Sports Desk
From the Scene’s desk at McCabe Pub
—Brian Blackwell
Before Sunday’s Music City Championship, Jim Ahern had not won a golf tournament in four years. In fact, Ahern, 54, had amassed less than $15,000 in his PGA career. But with six shots separating him and the field heading into the final round, Ahern took full advantage of perfect conditions and Springhouse’s birdie-friendly design. Ahern insured the win with his performances on Friday and Saturday—firing rounds of 64 and 63. His 54-hole total of 20-under par (196) is a record for the decade-old event, besting previous low marks set by Hale Irwin (2000) and Isao Aoki (1998) by two strokes. Ahern’s wire-to-wire finish earned him a cool $210,000 and a stellar trophy guitar. “I just hope I get the chance to defend this title,” said Ahern when questioned about the tournament’s lack of a corporate sponsorship heading into 2004. “Nashville is a super city and the event is first-class.”.♦ Stat of the week: A day removed from a third-round 76, Tiger Woods fired a 65 Sunday at the Memorial—a round that saw Tiger make four birdies and an eagle on the back nine. ♦ In case you haven’t noticed, the Sounds’ Tike Redman is having a fantastic first half of the season. The speedy centerfielder has hit safely in 18 of his last 22 games, batting .400 (30-for-75) during that span. Redman is 24-for-26 in steals this season and has reached base in 44 of 48 games he has played. Not surprisingly, Redman paces Nashville with 36 runs scored. Last week against Iowa, he recorded the Sounds’ first five-hit effort of the season. Earlier this year, he became the franchise leader in triples (29). ♦ The must-see TV event for this week occurs Saturday, when Roger Clemens travels to Chicago’s Wrigley Field in hopes of securing the 300th victory of his illustrious career. The regular season’s AL-NL match-up marks the first time the Yankees have been guests of the Cubs since their victorious World Series appearance in 1938. Clemens, who has failed to land the marquee win during his last two outings (against his former Red Sox and the lowly Tigers), must defeat a division leading Cubs squad who will counter the Rocket with flamethrower Kerry Wood.
