PARKER — Nobody on the Colorado Golf Club practice range had to ask Eduardo Romero whether he’s feeling loose and confident during his first visit to this state since winning the 2008 U.S. Senior Open at The Broadmoor.
That toothy smile gave it away. The Argentine’s competitors at the 71st Senior PGA Championship had better be on guard for a prank as he walks by.
“Ben Crenshaw asked me, ‘Eduardo, what do you think of the course?’ I told him it is good for cows,” Romero said with a delightful laugh that caused heads to turn.
“No, really, my first impressions of this golf course are very good, very good,” Romero told reporters. “The greens are hard, and I like tough greens, hard greens. I like greens like this. I like courses like this.”
Different hat.
Crenshaw will be bidding to become the first winner of a Senior PGA Championship on a course that he designed since Jack Nicklaus in 1991 at PGA National Golf Club in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
“You want to do well (on your own course), but you’re thinking of a lot of different things too,” Crenshaw said. “You want people to enjoy it. . . . I like to see good scores.”
Caddie call.
A total of 11 participants of Colorado Golf Club’s caddie program are being used by players in the Senior PGA Championship.
Most regular Champions Tour players brought their own caddies, so the locals are mostly toting the bags of club professionals or foreign players.
The 11 caddies represent about 20 percent of the caddies affiliated with the club. Each has earned an “A” rating, according to a ranking system based on performance and the feedback of members.
“I actually thought more players would request our caddies, with the course being new to everybody,” caddie master Jake Kathey said.
Let it blow.
The extended weather forecast calls for windy days for each of the four rounds, with gusts that could surpass 25 miles per hour each afternoon.
“You know what? In a major championship, wind is just part of it,” said Mike McGet- rick, the renowned golf instructor and a founding partner of Colorado Golf Club. “The style of this golf course, wind went into the design.”
Cream still rises?
Tom Kite does not buy into the theory that the playing field will be leveled to some degree because of everybody’s lack of familiarity with Colorado Golf Club before this week.
“The playing field is always stacked to the good players,” Kite said. “Good players are better for a reason. They’re better. And they learn a course quicker.”
Injury update.
The Senior PGA Championship could be without two local favorites.
Evergreen resident Craig Stadler, the 1982 Masters champion and 2004 Champions Tour player of the year, has withdrawn because of a bout with shingles.
Denver’s Mark Wiebe said he may have to pull out because of a bad back. He said he likely would not decide whether to play until this morning. His tee time today is 8:45 a.m.
“It will be a game-day decision,” Wiebe said.
Just a number.
Mark O’Meara, 53, certainly sounds like he feels good about his chances here.
“At times, I feel I’m a much better player, ball striking- wise, than I was in 1998, when I won two majors (Masters and British Open),” O’Meara said.
Sponsor on board.
The PGA of America announced Wednesday that KitchenAid appliances will be a presenting sponsor of the Senior PGA Championship, beginning with the 2011 event at Valhalla in Louisville, Ky. The agreement runs through 2014.
Tom Kensler, The Denver Post
