What: U.S. Bank ChampionshipWhen: July 13-19, 2009Course: Brown Deer Park Golf CourseCity, State: Milwaukee, WisconsinField: 156Format: 72-hole stroke playPar: 34-36--70; Yardage: 6,759 ...
Bo Van Pelt captured his first PGA Tour victory by winning a playoff Sunday at the U.S. Bank Championship Sunday afternoon at Brown Deer Park. Van Pelt, who outlasted John Mallinger, might not be able to defend his title. U.S. Bank is pulling its sponsorship and without an obvious replacement the tournament is on the endangered list for 2010 and beyond.
With cool, blustery conditions more suited to Scotland, the field of competitors will chase third-round leader Frank Lickliter in the final round of what could be the final installment of the U.S. Bank Championship today at Brown Deer Park Golf Course.
The cool, windy conditions are making for close compeition at the U.S. Bank Championship. By the end of play Friday, there were 12 players within four strokes of the lead heading into a weekend that promises to be a shootout. At the top of the leader board is Australian Greg Chalmers (pictured), who fired a second round 3-under par 67 to give himself a two-shot cushion over Chris Riley, Jeff Klauk and Kris Blanks. Kevin Na, Marc Turnesa and Steve Flesch trail Chalmers by three shots.
Facing windy conditions unusual for Brown Deer Park at this time of year, 64 players finished the first round of the U.S. Bank Championship with scores of par or better. If the wind freshens and the temps drop, that number will also be lower. Brown Deer Park is not a bomber's paradise but instead a tactical golf course that requires patience and precise shot execution. Just ask Greg Chalmers (pictured) and Jeff Klauk, who shared the first round lead.
This week could easily mark the swan song for the professional golf tournament that has found a home in Milwaukee since 1968. That's a 41-year history. A long, long time. But, the tournament is threatened, and likely to end. Steve Stricker and Jerry Kelly, two Wisconsin pros, have a mysterious plan to save the tournament. But until concrete plans emerge, it could be so much whistling in the wind, like many plans to save this tournament have been in the past.
In addition to all the usual headaches -- weather concerns, competition with the British Open and a sagging economy -- the U.S. Bank Championship faces a new dilemma this season. U.S. Bank is pulling out as title sponsor of the event, which has left organizers scrambling to find a replacement in order to keep the tournament going for a 43rd year.
For many years, OnMilwaukee.com sports columnist Dave Begel was obsessed with playing golf. Now that he has put away his clubs and given up playing the game regularly, he has come to realize that it wasn't so much the game that kept him coming back to the course, but the friendship and the ritual and the connection that the sport fostered for much of his life.