Tag: Ernie Els

Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els and more highlight packed field for Jim Furyk’s PGA Tour Champions event

A field like this would have led to champagne corks popping in the offices of The Players Championship — 20 years ago.

A field like this would have led to champagne corks popping in the offices of The Players Championship — 20 years ago.

In the present day, it’s as good as it gets for the PGA Tour Champions.

The field for the upcoming Constellation Furyk & Friends was finalized late Friday afternoon and the final roll call at the Timuquana Country Club when the first round begins on Oct. 8 will be nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame and 21 major champions who have combined to win 38 of golf’s grand-slam events.

Leading the way will be current PGA champion and five-time major winner Phil Mickelson, four-time major champion Ernie Els, three-time major champion Vijay Singh of Ponte Vedra Beach, two-time Masters champion and current Charles Schwab Cup points leader Bernard Langer, tournament host and 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk of Jacksonville and two-time Players champion and 1997 PGA winner Davis Love III of St. Simons Island, Ga.

Six past Players champions are in the field, Mickelson, Love, Fred Couples, Lee Janzen, Fred Funk and K.J. Choi.

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The list also includes both Ryder Cup captains whose teams battled last week at Whistling Straits, Steve Stricker for the U.S. and Padraig Harrington for Europe. Harrington, a three-time major champion who turned 50 years old on Aug. 31, is making his PGA Tour Champions debut.

Vijay Singh of Ponte Vedra Beach is one of nine members of the World Golf Hall of Fame and 18 major champions playing in the Constellation Furyk & Friends tournament Oct. 8-10 at the Timuquana Country Club.
The field of 81 includes more than 50 past PGA Tour winners who have combined for more than 400.

Players also will be jockeying for position in the 54-hole, no-cut tournament, with two events left to qualify for the final-72 on the Schwab Cup points list and make the three-tournament playoff series. Only five of the current top-72 are not playing.

Tickets and parking information are available by visiting constellationfurykandfriends.com.

Furyk & Friends field

Players who have committed to the Constellation Furyk & Friends PGA Tour Champions event Oct. 8-10 at the Timuquana Country Club (World Golf Hall of Fame members in bold):

Steven Alker, Michael Allen, Robert Allenby, Billy Andrade, Stuart Appleby, Woody Austin, Doug Barron, Cameron Beckman, Rich Beem, Shane Bertsch, Paul Broadhurst, Tom Byrum, Mark Calcavecchia, K.J. Choi, Darren Clarke, Fred Couples, John Daly, Marco Dawson, Glen Day, Chris DiMarco, Ken Duke, Scott Dunlap, Joe Durant, Ernie Els, Bob Estes, Steve Flesch, David Frost, Fred Funk, Jim Furyk, Tom Gillis, Matt Gogel, Retief Goosen, Jay Haas, Padraig Harrington, Tim Herron, Scott Hoch, Lee Janzen, Miguel Angel Jiménez, Brandt Jobe, Kent Jones, Robert Karlsson, Jerry Kelly, Bernhard Langer, Stephen Leaney, Tom Lehman, Frank Lickliter II, Davis Love III, Jeff Maggert, Billy Mayfair, David McKenzie, Rocco Mediate, Phil Mickelson, Larry Mize, Colin Montgomerie, Jose Maria Olazábal, Rod Pampling, Scott Parel, Jesper Parnevik, Corey Pavin, Tom Pernice Jr., Tim Petrovic, Dicky Pride, Brett Quigley, Loren Roberts, Gene Sauers, John Senden, Wes Short, Jr., Vijay Singh, Jeff Sluman, Paul Stankowski, Steve Stricker, Kevin Sutherland, Ken Tanigawa, David Toms, Kirk Triplett, Duffy Waldorf, Mike Weir.

Tournament information

Dates: Oct. 8-10.
Course: Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville.
Tickets/parking: Visit constellationfurykandfriends.com.
TV: Golf Channel (Oct. 8-10, 3-5 p.m.).
Purse: $2 million ($300,000 to the winner).

Senior British Open: Darren Clarke halfway home to rare Open double

Darren Clarke aims to become just the fourth player to win both the British and Senior British.

At 52, Darren Clarke has enough mileage on his career to know that the work is only halfway done if he’s to hoist a trophy on Sunday at the Senior British Open. A 67 on Friday at Sunningdale Golf Club (Old) in Berkshire, England, propelled the Northern Irishman and 2011 British Open champion to 8-under 132 at the midway point of the championship and a one-stroke lead over Germany’s Bernhard Langer and American Jerry Kelly.

