Robert Chapman had threatened carnage

Starting the day with a five shot lead Chapman raced through the opening seven holes to put the issue almost beyond doubt and although he would drop shots over the closing stages his job was done.

“So today or this week, having led from wire to wire, that to me is the greatest thing I’ve ever done. And the guys back home, my wife and, they have all been watching the TV and they said, they cannot believe how good I looked on the golf course, how in control. Whereas, sometimes discount golf clubs in Europe they could see that I was nervous and things were going to maybe go negative. But they just said, just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re doing everything right. So it’s a long learning curve. It took 26 years to learn it.”

Chapman’s only other appearance in 2012 was when 16th at the recent Mallorca Open so to say the least his effort against the game’s over 50 elite has been quite remarkable. He can be forgiven his late stumble but it matters little now as he has earned the right to play the Champions Tour for twelve months.

Chapman, who has yet to win in two seasons on the European Seniors Tour, now has Champions Tour status and the self belief to convert that opportunity into even greater success.

Late on day four Chapman too would yield but such was the margin that he had established that he would win by two Titleist 910 D2 Driver over John Cook with the remarkable Hale Irwin at 66 years of age in third position.

For Senior it was perhaps a case of too little too late but nonetheless he has again displayed his capacity to play the big events and the tough golf courses well and although his first Champions Tour victory still eludes his time must come before long.

“It’s the greatest day of my professional career,” said Chapman. " No question about that. It was hard work in the end, I think I had a nine shot lead, and your mind just starts to wander a bit. And I was thinking of George (Will his former mentor) all the way around. What he would be thinking and just lost my focus a bit. But I hung in there and fortunately I could bogey the last two to still win.

Peter Senior, Sandy Lyle, Joe Daley, Bernhard Langer and David Frost tied for 4th.

Finishing in a share of 5th at the Champions tour School in 2010, Chapman lost a playoff for the coveted 5th position which would have earned him full exemption. He had to rely on starts where he could get them and was unable to retain his status for 2012.

Today the wind disappeared and the Mizuno MP-69 Irons improvement in scoring was marked. Kenny Perry had 62, Peter Senior 63 and there were several 64’s. Compared to the early days of the event, the course was very playable although for Chapman it had seemed that way all week.

The Players Championship had a $9.5 million purse

A month later, the Walker Cup goes to Los Angeles Country Club (North Course). All three courses are within about 10 miles of each other.

Excel Sports Management says the niece of Tiger Woods has joined Mark Steinberg's stable of clients. Steinberg has Titleist 712 AP1 Irons represented Woods since 1999, first at IMG before joining Excel last summer.

The Players Championship had a $9.5 million purse. Wentworth has a prize fund of about $5.7 million. And those PGA Tour players who want to play this week can always go to Colonial for a $6.4 million purse.

Campbell had to qualify for the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, and Waite had nowhere to stay. Foster was caddying in 2005 for Darren Clarke, who had to withdraw because of an injury. Waite wound up taking Foster's place in a house he had booked with four other caddies. It turned out to be a pretty good week.

Two of three Americans in the field do not have full PGA Tour status this year — former PGA champions Rich Beem and Shaun Micheel. The other is former British Open champion Ben Curtis, who did not have a full card until he won the Texas Open last month. Curtis had planned to play in England, and even though his hometown event at the Memorial is next week, he did not back out.

But when Robert Allenby fired him in 2010, Waite decided to quit and spend time with his three young children. He bought a Subway franchise on the Golf Coast, and business is going so well that he has a full staff to run the place. That made Waite think about caddying again, as long as the right opportunity presented itself.

Waite called Foster and asked him to put in a good word. A few weeks later, he called Westwood's manager and was told he was among five finalists. A few hours later, Chubby Chandler rang him and asked, "Have you got visas for UK, Sweden and the US?"

Sponge made his last sandwich on discount golf clubs Thursday and headed for Wentworth for the BMW PGA Championship. Then, it's off to Sweden and San Francisco for the U.S. Open.

"You don't have to travel far to play in a $6 million event at a great course at Colonial," Donald said at Sawgrass. "But I've always been a proponent of to get the most out of your game, it's important to travel and to experience new places. I think at least go try it once, and if you don't like it, fair enough. But it's a big event on our tour. It's considered our Players Championship of the European Tour. And I would have thought that would incite some interest in some of the big Americans that would be exempt for it."

