Not many have seen a semi-60 round of golf… ever. In fact, there have only been 12 in the history of the PGA Tour.
On Sunday, June 5 at the Geneva National Resort & Club, thousands of spectators enjoyed some of the best batting and shortstop matches we’ve ever witnessed as the game’s top celebrity, Paige Spiranac, and PGA Champions Tour icon [and Wisconsin’s own] Gerry Kelly introduced magic to the crowds, pouring 16 birdies in all and two eagles on an 18-hole show round dubbed “Beauty vs. the Beast”.
There will be no monster, though – just the champions, as the club had been informed late the night before that John Daly – who was originally scheduled to face Paige in this highly anticipated match – would not be appearing due to persistent knee pain and sciatica. The national leadership in Geneva was sent into an all-out struggle to save the day for the thousands of fans who bought tickets to Monday’s hype-worthy event that has been in the works for the better part of a year.
As many members of the golf media, I played poker into the late hours of Sunday night indoors The Ridge Lake Geneva Worked by Bergarten, Chief Operating Officer of Paloma Resort Properties and General Manager of GN Resort, Glenn Murray all possible angle.
There aren’t many golfers who could replace the legendary John Daly, but they did find the right one to commit to the next morning before 11:00 that night: Wisconsin’s Jerry Kelly.
Kelly, who returned to Madison after a seven-less final run tied for second with Steve Stricker earlier in the day at the Principal Charity Classic at Wakunda in Des Moines, Iowa, described Daly’s placement as an “easy yeah.”
Introduced before the tour, he stunned the massive crowd on pole position with the first time he took Daly’s place, at the start of his professional career. When Daly withdrew from a PGA event, Kelly was invited to take his place in what would be the beginning of his career. While preparing to put the green, a nearby player was talking about how disappointed he was that he was supposed to play John Daly, but “all of a sudden he’s been paired with Jerry Kelly. Who is Jerry Ving Kelly?” (JFK)
“I went up to him, shook his hand, and said, ‘Hi, I’m Jerry Ving Kelly!'” “
What was initially billed as a competitive head-to-head match between Daly and Spiranac has been turned into a charity rally where each bird awarded by Paige and JFK will add another $2,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation and Heart of a Lion.
Kelly’s stories and demeanor endeared him to crowds all day long. He and Paige, who couldn’t have been more sweet to the crowd, entertained between shots, inviting lucky kids and spectators to try and put them through the most holes and tee shots on several scores (one of the reasons Jerry’s 59 isn’t an official course record) is because they got some good reads. !), had great lively banter and genuinely enjoyed the day. So did the fans. When Kelly charged from over 40 yards on the seventh for another birdie, the crowd roared.
And Paige never excelled.
As written in this month’s Golf Digest article”How Paige Spiranac Took A Life She Never Wanted And Turned It Into Golf’s Biggest Social Media EmpireIt’s not just Maxim The sexiest woman on the planet. She was one of the world’s top female amateurs before giving up competitive golf in part due to anxiety issues, and as witnessed last year’s Putt with Paige for the grand opening of The Dance Floor at the Geneva National. She’s a world-class player and athlete whose game can be snagged. Playing golf with anyone.
She routinely hits a drive of over 260 yards, has great control of her irons, great sands and short game, and strokes like no one I’ve ever seen. Anyone other than Jerry Kelly. The two were infallible, and the fans who were lucky enough to attend were treated to an up close personal show the likes of which I had never seen before.
What are charitable organizations? JFK carded ten birdies and two eagles over 18 holes, and Paige had seven birdies of her own to collect a total of $42,000!
What started out as a troubling day when the Daly no-show was saved in a big way by the great people at Geneva National, Paige and Jerry and their teams. When you talk about turning lemons into lemonade, that was it.
WiscoGolfAddict’s role in the event
WiscoGolfAddict.com Contributing Writer and Professional Photographer, Rich Powerand I was in the thick of the action all day, filming the action from inside the ropes as well as from above the action and the crowds.
We took over 1,200 photos and videos. Here are some of our favourites:
Did you attend the Beauty vs. This year’s Beast at the Geneva National? What is your favorite memory and who would you like to add to the collection next year if/when it plays again? Comment below, we’d love to hear from you.