the top five going into the final round of the U.S. Senior Open.
“It’s amazing,” he said Saturday. “I was thinking about that today -- how close I was to not making it here, then (Friday) I thought I might miss the cut. Golf is a funny game.”
With Saturday’s 64, Klein jumped from 34th place to fifth, and got to see his name on national TV as NBC displayed its leader board during Saturday afternoon’s telecast.
It’s a dream come true for a guy who played on the PGA Tour in 2003, but missed 21 cuts in 25 tournaments. Even during the qualifying at Colorado Golf Club, almost all of the media attention went to fellow qualifiers Audie Dean and David Delich. But those two missed the cut in the Senior Open, and Klein stands fifth.
“It took me 15 years to get my PGA Tour card, and then I got my lunch handed to me out there,” Klein said. “So I was already 45 years old when I did it, so (I figured) maybe we’ll just wait for the next level (the Champions Tour), and here I am. I guess I can still play golf a little. Sometimes you wonder.”
• Irwin quiets the chimes
The honorary chairman of the 2008 U.S. Senior Open won’t win the tournament, but apparently he does still wield significant power.
On Saturday -- the day after Hale Irwin hit a 20-yard drive off the first tee at the Broadmoor’s East Course because chimes from the nearby Will Rogers Shrine went off in his downswing -- the chimes were inaudible on the course most of the day.
That’s quite a feat, considering that with few exceptions since 1936, the chimes have rung loudly each quarter-hour from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The Shrine is located on the side of nearby Cheyenne Mountain, and its chimes can normally be heard for a 5-mile radius.
U.S. Golf Association officials acknowledged that the volume of the chimes was lowered significantly Saturday, but not at their request. The tournament committee and local officials apparently agreed to decrease the volume to the lowest possible level.
“I wish they had turned them off earlier in the week,” said Irwin, who warned tournament officials a year ago that the chimes were going to be a problem.
The former University of Colorado athlete said he heard the chimes “faintly” while on the practice tee Saturday, then never again during the day. On the first tee at 9:45 a.m. -- one of the times when the chimes usually sound -- Irwin paused in a comedic moment before teeing off.
On Friday, Irwin had tried to stop his downswing when the chimes went off, but failed. The ball went 20 yards and under a Rolex clock to the left of the tee. Irwin ended up salvaging a par with a 22-foot putt, but it could have just as easily been a birdie if not for the distracting noise.
After the round, Irwin made his voice heard when he noted to two reporters that the chimes are “bothersome. People (here) may be used to it, but they’re not playing a golf championship.”
Despite the absence of quarter-hour distractions on Saturday, things didn’t go well for Irwin. The ex-Buff consistently left putts short of the hole, costing him heavily in the scoring department. He finished at 2-over-par 72, eliminating his chances of winning a third U.S. Senior Open this week. He stands in 30th place, at 7-over-par 217, 16 shots back of leader Eduardo Romero.
“It’s disappointing because I wanted so bad to have a great week here,” said the 63-year-old three-time U.S. Open champion.
• CU vs. Nebraska
Klein this week is using a caddie who attends CU. Not surprisingly, the subject of CU vs. Nebraska football has come up a few times.
When Klein first saw caddie James Nagl, who was supplied by the Broadmoor, Nagl had a Buffs cap on, just as he did on Saturday.
“I fired him three or four times in the last seven days and told him he would have to leave, and said he would have to wear a Nebraska hat (today),” Klein said. “We’ve had some fun.”
Said Nagl: “We both know who the better team is.”
• Colorado contingent
Two players besides Irwin with strong Colorado ties are still in the running for a good finish at the Senior Open. Colorado Springs native R.W. Eaks, who used to work at the Broadmoor, stands in 18th place at 4-over-par 214 after a third-round 69. Castle Rock’s Gary Hallberg, playing his first U.S. Senior Open, was paired with Eaks Saturday and posted a 70 for a 215 total. He’s in 24th place.
Mike Reid, who attended Cherry Creek High School for one year, rallied Saturday with a 66 and is tied with Eaks in 18th place.
• Chip shots
2001 U.S. Senior Open champion Bruce Fleisher, who was 3 over par through two rounds, was disqualified after Saturday’s play for forgetting to sign his scorecard and subsequently leaving the scoring area. … Attendance for Saturday’s round was 26,694, bringing the six-day cumulative total for the event to 88,673.
