Walker navigates long day at WGC-Bridgestone

SAN ANTONIO — Back in the spring of 1973, Ben Crenshaw won his third individual NCAA title at the University of Texas. The junior from Austin then made a choice. He left college early and registered for the PGA TOUR Qualifying Tournament, which at the time comprised eight grueling rounds. Crenshaw wanted to see if he was ready for professional golf. The answer came in the form of an emphatic 12-shot victory at Q-School. Crenshaw announced that he would make his debut at the Valero Texas Open, seventy miles down the highway from his hometown. The tournament moved in the fall of ’73 to Woodlake Golf Club, a Desmond Muirhead design with captivating bunkers and a par-5 finish flanked by water. Crenshaw was 21. He had won a pair of Texas state junior championships at Brackenridge Park, the Texas Open’s original home. But he had never played Woodlake. He shot 65 in the first round and 72 in the second. He shot 66-67 on the weekend, beating Orville Moody by two and George Archer by three. Crenshaw became the youngest winner in the history of the Valero Texas Open, which began in 1922. “This kid is going to be winning tournaments for many years,” Valero Texas Open official Gordon Glenz told reporters. Glenn was right. Crenshaw won 19 times on the PGA TOUR, including the Masters Tournament in 1984 and 1995. In February, Crenshaw spoke at an event marking the role of San Antonio’s Oak Hills Country Club in the 100-year history of the Valero Texas Open. The tournament spent 24 years at Oak Hills, where Crenshaw won his second VTO in 1986 and finished as runner-up to Bill Rogers in 1981. Crenshaw is not just one of the great players in the history of Texas golf, but also a noted golf historian, which made him an appropriate speaker at this event celebrating the sixth-oldest professional tournament worldwide and third-oldest on the PGA TOUR. Below is a transcript of his remarks at the event. They are edited for clarity and brevity. PGATOUR.COM: What are your memories of your first start as a professional at the Valero Texas Open? BEN CRENSHAW: I was playing well at the time. There were three guys that I had to overcome. One of them was George Archer. And Orville Moody, who won the 1969 U.S. Open at Champions (Golf Club in Houston), and Mike Hill, Dave Hill’s brother. It got pretty tight at the end. As I remember, Woodlake had a par 5. The last hole had water on both sides. I made birdie on the hole and won. That was a really happy time. San Antonio, I’ve always regarded as my second home. The state junior was here, at Brackenridge Park. I first played it when I was 13 years old. It was my first introduction to players from around the state, who really keyed for that tournament. It was a big deal. I loved Brackenridge Park, and I still love it to this day. It means so much to the history of our state. PGATOUR.COM One of the founders of the first Valero Texas Open was a newspaper editor named Jack O’Brien. He and the other organizers saw the VTO as a way to bring club professionals from the Midwest and Northeast to enjoy San Antonio in the heart of winter. The idea seemed to work, didn’t it? CRENSHAW: What he (O’Brien) was trying to do was spread tourism. He did a beautiful job with that. I like to say the Texas Open is the first forerunner for the whole PGA TOUR itself. It was such a success. There was so much excitement about it. And I think it introduced a way of having the professional tour travel throughout the country, and have a schedule. The pros played wherever they could. You know, most of the pros back then had two jobs. They were players, but they were also club pros. PGATOUR.COM: The VTO was played here at Oak Hills from 1961 to 1966, and from 1977 to 1994. What are your memories of those years? CRENSHAW: Some of my happiest memories have been right here at Oak Hills. I was 9 years old. My brother was 10. And my dad brought us out here and we watched the 1961 Texas Open. We went out on the first tee box, and (Crenshaw’s brother) Charlie and I were on the right side, and here comes this big, burly guy named Mike Souchak (the winner of the 1955 Valero Texas Open). He pulled out this black-faced Macgregor 1-iron, teed it up on the right side, and he buzzed this 1-iron right past us. It was just the most amazing thing I ever saw. That was our introduction to professional golf. We followed Arnold Palmer (who won that year). Couldn’t get close to him. My father knew Jimmy Demaret. So we followed him a few holes. PGATOUR.COM: In 1981, you and Bill Rogers produced some of the greatest golf in the history of the