pga tour players 1985

THE PLAYERS 1985: Calvin Peete

Likely, it was how Deane Beman had always envisioned it while drawing up plans for THE PLAYERS Championship: Brilliant weather, large crowds, a tantalizing and pure golf course, and the best golfers in the world competing for a prestigious prize.

But as he walked and watched the final group in pulsating sunshine Sunday, it’s unlikely the PGA TOUR Commissioner had ever envisioned such flawlessness.

Yet there was Calvin Peete, 41, so utterly in control at THE PLAYERS Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass that he seemingly could have shot any score he wanted. “I’m playing good,” Peete conceded. “Better than I’ve played in a long time.”

On the strength of 70-69-69 Peete pushed to 8-under and was tied with Hale Irwin and D.A. Weibring through 54 holes. With the brilliance of a bogey-free 66, Peete turned the Stadium Course into his own little playground.

It was emphatic stuff early (Peete birdied the first two holes; Irwin went 4-over for his first five) and the finishing kick wasn’t bad either (Peete birdied four times coming home). At 14-under 274, Peete beat Weibring by three while Irwin shot 75 and faded into a share of fifth.

Impressive, yes. But no one who studied the landscape would have called it a surprise, not with Peete’s uncanny driving ability. It was Peete’s ninth PGA TOUR win since 1982, and no one had won more in that time frame.

“We finally won a major,” Peete said, as he walked off the 18th green.

No one in attendance would have disagreed with him.

“I’m playing good. Better than I’ve played in a long time.” - Calvin Peete

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Peter Thomson's 1985 Senior Tour season remains remarkable

If the late Billy Casper is considered an adjunct member of The Big Three, the three-time major champion had an international counterpart in Peter Thomson. While the less flashy Casper could never seem to escape the wake created by the Arnold Palmer-Gary Player-Jack Nicklaus juggernaut, Thomson's problem with breaking in was a matter of geography. As an Australian considered a part-time player on the PGA Tour in the 1950s and '60s, Thomson existed in a parallel universe to American fans who, at that media-lite time, were rarely exposed to foreign stars.

Born just 18 days before Palmer, Thomson won an impressive 61 victories on the Australian and European tours. Like Player, his game traveled well. He won five British Opens, including three straight beginning in 1954. However, he won just one of the five after Palmer and other American stars had "rediscovered" the British Open in 1960 and began playing it regularly.

The first of Thomson's 1985 victories came on March 17 when he shot a final-round 69 to edge Casper and Palmer by a shot at the Vintage Invitational at Indian Wells, Calif.

The monumental season was a dose of redemption for Thomson, whose low, running ball was more useful on bouncy courses, hence the Open victories and his lone PGA Tour win, the 1956 Texas Open. He was dogged by the stigma of being unable to win in America. But the record shows he finished in the top 10 for a third of his PGA Tour starts, and his lack of U.S. victories truly could be chalked up to his game, which was not designed for lengthy power courses but for a thinking man's layout. He was not an overpowering player, preferring to put a straight ball in play rather than smash it. He said, "Golf is like tennis. The game doesn't really start until the serve gets in."

Thomson's 1985 season showed a golfer in full vigor, solid in all aspects, his brisk playing and strategic thinking a showcase for efficiency. He has always been highly regarded as an articulate golf intellectual, sought out for commentary on golf developments but able to speak on a variety of nongolf topics. He's been a contributing golf writer since the 1950s, TV commentator, president of the Australian PGA from 1962-1994, golf course designer on more than 250 courses, and captain of the Presidents Cup International team three times, including the lone year they won in 1998 at Royal Melbourne in Thomson's birthplace and home. He earned a degree in chemistry, and his off-course interests extend to art and classical music. He even ran for the Australian Parliament in 1982, losing by four percentage points. The 1998 captaincy victory came 10 years after he was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

Wrist problems and a desire to be more home-grounded slowly ended Thomson's senior career. Asked by Golf Digest on separate occasions to analyze the meaning of his phenomenal 1985, he showed his common-sense intellect on his play, saying once, "There's great satisfaction in winning tournaments here, but I have no feeling of having proved anything. There's no sense of vindication or anything like that." He added, "It happened without rhyme or reason. I got myself organized, physically and mentally. I got my clubs organized and everything around me was in place, so I performed my best."

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Calvin Peete, 1985 Players champion, passes away at 71

Peete won 12 pga tour titles, led the tour in driving accuracy 10 times..

Calvin Peete dressed elegantly and hit fairways relentlessly in carving out a PGA Tour career that some believe should one day enshrine him in the World Golf Hall of Fame.

For now, Peete will be remembered as one of the most prolific Tour winners in the decade of the 1980s, highlighted by his victory in the 1985 Players Championship - and as a pioneer who bridged the gap from early African-American stars such as Charlie Sifford and Lee Elder, to former world No. 1-ranked Tiger Woods.

Peete died in Atlanta on Wednesday at age 71, nearly 30 years and one month to the day after he set the 72-hole scoring record of 14-under-par 274 at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course. The cause of death was not yet known. Peete lived in Ponte Vedra Beach for more than 30 years before recently moving to Atlanta.

Peete overcame poverty, a permanently disabled left arm and a late start to the game to win 12 PGA Tour titles during his career, 11 of them in a dominant five-year span in which he was in the conversation with Tom Watson, Seve Ballesteros, Bernhard Langer and Greg Norman as one of the best golfers in the world.

"Calvin was an inspiration to so many people," PGA Tour Commissioner Tim Finchem said in a statement. "He started in the game relatively late in life but quickly became one of the Tour's best players, winning and winning often despite the hardship of his injured arm. Calvin will always be remembered as a great champion and an individual who consistently gave back to the game. We will dearly miss him."

No player won more PGA Tour titles from 1982-1986 than Peete. Only Watson won more (16) in the 1980s.

But Peete did not come to the game through a country club background. Born in Detroit, he grew up on a small family farm in South Florida and dropped out of high school.

He never picked up a club until 1966 at age 23, when friends invited him to play at a public course in Rochester, N.Y. At the time, Peete was scratching out a living selling clothing and other dry goods out of the trunk of his car to migrant farmworkers.

Peete was breaking 80 within a year. After another year, he was breaking par. Within another four years he was playing professionally on mini-tours and reached the PGA Tour in 1975 through the national qualifying tournament.

He won his first tournament in 1979 at Milwaukee and eventually earned more than $2.3 million, despite his disability. Peete broke his elbow falling out of a tree as a teenager and the lack of quality medical care left him unable to straighten his arm - a must for an effective swing, according to almost every golf instructor.

It didn't matter. Peete's unorthodox swing and calculating approach to the game made him the most accurate player of his generation. Peete led the PGA Tour in driving accuracy for 10 consecutive years and in hitting greens three years.

In 1982, Peete set a Tour record that still stands by hitting 85 percent of his fairways. He hit 80 percent or more nine times. Since his last driving accuracy title, only seven players have combined to hit 80 percent or more nine times in 24 years.

'COMPLETE CONTROL'

"How you overcome not being able to straighten your left arm and become the most accurate guy in the game was unbelievable," said Fred Funk, the 2005 Players champion who inherited Peete's legacy as the annual Tour leader in hitting fairways. "He was the complete control player, one of the most efficient players there ever was. He got everything out of his game that he could."

