Through the fortunes of genetics and the design of good maintenance, Atlanta’s Billy Andrade looks too young to be on the over-50 Champions Tour. They should card the guy at every first tee.
But you have never met anyone so happy to have crossed that particular threshold. Andrade is practically whistling his way onto life’s back nine.
“It’s like the greatest fraternity in the world if you can qualify for it. If you’re exempt out here it’s amazing to re-start your career and get back in the mix and play competitive golf at a pretty high level,” Andrade said.
He turned 50 late last year, and looked to the Champions Tour to ignite his competitive fire. Andrade, a four-time PGA Tour winner, played only eight events on that Tour since 2010. The Greater Gwinnett Championship was his fifth event this Champions Tour season. With his 12th place finish here, he already has earned $234,497 out here, more than he won in any PGA Tour season since 2008. The bulk of that came last month with a second-place finish at the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic.
He saved his best round at Sugarloaf for Sunday, a 67, that allowed him to shinny up the leaderboard.
“I didn’t think it would be this great,” he said.
“There’s the camaraderie. The biggest thing is we’ve already proven ourselves playing the regular Tour all those years. Now it’s not life or death. I haven’t seen a whole lot of teachers out here, or sports psychologists. It’s just guys who have played well for a long time and now they’re back at it again. It’s been awesome.
“Everybody’s in a good mood. There’s not that edge that the Tour has. It’s like real golf again, what I remember when I first turned pro. The only difference at 50 I think I know more than when I was 22 and a rookie on the Tour.”
“I see a lot of great things happening. I’m very pumped up about the way I’m playing. I’m looking forward to this ride.”
A happy House of Haas: Jay Haas fired a Sunday 67 to overtake third place, and move into the big paycheck district ($129,000). It was his second straight Champions Tour third-place finish. He's 60 and still going strong, playing to a cumulative 73-under par for the 2014 season.
Just last week, he was watching his son Bill take the first-round Masters lead. There is no debate in his mind as to which is easier on him — and the answer might surprise other parents out there.
“I enjoy both (playing and watching his son),” Haas said. “I think it’s harder playing than watching.
“I know I can’t control what Bill does. And I know how hard the game is so if a shot doesn’t come off the way he wants it to, I realize he was trying and it’s just difficult.
“But when I’m playing, I have to play every bad shot I hit. I’m nervous the whole time.”
Etc.: With a pitching wedge from 127 yards, Trevor Dodds scored the tournament's first hole-in-one on No. 2 Sunday…Bernhard Langer kept all his big Champions Tour streaks alive — 16 straight Top 10 finishes and 19 straight sub-par rounds…Ben Crenshaw finished at 38 over par (scores of 92-77-85).
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