Category: PGA Tour Champions

Padraig Harrington is looking for a third straight Dick’s Open title on Sunday

Check out who’s in the lead group Sunday seeking to enhance a spectacular track record.

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — Surprise, surprise. Check out who’s in the lead group Sunday seeking to enhance a spectacular track record in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

Padraig Harrington closed a spotless round of 7-under 65 with birdies on En-Joie Golf Course’s final three holes Saturday to take a share of the 36-hole lead. Ken Tanigawa (65) and overnight leader Stephen Ames (69) will accompany Harrington in a group scheduled to leave the first tee at 10:36 a.m. Sunday.

Next-best through two rounds are Bob Estes, Paul Stankowski and Steve Allan, sharing fourth a shot off the top spot, with three others at 9-under. If a quartet at 8-under is within reach, perhaps keep an eye on Miguel Angel Jimenez, whose second-round 68 began with five successive birdies.

Sunday’s weather may not be pretty. Thunderstorms have been forecast with varying degrees of likelihood from early afternoon through the night. Due to that threat, it’ll be a two-tee start with the last groups off at 10:41 a.m.

Harrington’s eight senior tour rounds at En-Joie have all been in the 60s, with a high of 69 to open the 2023 event and a low of 63 to round out his second-consecutive win here. Entering Sunday, he is an aggregate 45 under par – the kind of comfort zone that figures to serve him well in the thick of the moment Sunday.

“Both rounds this week I finished strong. It’s been a bit of a surprise,” he said. “I was a little frustrated probably through nine holes today. My playing partners were going so low, I wasn’t holing the putts. Then, I don’t know if I was patient or things happened to go my way, but it was really nice to come home 5-under.

“This is one of those – there’s obviously a big bunch of people up on the leaderboard, but sometimes you’re three or four shots off the lead, you have a chance going into Sunday, but with so many people on the leaderboard, you really want to be very tightly up there. You want to be if not in the lead, close enough. One of those guys is going to go low tomorrow, so hopefully it will be me.”

Harrington is seeking to become the first player to win the same PGA Tour Champions event three consecutive seasons since Bernhard Langer achieved the feat at the Kaulig Companies Championship (2014-16).

Ames made five birdies – one of the gotta-be-kidding variety from rough left and perilously to the drink at the par-4 15th – against 10th- and 13th-hole bogeys. When holding a 36-hole lead/co-lead in 54-hole events, he is 6-for-9 converting for a win.

“Everything was pretty solid,” he said. “I didn’t make as many putts that I’d like to, not like yesterday, but I think a little bit of the rain kind of changed the greens a little bit because they got a little softer, so we had more footprints through the greens. So, I guess altogether it was a solid round, got it around nicely.”

As for Sunday, given anticipated inclement weather?

“Well, another early start to the week, which is kind of interesting because they said rain today, too, and we never got it, and it had the same on Friday, and we never got it. But we’re getting some tomorrow apparently, so I’m not going to elaborate on that one.”

Round 1 leader Stephen Ames finished 3-under for the day and in a three-way tie for first at 11-under for the Dick’s Open, June 22, 2024.
Tanigawa, who stood 9-under for the day with two eagles through 13 holes, stumbled with a bogey at the 14th and a double at the 15th. He rebounded with birdie at 16.

“I started out great, I got it to 9-under and just hit a lot of good shots, made the putts to capitalize on those good shots,” he said. “Overall, very happy, very good round for myself.”

He hit the first 12 greens in regulation.

“Ball in the fairway, for sure. That always helps, right?,” he said. “I had probably good numbers, which helped. Just when you attack the pins, it kind of makes sense with those numbers, and if not, just kind of hit middle of the greens if you can.”

Odds & Ends

— The start of Round 2 was delayed 45 minutes because of fog.

— Tanigawa’s lone top-10 finish in five previous Dick’s Open starts was a T6 in 2022

— As a PGA Tour rookie, Estes lost in a playoff to Mike Hulbert in the 1989 B.C. Open at En-Joie.

— Chad Campbell withdrew following an opening-round 68 that featured eagles on two of his first five holes, citing the illness of a family member. The 50-year-old Texan was playing his third senior tour event.