Other than a fondness for vibrant clothing and his trademark Kangol or "newsboys" hat, Peete never attracted much attention to himself with his calm demeanor and methodical style of play. He was at the top of his game during an era when superstars such as Ballesteros, Norman, Watson and an aging but still dangerous Jack Nicklaus sucked the oxygen out of every tournament in which they played.

But in one year, 1984, Peete bested them all to win the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average of the season (70.56). Peete's highest World Golf Ranking to end a season also was in 1984, when he was 10th.

"I think he has been largely underrated because he didn't hit the ball as long as the other stars of that time, and he was the forerunner to Tiger Woods," said Pete McDaniel, author of the critically acclaimed book on the history of African-Americans in golf, "Uneven Lies."

"For a guy who didn't start playing until he was 23, it's an amazing story, a true American success story."

McDaniel, who was in the planning stages with Peete to write his biography, has long lobbied for Peete's induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame.

"I think he's always deserved it," he said.

Mark McCumber, who broke Peete's scoring record in winning the 1988 Players, said he remembers him as much for his off-course persona as his skill on the course.

"He was a tenacious player," McCumber said. "But he was also a true gentleman. He was a very kind man. I came out on the Tour after he did and he'd always go out of his way to be nice to you."

Peete carved out his piece of Players history in 1985 when he hit 49 of 56 fairways and had three rounds in the 60s to win by three shots over D.A. Weibring. Peete's closing 66, in which he missed only two fairways, stood as the best final-round score for a Players winner until Fred Couples shot 64 11 years later. "The man is a machine," Weibring said of Peete after the tournament.

A shoulder injury curtailed Peete's career and he didn't win after 1986. His last PGA Tour start was the 1995 Players but he did go on to make 158 starts on the Champions Tour. He never won and played his last tournament in 2009.

Peete was an ardent supporter of The First Tee and junior golf on the First Coast, in addition to other charities. His wife, Pepper, was the executive director for The First Tee of Jacksonville until it merged with St. Johns County two years ago to become The First Tee of North Florida.

"Everyone in the family admired and loved him," his wife said in a statement. "He took the Peete name to another level. We are so thankful that he was in our lives as a father, husband and role model. He was a blessing and he will be missed."

In addition to his wife, Peete is survived by seven children, Calvin, Dennis, Rickie, Nicole, Kalvanetta, Aisha and Aleya. His two youngest daughters played golf at Ponte Vedra High School and are on the golf team at Delaware State.

Funeral arrangements won't be finalized until later this week, according to an employee of Murray Brothers Funeral Home in Atlanta.

Garry Smits: (904) 359-4362

1985 PGA Tour

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The 1985 PGA Tour season was played from January 10 to October 27. The season consisted of 43 official money events. Curtis Strange and Lanny Wadkins won the most tournaments, three, and there were 10 first-time winners. The tournament results, leaders, and award winners are listed below.

• 1 Tournament results
• 4 References
• 5 External links

Tournament results [ ]

The following table shows all the official money events for the 1985 season. "Date" is the ending date of the tournament. The numbers in parentheses after the winners' names are the number of wins they had on the tour up to and including that event. Majors are shown in bold .

Source: [1]

Leaders [ ]

Scoring Average leaders

Source: [2]

Money List leaders

Source: [3]

Career Money List leaders

Source: [4]

References [ ]

• ↑ 1985 Schedule . PGA Tour.
• ↑ Scoring Average – 1985 . PGA Tour.
• ↑ Money Leaders – 1985 . PGA Tour.
• ↑ Career Money Leaders – 1985 . PGA Tour.

External links [ ]

• PGA Tour official site
• 1 Titleist Pro V1x
• 2 Holly Sonders/Gallery

PGA Championship, Last of the Majors, Begins Thursday at Denver’s Cherry Hills

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The fourth and final major professional golf competition of the year begins next Thursday on one of the special crossroads in the game’s history--the Cherry Hills Country Club.

It has been a year of change and oddity in the world of golf and it is therefore fitting that the closing major tournament of the season--the PGA Championship--takes place on a course known for the unusual and famous for its role in one of the sport’s most obvious turning points.

On a June afternoon in 1960 the game of golf rounded a corner and moved into an era which is only now beginning to drift into the history books.

The leading cast members on that day were Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer although a host of supporting players jumped on and off the stage.

Hogan came close to winning a record fifth U.S. Open (never again to challenge for it) and Nicklaus came close to winning his first.

But it was Palmer who made the most history at Cherry Hills that afternoon, knocking his opening tee shot in the final round onto the green 346 yards away, firing a 65, making up seven shots on the leader and winning his one and only Open title.

This will be the fifth major championship at Cherry Hills and the second PGA. Lee Trevino will be defending the title he won at Shoal Creek and will be returning to a course on which he was a factor during the first two rounds of the 1978 Open.

Among other things the Cherry Hills layout has become known for large-scale comeback victories.

Vic Ghezzi was three holes down with nine to play in the 1941 PGA final (the tournament was conducted as a match play event in those days), but rallied to tie Byron Nelson after the regulation 36 and went on to win on the second extra hole.

Ralph Guldahl was 10 shots behind when the final round of the 1938 U.S. Open started, but he shot a 69 to win while third-round leader Dick Metz posted a 79.

Palmer not only trailed leader Mike Souchak by seven shots with one round to go in 1960, but he had to pass 14 other players as well.

Andy North broke the string of comeback victories at Cherry Hills in the 1978 Open, but after building a five-stroke lead in the final round he had to hang on and eventually won by just one shot over Dave Stockton and J.C. Snead.

Some history repeated itself this year when North, winless since his victory at Cherry Hills, took advantage of Tze-Chung Chen’s disasters and again captured the Open by a shot with a final-round 74.

History will once more be a subject for discussion during Open week. It may not repeat itself, but at least it has a chance to which was not the case when the Open was held here seven years ago.

Palmer’s tee shot to start the final round of the 1960 Open immediately elevated the opening hole at Cherry Hills into a special place in golfing lore.

The hole measured 346 yards the day Palmer ripped that tee shot onto the green, but when the U.S. Open returned to Cherry Hills in 1978 a new tee was added which extended the hole to 399 yards.

The day before the 1978 Open began, Frank D. “Sandy” Tatum (then president of the United States Golf Association) argued that the change was for the best.

“My personal feeling,” said Tatum at the time, “is that the first green should only have been hit once from the tee, by Arnold Palmer in 1960 (actually other players reached the green that week).

“It adds another bit of history and tradition to the U.S. Open and that’s exactly what we want.”

That opinion, however, was not universally held.

Before this year’s Open, David Graham held forth on the subject of such holes as the first at Cherry Hills.

“You take the excitement out of the hole when you do that,” Graham said. “Actually you make it an easier hole. When you make it longer, you automatically lay up and it makes a par fairly routine.

“But when the hole is short and you take the risk of going for the green you can easily wind up in trouble and make a double bogey or worse.”

PGA officials agreed with Graham and many others who were of like feelings. The first hole at Cherry Hills, therefore, will return to its traditional length of 346 yards for this year’s event.

