NOTEBOOK \ From Southern Hills

Short trip: Bob Estes arrived at Southern Hills on Thursday at about 9 a.m. as an alternate, hoping to play in the PGA Championship for the 10th straight year. By 2 p.m., he was on his way back to the airport to fly home to Austin, Texas. At least it was a short trip. The last time Estes showed up at a major championship as an alternate, he flew from Texas to Scotland for the 2005 British Open at St. Andrews and still didn’t get in. This was one was because of miscommunication. Estes was the third alternate behind Brian Gay and Stephen Marino, but said he saw something on The Golf Channel on Wednesday that indicated Gay was in the field. That would move him up to No. 2, enough for him to start making travel plans. He called Sentient Jet, which has a marketing agreement with the PGA Tour, and was told a private jet from Austin to Tulsa would cost $9,000 and get him to Southern Hills in time for the first tee time at 7:30 a.m. “I decided to pay $175 on ExpressJet and get here at 8:30,” he said. Imagine his surprise to realize that Gay was still an alternate. Realizing that no one was about to withdraw, Marino left town. Gay was cleaning out his locker and Estes was back on the phone book another flight. “I made the mistake of not calling myself,” Estes said. Reminded that he was an alternate at St. Andrews and didn’t get in, Estes agreed that the return flight would be much shorter. “And I didn’t spend $9,000,” he said. “I would fly around the world for $9,000, but not to Tulsa.”

Furyk’s start: Jim Furyk was more worried about rust than an ailing back that caused him to pull out of a World Golf Championship last week at Firestone. His worst fears were realized quickly in the first round of the PGA Championship. Faced with a simple up-and-down on No. 1, he chipped to 8 feet and missed. Then came a three-putt at No. 2, and another bogey on the fourth that had the world’s No. 2 player at 4 over through four holes. Furyk played only nine holes each day leading to the final major. “My start wasn’t too good,” Furyk said. “That was what I wanted to focus on. Not having played much, I felt like getting off to a good start was important.” He settled down after that and only dropped one more shot, on No. 12, but he had no birdies on his card for a 75. In stifling heat, Furyk said his back felt fine. He told reporters Wednesday that he was hitting the ball poorly, although Furyk said he had few complaints with that department. “It was the mental mistakes and the stupid things,” he said. “I got what I got. I’m not happy with a 75.”

Associated Press