Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
The last time Jin Song went this far into the Arizona Amateur’s bracket of 64 players, he was just like his future teammate, David Lowe – an 18-year-old fresh out of high school kid just two weeks away from going to Arizona State.
But here it is three years later, and there’s Song again in the quarterfinals of this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association. And there’s Lowe, too, trying to do his best imitation of Song, who won the 2008 AZ Am.
“Yeah, it feels a little different this time around,’’ said Song after winning two tough matches on Thursday at the Country Club at DC Ranch, the toughest being a 2-and-1 win over veteran Chris Kessler of Scottsdale.
“I was just a kid when I won at Troon Country Club and I’m a little older now and, hopefully, a better player. But the one thing that stays the same is that, when you get past the first round, everybody’s playing good so you’ve got to be at your best.’’
That’s where Lowe is right now, as the Scottsdale teenager took down his two opponents with relative ease on a hot, muggy day.
“Actually both of my matches were against solid players, but thankfully my lag putting was spectacular and I didn’t beat myself,’’ said Lowe, an 18-year-old who played for Brophy Prep and already is wearing Sun Devil garb.
Asked what his secret has been this week, Lowe showed why he’ll be living in the Barrett Honors College dorm this season, although he gave all the credit to his dad, Allen, who doubles as his caddie.
“My dad and I kind of talked about it, and in match play you want to make the other guy beat you; don’t beat yourself. And that’s kind of what I’ve been able to do, play solid, don’t make bogeys, and make the other guy beat me.’’
Because they are in the same bracket, it’s possible that Song and Lowe could meet in the semifinals after a third ASU freshman, Austin Quick, was eliminated. That would be just fine with Lowe, although. . . .
“A win is never that great over a teammate,’’ he said. “At the same time, this would be a great tournament to win and maybe get some momentum going into college.’’
Certainly it would be a big bonus for his new coach, as ASU’s Tim Mickelson has been a more than casual spectator at the Amateur throughout the week.
But if you’re looking for the inside favorite, don’t look past veteran Michael Wog, who was the AGA’s player of the year in 2009 and would like nothing more than to add the Amateur to his resume after coming close on several occasions.
“So I’m the old guy, ‘the veteran,’ ‘’ chuckled the 29-year-old Scottsdale resident, who pulled off a brilliant, 2-and-1 win over Quick, to play another day.
“I guess I just keep sneakin’ them out, huh? Well, they’ve all been really tough, and (Quick) was the toughest. He’s a very good, solid player. I mean, most kids his age can’t hit a fade the way he does, and he hits it with total control.’’
How good is Quick? In his morning match, when he eliminated the sensational Peter Kyo Won Koo of Chandler, the 15-year-old who earlier this year captured the Arizona State Stroke Play Championship, Quick shot 28 on the front nine with five birdies and an eagle from the fairway at No. 9. That led to possibly the best quote of the week, and it came from Koo.
Asked how he played, Koo shrugged his shoulders: “Well, I was two-under and 5-down after nine holes. And believe it or not, that was with him making a bogey (at No. 2).’’
But that’s match play, said No. 1 seed Adam Walicki, a former pro from Scottsdale who got his amateur status back last year.
“At this stage, you can’t just play well, you have to play great,’’ said Walicki, who just slipped past another former pro, Mark Bellhorn, 1-up, to reach his next big challenge — Song.
“I mean I had to eagle the 17th hole just to win my second match, and that just got me back to even par after playing my first match 3 or 4 under.’’
Asked if being the No. 1 seed was a boon or a bane, Walicki shook his head and laughed.
“I don’t think when you get to this part of the tournament you’re really going to intimidate anybody by being the No. 1 seed,’’ he reasoned. “The only way I’m going to get an easy match is if somebody falls out of bed and gets hurt.’’
Yes, you just never know what each day will bring in mano y mano, or who will be the next big thing. Like little Zachary Sardina of Goodyear, the No. 63 seed who is alive and kicking after holding off AGA points leader Camron Howell, 1-up.
“I’m hanging in there,’’ said the 18-year-old Sardina, who is on his way to Scottsdale Community College this fall. “I think I’m handling adversity really well.’’
Asked if he’s surprised he’s made it this far, Sardina kept it real: “Honestly, I am. I knew I had some potential, but to pull it off, well, yeah, it’s surprising.’’
Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
Zachary Sardina, an 18-year-old from Goodyear, was well aware of the challenge he faced Wednesday as the No. 63 seed in the 64-player bracket of the Arizona Amateur. After all, he was pitted against Sierra Vista’s Colin McCarty, the No. 2 seed and a very good player headed to Southern Illinois-Edwardsville this fall.
Then came the 18th hole at the Country Club at DC Ranch, with the match surprisingly all-square and both players putting for birdie – Sardina from 20 feet with McCarty just inside of him.
“I knew I was the underdog, but I was just trying to stay patient, hang in there and overcome my mistakes while hoping he might make a couple (of mistakes),’’ said Sardina, who didn’t take up golf until he was a sophomore at Millennium High School.
“When my putt went in for birdie, I was so excited that I did my little Tiger Woods fist pump. But I still wasn’t convinced I’d won the match because I kind of thought he might make his putt, too. When it didn’t go in, I was actually kind of shocked.’’
Sardina’s 1-up “shocker’’ over McCarty, who also is 18 years old, was the biggest upset posted among the 32 matches that unfolded in Round 1. Not only does it show the depth of this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association, it also revealed a rising talent in Sardina, who will play golf for Scottsdale Community College this fall.
“I’ve had a lot of runner-up finishes in junior golf but never a win, so this was a big step for me,’’ said Sardina, who was 2-down after three holes, evened the match after nine holes, trailed 2-down after 14 holes only to rally back and win the 15th and 17th holes with pars.
The other top seed in this event, No. 1 Adam Walicki, easily moved past his opponent Steven Ortiz, 4 and 3. Walicki, a stockbroker from Scottsdale, was medalist with a 7-under-par aggregate to earn the top spot.
In the day’s longest match, Chandler’s Peter Kyo Won Koo upended Grand Canyon University sophomore Alec Dahlquist in 23 holes. Koo, a 15-year-old who earlier in the year captured the Arizona State Stroke Championship, was 3-up after 15 holes, lost the last three holes and then prevailed on the fifth extra hole.
The shot of the day went to Mesa’s Robbie Kernagis, who made a hole-in-one from 174 yards at No. 5 that proved pivotal in his 2-and-1 win over the University of Arizona’s Tom Conran.
The most impressive victory of the opening round, in terms of score, was Juan Fernandez’s 7-and-6 drubbing of Matt McClure. Fernandez, who was the No. 1 player for Scottsdale Community College the past two seasons, never trailed in the match.
“I played pretty good and he didn’t play so well; it was a combination of both,’’ said Fernandez, 21, whose four birdies and lone bogey were good enough.
“He gave me one at the third hole, where he four-putted, then I was 2-up after six, won the seventh with a par, and birdied (Nos.) 8, 9 and 10 to go 6-up. I made a par at the 12th to win the match. I think the real key for me is I haven’t had a three-putt since Monday, so I’ve been able to figure out the speed of these greens.’’
Fernandez, who is from Mexico City but spent over half of his life in Spain, said he had wanted to play for either Arizona State or Washington this fall but couldn’t get a scholarship. So after the Arizona Amateur, he plans to turn pro.
“If I could win this, that would be a great good-bye to amateur golf,’’ he said.
Among the other notables to advance, all three Arizona State players – No. 9 Jin Song, No. 21 David Lowe and No. 43 Austin Quick – advanced. Song and Lowe each won, 3 and 2, while Quick squeaked out a 2-and-1 win.
Among the veterans (translated: not kids) who made the match play, Tucson’s Patrick Geare emerged from a hard-fought, 2-and-1 win over Mesa’s Steve Dallas; Phoenix’s Jeff Johnson ousted Paul Welle of Scottsdale, 2 and 1; and AGA points leader Camron Howell of Queen Creek beat Anthem’s Gary Quinn, 4 and 2.
The 87th Arizona Amateur continues Thursday with two rounds of play before getting down to the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday. The championship match is set for Saturday at 7:30 a.m.
Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
In recent times the Arizona Amateur has been ruled by college players, with the past seven champions falling into that age-group category.
This year’s version is so heavy with collegians that even a coach from a major university showed up for the first two rounds of qualifying at the Country Club at DC Ranch. Yes, Tim Mickelson, the new guy at Arizona State who just moved into his office on Tuesday, has been “a very interested spectator.’’
“It’s been great to have the opportunity to watch a few of my future ASU players and all of this young talent,’’ said Mickelson, the former University of San Diego coach who just got the Sun Devils’ job last month.