As for potential winners, the possibilities are clearly varied since variety has been the keynote on the golf circuit in 1985.

The foreign contingent is strong, although British Open winner Sandy Lyle has declined an invitation. Lyle instead will play in the Glasgow Open. The overall strength of the foreigners has been demonstrated in the major championships this year, and the wave of young players has made a huge dent in the PGA tour’s bank account.

And a quarter of a century after his famous shot Palmer plans to be there as well. He may not reach the first green with a tee shot this year, but there will likely be a number of interested people standing around the first tee when he tries.

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32 Best Golfers Of The 80s

We recall a decade that saw many of the game's iconic names dazzle at their brilliant best and the Ryder Cup come to life

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In the space of 40 Majors in the 80s, 29 of them would go to the Americans but it would represent a changing of the ways as the Europeans began to take over at Augusta. This was something that was also mirrored in the Ryder Cup as Europe's big guns began to dominate things. 

In the women's game the Americans would still rule things, this was before the Solheim Cup had even begun, while we would have to wait until 1998 for the Korean breakthrough. 

The 80s would see the first Ballesteros' Major and Nicklaus' last – the latter, at the age of 46, remains one of the greatest Sundays in the history of the game. 

FUZZY ZOELLER

Frank Urban 'Fuzzy' Zoeller produced one of the iconic moments of the decade when he would wave a white towel after watching Greg Norman hole a long putt at the 72nd hole of the 1984 US Open. The putt was actually for a par, the American thought it was for a three, and he would beat Norman by eight shots in a play-off on the Monday. The win was his second Major triumph. 

LAURA DAVIES

Davies only turned pro in 1985 but she would land both the Rookie of the Year and Order of Merit the same year. The following year she would prevail at Birkdale in the days before the Women's British Open was a Major but Davies would then land the big one, the US Women's Open, in 1987. In 1988 she would make history by winning on all three major Tours.

JAN STEPHENSON

Stephenson was very much an outlier given that she was a non-American who was winning Majors. Indeed the Aussie would pick up one in three consecutive years, peaking with the 1983 US Women's Open. In oppressive heat she would have a winning score of +6. She would soon become known worldwide for posing in a bathtub covered only by golf balls . By 1987 she had recorded her final victory on the LPGA Tour.

LEE TREVINO

Trevino won 29 times on the PGA Tour and, while only five of them would come in the 80s, he did manage to add a sixth Major 10 years on from his previous one. At the '84 PGA the 44-year-old would break 70 every day at Shoal Creek to win by four shots from Lanny Wadkins and a 49-year-old Gary Player. A year later he would finish second behind Hubert Green.

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JOSE MARIA OLAZABAL

Much of Olazabal's best work came in the following decade but this was when he made two stunning Ryder Cup appearances, kicking off the greatest partnership in golf, having finished second on the money list in his debut season in 1986. In the first half of the 80s he made a small slice of history by winning the Boys Amateur, Amateur Championship and British Youths Open Amateur Championship.

It's far too easy to obsess about a player's number of wins on the PGA and European Tours – Aoki won 51 times in his homeland of Japan and 23 of them came in the 80s. He would famously win the European Open at Sunningdale in 1983. The Japanese star, with the trademark toe up putting stroke, was a household name in this decade and was ranked as the 16th best player when the first world rankings were published in 1986.

MANUEL PINERO

The Spaniard might not have lit up the Majors but his contribution to one of the seismic victories of the decade cannot be underestimated. In 1985 Pinero won on back-to-back weeks to qualify for the Ryder Cup team and later that year he would finish as the leading scorer, with four out of five points, as Europe finally won back the trophy. Pinero would beat the US talisman Lanny Wadkins in the key opening singles. 

JULI INKSTER

Inkster was always going to be a force in the game. The American became the first woman since 1934 to win three straight US Amateurs and, by 1984, she had landed a pair of Majors. At her first Dinah Shore (now Chevron Championship) she would beat Pat Bradley in a play-off, later that year she had added the du Maurier Classic. Bizarrely she never topped the LPGA money list though there were four Ws in 1986.

Mize's chip in at the 11th in a play-off for the '87 Masters was the shot of the decade as he sunk a distraught Greg Norman from nowhere – he was around 140 feet away. What is sometimes forgotten is that Ballesteros was also part of the play-off, also Mize's woeful approach shot came from the middle of the fairway. The Augusta native would also finish 4th at the US Open two months later.

LANNY WADKINS

Jerry Lanston 'Lanny' Wadkins Jr 'only' won one Major, the '77 PGA Championship, but some players deserved more for their skills and the American was certainly in this bracket. In the 80s he posted 10 top 10s, three of them second places, and he ranked in the top 10 of the world rankings for 86 weeks from the ranking's debut in 1986 to 1988. He was renowned as a gritty match player.

King barely missed a step after capturing her first win on Tour in 1984 and the Hall of Famer would capture at least one victory for the next 10 seasons. King's stand-out season came in 1989 when she not only prevailed a staggering six times but she also won the first of back-to-back US Women's Opens. That season her worst finish in a Major was a tie for 8th.

TOMMY NAKAJIMA

Nakajima won 48 times on his home Tour and 29 of those came in the 80s. The Japanese star was famous for making a mess of the Road Hole at the '78 Open but he threatened on several occasions to make the Major Asian breakthrough – at the '86 Open at Turnberry he would start the final day one off Greg Norman's lead but he then missed a short putt at the 1st, made a double and slipped to a 77.

Kite was an absolute money-making machine and his record at The Masters was something else – the Texan would kick off the 80s at Augusta with these finishes 6-5-5-2-6-MC-2. He would also not miss a Ryder Cup in the decade and his big moment came at the '89 Players when he would edge out Chip Beck. Kite, a brilliant short-iron player, would finally land his Major at the '92 US Open.

FRED COUPLES

It might surprise a few that Couples actually turned pro as far back as 1980. Boom Boom, as he was known for his long, easy hitting, peppered the top 10s in the Majors, particularly at Augusta and The Open, but he would have to wait until 1989 to make his Ryder Cup debut. His big moment down Magnolia Lane would follow but he did land The Players in 1984, by a shot from Lee Trevino, at the age of just 24.

Sigel is one of the most decorated amateur golfers who would turn pro at the age of 50 to play on the Champions Tour. He would play on nine straight Walker Cup teams, winning eight of them and twice as the winning captain, and there would also be three Eisenhower Trophy victories in '78, 80 and 82. In 1983 he became the only golfer ever to win the US Amateur and US Mid-Amateur in the same year.

CRAIG STADLER

Stadler was a dominant force in the first half of the decade. The Walrus, as he was affectionately known for his stout physique and moustache, would capture The Masters in 1982 after opening with a 75. He had built a six-shot lead after 65 holes but four bogeys coming home meant he would face a play-off with Dan Pohl. Stadler made a par at the 10th and Pohl would miss a six-footer.

BEN CRENSHAW

Crenshaw will always be regarded as one of the greatest putters of all time and his record at Augusta during the 80s is a thing of beauty – 6-8-24-2-W-57-16-4-4-3. His big moment came a year after his second place behind Seve in '83 when he opened with a 67 and a 68 gave him a two-shot win over Tom Watson. There would be a hat-trick of birdies from the 8th which culminated in an iconic putt across the 10th green.

