Tag: scottsdale golf courses

Last weekend, shortly after Michael Allen had pulled off back-to-back wins on the Champions Tour, the Golf Channel’s Curt Byrum put the rare double in perfect perspective.

“Michael Allen is a man on fire,’’ Byrum said of his fellow Scottsdale resident. “He’s scorching the Champions Tour.’’

In a way, what Allen is doing on the 50-and-over circuit compares to what Phillip Humber did recently. You know Humber, the guy that nobody knew before the Chicago White Sox journeyman pitched a perfect game against the Seattle Mariners.

Allen is like that. While most people think of Fred Couples or Bernhard Langer or Tom Lehman when somebody asks who currently is the best player in senior golf, nobody thinks of Allen. But after 22 top-10 finishes in his last 42 starts, including the consecutive Ws in the Encompass Insurance Pro-Am of Tampa Bay and the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf, Allen is literally running away from the Over the Hill Gang.

“Yeah, I’m on a bit of a roll right now, and I’m loving it,’’ said the good-natured Allen, who at 53 has discovered the fountain of youth. “I guess the difference between then (his early career) and now (as a senior) is I’m comfortable with my game and my swing.

“But if you asked me what is the secret to my success, I guess I’d have to tell you the truth: I’m 42.’’

Allen likes to kid, but that impressive list of what he’s done lately is no joke starting with the money list, where he has piled up $891,782 this season for a $339,000 edge over No. 2 Bernhard Langer. He also has a 350-point lead in the Charles Schwab Cup standings, the senior perk that will earn you a $1 million annuity should you end up there at the end of the season.

Comparatively speaking, if Allen was playing on the PGA Tour, he would be approaching $3 million and lead the FedEx Cup like Tiger Woods used to do.

Allen also is the overall statistical leader on the Champions Tour, and early this season surpassed $10 million in career earnings. That last footnote might be the most tell-tale considering Allen never did win a PGA Tour event in 20 years of struggles. But he did record three runner-up finishes on the PGA, won the 1998 Nike Open along the way, and earned the title “King of Q-School’’ after successfully graduating a record nine times in 13 tries.

Yes, Allen seemingly has had to grind it out forever, including a two-year, self-imposed hiatus from professional golf in the mid-90s, when he tried out jobs as an assistant club pro at Winged Foot, followed by a stint as a stock broker. When those detours didn’t pan out, he returned to golf and worked his way back up through the Nationwide Tour ranks, eventually rejoining the big leagues in 2002 at age 42.

The second time around turned out to be sustainable, and then he hit pay dirt immediately after he turned 50, winning the Senior PGA in his Champions debut. Those next two victories didn’t come until recently, but every week for the last year and a half it seemed Allen was among the leaders, setting records in 2010 ($1.16 million) and 2011 ($1.19 million) for money won without winning a tournament. Along the way, he added another $800,000 in winnings playing part-time on the PGA Tour.

These days, the dabbling on both tours is more infrequent, as Allen has only one thing on his mind, and that’s winning that Cup, a feat that would undoubtedly be the pinnacle of the savvy veteran ’s career. But even with his new-found success as a senior, Allen couldn’t resist taking time out earlier this year to play in the Mayakoba Classic in Mexico, where he recorded a ninth-place finish worth $99,900.

Not that the coveted Cup would change Allen’s laidback personality for one minute, mind you.

“I haven’t picked up a club since Sunday,’’ said Allen, who teamed up with partner and fellow oenophile (wine lover) David Frost to win the Legends on that day. “And I don’t plan on picking one up until Friday, when I’ll hit a few balls, and then maybe practice a little on Saturday and Sunday.’’

How can such an easy-come, easy-go approach correlate into being the top dog?

Simple, Allen pointed out.

“I finally understand the relationship between my swing and my body, and now I can finally sleep without worrying about those two things. These days I just like to kick back when I’m home with the family. For me, it’s just a real good thing to get away from golf for awhile.’’

Actually, Allen said he wanted to play in this week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans but couldn’t get a sponsor’s exemption, and he tried. That happens when for most of your career you haven’t gotten a lot of respect, and Allen – the Rodney Dangerfield of Golf — understands that.

“The only (sponsor’s exemption) I ever received in all those years, and I probably tried a hundred times, was the invite I got from the Senior PGA when I turned 50 (in 2009), and I ended up winning that,’’ he said with a laugh. “But, hey, I get it. People just don’t know me.

“And let’s be real: this is the Champions Tour, and we don’t get a lot of coverage. And, well, winning the Senior PGA isn’t quite like winning the PGA Championship, so I understand it.’’