“I’ve been pleasantly surprised the way Jin Song is playing in this tournament along with several of my incoming freshmen. And if they keep going like they’re going, I plan to show up later in the week, too.’’
For the moment, Scottsdale’s Adam Walicki, a former pro who got his amateur status back just last year, is the No. 1 seed for the match play portion of this major championship, which starts Wednesday and concludes Saturday morning. Walicki, who played college golf for Michigan State and the University of Detroit, shot rounds of 66-67 to finish all alone at 7-under par.
“I guess with all these kids, I’m now officially the old fart in all of this,’’ quipped the 31-year-old stockbroker, whose only bad swing in Round 2 cost him a double bogey that he offset with five birdies.
Asked if he liked match play, Walicki, who played on the Gateway Tour in 2005, never missed a beat.
“No, and I have the record to back me up on that. But I’m willing to take a different approach if that’s what it takes. Most people I know who have had success in that format ignored their opponent and played the course, and I guess that’s what I’ll try to do when we get going tomorrow.’’
Being a wily veteran, Walicki knows that he’ll have to go through a bunch of kids if he’s going to make Saturday’s championship match. That list starts with Colin McCarty, an 18-year-old from Sierra Vista who is bound for Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. McCarty was at 6 under following a 66.
In a group tied for third place at 5 under were Juan Fernandez, the No. 1 player at Scottsdale Community College the past two years who also shot 66, and Nevada Reno’s Andrew Augustyniak, a sophomore who soon will turn pro as evidenced by his day’s best score of 65.
Song, who Mickelson alluded to, is in a group at 4 under after following his opening 65 with a 71. Other Sun Devils to make the match play included two freshman from Scottsdale — David Lowe (even par, 72) and Austin Quick (3 over, 70). A fourth incoming freshman from Scottsdale, Cameron Palmer, was 3 over for the tournament with nine holes to play before self-destructing with a 42 on his last nine holes.
The Sun Devils weren’t the only team that earned spots in the match-play bracket of 64 players. Two out of five Wildcats entered here also advanced, including Tom Conran (2 under, 68) and Dylan Kornberg (1 over, 70).
Other notables in the match play included Scottsdale’s Michael Wog, the 2009 AGA Player of the Year, who was tied for third at 5 under after a 69; Phoenix’s Paul Welle, the 2008 AGA Player of the Year with a 73 that left him 1 over; and Peter Kyo Won Koo, the 15-year-old from Chandler who earlier this year captured the Arizona State Stroke Play title and was 4 over after a 73.
It took an aggregate of 5 over to make the match-play bracket, with nine players going after seven spots. The final four days of the 87th Arizona Amateur include 32 matches on Wednesday, two rounds on Thursday, the quarterfinals and semifinals on Friday with the championship set for a 7:30 a.m. start on Saturday.
Click Huff’s Stuff Golf Blog at the Arizona Golf Authority and check out Bill Huffman’s complete golf articles archive.
Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
If former major league pitcher Mark Mulder really took his golf seriously, who knows how well he’d play? But even if it’s “just for fun,’’ as Mulder likes to say, the ESPN commentator is pretty adept at golfing his ball.
Mulder had it going Monday during the opening round of qualifying for the 87th Arizona Amateur Championship. His two-under-par 68 at the Country Club at DC Ranch placed him among the leaders and gave him a great opportunity to reach the match play round of 64 for a second straight year in this major championship sponsored by the Arizona Golf Association.
“To tell the truth, I’m not exactly sure how I shot 68,’’ quipped the 33-year-old Scottsdale resident, who was an All-Star hurler for the Oakland A’s in 2003 and 2004 and also pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals.
“I mean, the first hole (No. 10), I roll in a 60-foot putt for birdie and I’m thinking: ‘Just don’t three- or four-putt.’ Then the second hole, I make another birdie to go with an eagle on my seventh or eighth hole (No. 17), where I ‘thin’ a 4-iron to three or four feet of the cup and make the putt. So things were just kind of going my way, which is good, because the reality is I’ve played so little lately I was just trying my best to break 80.’’
Such is the quirky game of golf. Instead of looking like a weekend hack, Mulder drew within three shots of the first-day leader, Arizona State junior Jin Song. In all, only five players in the 144-player field were better than Mulder, who needs another good score today if he is to make the match play portion of this tournament that starts Wednesday and runs through Saturday.
