March 2007 Archives

Noticed Jason Gore (Hart High of Newhall/Pepperdine) was wearing an Astros hat during the opening rounds of the PGA Tour's Houston Open. Wasn't surprising, since Gore recently split with Nike.

But it seems there's quite a story behind the hat. To wit:

Clemens-inspired Gore shares lead at Houston Open
By CHRIS DUNCAN
AP Sports Writer
HUMBLE, Texas _ Jason Gore got a boost from the Rocket in the Houston Open.
Wearing a black Houston Astros cap that Roger Clemens gave him, Gore shot a 4-under 68 on Friday
to join a six-player logjam at the top.
Defending champion Stuart Appleby, Bubba Watson, D.J. Brigman and Texans Bob Estes and Jeff
Maggert also were 6 under after two rounds, and Hunter Mahan, Tommy Armour III and Tom Byrum were
one shot back.
Gore, who has a Boston Red Sox jersey at home that Clemens once autographed, first formally met
his boyhood idol two years ago at the ADT Skills Challenge and the two became friends.
“He’s always been my hero,” Gore said.
Clemens, still undecided on whether he’ll return to baseball, played in a pro-am on Wednesday and
also gave Gore a T-shirt that read “Tough All Day” across the front. The inspired Gore marked the
letters “TAD” on his ball before teeing off Thursday and shot a 2-under 70, his best round in
more than a month.
“It’s just one of those things,” Gore said of the simple message. “No matter how bad things go,
you’ve got to just stay tough.”

Wie isn't playing in men's or women's tournaments these days. Wie will miss the Kraft Nabisco, one of the four LPGA majors, with the left wrist injury that has kept her out of action for about a month, according to Ken Sunshine Consultants, a public relations firm that represents Wie. Wie injured the wrist after she fell while on a run. She has played in just one professional event this year - the PGA Tour's Sony Open in her home state of Hawaii - and failed to make the cut.

Tom Purtzer made a 17-foot birdie putt on the fourth playoff hole, the par-5 18th, to defeat Loren Roberts. It was the longest playoff in AT&T Champions Classic history.

Tom Purtzer and Loren Roberts both parred the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, and are headed back to the tee.

The players will continue to play No. 18 until a winner is decided.

Tom Purtzer and Loren Roberts both parred the first playoff hole, the par-5 18th, and are headed back to the tee.

The players will continue to play No. 18 until a winner is decided.

On the first playoff hole, Loren Roberts' first shot was partially buried in the rough, but not as bad as Tom Purtzer’s second shot, which was nearly hidden in the rough around the green. Purtzer made a nice chip shot out of there to within 19 feet but left the putt, which would’ve won the tournament, 2 ½ feet short. He parred the hole and Roberts two-putted from 49 feet.

Loren Roberts parred the par-5 18th hole, forcing a playoff with Tom Purtzer. Purtzer birdied from 10 feet on 18 and Roberts two-putted from 19 feet.
The golfers will play No. 18 in the playoff until someone wins.

In the 17 previous AT&T Champions Classics, the Saturday leader/co-leader has gone on to win just six times. The winners were John Brodie (1991), Joe Inman (1998, 2000), Jim Colbert (2001), Gil Morgan (2004) and Tom Kite (2006).

The field scoring average jumped from a course-record 71.227 strokes Friday to 72.093 Saturday.

David Eger shot a 5-under 67 Saturday on his 55th birthday.

He continued his strong play Sunday, going 4 under through 15 holes to move into a share of the lead.

Hale Irwin, the second-round leader, has won 33 of 48 events when he has led or been tied for the lead entering the final round.

He was even through 13 holes Sunday to fall into a tie for third, two strokes behind Tom Purtzer and David Eger.

At one point Sunday, six players were tied for the lead.

Tom Purtzer has moved to 10 under, a stroke ahead of Hale Irwin, David Eger and Fuzzy Zoeller. The last group is through 13 holes.

Jay Haas took a bogey-5 on the 421-yard sixth hole Saturday.

It was just the second bogey for Haas in his past 78 holes, including last week's Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach, which he won.

Hale Irwin's opening-round 64 matched the tournament course record at Valencia CC set by Larry Nelson (second round, 2001) and tied by Walter Morgan (final round, 2001), Joe Inman (final round, 2004) and Tom Kite (second round, 2006).

