tolerating stuff. But this has been bizarre. It has different levels but it's constantly there. I've never experience anything like this."

Green likens it to an electric shock that seems to spin around the stump. And strange things dial up the voltage. An electrical storm. Getting near a computer. Going to the bathroom. Spicy foods. They all cause nerve surges.

"It's awful sometimes," he says. "I literally just cry. It's just the nerves. Maybe it's because of all the surgeries. Because of an infection they had to go in there about seven times. So maybe the nerves just got slammed around.

"I'd be lying if I didn't admit, I ask the Big Guy, like, I'm OK handling everything else, but is there really a reason we have to have this pain, too? OK, enough is enough."

He will not, however, even mention the idea of being deterred.

After two hours with his visitor -- a time during which not once did he use the phrase "Why me?'' -- Green announces the desire for a soft drink and pulls himself up and into the wheel chair. Around the corner and down the hall he rolls. Munch trots behind.

"Kenny's motivation has just been insane," Shelley says. "He has come a long way in a short amount of time.

"He's going to get back out there. I have no doubt. And I promised, I'll caddie for him when he first goes back out. Yeah, I'm going to caddie."

Green nail polish for everybody.

Dreams Still in Sight for Ken Green originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 08:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It's Worth the Wait for Lanny Wadkins

Mick Elliott — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:22:00 EST

Filed under: Champions Tour

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- Lanny Wadkins wanted to make one thing absolutely clear. "It's great to be here," he said.

Wadkins was seated on a stage at the World Golf Village on Monday, or on top of the world. Definitely one of the two, and as far as Wadkins is concerned, the views are identical.

With his name now in the Golf Hall of Fame, Wadkins has finally fulfilled something that was long overdue.

Wadkins -- along with Irishman Christy O'Connor, Sr., Spaniard Jose Maria Olazabal and former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower -- was being inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

That was the good news. The bad was that it had taken Wadkins 14 years to get the call.

Golf.com: Wadkins Initial Frustration

Impatience can make a guy say things he probably shouldn't have.

So when Wadkins, a 21-time PGA Tour winner and U.S. Ryder Cup star, finally got the vote that was announced in April -- a year before his name would have been removed from the ballot -- he didn't get all mushy.

Basically, Wadkins wondered what took so long? He suggested it would have meant a bit more had the honor come in a more timely manner.

When you realize Wadkins' 21 tour victories are more than Greg Norman, Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite and Curtis Strange -- all hall of fame inductees -- ever won, it's a fair complaint. Still, it made Wadkins sound like a guy who had been chewing on a lemon.

That wasn't going to be the case Monday.

"It means a lot to me, and it always has and it always will," Wadkins said. "No, I don't have any regrets at all about being here now. I don't know that I could enjoy it any more.

"I think a lot that I alluded to, what I said earlier, is that it's interesting to look at a hall of fame. I know what I've done, and I know that when I look at guys like Palmer and Snead and Nelson and Hogan and Watson, -- the guys that have really had huge careers, won six, seven, eight, nine majors and more -- no question they're head and shoulders above everybody else. I just think there is a group of us that are all very similar -- wins, majors, the whole deal. So I think that it's almost like if one or two of us belonged in here, then all of us from that group belong in here, and I think it's about complete."

The knock on Wadkins had been only one major championship -- the 1977 PGA. To counter that, however, he was an absolute Ryder Cup terror. Wadkins' eight team appearances between 1977 and '93 ties Raymond Floyd and Billy Casper as most by any American. He also captained the 1995 U.S. team. And with 21.5 points, Watson is the third highest career scorer for the United States, behind only Casper and Arnold Palmer.

"Should have won more majors, no question," Wadkins said. "I was there. I had nine top-3s. It's not a lot compared to some people, but I was there a lot."

It's not an issue any longer. It's official. Jim Nantz, the CBS sportscaster who Wadkins worked with as an analyst, introduced the new hall of fame member. The Wadkins display was opened.

Late, maybe. But it's forever.

Wadkins' display at the World Golf Village features some of his Ryder Cup golf bags, a few clubs and various memorabilia -- all pretty standard stuff.

Not so common is the check for $4 made out to Wadkins and signed by Ben Hogan. Dated June 12, 1981, it was payment for a skins wager.

The typed note that accompanied the un-cashed check is a dandy.

"With all the confusion of our intruder, I simply forgot this," Hogan wrote.

"I can't imagine this fellow doing that. It was my first experience of this kind of thing and I didn't know how to handle the situation except to just quit."

Wadkins relished the chance to elaborate.

"I played a lot of golf with Ben around the early '80s, '81, '82," Wadkins, a Texan like Hogan, said. " We usually had a foursome that played all the time. Well, this day one of the guys didn't show up, so there were three of us out there playing.

"We got on about the 14th, 15th hole and a guy rides up in a cart. He's got shorts on and he's got a beard. That's probably two of Hogan's least favorite things on a golf course. The guy doesn't ask anything, he says 'I'm going to join you guys the rest of the way in.' Didn't even ask. Now, would you ride up to Ben Hogan and say, 'Hey, I'm playing with you today?' That didn't fly with Ben. He looked at me and said, 'Are you ready to go?' We drove off and left him sitting there."

A few days later, Wadkins received Hogan's note and check in the mail.

"And of course his secretary's name was Clara Bell," Wadkins remembered. "She called me every month for the next six months wanting me to cash Mr. Hogan's check so she could balance his account. I said, 'Clara Bell, there's no chance I'm cashing that check ever.' So there you go."

Lanny Wadkins laughed loud when he finished the story. He felt at home.

It's Worth the Wait for Lanny Wadkins originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:22:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Loss of Leg Won't Stop Army Vet From Being a Champion

Mick Elliott — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:05:00 EST

Filed under: FanHouse Exclusive, Champions Tour

TAMPA, Fla. -- The two men had met for the first time only a handful of hours earlier on a warm December morning last year while standing in the clubhouse at TPC Tampa Bay before a Birdies for the Brave charity golf event.

Donny Alston and Brad Bryant. Brad and Donny.

