’16 champ Sauers in a good place
PEABODY — In one of the bluest of blue states in the country, it might seem a bit odd that such an ardent supporter of Donald Trump might feel as comfortable as Gene Sauers does about being in the Boston area for this week’s U.S. Senior Open at Salem Country Club.
As part of his introduction at yesterday morning’s press conference, the defending champion was asked what the coolest thing he did with the Francis Ouimet Trophy after he claimed it last year at Scioto Country Club in Upper Arlington, Ohio.
“I guess the coolest thing would probably be to take it down there to Mr. Trump at Palm Beach, Trump’s place down there,” Sauers said while wearing a shirt and hat emblazoned with the Trump logo. “He got to hold it a few times, and he loved it and I got some pictures with him and stuff like that.”
Sauers added that he used the trophy as a wine glass, but it typically stood in the foyer of his home to greet guests.
There are multiple reasons for Sauers to enjoy his trips to the area. The Georgia native won his first PGA Tour title in Sutton at the Bank of Boston Classic in September 1986, and he has plenty in common with most Bostonians given his love for Celtics legend Larry Bird, something he took from his father.
“That was one of his favorite players so he just kind of took me under his wing and I watched that,” Sauers said.
As a present to his father for that win at Pleasant Valley, he flew him in for Game 4 of the 1987 NBA Finals at the Garden.
“It was just a thrill to be there in Game 4, I think they lost by two points (the C’s lost by one, 107-106). Magic Johnson did like right there in the last seconds to beat them by one or two,” Sauers said while mimicking the Los Angeles Lakers star’s famous sky hook with 2 seconds left.
When Sauers was at Salem CC last month for the media preview day, he was presented a pair of Bird socks by USGA tournament director Ben Kimball.
Sauers left the PGA Tour in 2005, frustrated by the grind, and had no intentions of picking up a club again. But in 2011, he had a near-fatal experience following a diagnosis of Stevens-Johnson Syndrome that had initially been treated as rheumatoid arthritis and resulted in his skin burning from the inside out. Toward the end of his hospital stay, he began to mentally go through his swing, sewing the seeds for a comeback that started in 2012 on the Web.com Tour, just before his 50th birthday.
“I don’t know if I would have picked it back up or not,” Sauers said. “Just something in the hospital, a light went off in my head and said I want to play golf again.”
Playing with friends, he shot 1-under 71 in his first round back.
The results came quickly on the Champions Tour with two top-10 finishes in five starts in 2012 and seven more in 22 events in 2013. He nearly broke through at the 2014 U.S. Senior Open, losing to Colin Montgomerie in a playoff, before making a 5-foot par putt at the 18th hole to defeat Miguel Angel Jimenez and Billy Mayfair by 1 shot last year. This year, Sauers is still hoping to find a driver to his liking, having cracked his favorite one last month at the Tradition, and working on a putting game that is lagging at the moment, something he feels could be problematic at this golf course.
“It’s a demanding golf course around the greens,” he said.