Woodland leads rain-delayed PGA Championship

Writing from Town and Country, Missouri

Friday, April 10, 2018

It was great until the thunderstorm played through.

Birdies and eagles were plentiful at Bellerive Country Club. There was a festival atmosphere in the swollen gallery of over 40,000 fans.

Then, five minutes after the first of many insistent rumbles of thunder, and with a cloud blacker than night looming to the north, PGA of America officials blew the hooter.

It was 3:33 p.m. That, as it turned out, was all the golf for the day. The second round in the 100th PGA Championship will continue on Saturday at 7 a.m., followed by Round 3.

But, while it lasted, what golf! Seven-under-par 63s, tying the PGA Championship record, from Brooks Koepka and Charl Schwartzel. A 64 from two-time U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka. Critically, a 66 on top of Thursday’s 64 by Gary Woodland, good for 10-under 130 – a PGA Championship 36-hole record – and the lead at the unscheduled break.

Woodland’s a stroke ahead of Kisner’s 131, two ahead of Koepka’s 132, and three ahead of the 133s of Schwarzel, world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, and erstwhile Illinois standout Thomas Pieters, the latter duo posting matching 66s. Rickie Fowler is also at 7-under, 2-under through 10 holes of his round.

All that happened on a golf course that remained soft from Tuesday’s downpours with greens that were deliberately cut to run slower than the typical major championship pace to keep them alive.

In other words, conditions ripe for scoring.

“The golf course is trying to dry up a bit,” Woodland said hours before the latest deluge. “Get in the fairway, the greens are still soft enough you can still attack. The key is get the ball in the fairway and attack from there.”

Woodland was splendid all morning, hitting 15 greens, but best hole was the par-5 17th, which ran every bit of 597 yards on Friday. He hammered a 321-yard drive over a bunker to cut the dogleg right, hit what he called “a little cut 3-wood” from 265 yards to about five feet, and ho-hummed the putt home for an eagle 3.

“It was nice to make that eagle because Kis was on a little run there,” Woodland said.

Who wasn’t?

Kisner started on the back nine, went out in 6-under 29, and appeared to be aiming for a score in the 50s. Parring the first six holes on the course stopped those dreams, and a birdie-par-bogey finish gave him 35 for a mere 6-under 64.

Koepka, in the group ahead of Kisner, opened with three straight birdies and played the back nine in 31, and made three more birdies on the front for 32 and a PGA-tying 63, one off Jim Furyk’s 10-year-old course record.

Fowler opened with a bogey but played 3-under golf after than and was at 7-under at the horn. He could make hay on a softened course Saturday morning.

Brandon Stone is alone in eighth place at 6-under 134, with a host of players at 5-under, some of them still to finish. Nobody in the 78-player afternoon wave has finished. When play resumes, the caboose groups in the field will have 14 holes to play.

Around the PGA

Wheaton native Kevin Streelman was 3-under for the round and 1-under for the tournament when play was suspended. ... Tony Finau had a roller-coaster round that resembled the old Mad Mouse ride. Five straight birdies to open his round. A triple-bogey on the sixth hole. Two more birdies and then a bogey to tour Bellerive’s front nine in 4-under 32. A par – a par? – on the 10th hole followed by another birdie, when he drove the green, chipped close from the back fringe, and knocked in a shortie for his sixth three in 11 holes. Then the horn blew with him 4-under for the day and back to even for the PGA. It had to impress fellow competitor and Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk. ... When play was suspended, the cut was expected to fall at even-par 140, which would be a PGA Championship record, but the continued softening of the course might bring it down a stroke.

– Tim Cronin

Woodland leads PGA, Fowler one back, Zach two behind

Writing from Town and Country, Missouri

Thursday, August 9, 2018

One of these years, almost everyone with a whit of knowledge about golf and golfers believes, Rickie Fowler will win a major championship.

If you believe the Players Championship is a major, then it’s already mission accomplished.

Most people think it isn’t, never mind the deeper field than any of the four majors, so Fowler is still considered in the no-major wilderness. He’s been close, but close doesn’t get to kiss the trophy, Wanamaker or otherwise.

Maybe this week is the week in one of those years. Fowler, wearing a yellow shirt to honor late pal Jarrod Lyle, tore into Bellerive Country Club early and scored a 5-under-par 65 before anybody could stop him. Of the other 155 players in the field, only Gary Woodland, who grew up a state away in Topeka, Kan., could surpass that.

