BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. – Frank Esposito needed at least a five on the par-4 18th to be the only club pro to make the cut at the 90th PGA Championship. But his 15-foot putt for bogey slipped under the hole and the resulting double-bogey ruined his chance to play on the weekend.
Esposito, the head pro at Brooklake Country Club in Florham Park, N.J., finished with an 8-over-par 78 yesterday and 9-over for the tournament, missing the cut by one stroke. Esposito’s round was also ruined by a double-bogey at the par-4 14th and a bogey at the par-4 15th.
He said he was unaware of what the cut-line was coming to the 18th, where he thought he hit a perfect drive only to end up in a fairway bunker. Three shots later, Esposito was staring at a 15-footer from below the hole for bogey. But the putt slid right of the cup.
“It was a great experience,” said Esposito, who was playing in his first PGA Championship. “It was a nerve wrecking. You do things under pressure that you wouldn’t do normally when you’re just out there playing. Your mind starts to wander and you don’t trust yourself and you hit some (strange-looking) shots. But overall I played OK.”
Due to wind conditions and the hole locations, the PGA moved up the tees on all of the par 3s yesterday. No. 3 was shortened by just a yard, to 197; No. 9, where only two birdies by 1986 PGA Champion Bob Tway and Aaron Baddeley were made in the opening round, was shortened by another 10 yards, to 217; No. 13 was shortened by 12 yards, to 179; and No. 17 was shortened by 21 yards, to 217. The par-4 sixth hole was shortened by 87 and played 300. J.B. Holmes, the leader midway through the second round, was able to reach the green off the tee and made birdie.
Ben Curtis is wearing Detroit Lions clothing as part of his deal with the NFL. It has drawn numerous comments from the gallery including, “There’s no way he can win because of the luck of the Lions.”
2001 PGA Champion David Toms is battling a degenerative disk in his back that is causing him constant pain and stiffness. “I think as long as I put in the time and feel good physically and put in the time in my golf game I’ll still be fine,” Toms said. “It’s something I have to deal with. I just need to get my confidence back and this would be a great week to do that.”