McCarron admits time required he play game wisely

NOTES AND QUOTES for a Monday in the Napa Valley:

Scott McCarron was among the top 10 in driving distance on the PGA Tour for a period of about seven years.

As he gets older and sees some other players hitting the ball farther than him, McCarron said he has to be a little more crafty on the golf course.

“I am hitting it a lot straighter,” he said. “I’m hitting a lot more fairways now and not going after the big bomb all the time.

“I am thoroughly amazed at how far these young kids are hitting it. But we are getting bigger and stronger athletes playing golf.”

McCarron, a Vintage High School graduate and former Napa resident, turned in his best week of the season, shooting a final round 71 Sunday and finishing in a tie for 10th at the Northern Trust Open at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles.

McCarron, the 36-hole leader who began the final round in a tie for third place, was 11-under and won $157,500. He finished four shots behind Phil Mickelson, the winner.

He had surgery on his right elbow in 2006 for a torn radial brevis tendon and took a year and a half off. But McCarron, who played his junior golf at Silverado Resort, said he’s very healthy.

“The elbow feels really good right now and I’m actually in better shape right now than I think I’ve ever been on Tour,” he said. “I’m at about the same weight I was when I first came out 15 years ago.

“We’ve moved down from Reno to La Quinta in order for me to play and practice and get ready for the season, and I really feel it’s paying off. I’m very comfortable with my game and very comfortable with the way I’m feeling.”

McCarron tied for 34th at the Bob Hope Classic hosted by Arnold Palmer, tied for 53rd at the FBR Open, and tied for 84th at the Buick Invitational.

A three-time winner on Tour, he missed the cut at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am last week. His last victory came at the 2001 BellSouth Classic.

“Even though I maybe haven’t won a lot of tournaments, I’ve still put myself in position and had a nice little run,” he said.

“I think that injury certainly interrupted some of my play, but I’m excited to play. And maybe it was a good thing; I got to be home for a year and a half to be with the family, and now I’ve rededicated myself to getting back and winning golf tournaments.”   

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Junior golfer Trace Libby, a Future Collegians World Tour Third-Team All-American from Glendale, Ariz., will be the guest of “The Napa Show” Wednesday night at 6 p.m. on Napa Valley TV-Channel 28.

Stacy Reyes is the host of the program’s sports segment.

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Andrew Damron of Yountville beat Brandon McNally of Burlingame, 4 and 3, in the San Francisco City Golf Championship’s Round of 64 Saturday at Harding Park.

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Rich Anderson has a coaching tree that he can be very proud of.

All four head coaches at last week’s season-opening Fred Scaruffi game — Vintage’s Cam Neal and Brent Koen, Rodriguez’s Jason Chatham and Derek Texdahl — played baseball for Anderson when he coached the Crushers.

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KVON-1440 AM will carry Thursday night’s Nevada Union-Napa High CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I first-round girls basketball playoff game from Messner Gym. Air time is 6:45 p.m.

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Gilbert Lima of Napa was a 6-1, 6-4 winner over Maury Van Streefkerk of Lotus, Calif., in the quarterfinals of the 19th annual Solano NTRP (National Tennis Rating Program) Championships earlier this month. Lima won in the men’s 3.0 singles division.

E-mail Executive Sports Editor Marty James at mjames@napanews.com or call 256-2223.

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