COLORADO SPRINGS — Who better to ask than putting wizard Loren Roberts about the greens of Broadmoor East? Roberts, who has finished second to Jay Haas on the Champions Tour money list the past two years, is nicknamed the “Boss of the Moss” for his putting prowess.
Roberts drained a 35-footer and two more from about 20 feet during his Tuesday practice round. There may not have been another player in the field who could say that.
“I’ll tell you, there’s a lot of slope out there, and the mountains make it tricky,” he said. “But they’re puttable.”
Approach shots may be as important as putting this week, Roberts said.
“You’re going to have to aim away from some of the pins just to give yourself a good two-putt from 30 feet,” he said. “I’ll tell you, I’ve never seen greens that are that dense. It’s hard to hold them. You have to hit a good iron shot. But when you’re on the green, they just roll perfect.”
Langer’s debut.
Having turned 50 last August, Bernhard Langer is playing in his first U.S. Senior Open. The 2008 Champions Tour money leader hopes for better success than his record in the U.S. Open on the regular tour — nine missed cuts and a disqualification in 20 starts, with a best of a tie for fourth in 1987.
It’s a good thing that Broadmoor East’s sloping greens remind him of Augusta National’s. Langer earned Masters green jackets in 1985 and 1993.
“It’s all right; we’ve played greens like this before,” Langer said. “They’re not quite this severe, but Augusta isn’t all that different.”
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
