Golf Confessions

Sergio Garcia used his time with putting guru Stan Utley to his advantage and has a one shot lead after the first day of play at The Players Championship.  Sergio has been struggling with his putting for a while and has tried long putters, short putters, left hand low and anything else that he thought might help with his slump.  Utley has helped many tour players with their short game woes.  If Sergio can match his putting with his ball striking he will be a force to contend with this week.

Phil Mickelson had a solid round in his defense of his title.  Phil will have to over come the fact that no player has repeated back to back.  Ernie Els was going along comfortably until he came to the short par three seventeenth.  On the tee Ernie was two under par with two holes remaining.  Ernie proceeded to triple bogey the hole and went to number eighteen tee at one over par.  Ernie did what most good players do, he hit two great shots on eighteen and sunk his birdie putt to finish the day at even par.  This shows what will be on the players mind on Sunday afternoon, no lead is safe playing number 17. 

Trevor Immelman withdrew this morning from The Players Championship at Ponte Vedra, Fl.  It is unknown at this time what caused Trevor’s withdrawal.  He has already returned to his home in Orlando.

My how time flies, 26 years ago I was getting ready to caddy for Sam Snead in the first Players Championship played on the new TPC course at Sawgrass.  I was more nervous than if I were teeing it up myself.

Sam Snead and Arnold Palmer had been given a special exemption to play in the tournament to dedicate the new course.  When Sam got into town on Tuesday he went to his nephew’s home, J.C. Snead.  I was over at J. C. ’s when Sam got in.  After eating a bite and shooting the bull which Sam had no equal, he stood up and said that he was going over to the course and get registered and find a caddy.  For some reason I stood up and said, Sam I’ll caddy for you.  Sam looked at me in that special sort of way and said, can you carry that bag around the course.  Well I had a confident, well hell yes.  He said okay you got it.

Wednesday morning we went to the course for a practice round and my first experience at caddying for a legend.  I had played a lot of golf with Sam and J. C. but to be caddying on this stage was quite different.  I had no clue what I needed to do.  I found the caddy master and he filled me in, got me registered and told me what to do.  I found one of the regular tour caddies and bought a yardage book, which at the time looked like Greek.  We went out and had a good round and were ready for the opening round.

The first two rounds we were paired with Bob Murphy and Lee Elder.  I met Sam coming down the long ramp leading from the club house to the practice tee on Thursday morning.  Sam had a look and air about him that I had never seen.  He was very quite and had a special walk.  After we had walked about half way to the practice tee, Sam said, did you see what those B_____,_______, had in the paper this morning?  No I guess not, what are you talking about?  Well they had me a 1000 to 1  to win this ______ tournamnet.  He then said, I wish I were about 20 lbs. lighter and about 10 years younger and I would show those______ a thing or two. 

Sam made reference to that article several times during the round that day.  You could tell that he had a lot of pride and wished  so much that he could be competitive.  One time he said when he got home that he was going to really practice and get his butt into shape and he would show them a thing or two.  Keep in mind this is a man that was 69 years old at the time, but he still wanted to win.

Both Palmer and Sam missed the cut, Arnold shot 72-77 and Sam shot 77-81.    Guess who shot 79-80, Fred Couples.  Sam beat Fred by a shot. 

It was a great pleasure to be on that bag for those two days.  Sam showed me just what being a competitor was truly all about.  He tried his hardest on every shot.  Sam was the ultimate when it came to being a great champion and he played the game to win.  I will cherish forever the opportunity I had at the TPC that year and I was so fortunate two weeks later I caddied for Sam at The Master in his last official Masters as a player.

This year the winner of The Players will win $1,710,000 and last place  is worth $19,000.  In 1982 the winner, Jerry Pate, won $90,000 and last place won $1,ooo.  Compare that to Sam who leads the PGA with 82 wins and his official money for his career was $668,000.