Valero Texas Open. You shot 64 in the final round. Rogers shot 63. You tied, resulting in a sudden-death playoff at Oak Hills. What do you remember about that year? CRENSHAW: Bill Rogers is one of my dear, dear friends. It only took him one hole to knock me out. That year was one of the most special years for a player. Nobody could beat him that year. He won the British Open. He won the Australian Open. He won the world match play. (Rogers won four times that year on the PGA TOUR and finished second once, winning Player of the Year honors. He made the cut in 20 of 26 starts.) PGATOUR.COM: The Valero Texas Open has endured many challenges in its 100 years, from a depression to a world war to revolving sponsorships. Now it has a stability in the form of Valero. It’s one of the leading tournaments on the PGA TOUR in terms of charitable giving and civic support. What do those say to you about the VTO and San Antonio? CRENSHAW: That says quite a lot. It’s very important. And, believe me, the players know it too. If they know anything about the history of this event, not too many places have had a strong relationship with the community. And, as you know, the newspapers were very much a part of the impetus to get the word out to come to your town. We have to give thanks to companies like Valero to sustain the relationships with the players and also the community. I kind of think that San Antonio has served as a great model for the rest of the TOUR. I think of so many moments. Times where I’ve had near misses, but times I’ve triumphed too. San Antonio was a special place for me.

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SOUTHPORT, England – Tommy Fleetwood’s presence at Royal Birkdale this week is well publicized, unlike his earlier trips to the Open Championship venue. Banners hanging around Southport bear the likeness of the hometown kid who also happens to be one of the pre-tournament favorites. Fleetwood grew up around the corner from the course, close enough that his father, Pete, could walk the family dog past the famed links. Tommy would sneak onto the course as a young boy and hit a few shots, undoubtedly dreaming of hoisting the Claret Jug in front of a legion of loved ones. “If you live five minutes away, you’re going to try to get on when you can,â€� he said. “We were very clever about it.â€� There’s no need for Tommy to be surreptitious this week. He’s been one of the best golfers in the world in 2017, rising to a career-high 14th in the world ranking. He beat FedExCup leader Dustin Johnson in Abu Dhabi in January, then finished second to Johnson at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. After finishing fourth at the U.S. Open, where he played with winner Brooks Koepka in Sunday’s second-to-last group, Tommy won again just three weeks ago at the French Open. Fleetwood has played well enough this year to earn Special Temporary Membership for the remainder of the 2016-17 season. He’s also earned enough non-member FedExCup points to be eligible for full membership next season. “I’d much rather be in this position where people might be talking about me as a contender than turning up and … being a no-show,â€� Tommy, 26, said. “I’ve thought about winning The Open since I was 5 years old, so I think thinking about it another few days isn’t going to make any difference to me.â€� A victory this week could stand alongside the hometown wins of Augusta native Larry Mize in the 1987 Masters and Francis Ouimet’s victory in the 1913 U.S. Open. Fleetwood may not be as large of an underdog as Mize or, especially, Ouimet, who was a caddie at the tournament venue, The Country Club of Brookline, but few players have won a major so close to home. Pete Fleetwood’s walking route took him past Royal Birkdale’s 18th green, down the 17th fairway to the back of the 16th green. Tommy said the fifth hole was the best spot to sneak on, though fences and bushes — perhaps inspired by a young Tommy’s clandestine visits — now keep intruders off the course. Tommy attended his first Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in 1998. His memories are few, though he does recall being impressed by the aura of Tiger Woods as the young star, who finished third that week, strode past him. The Open returned to Birkdale 10 years later, but Tommy was too heartbroken to even watch. He’d lost the final match of the British Amateur a few weeks earlier, missing out on his first opportunity to play The Open at Birkdale. “That one hit me hard,â€� he said. He became the No. 1 amateur in the world a year later. In 2011, at age 20, he became the youngest player to