Mike Small overcomes balky back to grab share of lead at Constellation Senior Players Championship
Winning tournaments in Illinois is old for Mike Small, who's officially old himself by golf standards considering his eligibility for PGA Tour Champions events.
His achy back reveals age too.
"It's tight," said Small, who calls his back pain chronic.
The 52-year-old felt spry enough Thursday to grab a share of the lead in the Constellation Senior Players Championship at Exmoor Country Club in Highland Park. Small rolled a 20-footer on No. 18 just past the cup and settled for his third par in a row. Had his birdie putt dropped, he would have held the outright lead after the opening round. Small, who played in the final threesome of the day, finished with a 7-under 65. Kenny Perry, who also has a bad back, shot the same score on a beautiful afternoon with modest winds that yielded 50 red numbers in the 78-player field.
Tied for third, 1 shot back, are Bart Bryant, Glen Day and Jeff Maggert. Defending champ Scott McCarron and four others are at 5 under, 2 off the pace.
"You need to make a lot of birdies out here," said Perry, winner of 14 PGA Tour events and nine on the senior tour. "There are going to be guys shooting good scores this week."
Small sank 8 birdie putts (1 bogey), and considering his prowess in his home state it wouldn't surprise anyone if he kept playing well. The University of Illinois men's golf coach counts 22 professional wins, including 12 Illinois PGA Championship titles, and is a four-time winner of the Illinois Open. He's also won the PGA Professional National Championship thrice.
He has never won on the senior tour, although he has only 9 starts since turning 50. He is coming off the two best finishes of his Tour Champions career, a tie for ninth in the Principal Charity Classic in Iowa and tie for 10th in the American Family Championship in Wisconsin.
"That would be great," Small said of winning the Senior Players, the fourth of the tour's five majors. "But there's a lot of golf to go. ... Everybody is here to win."
By his count, Small has played only 12 rounds since last November. He's been Illinois' coach since 2000, after a brief run on the PGA Tour, and has always made his Illini duties his priority.
"I'm the Rudy out here," Small said. "I'm not supposed to play well. I'm a coach, and even when I play those tour events or majors, I'm the underdog. It is what it is, but I played well the last two events out here. That's how I got into this event."
If his back holds up, he could continue to shoot low.
"It's been feeling great," Small said. "It didn't really hurt when I swung as much, except when I moved around. I'm going to get some work done."
Perry, who turns 58 next month, can relate to Small. Perry had surgery on his right shoulder last Nov. 17 and missed the first six months of the 2018 golf season. He played seven weeks in a row, only to hurt his back picking up a club at home last week.
"I heard it pop and the next thing I know I was on the ground," Perry said. "I couldn't move. I was rushed to my chiropractor last Thursday afternoon. ... I was in a lot of pain.
"I'm just getting old, falling apart I guess," he added.
At least he held up physically on Thursday. His 8 birdies matched Small for most in the field. Perry missed a birdie putt within 3 feet on No. 18.
He won this tournament in 2013 at Fox Chapel in Pittsburgh.
"I've really had trouble starting the old engine," Perry said. "Ball-striking's been pretty good, but I've been putting lousy. Today was a day where I made some putts. I made a couple of 20-footers, and I hit some really close shots."
Muscle relaxers and painkillers helped him get loose and get through his round.
"Hopefully I can hang in there for three more days," Perry said. "Last week was horrible. I couldn't do a lot. I didn't have a lot of expectations coming in here, but I hit the ball nice and finally made a few putts.
"It's manageable," he added of his back pain. "I don't feel good, but I can swing the golf club. It's not slowing my swing down."
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