E-Notes: Week of Oct. 1, 2007 ![]() Chad Campbell Chad Campbell entered last week's Viking Classic as the 160th ranked player in Greens in Regulation on TOUR. He ended up leading the event in GIR hitting 80.6% of his greens on the way to his fourth career victory on TOUR. Bill Haas has taken advantage of the Fall Series to make a strong surge up the money list. Prior to the start of the Fall Series, Haas was 126th on the list and is now 97th after finishing T10 and T3 the last two weeks. Alex Cejka was the only player to vault into the Top 125 last week in Mississippi. His T8 finish boosted him from 129th to 123rd. Joe Durant began last week in the 125th spot on the money list, and after finishing T17, he's still 125th on the list. He's fully exempt next year anyway thanks to a victory last year at the Disney Golf Classic. ![]() David Toms David Toms was the leading point getter at last week's Presidents Cup with 4 ½ points. Mike Weir led the International teams with 3 ½ points. Scott Verplank was the only player to finish unbeaten and untied at 4-0. Look for low scores this week at the Valero Texas Open. Since 2000, the winners of this event have posted an average score of 261, 19-under par. Tommy Armour III set the all-time PGA TOUR record-winning score of 254 at the Valero Texas Open in 2003. Eric Axley entered last year's Valero Texas Open in 183rd place on the money list, but by week's end, he had his first career win. He enters this year's Valero Texas Open in 144th place on the money list but with a lot fewer worries. He's exempt through the 2008 season thanks to that win. ![]() Eric Axley Eric Axley's final-round, 1-over-par 71 in 2006 marked the first time since 1960 that a Valero Texas Open champion carded an over-par final round. Forty-six years ago, Arnold Palmer overcame sub-freezing temperatures to win despite a final-round 75. Last year, when Eric Axley won with rounds of 68-63-63-71 (15-under 265), it was the first time since 1997 that the Valero Texas Open champion did not post four consecutive rounds in the 60s. Tim Herron won at LaCantera that year after opening with a 71. In 2004, Bart Bryant won his first PGA TOUR event at 41 years, 10 months, 1 day, the oldest first-time winner since Ed Dougherty claimed his lone TOUR title at the 1995 Deposit Guaranty Golf Classic at 47 years, 8 months, 19 days. ![]() Bart Bryant Three of the last five winners of the San Antonio event were over age 40: Bart Bryant (2004, age 41), Tommy Armour III (2003, age 43) and Loren Roberts (2002, age 47). Eric Axley became the 15th first-time winner in the history of the Valero Texas Open: Chick Harbert (1942), Tony Holguin (1953), Mike Souchak (1955), Jay Hebert (1957), Bill Johnston (1958), Harold Henning (1966), Deane Beman (1969), Ben Crenshaw (1973), Terry Diehl (1974), Ron Streck (1978), Bob Estes (1994), Duffy Waldorf (1995), David Ogrin (1996) and Bart Bryant (2004). There have been 13 playoffs at the Valero Texas Open. The most recent came in 1999 when Duffy Waldorf defeated Ted Tryba with a birdie on the first extra hole. When he successfully defended his 2000 title the following year, Justin Leonard became the eighth player to win more than one Valero Texas Open. Arnold Palmer (1960-62) is the only player with three victories in San Antonio. The other multiple winners: Bill Mehlhorn (1927-28), Dutch Harrison (1939, 1951), Sam Snead (1948, 1950), Ben Crenshaw (1973, 1986), Jay Haas (1982, 1993) and Duffy Waldorf (1995, 1999). ![]() Tommy Armour III Tommy Armour III broke the 72-hole scoring record on the PGA TOUR en route to capturing the 2003 Valero Texas Open. Armour's 254 total broke Mark Calcavecchia's mark of 256 in a winning effort at the 2001 Phoenix Open. |