Column: Steve Stricker quick to clear air with Patrick Reed

Jerry McGee thought he might be in line for some good luck that week. He had come to the Florida Panhandle in April of 1975 to play in the Pensacola Open. One night before the tournament began, he and his wife Jill had dinner in a local restaurant. "We ordered oysters and I found a pearl in one of mine," McGee told the Morning Journal of Lisbon, Ohio last year. "I guess that was a good omen." It was, indeed. After opening with a 69 that left him five strokes off Andy North's lead, McGee steadily climbed the leaderboard. He led by one stroke through 54 holes thanks to consecutive 66s and ended up beating Wally Armstrong by two strokes. The win was the first of four on the PGA TOUR for McGee, who died Wednesday at the age of 77 just weeks after moving to Florida to be closer to his family. His son Mike, who is married to LPGA legend Annika Sorenstam, posted on Facebook that McGee was admitted to the hospital on Saturday. "He went downhill quickly," Mike McGee wrote. "Lots of complications that had been brewing. We were blessed that my parents moved to Orlando and we could all say our goodbyes and be together. "He had struggled for a while and I really believe that after many years of us wanting them to move closer that he finally acquiesced because he knew this was coming. Once my Mom was settled here he was at peace." McGee, who was born July 21, 1943 in New Lexington, Ohio, was a fixture on the PGA TOUR in the 1970s and PGA TOUR Champions from 1993-2004. He started out playing baseball and football but became interested in golf after his parents divorced and his mother later married a club professional. "When I was 14, some friends of mine took me to Firestone to watch the tournament; it was the Rubber City Open at that time," McGee told the Tribune Chronicle of Warren, Ohio in 2014. "And from that day on, I wanted to play professional golf." McGee played at Ohio State, then turned pro in 1966 and joined the PGA TOUR the following year. He made 404 starts and won four times, including twice in 1979, and played on the victorious U.S. Team at the 1977 Ryder Cup at Royal Lytham & St. Annes. "Outside of my family, playing on that team was the greatest thrill of my life," McGee told the Morning Journal in 2020. "To be one of 12 golfers picked to represent your country, I still get chills thinking about it." The slender 5-foot-9, 160-pound McGee was known on TOUR for his short game. He played in 26 majors and posted a trio of top-10s, including a tie for fifth in his 1972 Masters debut. "It's ironic the Masters is next week," Mike McGee wrote on Facebook. "That was by far his favorite week of the year and during his radiation treatments for cancer years ago, he played Augusta National in his mind." McGee was plagued by nagging injuries during his career and eventually sidelined by hypoglycemia, also known as low blood sugar, in 1981. He took a job as director of golf at Oak Tree Country Club in West Middlesex, Pennsylvania, where he go on to work for 12 years. During the last year of his employment at Oak Tree, McGee had a sign on his desk that said: 1993. It was a reminder that he would be eligible for what is now known as PGA TOUR Champions that year. "Everybody asked, ‘What's that,'" McGee recalled in a 2005 interview with the Tampa Tribune. "I just kept it between me and well, me. That was the year I turned 50, when I could join this tour. I gave it a shot. I've done well." McGee made 318 starts on the Champions Tour and posted five top-three finishes. He earned more than $3.2 million in a dozen seasons, including the 1999 campaign that was interrupted by surgery to remove cancerous tumors on the left side of his neck and the base of his tongue. After the surgery, McGee had 6 ½ weeks of radiation. He returned to PGA TOUR Champions four months later and ended up playing in 130 more tournaments before retiring after the 2004 season. "I was so lucky," McGee told the Tribune Chronicle. "I've gone to places, met people, that I would never had the opportunity to without the game of golf." In addition to his wife Jill, Jerry is survived by his brother, Don Holden (Joel); his daughter, Roxane Love-McGee; his son, Michael McGee (Annika Sorenstam); and his daughter, Michelle McGee (Mark Riley); along with grandchildren, Dylan Love, Ava McGee, Will McGee, and Liam Riley. There will be a Celebration of Life at a later date. Memorial contributions can be made to the Youngstown State women's basketball team.