Alston, an assistant club professional at a public course about 45 miles away, called the chance visit with the Champions Tour player "a hoot.'' Making it even better, Andy Bean, another senior tour star, had been there, too.

The conversation was friendly and relaxed. Alston, a U.S. Army veteran who describes himself as "an excessively early person,'' had arrived for the tournament's scheduled noon start shortly after 8 a.m. When he walked into the clubhouse, the only two people already there were Bryant and Bean, both on hand as Champions Tour hosts for the PGA Tour-sponsored event.

"We ended up standing there 45 minutes or an hour, just having a conversation," Alston said. "I'm a golf idol worshipper. So it was a neat, neat thing."

That, Alston figured, was the extent of their exchange. Once the golf started he had seen the two tour pros again only in passing. Now, as darkness began to fall almost 10 hours later, Alston was packing up to head home, happy with the knowledge he had a story to tell the next morning when he returned to work behind the counter at Fox Hollow Golf Club in Trinity, Fla.

But all of a sudden, here was Bryant again, needing a minute to talk, pulling Alston to the side.

"Donny," Bryant said. "I have a question for you. Have you ever thought about playing golf professionally?''

"Come on, Brad. I'm a five handicapper. I'm an assistant club pro. I'm left handed. And, you do know, I only have one leg."
- Donny Alston Alston laughed. "Other than being a soldier, golf's all that I ever wanted to do," he said.

Bryant nodded his approval, and, to Alston's bewilderment, began citing reasons he thought the military veteran should take a shot at playing the Champions Tour.

And now you may think you know where this story is headed. But you have no clue. Not until you read Alston's response. Better still, read it several times until it sinks in.

"Come on, Brad," Alston replied. "I'm a five handicapper. I'm an assistant club pro. I'm left handed.

"And, you do know, I only have one leg."

Perfect.

******

There is nothing coincidental about Bryant's crazy idea coming to life at a Birdies for the Brave event.

Birdies for the Brave is a PGA Tour-sponsored series of charity events that support injured U.S. military personnel, and Bryant, like pretty much the entire Champions Tour roster, is an old-school, proud American with bubbling passion for country and patriotism.

So, as the morning's chance conversation with Alston moved from initial small talk to more serious subjects, Bryant began to realize he just might have found the guy he had long been imagining.

"Like a lot of players on our tour, I've been involved in a couple of different things with veterans," Bryant said. "We're really proud of those guys and want to give back to them.

"For a long time I had thought very seriously about what a great thing it would be if we could have a vet, someone who had distinguished them self in service for America, become a Champions Tour player."

As they visited in the TPC Tampa Bay clubhouse, Bryant soon learned Alston, who turns 48 next month, grew up playing the game -- family owned a golf shop -- and went on to eventually play mini tours, give lessons and work as an assistant club professional.

In between he served in the U.S. Army.

And lost his left leg from the knee down during an incident he will not discuss.

"In 1983 I got hurt," Alston says. "In '85 finally lost the leg after 22 surgeries. Got an infection from dirty instruments used on me in the field, which is nobody's fault. That's just the way it is in the field."

Pretty soon, Bryant had only one more question he needed answered: Can the guy on the prosthetic leg really play?

Bryant, unbeknownst to Alston, would later follow the military veteran to the practice range just to see. What were the odds? Ridiculous at best, right? Still, at this point, the far-fetched idea was gaining traction in Bryant's head.

"I went out to watch him on the practice tee," Bryant recalls. "And then, when I saw him swing, I said, 'Holy cow!' He makes this beautiful circle with the golf club. Yes, he has some flaws, but that was about as good as I've seen.

"You just don't see many golf swings where the guy just naturally makes a circle."

******

A month later, Bryant was back in touch, calling Alston at home with a slew of details.

ChampionsGate, the plush resort course outside Orlando that is home to the David Leadbetter Golf Academy, was offering its facilities for Alston to use for practice. That was particularly convenient since Alston now was enrolled as a new student at the Leadbetter Academy. Kevin Smeltz, ranked among the top 50 teaching pros in the country, a guy who works with a list of tour pros, specifically volunteered to work with Alston.

Callaway Golf would be helping with equipment. And another thing: With barely two years to go before Alston would become eligible for Champions Tour qualifying school, too much work needed to be done for this to be anything other than a full-force commitment. So Alston was just going to have to resign his assistant club pro job.

Bryant had talked to some of his buddies -- nobody special, just guys like Gary Player and Fuzzy Zoeller and Peter Jacobsen and Brad's little brother, Bart, the PGA Tour player, as well as Bean and some others -- and everybody was on board.

They would be matching Alston's old salary, meaning his new fulltime job would be working toward qualifying for the Champions Tour.

"Think about it," Bryant advised. "Talk to your wife. No pressure. But we think you can do it."

"This is to let all our service people know how much we appreciate them and how much we care about them. Even though the checks are made out to Donny, they are written to all our American vets.''
- Brad Bryant Retelling the story recently while taking a break during another long day on the practice range, Alston shook his head and laughed, still uncertain such a wild tale could actually be true.

"I talked to my wife," he recalled. "I said, 'What do you think? This guy is insane, right? Truly, he's crazy.''

"Obviously, a super-nice man, but he's nuts.' "

Bryant pleads guilty. He's absolutely, certifiably crazy about this cause.

"If he could become a really good player, it would do so much for our veterans," Bryant said. "Especially wounded vets. So the picture is much bigger than Donny.

"This is to let all our service people know how much we appreciate them and how much we care about them. Even though the checks are made out to Donny, they are written to all our American vets.

"If he never plays a golf tournament, we've already had a victory because we've given people an opportunity to say thank you to our veterans and try to fulfill one of their dreams. And maybe it will be a challenge to other groups to do things for our veterans."

Bean agreed from the start. Now, after playing several practice rounds with Alston, he's more certain that ever.

"Donny served our country and had the misfortune of not coming back quite the way he left," said Bean, an 11-time winner on the PGA Tour. "He loves golf. Anything you can do to give him a chance at a dream, shoot, that's the least I can do.

"Whether Donny makes it or not is not what this is about. It's about being able to help him with a dream he had. If I can somehow help make that come true, hey man, God bless him for trying."

