Sept. 22, 2008
Tucker’s Past is an Impressive List of PGA Stars
What: 54th William H. Tucker Invitational
When: Friday/Saturday
Where: UNM Championship Course
Admission: Free
By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com
You want to watch Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson play in the 2009 Masters? The gallery ticket for that view is around $1,000 for a single day and more than $2,000 for a two-day pass.
You could have watched Woods for free in 1994 when he brought the UNM Championship Course to its knees in Tigers’ first collegiate tournament and his first win as a Stanford Cardinal.
That free pass also was good in 1991 when Mickelson played the Championship Course.
So, who says things keep getting more and more expensive? The free admission still goes Friday and Saturday for the 54th running of the William H. Tucker Invitational.
Woods and Mickelson came to Albuquerque to play in the Tucker and the history of the tourney suggests the golfers you will find attacking the rolling hills of the Championship Course this week are on the same path as Woods and Mickelson.
On a path to the PGA Tour.
On a course to higher-level tournaments like The Masters, the U.S. Open, the PGA Championship, the British Open.
“I don’t think golf fans realize how good these college golfers are,” said Dick McGuire, the UNM golf coach from 1954 to 1976. “If they came out and watched them, they would realize. And I think they are getting better every year. They start young, play a lot, and get such good coaching.
“There will be some great golf played in the Tucker and this course is such a great venue to watch a golf tournament.”
The 54-hole Tucker will feature 36 holes on Friday and 18 on Saturday. The Lobos have defended their Tucker turf nine times with the latest wins coming in 2001, 2002 and 2006. Pepperdine won the 2007 title.
The Tucker began in 1955 at the UNM North Course and moved to the Championship Course in 1967. It is the second oldest collegiate golf tournament. It is a farming event for the PGA Tour as much as any collegiate football or basketball team is a stepping stone to the NFL or the NBA.
“College golf doesn’t get the attention of other major sports,” said Glen Millican, the Lobos men’s golf coach. “People just don’t realize how good these golfers are coming in here until they get onto the PGA Tour.”
Which brings us back to another glimpse at some of the names that have graced the Tucker’s field: Woods, Mickelson, Ben Crenshaw, Colin Montgomery, Johnny Miller, Fuzzy Zoeller, Cory Pavin, Payne Stewart.
Tiger Woods won the 1994 Tucker in his first collegiate tournament. |
And sometimes a certain year will produce a star-studded field of future super stars of golf.
In 1972, Crenshaw battled some hot-shot collegians such as Andy North, Gary Koch, Fuzzy Zoeller and Bruce Lietzke. Crenshaw went on to win two Masters (1984, 1995) and 19 PGA Tour wins, but he couldn’t beat Lobo Jack Sommers, who won the 1972 Tucker. Crenshaw finished fourth.
Woods obviously is the biggest name to tour UNM’s Championship Course. Woods has won 65 PGA Tour events and 14 Majors. Mickelson has 34 Tour wins and three Majors under his belt, but he finished tied for second place in the 1991 Tucker.
A couple of former Tucker champs, Johnnie Miller (1967) and Bruce Lietzke (1970), used the Tucker to get an early taste of victory on the golf course. Miller has 25 PGA Tour wins and Lietzke won 13 PGA events. BYU’s Bobby Clampett is one of two golfers to win the Tucker twice (1978-79). Clampett now is a golf commentator on CBS.
One golfer who went on to become one of the more decorated golfer in European Tour history did not have much luck on the Championship Course nicknamed “Monster.” Colin Montgomery, who has 31 European Tour wins, finished 47th in the 1984 Tucker.
Hank Haney is considered one of the nation’s best teachers and has enough golfing knowledge to pass on some of it to Woods. But Haney was hammered by the Championship Course in 1975, shooting rounds of 76-88-87-82, which left him in 104th place.
UNM’s Tim Herron won the 1992 Tucker and his third-round 62 is still the course’s competitive record. Herron has four PGA Tour wins and his 54-hole card of 201 is still the Tucker record. The Tucker went from 72 holes to 54 holes in 1989.
“We’ve had outstanding fields in the past,” said Millican. “We get the best of the West. So many of these college golfers go on to play on the PGA Tour especially guys from the West because we draw so many teams from that area of the U.S.”
The Lobos have two talented seniors in Jon Sauer and Steve Saunders, who are hoping to follow Herron’s path to the PGA. Sauer is coming off a tie for 12th spot in the Topy Cup held in Tanagura, Japan. Saunders tied for the 19th spot and a promising UNM freshman, James Erkenbeck, tied for 15th in Japan.
Phil Mickelson finished second in 1991 Tucker |
The Lobos’ five-member team for the Tucker will be established early this week in qualifying. Coach Millican is hoping to duplicate the performance of the Lobos women in last week’s Branch Law Firm/Dick McGuire Invitational played on the Championship Course. UNM won the team title and UNM junior Jodi Ewart took individual honors.
“You always want to be in position to win every tournament, but you really want to win at home,” said Millican. “It’s quite an advantage for us playing here. Our guys our comfortable hitting their shots on this course and we know how to read the greens.”
Editor’s note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and sports columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him at rstevens50@comcast.net. Previous articles are available at The Richard Stevens Corner.