Woodland, who has never contended in a major championship, poured in enough birdies to score 6-under 64 to take the lead in the 100th PGA Championship in the steambath of the afternoon heat. Fowler is right behind, South African Brendan Stone and two-time major winner Zach Johnson follow at 4-under 66, and eleven players, including world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, Jason Day, Justin Rose, Stewart Cink and Ian Poulter, are tied for fifth at 3-under 67 entering Friday’s second round.

Before the humidity wick was turned up to infinity, a goodly number of the 35,000 or so on the premises had a great time chasing Fowler. He went through the back nine of this Robert Trent Jones-designed classic in 1-under, then birdied the first, third, seventh and eighth holes on the front side to race home in 4-under 31. The feature attraction was a 32-footer for birdie on the par-4 seventh, a dogleg left that, at 402 yards, is short by modern standards.

Bellerive, where Gary Player battled to win the 1965 U.S. Open, where Nick Price conquered to capture the 1992 PGA and where Camilo Villegas raced to victory in the 2008 BMW – the old Western Open – has always been considered a formidable test. As far as the young and old in the field hit it now, no course is a formidable test. Fowler had 157 yards left with no more in his hand than a 9-iron on the seventh because he laid up off the tee. Others dared to hammer their shots over the trees.

“I’ve always been a good mid iron and long iron player, so get me in the fairway and with the soft greens, I feel we can pick the golf course apart as long as we play smart and within ourselves,” Fowler said.

That’s true of much of the field, but Thursday, only he and Woodland truly got the job done. Dustin Johnson tied Fowler at 5-under after a string of three birdies through the 13th, but unaccountably missed the 14th green and bogeyed, as he did the 17th to finish 3-under.

While Fowler said the course isn’t a series of driver-wedge templates, that “some mid-irons” are used, he also said, “If you hit fairways and greens it’s not hard. It’s fairly generous off the tee, you can definitely play back on some areas to where it’s maybe a little bit wider.”

Fowler used that stratagem to hit 11 of 14 fairways and 16 greens in regulation.

Dull golf can be great golf in a major if the putts fall.

What Fowler has to do is keep it going. He was up and down like an elevator last week at Firestone, and has too often had at least one bad round in the four weeks a year where everybody cares.

“We took care of what we needed to take care of today, and we move on to Friday and go do what we need to go do tomorrow,” Fowler said.

Woodland left a 15-footer for birdie inches short at the 18th or he’d have tied the PGA Championship record with a 63. Regardless, 64 to lead when making 152 feet 5 inches of putts is more than a full day’s work. He bogeyed the first hole and birdied seven of his last 11. Clearly, adjustments to his putting are paying off.

“It’s nice to see results to back up the work you’ve done,” Woodland said. “I hit a lot of putts the first seven holes I thought I made and didn’t go in. It gets frustrating.”

Then they fell like hailstones on a stormy day, including a 44-footer on the par-4 11th, a 23-footer on the par-4 12th, and a 22-footer on the par-3 16th. All for birdies, and all to the delight of what he estimated were 75 to 100 backers from back home. All on greens that are patchy in parts and deliberately slowed up to survive the week.

“It’s so hot here in the summer, the greens are soft and slow, and that sets up for me,” Woodland said.

Zach Johnson was a handful of groups behind Woodland and only two strokes behind at day’s end, after a brilliant par save on the 17th. He nearly knocked the flagstick down with his approach at the 18th and signed for a saucy 66.

“I’m trying to eliminate the big, big number,” Johnson said of the save.

Stone, who closed the show at the Scottish Open with a 60 to win, had only one bogey in an otherwise-impeccable round, including birdies on two of his last three holes to nudged within a stroke of Fowler.

“It comes down to confidence, really,” Stone said. “I’d played well coming into the Scottish. My game feels fantastic. I hit it really well, the rhythm was spectacular, and I saw the putting lines all day.”

That was the reverse of last year at Quail Hollow, site of the 99th PGA, which Stone said “chewed me up and spit me up.”

Changing to a blade putter from a mallet, he said, improved his putting “leaps and bounds. I got one made by the guys at Ping the Monday of the Scottish Open and haven’t looked back since.”

