NISKAYUNA — These charity golf events are all about having a good time and raising money, but when any pro has a club in his hand, he still can produce at a skill level that most can only envy.
Take the 13th hole Tuesday afternoon at Mohawk Golf Club, where the second annual Charity Skins Game took place. Four proficient PGA Champions Tour players were on hand.
Tim Herron, a four-time PGA Tour winner with nearly $20 million in career earnings, showed his strength on the 515-yard, par-5 hole, powering a drive down the left side and hitting his approach shot over a bunker to within 15 feet for an eagle opportunity.
“He hit that iron in there, and I remember at The Memorial when he first got on the tour,” said Billy Andrade, himself a four-time PGA winner. “The 15th hole, the par 5, the pin was back right, big bunker on the right side that (Jack) Nicklaus used to have.
“He had a 1-iron from a hooky lie — a 1-iron! — and it never left the flag, just like that shot there. He went to three feet, and I said to him, ‘It’s one of the best golf shots I’ve ever seen.’ ”
The difference this time is Andrade one-upped him. Before Herron’s eagle attempt, Andrade chipped in from 28 yards away for an eagle. Herron missed his putt, so Andrade won the hole.
“How about that?” Herron said of his back-to-back superb shots. “Then Billy chips in. This is for charity, and it’s for fun. That’s the best part about it. People come out, beautiful day, great cause, and it’s great that some of the local people can see some golfers.”
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Schenectady were the biggest winners, as approximately $250,000 was raised for the second consecutive year. Herron also exacted some revenge on Andrade and the field — which included Chris DiMarco, the 2004 PGA and 2005 Masters runner-up, and Rocco Mediate, the 2008 U.S Open second-place finisher — by…
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