Phil Mickelson has enjoyed considerable success in Colorado, so it’s little wonder why the thought of competing in the state for the first time in eight years whets his competitive appetite.
When the BMW Championship begins Thursday at Cherry Hills Country Club, the 44-year-old will be returning to the site of his only USGA championship triumph, the 1990 U.S. Amateur.
But Mickelson’s Centennial State success goes far beyond that. He won a college tournament, the University of Colorado-Fox Acres Invitational in Red Feather Lakes, about a month after his U.S. Amateur victory at Cherry Hills. And he captured two PGA Tour titles at The International at Castle Pines Golf Club, in 1993 and ’97.
And though he didn’t win the Colorado Open, Mickelson finished third and took low-amateur honors in 1989, then placed 10th in 1990.
“I had some success there, and I’ve always loved playing at that altitude and playing the golf course there (Cherry Hills),” Mickelson said before departing for Denver. “I have a picture of every hole painted in my mind from 24 years ago, and I’m so excited to go back there.”
When Mickelson won at Cherry Hills, he completed a 1-2 that no one had since Jack Nicklaus in 1961 — claiming titles in both the NCAA Championships and the U.S. Amateur in the same year.
Besides having had success at Cherry Hills, the history of the site makes Mickelson look forward to his return all the more.
“From (Arnold) Palmer driving the green on 1, to (Ben) Hogan backing up his wedge on 17 (both in the 1960 U.S. Open), there’s been so much history that took place there that you can’t help but feel it,” Mickelson said.
That 1960 U.S. Open remains among the most memorable in history, as Palmer won the tournament for the only time, shooting a 65 in the final round to do it. And he fended off a 47-year-old Ben Hogan and 20-year-old amateur Jack Nicklaus.
Thirty years later, Mickelson claimed the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills by defeating former University of San Diego High School teammate Manny Zerman 5 and 4 in the 36-hole final. Against Zerman, Mickelson made 10 birdies and played 32 holes in 4 under par.
At the time, Mickelson certainly didn’t lack for confidence — and he wasn’t afraid of showing it. For example:
— A quote from him during that U.S. Am: “I’m playing as good as I’ve ever played. Every facet of my game is 100 percent right now. Whoever I play, I’d be intimidated (if I were them). So why shouldn’t they be?”
— In his round-of-32 match, Mickelson had a 2-foot putt for birdie on No. 1, while his opponent, Jeff Thomas, had a 25-footer for par. Mickelson conceded Thomas’ putt.
“He didn’t give me a putt all day,” Mickelson later said of Thomas. “I just didn’t want him to go and (take the time) to line up the putt.”
As Mickelson later told USGA.org in recalling the event, “I’ll never forget the look that he gave me (after Mickelson conceded the long putt). It was just funny.”
Mickelson, now a five-time major championship winner and a member of the World Golf Hall of Fame, has only been back to Cherry Hills once since his victory, and he didn’t play golf on that lone occasion.
Mickelson returns to Cherry Hills having not won since the 2013 British Open. His only top-10 of the 2013-14 PGA Tour wraparound season has been his runner-up finish at the PGA Championship last month.
“I’m not disappointed with the way I’m hitting the ball or putting or anything,” he said. “I’m just not really focused that well. But (this) week at Cherry Hills is a course that I’ve been looking forward to going back to for years since they announced it. I’m really looking forward to getting back there, and so my motivation is extremely high to go play well there.”
A Matter of Scoring: There’s been much guessing — educated and otherwise — as to what the PGA Tour’s best players will shoot at Cherry Hills this week at the BMW Championship. At 7,352 yards and at a mile-high altitude, the course is short by PGA Tour standards, but it has ways of baring its teeth.
For his part, Graeme McDowell can see anywhere from 10- to 20-under par winning the event this week.
“I think the scoring will purely be based on how firm this golf course becomes,” he said Tuesday. “It it’s soft (conditions) I think you’re talking 20 under par. If it’s firm, you’re probably talking between 10 and 15 under par. And by the look of things, it’s going to be firmer.”
