Terrific field of 76 players for the tournament. Shoal Creek will be playing 7,197 yards. Very good distance for any tour. This is a really big deal. The second of the five majors on the Champions Tour. Roger Chapman of England won the Senior PGA Championship two weeks ago. A lot of players call the Regions Tradition the Masters of the Senior Tour. The courses are similar in a lot of ways. Should be a fantastic event for Shoal Creek and the city. The course is in top condition, the tee boxes are green and perfectly manicured, the fairways are plush as are the greens. I bet the greens will be stimping about 11 or 12. The 12th hole was the downfall for Mark Calcavecchia last year, who looked like he may have the tournament wrapped up going to the 12th on Sunday. But he double bogeyed the difficult par four Saturday Sunday, after double bogeying it on Saturday allowing Tom Lehman to get back in it. Lehman had a critical birdie on 15 from about 12 feet and worked his way out of trouble on 17 after hitting his drive on the par five into the woods. Lehman defeated Peter Senior on the first playoff hole, the par-4 18th. Lehman, to me, is a favorite again. Tremendous player who is pretty long, very accurate, which it takes on Shoal, and a very good putter.
I try to say there is one key hole, but they’re all key. Nine, the number one handicap hole on the course, will be an important hole and pose a difficult challenge, as the players try to clear the lake on their second shot. They’ll probably be hitting from 160-165 yards. Challenging shot there. The par-3 16th will probably play around 200 yards and is a critical hole late in the tournament. It’s a tough par. Pros are going to have to survive the 16th with pars most likely. And 18, to me, is as fine and challenging finishing hole as you can find in the country. It’s a beautiful hole, the par-four, which will probably play around 400. The tee shot is critical as there is sand on the right and trees and woods on the left. The players will face a second shot to a well-bunkered green. The green slopes from left to right. Anything right could go down in the swale and be a very difficult up and down for the players. Depending on the pin location, that second shot will really test the players. A back center to back left pin placement will be fierce. One and two are difficult driving holes. One is bunkered on the left withwoods on the right. Very tight driving hole. Two is tight as well. A solid drive down the middle can end up in the sand. You need to just hit it down the middle on one; not much margin for error there. On two, you need to aim at the trap straight ahead of you and try to cut it. Second shot to one is challenging particularly if the pin is on the back left of the green, which I’m sure it will be a couple of days. Two’s green slopes from left to right. If the pin is back left, which I know it will be one or two days, that’s tough. Fourteen is my favorite hole. Beautiful scenery of the mountains and a pristine elevated tee shot on the par four. Pretty good scoring hole. Should be an awesome tournament. Happy for Shoal Creek, pro Eric Williamson, and his staff, who can really put on a tournament. Last year was a fantastic tournament with exceptional golf. This year should be as well.
Here are seven guys whom I think can win the Tradition:
1.Kenny Perry: Longest driver on the tour at 296.5 yards. Young gun on the senior tour. Perry won in Naples back in February at the ACE Group Classic, so he’ll be a threat to win. If you remember, he was, at 49, in a playoff for the Masters back in 2009. He fell to Angel Cabrera. He had a chance to win it on the 18th, but bogeyed, losing in a heartbreaker. Like Perry as a factor at Shoal.
2.Tom Lehman: Hasn’t won this year, but leads the tour in greens hit in regulation. I like the defending champion to have a shot at winning again this year.
3. John Cook: When Cookie gets hot, he can be a dominating player. Has all the tools to win at Shoal. He’s pretty long, hits his irons solid and can putt very well when he’s got it going. See him having a real shot here.
4. Michael Allen: Leading the race for the Charles Schwab Cup which pays one million to the winner at the end of the year. Third in putts per round at 28.56, which is always critical in a major. Has already won at the Encompass Insurance Pro Am in Tampa.
5. Fred Funk: Leads the tour in driving accuracy, a critical stat at Shoal Creek. A younger guy on the tour who doesn’t hit it very far, but highly accurate and putts very well.
6. Bernhard Langer: Playing solid golf. Langer won the Masters twice; in 1985 and again in ’93. That’s pretty impressive stuff. Shoal is similar to Augusta National in a lot of ways: layout of the course and the large greens. Langher won the Senior British Open Championship in July of 2010 and backed that up by winning the U.S. Senior Open in August of that year. Nice player. Nice putter with the long stick.
7. Jay Haas: Has won three majors on the Champions Tour. Won nine times on the PGA tour and has won 16 times on the Champions. Haas won the Principal Charity Classic last week in Des Moines, Iowa, so he’s hot.
Winner: I’m going to go with John Cook. Cookie is an excellent player, obviously, who, when he gets hot, can really burn up a course. I don’t think any player can burn up Shoal, it’s too difficult to do that, but I’m going with Cookie to get hot and capture the tour’s second major and the $330,000 first place prize check that comes with it. Cookie will move right into the Schwab Cup hunt as well.
The Regions Tradition will be televised by the Golf Channel at 5:30-7:30 PM CT Thursday, 5:30-7:30 PM Central Time on Friday, 6:30-8:30 PM CT on Saturday and 6:30-8:30 PM CT on Sunday. But if you live in the area, it’s a tremendous event to attend. Should be very exciting with some stellar golf played as the players try to master and sometimes survive Shoal Creek.
Like “Cookie” to get it done.