PAT BRADLEY

Bradley would win each of the four Majors (at the time) during the 80s with 1986 one of the greatest displays in the history of the game. Bradley, then 35, would win the Kraft Nabisco, LPGA Championship and du Maurier Classic and she would tie for 5th at the US Women's Open. She would end her career with 31 LPGA victories and six Majors. Psychologist Bob Rotella wrote that Bradley was the most mentally tough athlete that he knew. 

PATTY SHEEHAN

Sheehan joined the LPGA Tour, played on it for 26 years and finished her career with 35 wins on Tour. A leading amateur she would become the Rookie of the Year in her inaugural season and she landed the first of her six Majors in 1983 at the LPGA Championship. The following year she would defend her title when she blitzed the field by 10 strokes which was the biggest winning margin at the time. 

MARIE-LAURE DE LORENZI 

De Lorenzi's record is an incredible one. The Frenchwoman joined the Ladies European Tour in 1987 before topping the money list the following two seasons. Over the two years she would finish in the top two 17 times, with seven wins in the latter season. She now sits in a tie for third for all-time wins (19), alongside Trish Johnson, with Laura Davies leading the way with 45 victories. In 1990 she was part of Europe's first Solheim Cup side.

LARRY NELSON

Nelson was a late starter at 21 but he would sign off with three Majors and a US Open win at Oakmont. There, in 1983, he dropped seven shots in his first four holes on the Saturday before turning it around by playing the rest of the round in seven under. He and Tom Watson were tied when a storm came through and Nelson then holed a 60-footer on 16, before three-putting the last, but sneaked home by a shot.

Floyd was already a two-time Major champ coming into the 80s, having won The Masters by a ridiculous eight shots, and he would then add two more. He captured the US Open in '86 with a final round of 66 and he became the then oldest winner at the age of 43 – it is now held by Hale Irwin who won at 45. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1989.

JACK NICKLAUS

Nicklaus had 15 Majors in the bag and he would then tick off two more with a fourth US Open and fifth PGA in 1980. Roll the clock forward six years and we got the big send-off. Written off by some the Golden Bear would come into the Sunday four back before reaching the turn in 35. Then came a back nine of 30 and some of the most iconic shots in the history of the game.

Alexander Walter Barr Lyle has one of the most curious Major records. The Scot had one top 10 at Augusta, the win in 1988, and he rarely threatened in The Open other than his victory in 1985, the first British success since Tony Jacklin in 1969. He would only play in one PGA throughout the whole decade. According to Seve there was nobody better – "If everyone in the world was playing their best, Sandy would win and I'd come second.”

CURTIS STRANGE

If ever a player was defined by a decade it would be Strange. Sixteen of his 17 PGA Tour wins came in the 80s, including his back-to-back US Open victories. Only Ben Hogan, Strange and Brooks Koepka have defended the USGA showpiece since World War II and, oddly, the win at Oak Hill in '89 would be his last. He nearly won The Masters in '85, after a first-round 80, and four of his five Ryder Cup appearances came in this decade.

IAN WOOSNAM

In 1981 Woosnam couldn't break into the top 100 on the European Tour money list, then his career really took off with a win in Switzerland the following year and he was never out of the top 10. The Welshman was unstoppable in 1987, when he topped the money list with four wins, along with a World Cup with David Llewellyn and the World Match Play at Wentworth. That Masters win would then follow in 1991.

Faldo had already enjoyed plenty of success by the time of his famous swing rebuild in the mid 80s. In 1987 he landed The Open at Muirfield – he was only once outside the top 11 throughout the decade  – and two years later came  that Masters triumph over Scott Hoch. Come the end of the 80s he was fast closing in on the World No. 1 spot. He also featured on 11 straight Ryder Cup matches from 1977 onwards.

BERNHARD LANGER

Langer's first European Tour win came at the end of 1980 and he would win at least once every year thereafter. The German certainly should have won an Open, there were four top 3s in the space of six years from '81 but his big moment came at Augusta. In 1985 Langer won the first of two Green Jackets when a back-nine charge saw him overhaul Curtis Strange. Interestingly Langer won six straight German National Open titles from 1984-89.

Alcott played in 37 Majors in the 80s, finished in the top 10 in 18 of them and she wouldn't miss a single cut. The 1980 US Women's Open was a masterclass in oppressive heat in Nashville as she finished on four-under to win by nine. In its first year as a Major Alcott captured the Nabisco Dinah Shore (now Chevron Championship) and followed it up in '88 when she began the tradition of jumping into Poppie's Pond.

GREG NORMAN

In 1986 the Aussie would hold the lead in all four of the Majors going into the final round - they would term it the Saturday Slam - but only prevailed at The Open at Turnberry. The PGA was the biggest collapse as he saw a four-shot lead overturned by Bob Tway which climaxed in that holed bunker shot at 18. Eight months later Larry Mize would chip in at Augusta in the play-off.

From 1980-83 Watson was the stand-out golfer on the planet. In 16 Majors he would win five of them, with three Claret Jugs in just four years. If there was a single iconic Watson shot it would be his chip-in at Pebble Beach's 17th hole – "Get it close? Hell, I'm going to sink it" – as he got the better of Jack Nicklaus once again. The PGA would continue to elude Watson as he closed out his career with eight Majors.

SEVE BALLESTEROS

Seve won 32 times throughout the 80s on the European Tour and he would have no fewer than seven top 5s at Augusta. There would be the pair of Green Jackets but the Open victory at St Andrews in '84 is generally regarded as the most memorable of his five Majors. His ability to will in that final putt, and the sheer joy on his face, remains one of the most uplifting moments that the game has ever witnessed.  

Mark has worked in golf for over 20 years having started off his journalistic life at the Press Association and BBC Sport before moving to Sky Sports where he became their golf editor on skysports.com. He then worked at National Club Golfer and Lady Golfer where he was the deputy editor and he has interviewed many of the leading names in the game, both male and female, ghosted columns for the likes of Robert Rock, Charley Hull and Dame Laura Davies, as well as playing the vast majority of our Top 100 GB&I courses. He loves links golf with a particular love of Royal Dornoch and Kingsbarns. He is now a freelance, also working for the PGA and Robert Rock. Loves tour golf, both men and women and he remains the long-standing owner of an horrific short game. He plays at Moortown with a handicap of 6.

The venue for the LIV Golf Houston event is open to the public, and playing a round there is relatively inexpensive, too

By Mike Hall Published 5 June 24

The end is seemingly far from close for men's pro golf in terms of unifying, but the World No.3 believes a resolution starting in the next couple of years is very much a good thing

By Jonny Leighfield Published 5 June 24

So, you've got a budget of one hundred bucks to spend on golf. What are you going to buy? Here are some ideas...

By Michael Weston Published 14 December 23

We look back at some of the game's most poignant and tragic moments, from the 19th century to the modern day

By Mark Townsend Published 14 December 23

We remember and celebrate some of the stand-out moments from the Spanish legend's career

By Mark Townsend Published 12 December 23

Who were the best golfers of the 70s, a decade which golf saw the excellence of the Golden Bear, the start of a rivalry and an emerging Spanish superstar?

