Second round: Familiar names at the helm in major
TIMONIUM, Md. (AP) -- Ben Crenshaw didn't just turn back the clock at the Constellation Energy Senior Players Championship. He ripped 13 years off the calendar and floated back to 1995.
Crenshaw found his long-lost golf game Friday, shooting a 4-under 66 to take a one-stroke lead over Fred Funk at the midway point of the Champion Tour's final major tournament of the year.
Crenshaw made four birdies on back nine, sinking long-range putts on Nos. 11 and 17 on the East Course at the Baltimore Country Club. He hit 12 of 14 fairways, only once landed in a bunker and never three-putted in finishing the second round at 7-under 133.
This from a player who hasn't won a tournament since capturing the Masters for a second time in 1995. That also was the last time he led after 36 holes.
"There's not much explanation for it," said Crenshaw, whose 66 was his lowest round in a major since he carded the same score in the third round of the 2006 U.S. Senior Open.
"It felt wonderful playing out there today," the 56-year-old Texan said. "I'm just trying to keep my rhythm going. I've hit some nice shots. I can't hit the ball hard anymore, so that's out the window. I might as well just have a nice rhythm and hit it solid, try to get my way around it."
Funk, who grew up in Maryland, shot a 68 in an up-and-down round that included five birdies and three bogeys.
"Today was a mixed bag," said Funk, who three-putted from the fringe on No. 13 before sinking a 20-foot birdie putt on 14.
To read the remainder of this story, click here.
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| Friday's Best |
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The par-5, 583-yard fourth was the easiest with a Friday scoring average of 4.649.
The par-4, 427-yard first was toughest with a Friday scoring average of 4.416.
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After Chip Beck pulled his tee shot on the par-4 16th hole, his second shot had to be struck cleanly from the thick rough. He executed it perfectly and the ball rolled across the green and into the cup for an eagle.
Three players, including Ben Crenshaw, Nick Price and Gene Jones, shot 66s on Friday but it was Price who moved up the most. He also gets the honors for making birdie on Nos. 17 and 18, two very challenging finishing holes.| QUOTE OF THE DAY | ||
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THREE BIG-NAME PLAYERS VYING FOR WIN NO. 1
By Lauren Deason, PGATOUR.COM Editorial Coordinator
TIMONIUM, Md. -- Like a proud papa showing off pictures of his kids, Mark O'Meara excitedly beckoned members of the media to take a look at the images on his iPhone of a steelhead fish he had snared.
"Want to see this fish I caught? Check this baby out," O'Meara said, the passion evident in his voice. "This fish right here is about 18 pounds. That's an on the fly, catch and release, a big male fish."
| 70.46 | Last year's second-round scoring average |
| 70.45 | Thursday's scoring average |
| 71.12 | Friday's scoring average, which was more than a half-stroke higher than both |
Claiming he's "better at fishing than golf" now, O'Meara turns to the rod when he's not picking up the clubs. He took five weeks off from golf and spent part of that time driving 18 and a half hours with his boat and his big truck to spend 10 days fishing the Bulkly River in Smithers, British Columbia, Canada.
There's a serenity, he says, that he can't find anywhere but on a river with that fly fishing rod in his hand. It's also the challenge of catching the rare steelhead fish, which is one of three types of fish that swim hundreds of miles to the ocean, swim hundreds of miles back to spawn and, unlike most fish, do not die upon their return.
"These fish are quite amazing to think that they swim hundreds of miles to get back to where they came from. Swinging a fly through the water and catching them through the fly," O'Meara said, "it's my passion."
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Ben Crenshaw has only played 15 events on the Champions Tour in 2008. His eldest daughter turned 21 last week and he has a 16-year-old and a 10-year-old at home. Needless to say, the two-time Masters champion has changed his priorities some since his PGA TOUR days.
To read the remainder of this story, click here.
SINDELAR: I'M TRYING NEW THINGS ON THE CHAMPIONS TOUR
By Joey Sindelar, Special to PGATOUR.COM
Editor's note: Joey Sindelar is approaching the end of his rookie season the Champions Tour and is currently . Sindelar also returned to his home state of New York for the Turning Stone Resort Championship on the PGA TOUR last week, where he tied for 68th. In his latest blog, Sindelar shares his thoughts on the PGA TOUR from his new perspective as a Champions Tour player. He also says he's still learning on the Champions Tour and is thinking about making some long-awaited changes.
TIMONIUM, Md. -- It was a lot of fun going back to the PGA TOUR last week. That was the first time I'd done so since I joined the Champions Tour. It's hard to explain the differences. The PGA TOUR is clearly much more...well, I don't know the proper word exactly. Serious isn't quite it because guys out here take it seriously. But, on the PGA TOUR, when you look up and down the range everyone seems to be working harder or more desperately, grinding on trying to be best players in the world. Also, it's that time of the year on the PGA TOUR where, with just a few events to go, the vice was tightening. You could sense that.
Another thing that struck me was that there are even more young guys out there that I don't know. I didn't think it was that bad this winter before I joined the Champions Tour in late March. Just a few months ago, there were only a few guys I didn't know. Last week I bet I didn't know half the guys out there. The real irony is that it doesn't seem that long ago they were saying that about us when we arrived. I can remember the older guys going, "I don't know anybody anymore".
To read the remainder of Sindelar's blog, click here.
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AYE, AYE, CAPTAIN
Count Ben Crenshaw as one of Paul Azinger's many admirers. Crenshaw, who captained the victorious U.S. Ryder Cup squad in 1999, visited Valhalla Golf Club from Wednesday through Friday of Ryder Cup Week and was impressed with what he saw.
"I don't think I've ever seen better golf played by both teams. That level of golf I've never seen anywhere. It turned out wonderful for us but the level of golf was astounding. It was a great, great win for our team. I've obviously really enjoyed reading about how the team came together, what the plan was, how hard Paul worked to see it come to fruition like that," Crenshaw said.
Unlike many who were worried about the United States' squad's chances heading into the biennial competition, Crenshaw had an early glimpse at Azinger's radical plan to divide the team into four distinct parts.
"We had an ex-captains meeting in Dallas about a year ago in which he hinted he might split the team up into four-man groups and I thought that was fascinating," Crenshaw said. "That takes a lot of study. I thought that was a very authoritative move but he's that way. He's easily understood as a captain, he's a great messenger and great communicator.
"That's always the toughest thing to do is to get a young player and try to describe what is about to be experienced. It's very difficult. Some young players relish it, some suffer. It's part of the nature of those matches but we had six rookies and they all played great. You can't ask for any more than that."
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