******

Even before Bryant so surprisingly popped into his life, Alston counted himself among the lucky ones.

There was plenty of self-pity and anger to start, but eventually he adjusted to life with a prosthesis. Adapt and overcome. That's what he learned in the army. It carried him in civilian life, too.

Growing up in his dad's golf shop, Alston always imagined one day playing on tour, but even on two good legs, it would have been long odds. So, putting his life back together after the injury and getting back into golf on the club level had become the new goal.

Now, married for 20 years to wife Angie, Alston was living happy and content in the small town of Holiday, about 50 miles north of Tampa. His assistant pro position at Fox Hollow allowed time to play and teach.

"I was perfectly happy," he said.

Then all of a sudden, here is Bryant talking about qualifying for the Champions Tour.

"If I was going to sponsor a player right now, it wouldn't be me," Alston said. "But I also know the uniqueness of it is the hook. I understand the chances. Brad likes to say it's 40,000-to-one. I think it's more like a million-to-one.

"Whatever, it's a long shot. But a big part of me really wanting to give this a try is the opportunity for exposure for what the troops go through. Especially the amputees. It will give me a chance to touch people I could not get to otherwise.

"My big thing is with amputees. You may think your life is over, or your life will never be what it was again. It's true only if you let it be true. I can't hold a candle to some of the guys I have met. Guys with both legs off. A leg and an arm and half a face. And they're getting it done, viable members of our society.

"Don't let your disability make your life less. Your life can be more than. It does not have to be less than."

Angie sees the fire Bryant's proposal has lit. She notices the fresh passion injected into an old routine.

"He's happy when he's playing golf," she says. "He's very driven and wants to accomplish things. Whatever he happens to be doing at the time, he's driven, but if it's not golf there's not a light in his eyes. When it's golf related he's just happy. Very, very happy."

Angie stops. She doesn't speak the words, but still says it: OMG! This is for real.

"I thought it was the coolest things I had ever heard when Donny first told me," she finally says. "Donny was in shock. He felt like he was dreaming.

"It almost seemed like a too-good-to-be-true type of thing, but that has not been the case at all. It's been exactly what Brad said it would be: Fantastic."

******

So, will Alston actually defy all odds and logic? Can a blue-collar assistant club professional with a prosthetic leg actually transform himself into a world-class senior player?

You can argue stranger things have happened. In the early 1990s a small-town Texas farmer named Robert Landers, showed up for qualifying school in tennis shoes and swinging home-made clubs and beat the odds.

"Well, I am a pit bull," Alston says. "I'm very into perseverance. I have a competitive spirit. And I can putt the eyes out of it.

"So Kevin is building me a swing that I can repeat time and time again. As long as I can hit some greens, I'm going to make some putts."

Since the grand experiment officially began in March, there has been no shortage of effort. Five days a week, no less than eight hours a day, Alston works on his game.

"I believe in God. I believe there is such a thing as fate. There's a plan for you whether you know it or not. Maybe all these guys helping me is because I can help someone else."
- Donny Alston "As far as his swing, technically, his leg has not posed too much of a problem yet to be honest with you," Smeltz said. "I think as far as playing tournament conditions, I think he still has pain daily, so it's more of an endurance factor than it is a technique factor.

"Certainly there are factors that make it more challenging, but he's got the work ethic."

When Alston first reported to Leadbetter Academy eight months ago for instruction from Smeltz he carried a five handicap. Now he's a two.

"We're trying to get his ball to go a little straighter," Smeltz said, "but more importantly a little higher, so he can hold some of the greens in the conditions that he is striving to play in."

Striving to play in. That's the key phrase.

"The whole thing does sound a little off the wall," Smeltz said. "But I'm up for the challenge. Let's give it a shot and see what happens."

******

Whatever eventually transpires, Bryant is correct about at least one thing: This is not just about Donny.

"I wanted to be the first amputee to ever be a regular playing member of a professional golf tour," Alston said.

Now, he realizes his job might be to see that someone else does it first.

In June, PGA Tour veteran Ken Green's lower right leg was amputated following a recreational vehicle accident in which his brother and girlfriend died.

The 51-year-old golfer recently was fitted with a prosthetic limb and is in early rehabilitation. Returning to golf, Green has said, is the motivation that is keeping him going.

"I've been on the phone with him a lot, just talking," Alston said. "Brad and Andy and Ken, all those guys are buddies. I let them know if I could get with Ken and try to help him, just let me know.

"We're going to start meeting as soon as he's really able to get up on his prosthetic. I'm going to help him find his balance, all the little things. So, chances are I may be helping someone else be first. He's already a member of the Champions Tour.

"But if I help Ken Green go out first, that's fine. I believe in God. I believe there is such a thing as fate. There's a plan for you whether you know it or not. Maybe all these guys helping me is because I can help someone else."

And that's not such a crazy idea.

Loss of Leg Won't Stop Army Vet From Being a Champion originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 04:05:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sindelar Suffered Pulmonary Embolism

FanHouse Newswire — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:41:00 EST

Filed under: Champions Tour

SONOMA, Calif. (AP) -- Joey Sindelar remained hospitalized Sunday after having a pulmonary embolism during the third round of the Charles Schwab Cup Championships.

The Champions Tour said Sindelar's condition had improved but doctors at Sonoma Valley Hospital wanted to keep the 51-year-old for further observation.

Sindelar withdrew Saturday and was taken to the hospital for dizziness and shortness of breath after playing the 204-yard, par-3 fourth hole. Sindelar rested in between holes and tried to play the fifth before withdrawing. Medical personnel attended to Sindelar at the course before he was taken to the hospital for additional tests.

Sindelar, a seven-time winner on the PGA Tour, was 7 under for the tournament before withdrawing.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sindelar Suffered Pulmonary Embolism originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Mon, 02 Nov 2009 00:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jay Haas Overtakes Tom Watson

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:20:00 EST

Filed under: Champions Tour

TIMONIUM, Md. (AP) -- Jay Haas charged past Tom Watson to win the Senior Players Championship by a stroke, birdieing the 18th hole Sunday to match the course record with a 6-under 64 in the final Champions Tour major of the season.

