Keegan Bradley Proud of Irish Heritage

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following excerpt from Brian’s Irish Golf Desk is used with permission.

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

HEROIC US PGA CHAMPION Keegan Bradley wants to dig up his Irish roots and make an appearance in the Irish Open. And his legendary aunt Pat Bradley—a Hall of Fame player and the winner of six major titles—reckons it was his “Irish toughness” that helped him come back from a 15th hole triple bogey to snatch the Wanamaker Trophy from Jason Dufner after a heart-stopping play-off.

Auntie Pat, whose grandparents hailed from Ballycotton in Cork, insisted: “He showed some Bradley toughness.

“We’re an Irish family and we have that Irish toughness and he showed that today. I am just so very proud of him the way he fought back and brought it home.”

Pat, 60, won 31 LPGA events in a Hall of Fame career including three majors in 1986 alone. Her mother Kathleen celebrated her wins by ringing a cow bell in their home town of Westford, Massachusetts. The cow bell is now in the Hall of Fame but Auntie Pat grabbed a ship’s bell on Sunday night to ring in her nephew’s second tour win and his first major in his first major start.

She said: “It’s a wonderful win to honour his father, who is a PGA pro for many many years and Keegan’s honoured his dad with this win. I’m going to ring the bell after this.”

The Bradley clan are regular visitors to Ireland, where Pat is an honorary member of Kenmare and the Old Head of Kinsale, where some of her major trophies are on display. Three of her six brothers—Chris, Tom and John—regularly tee it up in the annual Brothers International Golf Classic at Kenmare, winning it in 2001.

And that’s why golf’s latest major champion is keen to show his Irish cousins his skills by making an Irish Open appearance some day.

Keegan said: “I’m really proud of my Irish heritage. I have a shamrock on my bag and my logo’s a shamrock too.

“The Bradley family is intensely Irish and my aunt is very proud of her roots in Cork and so am I. She goes over there every year with my uncles when they play in the Brothers Tournament.

“I went over when I was about eight in 1994 but I can’t remember too much about it so I really want to go back again. I’d really love to return to Ireland and play in the Irish Open some day. That would be really cool.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

George S. May, Hero of American Golf (Conclusion)

Between 1941 and 1958, some of the greatest golf tournaments in America were staged just west of Chicago at Tam O’Shanter Country Club in Niles, Illinois. The man behind them was the country club owner and tournament organizer, George S. May. Golf Magazine would name May one of the “100 Heroes of American Golf.” And Senior Golfer magazine said of May, he “singlehandedly lifted golf to prominence.”

Following is the conclusion of a two-part story on May. You can read Part 1 here.

By John Coyne
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

GEORGE MAY’S GREATEST MOMENT in golf came in July 1953 when The Tam O’Shanter World Championship became the first golf tournament to be nationally televised. By now, the winner’s share of the tournament had grown to $25,000, an amount higher than the total purse of every other professional tournament.

Fledgling network ABC became interested in the event because of the large prize and offered to do a one-hour broadcast of the final round if May paid $32,000. May understood the publicity value of televising the tournament, both in terms of the people watching and the print coverage of the broadcast.

(Photo: John Coyne)

It is said that an estimated one million people watched as a single camera located above the grandstand on the 18th green followed the conclusion of the tournament. There were only ten minutes left in the broadcast when golfer Lew Worsham, trailing by one shot, made a 115-yard eagle to win the tournament and the $25,000. It was great television and immediately showed the potential for golf on the medium. Not to be upstaged, May stepped onto the green to announce that the first-place prize for the 1954 tournament would be doubled to $50,000, plus the winner would also have the opportunity to play 50 exhibitions to promote his consulting company at $1,000 each.

Following in May’s footsteps, the U.S. Open was nationally televised for the first time in 1954 and the Masters in 1956.

The end of professional golf’s association with May would come a few years later, in 1958, when he refused to meet the PGA’s demands for even more money. So furious was he at professional golfers, he put a sign outside the club’s main entrance banning any PGA pros from coming on the grounds.

May continued to operate Tam O’Shanter Country Club until his death in 1962. His widow eventually sold the property to a developer in the late 1960s. Today, a few of the old holes are still part of the public course run by the town of Niles, and George May lives on in the memory of those who were lucky enough to be around when he turned golf into a television sport.

John Coyne is the author of The Caddie Who Knew Ben Hogan and The Caddie Who Played with Hickory. His next book, coming this spring, is The Caddie Who Won the Masters. Learn more at John Coyne Books.

Be Mine, Pebble Beach Golf Links

D.A. POINTS AND BILL MURRAY won the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Yeah, whatever.

