On the surface, it simply didn’t make much sense.
PGATour.com, the official web site for the PGA, Champions and Nationwide tours, recently published its list of the “top 25 players to watch in 2012” on the Champions circuit.
Former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin gained a spot, at No. 13, despite being 66 years old. But another player with strong Colorado connections seemed notable by his absence.
Aurora resident Mark Wiebe finished a career-best 16th on the 2011 Champions Tour money list — marking his fourth straight top-30 showing — and won a tournament, yet he was nowhere to be found in pgatour.com’s top 25 for 2012.
But there are some extenuating circumstances that may have figured into the rankings. Specifically, Wiebe underwent back surgery on Nov. 7, the day after the 2011 Champions Tour season ended. The microdiscectomy was performed to alleviate a herniated disc problem that was causing pain in Wiebe’s lower right leg.
Wiebe, who won his third Champions Tour event last June, couldn’t swing a club for most of the last eight weeks of 2011. Nevertheless, he’s scheduled to play in the Champions Tour season opener, the Mitsubishi Electric Championship, which runs Friday through Sunday (Jan. 20-22) in Hawaii.
This isn’t the first time Wiebe has undergone surgery since joining the Champions Tour in 2007. He had a knee operation in February 2008, yet recovered quickly enough to win a Tour event a couple of months later.
The latest situation with Wiebe marks the second consecutive season that a Colorado-based Champions Tour player has undergone significant surgery late in the year, followed by a layoff from the game. Evergreen resident Craig Stadler had hip replacement surgery in September 2010 before returning last year.
Wiebe is coming off a memorable season on the Champions Tour. His playoff victory in the Greater Hickory Classic ended a win drought of more than three years — and it came on the same day he was inducted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame. Later that same month, Wiebe placed third in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, and subsequently was named Champions Tour Player of the Month for June.
With five top-five finishes overall for the year, Wiebe accumulated $961,652 in prize money in 2011. In his first four full seasons on the Champions circuit, he’s ended up 17th, 19th, 29th and 16th on the money list.
Wiebe isn’t the only player with significant Colorado ties opening his Champions Tour season this week in Hawaii. Also in the 41-man field are Irwin and Castle Rock’s Gary Hallberg.
Despite turning 66 last year, Irwin had his best Champions Tour season since 2007. The World Golf Hall of Famer posted seven top-10 finishes — a record for a player his age — including fourth-place showings in two senior majors, the U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championships.
Irwin, far and away the player with the most career Champions Tour victories (45), ended up 27th on the 2011 money list and shot his age twice in competitive rounds.
The three-time U.S. Open champion has won nine official PGA Tour-sanctioned events in Hawaii, including eight on the Champions Tour. He’s claimed the Mitsubishi Electric Championship title twice, in 1997 and 2007, and has played in the event 17 straight years.
Meanwhile, Hallberg finished 2011 on a high note by placing second in the final stage of Champions Tour qualifying. After winning his first Champions Tour title in October 2010, Hallberg ended up 48th on the 2011 money list.
