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by Bill Burton As the world prepares for its quadrennial passion for sport – known to all as the Olympic Games – one St. Louis-area country club is planning for an event that will hearken back to the formative years of the modern Olympics. While athletes from more than 100 countries will compete in Athens in nearly 40 different events, golfers have officially competed for Olympic medals only once in the 108-year history of the modern Games. Canadian George Lyon won the only true Olympic championship final and the gold medal at the 1904 Games, played at our own Glen Echo Country Club. Lyon took home the champion’s trophy to the Lambton Club of Toronto, Canada, where it still resides. This September, the members and staff of Glen Echo have invited representatives from the Lambton Club and other 100-something clubs for the Gold Medal Cup Matches, Celebrating the Centennial of Olympic Golf. Glen Echo’s three-day extravaganza will include a pro-am, as well as a variety of team and individual matches, plus all of the obligatory pomp, circumstance and sporting revelry. In a unique concept, Glen Echo has invited golf clubs that existed in 1904. Clubs and organizations that have already elected to participate include local centennial clubs Algonquin, Bellerive, Normandie and St. Louis Country Club. Already accepting invites are outof- town and foreign representatives from Quincy (Ill.) CC; Glen View (Ill.) Club;Onwentsia (Ill.) Club; Lake Geneva (Wis.) CC; Claremont (Calif.) CC; Hinsdale (Ill.) CC; Cincinnati (Ohio) CC; Springfield (Ohio) CC; Aetna Springs (Calif.) R&GC; The Lambton Club of Toronto, Ont.; Rosedale Club of Toronto; Grand Club of Scotland and the French Federation of Golf. “Our goal is to attract 28 two-man teams from other clubs,” said Jim Healey, golf historian and Glen Echo member. “They will be joined by 28 teams of Glen Echo members.” The club, located on Lucas and Hunt Road in North County, was founded in 1901 and remains in its original location. Glen Echo has already developed a line of Olympic Centennial apparel and memorabilia for the occasion, which is available through the club’s pro shop or by ordering online at www.gecc.org. The
World is Watching Bellerive is primed and ready for its third professional major since moving to its current location on Ladue Road in 1960. Gary Player completed his career Grand Slam by winning the 1965 U.S. Open. Another South African, Nick Price, won his first major at Bellerive in 1992 in claiming the PGA Championship.After the 9-11 disaster forced the cancellation of the American Express World Golf Championship in 2001, Bellerive will once again shine as St. Louis’ crown jewel of tournament golf. I’ve been projecting odds all season long, so here are my final odds heading into the Senior Open: Jay Haas 2-1; Tom Watson 5-1; Craig Stadler 7-1; Hale Irwin 7-1; Bruce Fleisher 10-1 Gil Morgan 12-1; Tom Kite 12-1; D.A. Weibring 14-1; Bruce Lietzke 18-1; Jim Thorpe 18-1; Mark McNulty 18-1; Allen Doyle 18-1; Larry Nelson 18-1; Fuzzy Zoeller 20- 1; Morris Hatalsky 26-1; Bob Gilder 28-1; Gary Koch 30-1; Tom Wargo 40-1; Gary Player 80-1. Keep in mind that these are for entertainment purposes only. The winner may not officially be in the field yet. Sectional qualifying for the Senior Open will be held throughout America between June 28 and July 13, including a qualifier at St. Louis Country Club on Tuesday, July 13. Picking the winner is a challenge. Through its first 15 events, the Champions Tour has had 13 different winners. Only Hale Irwin and Bruce Fleisher have two wins. Both, because of their accuracy and consistency, should contend on a course that demands accurate drives, laser-like iron play and steady putting on some very large and fast greens. I predict at least two foreigners will battle for the lead. I’ll suggest that South African Mark McNulty, Canada’s Dave Barr, Australian Stewart Ginn and Argentine Vicente Fernandez are the leading foreign candidates. After touring the facility recently, defending champion Bruce Lietzke didn’t include his name among the favorites. He thought the course lends itself to the talents of Irwin and Watson. I don’t disagree. Lietzke, who has grooved a swing that requires a high, sweeping fade on almost every shot, will find it difficult to find a proper angle of attack on several holes that favor a right-to-left draw. That’s just another reason why I still favor Jay Haas, who enjoys a wonderful golf pedigree and local knowledge of Bellerive. Raised in Belleville, Haas learned the game at one of St. Louis’ proudest clubs – St. Clair. He picked up the subtleties of the game from one of the game’s masters, his uncle, 1968 Masters Champion Bob Goalby. Haas hits it straight, putts as well as anybody, and now has one senior event on his resume, a second place finish to Irwin at the Senior PGA in Louisville. And he can work the ball both ways. My Bellerive trifecta is: Jay Haas, 7- under par; Tom Watson, 6-under par; with Hale Irwin and Craig Stadler tied for third at 5-under. I’ll take Bruce Fleisher, Tom Kite, Jim Thorpe, Gil Morgan, Mark McNulty, and D.A. Weibring to round out a top 10. Also worth watching: Raymond Floyd, Allen Doyle, Morris Hatalsky and NBC commentator Gary Koch, who has a formidable game but not enough competitive rounds in recent years to hold up under major championship pressure. Sentimental favorites Arnold Palmer and Gary Player will have some stellar moments. I recommend you enjoy each and every one of them. Regrettably, it appears that Jack Nicklaus has chosen to pass on Bellerive. Perhaps his track record at Bellerive contributed to his decision. In 1965, two months after winning the Masters by nine shots, Nicklaus shot an opening-round 78 and barely survived the cut. He finished T32. In the 1992 PGA, Nicklaus missed the cut at Bellerive after rounds of 72-78-150. The only losers? Even if Nicklaus opts out of Bellerive, anyone who passes up this opportunity to catch many of golf’s legends scores a double bogey. Shinnecock
and Bull Stories Don’t
Do As I Say, Do As I Do Playing with the members from the green tees at about 6,500 yards, Tucker posted a front nine 29. He kept playing and continued to light it up. All told, Tucker recorded 12 birdies for a round of 60. The
Other Dennis Walters Walters, a parapalegic, is one of golf ’s most unique trick-shot performers. He will conduct a clinic during Tuesday afternoon’s practice round for the Senior Open at Bellerive. At 24 and fresh out of college, Walters had concluded a successful collegiate career and turned his sights on a PGA Tour career. On July 21, 1974, during a casual round with friends Walters’ golf cart swerved off the path and rolled into the trees. Walters was thrown headlong from the cart. Though he didn’t have a scratch on his body, he suffered severe damage to his spinal cord. “When the doctor finally told me I would never walk again, it made me cry. Then he said I could never play golf again and that made me mad,” Walters recalled. Determined to stay in the game during his recovery,Walters practiced hitting shots from a seated position. Within a year, he was breaking 80 for 18 holes. During the winter of 1975, Walters watched films about Joe Kirkwood, the foremost trick-shot artist of the 1930s and 40s, and determined he could make a career in the golf business. He built a strange assortment of trick clubs and worked on adjustments to a swivel seat on the back of a golf cart until he was ready to take his show on the road. He gave his initial public performance at the 1977 PGA Show. His drivers are shafted with such unlikely things as a crutch, radiator hose and fishing rod. One shaft features three hinges.“It’s one of the most entertaining hours I have ever spent,” said Jack Nicklaus after catching Walters act. Bill Burton is Director of Public Relations/Marketing for the Gateway PGA in Chesterfield. For information on courses, PGA professional instruction, junior golf or the GOLFPASS, contact the Gateway PGA at 877-356- GOLF or visit gatewaypga.org.
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