Who knew they’d hold the U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, and a Hartford Hawks reunion event would break out?

On the day The Broadmoor turned 100 years old, two former University of Hartford golf teammates celebrated by both being among the top three players on the leaderboard after 36 holes of the Senior Open at the resort.

Jerry Kelly continues to lead the way at the championship, and Tim Petrovic, his teammate for three years at Hartford, is in third place, with Spaniard Miguel Angel Jimenez sandwiched in between.

“Yeah, I kind of know him,” a smiling Petrovic said of Kelly.

Asked if there were any good Jerry Kelly stories, Petrovic noted, “We’ve got plenty of those stories. But we better talk about golf today.”

OK, if you insist.

Kelly, the leading money winner on PGA Tour Champions this year, sat atop the leaderboard on Thursday night and didn’t move as the Senior Open moved to its halfway point. The 51-year-old has gone 66-69 for a 5-under-par 135 total at the East Course, good for a one-stroke lead over Jimenez and a two-shot margin over Petrovic.

It should be noted that Kelly and Jimenez played the first two rounds together and will do so again for Saturday’s third round (1:50 p.m. tee time).

“Always it’s nice when you play with people who are playing good,” said Jimenez, a five-time winner on PGA Tour Champions. “It’s like a transmit, you know.”

And, of course, the Hartford boys like to see each other do well. Both were relatively late bloomers to PGA Tour-level golf — Kelly first played a full schedule on Tour at age 28 and Petrovic at 34 — but they’re in contention now for arguably the top title in senior golf.

“He’s always been an extremely good player,” Kelly said of Petrovic. “It’s tough to make it out there. It’s easier to make it once you get out there than it is to get out there. It took me until I was 28. It just took him a hair longer. And then once he got there, he knew he could do it — especially after watching me.”

Kelly has won three times each on the PGA Tour and PGA Tour Champions, while Petrovic has claimed one PGA Tour title.

Kelly made four birdies, including via chip-in on the 18th hole (his ninth), and three bogeys on Friday. (He’s pictured above celebrating his chip-in in a USGA photo.)

Jimenez (below in a USGA photo) did something that’s proving very difficult — putting together a bogey-free round at The Broadmoor — to shoot a 68 and trail Kelly by one. He hit 17 greens in regulation on Friday.

Petrovic carded the low round of the championship so far — a 5-under-par 65 — to vault into third place at 137. The 51-year-old has had quite a journey in golf, to say the least.

“I always joke around: I say the book is coming out some day,” said Petrovic, who in the middle of his pro career sold cell phones, delivered pizzas and worked at the YMCA. “If I could tell you where I started, and to end up on the PGA Tour … To get out there and be able to have the career I did from here I came from, it’s pretty much an uphill climb. But I never gave up and I always kind of saw the light at the end of the tunnel.”

On Friday, Petrovic shot a 6-under-par 30 on his final nine (the front) and the only blemish on his card was a bogey on No. 13 (his fourth hole).

Among the five players who share fourth place at 1-under 139 is World Golf Hall of Famer Davis Love III, who is playing his first senior major this week. He’s only competed once since early May, but is still in contention after matching Jimenez’s bogey-free 68.

“I’m still a little jumpy and get a little quick every once in a while,” the 54-year-old said. “I hit some really, really good ones and then once in a while I’ll hit one that’s really bad.

“It’s a little bit of anxiousness. When you put USGA in front of an event, the nerves go up a little bit.”

One of the most unique rounds of the day from among the leaders came from Paul Goydos. Starting on the ninth hole, he went birdie, bogey, double bogey, par, birdie, eagle, birdie en route to a 67 and a 139 total. His eagle on the 418-yard, par-4 14th came via a 9-iron hole-out.

“Those are the scorecards that when you’re checking it to sign it, you check it 27 times because you’re not sure it’s right.”

