Well, as it happens, I’m not
a betting man.I also like to
believe that my Mama didn’t raise no fool.
By all outward appearances,
Tiger has his confidence back.He
said he has been at home "working my ass off" and that his game is back to where
it needs to be.There is also his burning
desire to win major title No. 15.
On the other hand, I cannot
ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that reality will rear its
ugly head sooner rather than later, during his opening round on Thursday.
Even for the one and only
Tiger Woods, the Masters is not the place to reappear on the scene after a
two-month absence, and not the place to reestablish your golfing supremacy on a
track that has only grown increasingly faster.The expectations, and the pressure, will
be suffocating, even for the man with the strongest mind in the game.
Oh, to be a fly on the wall
inside Tiger’s head right now.He
exudes confidence, because he knows that is what is required.He smiles, a little nervously if you ask
me, because he would never let us see him sweat.
He’s done this before
– four times – and he can do it again.Just ask Tiger.The question is, is he is trying to
convince us or himself?
I love the Masters as much as the next guy,
maybe more.
Long ago, I drank – gulped -- the Kool-Aid, before I ever wrote a word about golf for a
living.Even as a kid, I was
transfixed by Augusta National and everything about the tournament.
Once I started going to the Masters with a
notepad and a press pass, nothing changed. I inhaled the springtime air in Augusta,
and the way the Masters signaled the dawning of another golf season.I soaked up the pomp and circumstance,
the corny piano jingle we all associate with the tournament.I didn’t even roll my eyes at the over-the-top
reverence of CBS’s coverage, or the stunning pomposity of the club and its
members.
Even as a hard-core cynic and sourpuss, when you
walk through those gates and make your away around that golf course, all your
defenses go right out the window.No need to apologize.It
happens to everybody.
My unabashed love so stipulated, it is hard not
to notice that, in point of fact, the Masters always has the suckiest field of any major championship. This year is no
exception.
For one thing, the Masters field is by far the
smallest, rarely more than 100, usually less, when other majors have 156.The small field is then diluted by the
traditional inclusion of past champions who have utterly zero chance of
winning.Uh, I’m thinking Ben
Crenshaw, Sandy Lyle, Mike Weir, Larry Mize, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam, Bernhard Langer...I could go on.
Then, there Augusta National’s traditional and
quaint inclusion of a number of amateurs who also have no chance of
winning:the U.S. Amateur champ and
runner up, the British Amateur champ, the U.S. Mid-Am champ, the U.S. Publinks champ and, more recently, the Asian-Pacific Amateur
champ and the Latin American Amateur champ.
In Augusta National’s noble effort to grow the
game globally, the field is increasingly full of international players that I’ve
never heard of and certainly couldn’t pick out of a line up.Even if they somehow play their way onto
the leaderboard, the guys in the control truck at CBS go into full panic
mode.For ratings purposes, they
need Tiger, Phil, Rory, somebody we at least recognize.They have and will settle for Fred
Couples hanging in there on Thursday and Friday.
Bottom line, out of this year’s field of 98,
there are maybe 30 to 35 guys who have a plausible shot at winning the
Masters.I wish I believed Tiger
Woods was among them.
Of course, come Sunday afternoon, I, like you,
will be glued to the 55-inch high-def window onto the
luscious green golfing mecca of Augusta National, even if it comes down to Charley
Hoffmann battling JoostLuiten
for the green jacket.
It’s a sickness, really, for which there is no
antidote.Whaddayagonna do?
The
first time I ever met James W. Finegan Sr., was in
1995, while he was still working on his definitive history of golf in
Philadelphia, A Centennial Tribute to
Golf in Philadelphia.
The
occasional was a small, annual golf event at the Philadelphia Cricket Club,
hosted by our mutual friend, Michael Bamberger, senior golf writer for Sports
Illustrated.I was familiar with Finegan’s name, but I didn’t know him or much about
him.That all changed when we were
seated next to each other at the post-round dinner in the Flourtown clubhouse.
Nobody
could tell a story like Jim Finegan.Skinny as the shaft of a 1-iron, with a
manner of speaking that defies description, when Finegan
regaled you with a tale, he was all arms and all superlatives.That 20-foot putt you made on the 12th
was the single finest putt he had ever
seen struck by an amateur or a professional. That course he played last
month in Ireland was simply superior to
anything anyone has designed in the last 100 years, case closed.
Finegan
could go on and on like that, and he usually did.In conversation with Finegan,
you mostly listened, and happily so.How could you not?