Marino had surgery last October to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee, and then played three straight weeks to start the 2012 season without mixed results and too much pain. He missed the cut in Honolulu, tied for 19th at the Humana Challenge and tied for 66th at Torrey Pines.

Marino is the second player who had surgery in the offseason, played early in the year and wound up taking a big chunk of time off. Dustin Johnson, who last played at Doral, also is scheduled to return at the Memorial.

There's a little more to the Titleist 712 AP2 Irons story in the Sydney Morning Herald about Mike Waite, who will be filling in for the injured Billy Foster during a critical run of majors for Westwood. Waite is a longtime caddie known as "Sponge" among his peers. He was on the bag for Michael Campbell's U.S. Open win at Pinehurst No. 2 in 2005.

Learn golf swing from James Erskine

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It turned out to be the best financial decision Erskine ever made. V8 Supercars is now a top Australian sports franchise and last May, Archer Capital, a private equity firm, bought it for A$320m. “I didn’t really want to sell our stake, but the racing teams did, and the valuation would have been lower if SEL still owned the commercial rights,” he says. “I didn’t think it would fetch such a high price, but we had so much interest.”

His success has allowed him to spend less time at work. A passionate art and ceramics collector since his early 20s, he founded Sydney’s Liverpool Street Gallery in 2003. He is on the foundation board of the National Gallery of Australia and, last November, he co-founded a modern and contemporary ceramics gallery in London, Erskine, Hall & Coe.

His management of Captain Mark Phillips, the equestrian and former husband of Britain’s Princess Anne, developed into a long-standing friendship. “Mark and Princess Anne sent both their children to work with me in Australia during their gap years and when Zara decided she would take riding seriously, I was asked to manage her.”

It was an astute move. He managed golfer Arnold Palmer, his childhood hero, and took part in IMG’s European tour for Muhammad Ali, the boxer. Ian Todd, Erskine’s mentor and head of IMG Europe, soon suggested to McCormack that Erskine should set up the company’s sports marketing division in Australasia. “I moved to Sydney in 1979, thought I would stay for two years and I’ve never really left,” he says.

The new company had a flying start, particularly since some of Erskine’s long-standing IMG clients, such as discount golf clubs Michael Parkinson, the UK entertainer, moved with him. “I’d like to say it was tough at the beginning, but in the first year we made something like A$9m ($9.3m) on entertainment. Eventually, we also attracted more sports clients.”

SEL bought part of V8 Supercars in 1997, an Australian touring car racing series. In return for an investment of A$49,000, SEL received a 25 per cent stake and ran all the commercial activities.

Erskine still runs SEL, which is the commercial strategic adviser to the Australian Rugby Union and licensing agent for the Cricket World Cup, the Sydney Opera House and Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum, among others. Aside from Parkinson, whom he still represents and describes as something of a father figure, he has also managed the golfers Greg Norman and Tiger Woods, as well as Shane Warne, the cricketer.

But he wanted an ownership stake, and by the mid-1990s he realised that would not happen at IMG. “It was a private company and McCormack’s children were beginning to work in it,” he says. So in 1997, he founded Sports & Entertainment Limited (SEL) in Sydney with three other Ping G20 driver partners, David Coe, Tony Cochrane and Basil Scaffidi, focusing on sports and entertainment event marketing, licensing and management.

newest members of the World Golf Hall of Fame

Phil Mickelson, Sandy Lyle and Hollis Stacy, winners of a combined 10 major championships, sportswriter Dan Jenkins and veteran BBC broadcaster Peter Alliss — who was a good-enough player to make eight Ryder Cup teams — swelled the Hall membership to 141 members, and 70 in the modern era of the Hall of Fame and Museum.

After thanking his wife, children, family and inner circle such as Loy and caddie Bones McKay, Mickelson made it clear his career would not stop with the current record that got him into the Hall of Fame.

Lyle humbly said, “The Hall of Fame ... a great honor. I can’t say enough words about it.”

Mickelson becomes the second left-handed ping g15 driver player in the Hall of Fame and was an easy first-ballot selection at the age of 41 with four major titles and 40 PGA Tour victories to his credit.