Jobe Lone Local Player to Make Cut; Rohrbaugh, Johnson Miss By 2, Rohrbaugh Despite Spectacular Finish: Just one of the golfers with strong Colorado ties competing in the U.S. Senior Open will be around to play the weekend.

Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe shot a 3-over-par 73 on Friday and shares 17th place at 3-over 143, trailing leader Jerry Kelly by eight.

The field was cut to 60 players after two rounds, and Colorado PGA members Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Chris Johnson of Castle Rock fell two shots shy of advancing to the weekend, both finishing at 10-over-par 150.

Rohrbaugh, the medalist in qualifying at The Broadmoor for this event, finished birdie-eagle to shoot a second-round 72, holing a 30-foot pitch on No. 9 for the eagle.

“You never want to miss the cut and I felt good going into this event, but (a finish like that) puts you in a much better mood, no doubt about it,” Rohrbaugh said.

Jobe, who shot 70 on Thursday, was 4 over par after five holes on Friday after running the gauntlet by starting on No. 10.

With tough pin placements — Jobe particularly wasn’t a fan of the one at the par-3 fourth — and gusting conditions, “I was hitting good shots and making bogeys,” Jobe said. “I couldn’t hit two better shots on 11 and still made bogey. It was just really difficult.”

But he played his final 13 holes in 1 under par to remain in the hunt. And don’t count Jobe out. After all, he shot a third-round 62 in this event a year ago.

“Today, I played well but didn’t get a lot out of my round,” he said. “It’s not perfect, but it’s good. So you never know. You shoot a 66 or 65, you’re back in the tournament. Jerry (Kelly) is 5 under. He’s going, ‘If I go out and shoot under par each day I win this golf tournament.’ But that’s not easy to do.

“There’s more pressure on (the leaders). I’ve got to kind of do what I did last year. I don’t know if a 62 is out there, but a good round will go a long way toward giving you a chance. If you get within five (going into the last round), you’ve got a chance.”

Johnson, the 2010 Colorado PGA Professional Champion playing in his first U.S. Senior Open, posted a second-round 76 on Friday.

“I struck the ball twice as good as I did yesterday (a 74),” he said. “I ended up three-putting three times on the front nine. That was really my undoing. You get those down in two and it’s a whole different game. You just can’t give away strokes on this golf course because they’re hard to get back.”

Rohrbaugh, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion, put on a big-time rally at the end of his round.

Wrapping up his day on the front nine, he hit it to 6 feet on No. 6 and to 5 feet on 7, though he missed both putts. He made a birdie from a foot on 8 and eagled 9 with the pitch-in.

“I’ll bet I had 15-plus friends and family out there watching,” he said. “My wife had all these hats made up with ‘One Putt’ on them — that’s my nickname. All my friends and family had them on, and they all flipped them backward as I’m walking down 6 (making them rally caps). So I flip mine on backward.

“I (later) thought, ‘Damn, we should have done that sooner.”

Also locally speaking, former University of Colorado golfer Mikael Hogberg and former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo — both at 156 — missed the cut, as did two-time champion and former Buff Hale Irwin (164)
 

Smoltz Improves By 8 Shots: Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who was mic’d for his first U.S. Senior Open, made some amusing comments during his two-day stay at the U.S. Senior Open.

“I feel like Mike Tyson has punched me here, here, here and here,” he said at one point.

But the former Cy Young Award winner got hit a little less on Friday than he did on Thursday. He followed up an 85 with a 77, leaving him at 22-over-par 162, 14 strokes above the 36-hole cut line.

“I’ve learned a lot,” he said. “I learned my game wasn’t ready” to compete at this level. … “It took too long for me to get comfortable.”

Smoltz made two birdies on Friday, including pitching in on No. 12.

“I told them in the (FS1 TV) booth that … I want to see that in between innings” of a baseball game he broadcasts on Fox.

Locals Lend a Hand: Among those helping with rulings and scoring on Friday were more than a handful of people with strong Colorado ties.