By Roderick Easdale Published 7 December 23

We take a look at some of the famous faces to have fallen in love with the game of golf

By Michael Weston Published 6 December 23

Slow play has become a common topic of conversation both at golf clubs and out on tour. Here, we highlight some of the factors contributing to the issue

By Jeremy Ellwood Published 3 December 23

A lot of things have been said about golf, so we have rounded up the best golf quotes which reflect the beguiling, infuriating and bizarre nature of the game we love... and sometimes hate

By Roderick Easdale Published 1 December 23

We look at out favourite nicknames and how some of golf's greatest players received their famous monikers

By Mark Townsend Published 30 November 23

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Game Changers

How driving distance has changed over the past 40 years on the pga tour.

Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland hits his shot from the tenth tee during the second round of the 2022 PGA Championship at the Southern Hills on May 20, 2022 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. (Photo by Darren Carroll/PGA of America)

We Can Learn from Rory's Admission; Make Sure The Changes You’re Making Fit Your Golf Game

Hit it Longer off the Tee with Joanna Coe

Adding Distance Off the Tee Like Cameron Champ Will Help Your Golf Game

Year - average distance (yards) | leader - leader's average.

• 2023 - 297.2 | Leader: Rory McIlroy - 326.6
• 2022 - 299.8 | Leader: Cameron Champ - 321.4
• 2021 - 295.3 | Leader: Bryson DeChambeau - 320.8
• 2020 - 296.4 | Leader: Bryson DeChambeau - 322.1
• 2019 - 293.9 | Leader: Cameron Champ - 317.9
• 2018 - 295.29 | Leader: Trey Mullinax - 318
• 2017 - 292.79 | Leader: Rory McIlroy - 316.7
• 2016 - 291.06 | Leader: J.B. Holmes - 314.5
• 2015 - 290.21 | Leader: Dustin Johnson - 317.7
• 2014 - 289.85 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 314.3
• 2013 - 288.00 | Leader: Luke List - 306.3
• 2012 - 290.07 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 315.5
• 2011- 291.14 | Leader: J.B. Holmes - 318.4
• 2010 - 287.49 | Leader: Robert Garrigus - 315.5
• 2009 - 288.07 | Leader: Robert Garrigus - 312
• 2008 - 287.74 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 315.1
• 2007 - 289.08 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 315.2
• 2006 - 289.35 | Leader: Bubba Watson - 319.6
• 2005 - 288.88 | Leader: Scott Hend- 318.9
• 2004 - 287.32 | Leader: Hank Kuehne - 314.4
• 2003 - 286.30 | Leader: Hank Kuehne - 321.4
• 2002 - 279.84 | Leader: John Daly - 306.8
• 2001 - 279.35 | Leader: John Daly - 306.7
• 2000 - 273.18| Leader: John Daly - 301.4
• 1999 - 272.45 | Leader: John Daly - 305.6
• 1998 - 270.63 | Leader: John Daly - 299.4
• 1997 - 267.67 | Leader: John Daly - 302
• 1996 - 266.49 | Leader: John Daly - 288.8
• 1995 - 263.55 | Leader: John Daly - 289
• 1994 - 261.84 | Leader: Davis Love III - 283.8
• 1993 - 260.36 | Leader: John Daly - 288.9
• 1992 - 260.52 | Leader: John Daly - 283.4
• 1991 - 261.44 | Leader: John Daly - 288.9
• 1990 - 262.75 | Leader: Tom Purtzer - 279.6
• 1989 - 261.81 | Leader: Ed Humenik - 280.9
• 1988 - 263.50 | Leader: Steve Thomas - 284.6
• 1987 - 262.50 | Leader: John McComish - 283.9
• 1986 - 261.58 | Leader: Davis Love III - 285.7
• 1985 - 260.18 | Leader: Andy Bean - 278.2
• 1984 - 259.61 | Leader: Bill Glasson - 276.5
• 1983 - 258.65 | Leader: John McComish - 277.4
• 1982 - 256.89 | Leader: Bill Calfee - 275.3
• 1981 - 259.66 | Leader: Dan Pohl - 280.1
• 1980 - 256.89 | Leader: Dan Pohl - 274.3

PGA of America

The PGA of America is one of the world's largest sports organizations, composed of PGA of America Golf Professionals who work daily to grow interest and participation in the game of golf.

Rory McIlroy needs to win Memorial to add bullet point to his career resume | Oller

Rory McIlroy has 26 PGA Tour wins, more than any golfer in this week’s Memorial Tournament. The 35-year-old also has won four major championships, again more than anyone in the 73-player field.

But he has never won at Jack’s place . Is that significant? Let’s ask Jack.

“I think it’s a pretty good tournament to win to fill out a resume," Nicklaus said. "I don’t think there’s any question about that.”  

“Tiger won five times here,” he continued. “I mean, a tournament’s resume is not too bad if they have Tiger winning it five times.”

But what of a player’s resume if he has never won one of the tour’s signature events?

Before answering that, it’s worth noting that leaving Dublin with a Memorial crystal trophy in hand does not guarantee a Hall of Fame career. No offense to David Lingmerth or William McGirt , who won here in 2015 and 2016, but no one will mistake either for Ernie Els or Hale Irwin. Lingmerth and McGirt each own one tour victory. Els (19, including four majors) and Irwin (20 and 3) combined for 39. Els won the Memorial in 2004, Irwin in 1983 and 1985.

Actually, like most tour events, the Memorial champions list is sprinkled with names that even serious golf fans do not recognize. David Edwards? Carl Pettersson? Bart Bryant? That’s more of a Who’s That? than a Who’s Who.

But elite tournaments are not judged so much by their lowest common denominators but by their dominators. And on that score the Memorial looks impressive. 

A quick rundown of big-name winners in addition to Els and Irwin includes Nicklaus (73 tour wins and 18 majors), Woods (82 and 15), Tom Watson (39 and 8), Ray Floyd (22 and 4), Greg Norman (20 and 2), Curtis Strange (19 and 2), Jim Furyk (17 and 1) and Fred Couples (15 and 1).

McIlroy has come relatively close to getting the coveted Nicklaus winner’s handshake, with five top-10s in 12 appearances, but has yet to break through. 

And boy does he want to break through, telling media “It would mean a ton to me to win this tournament.”

Nicklaus thinks McIlroy will win it one of these days, and there remains plenty of time to get the job done – Kenny Perry won the Memorial at age 47 in 2008, Watson won it at 46 in 1996 and Nicklaus and Steve Stricker won it at 44 in 1984 and 2011 – but no player in his 40s has won at Muirfield since Jason Dufner in 2017. Golf is not the ultimate young man’s game, but it is trending younger.

Nicklaus designed his tour-level courses to challenge the best players, knowing tougher courses often separate legends from the next-level down.

“I like greens … where you have to send the ball up in the air and bring it down like, as they say, a butterfly with sore feet,” he said. “But you know why I enjoyed it? Because I could do it. When you could do something that somebody else couldn’t do, then you enjoy competing in that type of situation.”

McIlroy does things other pros cannot, mostly off the tee, where his 318.1-yard driving distance ranks second on tour behind Cameron Champ (318.3). 

