By MARK EVERSON
Posted: 3:52 am
June 27, 2008
That 50th birthday isn't always the automatic pot of gold at the end of golf's rainbow. Some of the biggest names in the field still haven't won on the Champions Tour.
Hall of Famers Ben Crenshaw, Curtis Strange and Nick Price, with seven majors among them, tee up today at East Meadow's Eisenhower Park each still looking for his first career senior circuit victory.
Two-time Masters champ Crenshaw has gone 121 tournaments without winning as a senior. Two-time U.S. Open winner Strange is 0-for-69, while two-time PGA and 1994 British Open titlist Price will try to end his 24 senior tournament duck in the 54-hole, no-cut tourney.
Price looms most likely to end his drought this weekend at the Commerce Bank championship, which has seen six first-time winners, including last year's Lonnie Nielsen. With two top-three finishes in the past month, Price says his game is just coming back after three years.
"From about 2005, I was just burned out," the ultimate gentleman said. "I played really hard through 2004, playing the same schedule at 47 that I did at 31-32. I hit the wall.
"Coming on the Champions Tour last year was a breath of fresh air. Slowly, towards the end of last year, I felt my game coming back. This year, I've built on that. If I get in that [contending] situation again, I'll be able to win."
But it isn't all about finishing first and winning the most money now, says Price, who has pocketed $21,628,064 in his career.
"I told my wife that if the Champions Tour was anything other than what it is, I wouldn't play," Price said. "It's not just about playing golf. It's a little bit about being an entertainer, spending an extra 10 minutes with people who come out, signing autographs. This has been great for me."