The 60-year-old Watson was tying to become the oldest major winner on the 50-and-over tour. But after making only one bogey in the first three rounds at Baltimore Country Club, he had three in the final round en route to a 70.

Haas finished at 13-under 267 for his third senior major title. He has 14 career Champions Tour victories, also winning the Greater Hickory Classic two weeks ago.

Haas took advantage of a well-placed 6-iron from 185 yards on his second shot on the par-4 18th hole. His shot dropped on the right side of the green, then rolled within 3 feet of the cup for an easy birdie.

Watson missed the fairway on 18, ending any hopes he could catch Haas. Mark Wiebe (71) and Loren Roberts (71) tied for third at 7 under, and Bernhard Langer (68) and John Cook (72) followed at 6 under.

Watson pulled ahead by a stroke with a masterful, downhill birdie putt on No. 15. With 30 feet to the hole, he sent a slow roller that briefly broke right before curling left and dropping in to put him at 12 under. But Haas birdied 17, converting a 12-foot putt for his 20th birdie of the tournament, to force a tie atop the leaderboard.

With a gusty breeze making putting on the difficult, sloping greens at the Five Farms East course even more challenging, Watson wasn't able to replicate the 64 he shot Saturday to move into the lead after three rounds.

Watson began the day at 12 under with a four-stroke lead over Roberts, Cook and Wiebe. The leader bogeyed the first hole, and Hass climbed within two strokes with birdies on Nos. 3 and 4, before Watson birdied the fifth hole to lead by three strokes.

But Watson closed the front nine by bogeying Nos. 7 and 9 and Haas' birdie on the 10th hole pulled him within a stroke at 10 under.

Hass missed opportunities to pull into a share of the lead, pushing a 6-foot birdie putt on No. 12 past the cup and failing to covert a long putt on No. 13. But he knocked in a 5-footer for a birdie on No. 14 to pull even with Watson.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Jay Haas Overtakes Tom Watson originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Sun, 04 Oct 2009 18:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Tom Watson Leads Senior Players

FanHouse Newswire — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:25:00 EST

Filed under: Champions Tour

TIMONIUM, Md. (AP) -- Tom Watson is feeling good and likes his golf game these days.

The 60-year-old Watson celebrated his one-year anniversary from successful left hip surgery by shooting a 6-under 64 and building a four-stroke lead Saturday at the Senior Players Championship.

Watson, bidding to become the oldest major winner on the Champions Tour, attacked the Baltimore Country Club course and put together a bogey-free round- he's made only one during the tournament-with six birdies to finish at 12-under 198 and four shots clear of Loren Roberts (65), John Cook (65) and Mark Wiebe (66).

Watson nearly won the British Open back in July, but a balky putter on the 72nd hole cost him the Claret jug. Now, Watson said he's more confident on the greens and, three months removed from his dramatic performance at Turnberry, happy about his play.

He's also healthier. Last season, Watson walked with a limp and had trouble sleeping because of pain in his hip. After the surgery, Watson said he immediately saw results.

"I heard a lot of good things about hip replacement, people getting great results and having more flexibility, more range of motion," he said. "I can get up on a horse, over a fence, all kinds of things now. It is something, to think you've got this metal, ceramic piece of merchandise in there. It works so well, I hope it lasts a long time."

Watson started the round with a two-shot lead over Wiebe and Jay Haas (7-under 203) and birdied three holes on the front nine to get to 9 under. Three more birdies and a key par save on the par-3 11th hole put Watson into the lead. It also drew praise from his competitors.

"Tom's played three great rounds," said Cook, who carded six birdies and one bogey to stay close. "We've got our work cut out for us, no doubt."

Cook's lone blemish came on No. 18, one of the most difficult holes on the course.

"I didn't lose a lot to the field by making bogey there, although you don't want to give Tom Watson four shots," he said. "That's a pretty tall order."

Cook, Wiebe and Roberts are in contention thanks to good putting days, too. Wiebe made five birdies and a par on 18 to give him a chance in the final round. As for Roberts, the 2007 Senior Players champion, he credited a solid third round to the notion of playing in the final group once again.

Two years ago Roberts, paired with Watson and Fred Funk, crafted a 5-under 30 on the front nine and pulled away from the field to win his third career Champions Tour major title.

"We're going to have to really go hard the first six holes tomorrow. It's going to be the pedal to the metal on that one," said Roberts, who birdied 10, 11 and 12 to finish with six on the day. "Tom will be really hard to catch. He's got a healthy hip now and obviously he's playing really good."

Watson seemed relaxed Saturday, chatting off and on with playing partner Wiebe about non-golf related topics such as college football and his hometown pro team, the Kansas City Chiefs.

Afterward, Wiebe told a television reporter that Watson had just played one of the best rounds he'd ever seen. If Watson puts together another quality performance Sunday, it could add up to his sixth major title on the Champions Tour.

"If I drive the ball in the fairway, I should do OK," Watson said. "I'm pretty happy with the way I'm putting, and that's the first time I can say that in a long time. That's what I've been looking for."

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Tom Watson Leads Senior Players originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Arnold Palmer, the Legendary King of Swing, Turns 80

Mick Elliott — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:07:00 EST

Filed under: Champions Tour, Golf Odds and Ends

Arnold Palmer, legend, turns 80 on Thursday.

So what exactly do you give the man who single-handedly transformed golf into a spectator sport, made presidents want to be his friend, caused perfectly normal adults to swoon with hero worship, mixed lemonade and iced tea to create a refreshing concoction that would become an "Arnold Palmer," and hawked everything from motor oil to rental cars like no one before or since?

A party like he shot 59.

A lifetime in the making, admiration for Palmer's iconic feats continued on display Tuesday night when the son of a Latrobe, Pa., greens keeper was at PNC Park to throw out the first pitch before the Pittsburgh Pirates hosted the Chicago Cubs.

Before that he spent last week in Orlando, Fla., home of his beloved Bay Hill Club and Lodge, making a formal appearance at the Arnold Palmer Medical Center, which, on Thursday, just happens to be having a little celebration of its own -- a 20th anniversary thanks to its famous namesake.

Sandwiched in between have been golf outings with old friends and associates, playing Bay Hill and Latrobe Country Club during the day, and parties and reminiscing at night.

