Local golf: Strange feeling: Curtis making his ACE debut

The popular player hasn't won a tour event since 1989, spending most of his time lately in the announcers' booth

By GREG HARDWIG, gshardwig@naplesnews.com
January 27, 2005

Curtis Strange, tour golfer. Those words haven't gone together for quite a while. Strange has mostly been in the broadcast booth since 1997.

In three weeks, he won't be anymore. Strange, who turns 50 on Sunday, will make his Champions Tour debut at The ACE Group Classic at The Club at TwinEagles from Feb. 14-20.

Strange isn't sure what to expect. He hasn't won a tour event since his second straight U.S. Open in 1989. And he hasn't played much tournament golf over the past eight years.

"I'm very anxious to get started," he said during a Wednesday teleconference after practicing down in Stuart. "I'm anxious to find out what I have, and I'm a little leery about finding out that.

"I remember why I took a position with ABC. There was a reason for that. Things haven't gotten better by sitting in the booth, put it that way."

Strange already has celebrated his 50th birthday, not of his own doing. Family and friends surprised Strange and his wife, Sarah, on Saturday night in Morehead City, N.C.

"They did that early because they knew I didn't want anything else and I would probably get the hell out of dodge on the 30th," Strange said. "But they all surprised me at home. I made my wife promise, and she was surprised, too.

"So it's kind of one of those things. It's not the 50 thing, it's just I'm not a big birthday guy, never have been."

Just over 15 years ago, Strange was one of the biggest names in the golf world. He won his second straight U.S. Open in 1989 at Oak Hill and was the first to top $1 million in earnings in a single season. He won three money titles and played on five Ryder Cup teams.

Then, his game started to disappear. He slipped from seventh to 53rd on the money list in 1990 and never got higher than 41st after that. In 1996, he was 116th on the money list.

Strange struggled with his swing. Nothing worked.

"Letdown, burnout, everything accumulated at one time and everything kind of collapsed at one time," he said. "I could have fought through it and then I could have fought through it forever. If the TV opportunity didn't come along eight years ago, I could have fought through it. But I had an opportunity, and so I took it."

Last May, Strange saw another opportunity coming with that 50th birthday. He left his role as lead golf analyst for ABC and started working on his game to prepare for the Champions Tour.

"My reason to play a full schedule or somewhat of a full schedule (18 events) is because I don't work TV anymore, and I had an option to do this," Strange said. "And what better thing to do (than) continue to play golf that you've done since you took off the diapers, basically."

That being said, Strange, always an intense competitor, isn't sure how he'll react as he starts to try and recuperate his game. He hasn't had that tournament pressure to deal with.

"I always believed in myself, but I've got to be patient, because I haven't done this really competitively for five or six years," he said. "I expect to hit some good golf shots, but I also expect to do some of the most stupid things that are the things that irritated the hell out of me before. But I've just kind of got to say, it will come, it will come.

"I'm looking at six months. I don't know. It might be a year; it might be a month. I don't know. All I can tell you and all I can promise you is I will put in the effort, and that's what I'm trying to do now."

One part of his game already is back — the anxiety of going out there and playing competitively.

"I've been in panic mode for about two weeks now, and Sarah can verify that," he said.

ACE schedule

— Monday, Feb. 14 — Practice rounds, Pro-Am; Open qualifier

— Tuesday, Feb. 15 — Skills Challenge to benefit The Education Foundation, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Dr. Jim Suttie Golf Clinic, Driving Range, 3 p.m.; Draw Party, Naples Philharmonic Center for the Arts

— Wednesday, Feb. 16 — The ACE Group Classic Pro-Am, 8 a.m., 1 p.m. shotgun starts

— Thursday, Feb. 17 — The ACE Group Classic Pro-Am, 8 a.m., 1 p.m. shotgun starts

— Friday, Feb. 18 — The ACE Group Classic, first round

— Saturday, Feb. 19 — The ACE Group Classic, second round; Dennis Walters Golf Show, 4:30 p.m.

— Sunday, Feb. 20 — The ACE Group Classic, final round