The 20-year-old Song, who at 65 is one shot better than Scottsdale’s Michael Wog and Adam Walicki, certainly is no stranger to match play despite his youth. In 2008, fresh out of Pinnacle Peak High School, Song captured the Arizona Amateur when it was played at Troon Country Club, which is just down the road in Scottsdale from DC Ranch.
Other contenders who looked like they were a “gimme’’ to move on to Wednesday’s mano y mano format included Tucson’s John Bobroski and Alec Dahlquist of Phoenix, as well as ASU-bound freshman David Lowe of Scottsdale, who also shot 68. At 1-over 71 was Chandler’s Peter Kyo Won Koo, a 15-year-old who earlier this year captured the Arizona Stroke Play Championship.
Mulder, for one, knows match play can be a fickle format.
“I play a little bit of that at Whisper Rock (in Scottsdale) and also at a club in (Jupiter) Florida called The Dye Preserve, where I’ve been the club champ the last two years,’’ Mulder noted. “Obviously, those experiences are not quite the same level of competition as the Arizona Amateur, but it is a real great time.’’
Asked what he’s expecting as the six-day tournament unfolds, Mulder laughed.
“Not much. I started playing golf to fill that competitive void I lost when I quit pitching,’’ he said. “And, seriously, it’s turned out to be a real good thing because I have a lot of fun with it and it lets me still compete.
“But I’ve got to be realistic, too. My little boys shortly will be 4 and 2 years old, and with the stuff I’m also doing for ESPN, well, those things in my life are really killing my golf game. And that’s OK, because I still manage to average a day or two a week – maybe! — and that’s good by me.’’
Huff’s Stuff AZGA Arizona Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
Seldom do coaching changes in college golf merit big headlines. But that rule of thumb was bent back nicely over the weekend when Arizona State confirmed that Tim Mickelson – the younger brother of PGA Tour star Phil Mickelson – will be the new men’s coach of the Sun Devils.
Tim Mickelson, who led the University of San Diego to four West Coast Conference championships and three straight NCAA appearances in his eight years in charge of the Toreros, takes over for Randy Lein, who was fired three weeks ago after 18 years in charge of the ASU program.
“It wasn’t an easy decision to leave San Diego, a wonderful place where my roots are, where my family still lives, and where I’ve worked for most of my adult life,’’ said Mickelson, who is 33 — or eight years younger than his brother.
“But getting a chance to lead a storied program like ASU, where I went to school for three years and where Phil was an All-American (four times), that’s really a dream job for me. Without question, with everything the ASU program has going for it, including one of the best facilities in the country, it’s one of the most coveted jobs in college golf.’’
Mickelson said his new contract “is for more than one year, but I really don’t want to get into the specifics.’’ And he downplayed the idea that his brother had urged him to take the job.
“It wasn’t any one person that influenced me,’’ Mickelson said. “It was the entire Phoenix golf community, which is a big one that really does care about and support the ASU program.’’
ASU had fallen on hard times under Lein, with only one tournament win punctuated by several disappointing Pac-10 and NCAA finishes in the past two seasons. This past year, the Sun Devils finished ninth in the conference and 18th at the NCAA tournament, where they entered as the 20th seed.
Asked how he planned to turn the program around with the cupboard essentially bare (six incoming freshmen), Mickelson said he had a “three-pronged strategy.’’
“It’s kind of like the ASU pitchfork, you know,’’ he said with a laugh. “But, basically, I’ll be trying to recruit three types of players every year, the first being the No. 1 player in Arizona, the second being the No. 1 player in America, and the third being the No. 1 player in the world.
“I’m a very structured coach; that’s the kind of program I built at USD and that’s the kind of program I foresee at ASU. At the same time, we’ll have some fun, like going to the football and basketball games and taking part in other school activities. So we’ll play hard and practice hard, but still allow for the guys to be college kids, too.’’
Mickelson said he was not concerned about a recent story in the local newspaper that reported that the ASU Karsten Course might be sold when its lease along the Rio Salado expires in 2012.
“Anything is possible in this economy,’’ Mickelson said of the ASU Karsten Course, which reportedly could be sold for up to $180 million as raw real estate or possibly turned into a new site for an ASU football stadium.
“But I’ve been assured that’s probably not going to happen for some time, and I’m confident it will be around for a long time, beyond (2012). If eventually that does happen, well, I’d make sure that our next facility would be even better than ASU Karsten.’’