win the money list on the Challenge Tour (Europe’s version of the Web.com Tour). Two years later, he won his first European Tour title and he was No. 51 in the world by the end of 2014. But his game started to slip, and by last September he was down to 188th in the world ranking. A return to his childhood coach, Ian Thompson, and the help of longtime friend Ian Finnis, who left his job as an assistant pro at Formby Golf Club to become Fleetwood’s caddie, have helped Tommy’s career reach unprecedented levels. He will play the first two rounds this week with Koepka and U.S. Open runner-up Hideki Matsuyama. Being reminded of what happened last month at Erin Hills can only help his confidence. Fleetwood admits he didn’t have his best stuff on Sunday – his final-round 72 left him five shots behind Koepka, who shot 67 — but he was proud of the way he handled the nerves that come in a major championship. “I felt if the time comes again when I’m contending in a major, I know that I can do it,â€� Tommy said. “I felt fine. And I felt comfortable. Of course you’re nervous but I wasn’t out of control. I wasn’t fearful.â€� He’ll have plenty of eyes on him again this week. He now lives an hour away from Birkdale but said his parents’ home could come in handy if he has an early tee time one day. The local fans will hope that isn’t the case this weekend, preferring instead to see him play with the leaders late in the afternoon, but he also knows that, no matter the result, this will be a unique week. “The banners will be off in a couple weeks, so best not getting used to it too much,â€� Fleetwood said. Unless, of course, he wins the Claret Jug. Then his face, and photos of those flowing locks, undoubtedly will remain plastered all over town.

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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Matt Every, Scott Brown, Stuart Cink and Sebastian Munoz each shot 6-under 64s on Thursday to share the lead after one round at the FedEx St. Jude Classic. Charl Schwartzel and Matt Jones were each one stroke back at the final tuneup before the U.S. Open. Two-time U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen and Chez Reavie each shot a 66 on the par-70 TPC Southwind course. The 33-year-old Every has two wins on the PGA TOUR, but none since 2014. He’s only made two cuts this year and hasn’t finished better than a tie for 62nd at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard in March. “I haven’t played real well in a couple years, and I’ve been out here for like seven or eight, so I kind of know the drill,” Every said. “Like one round is not that big a deal. It is nice to play well, but yeah, they don’t hand out trophies after the first round.” Every had four birdies during his round and an eagle on the par-5 16th, sticking his second shot about 10 feet from the flagstick before sinking the putt. He closed his round by making a 30-foot birdie putt on the 18th. “Middle of the round got a little away from me, but I saved some shots and I haven’t been doing that lately,” Every said. “Then I played pretty solid the last few holes. So it was just a good day. I was kind of due for one.” Cink, Brown and Munoz joined him by making afternoon charges up the leaderboard. “I’ve been striking it nicely now for a few months and just the putter’s kind of been a little inconsistent,” Brown said. “Hot some days, cold some days. … If I can keep the putter rolling, should be kind of in the mix for the week.” Cink, a 44-year-old, six-time winner on TOUR and 2009 Open Championship winner, birdied three straight holes late in his round, including one from about 10 feet on the par-4 5th. He bogeyed the next hole, then closed his round with a birdie on No. 9 to catch Brown and Every. “The key to my round today was the key to anyone’s round who plays well here and that is you’ve got to keep the ball in front of you,” Cink said. “Meaning, you don’t have to hit every fairway, but you can’t really be off too much.” Munoz, a 24-year-old, third-year pro from Colombia who’s chasing his first victory on TOUR, was bogey-free during the best round of his career. He had six birdies, including two in a row on Nos. 15-16. DIVOTS: Billy Horschel used a fairway wood to putt on his final hole after he broke his putter a hole earlier. After missing a 2-foot putt on No. 8, he flipped his putter in the air and the head snapped off when it struck the ground. According to PGA rules, he wasn’t allowed to use a new putter because it didn’t break during the course of play. He finished with a 72.

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