Jim Dent, the long-hitting pro who started in golf as a caddie in Augusta, Georgia, and went on to win 12 PGA Tour Champions titles, died Friday at age 85. Dent had suffered a stroke shortly after attending the Masters last month, the PGA Tour reported on its website.
Dent caddied at Augusta National and Augusta Country Club and developed his game at Augusta Municipal Golf Course, widely known as “The Patch.” After attending Paine College in Augusta for a year, he moved to New Jersey and later Los Angeles, where he took lessons from Johnny Goodman, the last amateur to win the U.S. Open in 1933.
Dent played tournaments on the United Golfers Association, a circuit for African Americans, before earning a PGA Tour card on his third attempt in 1970. He played 16 seasons, his best finish a runner-up behind Jack Nicklaus at the 1972 Walt Disney World Open Invitational. After turning 50, Dent became a force on the senior tour, winning a dozen times between 1989 and 1998. READ MORE
Members of Ireland’s Portmarnock Golf Club overwhelmingly approved course modifications to facilitate the Dublin club hosting the AIG Women’s Open and the Open Championship in the future, the Irish Independent reported.
The changes proposed by architects Tom Mackenzie and Martin Ebert were approved by more than 90 percent of the ordinary members, leaving it up to the Irish government, which has promised up to €40 million in funding, and the R&A to agree how best to stage a modern major at the course, the report said. READ MORE
Tap-Ins
Rory McIlroy’s investment firm, Symphony Ventures, is teaming up with the private equity firm TPG to start TPG Sports, a fund that will focus on investments across the sports industry. READ MORE
Severe storms last Tuesday damaged a hospitality structure under construction at Oakmont Country Club in preparation for next month’s U.S. Open, according to multiple news reports. Despite sustaining significant damage, the structure known as the Trophy Club is expected to be up and running in time for the Open, the USGA said in a statement. READ MORE
Bethpage State Park, the Farmingdale, New York, public golf complex whose Black course will host the 2025 Ryder Cup, is revamping its tee-time reservation system to combat bots that have bombarded the system to score starting times before the masses. READ MORE
Compiled by Mike Cullity