Golf Glance

Golf Glance










The Sports Xchange May 20, 2013 11:40 AMThe SportsXchange



COMING UP

PGA TOUR: Crowne Plaza Invitation at Colonial at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 1-2:30 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel and 3-6 p.m. EDT on CBS.

LAST YEAR: Zach Johnson holed a five-foot putt for par to give him what appeared to be a three-stroke victory overJason Dufner for his second title at Colonial in three years. However, Johnson forgot to re-mark his ball after moving it because his coin was in Dufner's line, and he was assessed a two-stroke penalty, leaving him with a one-stroke victory after a closing even-par 70. Johnson also won the John Deere Classic in July, giving him two victories in a season for the third time in his PGA Tour career. Dufner, a 35-year-old journeyman who had never won on the circuit before 2012, seemed to be headed for this third victory in four tournaments by opening with scores of 65-64-66 before closing with a 74 that included a double bogey and a triple bogey.



CHAMPIONS TOUR: 74th Senior PGA Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, noon-3 p.m. EDT on the Golf Channel; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT on NBC.

LAST YEAR: Roger Chapman of England built a nine-stroke lead early in the final round and held on to claim his first victory on the Champions Tour by two shots over John Cook at Harbor Shores Golf Club in Benton Harbor, Mich. The 53-year-old Chapman, who had only three professional victories previously, added the U.S. Senior Open less than a month later. In the Senior PGA, he built a five-stroke lead after 54 holes with rounds of 68-67-64 before closing with a 1-over-par 72, carding bogeys on three of the last five holes. Kenny Perry posted a tournament-record 62 in the final round, but all it got him was a tie for ninth, five strokes behind Chapman.



LPGA TOUR: Pure Silk-Bahamas LPGA Classic at Ocean Club Golf Course in Paradise Island, Bahamas, Thursday through Sunday.

TV: Thursday and Friday, 6:30-8:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday and Sunday, 3-6 p.m. EDT, on the Golf Channel each day.

LAST YEAR: This is the inaugural tournament and the first time an LPGA Tour event will be played in the Bahamas.

Tucker brothers writing special history at Bellerive

Tucker brothers writing special history at Bellerive











PGA.COM May 20, 2013 11:53 AM

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PGA Professionals Mike (left) and Jerry (right) Tucker are brothers with a rich history at Bellerive …


PGA Professional brothers Jerry and Mike Tucker each earned a college degree in journalism, and have been writing their own special chapters in their respective careers. This month, they happen to be sharing a piece of the stage at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, which opens its doors, May 21-26, to host the 74th Senior PGA Championship present by KitchenAid.

Jerry, 63, the oldest of three brothers, is a member of the 156-player field that will compete in the most historic and prestigious event in senior golf. Tucker is a PGA Life Member who owns the Jerry Tucker Golf Academy in Stuart, Fla.

Mike Tucker, 48, succeeded Jerry in 1996 as PGA head professional at Bellerive, and is a past Gateway PGA Section president and former District 7 Director on the PGA Board of Directors. Middle brother, John, 61, is an engineer and will be a member of the gallery at the Senior PGA Championship.

It was evident from the beginning that the Tuckers, born in Carbondale, Ill., and Southern Illinois University graduates, didn't want to stray too far from their roots.

"There is something about the Midwest that is different from other parts of the country," said Jerry. "It's easy to make friends, the people are polite and there's just good values. That was what made me so comfortable at Bellerive. It was a family club and had legacy membership. We accomplished many things there, and it was a highlight of my life."

Jerry Tucker served 15 years as PGA head professional at Bellerive Country Club, the last stint from 1987-97. During that period, he was the first PGA Master Professional to compete in a major championship, when he teed it up in the 1989 PGA Championship at Kemper Lakes in Hawthorn Woods, Ill. In 1992, while busy overseeing his staff at Bellerive, he had time to become the last host PGA Professional to compete in a PGA Championship.

That Championship also was special for Mike, who served as his brother's caddie.

"It was a great experience for both of us, a great week overall," says Mike. "Growing up, and with Jerry 15 years older than me, I looked up to him. Somewhere in my mid-20s, I began to compete. It was pretty tough catching him."

Mike won't serve as caddie this month for his oldest brother. That honor goes to someone Jerry gave instruction to over the years, Brett Burton, son of Professional Bowling Hall of Famer Nelson Burton Jr.

Jerry Tucker graduated from Southern Illinois University in 1976, and turned professional that year. Mike graduated from the same alma mater in 1987, and in 1989 began a two-year term as an assistant professional at Old Warson Country Club in St. Louis, site of the 1971 Ryder Cup. He followed by serving from 1990 to 1993 as PGA head professional at Green Hills Country Club in Mount Vernon, Ill.


In 1994, Mike Tucker was named associate professional at Bellerive, and two years later became co-head professional with Joe Schwent. The arrangement was unique, but not exclusive.

"I was asked by the board my opinion who I would recommend to succeed me," says Jerry. "I knew that both Joe and my brother were the best in-house candidates. I said that we had 94 percent membership approval in surveys, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I also added that if Augusta National could have two professionals for 23 years sharing the job, it could work here, too."

