Stolen clubs put a blemish on amateur Tony Wise's first U.S. Senior Open start

July 3, 2023 | by Justin Golba of AmateurGolf.com

As Wise was preparing to play in his first U.S. Senior Open, he went out to his car at a hotel and saw nothing but broken glass.

Tony Wise was preparing to play in the most important tournament of his golf career, his first-ever U.S. Senior Open. Then he woke up to broken glass and no golf clubs. After playing a round at Muirfield Village in Dublin, Ohio on June 27, Wise left his golf clubs in his car at the hotel has was staying at, and when he woke up, the clubs he "un-wisely" (pun intended) left in his car were gone. Wise was feeling great about his game heading into the U.S. Senior Open, but having his clubs stolen put a damper on what should have been one of the best weeks of his career. “I was playing as well as I ever have,” Wise said. “I was striking it great.” The head professional at Frankfurt Country Club, where Wise is a member, did a great job of helping him piece together a full set on short notice, but the new driver was a problem at SentryWorld. “One of my strengths is driving the golf ball," said Wise. "I hit ten fairways in two days. I had no confidence in where it was going when I was standing over (the ball).” Wise finished 21 over pat and missed the cut. “My Caddie and I talked afterwards.” Wise said. “This was our first major event so we talked about things we could have done different.” No doubt, the amateur move of leaving your clubs in the car at a hotel parking lot was at the top of the list. Wise had a nice new driver to play with, but consistency is hard to find with an untested club. “At the end of the day, I just didn’t have enough reps with it,” Wise said. “It is not an excuse for my play it is just a fact.” “I was a little starry-eyed on Tuesday,” Wise told WSAW, referring to his practice partners Jeff Sluman, Tim Herron, and John Huston. “I got to play with three big names, and that was pretty emotional, up and down. But after that, you know, they’re just normal guys. They’re just really, really good at golf.”

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