Former PGA golfer and long-time CBS Sports broadcaster Ken Venturi died yesterday afternoon, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
He was 82 years old.
His son, Matt Venturi, says he died in a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Venturi had been hospitalized the last two months for a spinal infection, pneumonia and an intestinal infection.
Venturi was all about overcoming the odds. He won the 1964 U.S. Open at Congressional despite playing with severe dehydration. He overcame a stuttering problem as a kid in San Francisco to spend 35 years in the broadcast booth with CBS Sports. He also was the Presidents Cup captain in 2000.
Venturi was inducted into the Hall of Fame on May 6, but was unable to attend the ceremony due to illness.
The San Francisco native, Venturi won 14 PGA Tour events before retiring in 1967.
Byron Nelson Classic
Keegan Bradley again bogeyed Nos. 1 and 18 in the second round. But, unlike the first round, Bradley didn’t set a course record. But he still finished with a three-stroke lead.
Those bogies were part of a 1-under 69 that got him to 11-under 129, the lowest 36-hole total at the Nelson since 2001.
Tom Gillis, who shot 63 in the first group of the day off the No. 10 tee, and Sang-Moon Bae (66) were tied for second. Guan Tianlang, the 14-year-old amateur from China, missed the cut with rounds of 70 and 77.
World Match Play
In Kavarna, Bulgaria, Ian Poulter was eliminated after losing another round-robin match. Poulter lost to Thomas Aiken, 1 up, when he bogeyed the last hole after missing the fairway.
Poulter lost to Thongchai Jaidee on Thursday. Yesterday morning, Jaidee beat Aiken, 1 up.
Mobile Bay LPGA Classic
In Mobile, Ala. Jessica Korda shot a 7-under 65 to take a one-stroke lead over Hall of Famer Karrie Webb after the second round.
Madeira Islands Open
In Santo da Sera, Scotland’s Craig Lee took a one-stroke lead over American Peter Uihlein and Chile’s Mark Tullo during the darkness-suspended second round.