That
night at the dinner, as Finegan told me about the
book he was writing to commemorate GAP’s 100th anniversary, he
mentioned he had been working on it for almost five years.
Five years? I couldn’t imagine working on a writing project for
five years.
By
the time his three-inch thick masterwork was published, in 1996, I was the
newly-appointed golf writer for The Philadelphia Inquirer.GAP sent me a copy, which promptly
became the single most valuable reference book I have ever owned.I still refer to it religiously to this
day.Anything or anybody I ever needed
to know about having to do Philadelphia golf, Finegan
had researched exhaustively and written about with authority, in great
detail.Dense with facts and
perspective, I came to wonder how he ever wrote that book in only five years.
On
the rare occasion that I couldn’t find precisely what I was looking for in Centennial Tribute, I would pick up the
phone and call Finegan.By then, we had become friends.We would play golf together, meet for
lunch, spent 45 minutes at a time on the phone.Not only was he a bottomless storehouse
of information and memories, Finegan was the single
most quotable source I have ever known.The man simply spoke in quotes.
He
was generous with him time, his expertise and his praise.How many times did the phone would ring
and it would be Finegan?"Joseph, that piece you had in the
Inquirer this morning was simply
amazing.You told me things I did
not know.I don’t know how you do
it – and on deadline!"
No,
Jim, I don’t know how you did it.
Jim
Finegan was the master.I was, I am, his student, in awe of his
talent and his charm, grateful to have known such a unique and endearing
character.
Remember a few weeks ago, when Tiger Woods and
his camp were outraged over an obviously, openly fake
interview in Golf Digest, purportedly conducted by legendary sportswriter
Dan Jenkins?
The column was over-the-top, even if it was
hilarious, given the relationship, or lack thereof, between Tiger and Dan.Many people felt the column was
offensive and cruel, unfair to Tiger.Only the dullest dullards didn’t understand that it was an attempt at
satire, plain and simple, especially since the headline was "My (Fake)
Interview with Tiger."
Well, yesterday, when the Golf Writers
Association of America announced this year’s writing awards, Jenkins’ fake
interview took top honors in the category of Non-Daily Columns.Basically, that means magazines.
So far, no comment from Tiger. No comment from Dan either, although I
suspect he made no effort to hide a smug grin.
Here’s the breakdown of winners from the GWAA:
2015 GWAA WRITING
CONTEST RESULTS
The
following is a full list of the winners, including honorable mentions.
There
were 466 entries in the 2014 contest
DAILY
DAILY COLUMNS – 1, Jim McCabe, Golfweek.com Vet credits Casper for life; 2,
Bill Fields, billfields.net,
A driver makes another trip; 3, Gary D’Amato, Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, One
more round with dad.
Honorable mention: Ron
Green Jr., Global Golf Post, The great ones find a way; Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.com,
Ike’s Tree leaves legacy; Beth Ann Nichols, golfweek.com,
Compton finds Open fame.
DAILY NEWS – 1, Bob Harig, ESPN.com, Ryder
Cup meeting turns ugly; 2, Ryan Lavner, Golfchannel.com
, Kaymer dominates U.S. Open; 3 (tie) Dave Shedloski, Golfdigest.com Bubba wins in China;
and Mike Stachura, Golfdigest.com,
If you’re a fan of integrity.
Honorable mention: Michael
Bamberger, Golf.com,
Johnson suspended after drug test; Ron Borges, Boston Herald, Phil can’t stop
Rory’s rise; Randall Mell, Golfchannel.com ,
Wie’s scars define her journey.
DAILY FEATURES – 1, Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com, Lyle reclaims his life; 2, Ian
O’Connor, ESPN.com,
The man who gave Compton life; 3, Alan Shipnuck, Golf.com, Team
USA needs a change.
Honorable mention: John Boyette, Augusta Chronicle, Ike’s Tree rooted in tradition;
Teddy Greenstein, Chicago Tribune, Golf is refuge for burn victim; Helen Ross, PGATOUR.com,
Rallying around Isaiah.
NON DAILY
NON-DAILY COLUMNS
– 1, Dan Jenkins, Golf
Digest, My fake interview with Tiger; 2, Jerry Tarde,
Golf Digest, Hannigan shook things up; 3, Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, The case for Johnny Miller.
Honorable mention: Jaime
Diaz, Golf World, Bubba as the great liberator; Scott Michaux,
Virginia Golfer, Ryder Cup task force; Jeff Neuman,
Met Golfer, The myth of protecting par; Jeff Rude, Golfweek,
Bubba strikes again.