Stacy said her entry into the Hall of Fame was “such a thrill,” and she credited the opportunities she had in professional golf to the founding members of the LPGA, one of whom, Louise Suggs, was among the Hall of Fame members in attendance.

Alliss won the national championships of Italy, Spain and Portugal in successive weeks, captured 20 other worldwide events, made every Ryder Cup team but one between 1953-1969 and represented England in the World Cup 10 times.

Lyle was the first native of Ping G20 Hybrid Great Britain to win the Masters and the first international winner of The Players 25 years ago when he defeated Jeff Sluman in a sudden-death playoff.

Stacy was a three-time U.S. Women’s Open champion and won six USGA national titles in all during an LPGA career. She remains the only woman to win three USGA events in a row, the junior girls from 1969-71.

“How could anybody get it so right, so fast, so good?” asked Jenkins’ editor at Golf Digest, Jerry Tarde, who introduced Jenkins. “He is golf’s most influential writer.”

While the Induction Ceremony celebrated those three players, it also honored two men who told numerous stories about the exploits of numerous Hall of Fame members through the written and spoken word.

Jenkins observed in his own inimitable discount golf clubs fashion that he is the third writer to enter the Hall of Fame and the first under certain circumstances.

A native of Scotland who maintains a part-time residence in Ponte Vedra Beach, the easy-going and personable Lyle won 29 worldwide tournaments and played for Europe on five Ryder Cup teams.

Mickelson has also come to be one of the fans’ favorites over the balance of his career, and has thrown himself into numerous charitable concerns, notably for the military and education.

Mickelson finally got his honor

Mickelson was joined in the 2012 class by 1985 British Open and 1988 Masters champion Sandy Lyle; former player-turned broadcaster Peter Alliss; Hollis Stacy, a four-time major winner on the LPGA Tour; and legendary writer Dan Jenkins.

Mickelson said in his speech, "I would just like to say that since I was a kid and first picked up my golf club, I've been living my dream, and I want to thank you for this great honor tonight."

"I want to thank the fans because the fans have made this such a fun ride. There have been a lot of highs and a lot of lows that we've shared together. There have been a lot of times where I've TaylorMade R11S Driver struggled, and it's been their energy that's helped pull me through. I've tried to reciprocate by launching drive after drive in their general direction," Mickelson joked during his induction speech.

Twice in her career, Stacy took down fellow Hall-of-Famer Amy Alcott. Stacy needed an extra hole to beat Alcott at the '71 Girls Junior, then bested her and Rosie Jones at the '84 U.S. Women's Open.

Mickelson's brilliant career has been highlighted by Masters titles in 2004, 2006 and 2010, and a PGA Championship in 2005. The 41-year-old has 36 other PGA Tour wins, including the 2007 Players Championship, the 2009 WGC-CA Championship and two Tour Championships.

Jenkins, who was also elected through the Lifetime Achievement Category, covered his first major championship at the 1951 U.S. Open. The Fort Worth native began covering golf as fellow Fort Worth natives and Hall-of-Famers Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson were becoming dominant golfers.

Fellow Hall-of-Famer Seve Ballesteros once said of Lyle: "The greatest God- given talent in history. If everyone in the Taylormade Rocketballz Irons world was playing their best, Sandy would win and I'd come second."

Alliss, who was voted in via the Lifetime Achievement Category, won 23 times worldwide in a career that ended before the European Tour was officially created. He started working with the BBC as a commentator during his playing days in 1961. Alliss kept playing until 1974 and played on eight Ryder Cup teams, including seven in a row from 1957-69.

Alliss, known mostly in the United States for his British Open commentary on ABC, has penned more than 20 books and co-designed over 50 golf course, including The Belfry, which has hosted four Ryder Cups.

Lyle, 54, was voted in through the discount golf clubs International ballot. Along with his two major championships, Lyle also collected four other PGA Tour victories, including the 1987 Players Championship, and 16 European Tour crowns.

Stacy, who was voted in through the Veterans Category, started her stellar career with three straight wins at the U.S. Girls Junior (1969-71). Among her 18 LPGA Tour victories were three titles at the U.S. Women's Open, where she was the fourth women to win the championship in back-to-back years.

advertising options for Orangetown's two golf courses

"It doesn't make sense to run a business without advertising," Orangetown Supervisor Andy Stewart said.

