When you look at the BMW Charity Pro-Am leader board and see the scores on either course you have to wonder if the holes are as big as man-hole covers.
First round leader Micheal Miller posted a 9-under par at Thornblade.
He shot his career low round, a 62 with two bogeys on his scorecard to lead three golfers at 8-under par
Korn-Ferry Tour pros are very good golfers, but you also have to remember course set up at both the Cliffs Valley and Thornblade contributed to the very low scores.
With a field full of as many amateurs as pros, if the courses were set up with Sunday pin placements, the rounds would never end and more than a few amateurs would be MIA.
Even with easier pin placements in the first two rounds the celebrities who are playing with the pros don’t help their pro-am partners very much.
In the High Handicap Celebrities category, of the 14 teams, all turned in the same score as their professional. They may have saved a par somewhere during the round, but for the most part they were along for the ride.
And that is just fine.
The celebrities are at the BMW to entertain. Slap high-five’s, pose for pictures, sign autographs and make the tournament the closest thing to the PGA Tour’s event at Pebble Beach.
The fans are there to see Larry the Cable Guy’s unique golf attire or to watch Cedric the Entertainer entertain. If they hit a usable golf shot that is a bonus.
Make no mistake some of the celebrities can play.
Former Gamecock and Packers receiver Sterling Sharpe helped his pro to the lead in the Low Handicap Celebrity division.
Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith didn’t do his old signature flip down the fairway, but he helped his pro Kevin Yu to be just in second place in their pro-am division.
While the amateurs, who are not celebrities will also be competing and almost certainly will have better scores, tell the truth, would you rather see an above average amateur make a shot or get a Roger Clemens autograph.
The pros and ams will play Friday to try to make the cut. The pro-am teams that play on Saturday will compete for the four pro-am championships.
Sunday will be all business for the pros at Thornblade.
Clemson grad Carson Young had the best first round for local golfers in the field.
Young, who won a mini-qualifying tournament among the Thornblade All-Stars to win a spot in the tournament, shot 4-under par 68 at Cliffs Valley.
Wofford grad Andrew Novak and Bishopville’s Tommy ‘Two-Gloves’ Gainey each shot 3-under par rounds of 68 at Thornblade.
Clemson grad Billy Kennerly shot a 2-under par 70 at Cliffs Valley while Winthrop grad Taylor Dixon fired a 1-under par 71.
BMW First Round Scores https://www.pgatour.com/korn-ferry-tour/tournaments/bmw-charity-pro-am-presented-by-synnex-corporation/leaderboard.html
Categories: PGA Tour
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