The good news is, people are finally getting to know Allen. Like on tour, he is regarded as a quote-meister with the media, and his sponsors love him because of his loyalty and great sense of humor. Just as cool, Allen doesn’t dwell in the past, so there’s no hard feelings or offense taken when he constantly had to do everything the hard way.

To be completely honest, Allen said, “I wasn’t very good when he played the regular tour.’’ And as he told pgatour.com recently: “Then as you get older in life and you just go through experiences, you just learn that somehow you’ll get by.’’

But after never really understanding his swing in 10 years of working under former coach Hank Haney, Allen switched to Mike Mitchell in his later career. And Mitchell, who teaches out of The Hideaway in La Quinta, Calif., showed Allen how to unite his mind, body and swing – “biomechanical golf’’ – into perfect harmony.

“I’m not trying to diss Hank, but Mike Mitchell changed everything,’’ Allen said. “Now my swing is centered and repeatable, and my body is in the best shape of my life.

“I mean even when I don’t play golf, I usually work out. As a result, I no longer go to bed worrying about my game because I know it’s not always going to be perfect, but it’s going to be pretty close.’’

The life-long odyssey from the bottom to the top of his profession has left Allen in a state of grace. Sure, he’d love to win the Schwab Cup – “my No. 1 goal’’ – but he still takes time to savor the breeze on his Harley as well as a good bottle of wine.

“How is all this going to change me? Not one bit,’’ he said. “My favorite things still are picking my daughter up from school when I’m home and having lunch with my friends.’’

Allen even downplayed a rumor that, with all the money he’s won lately, he’s going to join the Valley’s other touring pros that make up a sizable membership at Scottsdale’s most elite golf club, Whisper Rock.

“Oh, I don’t have that kind of money,’’ chuckled Allen, who plays most of his golf at Mesa Country Club. “And like I said, I just don’t play that much golf when I’m home to probably justify (an expensive membership), although I do love it up there at the Whisper Rock when I get invited as a guest.’’

Allen said he thinks the Rock rumor got started by his good buddy, John Jacobs, another Champions Tour player who blossomed late in life.

“JJ’s always telling me I should join, but I think that’s mostly because he needs a partner when he gets a game with guys like Geoff Ogilvy and Paul Casey. That’s probably the real reason.’’

Yeah, Michael Allen gets it. These days there is no reason to play against guys 20 years his junior (well, maybe once in awhile) when you are known by your peers as “A Man on Fire.’’

Huff’s Stuff Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority

PHOENIX, Arizona – The galleries for the first three days of the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup were not all that large to start with. But when the weather turned ugly on Sunday, they got a lot smaller for the final round at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix.

And then they got smaller . . . and then even smaller.

Blame it on three rain delays – one that included thunder and lightning and another highlighted by hail– and temperatures that dipped into the upper 40s. Oh, yes, and don’t forget about the winds that gusted from 25- to 35-mph.

The interruptions, which totaled about three hours, pushed the finish to the edge of darkness, and just to add insult to injury, the live telecast on the Golf Channel was pre-empted just as the leaders were coming down the stretch in favor of the final round of the Champions Tour. (Can it get any worse?)

Unfortunately, it was another strange chapter in Phoenix for the LPGA, which had hoped for some positive news this week for its first tournament of 2012 to be held in the United States.

Fortunately, Yani Tseng, future Hall of Famer, saved the day — at least what was left of it. And the Taiwanese star did it in what’s becoming her calling card.

“A little drama out there today,’’ quipped Tseng, who looked anything like the No. 1 player in the world after back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 7 and 8 — a stumble that left her three shots back of Ai Miyazato.

But Tseng jump-started her game nicely after the second rain delay by reeling off five birdies in the next six holes beginning at No. 10. She never looked back even if it got a little dicey over the last three holes due to the fading daylight.

“I’m proud of myself. I hung in there on the back side,’’ said the 22-year-old after Miyazato and Na Yeon Choi, the world’s No. 2, got to within a shot of the lead when both made birdies at the 16th hole.

But that was the last red number that fell on this dark afternoon as all three players parred out. Not that many fans got to see it, especially those who had been watching the Golf Channel.

Asked what was the spark that lit up the back nine and gave Tseng her 14th career victory and second in the past three tournaments, she elaborated with her usual enthusiasm that belied someone who had just spent eight hours on — and off — the golf course.

“I told myself, ‘You have nine more holes — OK, three shots back. You still have a good chance on the back nine,’ “said Tseng, who closed with a 4-under-par 68 and a winning total of 18-under 270.

“I said, ‘Just play like the first day.’ Try to make birdie every hole. I played 7-under (on the back nine Thursday), so maybe I can do it again. I played 5-under today, so it was pretty close.’’

