Shark ready to bite at first Senior PGA
IN: News | Champions | Senior PGA Championship (2008) | Preview | by Bruce Young | 22 May 2008
The first major of the year in senior golf, the Senior PGA Championship, is being played this week at the famed Donald Ross designed Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester, New York.
The tournament has a history dating back to 1937 although the emergence of the Seniors Tour (now the Champions Tour) in the late 1970’s has given the event greater prominence in the golfing world.
The outstanding venue is playing host to this event for the first occasion but it has twice staged the PGA Championship, the last when Shaun Micheel won in 2003 and several US Opens, the last of which was in 1989 when Curtis Strange won the second of his two national Open championships.
The tournament has only recently been taken on the road so to speak after being played at the same venue in Florida for 18 years. It now enjoys a rotation amongst some of America’s finest layouts and this week is no exception. Scottish born, Donald Ross was perhaps the greatest of the early designers in the USA with masterpieces like Pinehurst # 2, Seminole and Oakland Hills to his name amongst a prolific list of courses.
The defending champion and definitely a favourite to do well again is the Zimbabwe golfer, Dennis Watson who was one of the most successful foreign players on the PGA Tour in the mid 1980’s before a disastrous wrist injury would send his career into a downward spiral.
A never ending string of injuries and surgeries curtailed his return to competitive golf but he finally was able to play a full season on the Champions Tour in 2007. He was rookie of the year then and won twice including his emotional win at the PGA at Kiawah Island twelve months ago. Watson has won twice this year on the Champions Tour and has a very good chance to defend his title.
Bernhard Langer is still playing well when he competes with the younger players on the regular tour, contending at the Players Championship for much of the event. He has won twice on the Champions Tour in 2008 and will probably start favourite in the event. He played the US Open at Oak Hill in 1989 without much success but he is all class and a genuine chance to win.
Jay Haas has been a winner and runner up in this event in the four that he has played and although his form has fallen away a little of late he is still one of the Champion Tour’s best. Haas won a playoff to win this event over Brad Bryant in 2006 at Oak Tree Golf Club in Oklahoma.
Scott Hoch and Loren Roberts are also chances to do well.
Greg Norman is playing this event for the first time and is realistic about his chances.
“I think somebody forgot to tell everybody this is the Senior PGA Championship not the regular PGA Championship,” he said referring to the strength of the course. “This golf course is set up just like any other Major would be. I think they have done a great job with it. The rough is tough.”
“I don’t play a lot of golf now I got to be honest with you. If do I play, I play with my son. Even though we play in the competitive spirit nature, it’s still not the same as coming to Oak Hill with rough and super fast greens and cold conditions. So I really don’t put a lot of expectations on myself this week. I just want to go out there and play well, of course, try and play well the best I can.”
“I wanted to come here and play the Senior PGA Championship because for a couple years prior to this I entered the tournament and because of some quirkiness in my schedule, an injury or surgery, I haven’t been able to play. And I’ve got the utmost of respect for the PGA of America and I just felt like I got a week off this week, I scheduled it, I blocked it out, I kept it blocked out as long as I could and because I wanted to come here basically to play for the PGA of America and give my respect to them.”
Norman has played on the European Tour three times in 2008 and has done well enough when he has finishing 7th at the South African Open.
Other Australasians in the event are Graham Marsh and the Bob Charles, who just last week opened with a first round of 68 at the Regions Charity Classic. The New Zealander’s longevity is becoming legendary, especially since making the cut at the age of 71 at the New Zealand Open in December against a co-sanctioned European and Australasian Tour field. In doing so he became the oldest ever player (by four years) to make the cut in a recognised tour event.
Cold temperatures are expected to make this already demanding layout even more so over the opening days of the event.
