THE OLD GUYS are winning with regularity on tour these days — Kenny Perry, Peter Jacobsen, Craig Stadler, etc. — and that’s good news for 44-year-old Bob Tway, shot himself into contention Thursday with a +12. Naturally he was asked about that geriatric phenomenon. “It’s funny, Peter and I were laughing about that last week,” said the former PGA champion. “After his win (at Hartford) we were saying the ball doesn’t really know how old you are.” The first round Top 8 included three 20-somethings, three 30-somethings and a pair of 40-somethings for an average age of 34. THE NUMBERS that really counted, however, were achieved by leader Davis Love III: 19 points (one shy of the record), 10 birdies (ties the record) and a medal score of 63 (one shy of the record) — his best day ever here. Just in case the ball does want to know how old DL3 really is, he’s 39. IF YOU’RE LOOKING for media intern Amy Maestas today at the Media Center, she won’t be available after 3 p.m. Something about graduation with a Masters in sports administration from University of Northern Colorado. For her graduation present, we let her sit in the big cowhide chair occupied later by Love in the interview room (see photo). Congratulations, Amy, this could be your greatest day ever, too! MATT GREISSER, known as “Sign Boy” from the Footjoy Commercials, grew up in Denver, but, hopefully, didn’t learn his manners from us (just kidding, Matt) … Milkshake count for the players and their families in the halfway house through 5 p.m. Thursday was 1,012 and heading for a possible record. You can buy shakes on the course this year at No. 15 for $6, but no count from there yet … What does Jack Vickers want for his 78th birthday tonight? “Peace and quiet,” he said, “but that may be hard to find.” THINGS WE LOVE THIS TIME OF THE YEAR: The City of Denver skyline against the Eastern horizon at first light … Flowers everywhere, especially at No. 12 … The silence of Castle Pines at dusk, broken only by the chirping crickets. ANDREW MAGEE, one of two players to have participated in all 18 INTERNATIONALs, remembers this about his first: “I was in a five-way playoff and all of us were nervous. The fans loved it, but the players were scared to death.”
NEWS & NOTES
FROM BUDDY MARTIN’S DESK
Briny Baird Does His Part To Assist In The Search For Missing Children
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. — They’ll never look like NASCAR drivers, with logo plastered all over their clothes and equipment, but there’s money to be made by golfers in the advertising business for golfers, whether it be on their visors, sleeves or golf bag.
Briny Baird chooses to give most of his away, at least when it comes to his bag.
Just after the Masters, Briny began carrying a photograph of a missing child — each week a different picture — along with the phone number 1-800-THE-LOST and the Canon 4 Kids logo. It’s true that Canon is his sponsor and appears on his shirt, but the $100 per birdie and $250 per eagle — about $40,000 to $50,000 a year — go to the National Center for Missing Children.
“Sometimes it gets kind of embarrassing,” Baird told the media at Tuesday’s INTERNATIONAL press conference, “that people tell you what a great thing it is, but you have to try to put things in perspective. It’s really easy for me to do.”
So far only one missing child has been found, but Baird said it wasn’t directly related to his efforts. Still, these are the kinds of generous efforts by players which prove not all pro athletes are greedheads.
YES, THAT WILL BE Frank Chirkinian and Ben Wright, ex-CBS stalwarts that you’ll be seeing around Castle Pines this week. They are anchoring The INTERNATIONAL radio broadcast on KKFN “The Fan,” AM 950. Chirkinian recently told PGA TOUR Partners magazine that the best golf tip he ever got was from Ben Hogan, who told him “why don’t you find another sport?” Welcome back, Frank and Ben. We’ll see you on the radio.
THAT’S A FACT, JACK: There’s a black bear on the loose around the golf course, but he’s no threat to anybody, according to the state wildlife folks, even though he’s been pillaging garbage cans and got into one house. Wildlife officials aren’t concerned. It’s the first Bear here since Jack Nicklaus last played in 1988 … Ricky Barnes may be only 22, but he knows his golf history. Asked about what golfer he admired most growing up, the handsome young rookie replied: “I think we all grew up liking Jack (Nicklaus) … and especially in ’86 when I was about five. I don’t think we’ll ever forget that — you saw it for the next five year.”
THE HUMMINGBIRD IS THE LOGO FOR CASTLE PINES GOLF CLUB
Gator DiMarco: Tha'ts A Croc!
News& notes/8-6
CHANGES IN ATTITUDE ABOUT THE ALTITUDE
Every year there’s talk about Colorado’s altitude and how it impacts the golfers’ shots, if it influences the swing negatively for upcoming events like the PGA, which will be played next week. Several people weighed in on the subject Wednesday and the consensus of those here is that making adjustments to play Castle Pines does not require a degree in rocket science.
“I always remember (Jack) Nicklaus — it took him about three seconds to calculate that in this altitude that a 7-iron in Palm Beach was different from a 7-iron out here,” said Castles Pines President and Founder Jack Vickers.