The tournamnet has been moved from its traditional spot in March to May.  The move may help miss some rain but the wind may be a huge factor this week.  TPC at Sawgrass is projected to be hard and fast.

Phil will have an opportunity to show case his great short game in these conditions.  Over the past couple of years Phil has spent a lot time working on his full swing and neglected his short game.  But recently Phil has gotten back on his short game agenda and is hoping to see some positive results this week.  This tournament is very special to most of the participants.  There is a lot of prestige in winning The Players Championship.  The golf course is one of the toughest the tour plays all year and the field is always one of the very best.

None of the majors has as tough of a field as The Players.  The Masters has one of the weakest fields all year.  The field only has about 90+ players versuses a usually field of 156.  The field is made up of several amateurs and other tour leaders from around the world.  Then the cut is around 50 players.  The PGA has several pros from that are non tourning players.  The US Open and the British Open are open to open qualifying and this brings in a lot of non touring pros and seldom do many if any of these qualifiers make it to the weekend.

This should be an exciting week for the golf fan.  If the tournament is close come Sunday afternoon then watch for the treacherous 17 to offer some drama.

Sam Snead joined the tour in 1937.  This first year Sam won five tournaments and was runner-up in the US Open, one of four total runner-up finishes in the Open.  The US Open is the only major that Snead did not win, and this troubled Sam for the rest of his career.  Byron Nelson also won his first Masters tournament this year.

In this year the Vardon Trophy was awarded for the first time.  This trophy is given to the player for the lowest scoring average for the year.  And the first winner of this award was Harry Cooper. Cooper was also the leading money leader on tour that year with a total of $14,138.69. Harry Vardon whom the trophy was named after was a six time British Open Champion.  This is also the year that Harry Vardon died. 

1938 saw another break through for Snead in which he wins eight tournaments and sets a record for money earned on tour of $19,534.  As an example the players that tied for 13th this past week at The Wachovia Championship earned $22,428.  Anthony Kim made $1,152,000 for his victory, so Sam with his eight victories alone at this rate would have made $9,216,000.  Ben Hogan won his first PGA event this year at the Hershey Four-Ball with Vic Ghezzi as his partner.  Jimmy Demeret also wins his first PGA tournament with a victory at the San Francisco Open.

The fourteen club rule is adopted in 1939 by the R&A.  Sam Snead suffers another heart break when he takes a 8 on the final hole of the US Open, this knocks Sam out of the lead and cost him a playoff that is won by Byron Nelson.

This year saw the birth of two of the all time great players, Lee Trevino and Kathy Whitworth.

In 1940 the war in Europe starts to effect the golf world with the cancellation of the Walker Cup, British Amateur and the British Open.  Ben Hogan wins his first solo PGA event, The North-South Open.  Lloyd Mangrum wins the first of his 36 PGA events.  Ben Hogan is the official money leader on tour with $10,655.

1940 saw the birth of Jack Nicklaus and the death of Horace Rawlins the winner of the first US Open.

In 1941 St. Andrews suspends play and allows sheep to graze and prowl the old course fairways.  Ben Hogan is again the leading money winner with $18,358.  And Craig Wood wins the Masters and US Open.  As a peice of trivia Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead finish 1-2-3 in the Miami Open.

1942 saw a very limited schedule by the PGA.  The government stopped the manufacture of golf equipment and the rationing of material.  The majors had only two champions, The Masters won by Byron Nelson and the PGA was won by Sam Snead after he received a delay of induction into the Navy so he could play.  Nelson beat Hogan (69 to 70) to win the Masters.

Ben Hogan once again is the leading money leader with $13,143.  And the golf community looses a great architect in A. W. Tillinghast.  “Tillie the Terror”  as he was known was responsible for such great courses as Bethpage Black, Baltimore CC, Ridge Wood CC, Winged Foot, Quaker Ridge and two great courses at Baltusrol Golf Club.