NON-DAILY NEWS -- 1. Alan Shipnuck,
Sports Illustrated, Anthony Kim, MIA; 2, Jim Moriarty, Golf World, Bubba wins 2nd Masters; 3, Adam Schupak,
Golfweek, Spieth learns on
fast track.
Honorable mention: Michael
Bamberger, Sports Illustrated, You say you want a revolution; Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, Wie
is happy at last; Ron Sirak, Golf World, Mighty
special.
NON-DAILY FEATURES -- 1. Ron Whitten, Golf World , How Pinehurst got
its groove back; 2. Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated
,Tiger and the drop; 3, Gary Van Sickle, Memorial Tournament Magazine, Matt Kuchar's odyssey.
Honorable mention: Michael
Bamberger, Sports Illustrated, Legend of Will McKenzie; Tom Callahan, Golf
Digest , Watson's last hurrah; Tom Callahan, Golf Digest, Most interesting men
in the world.
SPECIAL PROJECTS
– 1, Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated, Greatest U.S. Open ever; 2,
Scott Michaux, Augusta Chronicle, Adam Scott, one for
Australia; 3. Mercer Baggs, Alan Tays,
Jason Sobel, Ryan Reiterman,
Jason Crook, Bailey Mosier, Jack Menta, Jay
Coffin, Golfchannel.com,
Arnie: man, myth, legend.
Honorable mention –
Rex Hoggard, Golfchannel.com, Jarrod Lyle’s remarkable
journey; Ron Sirak, Golf Digest, The failed USGA
coup; Gene Wojciechowski and Bob Harig,
ESPN.com,
Miracle or meltdown at Medinah, Sept. 24
If you enjoyed A Course Called Ireland,
Philadelphian Tom Coyne’s 2009
memoir about walking the back roads and golf courses of the Emerald Isle, you’ll
surely be interested in his latest project.
Coyne, who teaches writing at St. Joseph’s
University, plans a follow-up book, A Course Called the Kingdom, due out
in 2016, from Simon & Schuster.As the name suggests, this time around Coyne is expanding his golfing
expedition to the United Kingdom.His 57-day sojourn will take him to 83 courses, including all 14 British
Open venues in Scotland and England.
Coyne, who sets off on April 25, has already
begun previewing the trip on his blog, A Simple
Game. (He has added two courses to the itinerary since his last blog post).
Some of the best parts of A Course Called Ireland didn’t occur during one of Coyne’s rounds
but rather as he walked the entire country, from course to course, village to
village, pubs and B&Bs.For
this book, the UK is too big to walk.
"Not walking, no way," Coyne said in an
email.He plans to blog about his
planning and preparations for trip on his own blog, then blog during the trip
at Golf.com.
Here is Coyne being
interviewed about A Course Called Ireland
on WHYY’s Radio Times.
Here
is Coyne and me being interviewed about the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion on Radio
Times.
Coyne is actually inviting golfers to join him
for legs of the trip.Sounds
tempting.
Now I turn the challenge to you and
your itinerant golfing friends. This map is crowded with plenty of golf;
it now needs to be populated with people. Please check out the map (click
on the courses for dates) and plan on joining me for a round or ten.
I will be joined by family in St.
Andrews and East Fife where we are dropping anchor for two weeks, but I will
need companions for the rest of the way around. Bad golfers encouraged to
come along–they are funnier
in print. I can offer you free golf and immortalizing in the book (after
you sign your life awaya waiver).
If you’ve got serious game and you don’t mind
putting your money where your mouth is, have I got a golf partner for you: Sean
O’Hair.
When O’Hair recently sat down with local golf
writers, his only two complaints about living in the Philadelphia area are the
harsh winters and the lack of peers to practice with and play against.
"They need something for better players here,"
said O’Hair, from Chadds Ford, who is entering his 10th
year on the PGA Tour.
Even as a kid in Texas and Florida, O’Hair says
he never liked spending all day on the range.He liked to play.He believes that is how you keep
your game sharp and get better.Looking back, O’Hair believes that one of the best things his estranged
dad ever did for him was to drop him off at the golf course every day and let
him fend for himself.
"It taught you how to compete, it taught you
have to be social, it taught you how to be a man," said O’Hair."I look around here and it’s tough
to get that money game going."