I asked Nicklaus if it surprised him that McIlroy has yet to win the tournament the Upper Arlington native founded and has hosted since 1976. I also tossed out other notables who have come up empty at Muirfield, including Phil Mickelson (45 tour wins), Dustin Johnson (29), Lee Trevino (29), Gary Player (24) and Johnny Miller (25).

The Bear didn’t take the bait. But he sniffed it. 

“Do I think (McIlroy) will win here? Yeah, he should,” Nicklaus said. “He’s certainly good enough. But I thought I was good enough to win in Canada and I finished second seven times there. Never won. Barbara (Nicklaus) kept sending me back. She says, ‘I’m going to send you back until you do it right.’ Never could do it right.”

Is Nicklaus considered a failure for his goose eggs north of the border? Of course not. And history will not judge McIlroy’s career by whether he won the Memorial. But he might judge himself. 

Nicklaus recalled a conversation he had with Mickelson, who skipped the Memorial six times from 1996 to 2006.

“I said, ‘Phil, your resume is not  going to be complete until you win at Muirfield,’” Nicklaus recalled. “And he said, ‘I know it and I want to win here.’”

Lefty never did. Not everyone knows that. But Nicklaus does. And you can bet Tiger does, too.

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Did you know these celebrities attended Arizona State University? See the famous alumni

If you have ever wondered what fashion designer Kate Spade has in common with comedian and talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, you can thank Arizona State University for connecting the dots.

Before the public university ranked No. 1 in innovation, the Arizona school (which has its main campus in Tempe and others around Arizona and in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Hawaii) was home to some of the most notable governmental figures, athletes, entrepreneurs and entertainers of multiple generations. NBA players and Hollywood stars have worn the maroon and gold with pride as they trekked up "A" mountain in Tempe with their peers.

Here are some of the most recognizable former Sun Devils that Arizonans should know.

Jimmy Kimmel

Late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel had a short stint at ASU. During his time at the school, he was a regular caller to KZZP's morning show. He then dropped out to pursue a career in radio. His journey working for multiple radio stations led him to host his talk show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Derrick Hall

Arizona Diamondbacks President and CEO Derrick Hall graduated from Arizona State with a bachelor's degree in broadcasting and journalism in 1991. Hall was inducted into the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002. Hall is now the fourth-longest tenured CEO in Major League Baseball.

Before becoming a fashion mogul with her own collection of designer handbags, Kate Spade was an ASU transfer student and a Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority sister. She graduated with a journalism degree in 1985 and moved to Manhattan to pursue a career in fashion shortly after.

More Arizona school news: ASU, UA rank in top 1% of global universities, per a recent study. Here’s why

Co-founder of Under Armour Ryan Wood played college football at Arizona State. Transferring after his sophomore year, Wood became the captain of his Division 1 team by the time he was a senior. He went on to be a fullback for the Dallas Cowboys before becoming a successful sportswear entrepreneur.

Lynda Carter

Arizona native Lynda Carter briefly attended Arizona State before pursuing a career in modeling that launched her into stardom. Carter is most known for being crowned Miss USA in 1973 and for playing the titular role in the "Wonder Woman" TV show in the 1970s.

David Spade

David Spade attended both Scottsdale Community College and Arizona State University before joining the "Saturday Night Live" cast. Spade was a member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and often performed stand-up comedy around Tempe.

Katie Hobbs

Arizona's Gov. Katie Hobbs actually attended both Northern Arizona University and Arizona State University. Receiving her bachelor's degree in social work from NAU in 1992, she went back to school and achieved a master's degree in social work from ASU in 1995.

Barry Bonds

In the 1982 Major League Baseball draft, the San Francisco Giants drafted Bonds as a high school senior, but he decided to pursue a college education instead. As a sophomore at ASU, he tied the NCAA record with seven consecutive hits in the College World Series.

In demand: ASU graduates ranked among the world's best in employability, an international study says

James Harden

Once wearing a maroon and gold 13 across his chest, James Harden was named the Pac-10 Conference's Player of the Year and a consensus All-American as a sophomore at ASU. At the end of the season, he was declared for the 2009 NBA draft and was selected by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Pat Tillman

Pat Tillman was an Arizona State University football player in the 1990s. While playing for the Arizona Cardinals, he left football to enlist in the U.S. Army after the Sept. 11 attacks. ASU continues to honor Tillman's legacy with its annual 4.2-mile race, Pat's Run, and its veteran center that supports student veterans and dependents.

Phil Mickelson

Phil Mickelson, the professional golfer, became the face of amateur golf during his time at Arizona State. Throughout his collegiate career, Mickelson earned the All-American honors all four years and won 16 tournaments. In his professional career, Mickelson has won 45 events on the PGA Tour.

Al Micheals

The play-by-play sportscaster for Thursday Night Football got his start calling Sun Devils football, basketball and baseball games for ASU's campus radio station. While studying radio and television and journalism, Micheals also wrote for the school's student newspaper the State Press.

More celeb students: You might not have guessed that this celebrity attended community college in Arizona

We love competitiveness in men's sports. Why can't that be the case for the WNBA?

The WNBA ’s newfound status as the biggest conversation driver in sports is like a mirror being held in front of an American populace that has never had to truly confront the notion of talking and thinking about female athletes the same way we talk about men. 

And the only conclusion to be drawn so far is that we aren’t ready. 

We’re not ready for the smack talk, the hard fouls, the petty critiques and jealousy of a brand new star coming into the league. We’re not ready for the stars angling to build their social media brands or lean into villainy because that’s what will help them stand out and make money. We’re not ready for the fact that sometimes, the people playing an intensely emotional, physical sport just absolutely hate each other. 

So when it comes to the WNBA, why are we not ready for all the things we absolutely love about men’s sports?

At some point, hopefully women’s sports and the WNBA will become so normalized in popular culture that we can overcome a clear double-standard in how we talk about these athletes. 

But at the moment, it’s embarrassing. Ever since Chennedy Carter took a cheap shot at Caitlin Clark last weekend, one commentator after another − and let’s be honest, it’s mostly men − have completely lost the plot. 

ESPN’s morning screamfest with Stephen A. Smith debating the likes of Monica McNutt and Cheney Ogwumike has been borderline unhinged. The culture warriors in the right-wing media are stoking racial resentment, suggesting that Clark is being targeted because she’s white. Pat McAfee had to apologize for using a sexist, racially-charged profanity during a rant about the way Clark’s colleagues were treating her. Even the Chicago Tribune editorial board − not the sports section, the actual editorial page − published a piece arguing that Carter’s foul on Clark "would have been seen as an assault" outside of sports. Jim Banks, a Congressman from Indiana and the Republican nominee for the state's open Senate seat, sent the WNBA a letter asking commissioner Cathy Engelbert how the league plans to address "excessive physical targeting of specific players."

Can we all get a grip here? 

Even if you believe that every player in the WNBA is insanely jealous of Clark’s stardom, doesn't appreciate what she brings to the league and wants to intimidate her with physical play that might be a little over the line, there’s an easy response: So what? 

Don’t we like rivalry? Don’t we want that little bit of tension when we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen when athletes challenge each other? Don’t we watch even more intently when we know that there’s more to the competition than just who wins the game? 

John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors actively hated each other, and because they hated each other so much their matches electrified stadiums all over the world. 

