Oakley Arrives A Little Bit Lighter

By Ken Klavon, USGA

Town and Country, Mo. – Talk about no respect.

After experiencing one of the highs of his life in winning the British Open Amateur, Pete Oakley was left scrambling Tuesday when he arrived at Bellerive Country Club.

Deciding to play in this week's Senior Open late Sunday since the champion gains an automatic exemption into this event, Oakley made a mad dash to get from Portrush, Ireland to Heathrow Airport in London, then across the Atlantic Ocean. Except there was one problem. His clubs didn't make it to St. Louis.

"I made emergency plans," said Oakley on Wednesday. "It's also why my clubs didn't make it."

Club manufacturers on site at Bellerive have pieced together an adequate set. Still, it doesn't compare to the comfort one feels with their own set. Oakley intimated that he'll probably be most affected by using a foreign putter, or what he affectionately called his "magic wand."

Yet even with the misplaced clubs, Oakley, the part owner/course architect/head pro at The Rookery in Rehoboth Beach, Del., was still on cloud nine from winning on Sunday.

"I'm in such a state of mind that you could punch me in the jaw and I'd smile at you," he said.

New Kid On The Block

Each year it seems more hype is heaped upon the ‘rookie' of the Champions Tour than some of the established stalwarts. Rookie identified as the name players from the PGA Tour who become eligible once they turn 50.

This year it's Jay Haas' turn and he's steadfast in his assessment that he shouldn't be viewed as the guy who will tear it up. Even if he did finish second at the Senior PGA Championship, the only other Champions Tour tournament he's started.

"You know, everybody was saying I'm just going to come in and waltz through and all this stuff, and I didn't particularly care for that just because I had never been in that position before," said Haas,

Last year when Craig Stadler joined the Champions Tour, he automatically gained the label of being a favorite. Stadler had a decent year, winning five events.

The year before Ben Crenshaw and Fuzzy Zoeller stole headlines as the tour's next saviors. Between them, they have three total victories.

Zoeller said people are fooled into thinking that the older guys can't play anymore. He was amazed how solid the competition was his first year, and understands completely how Haas feels. It's still cutthroat among everyone.

"It's golf," said Zoeller. "You don't feel pressure in golf. Just because you can't swallow, just because you can't breathe.

"It's nice to be wanted, to be a part of it that way."

Huge Greens

With the rough at 4 inches, the fairways seem much narrower than they actually are, but the real factor this week may be the large greens that have slopes everywhere. The average green size at Bellerive is 8,930 square feet, large for most courses. Add in the numerous humps and bumps, the deep breath golfers may take won't be after hitting the fairway off the tee, but after their second shot if they can somehow get within 20 feet of the hole. It's a virtual impossibility from the rough and definitely a trick from the fairway.

"Most U.S. Open kinds of courses, most of the time you'd rather be putting 20 feet uphill than 6 feet downhill, and so you divide these greens up," said defending champion Bruce Lietzke. "I made some pretty elaborate notes [Tuesday] on the greens. I spent almost all my note-taking [Tuesday] on the greens."

Story written by Ken Klavon, USGA Web Editor. E-mail him with questions or comments at kklavon@usga.org. Alex Miceli contributed.