Included were former USGA Executive Committee members Jim Bunch and Christie Austin, who along with Bob Austin and Greg With were serving as referees for round 2. Among those handling the scoring areas off holes 9 and 18 were CGA executive director Ed Mate and Colorado-based former USGA regional affairs director Mark Passey.

And former CGA staffer Thomas Pagel, the USGA’s senior director of the Rules of Golf and amateur status, was a general Rules rover and is on the Rules Committee for the championship.

Notable: Due to Saturday’s weather forecast, FS1 shifted its U.S. Senior Open telecast window to 1-6 p.m., one hour earlier than originally schedule. Tee times for Saturday will run from 8:46 a.m. to 1:50 p.m. … Among the notable players to miss the 36-hole cut on Friday were World Golf Hall of Famers Mark O’Meara (149), Tom Kite (152) and Hale Irwin (164); Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz (162); plus Corey Pavin (149), Mark Calcavecchia (149) and Tom Lehman (150). … Three amateurs made the cut, with Jeff Wilson and Mike Finster being low ams so far, at 147. … Jay Haas, 64, made his 14th consecutive cut in the U.S. Senior Open and stands at 139, four out of the lead. … Friday’s scoring average was 75.28. Thursday’s was 75.78.

For all the scores from the U.S. Senior Open, CLICK HERE.

For Saturday’s tee times, CLICK HERE.
 

It was a big day Thursday for the two Colorado PGA professionals competing in this week’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Years from now, Doug Rohrbaugh will be able to tell family and friends that he had the distinction of being the first player to tee off at the third U.S. Senior Open held in his home state.

The Carbondale resident and Colorado PGA member led the way for the field of 156 by hitting first in the 7 a.m. threesome off the first tee Thursday at The Broadmoor’s East Course.

“That was cool, no question,” said Rohrbaugh, the 2013 CoBank Colorado Senior Open champion and a three-time winner of the Colorado PGA Professional Championship. “That was on my mind, it was.

“That’s kind of a cool deal to kick the thing off. I had my mom and dad sitting there, and a bunch of friends. I’m not going to lie — it kind of got to me a little. I got a little emotional about it. Then I regrouped. I didn’t catch (the tee shot) solid, but I kept it in the first cut, put it on the green and two-putted (for par). Then I birdied 2, and I’m thinking, my nerves are fine and I’m ready to go.”

Meanwhile, Chris Johnson (above) of Castle Rock was competing in his first U.S. Senior Open round ever, and he acquitted himself quite nicely. The 2010 Colorado PGA Professional champion was just 1 over par through 13 holes after playing the toughest stretch of the course (10-13) in 1 under. And even though he endured back-to-back holes where he went double bogey (tree issues after a blocked tee shot) then bogey, he sank a 15-foot par putt on 18 to shoot a 4-over-par 74, which left him in 58th place after round 1.

“I’ve been playing solid golf for a few months now,” Johnson said. “My expectations are to play a really good round of golf tomorrow. Without a doubt, I’m striking it well enough, I’m putting well enough. That’s not going to change.”

Earlier in the day, at least for a while, things went just fine for Rohrbaugh, who was medalist in the qualifying at The Broadmoor on Memorial Day, shooting a 1-under-par 69. He was even-par through seven holes. But a double bogey on No. 8 — where he hit it in the front bunker, thinned his sand shot over the green and missed a 5-foot par putt — and six bogeys on the back nine led to an 8-over-par 78.

“I was feeling really good how I was playing through 7 considering the mishits,” Rohrbaugh said. “But my driver just left me. I’ve been hitting the driver so well. Then I couldn’t find the center of the face. It was heel, toe, heel …”

Rohrbaugh (left), who’s competing in his fourth U.S. Senior Open and eighth senior major, had been hoping to play in the championship as he did in the qualifying tournament.