The real question on this Valentine’s Day—and as I stared longingly at Pebble on my TV screen on Sunday—is this: When am I going to play America’s majestic golf sweetheart? When will Pebble Beach Golf Links be mine, if only for a day?

I had a goal. The goal was to play Pebble by my 40th birthday. I talked to my pop about it. He would be 70. I lived in Seattle. He lived in Southern California. We could meet in between on the Monterey Peninsula. It didn’t happen. Several birthdays have since passed. Now I live on the East Coast.

At the time, I could get my head around $250 green fees. Now Pebble is up to $495 for 18 holes, among the highest green fees in the galaxy. A caddie runs $75. The suggested gratuity is $50. On the other hand, you can ride a cart for only $35.

I realize my chances of playing Pebble are not improving. Distance and dough are coming between us. Maybe I need to rethink this item on my bucket list. (This is starting to get a bit maudlin. Sorry.)

In an article at PGA.com, PGA professional Danny Elkins wrote, “Pebble Beach is the type of course that every golfer should aspire to visit. It’s not about your score when you play there, it’s more about the experience of playing there. The scenery and setting, the history and the challenge will last you a lifetime.”

I’m a sometimes golfer. So, yes, Danny, I still aspire to get there. I haven’t lost hope.

And if I do make it to Pebble, I promise, promise, promise I won’t spit on the greens—or anywhere else, for that matter. I’ll drool uncontrollably. And there’s a very good chance I’ll pee my pants. But I would never spit. ABSOLUTELY NOT.

−The Armchair Golfer

Captain Pavin’s Picks: ‘My Team Is on the Floor’ (Clip)

U.S. RYDER CUP CAPTAIN Corey Pavin announced his four picks today at a PGA of America press conference. They are Zach Johnson, Stewart Cink, Tiger Woods and Rickie Fowler. Pavin, as seen in the above clip, revealed his picks in the kind of defiant fashion that marked his competitive career, pointing his left index finger and declaring, “My team is on the floor.”

I have no problem with it. I’ve always admired Pavin’s bulldog spirit.

All the reports I’ve read have emphasized the unity of Pavin and his assistants, so I was slightly surprised when assistant captain Tom Lehman leaned in and said, “What are you trying to do?” Maybe it has something to do with Lehman being a former captain. Who knows?

The crowd reaction was a bit unruly, but that’s not a huge surprise. With all the hype, you have to expect the picks aren’t going to go down easy with a lot of folks. Second and third guessing is the nature of the Ryder Cup beast.

But look at Corey! He just sets his jaw and waves his small black book.

The camera panned to Lisa Pavin and she gives the coach what could be interpreted as an adoring look. I might be reaching, but there it is.

And you got to love assistant captain Paul Goydos. Mr. 59 just smiles and shakes his head. He seriously needs a shave.

U.S. RYDER CUP TEAM

Automatic Berths
Phil Mickelson
Hunter Mahan
Jim Furyk
Steve Stricker
Jeff Overton
Bubba Watson
Dustin Johnson
Matt Kuchar

Captain’s Picks
Zach Johnson
Stewart Cink
Tiger Woods
Rickie Fowler

−The Armchair Golfer

(This is an ARMCHAIR GOLF spoof.)

Rory’s New Wave Band

Editor’s note: Brian Keogh is a golf correspondent for The Irish Sun and a regular contributor to The Irish Times, Golf Digest Ireland and other golf publications. The following piece is excerpted from his blog, Irish Golf Desk. 

By Brian Keogh
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

RORY MCILROY WILL LEAD a hungry new generation of European young guns to Wisconsin in search of US PGA glory next month. The Holywood star, 21, bounced back brilliantly from his nightmare 80 in The Open to share third place behind stablemate Louis Oosthuizen.

And McIlroy’s manager Chubby Chandler reckons his young superstar is at the vanguard of a new wave of European talent set to sweep all before them in the same way that Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Sandy Lyle, Bernhard Langer and Ian Woosnam dominated golf in the 80s and early 90s.

Chandler said: “After major wins by Graeme McDowell and Louis Oosthuizen, there will be a whole bunch of European Tour players going to Whistling Straits for the US PGA believing they can win.

“The days when Europeans looked uncomfortable leading majors seem to have gone. And it’s not just four or five players any more like it was in the 80s and 90s—there are 25 of them now who are going to the US PGA to win.

“Rory did great to finish third in the Open with an 80 in the second round. It was a really great comeback and I don’t think what happened on Friday will make any difference to him. He knows exactly where he is going in the game and this is just a step along the way.”

