SURE THERE ARE LEADERS, BUT WHAT ABOUT SARACENO? by John Craig

VERONA — Scott Piercy and Matt Kuchar may be tied for the lead at 14-under 202 after 54 holes. And Rod Pampling and Leif Olson may be lurking in third at 13-under with Nicholas Thompson at 12-under (5th), but perhaps the story is of a guy you’ve probably never heard of, who finished last, Tony Saraceno.
 
There he stood on Wednesday, at the end of the driving range, in his blue rain suit and bright red TaylorMade hat. While he is a national advisory staff guy for TaylorMade Golf ever since Adidas bought them and made them viable in the sport again, starting with the 300 series of drivers, he is not a touring pro.

He does not look like most of the guys on the line, and that’s just fine with him. He still belongs.
 
“They hit bad shots and you just cannot be fazed by who they are and what they do,” Saraceno said.
 
At the putting green, he kept methodically tapping his three golf balls at different holes, making his way around the damp patch of closely mown grass. He would occasionally look over at his caddy, not for advice, as much as reassurance. After all, it’s his 13-year old son Anthony, who is watching after his bag.
 
Saraceno, 58, is the Head Professional at Vestal Hills in Binghamton. He qualified for the Turning Stone Resort Championship by winning the Central New York PGA sectional.
PLAYED B.C.: BEFORE CASINO

 
“It’s not like my first time out,” he said, stopping to blow into his hands to keep them warm when we talked briefly on Wednesday.
 
Saraceno has qualified 13 times for the B.C. Open. The last time was 1997, when he got the fourth spot and one Tiger Woods was in the field.

The B.C. Open is the old PGA Tour event held for years in Endicott in Broome County. When heavy rains – surprise, that – flooded out the course in 2006, the PGA scrambled to find an alternate site, Turning Stone. But that was also the end of the B.C. Open.

It became the Dick’s Sporting Goods Open, a Champions Tour event, held in July. (Bet it’s dry then.) Saraceno has qualified for that.

“I played with R.W. Eaks and all the guys and it’s great,” Saraceno said. He’s also played in two Senior Majors – the U.S. Senior Open and Senior PGA.

“They certainly have an advantage playing in tournaments when I’m watching them on TV in the shop answering the phone,” he said.

And he keeps himself in shape, calling himself a “gym guy…not that it will mean that much with this crew.”
SUPPORT GROUP

 
Before Saraceno teed off in the final group of the day on Thursday, he was, like all the players, just trying to get a feel for extra layers.

“Just trying to get comfortable with four layers on and build some trust in what I can do, the way I can hit the ball,” he said. “That’s probably the most important thing, not get swept up and just believe in yourself and try to just play as good as you can. This is a pretty good league.”

He also got support from his son Anthony, 13, who is in 8th grade. Dad called the principal to clear it first. Anthony calls in for lessons each night on a special line set up.
HIS ROUNDS

Saraceno ended day one nine-over par with an 81. In his round, he hit a rough stretch with four straight bogeys on the back nine (13-16). He double-bogeyed the third and bogeyed 6, 7 & 9.

In round two, 80, he bogeyed holes one and two, doubled the 6th and 9th, bogeyed 11, 14 & 18. His lone birdie in the two days came at the par-5 12th.
 
Saraceno had ten pars in each round and had an average driving distance of 232-yards. He took 66 putts (34-32) during his time on the course.
 
Technically, he did finish above four PGA Touring pros: Matthew Goggin, Jeff Klauk, Eric Axley all withdrew after first round. Tommy Armour III withdrew during round one.
“Age is a number, that’s all it is,” he said.

But it was his first time with the new batch of PGA Tour players since 1997, when he was 46.
“I did nothing but get older, you know.”
 
And, he got to play with the big boys.

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