“I said at the qualifier, ‘I’ll take four 69s right now,'” he said. “And so far, it sounds like that won’t be bad. If you’re driving it well, it’s there to shoot 1 or 2 under. If you’re not driving well — like I didn’t — no.”

Both Colorado PGA members in the field have sons caddying for them, with Cooper doing the honors for Johnson and Tristan for Rohrbaugh. And, of course, both are getting considerable support from family and friends.

“I’ve been in the golf industry here for 30 years,” Johnson said. “They came out in droves today, and I was a little surprised honestly. It was awesome.”

Meanwhile, as for other golfers with strong Colorado connections, Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Brandt Jobe posted an even-par 70, leaving him tied for ninth place. (See related story.)  

Three-time U.S. Open champion and former University of Colorado athlete Hale Irwin opened with a 79 after making two double bogeys and three bogeys on the back nine. That’s the highest single-round score the two-time champion has recorded in 23 U.S. Senior Opens.

Former CU golfer Mikael Hogberg recorded an 80, while former Castle Pines resident Esteban Toledo had an 81.

Smoltz Roughed Up in First U.S. Senior Open Round: Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz was very complimentary of PGA Tour Champions players on the eve of his first U.S. Senior Open. And, if anything, he understated just how talented they are, based on how round 1 went for the former Cy Young Award winner.

Smoltz, who qualified for the Senior Open in a playoff, made no birdies and just five pars en route to a 15-over-par 85, which left him in 150th place out of 156 competitors.

“If I had to go back (and think about it), I had three bad shots. That’s it,” he said. “And I shot 85. So it just tells you, from an amateur standpoint, people sitting at home, I don’t know if you can tell how hard the course played. But that’s how great these players are.”

Smoltz was 10 over par through his first 10 holes. He finished with 12 bogeys and a triple bogey. He was mic’d up for the round by Fox, for whom Smoltz works as a baseball analyst. “Can’t call in a reliever,” was one of his comments mid-round.

“I thought I hit a lot of good shots that just didn’t get good results,” he said. “… I never expected to get that many bad lies.

“… I don’t have enough game for this course yet. … Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d shoot 85. … My family and friends, I would have left if I was at the ninth hole. They stuck around.”

Lightweight: Rocco Mediate, who shot a 2-under-par 68 on Thursday, is a shadow of his former self — not golf-wise but physically — these days. He said he’s lost roughly 40-50 pounds in the last year.

“I’m half the size I was last year,” he said. “I’m way stronger (and the club is moving) way faster.”

Douglass the Record Holder: He sat there, unrecognized for the most part, on a bench next to the entrance to The Broadmoor Golf Club on Thursday morning, waiting to meet someone during the first round of the U.S. Senior Open.

It was none other than Dale Douglass, the 1986 U.S. Senior Open champion and the man who has played in more U.S. Senior Opens than anyone in history (26).

“I’m one ahead of Arnie (Palmer), so he’s not going to catch me,” Douglass said with a smile.

The part-time Castle Pines resident, winner of three PGA Tour events and 11 on PGA Tour Champions, is a member of the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame.

An 88 Despite Ace: Stan Souza of Kailua, Hawaii made a hole-in-one with a 7-iron on the 175-yard fourth hole Thursday, marking the eighth ace of his lifetime. Ironically, the eagle was the last score of par or better Souza would have until hole 18. That’s right: After the ace, he made nothing but bogeys or double bogeys for 13 holes, until parring 18. Despite the ace, Souza played bogey golf for the day, posting an 18-over-par 88. That left his in next-to-last place for players who completed the the first round.

“The course just absolutely ate me alive,” he said. “It was rough, but what a thrill.”

Notable: Denver native Tommy Armour III withdrew after nine holes of his first round Thursday due to “altitude-related illness,” according to the USGA. Armour was 8 over par after nine holes as he double bogeyed each of his first three holes. … Tim Hogarth, the 1996 U.S. Amateur Public Links champion, leads the low-amateur competition by two strokes after shooting an even-par 70 on Thursday. … The field will be cut to the low 60 players and ties after Friday’s second round.

