More Great Comments

"Hi, Randy.

Thank you for the information. In this age of corporate sponsorships in which most tournaments have lost their identity, I was afraid Greensboro might have been compromised. I started watching golf back in the late '70s and remember when the GGO was the tune up event for the Masters. Players even noted there were similarities between Forest Oaks and Augusta National, notably the rolling contours and the shapes of the greens.

I was concerned when the tournament had been shifted drastically to the fall and late in the schedule among the second-tier tournaments in the so-called "Fall Finish", it might have been the "kiss of death." I cite as precedent the former Michelob Championships at Kingsmill in Williamsburg, VA (formerly the Anherser Busch since 1976 and originally the Kaiser International Open in 1968 which was played in Napa, CA, until moving to Williamsburg in 1981), that was played in mid July until around 2000 when it moved to a late fall date, but then was dropped after the 2002 season. (A reincarnated version, the Michelob Light Open at Kingsmill, was added to the LPGA the next season but has disappeared from the radar.) I was heartened, however, to see the shift back to a place of prominence in leading up to the Tour Championship.

On an aside, professional golf does a good job of preserving the history of its famous players; unfortunately, it has done very little to preserve the history of tournaments. Beyond the obvious change in names from corporate sponsors, the shift to different venues, notably "stadium golf courses", has changed the character of the events. The former Kemper Open (now the Booz Allen Classic) was played for years at the venerable Congressional CC and gained prominence when Arnold Palmer won the inaugural event in 1968. The move to the TPC at Avenel in 1987 completely morphed the tournament.

I appreciate the fine line Tim Finchem walks and like what he has been doing to break the season into different segments to maintain fan and media interest, but I hope we don't lose any of the few remaining old-time events (Texas Open, Hartford Classic) in the process. BTW, I live just north of Pittsburgh and we have been lucky enough to land the 84 Lumber Classic in recent years. Hopefully, my son will still be going to this tournament when he reaches my age.

Regards,

Bruce"

Bruce,
Thanks for the great note and thanks again for reading my blog. It's great to have a true fan enjoying this site. Please keep reading and sending in those wonderful comments.

Randy Harris
ggoblogger