Gusty Breezes and Missed Putts at Puerto Rico Open

(Photos courtesy of Rob Hayashida of Golf Views)

ARMCHAIR GOLF is in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Rico Open.

RORY SABBATINI TYPIFIED PLAYERS I watched on a windy Saturday at the Puerto Rico Open. Putts didn’t drop for the South African and the frustration showed. In fact, of the several groups I watched, I didn’t see any player hole a putt of more than a few feet on the grainy, undulating greens. And on a few occasions, I saw players miss short par putts.

It’s only the third year for this PGA Tour stop, and I imagine the players are still learning the subtleties of the Tom Kite-designed course, including the apparently tricky putting surfaces.

Sabbatini, who opened with a forgettable 77, was paired with Mark Calcavecchia (68) and 2008 Puerto Rico Open champion Greg Kraft (72). Course designer and Champions Tour player Tom Kite shot a respectable 73 on the lengthy layout. John Daly posted a 69. With preferred lies in play, I expect the tournament record of 14-under par to fall.

Cejka’s Break

What are players doing on their breaks between the first and second rounds? Hanging out at the resort mostly, except for Alex Cejka, who completed his opening round of 67 early on Saturday.

“I’m going to fly home and see my kids and come back tonight,” he said.

–The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Skip Kendall Is the Early Leader in Puerto Rico
How to Blow Dry Trump International with a Helicopter
It’s Raining Cats, Dogs and Iguanas at the Puerto Rico Open
Opening Media Conference and More Chi Chi Rodriguez
Chi Chi Rodriguez: Puerto Rico’s Golf Ambassador

Skip Kendall Is the Early Leader in Puerto Rico

ARMCHAIR GOLF is in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Rico Open.

SKIP KENDALL IS A SHORT hitter on a long, waterlogged golf course, but it didn’t hinder him in the first round of the Puerto Rico Open. Kendall posted a 65 in a round that took 48 hours to complete due to weather delays caused by more than six inches of rain at Trump International Golf Club in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico.

Kendall’s round began at 7:06 a.m. on Thursday. He played one hole, the 10th, holing a 7-iron from 159 yards for an eagle before the downpour halted play. About 24 hours later, Kendall played one more hole and made birdie. Again, play was suspended. At that rate, it would take more than two weeks to complete 18 holes. Skip took the weather delay in stride.

“We’ve been through this drill enough to realize you can’t control the weather,” Kendall said on Friday. “So you just have to deal with it the best you can here.”

Ranked 121st in driving distance on the PGA Tour, Kendall faced a wet Trump International layout that at over 7,500 yards is one of the longest tracks on tour. So far, the veteran has been able to keep up and was pleasantly surprised by the course setup and conditions when play resumed at 4:35 p.m. on Friday.

“Some of the tees were put forward a little bit, so that obviously helps someone like me. And it really wasn’t overly long at all.”

Kendall’s best finish this season is a tie for fourth at the Mayakoba Golf Classic in Mexico. He has won three times on the Nationwide Tour.

With the first round still in progress on Saturday, a Monday or Tuesday tournament finish is probable. The Trump International course record in tournament play is 64, which could fall this week since tournament officials have allowed preferred lies due to the soggy conditions.

–The Armchair Golfer

Related:
How to Blow Dry Trump International with a Helicopter
It’s Raining Cats, Dogs and Iguanas at the Puerto Rico Open
Opening Media Conference and More Chi Chi Rodriguez
Chi Chi Rodriguez: Puerto Rico’s Golf Ambassador

How to Blow Dry Trump International with a Helicopter

(Photos courtesy of Rob Hayashida of Golf Views)

ARMCHAIR GOLF is in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Rico Open.

I’VE SEEN A LOT of things on a golf course. Today I saw something new: a helicopter used as a giant blow dryer on a rain-deluged championship layout.

Desperate measures were in order for the Trump International Golf Club at the 2010 Puerto Rico Open. The championship layout had taken on more than six inches of rain in the last 24 hours, and a tournament that was scheduled to start at 7 a.m. on Thursday was still delayed at noon on Friday. A grounds crew armed with squeegees and pumps and working through the night could only do so much.

The loud whirr of the propellers signaled that the operation was underway. The helicopter started on the 1st hole, just as a golfer would. After flying a short distance along the fairway, it dropped down to just a few feet above the surface, hovering in place with its propellers rotating at high speed. Occasionally, men who dared to get close seemed to be directing the pilot as nearby palm trees swayed in the helicopter’s wake. It was a strange sight.

No word on the model of the helicopter, which belongs to Jorge Diaz, owner of the property. (Is there a preferred fairway-drying model?) I expect it worked fine, an important piece of equipment during this very soggy week at the Puerto Rico Open.

Players Emerge

Professional golfers are a bit like reptiles. However, instead of sunning themselves on rocks after torrential rain, they emerge from their hotel rooms and the players’ dining room to sun themselves on the practice tee and putting green, working out the kinks after a long weather delay. First-round play will resume at 4:35 p.m. on Friday.