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For all the essentials regarding this week’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, CLICK HERE.

There are plenty of very well-known sports figures competing in this week’s U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor, but there’s a very good chance the person drawing the most attention earned his fame not on a golf course, but on a pitcher’s mound.

That would be Baseball Hall of Famer John Smoltz, who qualified for the Senior Open in Peachtree City, Ga., in late May (READ MORE), and who will compete with the big boys at The Broadmoor starting on Thursday.

Smoltz (left), the 1996 National League Cy Young winner with the Braves who’s now a baseball broadcaster with Fox and the MLB Network, held court in the U.S. Senior Open media center on Tuesday. He didn’t disappoint.

Some highlights:

— “I don’t know if there’s a cloud higher than Cloud Nine, but that’s where I feel like I’ve been” after qualifying for the Senior Open.

— “It’s probably the No. 1 thing that I’ve ever accomplished. Everything I’ve been part of before has been a team thing and I’m proud of all my accomplishments from a team aspect. But an individual role or accomplishment, I haven’t had anything anywhere close to this. This has been a dream of mine since I was probably 35 to 40 years old and I know a lot of my teammates were tired of hearing it, that I was going to do this one day, but it is the most excited I’ve ever been. … I don’t feel like I have slept normal since it happened.”

— “I would say where I am is nowhere close as a golfer as I was as a pitcher. I had all the confidence in the world in my pitches. Now that came with time and repitition, and I never was afraid of the pressure and pressure never caused me to fail or be the reason I failed. I failed because I didn’t execute. As a golfer I don’t have all the pitches, so to speak. I have what I have. I’ve never taken a lesson, I don’t practice, I just play. And it’s been a passion of mine ever since I realized that being a pitcher starting in A-ball, I’ve got four days that I better find a way to occupy time because I pitch every five days. And I picked up golf at about 20, 21 years old. The bug never has left. … To say I’m having the time of my life is an under statement right now.”

— “The Hall of Fame was the greatest achievement that I could be part of, but I didn’t get as many texts for the Hall of Fame as I’ve gotten for (qualifying for the Senior Open).”

— “If you don’t believe it, you’ll never dream it. If you don’t dream it, you’ll never achieve it. I am a big believer in that. I’m certainly not going to do something like tell you guys I’m going to grow hair by next year; that’s just unrealistic,. But I’ve always told my kids and people around me that, why not? Why not pursue your dreams? This is a secondary dream that I’m going to get a chance to be a part of.”

By the way, caddying for Smoltz this week will be 2016 CGA Amateur champion Colin Prater, who grew up playing The Broadmoor.

Water Galore as Temperatures Heat Up: With temperatures in the 90s on Tuesday and expected to continue there for the next several days, possibly nearing 100 on Thursday, the USGA is implementing policies that will help fans deal with the heat.
Starting on Wednesday:

— Clear, empty water bottles up to 34 ounces and up to two 24-ounce sealed water bottles will be permitted through championship admission gates.

— Three water stations have been placed around the course where plastic bottles can be refilled free of charge.

— Two air-conditioned cooling stations will be provided in conjunction with championship first-aid stations.

— The price of bottled water at all eight concession stands on the golf course has been reduced to $2 for the remainder of the week.

Raindance National Still a Go: Fred Funk, who finished second in the 2008 U.S. Senior Open held at The Broadmoor, said after his media session on Tuesday that the course he’s co-designing in northern Colorado could break ground later this year and may open as soon as the fall of 2020.

That would be Raindance National Golf Club in Windsor.

“We’re supposed to finally break ground this fall, we’re hoping,” Funk said. “We’re going. It’s going to be really cool. The land is remarkable.”

Quotable: Brooks Koepka winning the second of back-to-back U.S. Opens earlier this month was not lost on Kenny Perry, who has the opportunity to accomplish a similar feat at the U.S. Senior Open this week.

