Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 11, 1995 TAG: 9504110119
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Preparing for this week's PGA Seniors Championship at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., King spent most of the past three months in Florida honing his game.
The longtime Blue Hills head professional enjoyed the sunny sojourn south, finishing in the top 10 in all four Senior Division tournaments he played on the Langert and Avon Grips series in January and February.
``I went down there to see if I could play with those guys,'' King said. "I found out I could and that makes me feel a lot more confident.''
King finished second, fourth, fifth and seventh in his four starts, winning approximately $3,300 in the process. His runner-up finish came to current PGA Senior touring pro Bruce Lehnhard of Manassas, Va.
``I've worked a lot on my long game and I'm playing pretty well,'' King said. ``This time, I want to ready when it comes time to tee it up with the big boys. I don't want to go down there and shoot 80 again like I did at Pinehurst [N.C.] last summer.''
King was referring to last year's U.S. Senior Open, in which he shot 78-82 and failed to make the cut.
``I was in awe of those guys at Pinehurst,'' King said. ``It was like going to an algebra test without studying. I'm going to be ready this time.''
King, 51, qualified for the PGA Seniors Championship by finishing 40th in October's Senior PGA Club Pro Championship in Florida.
SENIORS UPDATE: Hot Springs native J.C. Snead is off to his best start ever on the Senior PGA Tour. Snead, who scored his second Senior win in February when he beat Ray Floyd in a playoff at the Royal Caribbean Classic, ranks fifth on the circuit's money list with $236,026 in six starts. Snead is ninth in scoring average (70.39), third in greens hit in regulation (71.9), eighth in driving distance (267.6) and sixth in sand saves (62.5).
Roanoke native Ed Sneed and Bobby Mitchell of Danville haven't been as fortunate. Sneed, playing his first full season on the Senior tour, ranks 54th with $31,831 in six starts. Mitchell, who won his Senior tour card in qualifying last November, is 72nd with $16,528 in seven starts.
SAND BLASTS: Roanoker Arman Fletcher recently added the North & South Super Seniors (ages 65 and over) championship to a resume that includes more than 300 tournament titles. The 67-year-old Fletcher shot 76-73-81 in gusting winds on Pinehurst's difficult No. 2 Course to win by five shots over a field that included 30 of the nation's top super seniors. ... King wasn't the only local hanging out in Florida this winter. Chip Sullivan, the teaching pro at Hanging Rock, picked up some $13,000 with a slew of strong finishes on the Avon Grips regular tour. ... It didn't take Mike O'Keefe long to make his presence felt on the local amateur scene. The former Roanoke Country Club assistant pro who recently regained his amateur status was a winner in his first tournament, teaming with Miller Baber to capture last week's Roanoke Valley Four-Ball Classic at Hunting Hills. ... Jack Snyder, son of Water's Edge head pro John Snyder, has become the 148th member of the PGA to achieve the elite status of PGA Master Professional. The younger Snyder is currently head pro at Lake Monticello in Palmyra.
by CNB