Top of the Board

Padraig Harrington 68-65 – 133

Ken Tanigawa 68-65 – 133

Stephen Ames 64-69 – 133

Bob Estes 70-64 – 134

Paul Stankowski 67-67 134

Steve Allan 65-69 – 134

Ken Duke 69-66 – 135

Mike Weir 68-67 – 135

Stephen Ames blasts his way to a 64 at PGA Tour Champions’ Dick’s Sporting Goods Open

No one took greater advantage in sweltering heat than Stephen Ames,

En-Joie Golf Course was for the taking in Friday’s Round 1 of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

No one took greater advantage in sweltering heat than Stephen Ames, twice a winner this season on the PGA Tour Champions who sits atop the Charles Schwab Cup earnings list ($1,270,963). He played bogey-free golf in a round of 8-under-par 64.

Ames made birdie on four of the final six holes to pass Steve Allan, who similarly made eight birdies in his round of 65.

Rocco Mediate sits solo third after a perfectly satisfying 66. Ernie Els and Bernhard Langer share fourth with Paul Stankowski (67). Els arrived in Endicott having won each of the last two Tour events, and Langer, soon to turn 67, continues his remarkable resurgence from February surgery to repair a torn Achilles.

Langer, 2014 champion at En-Joie, made five consecutive birdies beginning at the par-5 eighth.

Two-time defending Dick’s Open champion Padraig Harrington is smack in contention again, sharing seventh on a seven-birdie, three-bogey round of 68.

Second-round play is to begin at 7:50 a.m. Saturday, with the leaders off the tee at 12:25 p.m.

“I just played golf. I hit some nice — hit some quality golf shots,” said Ames, 60, an eight-time senior tour winner. “Tough to hit a lot of fairways on this golf course — they’re extremely narrow — but I think the opportunities, when I did hit the fairway, I made some birdies on it. Other than that, putted nicely and didn’t make any mistakes.”

He concluded his lowest round of the season by holing a birdie putt of 10 or so feet at the last. As for the root of his birdies on the three front-side par-5s?

“Length, I guess. Had the advantage of that,” he said. “Also the fact that I did hit the fairway, so that kind of helped. Actually, I missed the fairway on the third, I got it up and down from about 80 yards. So, I mean overall, just like I said, just playing golf. Capitalized on situations when they arose and putted nicely.”

Allen, 50-year-old Australian with one top-10 through 11 events of his rookie season, played in the first group of the day. He was 4-under through nine and proceeded to make birdie at the 12th, 16th and 18th in a spotless back nine.

“For the most part I played pretty well. I got lucky a couple times with my drives,” he said. “Hit a few drives left in the middle of the round, and one of them kicked in the fairway, I had gaps in the other two, so I was a little lucky. I played well, I holed out well around the hole.

“Any sort of shortish putts for par or birdie, I made ’em, so that kept the round going.”

Allan added, “The conditions are perfect at the moment. The greens have a little bit of firmness to them, but they’re not too hard. The course is in great shape. A good little bit — there’s a little bit of rough, so you have to drive the ball well, but it’s not overly penal if you just miss a fairway, so I love it. It’s great.”

Mediate made seven birdies against one bogey. He was forced to withdraw from his most recent three starts with a back ailment. His top finish in four completed events this season was a second to Ames at the Chubb Classic.

“Everything worked. I drove crappy on some holes, but I drove good on the holes I needed to, I guess,” he said. “I haven’t played healthy since Tucson. I’ve been out a lot, been out for a couple two months. I’m ecstatic, ecstatic. Feel much better, yeah.”

Odds & Ends

– Chad Campbell, in his third PGA Tour Champions event, was 4-under through five without making birdie – eagles at the first (hole-out from 127) and par-5 fifth took care of that. He shares seventh after a 68.

– Ames has eight top-10s in 12 starts this season. He was T4 two weeks back in the American Family Insurance Championship.

– Els has been a second- and third-place Dick’s Sporting Goods Open finisher.

– Dick Mast, 73-year-old Monday qualifier at the Links at Hiawatha Landing, shot 72 with four front-side birdies.

– Jerry Kelly withdrew before the first round, citing a back injury.

Round 1 Results

Stephen Ames 64

Steve Allan 65

Rocco Mediate 66

Paul Stankowski 67

Ernie Els 67

Bernhard Langer 67

Mario Tiziani 68

David Brandson 68

Dick’s Sporting Goods Open crowd favorite John Daly on the tee, June 21, 2024.
Michael Wright 68

Notah Begay III 68

David Duval 68

Miguel Angel Jimenez 68

Mike Weir 68

Padraig Harrington 68

Ken Tanigawa 68

Chad Campbell 68

Tim Petrovic 68

Doug Barron 68

Cameron Percy 69

Vijay Singh 69

This PGA Tour Champions event is staying put through 2029 after new deal was inked

A five-year extension of the title sponsorship agreement was disclosed,

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott will continue to host PGA Tour Champions Golf through at least 2029.

