Jacobsen Has Rough Ending

By Ryan Morgan, USGA

Kettering, Ohio - Defending champion Peter Jacobsen posted a 1-over-par 72 in the first round of the U.S. Senior Open on Thursday.

Very steady in climbing the leaderboard throughout the majority of the round, Jacobsen faltered a bit coming down the stretch, falling from 2 under to 1 over in the span of two holes.

After nine straight pars to start his round, Jacobsen made an aggressive play at the 10^th by going for the green in two on the dogleg right par-5. He showed a deft touch with a beautiful chip from the greenside rough while standing on the edge of a bunker before dropping in a 5-foot putt for his first birdie of the championship.

After several more regulation pars, Jacobsen knocked it close on the par-4 14^th. He rolled in the 12-foot birdie attempt to move to 2 under and within one shot of the lead. Unfortunately, he would give a few shots back on his way into the clubhouse.

On the par-4 16^th, Jacobsen hit a drive down the right side that was captured by NCR's thick rough.

"I hit a good drive on 16, and it just got in the rough," said Jacobsen. "It looked like somebody stepped on it. I could only hit it about 40 yards."

Despite a brilliant wedge shot from 80 yards that landed behind the hole and spun back to eight feet, Jacobsen could not convert the par putt and made his only bogey of the round.

Following the miscue at 16, Jacobsen again drove his ball into the right rough on 17, a short par-4. After playing a punch shot into a bunker guarding the front edge of the green, he blasted to 20 feet and three-putted for double bogey. Putting was Jacobsen's Achilles' heel, as he left several good birdie opportunities short and was unable to convert par saves at 16 or 17.

"Overall, I didn't have a good putting day," said Jacobsen. "The greens are slower because of the rain we had yesterday. . . we were leaving a lot of putts short today."

Despite his battle with the subtle, undulating greens of NCR, Jacobsen seems to be enjoying this year's venue, as well as his role as the defending champ.

Peter Jacobsen needed 32 putts in Thursday's first round, admitting afterward that his putting was off. (Steve Gibbons/USGA)

"I kept saying all the way around, what a great feel, great gallery, great setup," he said. I really enjoy the golf course. The greens are everything here. These are magnificent greens. You have to judge the elevation, whether you're going uphill or downhill. I have no complaints about the golf course."

But what does Jacobsen expect to see through the rest of this week?

"I think you'll see some low scores, but you won't see the real low scores because the greens are tough to putt. If the weather stays the same, they're going to get harder and faster and it's going to make putting more of a factor."

If that's the case, look for the putts that Jacobsen left short today to start falling as he continues his quest to be the first repeat champion of this event since Gary Player in 1987-88.

Ryan Morgan is a Programs Associate for the USGA. E-mail him with questions or comments at rmorgan@usga.org.