Streelman opens 2-over

Kevin Streelman, the only Illinois-connected player in the field, arrived at Bellerive on Monday, but didn’t know for two days whether or not he would be able to tee it up when the bell rang.

He played nine holes on Tuesday to reacquaint himself with Bellerive, where he finished in a tie for 22nd in the 2008 BMW Championship, and another nine Wednesday, after which he got the word. Thomas Bjorn’s back injury hadn’t improved, and he withdrew. Streelman was in.

The result: A 2-over-par 72 thanks to a solid par save at the last.

“It’s a course where, if you have a great nine holes, you can get right back in it,” Streelman said.

Off the course, Streelman recently visited the White House with a number of other PGA Tour pros, dropping by during the week of the Quicken Loans Championship at nearby TPC Potomac. He ended up chatting up President Trump on golf topics. Calling himself a centrist, with strong views of issues on each side, Streelman said the visit was as much to honor the office as anything.

Around the PGA

Zach Johnson, seeking a PGA to go with his Masters and British Open titles, birdied the last from two feet after a spectacular approach for 2-under 33 to match his outward nine and jump into joint third. ... Tiger Woods had a ho-hum Bellerive debut, scoring even-par 70, with four birdies, two bogeys and a double-bogey. He opened with bogey-double and clawed his way back to even par with a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 8, his penultimate hole. Woods had only played practice rounds at Bellerive before Thursday. The 2001 WGC American Express tournament was cancelled after the September 11 attacks on Tuesday of tournament week, and Woods missed the 2008 BMW Championship because of his post-U.S. Open victory knee surgery. ... Phil Mickelson opened with a 3-over 73. ... The course record of 8-under 62 was set by Jim Furyk in the rain-delayed second round of the 2008 BMW.

– Tim Cronin

Vince India wins Illinois Open

Writing from Glenview, Illinois

Wednesday, August 8, 2018 

Vince India was airborne about two hours after his final putt dropped at The Glen Club to win the 69th Illinois Open.

Yes, he still needed a plane.

India, who calls Deerfield home, added a final-round 6-under-par 66 to rounds of 72 and 64 to finish what became an endurance test at 14-under-par 202 and beat Bloomington football equipment salesman Brendan Holtz by a stroke early Wednesday evening.

“It was a grind,” said India, who had to finish the second round in the morning and then regroup for his 2:10 p.m. tee time. “I had to really talk myself out of thinking too far ahead and pull the reins back in. I did a good job for not being in this position for a long time.”

India’s bogey-free round featured birdies on the first, second, eighth, 10th and 12th holes before he came ever-so-close on Nos. 13, 14 and 15. But a birdie 4 at the last after a cart path-aided drive of almost 400 yards ended up making the difference against Holtz, who was in the final group and also birdied the final hole after an enormous drive, but needed an eagle to tie and force a playoff.

“I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous, but I’m glad I pulled myself together and made some really committed swings down the final three holes,” India said. “I didn’t really put myself in a lot of trouble out there. My short game bailed me out when it had to.”

For India, the victory was not only lucrative – to the tune of $19,004 – but a mental boost for the Web.com tournament starting Thursday. He caught a late flight to San Francisco and expects to be on the tee in the Ellie Mae Classic at 9:06 a.m. Pacific Time.

“I’m going to have a lot of drinks on the plane, which is great, probably a couple Bloody Marys, most likely watch a movie and pass out,” said India, who, battling a wonky back, has made the cut in two of seven starts on the circuit this season, earning $2,964. “My health’s better and I’m able to swing the club a little bit better too. I think the golf swing’s finally coming back.”

Holtz, who tied for second to earn $13,063, and was low pro last year, erred with a bogey on the par-3 17th, hitting his tee shot fat and leaving himself 12 feet for par after a so-so chip. He hit the 18th green in two and had an 18-foot uphill left-breaking putt that broke a little more than he expected.

“That sucker turned real hard,” Holtz said. “I wasn’t going to leave it short, though.”

It was the 17th hole, a vexing par-3, that bit Holtz for the second year running. 

“Bad bogey,” Holtz said. “I did the same thing last year, same situation. That hole, I have some redemption coming. I need to get back here and do it again.