A five-year extension of the title sponsorship agreement was disclosed jointly by Dick’s Sporting Goods and the Tour on the eve of the 17th Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

The most recent renewal before Thursday came in the form of a three-year extension in June 2021.

“They’re obviously one of the better sponsors out here,” said Padraig Harrington, two-time defending champion. “It’s a great event coming up here, it’s well supported by the fans. I think we’re delighted to be able to come back here for the next five years and certainly it would be one for me, you’ll probably see me every year.”

The 2025 edition Dick’s Open will be contested July 11-13.

The Dick’s Sporting Goods Open has been conducted annually in Endicott – but for the COVID-necessitated cancelation in 2020 – since 2007.

“Broome County is a special place for my family and for Dick’s Sporting Goods,” said Ed Stack, Binghamton native and Executive Chairman of Dick’s Sporting Goods. “It is where I grew up and our company started more than 75 years ago. I’m thrilled to have the Dick’s Open continue in Endicott and am thankful for our great partners at the PGA TOUR Champions and Broome County Community Charities who help make this tournament a world-class event.”

The inaugural B.C. Open, forerunner to the Dick’s Open, was staged in 1971 as a PGA Tour satellite event. The regular-tour event was played at En-Joie through 2005 and shifted in 2006 to Turning Stone Resort & Casino’s Atunyote Golf Club when massive flooding pummeled the Southern Tier.

Three is a magic number: Ernie Els, Padraig Harrington each looking for three straight titles

Threes are potentially wild for the 17th edition of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

Threes are potentially wild for the 17th edition of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open when tournament play begins Friday at En-Joie Golf Course.

There is Padraig Harrington, winner of each of the last two PGA Tour Champions events in Endicott. And there is Ernie Els, winner of the most recent two Tour events anywhere.

Those possibilities will assuredly be front and center as anticipation builds through the week of preliminary activity in what will be uncomfortably steamy temperatures throughout Broome County.

One annual highlight of the event will be staged Friday night following opening-round play. That’ll be a concert featuring Luke Bryan, maker of 30 No. 1 hits and five-time entertainer of the year.

“Stunningly spectacular” was applied on this website last year, when Harrington beat up En-Joie’s second nine Sunday — five birdies, one eagle for a 7-under 28 — to complete a round of 9-under 63 and become the event’s first back-to-back champion.

Joe Durant, 18-hole leader by three and Sunday’s pace-setter for much of the back nine, went 64-69-66 as runner-up, a shot better than Els, whose closing bogey left him a 68 and 16-under total.

Padraig Harrington of Ireland holds the trophy after winning the DICK’S Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie Golf Club on June 25, 2023 in Endicott, New York. (Photo by Drew Hallowell/Getty Images)

Els won the June 7-8-9 American Family Insurance Championship in a playoff with Steve Stricker, a week after topping the field at the Principal Charity Classic in Des Moines (62-68-65). He is a five-time PGA Tour Champions winner with a stellar record at En-Joie.

“We’ve got an interesting storyline. What’s going to happen: Is Ernie Els going to win three in a row? Or is Padraig going to threepeat?” said tournament director John Karedes.

As for which would be more compelling? “I don’t know. You’ve got Padraig, who’s just an awesome guy, inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame (June 10), and you’ve got Ernie who I believe has two (top-threes) here.

“We’ve had guys like Ernie and Miguel and Darren Clarke who’ve come just oh so close. Oh, and let’s not forget about the sixty-some-year-old, Bernhard. When I went on social media and saw he’d gone a six-week period and all he could do was chip and putt, I told my colleagues, ‘You guys watch out. If this guy can only work on his short game for six weeks, you think about what that short game is going to be like when he comes back and he starts playing.’ What’d he shoot, 17-under a couple weeks ago?

“This is a course you know he can play well, it’s relatively flat so that should take pressure off any residuals he’s got from the injury.

“There are some great potential stories.”

Odds & ends

— Stephen Ames, who’ll play his sixth Dick’s Sporting Goods Open this week, has won events this season by four- and three-stroke margins, respectively. That ranks him co-first and co-second in 2024. Ames has also built the largest 36-hole lead (three strokes).