Mickelson also dis-spelled the notion of a rift between himself and Lein, who Mickelson played under for three years before leaving in a dispute over his lack of playing time. The rift stayed in the spotlight for Mickelson’s senior season at Oregon State, where he ended up as the runner-up in the Pac-10 Championship while setting school records for the Beavers for 18, 36, 54 and 72 holes – marks that still stand.
“I have a ton of respect for Randy Lein,’’ said Mickelson, who becomes ASU’s 13th golf coach.
“I know there has been some sentiment out there that there is animosity between the two of us, but that’s really not true. I was unhappy when I left, but Randy and I resolved that a long time ago. And given the fact Randy has won a national championship at ASU (1996) as well as eight Pac-10 titles, and also was a very successful coach at USC, well, I’ve got my work cut out for me.’’
Of course, it will help that Mickelson can occasionally call on his big brother, who along with the late Pat Tillman are probably ASU’s most famous alums. Even though ASU vice president of athletics Lisa Love said in a release announcing his hiring, “Tim Mickelson possesses the qualities of what we’re looking for and not just because of his famous last name,’’ it’s all about the last name if Mickelson is going to turn around the ASU program.
Seriously, if you need a fat check to help out with an expense for the program, or a call to seal the deal with a potential recruit, why not dial up the program’s most well-known student-athlete ever? Hey, it never hurts to have the PGA Tour’s most popular player on your side, right?
“Obviously, I want to get Phil involved,’’ Tim conceded. “He helped me a lot at USD, and that was really nice of him because his loyalty has always been to ASU.
“So we’ll lean on him a little bit if it’s possible.’’
Chances are if Tim Mickelson is as clever as we think he is, he’ll lean on Lefty a lot.
Huff’s Stuff AZGA Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
If you’re looking for the winner of this week’s British Open at Royal St. George’s, don’t pick Rory McIlroy, the heavy favorite with the bookies.
First of all, Royal St. George’s is way too quirky for the favorite to prevail. Known for its bizarre bounces and hard-pan fairways and greens, who knows where the ball will end up. And then you add in the weather. . . .
As Ahwatukee’s Robert Garrigus put it recently: “If the wind blows, I might hit a few 500-yard drives and 250-yard wedges, and if the wind is coming from the other direction, a couple of drives and wedges maybe half that far.’’ He wasn’t kidding although he was laughing when he said it.
Here’s another reason that McIlroy won’t win: Of the past 11 major championships there have been 11 different winners. That, of course, is because Tiger Woods hasn’t won in the past 12 majors, a streak that will go to 13 due to his absence in Sandwich, England.
McIlroy does fit the 20-something trend, meaning the last four majors have been won by guys in their 20s, the Northern Irish superstar being 22. And even though nobody’s swing looks better, McIlroy hasn’t competed since he won the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in record fashion, and that rust will rear its head on a salty course like Royal St. George’s, where “the Open Championship’’ has been contested 14 times.
Luke Donald and Lee Westwood would seem to be the prime favorites, and not just because they are No. 1 and No. 2 in the world, respectively. But both are well into their 30s, Donald being the younger at 33, so they defy the trend, and more to the point, neither has proved to be a closer on the game’s biggest stages.
Martin Kaymer, the big German from Paradise Valley, is No. 3 and fading fast chiefly because he made a swing change that’s not there yet. Spain’s Sergio Garcia has had some success in the British, but he suffers from the same malady as Donald and Westwood, even though Garcia is the fifth most-popular pick by the bookies, just ahead of America’s hope, Steve Stricker.
But Stricker won last week, so he’s not going to be the guy, and Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell, also high on the bookies list, hasn’t sniffed it since the 2010 U.S. Open, and even more disturbing, has blown several leads in recent times.
Which brings us to the “real’’ favorite this week, Jason Day. The young Australian is 23 and has runner-up finishes in both the Masters and U.S. Open, where he kind of came out of the blue to secure second while not really threatening Charles Schwartzel at the Masters or McIlroy at the U.S. Open. Day fits the criterion – he’s never won a major and he’s in his 20s, which is good enough with us.
Still, chances are great that it’s somebody further down the form chart, like a Nick Watney, Dustin Johnson or Hunter Mahan, who all fit the first major/in their 20s criterion. Either that, or maybe this could get really crazy (again), like when long shot Ben Curtis won in 2003, the last time they played the Open at Royal St. Georges.