Michael Jordan left his first All-Star Game in 1985 famously believing that Isiah Thomas froze him out to teach the new kid on the block a lesson, sparking a personal beef that carried on for years .  

When Tiger Woods first joined the PGA Tour, many of his fellow pros either didn’t buy the hype and believed he would struggle at first playing against the best in the world. Former player John Maginnes said on a FanDuel podcast a couple years ago that the rumored $10 million deal Woods got from Nike was a particular object of resentment because it was more than NFL quarterbacks made at the time. 

Before the Cleveland Cavaliers got the No. 1 pick that would become LeBron James , Carlos Boozer told reporters, "We have better players than him at his position already on our team."

We could go on and on. None of this is new in sports.

It's just new to us in the context of watching women’s basketball. They're ready for it; we’re not. 

"I think we would love to be in the same type of conversations as there is with the men and with the NBA, and when they have competitive nature and players are getting up in one another’s (expletive), it’s like, ‘Oh, they're just being competitive,’" said New York Liberty forward Breanna Stewart . "Whereas if it’s women, it’s like, 'Oh, something's wrong.’ And obviously, nothing is malicious. It’s just heat of the moment things. Things happen in the game. Everyone’s just trying to be locked in and be at their best. That’s what’s a little bit frustrating. But at the same time, it’s good to be dissected in a number of different ways because this hasn’t been there before."

The fact we’re getting this so wrong isn't on the athletes.  

It’s not on Clark, who is going through the kind of trial-by-fire that pretty much every hotshot rookie with her fame has endured as a welcome to the highest level. It’s not on her competitors, whose job is to beat her, to appreciate the fact that she’s drawing new eyeballs to the league. And it’s not on the WNBA to create some kind of artificial protective bubble because Clark is getting roughed up a little bit by opponents trying to send a message. 

When men do that kind of stuff, we don't merely cope with it, we encourage it. It’s good content when Brooks Koepka rolls his eyes at Bryson DeChambeau. We loved it when Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant feuded. Draymond Green goes straight from the end of the Golden State Warriors season to the TV booth these days because he joyfully stirs a pot full of personal beef. 

What men have in this context, though, is a distinct kind of privilege: It’s just sports, not a cause. 

OPINION: Early WNBA narratives do disservice to Angel Reese. And Caitlin Clark.

For a lot of people in mainstream America tuning into the WNBA for the first time, though, Clark’s breakthrough represents something more than being a point guard for the Indiana Fever . As a result, we’re seeing people projecting some of their own cultural views and insecurities onto a blank canvas with no history of women’s sports being discussed at this scale.

Of course, we have a template for how to do it correctly because we do it every single day. When we can give women competing with each other the same credit and regard that we do male athletes, there will be no market for some of the silliness we’ve seen this week after the Carter-Clark incident. 

It’s what happens in sports, and it’s fine. 

The WNBA is ready for it. When will the rest of us be? 

Horses for Courses: Cantlay a must-play at the Memorial Tournament

Horses for Courses

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For the 49th time since 1976, the Memorial Tournament presented by Workday tees off in Dublin, Ohio, outside of Columbus.

Jack Nicklaus and his Muirfield Village Golf Club welcome an invitational field of 73 players for the 2024 edition.

The 2024 edition will play 7,569 yards to par 72, just two yards less than the 2023 tournament.

Nicklaus makes at least one significant change to Muirfield Village annually. The 2024 edition will see a brand-new tee box angle on the 16th hole.

After multiple complaints last season, Nicklaus shifted the teeing area at the par 3 some 30 yards to the right to reduce the chance of well-struck shots getting swallowed up by the pond short and left of the green. Also, a bunker in the right-front portion of the green was removed. Now playing 218 yards, the hole is two yards shorter than the 2023 version.

Yes, that’s it!

Players listed are in the field this week; 2024 season stats.

Muirfield Village provides room to swing the driver and has ranked in the top half of easiest fairways to hit on TOUR. Finding the short grass off the tee is the first step, but the challenge comes with hitting the Bentgrass putting surfaces in regulation. Ranking most difficult, fourth, and seventh in GIR on TOUR three years after the renovation, superior iron players at Muirfield Village will stand out. Nicklaus believes in keeping his 5,000-square feet putting surfaces firm and fast. Stopping and spinning the ball on the proper portion of the putting surfaces, usually below the hole, will provide scoring opportunities. Errant irons will have 68 bunkers, 13 water penalty areas, four inches of Kentucky Bluegrass, ryegrass, and Fescue rough or closely mown aprons to navigate. This layout has ranked in the top 10 hardest over the last three years.

The 2023 champion Viktor Hovland (+1800) needed a fourth attempt and a playoff to break into the winner’s circle outside Columbus. Posting four rounds under par, the Norwegian needed 19 birdies to offset his 12 bogeys. The usually steady ball-striking machine relied on a red-hot putter to seal his title last year. He became the first winner in six years to rank outside the top 12 in GIR and the first winner in five years to rank outside the top 12 in SG: Approach.

Par-4 Scoring

There is nothing easy or scoreable about Muirfield Village. Annually ranking in the top-10 hardest tracks on TOUR, par is a great score this week. Trouble lurks, as it should, for wayward tee shots and marginally struck irons. Finding a way to grind out fours on seven holes measuring over 450 yards, including a trio 480 yards or better, goes a long way. The last five winners have ranked in the top four in this category.

Billy Horschel (+6600) blew away the field for his only victory in the 2022 edition. Posting only four bogeys, the fewest by any player in the last six editions, he led the field in too many other categories to list. Hitting fairways and greens and getting up and down, he only circled 15 birdies for the week but he kept the crooked numbers off the card. Picking up his fifth T15 or better in his ninth start, he missed the cut last year (84-72) in defense as he was in the middle of a swing change.

Bogey Avoidance

There is a talent in not compounding errors, playing smartly and taking medicine. In most TOUR events, the par 5s or par 3s provide a chance to catch up with one or two good shots. Not this week. The quartet of par 5s ranks in the top 10 hardest on TOUR annually. Ranging from 180 to 218 yards the four par 3s require more than a flip wedge on approach. All 14 clubs in the bag will get a workout over 18 holes.

Saving the best of the Horses for Courses for last, Patrick Cantlay (+2500) is the only two-time champion (2019, '21) in the field. The Californian also shared third in 2022 and was fourth in 2018. The owner of the lowest scoring average (minimum of 10 rounds) with 70.32, his worst payday was T35 on debut in 2017. Playing 28 rounds at Muirfield Village, he’s posted par or better 23 times and has won this event with his ball-striking (2021) and with his short game (2019).

Oddsmaker’s Extras

Scottie Scheffler (+350): Without a victory from three attempts, the Texan has cashed solo third on his last two visits (2021, '23). Closing with 67 last year, his Sunday best was three shots better than anyone else as the course played 74.985, the hardest final round since 1985. Only Cantlay has a better stroke average than his 70.83.

Rory McIlroy (+1000): Making his 13th start, the Ulsterman has never hit the podium but has hit the top 10 five times in 10 weekends. Posting 6-under since the renovation, he’s cashed T7-T18-T18 over the last three years. The Masters of North appears to be producing the same frustration as Augusta National.

