Sam Adams Captures Quad-Cities
Southpaw holds off Kermit Zarley and Dwight Nevil to win his only PGA TOUR title
Happy 4th of July! All aboard for a journey through the past as we tune the wayback machine to 1973 and the Quad-Cities Open won by Sam Adams. It was the first time a left-handed player won on the PGA TOUR since Bob Charles in 1968. Scroll down to see how the tournament played out.
We’ve written about the Quad-Cities Open before covering the 1972 tournament when Deane Beman defended his title from 1971, and the 1974 event won by Dave Stockton who held off Sam Snead for the second time that year. Click on the links for more historical coverage on this tournament that dates back to 1971.
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It came down to the last shot in the Rocket Mortgage Classic and it was another final round disappointment for Akshay Bhatia. After fading in the fourth round of the Travelers Championship the week before, Bhatia three-putted the 72nd hole to lose by one shot to Cam Davis. Scroll down for a tournament wrap-up, a few thoughts from me, and the Clips You Might Have Missed.
We want to hear from you in the Tour Backspin Poll, and this week’s Music Clip features a fantastic Bruce Springsteen rarity, before he formed the E Street Band, “Thundercrack,” live in 1973. Scroll down to listen—you don’t want to miss this one. Tony Lema gives you some advice for your game in the Swing Like a Pro feature. This week’s WHAT HOLE IS IT? Presented by Rota Golf is pretty easy so give it a shot and you may just win a golf swag prize pack. Rota Golf has a cool way to map out your bucket list journey of playing the top 100 courses in the U.S. We’ve got some links for you in the Check it Out section and a a stylish ad in this week’s Vintage Ad from 1973. Scroll down to view.
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Larry Baush
Sam Adams, First Left-Hander to Win in Five Years
It is Monday, September 24th, 1973, and 62 players have just completed an 18-hole qualifying round at Crow Valley Country Club in Bettendorf, IA, to earn one of 30 available spots in the Quad-Cities Open. Under sunny skies and warm temperatures, Bruce Fleisher, the 1968 U.S. Amateur champion, led a group of five golfers who shot 70 on the 6,501-yard, par 71 layout, and it took a score of 74, or better, to qualify.
One of the five golfers at 70 was David Jiminez who was on the comeback trail since he sustained injuries in a car accident. After a promising rookie year in 1967 where his top finish was a seventh place at the Minnesota Golf Classic and then earning a spot on the Puerto Rico World Cup team, his world was turned upside down by the accident.
“I was in an auto accident in 1968 and just began back on tour in April,” Jiminez explained to Dearrel Bates of the Quad-City Times. “I broke my arm in the accident, plus I had several other assorted injuries. I had my arm in a cast for seven months and then it took me another year to just recuperate to the point I could even get on the golf course.”
Fleisher, Jiminez, and the other 28 players who earned a spot in the field, joined the rest of the field for practice rounds on Tuesday. On Wednesday, 52 teams competed in a pro-am and fans would get their first glimpse of the top players featured in the event. These players included Jack Fleck from nearby Davenport, IA, and the winner of the 1955 U.S. Open where he defeated Ben Hogan in a playoff, and Deane Beman who was gunning for his third Quad-Cities title in a row. Other top players entered were Jerry Heard, Bob Lunn, David Graham, and Jim Jamieson, a local favorite from Moline, IL, one of the Quad Cities.
Ticket prices for the practice round were sold for $2, and $5 for the pro-am on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday tickets were priced at $4 while the weekend tickets were $6.
In other sports news happening on Tuesday, Willie Mays bade farewell to fans at Shea Stadium bringing his Hall of Fame playing career to an end.
Ed Sneed took the low pro honors on Wednesday in the pro-am with a round of 68, three-under-par, and won $500. His round included five birdies and two bogeys. With the preliminaries wrapped up, it was time to get the action started.
“I just had an unbelievable back nine. I hit the ball well off the tee and putted extremely well.”
Thursday’s weather featured humid conditions under overcast skies, and the day ended with heavy drizzle forcing eight threesomes to finish in the rain in already soggy conditions. The conditions for most of the day was very conducive to shooting low scores with soft greens, no wind, and easy pin and tee positions. Dave Stockton and Dwight Nevil took advantage of the morning conditions to shoot 64s that equaled the course record that was set in the 1971 event by two players. Nevil was one of those players while Bob Stone was the other.
