A Big Ten rivalry revisited at 3M

Joey Sindelar took down a hometown golfing legend that day back in 1981.

At the Big Ten championship 30 years ago in the Twin Cities, Sindelar, then a senior at Ohio State, fired a 271 at Les Bolstad Golf Course that still stands at the best 72-hole score in conference championship history.

In second place? Minnesota's Tom Lehman.

By five strokes.

"Oh yeah, Tom's picked on me a couple times, saying how I murdered them and all that," Sindelar said after he shot a 6-under 66 at the 3M Championship on Friday. "My only reply to him is, 'Yeah, but who's got the British Open and a fabulous, fabulous career?'"

So with the hometown hero playing in his first 3M Championship this week on the course he helped design just miles away from the site where he lost to Sindelar, consider the flames of that old-school, in-conference rivalry officially rekindled at TPC Twin Cities.

"I don't remember the incidentals, but it was a huge thrill and a big stepping stone for me," Sindelar said. "That Big Ten championship medal is high in the trophy case."

Sindelar partied like it was '81 again on Tuesday. He birdied four holes during his first nine and sits two strokes back of co-leaders Jay Haas and John Huston.

Lehman, the current Schwab Cup leader, fired a 7-under 65 with seven birdies and no bogeys. He and Sindelar were the only players to hit all 18 greens in regulation. So far, Lehman has a slight scoring edge over his old college nemesis.

"Got to try and keep that Buckeye from doing it again," Lehman said. "He's been playing awfully well lately, extremely well. He has the length, I think, to have an advantage over most guys on this course."

If strength comes in numbers, then former Buckeyes have the edge at 3M. John Cook, a member of the '79 national championship team alongside Sindelar, and Rod Spittle (7 under) are also in Blaine.

"Everything that we talk about as a team revolves around winning national championships, and they were the last national championship team," said Sindelar's son Jamie, a golfer at Ohio State. "It's fun to hear him talking about them being great back then, and they're still playing at such a high level. Sixty-fives don't happen magically, and a big chunk of those guys have come out of the Big Ten."

With two more days remaining, Sindelar knows better than to bring up the conference championship.