–The Armchair Golfer

Related:
It’s Raining Cats, Dogs and Iguanas at the Puerto Rico Open
Opening Media Conference and More Chi Chi Rodriguez
Chi Chi Rodriguez: Puerto Rico’s Golf Ambassador

It’s Raining Cats, Dogs and Iguanas at the Puerto Rico Open

(Photo courtesy of Rob Hayashida of Golf Views)

ARMCHAIR GOLF is in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Rico Open.

THE AVERAGE RAINFALL in Puerto Rico in March is about an inch. My question is, “Which March?” It’s raining cats, dogs and iguanas in Rio Grande, site of the 2010 Puerto Rico Open. Six inches of rain have fallen today as of 2 p.m. As torrents of rain continue to fall, play has been suspended until 7:15 a.m. on Friday. The plan is to play 18 on Friday, 18 on Saturday, and 36 on Sunday.

A frontal boundary—that’s weather talk I’ve picked up—has stalled over the area. The weather forecast calls for a 30 percent chance of showers on Friday. The weather is supposed to improve thereafter. But I can’t help but wonder if the weatherman is running scared now. I would be.

A few early groups teed off before the first round was suspended, playing one or two holes. Skip Kendall is the leader at 2 under. Kendall holed a 7-iron from 159 yards for a deuce on the par-4 10th. Nice start, Skip. Only 71 holes to go.

Unfortunately, I have not seen much of the golf course yet due to the weather conditions. But, at 7,526 yards, I can tell you Trump International is one of the longest tracks on the PGA Tour. In the media room, a few of us wondered how well the course will drain and dry out. Regardless, an already lengthy course has become even longer as a result of the heavy precipitation.

It’s been a rainy season on the PGA Tour. There were eight 2009 events during which preferred lies were played. There have already been five in 2010. In addition, the Puerto Rico Open is the sixth tournament this season to have a suspension of play. And it’s only March.

Pass the umbrellas, raingear and bucket hats. It’s a wet one.

Notes

On Thursday afternoon a group of media types including yours truly had an informal sit-down with Jaime Lopez Diaz, Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Following are a few things he told us.

• The biggest challenge is building awareness about Puerto Rico as a golf and vacation destination among so much regional and worldwide competition.

• Puerto Rico has the largest economy in the Caribbean.

• About 90,000 spectators attended the 2009 Puerto Rico Open.

• There are 23 golf courses on the island; 17 are championship caliber.

• Those that come for golf or sun and sand find out there’s a lot more: culture, history, U.S.-equivalent infrastructure, accessibility, bilingual society.

–The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Opening Media Conference and More Chi Chi Rodriguez
Chi Chi Rodriguez: Puerto Rico’s Golf Ambassador

Opening Media Conference and More Chi Chi Rodriguez

(Photo courtesy of Rob Hayashida of Golf Views)

ARMCHAIR GOLF is in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Rico Open.

IT HAS BEEN TOO many years since my high school Spanish, so I cannot share many of the particulars of Tuesday’s opening media conference at the Puerto Rico Open because it was conducted mostly in the native language. There was a parade of speakers who made brief comments to open the tournament, including Chi Chi Rodriguez, defending champion Michael Bradley, a PGA Tour representative and various Puerto Rican dignitaries and tourism officials.

But I definitely got the gist of their remarks. All those associated with staging the Puerto Rico Open and showcasing the island as a friendly tourist and golf destination are absolutely thrilled to be on the PGA Tour schedule. Smiles and gratitude require no translation. Hosting the Puerto Rico Open is a huge deal, sort of like a Super Bowl for the island, and something I would not grasp if not on the scene.

Chi Chi and the Shot

Although I didn’t have anything set up, I was hoping to meet Chi Chi and talk to him for a few minutes. I got my chance when Steve Ellis, a writer on assignment for The Golfer, pulled Rodriguez aside for an interview. I asked Steve if I could tag along and the three of us walked outside and stood in the warm sun.

Chi Chi, 74, looked immaculate in a striped white shirt, royal blue slacks and his signature Panama hat. He slipped on a leather jacket and stood in the 80-degree heat as cool as a Polar bear. Steve was incredulous, commenting to me a few times later, “How can he be wearing that jacket?”

The interview began with Chi Chi describing the best shot of his career, a 6-iron from the rough on the 72nd hole of the 1991 U.S. Senior Open that set up a tap-in birdie. It tied him with Jack Nicklaus and forced an 18-hole playoff that he lost to the Golden Bear the following day. The career shot at Oakland Hills came back to me as Chi Chi described it. He had 185 yards and needed to hit a low hook, curving the ball about 50 yards. The ball landed on the right-hand side of the green (or apron) and spun 90 degrees left, rolling across the green until it stopped about a foot from the hole. Steve told me that, up in the booth, Johnny Miller called it the greatest shot he’d ever witnessed.

Not sure about that, but let’s just say it was a stunning golf shot at a tense moment in a major championship. (I wish I could share a video clip, but my search for one was unsuccessful.)

Steve asked, “How did you do it? How did you hit that shot?”