Ryder Cup Picks in BMW Championship Field: Both the U.S. and European Ryder Cup teams were finalized on Tuesday with the captains making their wild-card picks. And 18 of the 24 players who will compete Sept. 25-28 at Gleneagles in Scotland will also play at this week’s BMW Championship at Cherry Hills.
All 12 members of the American team will be at Cherry Hills: Keegan Bradley, Rickie Fowler, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, Matt Kuchar, Hunter Mahan, Phil Mickelson, Patrick Reed, Webb Simpson, Jordan Spieth (above), Jimmy Walker and Bubba Watson.
Half of the European Ryder Cup team is in the BMW Championship field: Sergio Garcia (below), Martin Kaymer, Graeme McDowell, Rory McIlroy, Justin Rose and Henrik Stenson.
Favorable First Impression: Former U.S. Open champion Graeme McDowell likes what he saw in his first round or two at Cherry Hills.
“I just think there’s a lot to this golf course,” he said. “It’s got some length in places. It’s got some driveable par-4s. It’s got a real good balance to it. I love what BMW will do with the golf courses that they take us to. They’re real classic American courses, as opposed to some of the bombers’ tracks that we go to nowadays.”
Evans Scholars Cup a Boon for Scholarship: Monday’s Evans Scholars Cup at Cherry Hills raised more than $500,000 for the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing scholarships to qualifying caddies who demonstrate financial need. The Evans Scholars Foundation is the sole beneficiary of the BMW Championship.
A total of 108 golfers participated in Monday’s event, and the Evans Scholars from the University of Colorado served as caddies.
Among the money raised for the Evans Scholars was $51,700 from the CGA through a raffle which awarded a $12,000 spot in Wednesday’s Gardner Heidrick Pro-Am at Cherry Hills. (READ MORE HERE)
In addition, the participating CU Evans Scholars donated more than $5,000 to the program through caddie fees and tips they earned on Monday.
CBS golf analyst Gary McCord was among those who attended the post-Cup reception.
“I remember playing the Western Open at Butler National, and that was when they had all of these kids — Evans Scholars — as caddies,” McCord said. “Some years later, I got a letter from the kid that caddied for me. He talked about how much it meant for him to caddie for me. Then he told me he was now a judge. I mean, are you kidding me? That’s incredible.”
As part of the Evans Scholars Cup, CU freshman Evans Scholar Peter Evans, from North Little Rock, Ark., received the 2014 PGA Tour Chip Beck Evans Scholars Award.
Each year, outstanding freshmen from the program are chosen to be Chip Beck Scholars based on academic achievement, extracurricular activities, caddie record and interest in golf.
Trying Out the Persimmon: 2013 BMW Championship winner Zach Johnson indicated it’s unlikely he’ll try to drive the 346-yard first hole during this week’s tournament. But before heading out to the course for Tuesday’s practice round, he said he was planning to try out a persimmon driver similar to the kind Arnold Palmer used in driving the green on the par-4 en route to a final-round 65 and a victory in the 1960 U.S. Open.
“I’m going to try persimmon, from where Mr. Palmer hit back in the day,” Johnson said. “I’m not going to have a chance (to hit the green), but I’ll do it for the fun of it.”
Rory McIlroy and other contestants also gave it a go with persimmon woods — and balata golf balls — on No. 1, but failed to hit the green.
Notable: Among those in attendance Tuesday was Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning (pictured at left with BMW Championship general chairman George Solich). … McDowell is returning to the FedExCup Playoffs after taking last week’s tournament off to attend to the birth of his first child, daughter Vale Esme, on Aug. 24. “It was a very, very special sort of milestone in my life,” he said. … McDowell already likes what he sees from the crowds at Cherry Hills: “I love coming to these parts of the world where the fans haven’t seen any (Tour) golf for a long time and I feel like they get the buzz. They get up for it. There were good crowds already today. It should a pretty exciting week.”
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BMW Championship: The Essentials
What — BMW Championship PGA Tour FedExCup Playoff Event.
Where — Cherry Hills Country Club in Cherry Hills Village.