“It’s a roller-coaster golf game I have. I struck the ball really well, but had a three-putt bogey (on No. 8) and No. 17, it’s just kind of kicking my butt.”

India’s birdie on No. 8 just before Holtz bogeyed earned India a share of the lead with amateur David Perkins of East Moline, a member of the Illinois State golf team who captured the CDGA Amateur earlier this summer. Perkins went out in 3-under 33, added birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to get to 13-under, parred the 16th and stepped onto the 17th tee. Quickly he was pointing east and shouting “Fore left!”

“I hit a ‘you know what,’ ” Perkins said, avoiding the word shank. “First time in competition.”

The ball sailed into the nasty fescue-gorse between the 17th and first greens, and might be found years from now. Perkins had to settle for double-bogey and finished at with 3-under 69 for 11-under 205, tied for third with Brian Bullington of Frankfort, who also scored 69.

“Still a solid week,” Perkins said. “I thought early in the day I was in control, in the lead or close to it. Turned out I was in it all day until 17. But I needed one more birdie if not for the double.”

Around the Open

The second round ended late on Wednesday morning with David Cooke and Holtz on top at 9-under 135, Cooke finishing with a 6-under 66 and Holtz scoring 67.  India’s 64 brought him into a into a six-way tie for third at 8-under 136, along with amateurs Brendan O’Reilly and CDGA amateur champion David Perkins and pros Daniel Hudson, Andy Mickelson and Brian Bullington. ... The cut fell at 1-over 145, with 57 players advancing. ... Defending champion Patrick Flavin finished tied for 30th at 2-under 214 to cash his first check as a pro. ... The tournament’s second ace was registered by Jeff Kellen of Machesney Park with his first swing of the day. He drilled a 176-yard 7-iron into the cup on the 17th hole, a stroke that helped him to solo fifth at 10-under 206. Garrett Chaussard aced the ninth hole on Tuesday with a 226-yard 3-wood, but missed the cut.

– Tim Cronin

Logjam at the top in Illinois Open

Writing from Glenview, Illinois

Tuesday, August 7, 2018

Daniel Hudson is two months removed from his golf career at Kansas. Now a pro, he has the dreams of any newly-minted professional, and so far, little to show for it.

He qualified for the PGA Tour’s Canadian circuit, the Mackenzie Tour, and play four straight tournaments in June.

Hudson has yet to play a round on the weekend. He missed the cut in all four tournaments.

He’ll make the cut, and money, this week. Hudson held a share of the lead as night fell on the rain-delayed second round of the 69th Illinois Open thanks to a second straight 4-under-par 68 that coulda, woulda, shoulda been better.

Hudson, who grew up in Western Springs and played high school golf at Lyons Township, was 11-under for the tournament standing on the 18th tee at Ravinia Green Country Club. He led by three, but not for long. He sailed his tee shot out of bounds on the par-5 and struggled to make an 8. That dropped him to 8-under to share the lead with Andy Mickelson and Brian Bullington – and eventually with amateur Brendan O’Reilly, who is 8-under through 10 holes of the second round – and brought a passel of players into the mix, and into the final round, which admits the low 50 and ties, or those within 10 strokes of the leader.

“I’d just hit a pretty good shot into 17 and almost holed that for birdie,” Hudson said. “Unfortunately I made one of the worst swings of the week on a hole where there’s trouble in that direction.”

Still, this is better than how he’s fared in Canada. He decided to pull out of this week’s tournament in the Great White North and qualified for the Illinois Open last week.

“It’s exciting I have a chance to win a golf tournament,” Hudson said. “I can’t tell you the last time that’s happened. I played a month on the Mackenzie Tour in June, felt I was playing well but didn’t get much out of it. Even this week I bet I’ve missed eight putts inside eight feet. If you want to win, especially on the PGA Tour, you’ve got to make those putts. There’s still a lot of room for improvement.”

Mickelson, director of golf at Mistwood Golf Club in Romeoville, added a 2-under 70 at The Glen Club to his opening 66 at Ravinia Green for a 36-hole aggregate of 8-under 136. Bullington, erstwhile Iowa standout from Manhattan in Will County, and aiming for a Tour card in the near future, posted his second straight 68 playing alongside Mickelson.

The gaggle at 8-under holds a one-stroke lead on professional Dakun Chang and amateurs Kyle Irlbacker and Matt Murlick, at 7-under 137, and are two ahead of second-year pro Kyle Kochevar entering Wednesday’s final round.

