The attention of the golf world is focused on the Masters, the first men’s major championship of the year. Last week it was the LPGA’s turn, with the Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Late next month, the Champions Tour — and Colorado — will get their time in the spotlight as the Senior PGA Championship comes to Colorado Golf Club in Parker. The storylines already are shaping up very nicely for the first Grand Slam event of 2010 for the 50-plus tour.
The field for the May 27-30 tournament is taking shape this week with the passing of the registration deadline (for a current list of players, CLICK HERE), so it’s a good time to take a look at some of the most interesting story angles. All of the following players are in the field for the Senior PGA at Colorado Golf Club.
“¢Freddie the Fantastic: Fred Couples (pictured) is not only one of the most popular golfers of his era, but he’s had one of the best starts in the history of the Champions Tour.
No player in the first three decades of the Champions/Senior Tour had won three of his first four tournaments on the circuit until Couples pulled off the feat this year. After finishing second to Tom Watson at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, Couples has won his last three Champions Tour starts, becoming the first player to pull off a trifecta since 2006.
In four events, Couples’ worst round has been a 68, and his average is an astounding 65.3. He’s 77 under par in his four Champions tournaments.
“Freddie (is) just overwhelming the Champions Tour,” fellow former Masters champion Ray Floyd said. “The birdies he’s making, you know his game is razor sharp.”
As if to prove that point, the 50-year-old Couples shot a 6-under-par 66 Thursday to lead the Masters after round 1. Couples, the 1992 winner at Augusta, finished sixth there on Sunday.
“¢Watson and his Close Call: Tom Watson has won eight major championships in his career, but to a new generation he might be better known as the guy who almost captured the 2009 British Open title two months shy of his 60th birthday. Had he parred the 72nd hole at Turnberry last summer, he would have broken the record for oldest winner of a major by a whopping 11 years. As it was, he bogeyed his final hole of regulation and lost to Stewart Cink in a four-hole playoff.
Looking to reprise his British Open magic, Watson was among the leaders Thursday in the first round at the Masters, shooting a 5-under-par 67. He went on to finish 18th on Sunday.
On the senior circuit this year, Watson is the only player to have beaten Couples. By winning the Mitsubishi Electric Championship at age 60 years and 4 months, he became the 13th-oldest champion in in the history of the 50-and-over tour.
“¢Irwin and the Age Race: University of Colorado graduate Hale Irwin owns the most career victories in Champions Tour history (45), but his last win came more than three years ago. If he finishes first again, he’ll become the oldest player to win a Champions event. Irwin will turn 65 on June 3.
The three-time U.S. Open champion, who hasn’t finished better than 55th on the season-long money list since 2007, has been playing better this year. His fifth-place showing at the Mitsubishi Electric Championship in January was his best tournament finish since September 2007, and he currently ranks 17th on the 2010 Champions money list.
“¢Call Him Captain: Corey Pavin is a rookie on the Champions Tour, but you can excuse him if he hasn’t been totally focused on his own golf game. After all, come October in Wales, Captain Corey will be trying to lead the U.S. to a Ryder Cup victory against Europe, and there’s plenty of details to attend to in the interim.
Though Pavin has yet to win on the Champions Tour in four starts — he’s captured 15 titles on the PGA Tour — he finished second in his last event, the Cap Cana Championship two weeks ago.
“¢Can the Architect Break Through at Colorado GC?: Ben Crenshaw is a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame and won 19 times on the PGA Tour, including two Masters. But in eight years on the Champions Tour, Crenshaw has yet to post his first victory.
Considering Crenshaw designed Colorado Golf Club — along with Bill Coore — could this be the time for Gentle Ben’s Champions breakthrough?
“¢Last Go-Around for Douglass: Dale Douglass of Castle Rock won 11 times on the Champions Tour, including the 1986 U.S. Senior Open, but he hasn’t played the circuit regularly since 2007. Douglass said last year that the Senior PGA likely will be his Champion Tour finale.
“I think I need to get the hook,” the former CU golfer joked.
“¢Home Cooking for Stadler?: Craig Stadler of Evergreen won three times on the Champions Tour in 2003 and five more times in 2004, but inexplicably hasn’t finished first since. Perhaps the 1982 Masters champion will end his six-year win drought at a tournament in his home state.
“¢More Rarefied Air for “The Cat”: Two years ago at the Broadmoor, Eduardo Romero won the U.S. Senior Open by four strokes over Fred Funk. Will a return to the high elevation of Colorado lift the Argentine back up to a winning level for another senior major?
As for Greg Norman, a PGA of America official said the Shark won’t be playing the Senior PGA because he’s still recovering from the surgery he underwent on his right shoulder in late September.
