As Gary McCord and Bobby Clampett battled through windy conditions at Kapolei, the third member of the CBS analyst team expected to be here was in Florida.
Ian Baker-Finch withdrew from the Pacific Links Hawaii Championship this week due to an elbow injury he suffered preparing for the event.
"He’s got a detached tendon, so he’s going to have to go on the operating table," said McCord, who has spent 27 years working for CBS and the last seven with Baker-Finch. "He’s going to be out for a while probably."
Baker-Finch didn’t miss much, at least from his two CBS comrades, who struggled in the breezy conditions, combining to shoot nine over in Friday’s opening round.
McCord, teeing it up for just the second time on the Champions Tour this year, bogeyed four of his first six holes and finished at 6 over.
Clampett, a full-time member of the Champions Tour with two top-10s in his last three events, bogeyed three of his final four holes to finish at 3 over after a wild up-and-down start on his opening nine.
"I had probably the worst putting round of the year and worst green-reading round of the year," said Clampett, who still covers The Masters and other big events for CBS. "My green reading was pathetic today. It was a poor score."
Clampett’s score was the more surprising number between the two.
Teeing it up for the 14th time, Clampett has won nearly 77 percent of his $199,697 season earnings in the past month.
His 10-under finish at the Boeing Classic in late August earned him fourth place and a check for $76,857.
He followed that up with a fifth-place showing at the Shaw Charity Classic at the beginning of this month, pocketing a cool $73,400.
Clampett went six straight holes on Friday without a par, making three birdies and three bogeys on his opening nine.
He was at even for the round with four to play when he bogeyed Nos. 6, 7, and 8 to finish in a tie for 64th place.
"Three three-puts, hardly any up-and-downs — it was a poor scoring day," Clampett said.
McCord happened to be in town giving a clinic and a speech on behalf of TaylorMade, a golf equipment company he represents.
The Colorado resident decided he might as well play as long as he’s here, but it didn’t turn out to be quite as fun as he hoped.
"I’ve been home practicing with no wind, perfect conditions, 75 degrees," said McCord, who is tied for 79th. "All of a sudden you tune it up to about 20-, 25-mph winds and I was like, ‘Whoa.’ I would have gone inside if I was home."
McCord’s only other finish on the Champions Tour this year was a 10-over score at the Toshiba Classic in March, good for 80th place.
