Jim Thorpe defends his title this weekend at the Commerce Bank Long Island Classic, and while some golfers in his shoes may have had a warm glass of milk last night and hit the sack early, Thorpe planned to drive to Atlantic City last night for dinner and spend some time at the tables until around midnight before teeing off this morning.
That being said, he admitted yesterday – after concluding his Pro-Am obligations – that there’s some pressure involved in returning to the Red Course at Eisenhower Park for the $1.5 million tournament as the reigning champion.
But after the tournament Thorpe put together a year ago and the numbers he posted, perhaps the course should be shaking more than he.
“I think there’s a little bit more pressure because you want to want to do good,” Thorpe said. “The level of competition is much tougher this year.”
Last summer, Thorpe beat Bob Gilder by a stroke to finish the Long Island Classic at 15-under par, thanks in part to a Champions Tour-record 10-under par 60 in the second round that featured 10 birdies on the 6,904-yard track through Eisenhower Park.
A 10-foot birdie putt on No. 17 became the tournament-winning shot, as Gilder missed a three-footer on No. 18 for a share of the lead.
In the last year, the Red has matured into a much tougher course, several players said this week.
In addition to more difficult conditions, new tee boxes on several holes and a rough so thick many will be forced to lay up if they miss the fairways, Thorpe will also contend with a much deeper field filled with larger golf names than he battled a year ago.
“When you’re behind the eight ball,” Thorpe said, “you’re not going to make a lot of birdies.”
Seven-time PGA Tour winner Peter Jacobsen and seven U.S. Open champions – Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Jerry Pate, Hubert Green, David Graham, Larry Nelson and Tom Kite – will vie for a piece of the purse on the course where Walter Hagen won the 1926 PGA Championship.
“I don’t think you can shoot 15 this year,” Thorpe said, many times praising the work of the public course’s grounds staff. “The super did a wonderful job with this golf course . . . This is one of the best conditional golf courses we’ve played this year.”
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Commerce Bank Long Island Classic
The Red Course Eisenhower Park East Meadow, N.Y.
6,904 yards; par-70
Today’s TV: 1:30-4 p.m., TGC