"For those not at the workshop last week, the people from the golf committee did a tremendous job presenting this and the research they did was very compelling," Orangetown Councilman Tom Morr said.

"There was a lot of research that this should pay for itself and more," Councilman Paul Valentine said.

The committee contacted DirecTV, FIOS and Cablevision regarding television advertising. FIOS outsources its TaylorMade RocketBallZ fairway wood advertising and only Cablevision showed an interest in working with the town.

The members of the golf committee pointed out last week that improvements have been made to the golf courses, including the renovation of the pro shop at Blue Hill and the renovation of the former Blue Hill Cafe to become Emmett's Castle at Blue Hill.

"People are looking for marketing," Green said. "Smart people understand marketing and branding. One area to look into is advertising."

Cablevision proposed creating two 30-second commercials for a total cost of $600. One would use a digital photograph and would be ready for immediate use. The second would use video taken late in the spring or early in the summer. The town would own both spots and would be able to link to them on its website and the course's web page.

The town council passed a resolution at Thursday's regular town board meeting approving up to $26,000 combined for Titleist 712 CB Irons television and internet marketing efforts coordinated by the golf committee and the Orangetown Parks and Recreation Department, pending a review of the language in the contracts by the town attorney's office.

In Bergen County, it would be most of those same channels, but with TV Land and without Travel, YES and News 12. For 3-to-5 spots over 12 weeks, the cost would be $8,724.

The other component of the advertising is $8,900 for email blasts using addresses provided by the town. Course Trends will create the advertising and send it out. Emmett's Castle at Blue Hill already advertises with Course Trends.

"They are trying to put print and discount golf clubs media ads in Bergen County, which we really haven't had a presence in," Diviny said. "Hopefully we can generate more revenue and bring more golfers to Orangetown."

"I think it is important that we advertise," Valentine said. "I own my own business. When we send out to our list, every time we get responses immediately. Sometimes you have to put money into something to make money."

Brendan Steele tumble down the leaderboard

The struggles have continued, yet Steele remains steadfast going forward. His head is still high since leaving Atlanta despite missing six cuts and finishing worse than 65th four times in 15 Tour starts. Dating to his win in the Texas Open, he has made 25 Tour starts — and missed the cut 10 times and finished worse than 47th seven times.

The product of mountainous Idyllwild, Calif., not exactly the most fertile ground for professional golfers, was well versed in the struggles inherent in getting to — and staying on — the world's toughest tour. It was Steele, after all, who said after winning the 2010 Nationwide Ping G20 fairway wood Tour Championship to earn his Tour card that the PGA Tour "was the Nationwide Tour on steroids."

"It takes a special week. You need luck and have to have your game in the right place and your mental game in the right place."

"Now you had a guy who was hitting it poorly and confused about his swing who was chipping it bad and putting it bad. That doesn't work out too well," Steele said. "I was trying something different all the time. Now I've gotten back to feeling the pace and rhythm of the swing and just hitting shots."

Steele admitted he struggled with his mind-set and expectations after his win, which led to worries about his swing when things started going poorly. Soon, Steele said, he was "searching" for a swing, which begot neglect on his short game because he was spending far too much time on the driving range.

He also has thought back to last year when he had missed six cuts in his first 11 starts. Then he won the Texas Open.

The last part of the preceding Ping K15 Irons sentence is the first thing Steele knows he has to put right if his game is to get right. In the midst of three missed cuts in as many starts heading to Texas, Steele picked up Golf is Not a Game of Perfect, sports psychologist Bob Rotella's book on attitude, preparation and mind-set.

"It's tough out here," Steele said after a practice round at the AT&T Oaks Course at TPC San Antonio, where he begins defense of his title Thursday. "It blew my mind that I won that first event that quickly. I still have a good understanding how difficult it is out here, and that didn't change after I won.

"I went through the same thing last year, and I've reached an understanding about what has gone wrong the past six discount golf clubs weeks," Steele said. "In the end I have to take responsibility for the shots I'm hitting and the attitude I'm carrying around out there. And not getting down on myself.

"You have the tendency to think everything is out of your control out there. I know I have to own up to it, take more responsibility and be more confident."