Bruce Summerhays extended his streak of events played for which he's eligible to 155 at the AT&T Champions Classic in Valencia this weekend.

Dana Quigley holds the Champions Tour record at 278 consecutive starts.

Tom McKnight and Tom Jenkins both hit all 14 fairways in the opening round.

Fuzzy Zoeller led the field in greens in regulations, reaching 16 of 18.

Tom McKnight and Tom Jenkins both hit all 14 fairways in the opening round.

Fuzzy Zoeller led the field in greens in regulations, reaching 16 of 18.

David Edwards used just 24 putts in the opening round, with 12 one-putt greens.

That helped Edwards shoot a 6-under 66 to tie for second.

Tom Purtzer had the longest drive in the opening round, a 341-yarder on No. 10.

With an opening-round 68, Eduardo Romero posted his seventh consecutive round in the 60s, tying the season's best mark set by Loren Roberts.

David Eger is celebrating his 55th birthday in style, shooting a 3-under 33 on the back nine (his first nine of the day).

Scott Simpson (USC) wrapped up his opening round with an even-par 72.

But he did keep an impressive streak going, reaching 134 consecutive holes without a three-putt.

Saturday's forecast called for temperatures as hgh as 86 with winds from the southwest at 8-12 mph.

For Sunday's final round, the high is expected to be 77 with winds from 5-15 mph in the afternoon.

Friday was pretty good to University of Colorado alums:

- Hale Irwin shot an 8-under 64 to take a two-stroke lead in the AT&T Champions Classic;
- Dale Douglass, 71, shot his age for the fifth time in his Champions Tour career, posting a 2-under 70 in the opening round at Valencia CC;
- And Jill Painter, Daily News golf writer, was kicking some serious Buff in our NCAA Tournament pool

Jon Fiedler always dreamed of being a touring pro.

Watching former USC teammates Craig Stadler and Scott Simpson win major championships only fueled Fiedler's desire to play against the game's best.

So, after turning 50 years old, the longtime director of golf at Las Posas Country Club in Camarillo decided to try the Champions Tour qualifying school.

After three misses, Fiedler said he was hesitant to try to qualify again last fall. But he gave it another shot and finished 11th to earn his Champions Tour card. After 28 years at Las Posas, he quit his job Jan. 15 although he still can teach there.

"This is always what I dreamt it was," said Fiedler, who shot an even-par 72 Friday. "I've got a second chance."

After his round, Fiedler was greeted by about a dozen LPCC members.

"Thank you, Las Posas," Fiedler said, spreading his arms wide as if embracing the gallery.

John Jacobs lists USC as his college in the Champions Tour media guide.

He didn't graduate, however.

"I went out for spring football practice at USC, but it bored me," said Jacobs, who grew up in Whittier and whose father was the director of parks and recreation for the city of Los Angeles and a drinking buddy of then-Trojans football coach John McKay. "I went to school for about three days and dropped out."

So Jacobs joined the Army, figuring he'd have to do a stint in the military anyway. He spent a tour in Vietnam.

"I just wanted to play golf," said Jacobs while chomping on his ever-present cigar.

Jacobs played on the PGA Tour from 1968-80, with three runner-up finishes. His greatest success has come on the Champions Tour, with five victories and more than $8 million in earnings.

Because of injuries, the past couple of seasons have been difficult for Jacobs, who turns 62 Sunday. He said he has had a half-dozen Magnetic Resonance Imaging exams on his back in the past three years, which failed to find the problem. He recently went to an osteopath, who diagnosed a rib injury.

Since receiving treatment for the rib injury, Jacobs' game has improved markedly. He tied for ninth at last week's Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach - his first top-10 finish since 2005 - and fired a 5-under 67 in Friday's opening round of the AT&T Champions Classic at Valencia Country Club, including a 30 on the back nine.

"I'm fired up for the first time in three years," Jacobs said.

Peter Jacobsen withdrew after playing 12 holes because of a back injury. He was 2 over at the time.

According to a Champions Tour official, Jacobsen already was scheduled to have back surgery next Wednesday and likely will be out for a month.