“He’s motivated me,” Perry said of Koepka. “I’d like to go back-to-back just like Brooks did. That would be incredible.”

Notable: Three-time U.S. Open champion Hale Irwin conducted a clinic (left), oriented toward junior players, on Tuesday on the practice range at The Broadmoor. … A field of 234 kids signed up for the Drive Chip & Putt qualifying event (below left) that took place Tuesday on the 18th hole of the West Course at The Broadmoor. Among those on hand as the event wrapped up was 1958 PGA Champion Dow Finsterwald (pictured in red below), a former longtime director of golf at The Broadmoor. … Tickets for this week’s U.S. Senior Open are still available, both online (2018ussenioropen.com) and at the gate starting at $25 on Wednesday and $50 per day from Thursday through Sunday. Kids age 17 and under get in free each day of the championship when accompanied by a ticketed adult.

The most recognizable person to advance through an 18-hole qualifier this spring has been Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz.

The former Atlanta Braves standout shot a 3-under-par 69 on Thursday in Peachtree City, Ga., and landed the third and final available national berth there by prevailing in a playoff that lasted three holes.

The 1996 National League Cy Young Award winner played his final eight holes of regulation in 4 under par after being 1 over previously. Smoltz, 51, then prevailed in the playoff despite double bogeys on the second and third extra holes, overcoming Brian Ferris. Brian Tennyson had been eliminated on the first playoff hole with a bogey. Smoltz and Ferris birdied that first extra hole, but both double bogeyed the second and continued to struggle on the third, with Smoltz doing so slightly less.

Smoltz (pictured) has long been a devoted golfer, even playing regularly even during the season, often with teammates Tom Glavine and Greg Maddux. Smoltz, who won 213 games, notched 154 saves and struck out 3,084 in his big-league career, serves as a baseball analyst for Fox, which will televise the U.S. Senior Open, with Smoltz’s partner Jack Buck calling the action.

“I’m not kidding you, it’s been more texts about this than the Hall of Fame,” Smoltz told the Detroit Free Press. “Tiger (Woods) texted me while he was getting ready to play in the Memorial. Everybody you can imagine who’s been blown away by it has been so congratulatory.”

Smoltz is an amateur who plays to about a plus-2 Handicap Index and has made eight holes-in-one.

“My first (baseball) victory, I didn’t think it could get much better with the excitement of family and friends who were there in Shea Stadium,” Smoltz said. “But I was by myself and did this myself and nobody handed it to me.

“And the feeling I had was such a sense of first, I can’t believe this. And then I got in the car and I yelled. I called my wife (Kathryn) and started yelling, basically screaming. She said she’s never seen me so happy.

“… I know this. I going to have the time of my life. No one handed me this. No sponsor’s exemption. This is something I can feel good about.”

Others who have qualified for the U.S. Senior Open are Joey Sindelar, who counts the 1988 International at Castle Pines among his seven PGA Tour victories, and former University of Colorado golfer Mikael Hogberg.

Sindelar qualified with a 72 in Telford, Pa., on Monday. Hogberg made the grade by earning medalist honors with a 66 in Fayetteville, N.C., also on Monday. Hogberg was a CU teammate of 1996 U.S. Open champion Steve Jones in the early 1980s. Jones is among the exempt players for this U.S. Senior Open.

Colorado PGA professionals Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale and Chris Jones of Castle Rock qualified for the Senior Open at The Broadmoor on Memorial Day.

(Updated June 14: Also qualifying for the U.S. Senior Open, on June 11, were major champions Larry Mize (1987 Masters) and Todd Hamilton (2004 British Open), along with 2017 CoBank Colorado Senior Open winner Jeff Gallagher. Hamilton and Mize finished second and third, respectively, in qualifying at Ankeny, Iowa, while Gallagher was the medalist in Portland, Ore.)

To see results from U.S. Senior Open qualifying around the country, CLICK HERE.