Ernie Els, a four-time major winner and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, was in the first tee box at Minnehaha Country Club, about to take his first shot ever on South Dakota soil at the PGA Tour Champions Sanford International.
As Els addressed the ball and brought his body to a standstill, the crowd of bystanders fell silent.
“HOOOOONNNNK!!!”
A horn from a nearby golf cart blared, its shrill moan filling the air and surely embarrassing everyone in the gallery.
Els didn’t move. He waited a beat, then calmly went into his backswing and sent his drive down the middle of the fairway.
LEADERBOARD: Sanford International
“Nerves of steel,” smiled 2018 Sanford International champ Steve Stricker, commending the South African for shrugging off the distraction, and Els, Stricker and 2019 champ Rocco Mediate proceeded down the fairway.
And all along the thinking had been that having fans back on tour for the first time since the start of the pandemic would be the only potential distraction.
As it turned out, the fans that showed up for the first round of the third edition of the Sanford International on Friday were not much of a factor. The crowds for both the opening ceremonies and the first players to tee off were notably smaller than in previous years, and didn’t seem quite as animated.
And all along the thinking had been that having fans back on tour for the first time since the start of the pandemic would be the only potential distraction.
As it turned out, the fans that showed up for the first round of the third edition of the Sanford International on Friday were not much of a factor. The crowds for both the opening ceremonies and the first players to tee off were notably smaller than in previous years, and didn’t seem quite as animated.
Either way, it had the feel of a successful return to golf as we know it, with lots of white dudes in baseball caps carrying mixed drinks, smoking cigars and telling golf balls to “get in there” as they hovered near the greens.
For tournament organizers, getting the Sanford International off the ground, with fans, is a win by itself.
“There’s some opportunities here for us to show the rest of the world that you can go do this,” said tournament host Andy North. “You can get out there, you can have spectators.” Or, as he put it in the opening ceremonies: “Let’s show the world we can come out of our basements and live our lives.”
Following the Daly show
Once again, John Daly had the largest following on Friday, with a group of about 75 fans tracking the larger-than-life big hitter through what was a strong first round. Daly, wearing fluorescent Hawaiian pants under a black pullover, played fairly conservatively and avoided catastrophe on his way to being 3-under through 17 holes, two strokes off the lead.
Daly’s man-of-the-people persona will always make him a fan favorite, but that relatability took a more personal turn this week when Daly revealed to the Golf Channel that he’s been diagnosed with bladder cancer. This news came around the same time Daly was spotted at Grand Falls Casino, where he aced the 18th hole.
“I think I just earned $100,000 in free play here (at the casino),” Daly quipped in a video posted on the Grand Falls Twitter account.
When he’s not golfing or gambling Daly dabbles in music, having recorded a pair of albums. But the most successful musician playing Friday had teed off just 10 minutes before Daly, when chart-topping country rapper Colt Ford hit the links.
Ford, who years before was a pro golfer under his real name, Jason Brown, made his Champions Tour debut at the Sanford International, and after hitting his first tee shot down the middle of the fairway, got to his ball and realized he’d left his gloves in the tee box and had to speed back in a cart to get them.
It was an up-and-down day for the “Dirt Road Anthem” author, as Ford was at 5-over through 17 holes, tied with three others for furthest from the leader.
Dicky Pride jumped out in front, at 5-under through 15 holes.
Tournament faces future
The Sanford International is in year three of a five-year contract. Sanford would love to extend the tournament’s life beyond that, and discussions to do so have informally taken place, according to Sanford executive vice president Micah Aberson.
“We want to see it continue and we’re having conversations right now about what it could look like,” Aberson said. “There’s a lot of moving pieces in getting that accomplished. Working with the tour in making sure the schedule works, we have a great host venue here in Minnehaha Country Club, we’d love to see the tournament continue on here but certainly there are conversations ongoing with their board and membership to make sure there’s an appetite from their standpoint in being the host venue. But right now (Sanford) has an appetite to see it continue because we’ve had great success with it.”
In case you were wondering, Tiger Woods will become eligible for the Champions Tour in 2026.
‘You’re gonna have to move’
No journalist ever wants to become part of the story they’re covering, so I can tell you it was more embarrassing than anything when, as I walked down the cart path that separates the first and 18th fairways Friday afternoon, I directly impacted the Sanford International.
I was walking with my head down, my face largely hidden by a baseball cap and mask, when I heard shouting.
“Heads up!” I heard, and looked up to see a white blur heading straight for me.
“Look out!” shouted a bystander, but I knew it was too late. The low line drive had already bounced on the cart path and was about to pick up speed as it rocketed towards me. I had no chance.
With a Coke Zero in my left hand and my work bag in my right, I (probably hilariously to anyone watching) tried to jump over the speeding spheroid, reminding myself as I did it of a third-base coach trying to dodge a foul ball.
I, however, am 40 years old and in quarantine shape, and don’t have much of a vertical these days. So I pretty much jumped right into the ball. It clipped the bottom of my pants and came to a stop in the grass on the far side of the path.
“Zim, did you just get hit in the (redacted)?” the man behind me asked in a tone that was far more entertained than concerned.
Well, sort of. I did that thing every man understands where you wait a few seconds to assess the true damage of the impact, and determined the cold weather must have worked in my favor. I was OK.
The ball, I discovered, had come off the club of Bob May, who about 10 minutes later made his way over to where I was standing. He didn’t know his ball had hit me, and he seemed kind of embarrassed by his errant shot so I didn’t want to tell him. But I did stand there filming him with my camera while he assessed the ball. He finally looked at me and said, politely but a little annoyed, “You’re gonna have to move.”
I realized I was standing directly in the path of where his next shot needed to go, and sheepishly apologized and moved. I felt like an idiot for a second, but then thought, “Hey man, he’s the one whose shot was so bad I can’t even tell where the hell he’s going” and then I didn’t feel so bad. Also, Bob, your shot getting back to the fairway would’ve been a lot tougher had my, uh, midsection not gotten in the way and saved you about 20 yards. You’re welcome.
Matt Zimmer is an Argus Leader sports reporter. Reach him at mzimmer@argusleader.com