It’s hardly a secret around the PGA Tour that
some of the fiercest golfing isn’t during the official tournaments; it’s in
high-stakes matches during practice rounds on Monday and Tuesday.Same thing happens during off weeks,
when PGA Tour pros are at home in Florida, Georgia, Texas, Arizona and
California.
It’s hardly a new idea.As O’Hair pointed out, "Those guys like
Snead and Hagen, they didn’t beat balls.They went out and played for money.No one does it any more."
If you’re a gambler but you’ve got no game,
don’t bother applying.O’Hair
really wants your competition, not your money.He’s got plenty of money."I don’t want to play with some chop
that’s 20-over," he said."I’m
sorry, I just don’t.I don’t feel
like looking for golf balls all day."
Truth is, O’Hair concedes that he probably has
nobody to blame but himself.Because he didn’t grow up here, he is not particularly plugged into the
local amateur or club pro scene.Plus, he’s got a wife and four kids under the age of 10.
My guess is, when word gets out that O’Hair is
looking for a game(s), he might be surprised how many amateurs and club pros
are willing to throw down, if only to meet him and test themselves against a
PGA Tour pro.
I asked O’Hair why he doesn’t call Brian Quinn,
the golf coach at Temple, about working out with the Owls on occasion.Temple players have won the last three
Philadelphia Opens.
"I guess I could," said O’Hair."Maybe I just haven’t made the
effort.I played with that one kid
from Temple.He’s really good.He hits it a feakin’
mile, and he is cocky.That’s who I
want to be around.I would love to
call up a college team and say, "Let’s go play.’"
As the sun begins to slowly set on the 2014
golf season, a few odds and ends come to mind:
--- Once or twice a year, I’ll get a call from
an old friend I grew up with in a small town in North Carolina.He’s quite successful and he’s an out-of-town
member of Merion.He brings up
friends or business associates for a weekend of golf at Merion, and he’ll
occasionally invite me to fill out their foursome.
My friend was up a week or so ago, and I got
one of those calls.We played
Merion on beautiful fall Sunday morning.If golf gets any better, you couldn’t prove it by me.
The day left me with a few lasting impressions:
(1) Merion truly deserves all the accolades and
U.S. Opens.It is a special place
in American golf.No matter how many
times I play it, I find something else to appreciate.
(2)Your good friends in life are your good friends for life.Alex and I have known each other since
before kindergarten and we’ve never lost touch.We’ve played golf together since we were
about 9, and I swear his swing hasn’t changed a bit.I’m convinced that your golf swing is as
personal as your fingerprint.How
these Tour pros remake their swings every year or so is beyond me.
(3) Life is precious.Alex updated me on another of our boyhood
friends who is battling cancer.It
didn’t sound encouraging.This is
one of the most vigorous guys I have ever known.You never know when your time is coming,
so don’t waste a day.
--- My goal for the season was to get my
handicap back down to the high single digits.I would have settled for 9.9 USGA
Index.It didn’t quite happen.I’m ending the season with an 11.4 Index.
For somebody who was once as low as a 3, that’s
discouraging.But on the other
hand, at my worst, when I had bum hips, then newly-replaced hips, I was a 15
Index.So I’m fighting my way back
to self-respectability.
Actually, my swing feels better than it has in
years.I’m getting stronger and I
no longer worry on every swing that one or both of my titanium hips will pop
out and I’ll crash to the ground in agony.
--- Two of my good golf buddies are sort of
sideways with each other now.I
don’t know how long it is going to last, but I hope they are back to normal
soon.It’s weird and
uncomfortable.
--- I’m still having a hard time wrapping my
head around the PGA Tour’s wraparound season.Yesterday, I tried watching the first
round of The McGladrey Classic in Sea Island,
Ga.After about five minutes, I was
so bored I was starting to tidy up around my house.Golf should be winding down this time of
year, not winding up.
---About this time last year, I wrote a blog
post about my favorite round of the year:It was at the Militia Hill Course at Philadelphia
Cricket, where I was a guest of my daughter’s boyfriend, Quinn.Rounding out the foursome was
Quinn’s dad, Mike, and my son Travis, who had just returned from a year in
Kuwait with the Pennsylvania National Guard.
This year, for my favorite round, I’ve got to
go with the same course and the same folks, minus Travis, who was out of town
that weekend.The reason?After we’d hit our tee shots on the 18th,
Quinn came over to me sitting in the cart, next to his dad, and said, "I’m
planning to ask Kelly to marry me and I’d like to have your blessing."
Now, is that a fine and proper young gentleman
or what?I was honored and
thrilled, and I know Mike was proud of his son.