"I think he's a bit embarrassed by all the fuss to be honest,'' said Doc Giffin, Palmer's right-hand man for the past 43 years. "But he's enjoying it because of all the cards, letter and calls from old friends."

So many friends.

"People ask me about him and his charisma," said Gary Koch, the former PGA Tour player and current NBC golf analyst who counts a victory at Bay Hill among the highlights of his competitive career.

"He was the kind of guy who when he went to the first hole there would be grandstands there and maybe 500 people surrounding the tee box. They'd introduce him and he'd look up in the grandstands and wave. And every single one of those 500 people would go home and say, 'He looked right at me.' Just a unique ability to transfer warmth and genuineness to spectators.

"And then, of course, his style of play. That appealed to people as well."

The combination made for a presence which golf -- arguably, any sport -- hasn't seen since.

While other athletes endured signing autographs, Palmer relished the chance to be among the people. Mix in a go-for-broke playing style, at a time when television was first starting to broadcast golf to the masses, and Palmer became a hero for the everyman.

A hitch of his pants, a wicked slash and away he would go. Golf had belonged to Hogan, Nelson and Snead. It was played under control and with hardly a facial twitch. Then along came Palmer, forearms by Popeye with rolled-up short sleeves, a cigarette dangling from his mouth and eyes burning. His rubbery face hid no secrets, contorting in direct response to every success or mistake.

He won the 1958 Masters and in 1960 claimed the Masters and U.S. Open. He went on to record seven majors and 62 PGA Tour wins. His walk was fast, his swing faster. He would hit a shot into the woods on the left side, the next into a ditch on the right, and then bounce the next one into the cup. Palmer didn't care how birdies happened, just as long as they did.

Arnie's full-speed-ahead assault won tournaments and it lost just as many, but fans loved him for it. They always will.

No greater example of the enduring desire to simply cross paths with the larger-than-life man was on display eight years ago during a Champions Tour event in Tampa, Fla., as the then-72-year-old Palmer milked some of the last tournament golf out of his career. He had completed a second-round score of 80, leaving him in last place, 31 shots out of the lead, and was about to leave the scoring area when a spectator standing near the exit suffered a heart attack.

As emergency medical personnel cleared an area and began treatment, a veritable AARP chapter of fans responded with hostility, shouting indignities at the poor victim because resuscitation efforts to save his life were blocking any chance for getting close enough for Palmer's autograph.

"I'd been waiting here all day and now I can't get to him,'' grumbled a gray-haired man holding a program and a pen.

That was the appeal of Arnold Palmer. It still remains -- after all these years.

"Oh, everything, are you kidding me," Tiger Woods answered last month when asked what Palmer means to the game. "I mean, without his charisma, without his personality in conjunction with TV ... You finally had someone who had this charisma and they're capturing it on TV for the first time. Everybody got hooked to the game of golf via TV because of Arnold."

What was there not to like? Palmer made fans emotionally attached. He wanted so badly to knock every shot into the hole; all those around him wanted it, too.

The quintessential risk-reward moment of Palmer's career took place at the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills outside Denver. During each of the opening three rounds, Palmer had attempted to drive the green on the short par-4 opening hole. Each attempt had failed, resulting in scores of double bogey, bogey and par.

Unfazed, he began the final round again going for broke and this time making birdie. A streak of five more birdies over the next six hole followed and Palmer charged from seven shots back to victory, still the largest final-round comeback in U.S. Open history.

Everybody has a memory.

"The most telling thing I think about Arnold is when he was the captain of the '75 Ryder Cup,'' fellow Hall of Famer Hale Irwin remembered recently. "Arnold is competitive, which I love, but we had a team meeting, and Arnold said, 'OK, guys, I want you to get out there, and I don't want them to win a point.' He really and truly meant, he didn't want them to win a point.

"I kept looking for that little smirk and that little smile, and there was none. That indicated to me how Arnold Palmer made his career -- driving the first hole at Cherry Hills, all the drama, go for broke, hit the shot through the trees, all those things that Arnold has been so synonymous with for so many years. That right there showed me that this guy takes no prisoners. Get in the way and I'll run over you. I'll pick you up after it's said and done, but I'll run over you.

"I like that about Arnold because you always know where Arnold is coming from. There was never any pretense. He was the guy from Pennsylvania. His father had raised a straightforward young man, and obviously Arnold played straightforward.''

Party on.

Arnold Palmer, the Legendary King of Swing, Turns 80 originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Wed, 09 Sep 2009 10:07:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Emotions Getting Best Out of Stricker

Mick Elliott — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:25:00 EST

Filed under: LPGA, PGA, Champions Tour, FedEx Cup

With two tournaments left in the PGA Tour season, the FedEx Cup points leader is not a guy recognized by a cut-throat stare or rapid-fire fist pump but rather for his tendency to tear up over anything more emotional than a complimentary breakfast buffet.

After Monday evening's one-shot victory in the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston, Steve Stricker, a mild-mannered quiet guy from Edgerton, Wisc., was last seen blinking back tears.

Talk about a battle cry.

Stricker didn't just shoot a final-round 67 for one-shot victory over Scott Verplank and Jason Dufner, he jumped in front of Tiger Woods in the playoff points race for a $10 million bonus. He birdied Nos. 17 and 18 to come from one shot back with two holes to play.

And with victory in hand he tried not to lose it.

"I hate when I cry all the time,'' Stricker said. "I'm just glad to be playing as well as I am.''

No one is playing better at the present. The victory is Stricker's third of the season, more than any other player on tour other than Woods who has five. But Stricker's three wins have come in his last nine events. And there's also last week's runner-up finish at The Barclays, where he missed forcing a playoff with Heath Slocum only when a 10-footer putt on the final hole rolled did not drop.

Now he goes to Chicago for this week's BMW Championship and then to Atlanta for the Tour Championship as the player everyone much catch. Including Tiger Woods.

"It means a lot," Stricker said when the day was over. "It solidifies myself, solidifies my chances of winning the FedEx Cup. It ensures that I'm going to be in that Top 5. I can control my own destiny come that last Tour Championship, and that's what my goal was coming into these first three events -- just to make sure that I played well and remained in the Top 5 so I could have a chance to win it all. I think this pretty much does it.''