In 1943 only three events are played on the PGA.    The Masters is cancelled for the remaining war years and Augusta National is shut down and a small herd of cattle roam the fairways.  There are no majors played this year.  No stats are kept for this year and there is no official money winner. 

Sandra Haynie, winner of 42 LPGA events is born this year.  Ted Ray winner of the 1912 British Open and 1920 US Open dies this year.

Byron Nelson wins the Texas Victory Open in 1944 which will eventually carry Byrons name as the official title.  Nelson is the leading money leader with $37,967 in war bonds.

1945 was the year of all years for Lord Byron Nelson.  Nelson won 18 tournaments of which 11 were in a row.  Byron wins $63,335 in war bonds.  Again, look at the money that Anthony Kim won for one tournament this past week $1,152,000.  Thank you TV!!!!!! and big time sponsors.  These old guys could really play- this year Hogan had set a 72 hole record of 261 and Nelson breaks this record a couple weeks later with a 259.

Babe Zaharias plays in three PGA events this year and finishes 33rd at Phoenix and 42nd at Tuscon.  Babe is thought to be the greatest female athlete ever. 

In 1946 at the tender age of 34 Byron Nelson retires from competitive golf with six victories.  Ben Hogan wins 13 times on the PGA and leads in money with  $42,556.16.  Hogan wins the PGA and looses the US Open and The Masters by one stroke. 

Sam Snead played in the British Open at St Andrews and when passing the old course on a train Sam comments “That looks like an old, abandoned golf course.” he goes on to win the British Open.

As you can see the game has been through a lot and those that did so much for the game that we enjoy today are to be thanked.

This week most of the best players in the world will be in Sawgrass playing The Players Championship.  The players feel that this tournament is a fifth major.  The course is one of the toughest played all year and the field is as good as it gets for any major. 

The last three holes on Sunday can give the leaders a real lump in their throats and  the pursurers know that they still have a chance.  Number seventeen is one of the most feared holes on a Sunday afternoon.  All of the players know that seventeen can make or break the day.  Len Mattice had his problems on Sunday at this hole a few years back.  He hit three balls in the water and fell off the leader board.  And Jeff Sluman had an unfortunate situation on this hole one Sunday when he was in contention for the win.  As Jeff got ready to putt, a spectator on a dare dove into the water that surrounds the island green.  After several minutes to remove the over jealous fan, Jeff proceeded to miss his putt.

Number sixteen is a reachable par five and can offer the player in need of a birdie or eagle an opportunity to gain some valuable ground on the leaders.  The number eithteen is one of the toughest par fours the players will play all year.  The left side is protected by water down the left side the entire length of the hole.  Unfortunately the players do not have a bail out to the right because of the trees and rough.  A shot to the right will require a lay up and the player is forced to rely on his short game to scramble for par.

The TPC at Sawgrass has some birdie holes, but most of the holes have some big numbers waiting for the errant shot.  The golf course is tree lined and water comes into play on many of the holes.  Pete Dye made this an extremely tough test, as it should be for The Players Championship.  Phil Mickelson is the defending champion this week.  Tiger Woods will not be in the field, still recovering from his knee surgery.

Dean Beman is the man that was instrumental in the creation of the TPC course.  At the time Dean was the commissioner of the tour and he invisioned the creation of the TPC out of the swamps where the course is located today.  The course has been been through many updates and rebuilds.

A few weeks ago I watched the short game guru Dave Pelz on The Golf Channel talk about leaving putts on the low side.  Dave did a study using a variety of players from different handicap groups to make his point about speed and reading putts and how often players would leave the putt on the low side.

Well this weekend definetely proved Dave’s point if you watched any of the tournaments televised around the world.  After watching the episode on putting by Pelz I started really paying attention to the number of putts that the tour players are leaving short and low.  The number is unbeleivable.  Seldom do the best players in the world get the ball to the hole and have enough break read into their putts. 