There was one other player sharing the top spot with Stockton and Nevil and that was Larry Wise, an unknown pro who had just returned to the tour from his club pro job at Congressional Country Club in Potomac, MD. He played the tour for eight months back in 1966 and 1967.
Teeing off in the morning from the 10th tee, Wise blazed around his first nine holes in 30 and only needed 28 putts.
“You’ve got to be a good short iron player on this course, and I consider myself one.”
“I just had an unbelievable back nine,” the 32-year-old Wise told Bates. “I hit the ball well off the tee and putted extremely well.”
Nevil, a former Dallas fireman, finished fourth in the 1971 Quad-Cities and was second in the B.C. Open the week before the Quad-Cities, felt it was his iron play that was the key to his round.
“You’ve got to be a good short iron player on this course, and I consider myself one,” he said after his round. “The par fives were reachable in two today because there was no wind, and when you get your ball below the hole and putt well like I did today, those things are key to a good round.”
Stockton didn’t arrive in the Quad-Cities until Wednesday morning around 2 am traveling from a pro-am event in Switzerland.
“I’m still in the twilight zone with that seven-hour time zone change,” he laughed after posting his 64. “The greens putted so easy, and when you have the tees up 20 or 30 yards on some holes and pin placements in the middle of the greens like today, you’re going to have some outstanding scores.”
There was a total of 56 players who broke par in the first round.
Bob Goalby, Jim Jamieson, and Jim Ferriell were tied at 65 with Kermit Zarley another stroke back. Sneed backed up his pro-am round with a round of 67 and was tied with Ric Massengale, and Doug Main. The only left-hander playing on the tour, Sam Adams, was well down the leaderboard after a first-round 71.
On Friday, 3,000 fans braved the threatening weather to watch the players again assault par at Crow Valley. The greens were still soft in the humid and wet conditions. John Schroeder took advantage of the scoring conditions to fashion a new course record of 63, including a score of 29 over the front nine. His two-round total of 132 placed him in a tie for first place with Kermit Zarley who had a steady round carding his second 66.
“That was the most solid round of golf I’ve ever played,” Schroeder marveled after his round that included eight birdies, including four in a row to start the round.
“The course has played a lot easier than most of us expected,” Zarley admitted. “If the weather stays like this, a number of people are going to be in this thing.”
Bunched within six shots of the leaders were a total of 27 players who were all vying for the $20,000 first place check. One shot back of the leaders was Stockton, who eagled his final hole for a 69 and was matched by Wise. Nevil fell back with a 71 for a 135 total and was tied with Bob Wynn and Ferriell. They trailed the group at 134 that included Hale Irwin (68-66), Don Iverson (70-64), and Goalby who added a 69 to his first round 65. Sam Adams was at 136 after a fine round of 64 on Friday and he was tied with Jim Jamieson.
“That man can really roll them in. I thought I wasn’t playing too badly, but at times it looked like I was shooting an 80 next to Sam.”
The sun finally made an appearance on Saturday for the third round and the players continued their assault on par. Sam Adams, from Boone, NC, rose to the top of the heap after shooting his second straight 64 for a three-round total of 200. The back-to-back 64s were the best consecutive rounds in the history of the modern-day PGA TOUR.
The obscure Adams had won only $7,788 for the year. He enjoyed a two-shot lead over his good friend Dwight Nevil. The 5’7”, 150-pound Adams wielded a sizzling hot putter making birdie putts on his first three holes and he was off and running.
“That man can really roll them in,” Nevil said about Adams’ putting. “I thought I wasn’t playing too badly, but at times it looked like I was shooting an 80 next to Sam.”
“I was feeling good coming off my 64 yesterday,” Adams said after his round. “When I sank a 25-footer on number one, it got me rolling. Then I just took advantage of the good breaks I had all day.”
He also noticed that the galleries were really starting to pull for him during Saturday’s round.