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank Americas, presents Steve Stricker with the winner's trophy after the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR) *** Local Caption *** Seth Waugh;Steve Stricker

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Scott Verplank hits a drive from the ninth tee box during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR) *** Local Caption *** Scott Verplank

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Jason Dufner reacts on the 18th tee box during the final round of the the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jason Dufner

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Padraig Harrington works out of the rough toward the 10th green during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Padraig Harrington

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Jason Dufner watches a tee shot during the final round of the the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jason Dufner

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Jason Dufner walks down the 16th fairway during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Jason Dufner

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Padraig Harrington watches a tee shot during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Padraig Harrington

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Steve Stricker hits from the fourth tee box during the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR) *** Local Caption *** Steve Stricker

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Scott Verplank gestures during round four of the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Scott Verplank

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NORTON, MA - SEPTEMBER 7: Steve Stricker laughs with Seth Waugh, CEO of Deutsche Bank America, after Stricker won the the Deutsche Bank Championship held at TPC Boston on September 7, 2009 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Seth Waugh;Steve Striker

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Stricker, 42, has a good reason to be emotional, although he rarely needs one.

He was once among American's top young players. In 1996 he had two victories and finished fourth on the season money list. In 1998 she contended for the PGA Championship, finishing second to Vijay Singh.

But as fast as Stricker's career seemed to be rising, it fell off the radar screen. He tumbled so badly and so far that to climb back it took Comeback Player of the Year Awards in 2006 AND 2007.

Now he back in the hunt and No. 2 ranked in the world. He is the golfer in front of Woods on a season-long ranking. When Woods has more than one leg to stand on, few players have been able to make that claim.

"As far as the World Ranking goes, that's just something that's a bonus, I guess, for playing well," Stricker said. "You know, it's a nice honor to be up there. But that's all I really look at for that. I mean, good play takes care of a lot of things, and that's what I'm focused on is just to play good.

"Slowly I've been gaining confidence when I'm under the gun. It's just a totally different feel out there. You know, I mean, you're numb at times, at least I am. It's been a lot of fun," Stricker said. "It's a lot of fun getting in contention like that, and it's even more fun when you can pull it off like I did today.''

Stricker, for crying out loud, just changed everything.

RESPECT FOR SENIORS

Only the grumpiest of Champions Tour critics could not, as America's First Golfer might say, get "wee-weed up'' over Sunday's finish at Pebble Beach in the Walmart First Tee Open.

The running slam on the senior circuit is that "who's he?" is more prevalent than the "who's who" needed to fuel spectator interest.

Not this time.

Jeff Sluman, a six-time PGA Tour winner and 1988 PGA Championship titlist, won, in part, thanks to a 178-yard 8-iron that aced the par-3 fifth hole.

That's good stuff, but then check out other names among the scoreboard's top 10: Tom Lehman, Mark O'Meara, Olin Browne, Loren Roberts, Fred Funk, Tom Watson and Mark McNulty.

Sluman overcame a six-shot final-round deficit by shooting 68 on a wind-whipped day, recording four birdies and the ace.

"Any time you make one, it's great," said Sluman, who has five hole-in-ones in competition, including the only one ever made on No. 4 at Augusta National. "And to make one in the last round that's pretty important is pretty special."

Sluman also received the Pebble Beach stamp of approval.

As he prepared to putt out for victory at the 18th hole, Sluman was interrupted by comedian Bill Murray who yelled out "We love you Jeff!"

Senior Moments: The victory was Sluman's second straight Walmart First Tee title and third since joining the Champions Tour in late 2008 ... Loren Roberts' tie for fifth gave him five consecutive top-5 finishes for the season. ... In the pro-junior competition, the tournament within the tournament, the team of David Eger and Will Bishop of the First Tee of Lexington, Ky., edged Sluman and junior partner, Erica Schneider of The First Tee of Sarasota/Manatee, Fla., by one stroke. Eger/Bishop carded a better-ball team score of 17-under-par 199.

PETTERSEN'S MESSAGE

The big news from the CN Canadian Women's Open wasn't as much Suzann Pettersen winning the title as much as a pre-final-round text message she received from Tiger Woods.

According to the 28-year-old Norwegian, who was taking a five-shot lead into the final round, any lack of eloquence on Woods' part was offset by directness.

"I got a message from Tiger," she reported after collecting her sixth career LPGA title. " 'Keep doing your (crap).' "

LPGA Notes: Pettersen's win vaults her into second spot on the season's money list with $1,294,810. It was her first title since 2007, a stretch that included six runner-up finishes.

Emotions Getting Best Out of Stricker originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:25:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Making the Cut: Surprise, Surprise

Shane Bacon — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:41:00 EST

Filed under: PGA, Champions Tour, Golf Odds and Ends

Each Wednesday during the golf season, FanHouse will list the top five names in golf and why they're important. Did Barack play 18 with Tiger? Did a certain player do something controversial off the course? Or was just playing golf enough to get the pot stirring? Join us for a weekly feature we call Making the Cut.

5. Fred Funk -- It was one of the better final rounds in the history of the Senior U.S. Open, but nobody watched because of a certain someone in the accompanying photo (thanks, Woods). It was his second major championship on the Champions Tour and fifth senior win since turning 50 three years ago. Funk is the type of player that could still make the occasional wave on the PGA Tour (made the cut in both the U.S. Open and Players this year), but it seems his focus is going to be with the Champions Tour, which is probably for the best. Maybe more impressive than his final-round 65 that help vault him to a six-shot lead? The fact that he made four bogeys all week at Crooked Stick.

4. John Daly -- Some things change, and some things stay the same. Daly, the poster child (man?) for unpredictable behavior has had his ups this year. He finished second earlier this season at the European Tour's BMW Italian Open, proving that a little weight loss and some practice can rev even Daly's engine. He seems to be happy, with new sponsors and an attractive girlfriend and a Twitter account. The problem is, that song has been blared before. "Daly is finally back this time." At the Buick Open, Daly's fourth tournament since returning back from a six-month suspension from the PGA Tour, the man once known as Wild Thing carded a front-nine 51 on his way to an 88, his worst score on the PGA Tour since, well, last year, when he shot 89 at the British Open.