If that’s the case, we like Garrigus, a guy playing in his first British with a driver that is capable of traveling 500 yards.
“I’ll just bomb it and go find it,’’ Garrigus said of his strategy, which might work as well as any when it comes to Royal St. George’s.
Huff’s Stuff AZGA Golf Blog – Arizona Golf Authority
Even though there will be 11 residents playing in this week’s 111th edition of the U.S. Open, the guy from Arizona who might know famed Congressional Country Club the best is not in the 156-man field.
That’s because Tom Weiskopf, who captured the 1995 U.S. Senior Open at Congressional, builds golf courses these days rather winning scores. But in every way, the Scottsdale architect is the perfect source to handicap this national championship.
“It’s a shot-maker’s golf course, where you have to maneuver around corners and really move the ball in order to score,’’ reported Weiskopf of the 7,574-yard, par-70 layout that is essentially the work of the late Robert Trent Jones and his son, Rees Jones, who has rearranged it twice in the last five years while rebuilding every green.
“Congressional is such a neat course, a long hitter’s course, with a lot of elevated tees that favors the high-ball hitter. ’’
Whether or not those specs fit any of Arizona’s finest, remains to be seen. That list from the land of tall cacti includes Scottsdale’s Aaron Baddeley, Paul Casey, Martin Laird, Ryan Moore, Geoff Ogilvy, Chez Reavie, Kevin Streelman, Kirk Triplett and Bubba Watson; Robert Garrigus of Ahwatukee; and Arizona State senior/amateur Scott Pinckney of Tempe
When Weiskopf won at Congressional, the golf course ended exactly like it will this week, with a rugged, 523-yard, par 4 that plays down the hill and slopes towards the water. By comparison, when Ernie Els captured the U.S. Open in 1997 at Congressional, the course ended on a par 3, which Rees Jones made the 10th hole, a move that is certain to make Congressional more difficult as players come down the stretch.
But as Weiskopf pointed out, the course can take its toll thanks to eight par 4s that play between 466 and 523 yards, as well as the par-5 ninth hole that rambles on for 636 yards. Ironically, the ninth hole isn’t the most demanding; that would be the 579-yard 16th that plays straight up the hill.
He also noted that his winning score at Congressional of 5-under par is a testament to the course’s toughness. By comparison, Els had a 4-under total.
“There really isn’t any let-up at Congressional, in that you’ve got to be focused on every hole,’’ said Weiskopf, who posted three consecutive rounds of 69 there and then polished his four-shot victory over Jack Nicklaus with a 68 to join Gary Player as the only players in Senior Open history to shoot all four rounds in the 60s.
“That’s really what I remember most about what was one of my biggest moments in golf: I was so focused. About the only other thing I remember is I was in one of those really great moods, and those didn’t come along often enough.”
“The only other time I probably played as well, at least when it came to hitting fairways and greens and really controlling my ball and my patience, was a couple of those runner-up finishes at Augusta (National).’’
Ah, yes, Weiskopf, who has mellowed considerably since turning 68, won 16 times on the PGA Tour and five times on the Champions. His biggest thrill came in 1973 when he captured the British Open at Troon. But he is probably best known for his dubious distinction of just missing the green jacket a record four times, with two of those runner-up finishes being to Nicklaus. He also was a runner-up in the 1976 U.S. Open to Jerry Pate at the Atlanta Athletic Club.
Weiskopf, who like Nicklaus grew up in Ohio and was an All-American for the Buckeyes, said beating Nicklaus in the U.S. Senior Open was special. But he also didn’t attach a lot of significance to the win affecting their rivalry.
“I think the thing I remember most about the Senior Open at Congressional is that I kind of knew I was going to win it right from the get-go. I was playing good,’’ said Weiskopf, who splits his time these days between Arizona and Bozeman, Montana. “Plus, I had practiced prior to the tournament, and I NEVER practiced for most of my senior career.
“I guess I remember Jack finished second, but I don’t remember by how many strokes. Considering it was Jack that I beat, heck that was good enough because it didn’t happen very often.’’
So who is Weiskopf’s pick to win the national championship at Congressional this week?
“Oh, probably somebody like an Ernie Els,’’ he said of the guy who edged Colin Montgomerie by a stroke in ’97 after Scottsdale’s Tom Lehman had self-destructed on the 71st hole with a 7-iron into the water.
