Three tied for Turtle Bay lead
By Ann Miller
Advertiser Staff Writer
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| Defending champion Hale Irwin blasts out of a bunker on the 18th hole during the first round of the Senior PGA's Turtle Bay Championship. Irwin shot 69, one stroke off the lead.
Associated Press Turtle Bay Championships at a glance WHAT: 2002 Turtle Bay Championships Senior PGA Tour event WHEN: Today-tomorrow starting from 7:30 a.m. WHERE: Palmer Course at Turtle Bay (Par 36-36—72, 7,044 yards). PURSE: $1.5 million ($225,000 first prize). FIELD: 78 Senior PGA Tour players, including defending champ Hale Irwin, Hawai'i's Steve Veriato and Larry Stubblefield, Isao Aoki, Bruce Fleisher, Bob Gilder, Chi Chi Rodriguez, Walter Morgan and Dana Quigley. TICKETS: $10 daily. Children 17-under free with ticket-bearing adult. TV (HST): Today-tomorrow, noon-2 p.m., CNBC. Leaderboard
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Of the trio, Albus, 62, is the only one with a Senior PGA Tour victory, his sixth and last coming four years ago. But in yesterday's first round, they were the golfers who best tamed Turtle Bay's perpetual breeze and brand new greens, sharing the lead at 4-under-par 68.
"It still looks 'grainy,' " Albus said of the new Sea Isle 2000 paspalum grass, which has replaced Bermuda on the greens. "I keep looking for it (grain) but it's not there. At least not much."
It was a moot point on the third hole, where Albus pitched in from 50 yards for eagle. He gave it back with double bogey on the fourth, which proved to be the day's most difficult hole for everyone. Albus, who has only eight other rounds in the 60's this year, shrugged it off by playing the final 14 holes in 3 under.
He has had time to plot this "comeback." Albus took most of September off after suffering cuts and rib and wrist injuries in a mountain biking accident. "I tried to get down the mountain and I didn't make it," he said with a shrug. "I came down on my head instead of the bike."
While Albus rested, Stull, who never played the regular tour, was flying all over the planet.
After Monday qualifying for six events last year, he finished 18th at the Qualifying Tournament, which gave him "conditionally exempt" status. Knowing it wasn't good enough to get him in many tournaments, Stull — who lists his biggest athletic thrill as winning three Washington state high school championships — went to Portugal and won the PGA European Senior qualifying by a record 10 shots.
He finished fifth on this year's Order of Merit, with a win at Tobago and a dozen top-25 finishes.
"Europe definitely helped me to play golf over here," Stull said. "I never had the opportunity before to play 17 or 18 tournaments in a row. It's kind of grueling but ... last year I got to play seven tournaments, not even once a month. It's tough to get into a rhythm and feel for the game. Europe has given that to me."
Turtle Bay is only his fourth American event this year. But, in what he termed an uncharacteristic start, he was 4 under at the turn. He took over sole possession of first with birdies at Nos. 14 and 15, then bogeyed the last two holes.
Stull insisted it didn't bother him — "Normally I'd be disappointed, but I'm learning not to be" — because he "didn't miss any shots" on those two holes.
"On 18, I hit a perfect drive and it was just at that distance where I could make it (to the green), but I'm not quite sure," Stull said. "I decided if I go for it in two and don't get it I'll make six. If I go for it and make it I have a chance to shoot 66. Sixty-six, 68, what do I want? I decided 66. No big deal. So I went for it and just pulled my shot."
He avoided the water, but hit into a bunker and couldn't get close enough to two-putt the careening green.
Soon after, Eaks, the early leader at this year's U.S. Senior Open, came charging in with birdies on those same two holes. He just turned 50 in May and is about to shatter the tour's driving distance records. He's 10 yards ahead of everybody, at 295 yards a pop, but still "shocked" at what he found on this tour after spending much of the last decade on the Buy.com Tour.
"People don't understand how good these guys are playing," says Eaks, whose best PGA Tour finish was seventh at the 1998 Hawaiian Open. "Sometimes I feel young, but when I'm 12 or 14 shots behind, I feel pretty old. I had to get my game better to compete with these guys."
While Albus is exempt based on career earnings, Eaks and Stull will need to return to qualifying if they don't win one of the next three tournaments. That is more incentive than tomorrow's first prize of $225,000, which is almost exactly what Eaks has won this year, and about $40,000 more than Albus and Stull have combined to win in the U.S.
Meanwhile, the guys who have cleaned up much of the cash this year are chasing. Hale Irwin, who won here last year and at Ka'anapali in its final year (2000), is a shot back. He's tied with seven others.
Steve Veriato, born and raised in Hilo, finished birdie-birdie-eagle to shoot into a 10-way tie at 70. Kailua's Larry Stubblefield opened with 74.
SHORT PUTTS: The tournament will contribute $5,000 to the Aloha Section PGA Junior Golf Program. The donation is due to a recent tour decision to discontinue paying the Top 10 in the Pro-Am. That money has been donated to junior and First Tee programs at tournament sites for the past few months. ... Jim Albus's brother Brian is a science teacher at Kailua High School. "He came here 30 years ago for a visit," Jim recalled. "He never came home." ... During Bruce Fleisher's streak of 27 consecutive rounds of par or better, which ended yesterday when he bogeyed his next-to-last hole for a 73, he was a combined 89-under par, with one victory and six other top-10 finishes. The record is 32, set by Larry Nelson in 2000. ... Turtle Bay's stroke average yesterday was 73.423.