— Low start by a winner this year? Els went 10-under 62 in the Principal Charity Classic and Harrington went 8-under 63 in the Hoag Classic.

— Most consecutive years with a win on Tour? Harrington and Steven Alker (2022-24).

Jim Furyk and caddie Mike ‘Fluff’ Cowan reunite at Dick’s Sporting Goods Open

“I wanted to finish my career working for Jim Furyk.”

Jim Furyk has a new caddie on his bag this week that looks a lot like the old one, down to the white, fluffy mustache.

That’s because it is none other than Mike “Fluff” Cowan.

Fluff, 76, and Furyk, 54, parted ways amicably after a 25-year run earlier this season. While Furyk was sidelined with injuries, Fluff worked for Taiwan’s C.T. Pan and took up his bag permanently at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May. Furyk told him he couldn’t pass up the chance to work for larger purses on the junior circuit and he was prepared to fire Fluff if he didn’t take the job with Pan.

Furyk filled in with friends and his son, Tanner, since resuming play. Fluff suffered an injury when he slipped and fell on wet grass going down a hill at the RBC Canadian Open on June 2 during the final round north of the border. Pan, 32, has not competed since finishing T-35 at the RBC Canadian Open. He’s currently 114th in the FedEx Cup and earned $757,714, including a T-3 finish at the Vidanta Mexico Open.

Furyk, in contrast, has made $46,416 in six starts with just one top-20 finish to his credit. What’s the old saying about absence makes the heart grow fonder? Fluff, who has worked for Peter Jacobsen and Tiger Woods during a career spanning nearly 50 years, said it was a simple decision for him.

“I wanted to finish my career working for Jim Furyk,” Fluff told PGA Tour.com.

Fittingly, they are reuniting at the PGA Tour Champions Dick’s Sporting Goods Open at Enjoie Golf Club in Endicott, N.Y., the former home of the B.C. Open, a PGA Tour stop from 1971-2006.

Jerry Kelly is playing through chemo drugs, still in hunt at American Family Insurance Championship

The autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack healthy cells by mistake.

MADISON, Wisc. – In advance of the U.S. Senior Open at SentryWorld in Stevens Point last summer, Jerry Kelly talked about having to play through a wrist issue – an odd one where it was going out of joint, and how inflamed it felt despite his best efforts at rehabilitation.

Just about a year later, as he readied for the American Family Insurance Championship that started Friday at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Kelly acknowledged that inflammation had spread to other joints – to the point where he couldn’t get out of bed, or a chair.

Kelly, 57, sought out a cause and testing discovered that he had rheumatoid arthritis. The autoimmune disease causes the immune system to attack healthy cells by mistake, causing inflammation in joints. Kelly also said the testing revealed lyme disease, which in its late stages can also cause swelling in joints.

The Madison native said he has been put on a regimen of the chemotherapy drug methotrexate and is in his eighth week of treatment.

“Small levels compared to what normal chemo patients take,” Kelly said Thursday. “It’s just kind of a first line of defense trying to get those white blood cells that are killing you from the inside, they’re eating healthy tissue. Got to my lungs, got to my esophagus, my stomach. It didn’t get to my heart, which that’s one place that it gets to, so I’m thankful for that. I went through a week in Newport (in March) where I couldn’t eat. Anything that I ate was just getting attacked from the inside. I feel like my lungs are getting a little bit better.

“It’s taken a lot of muscle away from me, and the fatigue is real. You know, I just felt a couple times where I couldn’t get the adrenaline up for tournaments. You know, I have a hard time playing without adrenaline.”

Kelly has kept playing, and the AmFam Championship is his 11th start of 2024 on the PGA Tour Champions. He tied for second in his tournament, the Cologuard Classic in Tucson, Arizona, and has two other top-10 finishes.

He opened on Friday with a 69 and joked after a putt that he might need a few cocktails.

“I made a 20-footer for par on 10. I’d like to say it got me fired up, but I actually said, ‘I’m going to start drinking tonight.’ The next thing you know, I made four in a row,” he joked after the opening round. “Again, it’s smoke and mirrors out there again. I didn’t feel like my body responded very well.

“I know I’m jumpy, but that’s ridiculous, a little explosion on every shot, doesn’t matter if it’s driver or a putt. So, you know, battled through it and see if I can shoot a couple low ones, who knows.”

