Scores Are Blowing Up in the Wind

Golf carts weren’t tipping over ... but it’s not a good sign when the first, second and last impression of the Valencia Country Club on Friday was a cold blast of wind.

Welcome to the wind tunnel.

This was an especially devious wind at the $1.45-million SBC Senior Classic, which runs through Sunday. It changed direction. It swirled.

And it turned the 190-yard, par-three No. 3 into a little hole of horror, where Jim Sheerin had a triple-bogey on his way to seven-over-par 79.

All day you would watch a golfer’s pants flutter and flap and then cease for a moment as he lined up a shot.

At 1 p.m., local weather reports had the winds clocked from the north at 17 mph, gusting into the 20s. Today’s forecast calls for gusts surging past 30 mph.

As for Friday, scores responded, gusting accordingly.

Only two players, Tom Purtzer (70) and Gil Morgan (71), bettered par of 72.

In last year’s first round, 37 players shot par or better, and 17 were in the 60s.

On Friday, four players--Howard Twitty, Tom Watson, Gary McCord and Walter Hall--were even at 72.

Defending champion Jim Colbert shot a five-over 77. Ed Dougherty and Gary Player were at 80, Jim Dent and Miller Barber were at 81, and Dan O’Neill shot 83.

The average score was 75.86, very high on the senior tour. The conditions were some of the worst seen on the tour since the first round of the 1998 Senior U.S. Open at Riviera, where the average score was 78.91.

Last year, at this event, rains softened the greens. To say Friday featured a slightly different set of circumstances is an understatement.

“It was like night and day,” said Terry Dill, who shot 77.

Said Morgan, who salvaged his round with birdies on the final two holes: “The greens are as quick and treacherous as we’ve played this year.”

Purtzer, the leader, concurred.

“It was kind of an awkward day, as you can tell by the scores,” said Purtzer, who had three birdies and one bogey. “Nobody is making a lot of birdies out there. It’s hard to figure out where the wind is going.

“Actually, the most difficult thing for me was the tee shots. I haven’t played this golf course enough to know, when the wind is blowing like this, what to hit off of each tee.

“It was kind of a learning experience. I made some mistakes out there. But overall, I’m very pleased with the score, especially with the conditions.... There were some exciting shots out there today. It made you look silly at times. It was a test today.”

Purtzer, who turned 50 in December, is in his first year on the Senior PGA Tour, playing only his fourth tournament. He survived the tough conditions, showing patience amid the swirling winds. Perhaps his patience comes from being the father of young twins, a boy and girl, who are 3.

“They’re over here this week,” he said, smiling. “I’m trying to figure out if it keeps me young or if it’s aging me by twos. It’s been great.”

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Earlier in the week, the two-day SBC Senior Classic Pro-Am raised $45,000 for charity. Actor Lee Majors and golf pro Tom Wargo won with a team score of nine-under-par 63. The prize money of $10,000 was donated by Majors to support Alzheimer’s research.