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Look out for Loren Roberts one of few top players at Greater Milwaukee Open
Posted: Monday July 05, 1999 05:44 PM
By Benjamin Berman, CNN/SI The biggest story of 1999 besides the ongoing battle between Tiger Woods and David Duval for the top spot in the rankings is money. Big purses were supposed to mean more excitement and it has ... when everybody shows up. One of the problems with the bigger prize money is that golfers are taking more time off. Woods, who is on fire with three wins in his last four starts and just reclaimed the No. 1 ranking, is taking the week off. David Duval, Tiger's supposed archrival, has competed in just 14 of the 26 events this year and won't be swinging at this week's event either. Once again, the PGA has the difficult task of promoted a week without a big name. The highest ranked player at this week's Greater Milwaukee Open (GMO) is Steve Stricker, who is No. 22 according to the Official World Rankings. With a depleted field in Milwaukee this week and no superstar to follow, Loren Roberts appears to be the heavy favorite. Yes, Loren Roberts. Roberts, who now resides in Germantown, Tenn., is a native of San Luis Obispo, Calif. Beach boy gone country western or not, Roberts dominates the Brown Deer Park Golf Course in Wisconsin. Roberts won the GMO in 1996, after posting a course-record 265 along with Jerry Kelly and then defeating him in a playoff. He also has finished second twice at this event, shooting a 269 in 1994 and 1997 -- both times losing by one stroke. They say on the PGA Tour that golfers "drive for show, and putt for dough." No place is that more true then at this event. Historically, the big drivers don't win the GMO and it is the best putters who win. And that may be why Roberts, nicknamed the "Boss of the Moss" for his sensational putting ability, is always a contender. In last year's GMO, our Player to Watch tied for 35th. An off year in Milwaukee for Roberts, and yet he still managed to grab headlines by taking the first-round lead after tying the course record with a 62. Add to a strong history at this event that Roberts is among the best in 1998 and it becomes obvious that he is the golfer focus your binoculars on. No that you had a wide variety of choices. Roberts, who won for the first time since 1997 CVS Charity Classic at this year's Byron Nelson Classic, has returned to his form of the mid-90s. He's tops on Tour in third round scoring average and par 3 performance. He's also No. 2 on Tour in driving accuracy, No. 11 in greens in regulation, No. 9 in scoring average and No. 6 with six top-10 finishes. The '99 campaign comes off an up and down 1998 season. After opening '98 with five consecutive cuts made, Roberts injured his ribs at Bay Hill Invitational. He withdrew from Bay Hill, and struggled through two rounds at The Players Championship before succumbing to his injury and taking off the entire month of April. Upon his return, Roberts missed cuts at GTE Byron Nelson and MasterCard Colonial, but then didn't miss a cut the remainder of the season. In all, he closed the year with 13 consecutive cuts made, and finished in the top 10 three times. He hasn't cooled off in 1999 either. He has seven top 25 finishes and over $1 million in earnings and has made 11 of 14 cuts. Roberts heads to Milwaukee with his 'A' game in tact. He followed up a fifth-place finish at the Buick Open two weeks ago with a strong showing through three rounds of last week's Western Open. He was among the leaders before a final-round 79. No, Tiger and David will not be gunning it out on the back nine for the title in Milwaukee this week. Heck, Tiger won't be battling it out with Mike Weir. But if history has anything to say about it, Loren Roberts should make some Tiger-like roars.
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