Some of Kelly’s statistics have been impressive. He’s leading the tour in driving accuracy and scrambling and is sixth in actual scoring average and seventh in greens in regulation. An indicator for his loss of strength, however, might be the fact he is 57th in driving distances (269.7 yards).

“I’m used to, in tournament mode, just thinking of what I want to do and my muscles will actually cooperate, connect with my brain, let my autonomous system kind of take over and it comes out,” he said. “There’s a bit of a disconnect there right now. That’s what I have to fight through. I may have to talk it out more, I have to be clearer about what’s going on because one thing comes into my head and I forget about everything else that I really need to do. There’s some things that I may need to change with my pre-shot to be crystal clear. And I’m bouncing around all the time, I’m changing shots when I’m over the ball.

“That’s why I’m so jumpy, because I’m reacting to everything, I’m not just being kind of a robot swinger. That’s hurting me. I think it’s hurting me because I don’t have the strength, I can’t save it as much. It’s just different, you know? If I can relax on myself a little bit more, I think that part will come back, but as anybody knows that gets any kind of a diagnosis, you go through a little bit of an anger phase and that’s either going to make you fight or flight. It’s going to make me fight. I’ve just got to find my way mentally through that kind of situation, not get down on myself and really get it done.”

Kelly hoped a return to his hometown – and a course and tournament where he is a two-time champion – can give him some extra juice. But even with some physical obstacles perhaps stacking the odds against him in a talented field, the fiery ex-hockey player has never shied away from a challenge.

“I’m not going to quit,” Kelly said. “I’ve gotten down on myself fairly hard because my body’s not responding to my brain, things like that. There’s a little disconnect going on and that bothers me, but there’s still – there’s still the fight.

“As long as there’s a fight left to be fought, I’m going to be in the mix, I’m going to be in the middle of it. So I expect myself to play well this week. It’s a course that I really like. I’m going to try and find a way, that’s all I’m going to try and do every single week, every single day. Yeah, I’ve got a few years to figure it all out.”

On Saturday, Kelly posted another 3-under 69 and is tied for fourth, three shots back of the lead.

Boo Weekley, who sometimes drives U-Hauls to tournaments, co-leads American Family Insurance Championship

Weekley is seeking his first PGA Tour Champions victory.

Boo Weekley, who drove a U-Haul to last week’s PGA Tour Champions event in Iowa, is co-leading this week’s American Family Insurance Championship after Friday’s first round.

Weekley, seeking his first Champions tour win in his 19th start, shot a 4-under 68. He had three birdies in a row early on Nos. 2, 3 and 4 and then closed with a birdie to tie Glen Day after one round at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison, Wisconsin.

During an interview at Wakonda Club in Des Moines last week while fishing at the golf course, Weekly explained how they couldn’t get a rental car out of Michigan after the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

“We got to looking around,” he said in his unique Southern drawl. “And finally, me and my old gal said ‘Let’s just get a U-Haul’ and I started laughing.”

“That ain’t my first U-Haul experience,” he added.

Steve Stricker, the Madison native who is back defending his title, is tied for third with fellow Wisconsinite Jerry Kelly at 3 under. In fact, there’s a six-way tie for third, along with David Duval, Lee Janzen, Duffy Waldorf and Thomas Bjorn.

Stricker, also the tournament host, felt he struck the ball well enough to have gone 5 or 6 under but couldn’t make enough putts before finishing with a 3-under 69.

“It was a challenge,” Stricker said. “I mean, the wind was gusty, the greens were super fast, the ball was moving around once you putted it, you know, the wind would take it. That was the hard part probably is getting a good feel on the greens. Some of them could really get away from you and one did on me on, especially on 17. I was able to make it coming back. You really had to be careful not just running it by 8, 10 feet on some of these downwind putts.”

Jim Owczarski of the Milwaukee Journdal Sentinel contributed to this article.

This former PGA Tour (and current Champions) course is the source of a tug-of-war between county and village

When the county held a presser no village officials were invited. They then responded.

An outdated irrigation system at En-Joie Golf Club in Endicott has sparked a debate over the course’s future management and ownership.

At a press conference on the En-Joie grounds, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar was joined by Chairman of the Broome County Legislature Dan Reynolds and En-Joie employees Thursday afternoon. At the event, Garnar announced the county, which manages but does not own the golf course, has ordered a study to be conducted by Ramboll Engineering, which will determine the full price of the system’s replacement.

