Champions Tour Insider: Roberts wants another major

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Loren Roberts will go for back-to-back majors this week as he tries to win a Senior U.S. Open for the first time.

This is an ideal time on the Champions Tour to find the right groove. Get hot now and big things can happen.

Nobody has to tell that to Loren Roberts. The thought of winning back-to-back majors has crossed his mind.

"It would be nice," Roberts said. "Hopefully I can ride a little wave of momentum here."

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Roberts, winner of last week's Senior Open Championship on the Old Course at Sunningdale in Berkshire, England, begins his quest for another major championship Thursday at Crooked Stick Golf Club in Carmel, Ind.

Roberts has been thinking about the Senior U.S. Open for weeks.

"I've done my homework," he said. "I went up to Crooked Stick and spent many days there practicing about three weeks ago. So ... I should be a little bit more prepared than just showing up with a day to practice."

Roberts is two victories shy of the career grand slam on the Champions Tour. The U.S. Senior Open and the Senior PGA Championship are missing. He can correct one of those omissions this week at Crooked Stick.

Roberts, a playoff loser to Ernie Els in the 1994 U.S. Open, has won four majors on the Champions Tour in 19 starts. The first came at the JELD-WEN Tradition in 2005. The victory started a streak of major victories in three straight years. He also won the Senior Open Championship in 2006 at Turnberry and followed it up a year later with the Senior Players Championship.

"I don't think there's any secret," he said.

By that, Roberts meant his approach at Sunningdale was purposeful. When he needed good shots, he delivered. When he needed a birdie, he got it.

It's the way, Roberts said, that Tom Watson plays the game. Watson's near-miss at Turnberry two weeks ago made a lasting impression.

"I shed some tears," Roberts said. "My wife and I both did. In my mind, I thought he won the championship.

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Tom Watson will play his third major in a row this week.

"But of all the guys that I think could do that, he would probably be the one because he hits the ball so good, and understands links golf better than, I think, anybody that comes from the U.S., and he's so positive about the way he plays. That's what I've always admired about Tom, about how he sees the shot, decides what he's going to play, picks the club, hits it. He doesn't fiddle-faddle around. He's always positive that way."

Among the challenges facing Watson this week is getting familiar once again with Crooked Stick, which hosted the 1991 PGA Championship.

"I have to re-learn the golf course," said Watson, who missed the cut in '91. "I don't remember much about it. The main thing I'm concerned about is lack of preparation. I have two practice rounds and will still probably be pretty tired. Main thing is try to learn the golf course."

And while he's learning, Watson plans to take a "pretty conservative" approach for the first couple of rounds and see how he fares.

"I'm hitting the ball well enough that I think I'll be in there," Watson said. "But if the putting works out, then it would be good and I can play conservatively and maybe get to know the golf course by Friday."

The U.S. Senior Open will be the third major in three weeks for Watson, and two-in-a-row for most of the Champions Tour. It's a tough, grinding road, especially considering the intensity of what Watson faced at Turnberry. Throw in a couple of trans-Atlantic flights, jet lag and time changes, and the demands are comprehensive.

"I wish they'd change it," Watson said. "It would be nice to have a break, because these (Champions Tour majors) are important tournaments. They are very important."

And next up is another Champions Tour major, the JELD-WEN Tradition, Aug. 17-23, in Sunriver, Oregon.

Watson said Tuesday his prospects at Crooked Stick it will come down to putting. At Sunningdale, he was pleased with his ball-striking but suffered nine three-putts.

"I didn't get the putter working very well," he said. "I made an adjustment the last day. I'm really looking forward to putting the adjustment in play this week."

Fuzzy Zoeller, who is playing at home in Indiana, expects a "very good championship" on a golf course that has been set up "very, very fair for the players.

"There will be some good scores shot but, overall, the golf course will win," said Zoeller, who also lamented his putting. "I'm just not making anything. ... We go as our putters go. It's just a game of patience. One thing about winning an Open, you need patience galore."

Champions Tour Insider notes:

• Zoeller on playing at home: "I don't think of it as pressure. An embarrassment, maybe, if I don't show. but all I can do is try. Always assume that I am trying. I've been hitting the ball pretty well. It's a matter of whether the putter wants to act right."

• Langer and Roberts are 1-2 in both the Charles Schwab Cup points list and the money list ... Fred Funk and Mark McNulty are also in the top five in each category. Funk is third in the Schwab Cup standings and fifth in money; McNulty is fifth in the Schwab Cup and third in money ... Tom Purtzer remains the season-long leader in driving distance (305.9 yards) ... David Edwards is best in driving accuracy (80.29 percent) and Langer is best in total driving, the statistic that combines distance and accuracy.

• Langer also leads in greens in regulation by a slim margin, 76.85 to 76.60, over Dan Forsman. No surprise in the putting categories. Morris Hatalsky and Ben Crenshaw are 1-2 in putts per green. Hatalsky, Jay Haas, Andy Bean and Crenshaw are the top four in putting average.