Rich Beem, asked about why he adapted so well last year to go on and win the PGA two weeks after, replied: “It’s kind of disappointed leaving here because I like hitting those 400-yard drives straight downhill. But that’s why we’re the best players in the world, because we can make those adjustments with too many hassles.”
Former champion Davis Love III likes coming to Castle Pines because it’s a “great place to start.” Davis feel The INTERNATIONAL is an excellent “warmup.”
“It is a good place to get ready for the PGA because it’s a good course, I like the place and I love the format,” he said.
THAT’S A CROC! Chris DiMarco knows his Gators, since he played golf at Florida, and he claims that if his alma mater had asked him, he’d have known that was a crocodile instead of an alligator on the cover of his school’s football media guide. “Look at the color, it’s too dark,” he said, pointing to the picture. “Alligators have wider snouts and their eyes aren’t set as deep. I know, because I watch The Crocodile Hunter on TV.” For the record, DiMarco has sold his orange and blue van because after the UF “started losing to Georgia and FSU, people started getting angry as you go by.” He refused to pose for a picture with the FRONT of the guide and turned it over (see picture) for the photog.
DULY NOTED: Featured on this week’s Colorado Avid Golf cover: Jack Vickers, who will be awarded the PGA TOUR and Northern Ohio golf Association Ambassador of Golf Award in two weeks. Past winners include Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Gerald Ford, Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Barbara Nicklaus, Nancy Lopez and George Bush … Media Security Chief Rich Thornton parked his car at a friend’s house Tuesday morning and was walking to the job when he was picked up by a passerby: Golfer Alejandro Larrazabal of Spain, playing his first INTERNATIONAL … Pairings to watch today: No. 1 tee, 12:30, three former champions: Davis Love, Ernie Els and Greg Norman.
NO. 18 AT CASTLE PINES
WHAT A FINISH!
“There have never been so many great shots in so few holes as we saw on Sunday last year.—JACK VICKERS, CASTLE PINES FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT
WE'LL ALWAYS HAVE BEEM AND LOWERY A show in ’02 we’ll always remember
BY BUDDY MARTIN
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. – It would be nice to say that this was what Jack Vickers had in mind when he and his associates dreamed up The INTERNATIONAL. But not even they could have written the script for the finish in 2002.
There it was, though, live on CBS-TV -- what some writers and broadcasters have dubbed as “the greatest finish in PGA Tour history.”
In the end, Rich Beem prevailed in 2002 and the victory would inspire such great confidence that he’d go out the next week and win his first major, the PGA. But not without Steve Lowery tracking him like a bounty hunter chasing a bank robber.
“People are still talking about that finish,” said Castle Pines President and Founder Jack Vickers. “There have never been so many great shots in so few holes as we saw on Sunday last year.”
Just how dramatic the final round of the 2002 INTERNATIONAL was can only be fathomed by re-visiting the events of the finishing holes.
The day didn’t start out with that much high drama for anybody except Beem, who went out and birdied five of the last six holes on his front side.
It appeared as though the trophy was going to be Beem’s from the start -- especially with a wide margin of 14 daily points to 4 following Lowery’s bogey on the 11th hole.
What ensued was some remarkable golf by Lowery, who became only the third person in 17-year tournament history to ever record an albatross, or double eagle. The other two double eagles were struck by Jim Gallagher Jr., a holed-out 5 iron at No. 17 in 1990 and a 220-shot 2-iron in the cup at No. 8 within an hour of each other in the 1990 final round.
Though he didn’t win by making them, Lowery fashioned two of the most famous shots in tournament history – the double eagle at 17 and an eagle for a 2 at No. 15 minutes earlier.
An informal poll among the INTERNATIONAL staff cited those shots, along with a pair of other tournament-deciding moments at the 17th , as the most famous ever.
In 1991, Jose Maria Olazabal took a 6 iron over the trees from the side of a hill at No. 17, landed it on the green and made a birdie which clinched the victory. That area is known as “Jose’s Mountain” in INTERNATIONAL lore, but the shot can never be duplicated because Calley’s Creek now run through it.
Likewise, John Cook’s defining moment in his 1987 victory happened at No. 17 when he hit a 4 iron 204 yards uphill to 12 feet and made the putt for eagle.
Nobody ever had a run like Lowery, however, on the final five holes.
A strip-tease act started it all. Lowery taking off his sock and shoe to pitch out of the water for a birdie at No. 14 was fairly impressive, but then the Alabama native negotiated the tricky little par 4 15th by knocking his second shot, a 127-yard wedge, into the cup for a deuce, an eagle and 5 points. Two holes, 7 points, just three behind.
Perhaps only after seeing the highlight tape created by The INTERNATIONAL, “Golf’s Greatest Finish,” could one begin to appreciate the theatrics that were about to unfold.
“I really wasn’t paying all that much attention,” said Executive Director Larry Thiel, “because it appeared Rich had the victory in hand with No. 17 left to play.”