According to Garnar, the county has offered to assume ownership of the property from the Village of Endicott, citing the county’s increased budget, which he says will create the ability to fix problems as they arise.

Endicott Mayor Nick Burlingame, who says neither he or any Endicott representative was invited to the press conference, held a media availability event shortly after in response. He said the village will be ordering its own assessment from another engineering firm in order to identify the condition of the course and potentially appraise and review management operations.

Chairman of the Broome County Legislature Dan Reynolds and Broome County Executive Jason Garnar speak at a press conference at En-Joie Golf Club. (Photo: Riccardo Monico, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)

What is wrong with the En-Joie Golf Club irrigation system?

According to Garnar, the course has been managed by the county for 17 years, through multiple executives and governments. The irrigation system requires a complete replacement, he said, as the system is over 70 years old.

Burlingame, who spoke at the Endicott Municipal Building following the county press conference, said the village was first made aware of an engineering firm’s recommended upgrades to the irrigation system by the county in February, but the report the recommendations were based on was never shared.

“The village immediately requested a copy of the engineering study, so that the Board of Trustees could review it and make an informed decision on how best to proceed,” said Burlingame. “To date, the village has not received a copy of the engineering report from the county. When we receive the report from the county we will analyze our options and it will allow us an opportunity to get public comment. We want the Endicott community to weigh in so we can make an informed decision based on their wishes.”

Endicott Mayor Nick Burlingame addresses the media regarding the future of En-Joie Golf Club. (Photo: Riccardo Monico, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin)

According to Sullivan Murphy, who works closely with the irrigation system in his capacity as golf course superintendent, the current irrigation system is extremely outdated and has already received seven repairs this year, totaling thousands of dollars

Currently, the golf club’s irrigation system uses an average of 10 million gallons of water from Endicott’s only water well per year. In June 2023, Endicott issued a water conservation advisory due to low water levels. The advisory ran from June 1-23, and encouraged residents not to fill up pools, wash cars or water lawns, though Burlingame said residents were not asked to stray from their ordinary lives and the village has never been in a critical situation with water to date.

The village is actively working on getting another water well online, Burlingame said, but the process will take time.

According to Garnar, the new irrigation system could pull water from a different source, such as the Endicott Waste Water Treatment Plant or the Susquehanna River.

“It is our desired intention as we construct this new irrigation system that we will use water from those sources, not from the last remaining water well in Endicott, freeing up tens of million of water,” said Garnar.

Future of Dick’s Open at En-Joie

Garnar and Burlingame both brought up the importance of the Dick’s Sporting Good’s Open for the village and the county, and expressed their commitment to maintaining En-Joie’s quality to ensure the tournament continues.

The 2024 Dick’s Open tournament events run from June 17-23.

According to Reynolds, the total cost to replace the irrigation system could be up to $6 million. Garnar said the offer was intended to help the village, citing multiple county projects over the past few years meant to help Endicott, including the demolition of the former Red Carpet Inn across the street from the course.

Garnar said that the village could not sell the course to a private entity, given its status as a park, but would be able to give the county ownership of the course. According to Reynolds, paying for the work through grants or bonds would negatively impact taxpayers in the area.

Reynolds and Burlingame both said the engineering studies will likely finish around the end of the year.

Burlingame said that the Board of Trustees has not ruled out any option, including transferring ownership to the county, but want to first explore every option.

“The county asking us to hand over the golf course with zero information is negligent — maybe even grossly negligent,” said Burlingame. “We can’t make an informed decision, an educated decision, we can’t represent the taxpayers, we can’t represent the community without having all the facts on hand.”

Steve Stricker has been looking for an old Callaway driver since he cracked his at the Players (and he found it)

“I tried some Titleists, I tried some of the new Callaway stuff, and it’s just not the same for me.”

Steve Stricker still remembers the exact moment when he realized his beloved driver was cracked. The Callaway Epic Speed, with which he’d gotten comfortable, wasn’t performing as he’d hoped during the 2024 Players Championship and he noticed a hairline fracture just before missing the cut.

“I was hitting a shot that I hadn’t been hitting for a while,” Stricker said Thursday in advance of the American Family Insurance Championship. “You know, that’s a few models ago, let’s put it that way. I’m kind of one of those guys that finds something and sticks with it.”

Stricker thought he had found a solid replacement for the KitchenAide Senior PGA, playing a Titleist driver which he paired with his older V2 shaft.

