Friday, February 23, 2018
PGA Champions Tour: Naples, Florida 2018
I suppose I
should clarify that to read Naples, Florida. The tournament was held
at the Twin Eagles course, and most of the players remarked on the
excellent condition of the course. The weather could not have been
better, all week....temperature was in the low to mid eighties (25
Celsius) and there was only a slight breeze.
A week ago,
I headed out to the course to watch some of the Pro-Am play. I walked
by the driving range, and spotted a familiar figure driving some
balls out of sight. Rod Spittle was on hand, aided by his trusty
caddie, Butch Wilhelm. Butch has been his assistant for the past
three years. I have written about Spittle for several years. He is
indeed a friendly giant who loves to play golf. Last year he was the
fourth alternate for the event. He was accepted as four players
declined to play. This year he was the first alternate, according to
the specifications of the PGA. Unfortunately, not one player dropped
out, and Spittle headed home on Friday morning. Naturally he was
disappointed, and I held my tongue when I ran into him on his way
out, wishing him well.
Jim Durant
won the tournament, in dramatic fashion. In a four shot turnaround,
he birdied the last two holes. Steve Striker bogeyed those two holes,
and had to settle tied for second with Lee Janzen, Tim Petrovic,
David Toms, and Billy Mayfair. John Daly was not far behind, two
strokes back. He enhanced his chances with a hole-in-one on the 16th
hole with an eight iron. It was his second at a PGA event, the first
taking place in 1994 at the Houston Open. The crowds following Daly
were the largest by far. He still has that charismatic quality.
I spent a
little time with Spittle on the driving range, and at lunch
afterwards. He pointed out to me that these tournament were great
fund-raisers for charity. Most of the tourneys raise more than a
million dollars. Last year, at the Calgary stop, more than 8 million
dollars was raised. The amateur players in the Pro-Am rounds cough up
more than a thousand dollars to play with the pros. There are
sponsorship fees, marketing fees, and others which add up.
Spittle
always makes it very clear that he is Canadian. Whenever he stops to
be photographed, he turns the golf bag around so that the camera
picks up the Canadian flag. He said that he enjoys running into
Canadians here and there. The week before, at Boca Raton on the east
side of Florida, he ran into some high school friends from West Lane
Collegiate in Niagara Falls. He received a scholarship to Ohio State
after high school, and entered the work world following university.
He became a golf pro at age 50, and called the time since then a
“great adventure”.
We also met
quite a character in the lunch room: James “Doc” Reedy, Billy
Andrade's father-in-law. We had a long chat about the various schools
and universities at which he had worked and attended. When he found
out we were Canadians, he gave us a vivid description of Andrade's
victory at the Canadian Open, some years ago.
All in all,
the entire tournament was a great success, on all counts. There was a
rumour that it will be moved next year to another local venue, the
TPC Treviso Bay Course. In 2009, Loren Roberts won this championship
at that location. The Chubb Classic was moved to The Quarry for two
years, then found its home at Twin Eagles in 2012. No matter where it
takes place, it is a fine opportunity to spend a few hours in the
sun!
James Hurst
February 20,
2018.
# posted by James Hurst @ 2:37 PM 