“A player who hits it long and high and can really work the ball around the corners. That’s your winner.’’
In other words, a player who has the skills that Tom Weiskopf once did.
He was the part of me that few readers ever saw, but he influenced my columns about golf more than I realized. Best of all, he loved everything I wrote, unconditionally.
He was my biggest fan, and I was his. For 10 fun-filled years, we were a happy-go-lucky team. I would write the columns, fuss over them, and rewrite them. All the while, Sampson, my big, black Lab, lay faithfully under my desk, nuzzling my feet as I talked to myself. I’m sure my socks didn’t always smell that great, and sometimes the hours would drag on endlessly, but he never seemed to mind.
Complaining wasn’t part of Sampson’s game. In fact, he was perhaps the most gracious, trusting, contented, loyal dog a man could ever know, his tail constantly wagging or pounding the floor. We used to joke that we should have named him “Thumper’’ because that tail just never stopped.
But last week, cancer took “My Boy,’’ and I haven’t been able to write a word about golf since. It wasn’t like we were unprepared; he was diagnosed with the illness back in March.
I suppose such stinging sadness isn’t that unexpected, when you consider Sampson’s most amazing attribute was that he could make me happy, instantly – and I’m not exactly an easy guy to make happy.
“What’s going on, Bill?
But all he had to do was cock his head off to the side, as if to say, “What’s going on, Bill?’’ Then he would simply explode with excitement after deciphering our code of “walk’’ or “ball’’ or “park.’’ By the time he would finally quit bucking like a bronco and barking like a lunatic (Sampson was louder than Lassie!) my mind was miles away from what had consumed me for most of the day.
He could do that – get me out of a funk quickly — and he did it often. That’s why I’d always miss “Sampy’’ almost as much as he missed me when I’d go off on week-long trips to, say, the Masters or a U.S. Open or a golf event of some kind. He hated it when I was gone even though we’d talk by phone – my kids would put the receiver up to Sampson’s ear, and he’d jump back and stare at it in disbelief. My homecoming was always the best of times for both of us.
Change of Heart
It was a relationship that almost didn’t happen. I remember that in the late ’90s, I had decided I’d had enough dogs for a lifetime. We had owned three great ones – Kota, Xena and Annie – and in the span of a year, two had died of illness and the other was stolen from our backyard. So when my son called one day from a farm in Chandler, telling me he had found “the most precious Lab puppy in the world,’’ I told him to forget it.
“You’ve got to come see this pup. He looks just like ‘Bone’ — big head, beautiful eyes, jet-black fur,’’ my son pleaded, comparing the pup to my cousin’s one-of-a-kind hunting dog in Iowa named Bone.
I told him, “No, absolutely, not.” But by the second (or third?) call, I agreed to come check out the pup. As you probably guessed, it took about five seconds for me to say, “Sure.’’ After much debate, we named him Sampson Bonaparte II in honor of Bone, and that was the beginning of our story.
“Ball”
Not that Sampson was the perfect pup; he chewed up his share of garden hoses and plants/flowers. But through the years, as the kids set out on their own, Sampson and I grew closer and closer until we were absolutely each other’s best friend. “Ball’’ was our favorite game – especially the version we played in the pool — and most every day ended with “walk.’’
Naturally, there was nothing Sampson and I liked better than taking our annual trip to Whitefish, Montana, where we have a second home. It’s true that I enjoy playing golf at Whitefish Lake Golf Club more than any place on Earth. Sampson’s thing was the 1,200-mile journey in the SUV through Arizona, Utah, Idaho and, finally, Big Sky Country. However, the biggest deal about Whitefish was — hands down! – Sampson and I were “gone’’ together.
That unbreakable bond we built over those years is why it came as such a crushing blow when Sampson was diagnosed three months ago with hemangiosarcoma, a rapidly growing cancer that involves the cells that line blood vessels. His illness came out of nowhere. One day he simply didn’t bark like a lunatic or buck like a bronco at dinnertime. Instead, he rested that big head on my leg and refused to eat, his sad eyes telling me that something was really, really wrong.
As it turned out, my veterinarian determined that Sampson, who had always been very healthy and fit, had a tumor on his spleen. The good news was the tumor could be removed. The bad news came shortly after taking out the spleen — the tumor was malignant.
Even though one-third of those tumors are benign, Sampson wasn’t that lucky. What I didn’t know was that one in every three dogs develops some form of cancer, and more than half of those dogs die. Worse: The cancer rate is higher in Labradors.
