Lardon readies for PGA Championship

BY RON MEARS
Special to Rice News

Golfers on the PGA Tour put in countless hours working on their games, let alone preparing for one of the four major events held each year. Former Rice University letterman Brad Lardon ’88 is one of a handful of players who will not have that luxury ahead of the final major of the year, the PGA Championship.

Lardon qualified to play in the 93rd PGA Championship, set for Aug. 8-14 at the Atlanta Athletic Club, by finishing in a fifth-place tie at the PGA Professional Championship. The nation’s best golf club professionals and teachers who are members of the Professional Golfers Association of America make up the tournament field, and the 20 low scorers at the championship — including Lardon — advanced to the PGA Championship.

	BRAD LARDON

For the coming weeks, Lardon will work around his “day job” as director of golf at Miramont Country Club in Bryan, Texas, to get ready for what will be his second PGA Championship and the fourth major tournament of his career.

“I will not have the time to prepare like a tour player,” he said. “I try to remind myself of my years post-Rice when I trained unbelievably hard all day, every day for 12 years and hope that it kicks back in.”

Lardon played six years on the PGA Tour and also has five years of experience on the PGA Nationwide Tour.

He hopes to make a preview trip to Atlanta to get in a couple rounds prior to the championship to get an idea about the course. But he will also have to work around his daily schedule of teaching and running the golf operation at Miramont to get some time in on the range and the course to practice the appropriate shots required to play well in the tournament.

“I am pretty fortunate to have a single owner here at Miramont,” Lardon said. “Mr. (Donald A.) Adam, who is the founder and owner, has been very supportive of me when I have had an opportunity to do something like this. Some guys don’t have that opportunity and not every facility works the way this one does. I have great support from my ownership at Miramont and that makes a world of difference.”

Lardon will also benefit from previously playing in three majors. He made the cut at the 2002 U.S. Open played at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, N.Y. He also played in the 2004 U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills in Southampton, N.Y., and missed the cut by one stroke at his first PGA Championship played in 2007 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, Okla.

“I have played enough (majors) that there are no surprises for me when I get there,” he said. “I know exactly what the process is going to be and who is going to be there. There is not a star-struck thing any more.

“I know the difficulty at which they set the course up,” he added. “Each course is different, but generally I know what to expect before I get there. Experience is a big thing.”

Qualifying for a Championship

Lardon last qualified for the PGA Championship in the same fashion he did this year, by having one of the low scores at the PGA Professionals National Championship. He tied for 16th at the 2007 event and has qualified for the national championship each of his five years of eligibility.

He qualified for the 2011 national championship by winning the Southern Texas PGA Professional Championship, one of 41 sectional championships conducted by the PGA.

At last month’s national championship, he carded a four-round score of 278 (-7).

“I hit the ball pretty well all four days, but the last two days my putter came along and allowed me to create some offense,” Lardon said. “Mentally, I was really good during the event, staying in the moment.”

Lardon began the national championship with an even par round before going three-under the second day during a bogey-free 18 holes. He finished the tournament with 12 birdies over the last 36 holes. He got off to a fast start for his third round and was 3-under par at the turn en route to a 68. He began the final round in ninth place and, despite challenging weather conditions, shot a 1-under par 70 to move up four spots and land a top 5 finish.

“I played nice and solid,” he said. “When you are a working guy, you really never know what you are going to get. I never get to prepare like I did when I played on the tour, so I was very pleased with the results.”

More reason to celebrate

In addition to qualifying for the PGA Championship, the fifth-place finish at the PGA Professionals National Championship moved Lardon a step closer to making the United States’ PGA Cup team.

Much like the Ryder Cup, a biennial golf competition between professional players from the United States and Europe, the PGA Cup brings together PGA club professionals from the U.S. and Great Britain and Ireland in much the same match-play format.

Right now, Lardon ranks ninth on the PGA’s two-year points list, which determines the United States’ 10-member team. If he makes the cut at the PGA Championship, he would automatically qualify for the PGA Cup.

“For me that is bigger than the PGA itself having never represented the country in anything like that before,” Lardon said. “That would be awesome if I can maintain my position on the team.”

The 25th PGA Cup Match will be played Sept. 16-18 at CordeValle Resort in San Martin, Calif.

–Ron Mears is assistant sports information director in the Athletics Department.