“Just made good swings all the way coming in and kept giving myself opportunities,” he said. “Pleased that I finished on 8-under because the wind was swirling about a little bit.”

Clarke, who finished T-10 at his first Senior Open Championship at Royal Lytham and St. Annes two years ago, is making sure he doesn’t get ahead of himself in his quest to become just the fourth player to win both the British Open and Senior British Open.

“We’re all long enough in the tooth to know this is only two rounds and a lot of golf to be played yet. I would love to have this trophy sitting behind the Claret Jug. Got to go work on some iron play, my iron play wasn’t there especially around the front nine today but other than that drove the ball well,” he said. “Really (would like to be) in the mix come Sunday afternoon and would love to improve.”

Clarke has company from a couple Hall of Fame stalwarts as well as the leader in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup. Kelly, who won the American Family Insurance Championship and has finished outside the top-8 finishers once in his last eight starts, eagled the first hole on Friday and made four birdies en route to shooting 66.

“The putter was suspect and I kept on trying to do something, do something, and then finally the last four holes, I kept my head down, which you know I’m not known for,” Kelly said.

It worked and it was good enough to tie Langer, who continues to defy his age and contend for senior majors, for second at 7-under 133. The 63-year-old Langer already has collected a record 11 senior majors, and shows no signs of slowing down. He shot 67 on Friday, and said he’d be ready for rain and more wind on the weekend.

“Just plug along. It’s going to be miserable at times when it’s rainy and windy and all that but hey we’ve been there before,” he said. “Just try and make the best of it.”

Langer has done that and then some at the British Senior. In 12 previous starts, Langer has 11 top 10s, four wins and three runner-up finishes.

South African Ernie Els is tied for fourth at 6-under 134 with England’s Paul Broadhurst. While this is Els’ first Senior Open Championship, he always has thrived at playing links golf, winning the Open in 2002 at Muirfield and again in 2012 at Royal Lytham and St. Annes. He also has three runner-up finishes at the British and 11 total top 10s.

“It was a little bit more difficult today, a little trickier,” he said. “I feel like what I’m working on is kind of coming through a little bit. But Darren is a great frontrunner, played really well today, so got a lot of work to do.”

Els could also join elite company – with Gary Player, Bob Charles and Tom Watson – as the only players to win both the British and Senior British Opens. Asked when he starts thinking about winning a tournament, Els answered, “Hopefully on the last putt. I’m just trying to stay in it. I haven’t quite got my old game there, so I’m really fighting hard to stay in it. Darren seems like he’s striking it nice. I’m trying to stay in touch with him. Stay there until Sunday afternoon and then whatever happens, hopefully Sunday I can think about that but not right now.”

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Senior British Open: Darren Clarke shoots 65, eyes rare Open double

Darren Clarke took a step in the right direction to becoming just the fourth player in history to win both the British Open and Senior British Open on Thursday.

After missing the cut last week at the 149th British Open at Royal St. George’s, site of his 2011 British Open title, Darren Clarke, said, “All I ever wanted as a young kid was to get my name on the Claret Jug.”

But at 52 years of age, Clarke has set a new goal.

“The Senior British would be very special for me,” he said.

Clarke took a step in the right direction to becoming just the fourth player in history to win both the British Open and Senior British Open on Thursday. He fired a 5-under 65 at Sunningdale Golf Club (Old) in Berkshire, England, to share the lead after the first round with South African James Kingston.

Clarke has enjoyed a resurgence on the PGA Tour Champions this year, claiming two wins in the last eight months. He credited video lessons with swing coach Shauheen Nakhjavani for his strong play. Clarke has plenty of experience at the famed Sunningdale links designed by Willie Park Jr.

“Sunningdale is one of those golf courses where when you play it, you think you’re going to have lots of chances and you go out and play with a card in your hand, it’s a different golf course,” he said.

With a victory this week, Clarke, a 14-time European Tour winner, would join Gary Player, Bob Charles and Tom Watson as the only players to have won the Claret Jug and the Senior Open.

Germany’s Bernhard Langer, the defending champion having won his fourth title when the tournament was last played in 2019, opened with 4-under 66 and trails by one along with Stephen Dodd and Ricardo Gonzalez. Two-time British Open champ Ernie Els, who could also join select company with the rare double, is among a party of five at 3-under 67, including American Jerry Kelly and Australian Robert Allenby, who is making his senior circuit debut.