“The message sort of relaxed me. It said, ‘it takes guts to win, and you’ve got them.’ ”
Bob Wynn was at 203, tied with Dave Stockton, three behind Adams and one behind Nevil. Deane Beman, with a third-round 67 was another stroke back, tied with Kermit Zarley who slipped to a 72 after two-straight 66s. Don Iverson, and Hale Irwin, who both had rounds of 70, were also tied at 204. John Schroeder fell down the leaderboard to 205 after a 73 and was tied with Frank Beard, Bob Goalby, and Larry Wise.
The sun again retreated behind dark, gloomy, clouds that kept the skies overcast throughout Sunday’s final round. Sam Adams arrived at the course and made his way into the locker room where there was a note from Tom Watson who finished second in the 1972 Quad-Cities and was a good friend of Adams.
“The message sort of relaxed me,” Adams admitted to reporters after his round. “It said, ‘it takes guts to win, and you’ve got them.’ ”
Adams took the confidence that Watson’s note instilled in him onto the course and made the turn at even-par, despite a double-bogey on the par-4, 379-yard, 4th hole, and held a one-shot lead over Nevil. He made birdies on the 3rd hole with a 20-foot putt, and at the 6th hole with another 20-footer.
The only time he looked like he might falter was on the par-3, 11th hole, where he missed a six-foot putt for birdie after he hit what he called his best shot into the green. He stalked off the green in disgust, but quickly regained his composure.
He birdied the 14th hole and when he came up onto the 15th green with a leaderboard nearby, he expected to see himself on top with a comfortable lead.
“I looked at the leaderboard and expected to be in front by two or three shots,” he said. "Then I saw I only had a one-shot edge on Dwight (Nevil) and knew this was a big hole for me.”
“I just hit a miserable tee shot to the right and then still could have saved par, but I missed a five-footer.”
His approach on the par-4, 15th, ended up on the back fringe and he faced a tricky downhill chip. He ran the ball past the hole but then jammed in the four-footer for his par. He was visibly relieved when the ball went into the cup.
“I was sinking those 15 to 20-footers, but couldn’t get those little ones to go in,” he said.
He then made his way to the par-3, 17th hole and hit his tee shot to 18-feet and curled the putt in for a birdie that gave him a two-shot lead. Nevil bogeyed the 16th hole.
“I just hit a miserable tee shot to the right and then still could have saved par, but I missed a five-footer,” Nevil explained to reporters after his round.
The only other players who had a chance to catch Adams, except for Zarley, met their demise at the 15th with bogeys. Hale Irwin bunkered his approach shot, while Goalby, playing in the same threesome, missed an eight-foot par putt. Deane Beman hit his tee shot into the mud along the bank of a creek on the hole and could only chip out and dropped a shot.
Zarley, playing in a threesome that was two groups ahead of Adams, closed with a birdie on the 17th, and then eagled the par-5, 18th hole for a round of 67 and a four-round total of 271. All he could do now was sit back and watch Adams play the final hole. Adams would need a bogey, or better, to win.
“They really pumped me up. God love y’all.”
Adams played the hole cautiously hitting his approach shot to the fat of the green. He then was pleasantly surprised when the 15-foot birdie putt trickled in for a three-shot victory. Zarley and Nevil tied for second place and won $9,250 each.
The young, curly-haired new champion displayed his emotions as he addressed the crowd, and the press, after being presented with the $20,000 first-place check. He admitted that the galleries were a big help to him during Saturday’s and Sunday’s round.
“They really pumped me up,” Adams said in his North Carolina drawl. “God love y’all.”
The 1973 Quad-Cities Open would be the only PGA TOUR title won by Adams in his career.
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BONUS STORY
Jackie Adams, the wife of Sam Adams, accompanied her husband to Bettendorf, IA, for the Quad-Cities Open, just like she did at almost every tournament that her husband played in. She made it a point to follow Sam’s round each day.
“I’ve followed Sam around every day,” she informed reporters after her husband won the $20,000 first-place check. “The only time I wasn’t here were his first nine holes yesterday. That’s the day I did laundry and boy, were things a mess with all that mud. But then, I wanted Sam to look good on the last day of the tournament.”
“He doesn’t know it, but his parents flew in Sunday morning from Boone (NC), and they’re waiting for him on the 18th green.”
