Monday, February 20, 2017
AProud Canadian in South West Florida
Butch Wilhelm with Rod Spittle
Occasionally, I like to
focus on a fine athletic achievement. If it so happens that a
Canadian is involved, all the better. We have been accused of not
being a terribly proud people. That may be true, but certainly not in
this case.
For many years, I have
followed the golf exploits of Rod Spittle. Rod grew up in the Niagara
area, Chippewa to be exact. They have announced that he is from St.
Catherines and Niagara Falls. No matter. He was fortunate enough to
attend Ohio State on a golf scholarship. Once he graduated, he chose
to stay in the United States to sell a little insurance and play a
little golf.
Around the time of his
fiftieth birthday, he toyed with the idea of trying to make the grade
for the PGA Seniors Tour, for those over 50. Despite some initial
setbacks, he has achieved success on the tour, finishing well and
even winning one event. When he arrived at Naples, Florida this week,
he had no guarantee that they would even let him play. He was the
“Fifth Alternate” on the list of players who would be allowed to
play, if others dropped out.
We ran into Rod, and
his caddy Butch Wilhelm, on the practice range on the day before the
tournament. One after another, he was cracking drives 250 yards down
the middle of the fairway. He mentioned that his wife Ann had
traveled with him from their winter home near Dunedin. Apparently,
she was back at the hotel packing the bags to head to Dunedin because
Rod had not been informed that there was a place for him.
So, on the first day of
the tournament, Rod hung around, just in case. Ten minutes before
the start, he was informed that he was in the field.
“You know, we can't make this up! I was the first alternate last
week, same thing, so I was around for three days. And then I got the
call.”
He
birdied the first hole, and finished four under for the first round.
As he prepared for the second round, I chatted with Butch near the
range. I mentioned that a friend of mine from Belleville had been in
touch with me, and wanted me to ask about Rod's putter grip. It is
called a “P2”, and comes from a local golf guy named Steve Auger.
Butch pulled the club, and we talked about it. The putter head cover
was adorned with Canadian flags.
The "P2 Grip", available from Steve Auger at Black Bear
or at the Loyalist Golf Centre.
“Rod
met Steve at the PGA show recently, and loves the grip. Mind you, he
did make a slight adjustment to it. He reversed the grip, bottom up.”
Rod's wife Ann confirmed that bit of information. He scored rounds
of 68, 68, and 69 to finish in a tie for third with Jerry Kelly and
Jeff Sluman. He pocketed $ 96 000 for his efforts.
Miguel Angel Jiminez
Fred
Couples finished first, 16 under par. Miguel Angel Jiminez from
Malaga, Spain was second, at 13 under par. The victory for Couples
was his 12th
on the PGA Tour Champions, the first since 2014. The win vaulted him
to the top of the Schwab Cub Standings, ahead of Bernhard Langer.
Spittle also made significant gains in the standings.
Bernhard Langer
Langer
won the tournament last year. In fact he has won the tournament three
times in the last six years, but never in successive years. That is a
word of caution to all players in case he plays next year!
Playing
conditions were perfect all week long. The start for the final round
was delayed slightly, due to an early morning fog. Most players felt
that the course at Twin Eagles was in superb condition. Attendance
was up significantly, due, in part, to the presence of John Daly.
John Daly
Rod
and the boys move on to Tucson to play this coming week. He has
earned an exemption into that tournament. When asked whether or not
he might take a little confidence from his play this week, Rod
replied, “Without a doubt. I'm healthy and rested and practiced up
and ready to go This is a great way to get started.”
And
so, the “gentle giant” from the Niagara area made us all a little
proud, this past weekend. The television announcers were really
impressed with his game. They referred to it as the “feel good”
story of the week.
You
can also check Rod's progress at PGA.com, or on the golf channel.
James
Hurst
February
20, 2017.
# posted by James Hurst @ 5:32 PM 