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Ernie Els is double-dipping on major championships, which includes his first U.S. Senior Open

A 51-year-old Els will tee it up in the U.S. Senior Open this week for the first time in his career.

There are two ways to look at an abundance of major starts – particularly an abundance of major starts in one season. It can be exhausting or it can be energizing. Ernie Els is choosing the latter outlook.

A 51-year-old Els will tee it up in the U.S. Senior Open this week for the first time in his career. Put the Big Easy in the same age bracket as Phil Mickelson, who is just over a month removed from winning the PGA Championship in a field of young hot-shots. Els, in fact, is only eight months older.

Els hasn’t bowed out of that arena entirely, and the four-time major champion plans to tee it up at the British Open next week. But he’s mixing in some senior majors, and this week’s U.S. Senior Open at Omaha (Nebraska) Country Club can be a kind of tune-up.

“For me, it’s a blessing to play in tournaments that I’m really committed to mentally,” Els said. “A lot of times in the last four or five years on the regular Tour, I just didn’t have quite the energy to really pick myself up in some of those events, and now I feel that there’s a different energy with me. I feel I can compete.

“I use a lot of the regular events to work on my game, hone my game, and try to get ready for kind of the big ones for us. So that’s kind of been my game plan so far. I’ve played quite well in majors, but I haven’t won one, but I’ve been in contention. So just got to keep building on that and see where it takes us.”

Related: What to know about the U.S. Senior Open

Els’ first major start came in 1989 at the British Open, where he missed the cut. But three years later, he finished in the top 5. All told, he’s had 11 top-10 finishes at the British Open in addition to his 2002 and 2012 titles.

In just four senior majors, he has logged three top-5 finishes and a worst finish of T16 at this year’s Senior PGA Championship.

After playing this week’s U.S. Senior Open plus next week’s British Open at Royal St. George’s, Els will make the Senior British Open his third major stop in a row. At the end of last month, he also finished fifth in the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, another senior major.

“I feel I’ve done that work, and it will come through now in the next couple of weeks,” he said. “This one’s huge. Next week is huge and we’ve got to travel, and then the British Seniors. It’s kind of a new frontier for me, but I’m up for the challenge to see where it goes.”

In recent years, Els has faded out of sight in the young man’s majors. Since winning the 2012 British Open, he has missed the cut 10 times in 25 major starts. He hasn’t played the Masters for four years or the PGA Championship for three.

In some ways, of course, the U.S. Senior Open will be a different beast. But Els, who won the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997, sees that the bones are there.

“The rough is up,” he said. “It’s in very good shape, but if you come here with not much game, you’re not going to have a great week.”

Els’ presence at the U.S. Senior Open is just another intriguing age-is-just-a-number storyline in Omaha, and on the PGA Tour Champions in general. Mickelson has dipped his toe in with the 50-and-over lot, teeing it up three times (and winning two of those starts) since turning 50 on June 16, 2020. So far, he hasn’t competed in a senior major.

Bernard Langer, 63, has 41 wins on the Champions circuit, 11 senior majors among them.

They’re like golf’s version of Tom Brady, who is just another source of inspiration for athletes looking to extend their career behind the old idea of an 50-year-old expiration date.

“It depends on how you look after yourself, how you approach the game mentally, but if you’re physically there, you’ve got to just get yourself in a really good mental frame,” Els said. “Bernhard, as you say, is showing it. Also, he’s 63 years of age. He’s third on the money list. He’s struggling a little bit with the knee injury a little bit, but he’s won in every single year for 14 years out here.

“Those three guys have really shown a lot of the guys the way forward, I think.”

Els may end up showing the youngsters a little something himself.

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Cameron Beckman wins Dick’s Sporting Goods Open on PGA Tour Champions

Cameron Beckman came from three strokes back with a 4-under 68 Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour Champions win.

ENDICOTT, N.Y. — Cameron Beckman came from three strokes back with a 4-under-par 68 Sunday to claim his first PGA Tour Champions victory in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

A 51-year-old Texas resident making his 15th start on the senior tour, Beckman made eight closing-round birdies at En-Joie Golf Course and sidestepped a bogey at the 18th to top Ernie Els by a shot.

Beckman finished 12-under to Els’ 11-under, with five sharing third at 10-under.