The arrangement worked to perfection, and Schwent would ultimately land a PGA head professional position in 2006 at The Country Club of St. Albans in St. Albans, Mo. From that point, Mike Tucker has been the sole leader of his staff at Bellerive.

"We are very fortunate to be able to do some neat things in golf," says Mike. "I am very happy with where I am, and the great staff here at the club."

Mike proved that he also has game and versatility in his position. He was the 2003 Gateway PGA Player of the Year, the 2004 Gateway PGA Golf Professional of the Year and was a two-time Section Merchandise of the Year, from 2003-04. Mike has competed in eight PGA Professional National Championships.

Jerry keeps adding to his playing résumé, making his 10th Senior PGA Championship appearance, to go with trips to two PGA Championships, two U.S. Opens, two U.S. Senior Opens and 20 PGA Professional National Championships. He tied for 34th in the 1988 PGA Professional National Championship.

Already a 2002 Gateway PGA Section Hall of Famer, Jerry Tucker has just about achieved everything a senior could and more in the South Florida PGA Section (SFPGA).

In 2011, he became the first player in Section history to capture a regular Section Player of the Year and Senior Player of the Year, and Chapter Player of the Year in the same season. He earned that distinction in May 2011 in Vero Beach, Fla., due to the weather-delayed SFPGA Section Championship, which was finally completed after being postponed from the previous fall.

For someone who has won what he calls "105 significant events as a PGA Professional," there were three moments that Jerry quickly recalls as "special" in his career.

"My getting to play golf three times with Arnold Palmer were my highlights," says Jerry. "The first was in 1989 at the PGA Championship, then in 1992, when he called to play a practice round with me, the host professional, at Bellerive before the PGA Championship. And, the third came just before the course closed in a practice round near dark and in misty rain at Ridgewood Country Club (in Paramus, N.J.) before the 2000 Senior PGA Championship. "Can you believe it? There were two spectators watching us on the third hole. I went up to one of the guys in between shots and said, 'Do you know I'm playing with? That's Arnold Palmer. I surprised the guy so much, we ended up having dinner together that night and remain friends today."

Multiple Winners Becoming Endangered on PGA Tour

Multiple Winners Becoming Endangered on PGA Tour











Adam Fonseca May 20, 2013 1:24 PM




COMMENTARY | Sang Moon Bae won the HP Byron Nelson Championship on Sunday, May 19 for his first career victory on the PGA Tour. In doing so, he also became the eighth first-timer to win in 2013.

Needless to say, times are tough if you are a veteran player on the tour not named Tiger Woods.

This season has quickly become a type of resurgence on tour, beginning with Russell Henley's first win at the Sony Open in Hawaii last January. John Merrick accomplished the same feat at the Northern Trust Open one month later at Riviera. Two weeks later at the Honda Classic, Michael Thompson tasted the winner's circle -- and $1.08 million -- for the first time. Scott Brown quietly won the Puerto Rican Open during Masters week.

Kevin Streelman, while having turned professional in 2001 and a veteran in terms of tenure, finally broke through at the Tampa Bay Championship for his first win March 17. In April, The TPC Louisiana yielded another maiden-victory in the form of Billy Horschel at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. Tour rookie Derek Ernst followed suit the following week at the Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.

With Bae's victory in Texas, debut winners now account for a third of all winners on Tour this season. When you include the four additional victories from world No. 1 Woods, more than 50 percent of events on the PGA Tour schedule (12 out of 21 total) have either been won by the best in the world or a first-timer. I cannot find a year in recent history that the same can be said prior to 2013.


So what does this trend mean for past winners on tour? Simply put, the talent bar has been raised yet again.

Being an experienced winner on tour no longer makes you a favorite to win a tournament on any given week, at least this year. Forget about playing the odds. As the season has progressed up until this point, we are more likely to see either Tiger Woods or someone who has never won a PGA Tour event come out victorious than the opposite.

At last week's HP Byron Nelson, former major winner and Ryder Cup fan-favorite Keegan Bradley attempted to become the tournament's first wire-to-wire winner since Tom Watson in 1980. Former winners like Martin Kaymer, Charl Schwartzel and Scott Piercy were in contention throughout the week, but it was Bae's perseverance and determination that earned him the victory over others who have been there, done that.

Of course, pure logical reasoning suggests the current trend is a bit of a fad. With 20 events remaining on the PGA Tour schedule, including the FedEx Cup Playoffs, a handful of former champions are sure to start winning again. Experience and time-tested methods have to count for something. Surely everything will balance out in the end.

Then again, nobody could have guessed that names like Henley, Merrick, Thompson, Brown, Streelman, Horschel, Ernst or Bae would have more PGA Tour wins in 2013 than names like Garcia, Westwood, McIlroy or Kaymer at this point in the season. If there is anything certain about the tour, it is that there is no such thing as a sure bet these days.



Adam Fonseca has been a golf writer and blogger since 2005. His work has been featured on numerous digital outlets including the Back9Network and SB Nation. He currently lives in Chicago with his wife. Adam can be found on Twitter @chicagoduffer.