And while he played well, finishing eighth, Stricker still felt he could improve a bit.

“I’m a big boy, I should be able to try to hit some of this new stuff,” he said. “I tried some Titleists, I tried some of the new Callaway stuff, and it’s just not the same for me.”

More: Callaway Epic Speed, Epic Max, Epic Max LS drivers

In advance of this week’s PGA Tour Champions event in his native Wisconsin, Stricker set out to find the exact Epic Speed he’d had before, putting in a call to a family shop from Naples, Florida, with whom he’d previously done business. A friend from The Golf Guys scoured inventory and found just what Stricker needed.

“I said, ‘Hey, do you happen to have any used Epic Speed heads, 9-degree triple diamond, all this kind of stuff,’ told him what mine was. He’s like, ‘I’ll get back to you,'” Stricker explained. “Sure enough he had a brand new one still in the wrapper. I’m like ‘How fast can you get that to me?’ Monday morning at 6:30 the Amazon guy dropped it off at my doorstep. Monday morning I was out there hitting it.

“The start lines are much better. I had to do a little finagling with the weights on it and all that kind of stuff.”

Stricker is hoping for improved performance this week at University Ridge, and that’s saying something for the 17-time PGA Tour Champions winner. He’s played seven events on the senior circuit this year and finished inside the top 10 on all but one occasion.

But in case he has a mishap with this driver, he got a little great news this week while preparing for this event.

“I go in the trailer this week and they found me another one,” Stricker said. “All of a sudden, I’ve got two where I didn’t have one before that, so things are looking up.”

Ernie Els wins, Bernhard Langer ties for third at 2024 Principal Charity Classic on PGA Tour Champions

Els earns his fourth senior circuit victory.

DES MOINES, Iowa — The fourth time is the charm.

It took four appearances at the Principal Charity Classic for Ernie Els to get his first win there, with the South Africa native simultaneously earning his first PGA Tour Champions win this season.

“It’s very special,” Els said. “I haven’t won for a while, and I’ve had quite a few chances. But it gets tougher when you don’t get it over the line.”

Els finished at 21-under 195, winning by two strokes.

The 54-year-old had two birdies on the front nine Sunday and three more on the back. He picked up an eagle on lucky number 13, which gave Els the padding needed for the win, even with making par on the final three holes.

“I was lucky enough to make birdie on 11,” Els said. “I didn’t need a very good approach, made a good putt. And then 12, but 13 was big to make eagle late on the back nine, that was key. Got me into a three-shot lead, and (I) kept with it.”

The win at the Wakonda Club marked the first PGA Tour Champions win of the season for Els, who entered the Principal Charity Classic ranked 16th in the Schwab Cup Standings through eight events.

He claimed the winner’s purse of $300,000, which brings his total winnings the $785,017 this season. Els has now finished in the top 10 three times this season, including third-place ties in the Regions Tradition and Chubb Classic and a tie for sixth at the KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship.

Els finished two shots ahead of Stephen Ames, the tournament’s defending champion, but it was a close race throughout. Four players were tied for first after finishing the front nine: Ames, Rod Pampling, Ernie Els and Bernhard Langer.

Then, the front group started to split apart.

Ames picked up two birdies to start the back nine, then made par on 12 and 13, and saved par on 14. Els made par on 10, then picked up back-to-back birdies and an eagle on the next three holes to take a two-shot lead. Langer also hit par to start the back nine, then made three birdies in a row before a bogey on 14.

Els’ eagle on lucky number 13 that proved to be the winning shot in Sunday’s competition.

But holistically, he played his best tournament of the year, leading after the first two rounds and hanging on through the final day in Des Moines.

“I had a good game plan,” Els responded when asked about his three-day lead. “I stuck with it all three days. I’ve put the work in and you feel a bit more confident that every aspect of the game is there.

“Then you can just go out there and compete. It was a hell of a week. Everybody played well and just that one hole maybe got it for me. Number 13.”

Els – who thanked the greens staff for the “true championship course” and the weather for cooperating – plans to return to Des Moines.

“We as players love playing here. As long as I can, I’ll come back, especially if I keep winning.”

Ageless wonder Langer, who tore his Achilles tendon while playing pickleball on just four months ago, shot a 63 on Saturday, the 15th time the 66-year-old has shot his age or better on PGA Tour Champions. On Sunday, he shot 68 and tied for third alongside Duval and Pampling.