Els, leader by three through 36 holes and by two at the turn Sunday, shot even-par 72 with three birdies and three bogeys. He was offered wonderful opportunity at the 18th when Beckman drove in a hazard left of the fairway, but left his second from 94 yards in the fairway well short and two-putted.

Beckman, whose most recent win came in 2010 on the PGA tour, had two previous top-10s on the PGA Tour Champions. Sunday’s victory qualified him for next week’s U.S. Senior Open.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods Open: Ernie Els leads by three shots heading into final round

A three-stroke advantage will be in Ernie Els’ capable, proven, world-class hands to begin the final round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

ENDICOTT, N.Y. – A three-stroke advantage will be in capable, proven, world-class hands to begin Sunday’s concluding round of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open.

Ernie Els backed an opening 68 with Saturday’s bogey-free, 7-under-par 65 at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott and is well-positioned at 11 under to secure his third win of the 2020-21 PGA Tour Champions season.

Cameron Beckman made birdie at the 18th to close a round of 69 for solo second at 8-under, with Darren Clarke and Miguel Angel Jiménez co-third at 7-under.

“Well, I hit a lot of greens and when I hit the greens, I made some putts, so that was a good key for me,” said Els, who has 12 top-10 finishes in 23 PGA Tour Champions starts. “The conditions were quite tough. Rain and wind kind of came and went so you kind of had to keep the ball in front of you. Finishing on 16 making a good par save and making a birdie on 18 was big.”

Els made five consecutive birdies beginning at the second and another at the ninth. He strung together pars on the back before thumping a tee ball perilously near but clear of the penalty area left of 18 fairway, approached from 95 yards and rolled one in for his seventh birdie of the afternoon.

“I felt like I needed to kind of get a good round going and I had a nice start,” he said. “I played the front nine really well and I just tried to keep it going. I parred every hole on the back nine except for 18. It wasn’t all clean sailing, I had to make some good par saves and so forth, but to make the putt on 18 was big.”

Beckman, whose most recent win came in 2010 on the regular tour, was bogey-free in a 3-under round.

“I hit the ball nice today and I missed — I had a bunch to capitalize on and get a little further under today, but anytime you go bogey free … I hit a lot of greens and just a lot of great shots, so I’m excited for tomorrow.”

Jimenez was 4 under through 12 but made bogeys on the 15th and 18th around a long putt for birdie at 16.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been playing very well, very solid and I only make only one putt on 18 holes really, on the 16th, but solid from the tees, lot of chances for birdie, finished with 3 under par today,” he said.

Clarke is four back following rounds of 69 and 68.

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Wes Short Jr. leads Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, Ernie Els is in the hunt

Wes Short Jr. holds the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open’s first-round lead on the strength of a 6-under-par 66 Friday at En-Joie Golf Course.

Wes Short Jr. holds the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open’s first-round lead on the strength of a 6-under-par 66 Friday at En-Joie Golf Course.

A 57-year-old Texan whose most recent of four top-10s this season came in early November, Short made seven birdies against a bogey-6 at the inviting third. The 2016 runner-up is making his seventh Dick’s Open start.

“It was really good,” he said. “Hit more fairways today than I did all of last week probably on the first five holes, Last week was tough, makes this seem a little easier. I drove it really well. I only missed one fairway and maybe three greens and I putted a lot better.”

Bernhard Langer, 2014 Dick’s Open champion and 41-time PGA Tour Champions winner, closed a round of 5-under 67 with birdie at the 18th. He was 6-under at the turn — holing out for eagle from 91 yards at the par-5 eighth — but made three bogeys along the way to a 1-over back side.

“It was a strange day. I had to borrow a putter from (playing companion) Scott McCarron because mine broke (Thursday) and I was very fortunate to even find one that I could putt with,” Langer said. “Started playing really good, was 6-under on the front nine. Hit it close four times and then holed a wedge shot for eagle on No. 8 to get 6-under after eight holes.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Open’s: Live blog from the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin

“I was hoping to shoot my age (63) today, but ran into some trouble on the back nine.

“If I had putted well today, I’d probably be 8- or 9-under right now, but it is what it is. The putter that was supposed to be shipped and arrive today, it didn’t make it because the plane was delayed, so maybe it’s getting here by tomorrow morning and we’ll do a little better tomorrow.”

Cameron Beckman chipped in at the par-5 12th for birdie and shares second with Langer.

A 51-year-old San Antonio resident, Beckman was a stroke over par through three holes but birdied five of the last six on the front, and proceeded to birdies at the 10th and 12th.

