The Honors Course head professional Henrik Simonsen shot an 8-under-par 64 last Thursday at his home track to set the course record – and he added an asterisk.
“Oh, that’s unofficial,” Simonsen said Tuesday. “In all the years we’ve been open, with all the great players who who’ve played there a lot, like (David) Duval, somebody must have shot a really low round.
“But members are telling me that’s the lowest they’ve heard of.”
The official competitive round is 6-under 66. That’s the record shared by four golfers.
Ryan Blaum and Michael Sim fired it during the 2004 Southern Amateur. In June, San Diego’s Alex Ching and Virginia’s Henry Smart shot 6 under in longer but softer conditions during the recent NCAA championship.
“Sixty-six is the number,” Simonsen said. “That’s the one.”
Not that a 64 is anything to shake a White Oak Mountain stick at. But a casual weekly round among friends and members – even playing every inch of the 7,395 yards from the championship tees – is different than playing for a purse such as a shot at a professional national championship.
“It’s two different games,” said Simonsen, who moved to Ooltewah from Spanish Oaks Golf Club outside of Austin, Texas. “In competition you try and try, push and push, and you get in your own way.”
Such was the case for Simonsen on Tuesday at the Tennessee Section PGA Championship at Council Fire. The Denmark native – and don’t confuse him for Swedish because “that’s like calling a Southerner a Yankee” – shot a 1-over 73, which has him tied for 11th.
He is five shots behind Lipscomb University coach Buddy Harston, who shot a 68. Harston bogeyed No. 3 but then made five birdies, including one on No. 18.
Kip Henley, Chase Brannon, Brock Shafer and Chris Stacy are tied for second at 70. Chattanooga Golf and Country Club head pro Bruce Etter is tied for sixth at 71.
The top five at the end of the 54-hole event will advance to next summer’s PGA national championship, and from there the top 20 get into the PGA Championship.
The PGA Championship provides club professionals, such as Simonsen and everybody else competing this week, a chance to play with PGA Tour pros.
The tradition set long ago by the PGA of America falls in line with the mission Simonsen has for one of the top 40 clubs in the country.
“If you’re not in golf for the love of the game, then you’re in it for the wrong reasons,” said Simonsen, whose 12-year-old son has taken a liking to baseball – a sport his dad knows very little about. “If you don’t want to play, if you don’t enjoy the game, then sit behind a desk somewhere else.”
Which is why he keeps several standing games with members and friends each week. Since his hiring in late 2007, he’s pushed his staff to do the same – just play.
“He not only encourages, he demands that we get out and play,” said assistant Bruce Bowen, who is tied for 26th. “We play in tournaments, we play with members on a regular basis and we’re getting back to where old-school pros played a lot.
“My game is better, and just talking with members on the range helps me get better.”
Simonsen and Bowen have been regulars this year on the Tennessee PGA circuit, which has drawn the attention of TPGA executive director Jeff Abbott.
“Henrik upholds the value of the game,” Abbott said. “He values the game for competition and not for a small paycheck despite being a great player.”
And even though Simonsen’s 73 on Tuesday wasn’t his 64 from last week, he’s still in the hunt for at least a spot to advance.
“Everything was so foggy today that 73 is not a bad score,” he said. “It was survival today to shoot 73.”
Which is a little different than a friendly 64*.