See, that is Daly. One second he is telling us how happy he is with life and the next he's hitting a wall, making a 10 on a par-5 when he should be booming a drive down in search of his next eagle. I think any golf fan can agree that Daly deals with demons deep inside his skull the likes of something we could never truly grasp, but the song and dance of Daly being back, only to have him blow up again has become as repetitive as a Tiger victory. He can blame the weight and his eyes and his tough schedule, but the bottom line is, we'll get something like this from Daly once a year. It's just part of Big John's DNA. Don't be surprised if he comes out and nearly wins the next event he tees up at. Crazy stuff like that shouldn't surprise you anymore.

3. Phil Mickelson -- He's back this week, and looking to break the struggles he's had in years past when he took a long layoff from the PGA Tour. Wife Amy seems to be in better health (no word yet on mother Mary), and Phil will be using Firestone as a nice warmup for Hazeltine. Like anyone dominant in sports, it'll just be nice having Mickelson back in the field, no matter if you love him or hate him.

2. Tiger Woods -- Did you hear? Tiger Woods won the Buick Open this past Sunday after shooting three straight rounds in the 60s including a 63 on Friday. Oh, you didn't? Is that because it was tough to comprehend what was going on with all the flatulence in the air? Tiger made history not just for his 69th PGA Tour victory, but because he might be the first athlete ever to make farting a water cooler subject again. It appears the culprit wasn't Woods, but for two days, every bean company in the world was thinking of cool ways to attract Woods as a potential salesman. The guy can straight push some inventory.

1. David Feherty -- Ahh, the truth is out, and it smells delicious. Feherty admitted on the Dan Patrick Show that it might have been him, and Stephanie Wei at Wei Under Par got some inside information that it was in fact Feherty who was the feller. If at any time you didn't think David dealt it, you can sleep soundly tonight knowing that, yes, men do pass gas, and yes, it can create quite a stir on the Internet. Now, can we please go back to one of the early rules of golf you learn on your first lesson? Be quiet. Be very, very quiet.

Making the Cut: Surprise, Surprise originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Wed, 05 Aug 2009 15:41:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fred Funk Rolls to US Senior Open Title

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EST

Filed under: Champions Tour

CARMEL, Ind. (AP) -- Fred Funk took a back-nine victory lap in the U.S. Senior Open.

Funk won by six strokes and broke the tournament record with a 20-under total. He shot a 7-under 65 on Sunday at Crooked Stick.

"It's something I really didn't fathom happening, but the biggest thing is just getting my name on that trophy,'' the 53-year-old Funk said.

Coming off a playoff loss to Loren Roberts last week in the Senior British Open, Funk broke the event mark of 17 under set by Hale Irwin in 2000 at Saucon Valley.

Funk, an eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, won his second senior major, following the 2008 JELD-WEN Tradition. He has five Champions Tour victories.

Funk was 13 under the first three days to take the lead. He birdied Nos. 2, 5 and 9 on Sunday for a 33 on the front nine and was on his way to routing the field.

The crowd knew what was happening, but Funk didn't check the scoreboard until he got to the 17th green.

"I had a feeling I had a little bit of a lead,'' he said.

Once he figured out where he stood, he simply had fun.

"It was a big relief to kind of freewheel it on 18,'' he said.

Joey Sindelar (70) finished second at 14 under, Russ Cochran (68) was 12 under, and Roberts (64) and Greg Norman (73) followed at 11 under.

Funk felt he could have won the previous week if he hadn't tried so hard to steer the ball. A week later, he let it rip with record-breaking results.

"Unless you win, you can always look back and find shots in four days that you wish you had back,'' he said. "And I didn't want to look back this week and say would have, should have, could have.''

The swing always has been a key part of Funk's game.

"He hits as straight as any man on the planet,'' said Roberts, who matched the course record with his 64. "That's what you've got to do at an Open Championship because the rough is so tough. When he does that and gets the putter going -- you see what he is doing -- going lights out.''

Sindelar said he knew he wasn't going to catch Funk. He entered Sunday thinking he could compete if he played the longer holes better, but it didn't matter.

"I played the par 5s better, and I didn't shank, and Fred still whooped me bad,'' Sindelar said. "It was awesome.''

Sindelar said he wished the final day had been more competitive, but he said Funk is tough once he gets ahead. In the five events Funk has led on the Champions Tour heading into the final round, he has won four.

Norman started the day one stroke behind Funk, but never threatened. His tee shot hit a tree and went into the water on No. 6 and he double bogeyed. On the next hole, he shot out of a bunker and landed on the green, but he two-putted and bogeyed.

Funk saw Norman's confidence slipping on No. 6.

"He just didn't have control of the golf ball like he did yesterday,'' Funk said. "He didn't drive or putt as good, and got himself in a little trouble. A couple of his good shots didn't turn out good, and I think it started eating at him a little bit.''

Tom Watson, the runner-up at the British Open, shot even on Sunday to finish at 2 over, tied for 43rd.

Last year's winner, Eduardo Romero, shot an even-par 72 on Sunday to tied for 19th at 3 under.

The course record was altered three times during the week. Norman, Sindelar, Dan Forsman and amateur Tim Jackson all tied for mark Thursday with 66s.

That record was bettered Saturday when Cochran had a 64. Roberts then tied Cochran's mark.

Jackson, who led after the first two days, shot a 4-over 76 on Sunday to tie for 11th. His 72-hole score of 282 was the lowest by an amateur in U.S. Senior Open history, shattering the record of 288 set by Greg Reynolds and George Zahringer in 2005. Jackson also shot the lowest round for an amateur in a U.S. Senior Open, a 66 on Thursday.

Jackson's score of 133 over the first two days matched the tourney's best 36-hole mark.

"This was a great experience and a great week,'' the 50-year-old said. "Even as old as I am, I learned a lot.''