He has two top-10s in 14 PGA Tour Champions starts this season, and is a three-time regular-tour champion.

David Toms, 54, is among a group at 4-under 68. He was T42 in his 2019 Dick’s Open debut and is seeking his second PGA Tour Champions victory. He’s a 13-time PGA Tour winner who in 14 Champions Tour starts this season has seven top-10s.

Defending champion Doug Barron opened with a bogey-free 70.

Billy Andrade likewise opened with 68.

He is a three-time PGA Tour Champions winner with two top-10s in 21 starts this season— most recently in mid-May Mitsubishi Electric Classic. He’s finished 10th or better three times in the Dick’s Open, including a T9 (67-60-69) in 2019.

Andrade’s lowest Dick’s Open round is 66 (Round 3, 2018).

Skip Kendall joins that group at 68, two birdies per side. He is playing his second event of the 2020-21 season.

“I managed my game really well today,” said Kendall, 56. “I hit a bunch of fairways. I wasn’t in too much trouble except for maybe on 18, but managed to make par there. I think that’s — this golf course, it’s a premium to hit the fairways and when you do, it makes it a lot easier. Fairways are narrow, so if you can hit a bunch of fairways, you’re going to be in good shape, I think, and I did a lot of that today.”

Kendall’s top finish in three previous Dick’s Opens was a T31 in 2018.

A couple who’ll attract plenty of weekend attention: Miguel Angel Jiménez and Ernie Els, each at 68.

Joey Sindelar, longtime Horseheads resident now residing in the Town of Lansing, made 16 pars in a round of 72.

Follow Kevin Stevens on Twitter @PSBKevin. You can also reach him at kstevens@gannett.com.

Late adds Ernie Els, Jim Furyk boost Dick’s Sporting Goods Open field

The late additions of Ernie Els and Jim Furyk give the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open field a boost of pizzazz for its return to PGA Tour Champions action.

ENDICOTT, New York – Two late additions give the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open field a boost of pizzazz for its return to PGA Tour Champions action following a dormant year.

Ernie Els and Jim Furyk were among the last to commit to the $2,050,000 event to be contested July 2-4 at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott.

Els, 51 and a 19-time winner on the regular tour, sits third on the money list ($1,792,179) on the strength of two wins among 11 top-10s. Most recent of those top-10s was a T4 in the Regions Tradition that concluded May 9.

Furyk, 51, was a 17-time regular-tour champion. He won in his first two senior starts — The Ally Challenge and PURE Insurance Championship in the summer of 2020 — and has eight top-10s in 13 tournaments.

Jerry Kelly, eight-time senior tour winner at present perched atop the money list ($1,927,667), committed to play in Endicott only to withdraw, as he did in 2019. He shares fifth with Els, Furyk and others on rounds of 69-70 through 36 holes of the Bridgestone Senior Players in Akron, Ohio.

The Dick’s Open field also features:

  • Doug Barron, defending champion who defeated Fred Couples by two strokes in his second start as a senior.
  • Alex Cejka, 50-year-old who debuted on Tour in February and proceeded to win major championships in his third and fifth starts.
  • Darren Clarke, winner in consecutive starts (Nov. 1, Jan. 23) in the 2020-21 season.
  • Retief Goosen, driving distance leader who sits sixth on the money list.
  • Tim Herron, a Tour rookie whose first top-10 was a third-place finish in last month’s Principal Charity Classic, in which he was 36-hole leader.
  • Miguel Angel Jimenez, sixth-place finisher here in 2019 and fifth on the current money list.
  • Bernhard Langer, age 63, 41-time PGA Tour Champions winner who topped the 2014 Dick’s Open field.
  • Colin Montgomerie, seven-time Champions Tour winner who has second- and third-place finishes this season. He shared fourth here in 2019.

“We’re obviously excited,” said tournament director John Karedes. “It’s Ernie’s first trip ever to Endicott, Furyk has been here I think three times (most recently for the 1998 B.C. Open). We’re certainly excited to have these 50-year-old rookies coming as well as Darren Clarke, Alex Cejka, Tim Herron. I mean, what a great set of rookies that is going to be joining us.

“I’ve always said, when a guy is a rookie on the PGA Tour we don’t necessarily know who he is. But when a guy is a rookie on our Tour, which is a great thing about the Champions Tour, you know him. And if you look at that list of names, that’s sure proof.”

