''A slow start'' on the front nine in round-two of the Commerce Bank Championship by Lonnie Nielson turned into a 7-under 64 to take the lead heading into Sunday's final round.
After a bogey on the second hole which he called ''sloppy'', Nielson birdied the next three out of seven holes to take a record-tying three-shot lead over Tom McKnight who finished with a 5-under 66. In 91-Champions Tour events Nielson has not won a tournament and with a win tomorrow he would become the sixth player to record their first tour victory on Long Island. The last two winners of this tournament, Ron Streck and John Harris, recorded their first victories on the 50 and over tour at Eisenhower Park.
On the back nine Nielson birdied five out of the nine holes, saving par on the 10th, 13th, 16th and 18th. Today he shot an impressive 31 on the back nine compared to a 33 in round-one. Conversely, Bruce Summerhays who shot a 6-under 65 played his best game on the front nine. He birdied three, four, five, eight and nine to catapult from 43rd place to tenth place.
Bob Gilder, David Edwards and John Harris shot 4-under 67's and R.W Eaks and Jay Sigel shot 5-under 66's to pull into the top five. If Sigel is able to win tomorrow he would become the tour's oldest player to win a tournament at sixty-three years old.
Friday's leader Loren Roberts stayed at 7-under par after shooting a 71. He is tied for fifth heading into tomorrow's final and told me after today's round that ''I just didn't play good. Hit a couple of loose shots and I made no puts. Couple of spots where you know I couldn't hit my shots.
If he's going to stay in contention he will have to be effective with his putter and make the majority of his shots.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
Live From The Commerce Bank Championship
The suns out, the grass is glistening green and the temperature is in the mid seventies as play begins in day two of the Commerce Bank Championship from the Red Course at Eisenhower Park.
After arriving at the 7,021-yard course at approximately 8:30, I raced over to the driving range to watch the players practice and possibly acquire some interviews. Unfortunately, this course encapsulates so much space that it's extremely difficult to find your way around. Even though there are marshalls and hundreds of amicable volunteers, one can easily get lost and that's exactly what happened to me. I went by numerous holes that were three to four hundred yards long until it finally hit me that I needed to retrace my steps and find the eighteenth green.
Although I wasted at least twenty minutes, I was rewarded when I find the putting green and driving range because I had ample opportunities to ask for interviews. Equipped with my new Olympus digital voice recorder I was able to receive interviews with golf Hall of Famer and historian Ben Crenshaw, Danny Edwards, Massy Kuramoto and the top player on the Champions Tour Jay Haas.
From the perspective of a fan of golf and a reporter covering the event it was noticeable how fun, respectful, receptive and accessible the majority of golfers were. Out on the range they are cracking jokes, seeking advice from each other, conversing and signing autographs for fans and hitting picture perfect shots that the average golf player would salivate over.
Joe Ozaki, Bruce Vaughn and Rich Karbowski were the first group of players to start from the first tee Saturday morning at 9:35, and Boonchu Ruangkit, Kirk Hanefeld and Jon Chaffee were the first group of players to start from the tenth tee. Leader Loren Roberts, Eduardo Romero and Lonnie Nielsen were scheduled to begin at 11:35 off of the first tee.
After arriving at the 7,021-yard course at approximately 8:30, I raced over to the driving range to watch the players practice and possibly acquire some interviews. Unfortunately, this course encapsulates so much space that it's extremely difficult to find your way around. Even though there are marshalls and hundreds of amicable volunteers, one can easily get lost and that's exactly what happened to me. I went by numerous holes that were three to four hundred yards long until it finally hit me that I needed to retrace my steps and find the eighteenth green.
Although I wasted at least twenty minutes, I was rewarded when I find the putting green and driving range because I had ample opportunities to ask for interviews. Equipped with my new Olympus digital voice recorder I was able to receive interviews with golf Hall of Famer and historian Ben Crenshaw, Danny Edwards, Massy Kuramoto and the top player on the Champions Tour Jay Haas.
From the perspective of a fan of golf and a reporter covering the event it was noticeable how fun, respectful, receptive and accessible the majority of golfers were. Out on the range they are cracking jokes, seeking advice from each other, conversing and signing autographs for fans and hitting picture perfect shots that the average golf player would salivate over.
Joe Ozaki, Bruce Vaughn and Rich Karbowski were the first group of players to start from the first tee Saturday morning at 9:35, and Boonchu Ruangkit, Kirk Hanefeld and Jon Chaffee were the first group of players to start from the tenth tee. Leader Loren Roberts, Eduardo Romero and Lonnie Nielsen were scheduled to begin at 11:35 off of the first tee.
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