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Fred Funk Rolls to US Senior Open Title originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Sun, 02 Aug 2009 17:40:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Loren Roberts Wins 2nd Senior British Open Title

FanHouse Newswire — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST

Filed under: Golf, Champions Tour

SUNNINGDALE, England (AP) -- Loren Roberts of the United States won his second Senior British Open title on Sunday, beating Mark McNulty on the third hole of a sudden death playoff.

Fred Funk also took part in the playoff at Sunningdale, but the American was eliminated on the first extra hole when he could only make par as Roberts and McNulty birdied.

Senior British Open: Check Final-Round Leaderboard

The remaining pair parred the second playoff hole before Roberts clinched victory with another par at the next.

Greg Norman, the third-round leader, missed birdie chances at the first three holes and double-bogeyed the 17th after driving into trees. Norman finished in a tie for sixth place, three strokes behind the leaders.

"My game felt good, no question about it. I just lack a lot of match practice,'' Norman said.

Roberts, who won in 2006 at Turnberry, and Funk each shot a 67 in the final round. McNulty shot 64.

Bernhard Langer (65) was fourth with Sam Torrance (67) fifth. Norman (71) and Larry Mize (68) were next.

Roberts thought he had lost it on the second playoff hole after missing an 8-foot birdie attempt, but McNulty drove into heavy rough on the next hole and bogeyed.

"I thought that was a real good chance I let get away,'' Roberts said. "I got too involved with the line and forgot the speed.''

Roberts' victory earned him a spot in next year's British Open at St. Andrews.

"I'm looking forward to it already. It will be an honor to play there,'' he said.

Tom Watson had his best putting round of the week, but a 67 left him tied for eighth place. He said at least he had resolved the putting problem that had plagued him, and he was anticipating this week's U.S. Senior Open at Crooked Stick, Ind.

Roberts said one aspect of his game that pleased him most was his mental approach.

"I've been struggling mentally a little bit this year,'' he said. "I haven't been hitting the ball as sharply or as good as I can. I didn't give up mentally today. I didn't let the mental side get me down when I fell behind early.

"I've been doing some physical things, making some adjustments here and there. At my age I don't know if my body is changing a little bit. But I've been just trying to see if I can do a little better with what I have.''

Roberts birdied the opening hole but bogeyed the second after a poor drive and the fourth when he mishit a wedge. He did not drop any more shots and birdied four holes on the back nine, including the 17th where he knocked a 7-iron to 9 feet from the hole.

That was the same distance as the 12th, which he said was the key birdie in his round.

"Greg (Norman) made birdie there and I made mine on top of him," he said.

McNulty, who now has an Irish passport after he was forced to leave his Zimbabwean birthplace by President Robert Mugabe, couldn't get over the edge to top Roberts.

"I always felt I was one shot short,'' he said. "I gave it all I had and lost because of one bad swing. It got away from me. I didn't complete my swing and got ahead of it.''

Funk said he also had opportunities to win.

"I'm proud of the way I played overall,'' he said.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

Loren Roberts Wins 2nd Senior British Open Title originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Sun, 26 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Greg Norman Leads Senior British Open

Shane Bacon — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:33:00 EST

Filed under: British Open, Champions Tour

Around this time a year ago, Greg Norman was the golf story. A ripe 53 years old, Norman plotted around the links at Royal Birkdale for three days in the lead of an Open Championship, trying to capture his third major championship victory.

You all know the story. Norman faltered in the final round, shooting a 7-over 77 to lose to Padraig Harrington by six shots. A year later, the Shark is at it again, leading the Senior British at Sunningdale Golf Club after a third-round 64 allowed him to jump Fred Funk. Norman is a shot ahead of Funk at 10-under with 18 holes to go for his first ever Champions Tour win.

That stat can be misleading. Norman has avoided playing even sparingly on the Champions Tour, but when he has, he's been successful. After the near-win at last year's Open, Norman finished t-5 at the Senior British and fourth at the Senior U.S. Open.

Norman will have to take down Funk, who opened the tournament with rounds of 64-65 before coming back to the field on Saturday with at 2-over 72. Loren Roberts is also tied with Funk at 9-under, with Denis Johnson a shot back at 8-under.

The big story last week at Turnberry was Tom Watson, who started the week with some hope at Sunningdale. Watson's 67 on Thursday was surprising considering all he'd gone through the last few days, but he has struggled to go low enough to stay with the leaders. A Friday round of 69 was followed by an ever-par round of 70 to have the five-time Open winner six shots back of the lead.

Greg Norman Leads Senior British Open originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Sat, 25 Jul 2009 16:33:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nick Price Respects the Game

Shane Bacon — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:09:00 EST

Filed under: British Open, PGA, Champions Tour

In 1994, Nick Price was at the top of the golf world. A victory at the British Open at Turnberry followed by a PGA Championship in the same year had Price ranked as the top golfer in the world. Fifteen years later, Price was invited to play in the first British Open at Turnberry since his historic victory, but has said he might decline the offer to give a younger player a chance to start his own record book, like Price did by finishing second at the British in 1982.

"A lot of people have said, why don't I go back to the British Open or the PGA because I won?" he said. "I say, well, I can't win, I would rather give my spot to a guy who can win it. Maybe there's a 25-year-old who sneaks into the championship like I did [at Troon] in 1982, you have a chance to win, and that might change his whole life. I certainly don't want to go to a major championship trying to make the cut. Geez, I would rather go fishing for two weeks, you know."

Price has until the end of this month to submit his entry form, but it doesn't look like he will do it. Price, 52, might be playing his best golf since 2002, winning last week for the first time on the Champions Tour, but he knows that the major championship game has passed him by. Like Greg Norman showed last year, you can compete as a senior but winning is nearly impossible, and Price is doing the right thing in giving up his spot to someone who would be excited about it and embrace it.

Justin Rose had a British Open moment as a 17-year-old, finishing fourth in 1998. Andres Romero was 26 when he nearly stole the British in 2007 at Carnoustie. Price's thinking might just give another young gentleman the chance to find his name on the leaderboard at the most famous golf tournament in the world. They say golf is a gentleman's sport. Price is making that pretty darn close to the truth.

Nick Price Respects the Game originally appeared on Golf FanHouse on Tue, 21 Apr 2009 17:09:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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