DICK'S OPEN: McCarron set to defend as threat of rain looms in Round 1

Heading to Friday’s Round 1 of the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open? Come to En-Joie Golf Course prepared.

The forecast calls for the likelihood of rain in the afternoon into the evening. While potential interruption of PGA Tour Champions golf is one issue, of greater concern to many would be conditions come sundown for the entertainment on the 18th hole provided by country music megastar Blake Shelton.

“The concert is rain or shine. The only thing that stalls it is lightning,” said tournament director John Karedes.

Competition will begin at 10 a.m. with players going off the first and 10th tees.

“It is unusual for us to have a two-tee start,” Karedes said. “Working with the PGA Tour rules staff, the agronomy department, (En-Joie superintendent) Anthony Chapman, we just felt that it’d be prudent to give the grounds crew a little extra time in the morning. There’s a possibility we’re going to get some rain (Thursday night) and you never know exactly what that’s going to do.

“The golf course is saturated. We’ve had close to six, seven inches of rain in the last 10 days, any extra time certainly would help the grounds crew in getting everything ready.”

Additionally, should inclement weather halt play the two-tee start will give the 78-player field extra wiggle room.

Scott McCarron, fifth on the current money list with $1,201,770, wrapped up last year’s Dick’s Open championship with a 61-64 weekend that was No. 2 36-hole total all-time on the PGA Tour Champions.

In 2018, McCarron has won his seventh tour title, the American Family Insurance Championship, and placed among the top five in four major championships. As for his history defending a championship?

T2, 2017 Principal Charity Classic.

T8, 2017 Dominion Energy Charity Classic

T24, 2018 Boca Raton Championship.

T4, 2018 Constellation Senior Players Championship.

No defending Dick’s Sporting Goods Open champion has followed with a top-10 at En-Joie, and just three have gone top-20 — Bart Bryant T14 in 2014, Eduardo Romero T15 in 2009, and Bernhard Langer T20 in 2015.

Friday night, Shelton will continue a recent tradition of high-grade acts performing on the 18th hole. That group includes Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Zac Brown Band and Tim McGraw— oh, and extremely-late arriving Bon Jovi, the 2017 concert to forget.

The three Europeans among the top six on the money list are all in Endicott.

•  Miguel Angel Jimenez, winner of two majors this season and the lone player with top-10s in all five. He shared 13th at En-Joie last summer.
•  2014 Dick’s Open champion Bernhard Langer. Winner of 37 PGA Tour Champions titles, with a win this week Langer would make it seven multi-win seasons in succession. Langer finished sixth here last year, his fourth top-10 at En-Joie.
•  Paul Broadhurst, Senior PGA Champion with four top-10s this year.

“It's phenomenal. It's really great to see the turnout they have here year after year, even with some of the bad weather they've been having and other circumstances,” Langer said. “But the people really embrace it around here. They come from all over the place and come by here and try and watch some great golf and it shows. The atmosphere is phenomenal.

“Friday also with the concert and all of that, it's a great touch what the tournament does there to make people aware of the event and bring them in year after year.”

In the most recent senior event, the 3M Championship, Kenny Perry shot a second-round 60 on the way to a three-stroke victory at TPC Twin Cities (Blaine, Minnesota). With his 10th PGA Tour Champions victory, Perry joined Hale Irwin as a three-time winner of that event.

Last year’s share of ninth place (69-70-67) marked a third top-10 in four Dick’s Open starts for Perry, topped by a T3 in 2012.

Joey Sindelar, with roots firmly implanted in Horseheads, is making his — brace yourself — 32nd Tour start at En-Joie. In fact, he hadn’t done the math so was unaware until informed mid-week.

“Well, what's really cool for me — and if Mike Hulbert was here, he would tell you the same thing — we stood on this tee as very nervous freshmen in high school at the sectional tournament when there wasn't a tree in sight and the course was entirely different,” Sindelar said. “It started for us way, way back then. So, 32 years, plus all those great high school memories.

“It's just one of those places besides being close to home, I had success here and a lot of people, a lot of these guys have a tournament very near where they live and some do well and some don't, and for some reason I have. I don't know the formula, but it's been really, really fun and it's really, really enjoyable to be on the inside of the ropes when your friends on the outside of the ropes are enjoying what's going on.

“It's been just a really cool ride.”

And do know, last summer Sindelar grabbed a share of third place in the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open on rounds of 67-67-69. That was good for a $120,000 parting gift.

John Daly is the professional in the field most easily identified, given his neon clothing and huge galleries. He is scheduled for a noon start off the first tee with Mark Calcavecchia and David Frost.

“The golf course is always great and it lends to low scoring,” Daly said. “These guys can play so good, they score so well. Whether you play good or not, you make a few birdies it gets you some confidence going into next week as well.

“I like it because the golf course is an old, traditional-style golf course. We do play a few of those on the senior tour but on the regular tour we don’t hardly play too many traditional golf courses, unless it’s a major. This is just a gold old golf course. It’s tree-lined, the trees are usually good and if you’re hitting it straight you can score really well on it— which is what I’ve always believed golf should be.”

Scott Parel will make his second Dick’s Open appearance after playing his way to a share of seventh last year on rounds of 69-66-70. His six top-10s this season include two runner-up finishes. He ranks fourth on tour in driving distance and 10th in putting average, a fine combination on any golf course.

Following this weekend, nine PGA Tour Champions events remain to be played, beginning with the Aug. 24-26 Boeing Classic outside Seattle and closing with the Nov. 8-11 Charles Schwab Cup Championship in Phoenix.

Winning scores at En-Joie have ranged from Lonnie Nielsen’s 21-under in 2008 to Willie Wood’s 13-under in 2012, when he bested Michael Allen in a playoff.