“I did it in my mind,” Chi Chi said. In other words, he visualized the shot and then stepped up and swatted the thing out of the rough. He was not particularly surprised by the result, except, perhaps, that the ball finished so close to the hole. Chi Chi was a shotmaker of the highest order who curved the ball left or right, hit it low or lower, and deftly spun the ball out of a variety of grasses and lies. It was the way golf was played in the days that preceded the power era.

To emphasize his mind control ability, Chi Chi also claimed that he could change traffic signals from red to green. Steve and I chuckled, but Chi Chi barely cracked a smile. Maybe so.

I asked Chi Chi what he remembered about his first PGA Tour victory at the 1963 Denver Open. The tournament was played at the Denver Country Club, and Chi Chi had a two-shot lead as he teed his ball on the final hole and unleashed a 300-yard-plus drive in the mile-high Colorado air.

Chi Chi laughed as he recalled that his playing partner Dave Hill said he was stupid for hitting a driver on the last hole with a slim lead. You should hit an iron, Hill told Rodriguez. Chi Chi shrugged it off, saying he knew he could fit his ball in the fairway. That kind of confidence in his abilities led to seven more wins on the PGA Tour.

Notes

Tuesday was a full day. Following are more of the day’s activities.

• Special breakfast that included a presentation on the Gran Melia Golf Resort Puerto Rico, followed by a guided tour of the property.

• Afternoon outing at Rio Mar Country Club, including lunch, time with the head pro, Rafael (a great guy), practice range time and golf until rain forced us from the course.

–The Armchair Golfer

Related:
Chi Chi Rodriguez: Puerto Rico’s Golf Ambassador

Chi Chi Rodriguez: Puerto Rico’s Golf Ambassador

ARMCHAIR GOLF is in Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, for the Puerto Rico Open.

IF YOU CAREFULLY SCANNED PGA Tour scores from the early 1960s, you could spot one of the very few Hispanic names: Juan Rodriguez. (Another would be Roberto de Vicenzo, the great Argentine player.) I’m not sure when Juan became popularly known as “Chi Chi,” but that young man from humble beginnings in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, would become an accomplished and colorful player on the PGA Tour and roving golf ambassador for his small island nation.

Chi Chi won eight times on the PGA Tour and notched 22 victories on the Champions Tour. His first title came at the 1963 Denver Open when he was 28 years old. One of my most vivid memories of Rodriguez was watching him duel Jack Nicklaus in an 18-hole playoff at the 1991 U.S. Senior Open at Oakland Hills. Jack won with a 65; Chi Chi shot a very respectable 69. Rodriguez was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1992.

I doubt if there’s a day that goes by that he doesn’t consider himself extremely fortunate. Golf provided a path for Rodriguez that he could have never imagined as a boy who fashioned a makeshift golf club from the branch of a guava tree.

“It means everything to me,” Chi Chi told PGATour.com a year ago. “Through golf I made everything I have in life.”

Rodriguez has long been known for his flair, including his trademark Panama hat, rainbow attire and sword antics with his putter when his golf ball dropped into the cup. Many know of Chi Chi as an aging champion, but here’s a peek at the Puerto Rican golfer in his early days on tour:

Early days: SI photo of Juan “Chi Chi” Rodriguez

Puerto Rico’s golf ambassador is especially proud the PGA Tour has come to his homeland. “It’s a dream come true,” he said. “This will be a big step for Puerto Rico.”

Latin American Players in Puerto Rico Open

Following are some of the Latin American players scheduled to play this week at Trump International Golf Course.

Rafael Campos, a San Juan native who plays on the Virginia Commonwealth golf team, will be competing in his third Puerto Rico Open.

Max Alverio, an Aibonito native, is a University of Alabama graduate playing in his second Puerto Rico Open.

Erick Morales, a Dorado native, caddied in the two previous Puerto Rico Opens. He qualified to play this year by winning the Chapter Open Qualifier in a playoff.

Julio Animal Santos Polanco, making his first appearance in Puerto Rico, is considered to be the first Dominican-born player to compete on the PGA Tour.

Daniel Barbetti of Argentina, the Venezuela Open champion, will make his first PGA Tour start this week.

Cesar Costilla, also of Argentina and winner of the Visa Open de Argentina, will play in his inaugural PGA Tour event.

Argentine and two-time PGA Tour winner Jose Coceres hopes for a good showing at Trump International after a series of injuries.

–The Armchair Golfer

(Brought to you by YourGolfTravel.com and ARMCHAIR GOLF STORE.)

Greetings from the Puerto Rico Open

I AM PLEASED TO be writing from Rio Grande, Puerto Rico, tonight. ARMCHAIR GOLF is attending the 2010 Puerto Rico Open this week as the guest of the Puerto Rico Tourism Company. Played opposite of the WGC-CA Championship at Doral, this is the third year the PGA Tour has teed it up in Puerto Rico. Michael Bradley is the defending champion.

The tournament venue is the Trump International Golf Course, a Tom Kite design (Tom will be here). The championship course is a part of the vast Gran Melia Resort, my accommodations for the week. I must say, this is the perfect respite after such a long, cold, icy winter.

So check back for PGA Tour golf from near old San Juan, served up fresh and hopefully tasty. Lastly, congratulations to Camilo Villegas for his win at the Honda Classic.

–The Armchair Golfer