Jackie saw some soybeans growing alongside the 14th hole and picked a few and then carried them with her. Sam then birdied the hole and Jackie felt the beans brought some good luck. She was still clutching the beans when Sam’s birdie putt dropped on the final hole for a three-stroke victory.
Also around the final green were Alfred and Daisy Adams, Sam’s parents who arrived in Bettendorf on Sunday morning.
“He doesn’t know it, but his parents flew in Sunday morning from Boone (NC), and they’re waiting for him on the 18th green. I guess they didn’t want him to know they were here until after the tournament.”
Winning the Quad-Cities Open was a family affair for the Adams family, and who knows, maybe the soybeans did bring some luck.
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PGA TOUR Wrap-Up | Rocket Mortgage Classic
Cam Davis won his second PGA TOUR title, and both have come at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. On Sunday, he shot a two-under 70 to beat Akshay Bhatia by one adding a second Rocket Mortgage Classic title to the one he won in 2021.
Akshay Bhatia three-putted from 32-feet to bogey the last hole.
“I wouldn’t wish what happened to Akshay on anyone, but I’ve done a lot of grinding to get myself out of a hole,” Davis said.
Davis had not recorded a top-10 finish on the tour this year and admitted that he didn’t expect a win in Detroit.
“I saw a little bit of a spark last week” said Davis, who finished T-48 at the Travelers Championship, his best result in his last six starts, “but nothing to show this coming, so this is crazy.”
Bhatia’s miss from just under five-feet at the final hole was his first miss inside six-feet for the week. It came at a bad time for Bhatia who has contended deep into Sunday the last two weeks.
Watch the top ten shots here:
Read a recap of the tournament by Adam Shupak of Golfweek HERE.
Clips You Might Have Missed
From working the floor at Golf Galaxy to the first tee at the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Monday qualifier Nick Bienz on the tee.
Up-and-down for par from behind the hedge.
Good thing he was able to identify his ball.
Love these guys.
Tour Backspin Quiz | John Deere Classic Trivia
Who is the only player to go back-to-back-to-back at the John Deere Classic? What years did he do it?
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Swing Like a Pro
Audio excerpts from the book Champagne Tony’s Golf Tips by Tony Lema with Bud Harvey.
(Click on player and scroll down when page opens)
Unfortunately, the widespread exposure of the pro game on television has attracted a vast army of disciples among the weekend golfers who mistakenly ape these mannerisms under the impression that it will improve their game. This is mistaking the form for the substance. Fiddling around with putts, stalking from one end of the green to the other and squatting on your heels to sight in a putt really don't do a thing for you. All they do is clutter up the golf course with fuming foursomes behind you and take a lot of the fun out of the game.
*AI generated voice
Blind Shot
Click for something fun. 👀
Ryan French at the Monday Q details a 16-hole playoff on The Dakotas Tour and it’s wild.
Marques Brownlee explains the tech behind the shot tracer on golf broadcasts.
Tour Backspin Music Clip
Bruce Springsteen, before the E Street Band, performs Thundercrack live at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles in 1973.
Uncorked, The Life and Times of Champagne Tony Lema tells the story of one of the tour’s biggest stars in the mid-1960s. A fascinating glimpse into the traveling caravan that was the PGA TOUR during an era where the fields were full of “Mad Men” era personalities. From a hardscrabble youth spent on the “wrong side of the tracks” in the Oakland suburb of San Leandro, to the temptations of Elko, Nevada, to the bright lights of the PGA TOUR, Uncorked tells a story of determination, redemption and, above all else, a love story that documents how Betty, Tony’s new wife, provided the direction and motivation for him to become a top star. Order on Amazon.
PROS FAVORITE RECIPES
Tour Backspin Quiz Answer:
Steve Stricker won the John Deere Classic in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
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Final Thoughts
You know we had use Sam Adams for a story sent on the 4th of July. He has the look, and the name, for an All-American boy.
How great is the quality, both video and audio, of that Springsteen footage from 1973?
Be sure to check out the Marques Brownlee video on the tech hidden in plain sight linked in the Check It Out section. I found the tech that is incorporated into gambling sites fascinating.