Bullington admitted to having “a rough spring,” attributing it to going through simultaneous swing and equipment changes. He realized he had to get longer or would be lapped by the field. That meant a higher swing speed with newer technology.

“I put on a lot of clubhead speed,” Bullington said. “That translates to a club or club-and-a-half less on approaches. You’ve got to trust your swing, and then you’ve got to trust it in tournaments.”

Bullington is at that point now. He qualified for the recent John Deere Classic, and while he missed the cut, fighting his way through the four-spot that Monday was an achievement.

Mickelson’s highlight of the day was the eagle that wasn’t on No. 15.

“Had 85 yards, hit a lob wedge, took one bounce, went in and came out,” Mickelson recalled. He settled for knocking in the five-footer for birdie, one of six birdies in the round.

A double-bogey on No. 3 caused by hitting into the gorse and two bogeys hurt his card, but he’s in his best position going into the final round of the state championship.

The horn to stop play sounded at 7:57 p.m., and when it did, Brendan O’Reilly stood at 8-under through 28 holes, building on his opening 67. And 2015 winner David Cooke was at 7-under with eight holes remaining in his second round.

Around the Open

The long delay – four hours at Ravinia Green and 3:42 at The Glen Club, forces the conclusion of the second round deep into Wednesday morning. Only then will the cut to the low 50 and ties be made, and then pairings, and then the final round. If there’s no more bad weather, the finish should come by 6 p.m. ... Scores at The Glen Club averaged 75.85 strokes for the in-progress second round, while the Ravinia Green crowd was at 77.59 strokes when play halted.

– Tim Cronin

Bauman belies his age; Mickelson, Chang lead Illinois Open

IG 2018/ 8/ 6 Illinois Open R1 Gamer

Writing from Riverwoods, Illinois

Monday, August 6, 2018

Doug Bauman is 61 years old and doesn’t know it.

He goes about his business on the golf course like a 25-year-old, bashing the ball far enough to make the effort more than worthwhile and giving more than a little competition to his younger peers.

Monday, there was more of the game. The longtime head pro at Biltmore Country Club in Barrington scored 4-under-par 68 at Ravinia Green Country Club and stands two off the lead after the first round of the 69th Illinois Open.

Everybody at Ravinia Green finished, but because of a longer thunderstorm delay, not everyone got back to the clubhouse at The Glen Club in the two-site championship. Twenty-four players will finish there, then scurry to Ravinia Green for their second round.

“It’s my best round in the last seven or eight Opens,” Bauman said.

He went out in an unglamorous even par 36, but rushed home in 4-under 32, including a chip-in eagle from six yards off the green on the par-5 11th, a birdie on No. 12, and a four-foot birdie at the last.

“It’s nice to put up a good score,” Bauman said. “I’m playing better the last couple years. Having four kids play golf, it keeps me swinging hard.”

He’s two strokes behind Andy Mickelson and Dakun Chang, whose 66s at Ravinia Green came on opposite sides of the course in the windless late afternoon.

They thus displaced Illinois sophomore Brendan O’Reilly of Hinsdale, whose 5-under 67 was the best of the morning wave and earned him the lead for three hours. Second-year professional Kyle Kochevar of Glen Ellyn and Marquette junior Matt Murlick of Winnetka matched O’Reilly’s effort late in the day.

Mickelson’s approach game was on the mark all day, but especially on No. 8, the 195-yard par-3, where he stuck a 6-iron six inches from the cup, the par-4 15th, where he dropped a 120-yard pitching wedge a foot from the pin, and the par-4 16th, where he had to punch out from trees and then holed a 55-yard pitch for a birdie.

“I was pretty focused for some reason,” said Mickelson, a professional at Mistwood Golf Club who lives in Lockport. “I’m really happy. This is as good as it gets for me. My wedge game’s one of my stronger suits.”

Minutes later, Chang came in with his matching 66.

“I had a good game plan coming in,” said Chang, an assistant at Twin Orchard. “Irons off the tees, score on the par 3s. I just tried to keep it in the fairway.”

He birdied three of the four short holes and two par-5s as well, along with the par-4 fourth.

“The greens were soft,” Chang said.

