Ohio's Golf Magazine June 2009 : Page 14Senior PGA Championship Roundup (continued from page 13) Sindelar Fades Late Former Ohio State golfer Joey Sindelar had a chance to win the tournament at the start of the final round. By the time he reached the third tee, that chance had vanished. Beginning the day at even par, three strokes back of leader Michael Allen, Sindelar posted a double bogey on the short par-4 opening hole and a bogey on the par-3 2nd hole. He bogeyed two more holes on the front and made the turn at 5-over par. Sindelar managed to shoot an even-par 36 on the back nine, but finished in 22nd place. Joey Sindaler Putts for Birdie on 18th Green. He was in contention during most of the tournament, but Sindelar (69-72-69- 75—+5) never seemed to get comfortable with his swing or the course during the tournament. “Finishing up was good, the other part was really smelly,” Sindelar said after his third round. “This is an interesting course because the fairways are very fast, which is odd. So although they look wide, you have to have the ball going the right way to keep it in the fairway and I seem to be out of round on that a little bit.” One of America’s Top Golf Destinations According to Golf Digest Canterbury Gets High Marks By hosting the Senior PGA Championship, Canterbury became the second U.S. club behind Oak Hill Country Club to host all U.S. men’s rotating cham- pionships. Designed by Herbert Strong and opened for play in 1921, the course received raves from the players in the tournament. “The way they have the course set up right now, it could not be any better condition-wise,” said defending champion Jay Hass before the tournament. “You have to have all facets of your game working here. You can’t fake it around here.” “It’s a very good golf course,” said Tom Purtzer, who held the first round lead after shooting a 66. “It doesn’t necessarily fit my game, but I think that the key is to hit it in the fairway. Obviously it is not playing as a long golf course because the fairways are real firm, so you’re getting a good bit of roll. But you just have to hit it in the fairway. The key is hitting your second shot on the right spot on the green.” Canterbury has not hosted a major since the 1996 U.S. Senior Open, and the course is relatively short at just under 6,900 yards, but it was plenty of challenge for the players. The low round of the tournament was 4-under par by Tom Watson, Michael Allen, Scott Hoch, Tom Purtzer and Ross Drummond, and only three players finished the tournament under par. After getting tortured last year at Oak Hill, where Hass won with a 7-over par and the average score on the par-70 setup was 75.99, the players were quick to compliment Canterbury for being tough but fair. The average score this year was 73.44. “They could torture us if they want to,” Joey Sindelar said. “But the course is set up very fair, it is not overly cooked. I can see 3s and 4s (under par), and if you don’t hit it well a 76 is possible.” “It played fairly fair, I think,” Ian Woosnam said after his opening round. “I didn’t think it was too unplayable. A good score was out there if you played well. I just made too many mistakes.” OG 14 JUNE 2009 • WWW.OHIOSGOLF.COM Mercer Country PA |