Looking back, that first-round 65, where Tseng shot 29 on the back side, went a long way towards deciding the $225,000 first prize, which just happened to push her over the $8 million mark in career earnings. In the process she became the quickest to pass that milestone, edging past Lorena Ochoa, who got to $8 million in four years and four months compared to Tseng’s four years 1 month. (BTW, Tseng also was the first player to $2 million, $3 million, $4 million, $5 million, $6 million and $7 million in earnings. See a pattern?)

Or as Choi spun it regarding Tseng’s total domination of the women’s tour: “She’s amazing. I don’t know who can catch her. She is far ahead of the rest of us.’’

It’s true, Tseng is simply sensational when you consider she has 34 wins worldwide, and is only five victories shy of the LPGA Hall of Fame due to the fact that five of her 14 wins on the LPGA are majors. If it didn’t seem possible that she has the potential to surpass Annika Sorenstam and all the Swede’s scoring/tournament records someday, it does now that she has her fifth win in her last 11 outings.

Yes, Yani’s on fire! And, hey, those 14 Ws by Tseng also tie Cristie Kerr on the all-time list, and that’s saying something considering Kerr has been solid for 16 years compared to a little over four for Tseng.

There are other things to admire about Tseng, like the fact she speaks three languages, including Japanese, and that she’s a major spokesperson for UNICEF. And did you know her secret wish is to appear on “Minute to Win It’’? Hey, that’s a TV show that most people would dread being on considering the format.

It’s true, we’re watching someone special even if the golf world has yet to embrace Tseng, and even if the locals didn’t get to see her follow Hall of Famer Karrie Webb as the second champion of the Founders Cup, a tournament that still has a shaky future despite its back-to-back winners being the best of the best.

“I thought we could not finish today, and it was just very lucky (to finish),’’ Tseng said of the dark, cold ending. “I’m really happy that we finished, and I just thank all of the people for staying here with us all day.’’

If the truth be told, there weren’t many who hung around to the very end. Then again, if the galleries never got smaller, at least in Tseng’s eyes, well, there’s another clue as to why Yani gets it.

Click Huff’s Stuff Arizona Golf Blog for Bill Huffman’s complete Arizona Golf Authority archive.

Click to visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory

It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.

Like the economy, the LPGA seems to be on the upswing these days. Granted, uncertainty remains about the global markets — and this global tour — but at least the ladies will be on American soil for the first time in 2012 when the RR Donnelley LPGA Founders Cup gets under way this week at Wildfire Golf Club in Phoenix.

Last year — after a one-year layoff in which the tournament went dark due to a lack of title sponsor — the inaugural Founders Cup was won by Hall of Famer Karrie Webb, who edged Paula Creamer and Brittany Lincicome by a single stroke. But with the crowds modest and the women playing for a mock purse in which no pro earned a dime (the money going to charity in an effort to “pay it forward”), players and organizers are hoping for a stronger showing this week.

It’s almost a “gimme” that the gate will go up, as the tournament has been lengthened from 54 holes to 72 holes, meaning there will be one more day of play. Another exciting feature that might stimulate interest is a “real purse,’’ as the ladies who advance to the weekend will be competing for $1.5 million with $225,000 going to the winner. (No wonder nine of the top 10 players in the world will be in the field compared to six out of 10 a year ago.)

Another major improvement that should boost attendance is that general parking, which is free, has been moved from WestWorld in Scottsdale to the Reach 11 Sports Complex off Deer Valley Road in Phoenix. That trip by school bus will now cover about three miles and take approximately 10 minutes rather than the 30-minute treks that attendees endured last year. Yes, those yellow buses will run continuously.

What else do fans need to know about this week’s Founders Cup besides it still has one more year on the contract at Wildfire? Well, without further ado, here are some interesting facts, figures and a few quotes going into this week’s LPGA adventure:

2012 WINNERS IN THE FIELD

Taiwan’s Yani Tseng, the No. 1 player in the world that nobody seems to know about, headlines the group of top-ranked women on the planet, and already is a winner this season having prevailed in Thailand, the second stop of the season. Also on board for Wildfire is veteran Angela Stanford, who revived her career by winning the last stop in Singapore. Unfortunately, the player everybody is talking about, 18-year-old Jessica Korda, who set the LPGA abuzz by winning a record-tying six-woman playoff in Australia, won’t be teeing it up in Phoenix.

WIE M.I.A.

For years, teen sensation Michelle Wie, now 21, was the toast of this tournament when it was held at Superstition Mountain Golf & Country Club in Gold Canyon and at Papago Golf Course in Phoenix. But for a second straight year, or ever since the tournament moved to Wildfire, Wie will not be in the field. Why? Blame it on academics, as Wie is currently is a senior at Stanford and on track to graduate this spring. That will hurt the gate a wee bit, even if Wie has fallen to No. 20 in the world after going last season without a “W.”