What’s more, Lowery’s hot streak appeared to be over after an unfortunate -1 bogey at the difficult Par 3 16th. And, as Thiel had expected, Beem provided the clincher with a five-point eagle at No. 17 for a 6-point swing — a 15-foot eagle putt after a 6-iron approach from 186 yards
Game? Set? Match? Hardly.
“I really honestly thought I was going to win the tournament,” said Beem, but he was about to have some anxious moments. Lowery was down by nine as he strode to the 17th tee and with Beem was about to be safely in with 44 points after a par at the last, but something inside Lowery wouldn’t let him back off.
The most famous golf shot in INTERNATIONAL history was about to be struck, virtually the same shot he hit to eagle the 17th in 1994 — a 6-iron that needed to fly 217 yards to the cup.
Except with a different result this time: It went in.
So rare are double eagles that the CBS announcers barely mentioned the possibility as Lowery was about to hit his 6-iron. But the improbable and unthinkable happened: The double eagle. That was eight points for Lowery, who was suddenly one behind the leader with a hole to play.
Beem heard the roar after hitting his approach behind the 18th hole. He then noticed CBS walking analyst David Feherty making his way up the fairway.
“I put up three fingers and said, ‘Did Lowery make 3?’” Beem remembered. “And he goes, ‘No, Lowery made 2.’” Beem was so nervous by now that it was all he could do to steer a three-footer in the side of the cup at 18 and then he had to wait.
Lowery had a 10-footer downhill at the last to win the tournament outright and he struck it solid, but the putt tailed off and Beem, looking like a man in need of smelling salts, hung on to win by a single point.
Final score: Beem 44, Lowery 43, in the most memorable INTERNATIONAL ever played — perhaps the most exciting finish in all of golf.
“I think we’ve just witnessed one of the great finishes in golf and I mean of all-time,” said Vickers, who always envisioned an action-packed finish with the explosive nature of the modified Stableford coupled with the generosity of No. 17.
The formula worked perfectly.
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JONNA AND BUDDY BACK ON THE JOB
Busack & Martin A Team Again
JONNI IS BACK!
JONNA BUSACK RETURNED TO THE MEDIA DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL GOLF TOURNAMENT THIS YEAR AS MEDIA DIRECTOR. SHE SERVED AS ASSISTANT MEDIA DIRECTOR FOR EIGHT YEARS BEFORE LEAVING FOR PRIVATE BUSINESS AND TO BECOME A MOTHER. SHE AND DAVE HAVE A HANDSOME YOUNG BOY, ADAM, WHO IS KNOWN AS "THE KING" AROUND THE BUSACK HOUSEHOLD (PHOTOS COMING SOON!). THE MEDIA TEAM, WHICH IS IN PLACE FOR THE EVENT STAGED AUG. 4-10 AT BEAUTIFUL CASTLE PINES GOLF CLUB, INCLUDES NATIONAL MEDIA CONSULTANT BUDDY MARTIN AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA CONSULTANT KAYE KESSLER. BUDDY MARTIN SERVES AS NATIONAL MEDIA CONSULT. JOHN FINERAN IS THE BUREAU CHIEF OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAILY NEWS. AMY MAESTAS IS THE MEDIA INTERN.
A DEFINITE INTERNATIONAL FLAVOR
CLARKE, FULKE, PRICE WESTWOOD HEADLINE EUROPEAN RYDER CUP CANDIDATES ENTERED
CASTLE ROCK, Colo. – If the European Ryder Cup team for 2004 were picked today, as many as eight of them would be entered in The INTERNATIONAL next week at Castle Pines.
Among those announced today by Executive Director Larry Thiel were Darren Clark, Niclas Fasth, Pierre Fulke, Phillip Price and Lee Westwood. Earlier, commitments were received from Sergio Garcia and Paul Lawrie.
Clarke, the cigar-smoking Northern Ireland native, played at Castle Pines in 1999, winning $32,500 after scoring 27 points over the four days. He was leading the point standings for the European Ryder Cup team going into this week with 2,281,477. Fulke is fifth, Westwood sixth and Fasth eighth.
Meanwhile, Thiel also announced that Japan’s K.J. Choi had recommitted, joining other foreign players like Eduardo Romero and Angel Cabrera of Argentina, Stephen Leaney of Australia, Alejandro Larrazabal of Spain, Yusako Miyazato of Japan, Carlos Franco of Paraguay and Mikko Ilonen of Finland.
“This could turn out to be the strongest foreign field we’ve had here in a long time,” said Thiel, noting that the return to the later dates allowed more foreign players to be in this country just prior to playing the PGA. “I’m confident that a good 20 per cent of our field will wind up being international players.”
(Media inquiries should be directed to Jonna Busack at 303-814-6287 or via e-mail at jbusack@golfintl.com. Contact on this story: Buddy Martin, 303-814-6286, or e-mail him buddyshow@aol.com. Presenting Sponsors of The INTERNATIONAL are ADT Security Services, CIBER,First Data, Great-West and StorageTek. Contributing Sponsors are Cisco, Qwest and Coors.)