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CROMWELL, Conn. – Notes and observations from Friday’s second round of the Travelers Championship, where Jordan Spieth shot a 1-under 69 to get to 8 under par and in pole position for his second PGA TOUR victory of the season and 11th overall. Troy Merritt (68) and Patrick Reed (66) were at 7 under, while Wesley Bryan (67) was part of a quartet of players two back. For more coverage from TPC River Highlands, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. SPIETH LIMITS DAMAGE Jordan Spieth knew it might be difficult to follow up the best opening round of his young TOUR career, and it was. Not as sharp Friday as he was the day before (63), he still broke 70 at TPC River Highlands and managed to hang onto the lead by himself. For his “badâ€� round, it was pretty good. “I feel like I can control my own destiny on the weekend,â€� said Spieth, whose four birdies covered up a bogey and a double-bogey 7 at the 13th hole. “I’ve been kind of far behind in a lot of the events in making a comeback run, but being able to be toward the front of the pack on a Saturday afternoon is a beautiful position to be in, and one that we’ll certainly embrace.â€� Spieth is a first-timer at the Travelers, but it hasn’t taken him long to figure the place out. The course is short (6,841 yards), but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. “It’s tricked out elsewhere,â€� he said after hitting just 12 greens in regulation, three fewer than on day one. “And being very patient on the weekend is key. I always mention that, that’s always the word. I try to tell myself that, and sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.â€� Spieth took 29 putts, two more than he had in the first round. His double at the 13th was the result of pulling his drive out of bounds left. “One bad swing,â€� he said. “Otherwise it was a pretty solid round.â€� Playing partner Wesley Bryan (67, 6 under) sounded duly impressed. “Jordan’s hitting his driver great right now,â€� Bryan said. “I’m just thinking, man, if I could be playing from where he’s hitting some of these tee shots, it could play a lot easier.â€� SEIFFERT SEEKS SEMINOLE TRIFECTA Chase Seiffert, 25, is older than Daniel Berger and younger than Brooks Koepka, but all three played for Florida State, and all three have made news lately. First came Berger, who picked up his second PGA TOUR victory when he successfully defended his title at the FedEx St. Jude Classic two weeks ago. Then Koepka won the U.S. Open at Erin Hills last week. Now Seiffert—pronounced SEE-fert—is 6 under par and in a three-way tie for fourth, just two shots off the lead after posting a 4-under 66 Friday. “We’ve been talking all week about three straight Seminoles winning,â€� Seiffert said after a round that featured eagles at the par-4 third hole and the par-5 13th. “It’d be pretty cool.â€� Almost as cool would be if Seiffert were to play well on the weekend to give himself some sort of status for the remainder of this season. He Monday-qualified for the Travelers, his 67 at Ellington Ridge Country Club sharing medalist honors and marking the second time he has successfully Monday-qualified into a TOUR event this season (RSM Classic, T74). It’s not an easy life. “If it’s inside 10 hours I’ll drive,â€� Seiffert said of his Monday routine, which requires copious travel with zero job security. “Anything longer than that I’ll fly. I don’t want to ruin my back. I carry my own bag; it’s a lightweight carry bag. Although I did carry my staff bag once to Monday-qualify into a Web event. People looked at me funny.â€� Seiffert’s girlfriend and his mom went all 18 holes with him Friday, despite the stifling heat and humidity, and the fact that his mom, Stephanie Bagshaw, wears a brace on her left knee. “We made the weekend!â€� she said afterward. For Seiffert, it’s just a start; he needs to do more to leave those Monday qualifiers behind. “I came in the week with no status on any tour,â€� he said. “I knew my game was really good, and good enough to even be out here. I just had to get it done. I played well on Monday, and to come out and play the first two rounds like I did, it gives me a lot of confidence.â€� “… It’s definitely pressure just because I know what’s at stake. A good week, and I could maybe get a card or something like that, so there’s definitely pressure in that regard.