Mickelson and Chang are two strokes ahead of a sixsome including Kurt Slattery, Brandon Holtz, Brian Bullington and Bauman, all of whom, like O’Reilly, have stories to tell. Among the highlights:

• O’Reilly is entering his sophomore year at Illinois, where he crashed the lineup as a freshman on several occasions, and recently took third at the Magnolia Amateur and eighth in the Western Junior.

• Slattery, an assistant at Pinnacle Golf Course near Rock Island, made it into the John Deere Classic last year with an eagle-eagle finish, but was disqualified from last year’s Illinois Open when officials saw he was using a push cart rather than taking a cart or using a caddie. He’d like to make up for that faux pas.

• Bauman is 61 and bidding to become the oldest winner by about a decade, but also the low Bauman, as Greg, one of the sons of the longtime Biltmore pro, is also in the field. (Greg shot 8-over 80.)

• Holtz was the low professional last year and ended up $13,886 richer, tying for second behind winner Patrick Flavin.

Amateur Drew Pershing of downstate Washington and Daniel Hudson of Western Springs were the leading players at The Glen Club, also 4-under through 14 and 12 holes respectively, before the thunderstorm-delayed play stopped for the day.

Right behind them are notables including longtime campaigner Gary March, whose 3-under 69 featured a half-dozen birdies but also a double-bogey, and Ricky Palonis, whose 2-under 70 was one of several at that level but who is fortunate to be alive, much less playing golf.

Defending champion Patrick Flavin began his professional career with a 2-under 70.

All of the above played Ravinia Green, a shorter and tighter course than the more brawny Glen Club, where Wednesday’s final round will be contested. The low player of those finishing at The Glen Club, where play was delayed for 2 hours 25 minutes compared to the 1:45 at Ravinia Green, is Shaun McElroy, at 2-under 70, tied for 15th overall. The halves of the field switch courses for the second round.

O’Reilly’s single-bogey round was punctuated by six birdies, including a 40-foot putt to open the day on No. 1.

“Now I’ve got momentum,” O’Reilly said of that eye-opener. “Now I’m into the round.”

He stayed in it, and was 4-under after a birdie on No. 10. He made up for a bogey on the short par-4 No. 12, where he hit his tee shot out of bounds and escaped with only a 5, with birdies on the 16th and 17th to get to 5-under.

Slattery birdied the first two holes, gave those back immediately with bogeys on the third and fourth holes, then birdied Nos. 6, 7, where he considered himself fortunate to not hit his tee ball out of bounds, and converted a 30-footer for a birdie, 11 and 15 with nary a miscue to score his 68.

“I was driving it really well today,” Slattery said. “No special, just really solid. I could have shot 65, or 70.”

Holtz, if might be recalled, sells football equipment to youth groups year-round from his Bloomington office, and the Illinois Open comes in his busy season. But he carved out time to fire a 68 to start his bid to win the trophy along with the big check.

“This is very much a target golf course, and I like to rip it,” Holtz said. “You have to think out there. At The Glen Club, you can whale on it.”

Merlick’s 67 was bogey-free and featured a quartet of birdies on his opening nine, including a 40-footer on No. 12, and one, from eight feet, in the gloaming on No. 9 to end the day.

“I know going in that this course, I needed to attack, so I came out guns blazing and made a lot of birdies,” Merlick said. “It was so soft even my 7-irons would spin back a little bit.”

Then there’s Palonis, who starred in high school golf at Lincoln-Way Central and was starting a pro career when he was severely injured in an auto accident.

“My blood pressure was 18,” Palonis recalled. “I was on the way out.”

The recovery was arduous, but is complete, including a spinal fusion that kept him off the course for nine months. That operation worked, and Palonis is looking for sponsorship for his winter destination: the South African Tour, for which he qualified in the spring.

Given all that, 2-under 70 to open his title quest was a delight.

“I see life from a different lens now,” Palonis said. “This is definitely a bonus, no question.”

Around The Open

Tuesday’s order of business is to finish the first round at The Glen Club, after which those players will go to Ravinia Green for the second round, while Monday’s Ravinia Green contingent will tackle The Glen Club, weather permitting. ... The field at Ravinia Green averaged 74.70 strokes on the 6,870-yard course, while the preliminary average at the 7,101-yard Glen Club was 77.06.

– Tim Cronin