It was a week for predictable winners in golf. Bernhard Langer has a long history of winning on the Champions Tour, and he returned to form at the Senior British Open. Langer cruised to victory with a 6 under par score at Royal Lytham and St. Anne’s.
Lytham and St. Anne’s is a course that demands reliable, accurate ball striking with 169 nasty bunkers scattered throughout the property. There were 206 bunkers a few years ago, but they removed 37 in a fit of compassion for the members, not to mention the pros. For a little perspective, I count 28 bunkers at the Flying L. We would have to add a bunker on every other hole to have as many as they removed.
On the regular PGA tour Brooks Koepka reminded everyone why he was number 1 in the world and in the FedEx Cup race by winning the World Golf Championship in Memphis. I suppose he was tired of hearing about not winning non-major tournaments and this one was big enough to get his attention.
The leaderboard at the Evian Championship on the LPGA tour was dominated by South Korean players and won by Jin-Young Ko, who is now the number 1 player in the world. The players and commentators said the course in the Alps was similar to the mountainous courses common in South Korea, but it is also worth noting that South Korea leads all other countries in the number of players in the top 10, 100, 200, and 500 in the world. The odds are in their favor, mountains or not.
The winners of last Saturday’s Men’s Golf Association proved our local world is also stable and humming along predictably. Buddy Antwine won the championship flight with a net score of 69, and Jim Martin won the first flight with a net 70.
Roy Rodriguez took second in the championship flight with 71, and Larry Henson and Charlie Prokop tied for third with 72. Steve Vickers won second place in the first flight with 71, followed by Bob Bashaw with 72.
The happiest player in the tournament was Mark Johnson. Johnson won the jackpot hole when his approach shot on number 10 nearly went in for eagle and he tapped in for birdie.
There is a golf outing to Lady Bird Johnson Golf Course in Fredericksburg scheduled for next Wednesday, August 7. Lady Bird is always a fun course to play and the trip is open to both women and men, so sign up if you are looking for an enjoyable day on the golf course. The sign-up sheet is in the Flying L pro shop.