â€� CALL OF THE DAY LAHIRI AT PEACE BEFORE, AFTER 63 Three weeks ago Anirban Lahiri tied for second at the Memorial Tournament Presented by Nationwide, which got him up to 44th in the FedExCup standings and 15th in the race to make his second Presidents Cup team—a goal that’s been on his mind all year. What has he been doing since then? Quieting his mind at the Vipassana Meditation Center in Shelburne Falls, Massahusetts, about 90 minutes north of TPC River Highlands. “It was just coincidence that that center was there,â€� Lahiri said after his round, which featured five birdies, an eagle and no bogeys. “I’ve done this course three times back home in India starting in 2004. So, I’ve been doing this for 13 years. It’s something that’s very close to me. “You go to the center for ten days, you switch your phones off. There is no TV, you’re not allowed to read. You’re meditating. You’re not allowed to talk. So, there is like complete silence for nine and a half days or so, and you’re meditating 10, 12 hours a day. It’s not just a walk in the park. You’re actually doing work, and working on improving yourself.â€� Lahiri, 29, has long heard he is too hard on himself—from his coach, his wife, his parents, and everyone else who knows him. But it’s not that easy. “I always believe unless I’m critical of myself, I can’t improve,â€� he said. “But it’s a fine line.â€� He has done a lot already to be the best player from India, but he’s not yet where he wants to be. At 66th in the Official World Golf Ranking, he’s still trying to get into the top 50 to punch his ticket to next month’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. Nothing seemed to go right in his opening-round 73 at the Travelers, but his 63 got him to 4 under total, just four back. Was it the meditation? He says he doesn’t do it for golf, but it helps, nonetheless. “If you’re in a better place mentally overall, it will translate into everything,â€� Lahiri said.“Whether it’s work or sport or home or relationships, whatever it is. I mean, if you’re a happy person, or if you’re in a place where you’re at peace, it translates into everything.â€� ODDS AND ENDS A year after he made the cut on the number only to shoot a PGA TOUR record 58 in the final round of the Travelers, Jim Furyk is in much better position going into the weekend. He fired a 2-under 68 Friday to get to 5 under overall, three off the lead. “It’s been good,â€� Furyk said. “It’s been like coming back to a place where you’ve won in the past.â€� … When Jason Day, 45th in the FedExCup standings, missed a six-foot par putt on 18, it appeared that he had finished 1 over par and would miss the cut by a shot. As it turned out, he signed for a par 4 instead of the birdie he made at the fourth hole, and had to accept the higher score. His second-round 70 meant he missed the cut by two, not one. … Rory McIlroy’s right foot slipped on his approach shot to the 18th green, where he bogeyed for a second-round 73 to fall back to even par. He made the cut on the number. … Troy Merritt (68, 7 under par, one back) switched to a new Odyssey Putter for THE PLAYERS Championship last month. It didn’t immediately pay dividends. “I didn’t make any putts there,â€� he said after making over 200 feet of putts in the first two rounds at TPC River Highlands. “When I went back home for three weeks, I changed my routine a little bit. Get over the ball, no practice strokes. Just find my line and hit it. A little bit more reaction versus standing over the ball for a long time. It’s finally starting to feel a lot more comfortable now.â€� … Wesley Bryan seemed to be committing himself to the Travelers for the long term after shooting a second-round 67 to get to 6 under, just two behind playing partner Spieth. “I love this place,â€� Bryan said. “It’s going to be one of those stops that’s going to be hard for me not to put on the schedule moving forward. The golf course fits my eye.â€�  SHOT OF THE DAY BEST OF SOCIAL MEDIA

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How it works: Each week, our experts from PGATOUR.COM will make their selections in PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf. Each lineup consists of four starters and two bench players that can be rotated after each round. Adding to the challenge is that every golfer can be used only three times per each of four Segments. The first fantasy golf game to utilize live ShotLink data, PGA TOUR Fantasy Golf allows you to see scores update live during competition. Aside from the experts below, Fantasy Insider Rob Bolton breaks down the field at this year’s Safeway Open in his edition of the Power Rankings. For more fantasy, check out Rookie Ranking, Qualifiers and Reshuffle. THINK YOU’RE BETTER THAN OUR EXPERTS? The PGA TOUR Experts league is once again open to the public. You can play our free fantasy game and see how you measure up against our experts below. Joining the league is simple. Just click here to sign up or log in. Once you create your team, click the “Leagues” tab and search for “PGA TOUR Experts.” After that? Pick your players and start talking smack. Want to represent the fans against our experts? FINAL 2019-2020 SEASON RESULTS FINAL 2019-2020 SEGMENT RESULTS

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