Jerry Kelly entered this week’s KitchenAid Senior PGA as one of the favorites, then promptly went out on Thursday and shot 75, which tied him for 85th. He was smart about how he approached things, thinking only of finding a way, somehow, some way on a very difficult test, to get back to even par. He nearly did that on Friday, shooting the day’s second-best round (to Mike Weir), a 4-under 66. And Saturday he was solid again, making 17 pars and a birdie to shoot 69. Best yet, he has climbed back somewhere near contention – he is T-6, at even-par 210 – without really having his best stuff.
“I fought back with out a lot of firepower,” Kelly said. “I’ve texted a couple guys and just saying that's sheer will out there. I didn't have much. A couple of the young players who are trying to get out there, I was texting with them going, you know, just something to learn from and it's something I can always take away from it. Just being a grinder out there as much as you can.
“When I got to 5-over through 11 holes in this championship, it was a little bit of a shock. I was fairly confident coming in and it was just bye-bye at the wrong time. That's the game. You hate it but, yeah, that's the game.”