Schedule
Sept. 3: Gardner-Heidrick Pro-Am with tee times from 7-9 a.m. and 12:10-2:10 p.m. off the first and 10th tees.
Sept. 4-7: Championship rounds, with Thursday and Friday tee times from 11:15 a.m.-1:15 p.m. off the first and 10th tees, and Saturday and Sunday tee times from 9-11 a.m. off the first and 10th tees.
Gates Open — 6:30 a.m. Sept. 3; 10 a.m. Sept. 4-5; and 8 a.m. Sept. 6-7.
TV Coverage — Sept. 4-5: 2-6 p.m., Golf Channel; Sept. 6: 11 a.m.-1 p.m., Golf Channel and 1-4 p.m., KUSA (9); Sept. 7: 10 a.m.-noon, Golf Channel and noon-4 p.m., KUSA (9).
Tickets — Tickets will not be sold on site, only online. CLICK HERE.
PGA Tour Players Short Game Clinic — CommonGround Golf Course, located at 10300 East Golfers Way in Aurora, near the intersection of Havana and 1st Avenue, will host a PGA Tour Players Short Game Clinic on Sept. 3 at approximately 5-6 p.m. The event is free and open to the general public. Two PGA Tour players — to be determined — from the BMW Championship field will be the focus of the event.
Thursday/Friday Tee Times: For Thursday and Friday tee times, CLICK HERE.
Wednesday Pro-Am Tee Times: CLICK HERE.
Free Admission for Juniors — Kids 16 and under will be admitted free to the BMW Championship when accompanied by an adult ticket or credential holder.
Military Admission Policy — All active-duty, retired, reserve and veterans will receive free admission for one day of the tournament. Each military member must verify his or her military status on the website (CLICK HERE) and print off a free ticket voucher in advance of the tournament.
Field — The top 70 players in the FedExCup Playoff standings after the Deutsche Bank Championship concludes on Sept. 1. There will be no cut during the BMW Championship.
Purse — $8 million, with $1.44 million going to the winner.
Course Set-up — 7,352 yards. Par-70 (34-36). 3-in-deep bluegrass rough. Greens 11-11.5 on Stimpmeter.
Tournament Beneficiary — All the net proceeds from the BMW Championship go to the Evans Scholars Foundation, which awards full tuition and housing college scholarships to worthy and qualified caddies with limited financial means. The average value of an Evans Scholarship nationwide is estimated to be $80,000. One of the 14 Evans Scholarship houses is located at the University of Colorado in Boulder. About 870 caddies are currently on scholarship nationwide, and the program has produced almost 10,000 alums since 1930, with about 430 from CU. Among the CU Evans Scholar alums is George Solich, the general chairman of the 2014 BMW Championship.
Parking — Free parking is available at 1 Highfield Parkway in Englewood, with free shuttle service provided to the main entrance at Cherry Hills CC. Free parking for BMW owners will be provided at 6145 Happy Canyon Road in Denver, with shuttle service to the course. (At Cherry Hills, the BMW owners’ pavilion is located between the seventh and 14th holes; owners need only show their BMW key for access).
Autographs and Cameras — Only permitted on Sept. 2 and 3 during the practice/pro-am rounds.
Tournament History — The BMW Championship’s predecessor, the Western Open, began in 1899, making it the third-oldest PGA Tour event, behind the British Open and U.S. Open. The tournament was renamed the BMW Championship in 2007 when it became part of the FedExCup Playoffs.
Course History — Cherry Hills Country Club, a William Flynn-designed course, opened in 1922. It has hosted a myriad of significant tournaments over the years: U.S. Opens in 1938, ’60 and ’78; PGA Championships in 1941 and ’85; a U.S. Women’s Open in 2005; U.S. Amateurs in 1990 and 2012; a U.S. Senior Open in 1993; a U.S. Senior Amateur in 1976; and a U.S. Mid-Amateur in 1983. Winners of those events include Arnold Palmer (’60 U.S. Open), Jack Nicklaus (’93 U.S. Senior Open) and Phil Mickelson (’90 U.S. Amateur).
For More Information — Visit the BMW Championship website (CLICK HERE.)