Jordan Spieth (+4500): Never missing a start since his 2013 debut, the Texan, who loves Augusta National, has not found the final piece of the puzzle to unlock Muirfield Valley. Cashing outside of T19 only twice from 10 weekends in 11 starts, he is 16-under par over the last five editions. His post-renovation run of T5-T18-T18 is one shot better than McIlroy.

Si Woo Kim (+5000): Never missing a cut in eight previous visits, the South Korean has embraced the post-2020 changes. Cashing fourth, T13 and T9 since the renovation, he posted 10 of 12 rounds at par or better and is 13-under aggregate. In 30 career rounds, 21 have registered at par or better.

Denny McCarthy (+6600): Beaten in a playoff last year by Hovland, the man still looking for his first win on TOUR hit the top five for the second season running at Muirfield Village. Sitting one shot off the 36-hole lead in 2022, he closed 73-73 for T5. In his last eight loops, seven have gone for par or better.

Justin Rose (+10000): I will remind my course historian friends that this is his first visit since the renovation. After missing the cut in 2020, the 2010 champion could not add to his seven top-10 paydays and nine top-25 results.

Rickie Fowler (+12500): The two-time runner-up from 2017 and 2010 on debut, Fowler has quietly cashed T9-T64-T11 over the last three editions. Everyone needs a long shot!

-Odds courtesy of BetMGM.com-

For resources to overcome a gambling problem, call, or text 1-800-GAMBLER today.

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Today@Sam Article

Gray reflects on four decades of bearkat volleyball.

June 4, 2024 SHSU Media Contact: Campbell Atkins

Brenda Gray was blown away when over 80 former players showed up to surprise her with a party celebrating her 40th anniversary as Sam Houston State University’s head volleyball coach in the fall.

“I was in a state of shock, I just couldn’t believe it,” said the longtime coach. “I strive to touch my players’ lives, and they touch mine. They’re my second family. I don’t work for a living because I get to do what I love every day.”

Over the years, Gray has attended multiple similar celebrations on her players’ behalf, including weddings and baby showers. These, she stressed, comprise the most memorable moments of her four decades at the helm and hold more weight than wins and losses on the court ever could.

“At the end of the day, this is about watching these young women from different backgrounds grow into mature women and continuing those relationships,” she said.

Despite this sentiment, Gray has enjoyed considerable success on the court as well. Her long list of successes include over 760 wins, four Conference Coach of the Year honors, two NCAA Division I National Playoff appearances and two NCAA Division II Final Four trips. She has also coached four NCAA All-Americans, eight NCAA All-Region players and 51 All-Conference players, who have earned the honor a total of 85 times.

“I have a passion and love for what I do and I’m extremely competitive,” she said. “It really doesn’t matter what the event is, I just love a challenge. I love to see these girls buy into the philosophy that we’ve established here and develop into player of the year candidates or win a championship and do it collectively as a unit. That is what fulfills me.”

Gray first became a Bearkat as a player transferring from Lee College in 1981. After graduating in 1982, she worked as a graduate assistant under then-head coach Rebecca Bilsing. After earning her master’s and a year away at Bastrop High School, where she coached volleyball, basketball and track, Gray received a call from an ailing Bilsing, who asked her to fill in as head coach of the Bearkats during the 1984 season.

“I learned so much from Bilsing and the other coaches from all the sports I was a part of growing up,” she said. “With that being instilled in me and knowing the parameters of what I had to work with at a familiar university, I was able to make it fun while keeping it competitive and pushing the players. The results were quite exciting during that first year.”

The Bearkats won 47 games out of the Gulf Star Conference in their first of back-to-back trips to the Division II Final Four. Bilsing was able to travel with the team and watch her young successor and players compete in the first of these two trips before tragically succumbing to cancer in February of 1985.

“I really didn’t know what was going to happen,” Gray said of the uncertain period between the 1984 and 1985 campaigns.

Ron Randleman, who served as SHSU’s athletic director from 1982-90, proposed one simple question to Gray during the ensuing process to name a permanent head volleyball coach: “Why shouldn’t I hire you?”

Gray, who could not think of a good answer, officially assumed the role full time in 1985.

In the last four decades, she has seen the program and college sports in general undergo vast changes. The program has specifically grown exponentially. After competing in Division II in 1984-85, the Gulf Star Conference jumped to D-1 in 1986 before the Bearkats switched to the Southland Conference. The volleyball team spent 34 years at this level, while Gray racked up over 600 of her wins and both of her trips to the NCAA Tournament. In 2021, she led a special group of five starting seniors to a top finish in their first year competing in Western Athletic Conference (WAC). Now, following yet another realignment, Gray is attempting to navigate another upward hurdle: transitioning to Conference USA.

“I have tried to keep my philosophy and traditions instilled in this new era and I believe that I have had to develop through this myself,” she said. “While the level in which volleyball has continued to go up, I will say it has demanded a different type of player. It is an ever-changing landscape with the portal, so that aspect is certainly different.”

Two of the team’s major contributors were lost due to injury during their first CUSA campaign in 2023, which helped contribute to a difficult year of transition.

“You cannot limp into a league like this, you just can’t,” Gray said. “But we are looking forward to competing in Conference USA. We will continue to bring in student-athletes who strive to achieve at a high level. We have a perfect graduation rate, and I am over the moon with my girls’ academics. They are here for the right reasons: to earn a degree and bring glory to the volleyball program.”

Another major change from Gray’s first two decades on the sidelines is the fact that she no longer stands alone. During the first half of her coaching career, she oversaw the Bearkats without the help of any assistant coaches or trainers and would even have to wrap ankles and take care of her players’ nagging injuries by herself. Now, she can say she has benefited from the help of multiple upstanding assistants who have gone on to find their own successes in the sport.

For the last 10 years, this has included her former player and daughter, Tayler Gray.

“I had so much pride in what she was doing that I wanted to help her achieve as much success as possible,” said Tayler on why she chose to play and subsequently coach under her mother at SHSU. “It has been a blessing to get under her coaching tutelage and I am very thankful for everything she has done for me, from raising me and providing the resources needed to be successful to holding me accountable every step of the way, regardless of that bloodline.”

Tayler was a dual-sport athlete during her time at Sam and admitted that softball was her first love in terms of sports, but her allegiance has always been to the university she grew up idolizing.

Outsiders looking in often comment on how similar Tayler is to Brenda, which never ceases to fill either with pride. However, the two coaches work hard to keep their mother-daughter relationship separate from their work on the court.

“Tayler grew up in the gym and has seen everything from childhood on,” Brenda said. “Watching her not only play for me at Sam Houston, but also on the softball team, was indescribable. What an energetic young lady she is.”

The Gray Bearkat bloodline extends beyond the mother-daughter duo. Brenda’s husband, Tim, was a member of SHSU’s football squad and their son, Timothy, competed as a four-year letterman and pitcher for the baseball team before signing a professional contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

“It’s not just my passion for the game that runs deep, this university runs very deep within my family,” Brenda said. “I’m extremely fortunate to have held this position for 40 years and to have played here. The administration gives you guidance, but they do not micromanage, it’s a wonderful atmosphere to work in.”

Gray’s 763 career victories currently rank her in the top 10 of active NCAA D-I head women’s volleyball coaches.

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