Greats of Golf ’s birdie barrage pleases gallery
THE WOODLANDS — The gallery following the 3M Greats of Golf on Saturday wanted to see birdies, and fans weren’t disappointed watching the four three-person teams, which included the pairing of Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam, who became the first woman to tee it up in the 18-hole scramble.
Nicklaus, Player and Sorenstam combined to shoot 10-under par, but it wasn’t enough to win the crowd-pleasing exhibition featuring 12 legendary golfers. Tied at 12 under were the team of Fuzzy Zoeller, Bill Rogers and Charles Coody, as well as the team of Hale Irwin, Larry Nelson and Dave Stockton.
Also at 10 under were Tony Jacklin, Tom Weiskopf and David Graham.
Player not a fan of the golf ball
A recent study by the R&A and USGA revealed the average driving distance increased by 7 yards in the past year among golfers playing the seven most prominent professional golf tours. Currently there are no limitations on the golf ball.
“I think the ball is the biggest detriment to golf,” Gary Player said. “It’s becoming the ruination of golf. Professional golf is becoming a joke.”
The number of PGA Tour players who average more than 300 yards per drive is eight-fold from a decade ago. Player went old school Saturday prior to competing in the 3M Greats of Golf. He mentioned how several players from the 1950s could bomb the ball back then, despite playing with inconsistently wound golf balls as opposed to today’s high-performance, low-compression balls.
“And yet there is one man who’s a head of a golf ball company, and he’s saying, ‘Oh, the guys are stronger today.’ That’s nonsense,” Player said. “George Bayer was 6-8 (actually 6-5), Mike Souchak is stronger than any man playing the tour today. Jack ( Nicklaus )in his prime was as strong as anybody today, ( Ar- nold Palmer) was as strong. Sam Snead was the strongest of them all. So that’s hogwash.
“The ball is just going too far. I’m nearly 83 and I’m hitting the ball a reasonable distance. (The ball) is ruining the game.”
Nicklaus: Bring youth into game
Growing the game of golf among the masses is a big challenge for the PGA of America and the USGA. The number of yearly rounds by recreational golfers has decreased in recent years for a variety of reasons.
Jack Nicklaus said Saturday that millennials need to be targeted. Nicklaus said three things about golf need to be fixed and a priority is to get a higher number of young players on the course.
“It takes too long, the game is too difficult, and it’s too expensive,” Nicklaus, 78, said. “Those are the three things that I sort of harp on and we need to work on, if we want to bring in and keep them in the game. And you don’t enjoy it because it’s too difficult to play.”
Odds and ends
Round 2 scoring average was 72.338 compared to 70.462 for Friday’s Round 1. … The 456-yard par-4 No. 5 hole played the toughest Saturday, averaging 4.312 with just one birdie, 52 pars, 23 bogeys and one double bogey. …
All three times Bernhard Langer has won the Insperity, he led following the second round. … Over two rounds, Tom Pernice Jr. has hit 30 of 36 greens in regulation, second best in the field.
Richard Dean