McIlroy must believe he is heading for greatness and his rivals can only pray that he doesn’t address the weaknesses in his game. At St. Andrews, as the American writer Dan Jenkins pointed out over a cigarette on Saturday, McIlroy was too young to realise that a 75 was a good score on Friday afternoon.

“He learned something every day at St Andrews,” Chandler said as his ISM stable celebrated its first major win on Monday. “Day one—he led a major by two. Day two he takes 80 after getting knocked out of his rhythm by the weather delay. He won’t do that very often when he’s leading majors.

“He came back unbelievably well on the last two days to finish third so there are more positives than negatives for Rory. He now knows that you don’t go out and win a major first time, like Louis has done. Normally you have to earn it—just look at what Lee [Westwood] is going through.”

Brian Keogh covers golf for The Irish Sun and contributes to a variety of golf publications. Pay him a visit at Irish Golf Desk.

Common Courses: Bethpage Red

They’re not Pebble, Bandon, Kiawah, or Pinehurst. Common courses are the modest 9- and 18-hole munis and semi-private clubs that most golfers play. Although this one, contributed by A.J. Voelpel, is arguably not all that common.

By A.J. Voelpel
Special to ARMCHAIR GOLF

WELCOME TO BETHPAGE STATE PARK, home to more doglegs than Cruella De Vil’s closet.

It is here, obviously, where you’ll find the famed Black course—a two-time host of our nation’s greatest championship. What you may not be aware of is that the Black, such a prominent collection of 18 holes, hangs storm clouds over a neighboring course that’s nearly as difficult. A par-70 track that annually hosts the Long Island Open. I’m talking cold blood and broken hearts … all things colored Bethpage Red.

It’s no coincidence that the intelligence over at Golf.com included the Red in their list of “America’s Most Underrated Golf Courses.” And there’s no denying the Red’s claim to fame; it dons arguably the most challenging starting hole from Queens to Montauk. The brutal opener even runs parallel to the 18th of the Black, like a pre-bout stare down. Little brother has never shied away from a fight.

The 471-yard par-4 demands a ruler-straight drive into the short grass, avoiding the gnarly fescue to the left and Jones Beach to the right. The second shot will be long, unless Bubba Watson snuck in a celebrity shot. From 100 yards out, the fairway begins to climb up a steep hill—which is generally reserved for sledding in the winter—and ends atop a vast green. Club-catching rough armors a surface that runs primarily back to front. Take a five and run, because the Red starts barking on the next tee.

Okay, deep breath: The par-4 2nd turns swiftly right to left, the 3rd and 5th (the only par-5 on the front) swiftly left to right, and then the 6th fairway nearly makes a u-turn, without signaling, to a newly tilted green. No. 9—the No. 1 handicapped hole—plays just under 466 from the tips, and also bends sharply to the left. The tendency on the tee is to go right. Do that and you’ll face another humbling approach.

Long Back Nine

Exhale. After going out in just under 3,400 yards, the (dare I say) “simple” part is over. Now quickly inhale once again! The back nine tends to make babies cry; five of the six par-4s extend over 462 yards from the back tees. The loner is the split-fairway, 400-yard par-4 13th. If the wind isn’t howling, it’s your best chance for a birdie.

Both No. 10 and 11 turn directly to the right. The 466-yard 14th cuts to the left and the 482-yard monster 15th rises uphill and turns to the right. The 560-yard par-5 16th turns 90 degrees to the right also. However, if you carry the corner (about 285 yards), you’ll chop the distance in half. The second shot is normally a layup, especially with the delicate, lumpy green.

Dizzy yet? Well the par-3 17th offers a break from length and angle and is only a buck 60ish, straightaway. Two large bunkers guard the front of a fairly accessible green. A two is absolutely within reason.

A few years back, the 18th tee box was extended some 50 yards, being mutated into a daunting finishing hole, much to the contrary of the its Black counterpart. A downhill tee shot must carry at least 260 to have a mid-iron approach in. The amphitheater setting around the giant green was mentioned as a potential replacement finisher to the Black for last year’s U.S. Open. The putting surface runs quickly back to front, left to right, so position is key for a two putt.

Tour Worthy

With the remarkable condition the park keeps the Red in, it’s only a matter of time before a PGA or LPGA tournament stops by for a visit. In the meantime, make a visit to Bethpage for yourself. Play the Black in the morning and follow it with a dance on the Red.

Then go to sleep and don’t wake up for the next six days.

A.J. Voelpel is an avid golfer and the editor of West Islip Patch. He lives in Westbury, New York.

More common courses:
Mangrove Bay Golf Course
Balboa Park Golf Course
Desert Aire Golf Course

(Image: Joe Shlabotnik/Flickr)