Old 55 Flashback: Blancas Posted One In Competition

Nothing can take away from Rhein Gibson's 55 last weekend, but it's a nice occasion to revisit Homero Blancas's 55 in competition, as recalled in this 2001 story by Bill Fields.

For years Blancas' feat was listed in the Guinness Book of Records, but it was purged when the recordkeepers limited their low golf scores to those shot on courses of at least 6,561 yards in length, and at 5,002 yards, the funky, claustrophobic par-70 Premier GC--on which two slightly different sets of tees formulated 18 holes fraught with out of bounds and creeks--didn't qualify. But if you're the man who had the 55, the lowest competitive score any golfer has ever shot, there is nothing but beauty in the details.

How many golfers ever made Ripley's Believe It Or Not? How many other players have made 13 birdies and an eagle, totaled 27 for one nine and 28 for the other, hit 17 greens in regulation and required only 20 putts? "And the thing is," says Blancas, "I shot 62 in the morning. That might be the most amazing thing."

Bubba Skipping Players For "Bonding" With Infant Son; Taking "At Least" A Month Off

What's going to happen when little Caleb is actually aware he has a father?

Will Bubba ever play again?

From Twitter today:

Update on 2012-05-03 18:28 by Geoff

**The tour is treading carefully on this one, even though it's hard to imagine they are pleased.

"We respect Bubba’s decision in light of the unique and life-changing circumstances of the past month,” said Ty Votaw, Executive Vice President of Communications and International Affairs for the PGA TOUR. “His focus on his family is admirable, as was his decision to honor his commitment to the Zurich Classic of New Orleans as defending champion. We look forward to having him back on the TOUR soon."

Trevino: "We were hoping somebody would invite us into the clubhouse and buy us dinner."

Okay, so Lee Trevino sounds like a geezer talking to Paul Fogleman of the Hickory Daily Record** before a speaking gig in front of the Hickory Sportsman’s Club. Still, it's always fun to hear what's on his mind. Two highlights:

When did you come to that determination to retire? How did you figure out that you had had enough?

I’ll tell you what brings you to that decision. It’s real easy. It’s when you can’t wait to get to a tournament, and then when you drive in you say ‘What am I doing here?’ And then you can’t wait to get out of there. In other words, I don’t care about competing any more. I came to grasp with everything when I realized I couldn’t compete any more, If you’ve won as many tournaments as I’ve won and competed the many years that I competed, you understand that you’re not gonna go play just to be playing.  When you drive into that golf course, you want to have a chance of winning, and if there’s any doubt inside of you that you can’t win, it’s time to hang it up.

And...

When you go back to your heyday, there were players like yourself, Arnold Palmer and others who were characters of the game. One of the biggest criticisms of the PGA Tour today is it doesn’t have the personalities like it did in your prime.

If you’ll look back at the old days, most golfers when we came to the course we had a sport coat on, and we hung it up in the locker. Today, these kids come to the course in shorts and a pair of tennis shoes on, and a T-shirt, and then they dress while they’re there. And then they leave the same way. It’s almost like the rock band Kiss. Once they take the makeup off, nobody recognizes them. It was different back then and we were more personable I think back then, and the reason for it is simply because we didn’t play for a lot of money. We were hoping somebody would invite us into the clubhouse and buy us dinner. That’s why we had the coat there.

**Link working now.

Seve's Son Can Play

Nice scores for a law school student making his debut in a pro event...six spots higher than his late dad finished in the satellite event 38 years ago.

The 21-year-old Spanish amateur, who tied 14th in his first professional tournament at the same venue where his father started out in 1974, ended the Peugeot Alps de Barcelona tournament at Sant Cugat on 4-under, 12 strokes behind two-time European Tour champion Pablo Larrazabal.

“I come away satisfied and will gain a lot of confidence from playing here,” said the law student, who fired rounds of 65, 72 and 68.

“I like playing with the pros as I play better. It motivates me and helps me improve.

“My mother and father always supported me to play golf but both always told me that studies come first.

“With every day that passes I enjoy golf more, but I do not plan challenges or set goals. For now I enjoy, have fun.”