The 81-player field will be rounded out with Tuesday’s Open Qualifier at The Links at Hiawatha Landing— from which Barron emerged to win last time at En-Joie.

Dick’s Sporting Goods Open

Where: En-Joie Golf Course, Endicott

Purse: $2,050,000 ($307,500 to winner)

Defending champion: Doug Barron

Television: Golf Channel. 12-30-2:30 Fri.; 3-5:30 Sat. and Sun.

Follow Kevin Stevens on Twitter @PSBKevin. You can also reach him at kstevens@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

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Watch: Charles Barkley has a new swing; Ernie Els calls Nick Saban ‘football royalty’

The talk of the pro-am was Barkley, who displayed a new-and-improved swing that eliminated much of the herky-jerky motion he’s known for.

When he’s walking the streets in his native South Africa, Ernie Els is a pretty big deal. The Big Easy has 74 professional golf victories including 19 on the PGA Tour and 28 on the European Tour.

But when he’s in Alabama, Els understands the pecking order. And while fans were excited to see Els and other members of the PGA Tour Champions as part of the Regions Tradition pro-am in Birmingham on Wednesday, Alabama football coach Nick Saban still commands the room’s attention.

Els and Saban went off at 9 a.m. CT on Wednesday at Greystone Golf & Country Club, ahead of other stars like Charles Barkley, Bo Jackson, Eddie George, Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and former Auburn coach and current U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville.

“Yeah, that is royalty right there. I’m from South Africa, so I’ve been coming to the U.S. many years and I kind of understand the culture here, especially in football culture,” Els said of Saban. “That is as high up the tree as you can go, Nick Saban. So it was a real treat to play with him and have a chat with him. Just to be around him was really special.”

And while Els hasn’t spent much time in state, he did take an Iron Bowl football game in while his nephew was attending Auburn. He admitted that playing Saban in Alabama was an unforgettable experience.

“It’s like some kind of a rock star, Elvis Presley walking around. People just want to be near him, they want to be close to him, they just want to touch and feel him,” Els said. “He’s the man around here, and rightfully so. Arguably—probably not even arguably—he’s the best coach in my lifetime. To have been paired with him and to rub shoulders with him was great. It was a good time.”

And while the masses huddled around Saban, the talk of the pro-am was Barkley, who displayed a new-and-improved swing that eliminated much of the herky-jerky motion the former NBA star has been known for on the golf course.

Barkley piped his first drive, looking the part of a seasoned vet in the process.

“Stan Utley got me fixed, man,” Barkley said.

Late last year, Barkley spoke with Golfweek‘s Adam Schupak and indicated that too many cooks had made for an explosion in his kitchen.

“I used to be a good player until I took too many lessons from too many different people. Now I’ve got 10 people talking to me at a time when I’m trying to swing the golf club,” Barkley said in November. “I’m really trying to get out of it. I’m working with Stan Utley now and I’m playing better than I have in 20 years. But I’ve tried everything, including hypnosis. I’ll never believe in it again. I woke up with the same sh–y swing.”

Barkley was helped by some soft greens and fairways as the area saw significant rains on Tuesday.

Els, for one, was impressed with the grounds on Wednesday, as the senior circuit’s best players worked in anticipation of this week’s event, the first major on the PGA Tour Champions’ 2021 calendar.

“I think the course held up unbelievably. I mean, yesterday we had six inches of rain. I really didn’t even think we would play this morning, but they’ve done well, the superintendents have done well. The greens are running beautifully,” Els said. “So I think we’re in for a good week. It’s still going to be very soft. We’re probably going to have the ball in hand probably the first maybe two rounds and then see how it goes. Really happy to see the course being playable.”

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Here are 6 players to watch for at this week’s Chubb Classic

Here’s a look at a few players to watch this week at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, which will be played on the club’s Black Course.

The field of the PGA Tour Champions’ Chubb Classic presented by SERVPRO is filled with World Golf Hall of Famers, major champions, and those who have made their names on the Champions Tour.

Here’s a look at a few to watch this week at Tiburón Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort, which will be played on the club’s Black Course, the first time it has been used for a tour event. The Gold Course, the original of the two Greg Norman layouts, has been used for every QBE Shootout since 2001, and also for the LPGA Tour’s CME Group Tour Championship since 2013.

Tiburón had 27 holes, then an additional nine were added, with the Black Course opening in 2002, four years after the Gold. The fourth nine joined with the old South Course to become the Black Course. The North and West became the Gold Course.

Here are a few players to watch for: