Shining Mountain Slated to Open in Early May; Senior U.S. Open Arriving at Broadmoor
Rick Langenberg
Whoever said golf is not enthralling on television.
This theory was jolted by the Rory McIlroy thriller on Masters Sunday (April 13), proving once again this tourney is not one to be missed by sports fans junkies. If you only want to see one golf tourney on TV for a single year, pick the final nine of the Masters, held every spring at Georgia’s Augusta National, the traditional kick-off for golf’s Major Championship series. The Bobby Jones masterpiece classic has almost been equated to golf’s version of the Kentucky Derby, mixed with a little Southern hospitality, and yes, Georgia cultural flair.
Moreover, it gets golf fever sizzling, especially for those of up here in the Teller high country, especially as we anxiously await the opening of the Shining Mountain course. And this year, we get to gear up for the U.S. Senior Open at the Broadmoor in late June. Nothing like the Master to really rev up the links locomotive energy.
The 2025 saga had all the elements of one of the greatest golf dramas: A valiant but flawed hero; majestic but disastrous water monsters, namely the evil Rae’s Creek; some amazing rival contenders, and even a little bit of much needed golf trash talk; the overcoming of self-inflicted psychological demons; and history in the making. Rory, the popular Northern Ireland golf prodigy, is now just one of six players in the history of the game to win the acclaimed Grand Slam (winning the U.S. Open, British Open, P.G.A. and now the Masters). The last one to achieve this goal was, you probably guessed, a Mr. Tiger Woods in 2000. But Tiger’s Grand Slam was practically a done deal by the time he started playing professional. And his 2000 year, may eventually go down as the greatest golf season of any mortal human being. He intimidated practically every player on the planet with his skills and killer-competitive mind set.
McIlroy’s win, though, was more of a people’s journey. You have a guy wrestling with serious demons, stemming back to when he nearly had the Masters title in his hands as a 21-year-old lad. At the time, Rory garbed a hairdo that resembled something from a member of a punk rock band performing in an Irish pub. And for that particular Masters in 2011, Rory had a four-shot lead going into the final round, but then completely obliterated his chances in the final nine, eventually carding a disastrous 80 (at least from pro golf standards). And even last summer, he fell short in the U.S. Open, missing several putts that half the crowd in the Shining Mountain bar could have sunk (well at least the way they bragged at the time).
Then, there is the political popular Rory, the guy who has openly tussled with the blood-stained LIV rival golf league, funded by a bunch of Saudia Arabia killers. Although he has moderated his stance somewhat regarding the LIV situation, Rory was the first top player, who really challenged this tainted organization, which has corrupted many top former stars on the PGA tour with huge sign-up contracts, such as Phil Mickelson and Jon Rahm. By selling their soul to a bunch of killers, many of these players can’t compete in any PGA tour events, except for some of the majors they have pre-qualified for.
Rory has even had a conflict or two with President Donald Trump, who has tried himself to intervene in the PGA/LIV golf civil war.
And then there was McIlroy’s final round of 73, not exactly a gold standard by the way these guys play. Balls hit wayward off the tee many times, a key chip shot dunked in the creek and a “choke-itis” missed put on the final hole. One of his shots on the 13th hole look like a classic flop that you would see someone from Shining Mountain strike. Rory’s clunked a shot into Rae’s Creek, which was a good 20 years short of where he intended to go. His chances of winning then appeared doomed. It was a fun and roller-coaster round with recovery and daredevil shots that electrified the crows and many TV viewers.
It may go down as the most hard-fought 73 ever recorded in a final round of a major championship, certainly at the Masters. He didn’t have his best stuff but almost resembled the grit of Tom Brady in some of those Super Bowls in which he had not right to win. When it really counted, Rory pulled off miraculous shots.
But in the end, Mighty Rory, who I regard as the best driver of the golf ball today, prevailed. It was almost like the people’s player was rewarded. Even though he carded four double bogeys throughout the tourney, Rory was able to come back from these setbacks.
The final round was a tester, as he was paired with LIV sensation and the 2024 U.S. Open champ, Bryson DeChambeau.
From the get-go, sports writers were comparing this duel as golf’s closest thing to a boxing match between the PGA and LIV tours. Bryson got the better of Rory last year in the U.S. Open, but that was not going happen this time around. Bryson was never a factor in the final round, as he just hit the ball all over the place and found his share of creeks too often.
Instead, McIlroy had to fend off Justin Rose, whose only crime is probably acting like too much of a nice guy.
Links Season Hits Pikes Peak Area
The Masters tourney is great entertainment. It is probably the one course many linksters know really well, even though they have probably never set foot on these sacred grounds or played a single shot there. The Masters is a bizarre institution as well, operating with their own rules. In fact, if you ever do see the tourney in-person, you are not permitted to run at any time to catch the action. Certain Broadcasters have been given the boot because they didn’t quite say the right, politically correct comments. The first ever female member at the Augusta National was Broncos-co-owner Connie Rice, and that didn’t occur until maybe a couple of years ago. The Augusta ruling body was not going to be rushed into having women members, a stance that once ignited a huge protest that really went nowhere.
Strange, weird and majestic place, but they run one heck of a tournament.
Symbolically, the Masters signals the official opening of links season in many parts of the country. Shining Mountain is only weeks away from opening for another season. League play is already getting organized. The SM Men’s League has their first official showdown in the later afternoon of April 25, consisting of a Skills Challenge. The tournament times are now getting finalized for a slew of charity events.
So, get ready to tee off at SM.
In addition, down the road a little, the Broadmoor Golf Club in Colorado Springs is hosting the 45th U.S. Senior Open from June 26-29.
This will serve as the third time the Broadmoor has been picked as the home site for the U.S. Senior Open. The last Senior Open outing was in the summer of 2018. What the Broadmoor East course lacks in length, even for pro-senior players, it will wreak havoc with thick patches of rough and super-tricky greens, regarded as some of the most difficult to putt in the entire world. The Broadmoor and the U.S. Senior Open are an ideal mix.
If you get a chance, don’t miss the Senior Open, even if you just get down there for a day or two, or mid-afternoon.