Jacobsen has had six operations in the past three years, including knee surgery and a hip replacement. He had laser surgery on his back Feb. 27, was hitting balls two days later and played at last week's Toshiba Classic in Newport Beach.

Valencia Country Club has ranked as the toughest course on the Champions Tour (excluding majors) in three of the past five years, featuring a scoring average of 73.662 strokes last season and 74.260 in 2005. It also was the toughest non-major course on tour in 2002, when the average score was 75.167.

In Friday's opening round, with the temperatures reaching the low 90s, the field bettered par, averaging 71.227 strokes on the par-72 layout. That was the lowest total since the tournament moved to Valencia CC in 2001, nearly a stroke better than the previous best (72.078 during the second round in 2004). It also was more than two strokes lower than the opening round in 2006 (73.615).

Of the 75 players in the field, 23 shot rounds in the 60s and 46 broke par.

"We had ideal scoring conditions today. The weather was not the story it was last year," said first-round leader Hale Irwin, referring to the chilling tempuratures in the 40s the players faced in 2006. "All the reasons why you should score (well) were there."

Champions Tour rookie Scott Hoch withdrew after nine holes with a hand injury.

Hoch, who started on the back nine, got two 2 under before a double-bogey 6 on the 17th hole.

Loren Roberts, known as the "Boss of the Moss" for his putting prowess, is in the lead at 4 under through 12 holes.

A dozen other players currently are tied for second at 3 under, including Dave Stockton (USC), Hale Irwin, Jay Haas and Fuzzy Zoeller.

Loren Roberts birdied two of his first three holes to move into a four-way tie for the early lead at 2 under with Dave Stockton (USC), Graham Marsh and Hale Irwin.

R.W. Eaks, who finished second at last week's Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach Country Club, withdrew after six holes Friday because of a back injury.

Eaks, who posted a 17-under 196 to finish two strokes back of Jay Haas last week, started Friday on the back nine. He parred his first four holes before taking a double-bogey 5 on the par-3 14th. After making a par on the 15th hole, Eaks decided to call it a day.

Jim Thorpe's team won Wednesday's pro-am with an 18-under 54, and Dana Quigley's team was the best Thursday with a 20-under 52.

Jon Fiedler of Camarillo was one of eight players to qualify for the AT&T Champions Classic in qualifying Tuesday at the TPC of Valencia.

Fiedler shot a 2-under 70 to finish in a five-way tie for fourth in qualifying.

The other qualifiers, with their qualifying scores:
Kirk Hanefield, Acton, Mass., 68; Tim Conley, Braselton, Ga., 68; Terry Dill, Austin, Texas, 69; James Chancey, Altamante Springs, Fla., 70; Hugh Baiocchi, Orlando, Fla., 70; Tom McKnight, Bluffton, S.C., 70; Patrick McGowan, Southern Pines, N.C., 70.

The Champions Tour will return to Valencia Country Club in 2008, Brian Fitzgerald, executive director of the AT&T Champions Classic, said Thursday.
Others bid for the tournament, but when asked how much consideration other courses – a list that included TPC at Valencia – were given, Fitzgerald said: ``very little.’’

The Golf Channel has reported that Jason Gore (Hart, Pepperdine) and Nike have parted ways. According to TGC, Gore wanted to use the Titliest Pro V1 ball, but its in his contract that he must use a Nike ball. Gore is expected to have no sponsor on his bag this week.

Charlie Wi has won nine professional tournaments, but none have been on the PGA Tour. He's off to a good start in the Honda Classic, with a 5-under 65 and a one-shot lead after the first round.
Here's the funniest part. He recalled a story about how someone thought he was related to Michelle Wie at a tournament a couple of years ago, even though there's no 'e' on the end of his name.
"My caddie overheard one of the spectators saying, 'Oh, that's Michelle Wie's dad. He got a sponsor invite, too,'" said Wi. "I thought that was hilarious."

Mark O'Meara, two-time major winner, has entered the field for the The AT&T Champions Classic, which is March 16-18 at Valencia Country Club. Also, Scott Hoch will play, too. The defending champion is Tom Kite. The Champions Tour is playing in the Toshiba Classic at Newport Beach CC next week, then makes its way to Valencia.