Thursday, February 28, 2019
The Chubb Classic in Naples
Last Friday,
Stephen Ames began a round of golf on the tenth tee. He started well,
then slipped a tee under his ball on the par three 12th.
He watched the ball disappear into the hole from the tee. He wrote
the digit on his scorecard, walked the fairway, and went on to have
one of the finest rounds of golf in his life.
He was at
the top of the leader board at the end of the day, sharing the lead
at 8 under par with Sandy Lyle. But he knew there was work to be done
the next couple of days. “You've got to keep your foot down on the
pedal here because the golf course is so easy and soft. They're going
to be going at every flag basically out here. I drove the ball
really nicely. I wouldn't say I hit my irons extremely close, and I
putted what I thought was half decent for my round. I mean, the
course is there for the taking. The pins are somewhat accessible.”
The course,
located in Naples, on the South West coast of Florida, is the site of
one previous PGA Champions Tour event. In 1988, Gary Player won the
title at the Club at Pelican Bay. He then designed the course that is
being used this week. The tournament was played at this location, The
Classics at Lely Resort, in 1996. For the past seven years, it was
held at Twin Eagles.
In order to
qualify for the Champions Tour, golfers must have reached their 50th
birthday. Next year, a host of golf talent fits that bill: Ernie
Ells, Jim Furyk, Tim Herron, K. J. Choi, Phil Mickelson, and Canadian
Mike Weir. Weir has struggled the past few years on the PGA Tour, and
is currently playing in Mexico. For all of these players, the
competitive juices continue to flow, no matter how many birthdays
have passed on the calendar. Hale Irwin, 73, fired a one under par 70
on Friday. He was won the Chubb Classic two times. He shot his age
five times last year on the Tour.
The
irrepressible John Daly, always a tournament favourite, struggled in
his first round. He birdied the first hole, he then had two bogeys
and a triple bogey. He then withdrew, without comment.
Ames is the
lone Canadian in the field. We have followed the exploits of Rod
Spittle for the past seven years; however, Spittle has retired from
the Tour, and is staying closer to home. He will be inducted into the
Canadian Golf Hall of Fame this summer, a wonderful tribute to a
great guy. The ceremony will take place in Hamilton, at the course
where his dad once worked as a caddy. Herb Page, a longtime golf
instructor at Kent State University, is also being inducted. Spittle
won an amateur championship on the course in 1977.
Stephen Ames
was born in the island community of Trinidad and Tobago, and learned
the game on the courses there. He attended school in the United
States, at Boca Raton, and became a Canadian citizen in 2003. He has
been instrumental in assisting with Junior golf programs in Ontario.
Stephen Ames' second shot at 18.
Alas, the
final round was not kind to Ames. He eagled on the front nine to take
a two stroke lead. But a couple of bogeys, and a double bogey sealed
his fate as he left the 18th green. The remarkable Miguel
Angel Jimenez, from Spain, played well enough to tie for the lead,
and force an extra hole.
He made no
mistake in overtime, birdieing the extra hole to win all the marbles.
Well, not all of them. Ames picked up $ 50 000 for his effort. Great
weather, great golf, plenty of suspense. Good times in South West
Florida.
James Hurst
February 18,
2018.
# posted by James Hurst @ 8:39 AM 