ON THE RISE

As mentioned, the LPGA is bouncing back with 27 tournaments on this year’s schedule even if a couple of them have yet to work out all the details. It’s still nowhere near the 34 events it hosted in 2008, but it’s a nice bump from last year’s total of 23. If you’re doing the math, this year’s schedule is worth $47 million or about $6 million more than last year’s. Of course, $1.5 million of that – 25 percent — was picked up right here in Phoenix after Whan opted for a “real purse.’’

‘WIN-WIN’

Last year the mock purse got a lot of attention, as players embraced it for its salute to the past and charity, but some resented the fact that only $500,000 of the $1 million total actually went to the USGA-LPGA Girls Club. This year, the entire $1.5 million goes to the players AND the Girls Club still gets its $500,000 share. “That was definitely different,’’ said local favorite Amanda Blumenherst in reference to the funny money. “But we are very fortunate to be able to play golf for a living, so it was nice to give it back, too. Even better, this year we get paid and the Girls Club also gets their $500,000. So it’s a win-win.’’

THE FIELD

In all, 132 players will be at the starting blocks Thursday, including nine of the top 10 players on the planet, the lone exception being South Korea’s Sun Ju Ahn, the No. 5 player. Americans in the top 10 include Cristie Kerr (No. 4), Paula Creamer (No. 6), Stacy Lewis (No.8) and Brittany Lincicome (No. 10). Other notables on hand: Laura Davies, a four-timer winner here in Phoenix; Japanese star Ai Miyazato, who brings with her the largest contingent of media focused on the LPGA in the world; and Hall of Famers Karrie Webb and Se Ri Pak. Another Hall of Famer, Juli Inskster, is out with an elbow injury that is delaying the start to her 30th season.

LOCAL FAVORITES

For those looking for some local/crowd favorites, the Scottsdale duo of Amanda Blumenherst and Grace Park certainly fill that bill. Another of considerable note is Cristie Kerr, the No. 4 player in the world, who also lives in Scottsdale. Kerr was in the hunt last year, and many expect Blumenherst, a highly rated third-year pro who was all-everything at Duke, to win at any moment. “The last couple of years have been very demanding, but I’m learning more every tournament,’’ said Blumenherst, who starred at Xavier College Prep. “And it would be great if (the first win) came here in my home town.’’ Due to injuries, Park has not won in the past six years after earlier finding the winner’s circle six times. This will be Park’s season debut, why Blumenherst had a tie for fifth last month in Thailand.

ASU-UA CONNECTION

There are a handful of former Arizona State players in the field as well as several former University of Arizona alums. That list of players with ASU-UA connections includes former Sun Devils Heather Bowie Young, Jimin Kang, Anna Nordqvist, Grace Park and Wendy Ward, as well as former Wildcats Natalie Natalie Gulbis and Leta Lindley.

BIG HITTER (GUNGA-LUNGA)

Brittany Lincicome was the runner-up here last year, and the way she is pounding the ball this season she might do even better. The LPGA’s big hitter is leading the driving statistical category with a whopping average of 296 yards per drive compared to No. 2 Paige Mackenzie at 278.6 per drive. That’s almost 20 yards farther, which is mind-boggling. “I think it matches (my game) well,’’ Lincicome said of the 6,568-yard Wildfire Course. “It’s a golf course I could see myself winning on multiple years in my career.’’ It also helps to have confidence!

TV TIMES

For those who won’t be attending the Founders Cup in person, there’s still the TV broadcast, which is a good news-bad news situation. Because the LPGA inked a bad deal with the Golf Channel under former commissioner Carolyn Bivens, most of its tournaments are broadcast on a tape-delayed basis. That’s what you’ll get for the first two rounds of the Founders, which is set for 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. Fortunately, the TV coverage is live for Saturday and Sunday in the 1 to 4 p.m. time slot, also on the Golf Channel.

BUY A PROGRAM

Even though most fans know that the LPGA likes to market itself as a global tour, you’ll need a program for this tournament, as there are five Lees (Ilhee, Jee Young, Jennie, Meena and Seon Hwa), four Parks (Grace, Hee Young, Inbee and Jane), three Kangs (Danielle, Jaeji and Jimin), three Kims (Christina, I.K. and Mindy), two Chois (Chella and Na Yeon), two Miyazatos (Ai and Mika), two Ohs (Angela and Ji Young), two Paks (Jin Young and Se Ri), two Shins (Jenny and Jiyai) and two Songs (Christine and Jennifer) in the Founders Cup field.

Visit our Arizona Golf Course Directory List and read the AZGA Player’s Review for every golf course in Arizona at www.arizonagolfauthority.com/coursedirectory/.

It’s “All Things Arizona Golf” from the Arizona Golf Authority.