Hall of Famer Smoltz has brand new pitch
On the pitcher’s mound, John Smoltz never shied away from pressure.
This week, the man considered by some to be the most clutch postseason pitcher in baseball history finds himself dealing with an entirely new sort of stress.
The Hall of Famer qualified for a spot in the U.S. Senior Open, which starts today in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Instead of delivering the nasty stuff, he’ll be trying to avoid it on a Broadmoor East Course that ate up the seniors 10 years ago for this tournament won by Eduardo Romero, whose 6 under was one of only three scores in the red for the week.
“I love pressure,” Smoltz said in an interview earlier this month, shortly after he won a three-man playoff to qualify. “But I don’t think people understand this is a different kind of pressure. This has more to do with the difference between what I’m accustomed to doing on a daily basis of average golf versus what this tournament is, which is ‘One bad swing, and see ya.’ ”
The 51-year-old grew up in Michigan and, brought up in a world of indoor sports, said he saw very little value in golf.
“I didn’t appreciate the history involved,” he said. “I didn’t find it to be as athletic a sport as the others.”
Only out of sheer boredom while playing Class A ball in Florida did Smoltz wander out to the golf course where, like all the other sports he played, he taught himself.
He got good and, as his baseball career progressed, he found himself playing on off days with his Atlanta Braves teammates.
Though he’s long dreamed of playing professional golf, his day job involves calling baseball games for the Fox networks, which will be airing this week’s tournament. Smoltz has offered to wear a mic on the course to enhance the network’s coverage. He may show up in the booth come the weekend if he doesn’t make the cut.
The man who has played in five World Series, pitched in 41 postseason games, posted 213 overall wins as a starter and recorded 154 saves as a reliever understands that dominance on the diamond does not mean he’ll have the stuff to seriously contend with Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh and Colin Montgomerie. PARK FEELING GOOD AS SHE LOOKS FOR EIGHTH MAJOR >> Inbee Park is energized and ready to take aim at her eighth major.
The thumb and back that bothered her in recent years are fine. Though, one thing is weighing on the LPGA Hall of Famer entering the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship in Kildeer, Illinois. Someone broke into her house in Las Vegas last week, and she’s still not sure exactly what was taken.
The home crisis aside, Park appears to be in a good place. The top-ranked South Korean star tops a loaded field at Kemper Lakes in the third of five majors on the LPGA Tour schedule. TOUR WINNER, TEACHER RODGERS DIES >> Phil Rodgers, a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who became one of golf’s top instructors, died after a long battle with leukemia on Tuesday at his home near San Diego. He was 80. Rodgers became friends with Jack Nicklaus, helping Nicklaus with his short game.