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$1.5 million Turtle Bay Championship
At Kahuku, Hawai'i
Par-72 (36-36), 7,044 yards, Turtle Bay Arnold Palmer Course
- Jim Albus 33-35—68
- Steve Stull 32-36—68
- R.W. Eaks 33-35—68
- Hale Irwin 33-36—69
- Gary McCord 35-34—69
- Jose Maria Canizares 33-36—69
- Mike Smith 33-36—69
- Morris Hatalsky 35-34—69
- Bruce Summerhays 34-35—69
- Rodger Davis 34-35—69
- Mark Pfeil 36-33—69
- Don Pooley 33-37—70
- Terry Mauney 34-36—70
- Rik Massengale 36-34—70
- Steve Veriato 34-36—70
- Mike McCullough 35-35—70
- Sammy Rachels 33-37—70
- Roy Vucinich 35-35—70
- John Schroeder 36-34—70
- John Bland 35-35—70
- Bob Dickson 36-34—70
- Dana Quigley 36-35—71
- Allen Doyle 35-36—71
- Doug Johnson 35-36—71
- Andy North 34-37—71
- Dick Mast 35-36—71
- Tom Jenkins 37-35—72
- Walter Hall 37-35—72
- Danny Edwards 35-37—72
- Jim Ahern 35-37—72
- Howard Twitty 35-37—72
- Clyde Hughey 37-35—72
- Jim Holtgrieve 36-36—72
- Dave Barr 37-36—73
- Bruce Fleisher 38-35—73
- Walter Zembriski 37-36—73
- Wayne Levi 37-36—73
- Isao Aoki 38-35—73
- Hubert Green 36-37—73
- David Eger 35-38—73
- Bob Eastwood 38-36—74
- Graham Marsh 39-35—74
- Butch Sheehan 37-37—74
- James Mason 36-38—74
- Larry Stubblefield 37-37—74
- Bob Gilder 37-37—74
- Jay Overton 37-37—74
- Hugh Baiocchi 35-39—74
- George Burns 37-37—74
- Kermit Zarley 36-39—75
- Rocky Thompson 38-37—75
- Walt Morgan 37-38—75
- Terry Dill 36-39—75
- Mark Hayes 39-36—75
- John Harris 39-36—75
- Tom Purtzer 39-37—76
- Ed Dougherty 39-37—76
- Fred Gibson 37-39—76
- Dave Eichelberger 37-39—76
- Ted Goin 38-38—76
- John Calabria 39-37—76
- Dick Lotz 41-36—77
- Larry Ziegler 39-38—77
- Jerry McGee 37-40—77
- Rex Caldwell 37-40—77
- Joe Inman 39-38—77
- Chi Chi Rodriguez 40-37—77
- Pat Laverty 37-40—77
- Tom Shaw 38-39—77
- DeWitt Weaver 35-43—78
- Lon Hinkle 40-39—79
- Stewart Ginn 39-40—79
- Jim Simons 39-40—79
- Jack Spradlin 41-38—79
- Bill Brask 40-39—79
- Jim Colbert 40-39—79
- Victor Garcia 41-38—79
- Daniel O'Neill 42-38—80
TODAY'S TEE TIMES
First tee
7:20 a.m.—Wayne Levi, Isao Aoki, Hubert Green. 7:30—Dave Barr, Bruce Fleisher, Walter Zembriski. 7:40—Howard Twitty, Clyde Hughey, Jim Holtgrieve. 7:50—Walter Hall, Danny Edwards, Jim Ahern.
8—Andy North, Dick Mast, Tom Jenkins. 8:10—Dana Quigley, Allen Doyle, Doug Johnson. 8:20—John Schroeder, John Bland, Bob Dickson. 8:30—Mike McCullough, Sammy Rachels, Roy Vucinich. 8:40—Terry Mauney, Rik Massengale, Steve Veriato. 8:50—Rodger Davis, Mark Pfell, Don Pooley.
9—Mike Smith, Morris Hatalsky, Bruce Summerhays. 9:10—Hale Irwin, Gary McCord, Jose Maria Canizares. 9:20—Jim Albus, Steve Stull, R.W. Eaks.
Tenth tee
7:20—David Eger, Bob Eastwood, Graham Marsh. 7:30—Butch Sheehan, James Mason, Larry Stubblefield. 7:40—Bob Gilder, Jay Overton, Hugh Baiocchi. 7:50—George Burns, Kermit Zaarley, Rocky Thompson.
8—Walt Morgan, Terry Dill, Mark Hayes. 8:10—John Harris, Tom Purtzer, Ed Dougherty. 8:20—Fred Gibson, Dave Eichelberger, Ted Goin. 8:30—John Calabria, Dick Lotz, Larry Ziegler. 8:40—Jerry McGee, Rex Caldwell, Joe Inman. 8:50—Chi Chi Rodriguez, Pat Laverty, Tom Shaw.
9—DeWitt Weaver, Lon Hinkle, Stewart Ginn. 9:10—Jim Simons, Jack Spradlin, Bill Brask. 9:20—Jim Colbert, Victor Garcia, Daniel O'Neill.