Rochester native Dudley Hart makes his PGA Tour Champions debut 13 days after celebrating his 50th birthday. The most recent player to win in his debut? Jimenez, in the 2014 Mitsubishi Electric Classic.

Other recently-turned-50 players are Darren Clarke (Tuesday) and Chris DiMarco (Aug. 23). Soon to join them:

2019: Retief Goosen (Feb. 3), Angel Cabrera (Sept. 12), Ernie Els (Oct. 17).

2020 : Jim Furyk (May 12), Mike Weir (May 12), K.J. Choi (May 19), Phil Mickelson (June 16).

History will be made Friday when 77-year-old Gibby Gilbert (400 PGA Tour Champions starts) and 52-year-old Gibby Gilbert III (12 starts) tee it up, becoming the first father and son to tee it up in the same 50-and-over tournament. The younger Gilbert was qualifying medalist at The Links at Hiawatha Landing.

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Dick’s Sporting Goods Open

When: Friday through Sunday.

Where: En-Joie Golf Course, Endicott.

Purse: $2,050,000.

Defending champion: Scott McCarron.

Ticket information: https://www.pgatour.com/champions/tournaments/dick-s-sporting-goods-open/tickets.html.

On TV: The Golf Channel. Friday 6-8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday 3-5 p.m.

Friday’s Starting Times

No. 1 Tee

10:00 _ Kent Jones, Albuquerque, NM; Skip Kendall, Windermere, FL; Mark Walker, Hurst, TX.

10:10 _ David McKenzie, Melbourne, Australia; Fran Quinn, Holden, MA; Bob Estes, Austin, TX.

10:20 _ Jay Don Blake, St. George, UT; John Huston, Palm Harbor, FL; Spike McRoy, Huntsville, AL.

10:30 _ Willie Wood, Edmond, OK; Wayne Levi, Naples, FL; Steve Pate, North Ranch, CA.

10:40 _ Brad Bryant, Lakeland, FL; Bart Bryant, Winter Garden, FL; Steve Jones, Tempe, AZ.

10:50 _ Robert Gamez, Orlando, FL; Gary Hallberg, Denver, CO; Todd Hamilton, Westlake, TX.

11:00 _ Rod Spittle, Niagara Falls, Canada; Mark Brooks, Fort Worth, TX; Dan Forsman, Provo, UT.

11:10 _ Mike Goodes, Reidsville, NC; Tom Byrum, San Antonio, TX; Scott Hoch, Orlando, FL.

11:20 _ Carlos Franco, Asuncion, Paraguay; Scott Dunlap, Sarasota, FL; Olin Browne, Tequesta, FL.

11:30 _ Duffy Waldorf, Las Vegas, NV; Woody Austin, Derby, KS; Jesper Parnevik, Stockholm, Sweden.

11:40 _ Billy Andrade, Bristol, RI; Steve Flesch, Union, KY; Stephen Ames, Canada.

11:50 _ Scott McCarron, Mooresville, NC; Joey Sindelar, Horseheads; Miguel Angel Jiménez, Malaga, Spain.

12:00 _ John Daly, Dardanelle, AR; Mark Calcavecchia, Jupiter, FL; David Frost, Delray Beach, FL.

No. 10 Tee

10:05 _ Clark Dennis, Fort Worth, TX; Tommy Tolles, Hendersonville, NC; Tom Gillis, Lake Orion, MI.

10:15 _ Gibby Gilbert Chattanooga, TN; Gibby Gilbert III, Hixson, TN; Ken Tanigawa, Phoenix, AZ.

10:25 _ David Eger, Charlotte, NC; Ken Green, West Palm Beach, FL; Tommy Armour III, Las Vegas, NV.

10:35 _ Neal Lancaster, Smithfield, NC; Glen Day, Alotion, AR; Fred Funk, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

10:45 _ Jeff Sluman Delray Beach, FL; Blaine McCallister, Ft. Stockton, TX; Billy Mayfair, Scottsdale, AZ.

10:55 _ Michael Bradley, Lithia, FL; Dudley Hart, Buffalo; Wes Short, Jr., Austin, TX.

11:05 _ R.W. Eaks, Scottsdale, AZ; Loren Roberts, Memphis, TN; Scott Parel, Augusta, GA.

11:15 _ Jerry Haas, Winston Salem, NC; Jay Haas, Greenville, SC; Larry Mize, Columbus, GA.

11:25 _ Tom Kite, Austin, TX; Jerry Smith, Scottsdale, AZ; Esteban Toledo, Mexicali, Mexico.

11:35 _ Doug Garwood, Los Angeles, CA; Joe Durant, Pensacola Beach, FL; Kevin Sutherland, Sacramento, CA.

11:45 _ Gene Sauers, Savannah, GA; Lee Janzen, Orlando, FL; Marco Dawson, Merritt Island, FL.

11:55 _ Kenny Perry, Franklin, KY; Paul Broadhurst, Nuneaton, England; Colin Montgomerie, Royal Troon, Scotland.

12:05 _ Bernhard Langer, Munich, Germany; Jeff Maggert, Sea Pines, SC; Paul Goydos, Long Beach, CA

Wed. Pro-Am

(Holes 1-12, 16-18)

43: SPIKE McROY, GARY HALLBERG.

45: JERRY HAAS, ROD SPITTLE, CLARK DENNIS, MARK BROOKS, JAY DON BLAKE.

46: MARK CALCAVECCHIA, TOM GILLIS, BOB ESTES, CARLOS FRANCO, DAN FORSMAN, JESPER PARNEVIK, TOMMY ARMOUR III.

2017:McCarron's 61 highlights second day of Dick's Open

Memories:11 years of the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, top memories ranked

Photo gallery:Dick's Open: Over a decade of golf, concerts in Endicott