Champions Tour: Tony Jacklin struggles in Players Championship first round

Bradenton resident and two-time major champion Tony Jacklin struggled in his first event of the 2012 Champions Tour season on Thursday.

Jacklin is dead-last in an 81-player field, after shooting a first-round 81 at the Constellation Senior Players Championship held in Pittsburgh.

Bruce Vaughan opened with a 6-under par 64 to hold a one-shot lead over Fred Funk.

Champions Tour: Tony Jacklin in Players Championship field

From left, Matt Hayes, John Vaccaro and two-time major champ Tony Jacklin watch fellow golfer Tony Baccari tee off during their May 20 round at The Concession. Photo provided by the West Florida Golf Tour.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/05/31/4058897/golf-local-amateurs-get-a-taste.html#storylink=cpy

Bradenton resident Tony Jacklin is in the field this week for the Champions Tour’s Constellation Senior Players Championship in Pittsburgh.

Jacklin, a two-time major champion, is making his season debut in the four-day tournament that gets underway on Thursday.

His first round tee time is 8:35 a.m., and Jacklin is slated to play alongside Jay Don Blake and Roger Chapman.

Jacklin is scheduled to participate in the Senior British Open next month. He tuned up for this week's event with a round on the West Florida Golf Tour.

He posted a 79 at Lakewood Ranch Country Club from the tips against much younger mini-tour pros last Thursday.

However, the tournament is one of several that Jacklin has participated in on the WFGT as preparation for his summer schedule.

Florida State Amateur: Philip Knowles leads area players

Bradenton Christian's Philip Knowles made the most of his first appearance in the Florida State Amateur.

Knowles won his way into the field of the 95th annual event through the local qualifier held at the Founders Club in Sarasota, and didn't disappoint once he teed it up late last week in Jupiter.

Knowles, who was an alternate and got into the local qualifier at the last minute when another player didn't show up, posted a 295 total to tie for fourth place in the 72-hole tournament.

His 71 in Sunday's final round was the lowest among all competitors in the field.

Panama City's Chase Seiffert claimed the title with a 287 total.

Saint Stephen's alum and current University of South Carolina golfer Sean Kelly finished with a 301 total.

IMG Academies alum and current University of Florida standout Tommy Mou (306) and Saint Stephen's rising senior Connor Lynch (320) rounded out locals that made the 36-hole cut.

United States Open: Second round coverage

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne just birdied the par-4 fifth hole to move to 8-over par in the 112th United States Open.

Osborne is starting off the front nine, which ended in a disastrous 6-over par total after beginning even-par through the first 10 holes in the first round.

Osborne's second round on Friday has witnessed one hiccup, a triple bogey on the par-4 second hole.

Since then, Osborne has played The Olympic Club's Lake Course in San Francisco in 1-under par over the past three holes.

He's tied for 103rd and in need of more birdies to make the cut.

Meanwhile, former IMG Academies standout Casey Wittenberg has backed up on Friday after a solid opening round.

Wittenberg posted a 1-over par 71 on Thursday, just five shots behind leader Michael Thompson.

He got off to another solid start, posting an even-par total through the first eight holes on Friday.

However, Wittenberg has bogeyed four of his last six holes and is tied for 57th place with a 4-over par cumulative total.

United States Open: Sam Osborne makes ESPN TV coverage

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne has already been featured on ESPN's coverage of the 112th United States Open at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Osborne hit his approach on the 18th hole to within a foot that got him to even-par.

The birdie brought the 30-year-old Englishman into a tie for seventh place.

However, Osborne has since backed up. He double-bogeyed the par-4 first hole and sits at 2-over par for the tournament.

Michael Thompson fired a 4-under par 66, and is the current first-round leader by three shots over several players including Tiger Woods.

United States Open: Andy Zhang not with IMG

This year's 112th United States Open will witness the youngest competitor in the major championship's history when Andy Zhang tees it up on Thursday.

The 14-year-old is in the field as an alternate after Paul Casey was forced to withdrew.

There are various reports circulating that Zhang trains at IMG Academies here in Manatee County.

IMG has stated that is incorrect, and  that Zhang only participated in a couple IMG Leadbetter Junior Golf Tour events.

West Florida Golf Tour: Summer Series first event

Logo provided by the WFGT.

Jon Mansfield fired a 6-under par 66 in Tony Jacklin's West Florida Golf Tour summer series debut event on Monday to take a one-shot lead into tomorrow's final round of the Ritz-Carlton Masters held at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club in East Manatee.

Mansfield leads five players, including Nationwide Tour member Travis Hampshire, by one shot.

Cardinal Mooney alum Chris Kennedy is two shots behind after a 4-under par 68.

Kennedy leads the WFGT's Order of Merit (money list) for the current year.

United States Open: Pairings released

The pairings for the 112th United States Open, scheduled to start next Thursday at the Olympic Club in San Francisco, were released today.

Palmetto resident Sam Osborne begins his first major championship appearance off the tenth tee alongside amateur Brooks Koepka at 2:42 p.m. (local time) and a player to be determined later.

Osborne and Koepka were paired together in the lone Florida sectional qualifier held at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto this past Monday.

Osborne, an English native, and Koepka play Friday's second round at 9:27 a.m. (local time) off the first tee.

For more on Osborne's upcoming U.S. Open appearance, check out Sunday's edition of the Bradenton Herald.

For full pairings, click here.

United States Open sectional: Sam Osborne qualifies

Sam Osborne at a West Florida Golf Tour event. Photo provided by the WFGT.

Sam Osborne was the only player from Manatee County to progress from the Florida sectional site at Black Diamond Ranch in Lecanto on Monday.

The Palmetto resident and Englishman shot a 3-under par 141 total to take one of three qualifying berths awarded into this month's United States Open.

The 112th edition of the men's golf major is scheduled for June 14-17 at the famed Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Osborne finished in second place in the 36-hole sectional to advance to his first Open and major of any kind.

However, yours truly has an interesting view on Osborne's game.

Why?

Because I caddied for Osborne at a West Florida Golf Tour event at the Ritz-Carlton Members Golf Club last September for a story I wrote in the Bradenton Herald on the experience of what a caddy goes through at the professional level.

I also wrote about the differences in caddying at the club level like the Ritz, which uses a forecaddying system.

Osborne's game that day was everything I had heard about from some of his peers.

He hit the ball far, and struck iron shots crisp.

The putter, though, wasn't quite on all the time. He three-putted the final hole for a 3-under par 69 to tie for second in the event.

Perhaps I should have realized that potential would pay off several months later?

Despite the lack of Nostradamus skills, yours truly witnessed a player that mid-September day with all the tools necessary to make it on the big stage.

Now that big stage is arriving, and Osborne has a chance to test his talents against the top players in the world.