If you watch Tiger Woods today, Jack Nicklaus and Tom Watson in their hay day they gave their putts a chance.  They are not afraid to putt a come back putt.  These players today are trying to protect their position and are not willing to put their nerves on the line to make a three or four foot putt coming back.  Anthony Kim truly looked a player who wanted to win and was willing to over come his fear to do so.  He routinely poured the putts in the hole and his competition routinely lagged up to the hole and came up short time after time.  Most of the time when a player comes up short it is his/her nerves that is holding them back. 

In an interview this weekend at The Wachovia, Stewart Cink said he was not worried about winning, just as long as he continued to play well.  With that attitude, he is only concerned about winning a big check($179,200) which he did.  But Stewart shot a final round 74 and slipped to a tie for seventh after starting the final round in fourth.  The great champions of the past and Tiger Woods of today certainly enjoy the money but their heart is set on winning the grand prize.  Most of the modern players seem to be very intimidated by any competitor that looks them in the eye and says they are going to beat their butts.

Anthony Kim stepped up to the plate Sunday, birdied the first hole and made a statement that this was his championship and the rest of the field said okay.  One would think with all the guaranteed money from clubs, clothing and special endorsements that these guys and gals could put the blinders on and play some tough golf. 

The golfing media keeps writing about the generation that is going to challenge Woods.  It appears that the golfing generation of today with maybe one or two exceptions will not be challenging anyone.  They are very happy(Cink) to get their check, fly from tournament to tournament in a private jet and have everyone cater to them and enjoy the good life.  A few of the past number one players come to mind that either could not stand the fire in the kitchen or just did not want the lime light were David Duvall, Fred Couples and Davis Love.  As soon as these guys got to the top they said enough.  Duvall said he lost interest and now for the last couple of years he has been trying to make a come back.  I don’t think he had a clue how good he had it and he may never get it back.

All of these players can hit the ball, but to score you have to have an inner drive and determination that you are going to get the ball in the hole and you are not going to be beat.  Being competitive and unwilling to loose is something you have and it probably can’t be taught.  The inner feeling of hating to loose has to be greater than the want to win.  Sam Snead did not want to loose at anything he did, whether it was catching the most fish, the biggest fish or pitching pennies at a crack in the floor.  And I am sure Tiger Woods, Bobby Jones, Nicklaus, Watson, Babe Ruth, Babe Didrikson Zaharias and other great champions were and are the same way.

The short game lets these players down and their nerves and lack of toughness to win shows up on the course. 

Nick Price seeking his first win on The Champions Tour is beaten by Denis Watson from Zimbabwe.  Price had a two shot lead going into the final round on Sunday over Loren Roberts and Scott Simpson and a five shot lead over Denis Watson.  Price skies to a 75 and Denis shoots a 69 to win by one over Price, Scott Hoch and Tim Simpson.  Scott Simpson ballooned to a four over par 76.

Paula Creamer for the second week in a row had to face a LPGA Hall of Fame member in a sudden death playoff.  Last week Paula was beaten by Annika Sorenstam and this week Paula beats Julie Inkster.  Paula held a one stroke lead going to eithteen Sunday over Inkster.  Paula pulls her approach shot long and left and fails to get up and down.

Julie Inkster, if she had won Sunday would have become the oldest winner of an event on the LPGA.  Paula was able to control hers emotions and roll in a nice birdie putt to top Julie’s parr and capture the event that saw the end to Lorena Ochoa streak at four in a row.

Kim was leading by four shots when the final round started and he got the day off to a great start with a birdie on the first hole.  No one challenged Anthony all day.  He played flawless from tee to green and his putter did not let him down all day.

This young man has a lot of game and now that he has his temperment under controll to go along with some awesome ball striking ability he will have to be reckoned with.  At 22 years of age he has a bright future. 

With the tour headed to TPC at Sawgrass next week it will be interesting to see if Kim can keep his momentum on a roll.