Suddenly, I couldn’t write or do much of anything as I tried to figure out our options. Even though my vet advised me against chemotherapy for Sampson – “most dogs don’t live past two months’’ — he gave me the card of an oncologist at Arizona Veterinary Specialists in Gilbert.
Leap of Faith
I’ll admit, initially I wasn’t going to put Sampson through it. Chemo is hard enough on people, so I figured it would be too much for a dog. But Dr. Lynn Beaver, who has lots of love for her patients, convinced me otherwise. She cited facts, like many dogs with Sampson’s type of cancer can live an additional five to seven months or even longer IF you catch it early enough.
It was a huge leap of faith for me, not wanting to make things worse for Sampson. I was just hoping that I could get him another six months or so.
The risky part was that Sampson’s spleen wasn’t the only organ the cancer had touched; the liver also was involved. The gamble was that the little nodule of cancer on the liver that also had been cut out during surgery wouldn’t come back to haunt us. It was a tough call, but since we’d already lost once on Sampson’s health, we were crossing our fingers that maybe we’d get lucky this time around.
So in mid-March, Sampson and I began the chemo, five sessions spaced three weeks apart and lasting into June. Fortunately, Sampson was a whole lot braver than his “Dad.’’ Each session lasted about two hours, with Sampson getting stuck with needle after needle and me pacing nervously in the parking lot.
Dog lovers understand this slightly altered yet well-known quotation: “To err is human, to forgive canine.’’ We also know that without a doubt, dogs are “man’s best friend.’’ And most of us have seen the movie or read the book “Marley and Me’’ and cried like babies, because if you are a dog lover, there is no in between.
All of these crazy thoughts and more were swirling in my head when I was trying to make the right choice for Sampson. So what happened next — right in the middle of all this life-changing turmoil – just might have been the biggest shocker of all.
Knowing that our time together was growing short, and wanting to get everything I could out of each day, I quit drinking. That’s right, a guy who consumed a couple of glasses of wine almost on a daily basis gave it up to be with his dog as we traveled down this unknown road together.
The results, my results, were astonishing. Instead of one walk to the park every day, we began to take two, then three, and then four walks daily. We even expanded our routes throughout Tempe to include the ASU Research Park. Sampson adored the park’s lake-laden landscape and would signal our arrival every time — even when his booming bark began to fade from the treatments.
Sampson & China
For 72 straight days, we walked and talked about life – Sampson, me and my other dog, China, an American Bulldog-mix who was Sampson’s lifelong companion. And almost every day we discovered something new, as we stopped to smell the roses – Sampson and China being more into the smell part while I did most of the discovering.
Just as hard to believe, we got up earlier and earlier, until this past month we had been rising at the crack of dawn. Believe it or not, the sun comes up in Arizona at 5 a.m. sharp. I just never knew it, as my old routine didn’t really get going until 8 a.m. or later.
Food for Thought
Meanwhile, Sampson endured the chemo like a champion. Even though he became badly nauseated after each of the first three sessions (at least for a day or two), he always bounced back. What was unexpected was he quit eating meat in any form, replacing that one-time staple of his diet with carrots, apples, raspberry scones and a nightly ice cream sandwich. As Dr. Beaver put it: “Let him eat whatever he wants,’’ and that’s exactly what we did.
At the same time, I constantly wrestled with the dilemma of whether or not Sampson physically could handle another chemo session, and was this awful stuff we were putting in his body really making a difference? I also was bothered by his on-and-off cough, which Sampson usually dismissed with a wag of his tail.
But we kept moving forward, trying to be as brave as possible because I wanted so much for Sampson to rally so we could go to Montana for one last summer. And the truth was, he still looked great after three sessions. Even though his whiskers were turning gray, his body seemed to be holding up, and he still pranced – his favorite form of walking – all the way to the park and back, even on his bad days.
Then last Thursday something happened in the middle of the night. I awoke to find him panting, which was not a good sign. When I let him outside, he immediately lay on the grass and wouldn’t come back into the house. When I finally coaxed him inside, he bee-lined for the bathroom, where he started drinking from the “dog pond’’ rather than his bowl filled with water. That’s really strange, I thought.
The following morning, he was still in the bathroom, which was very odd for a dog that often slept in my bed, or at least at the foot of my bed. It was if he was trying to get away or hide from me. One look into his eyes as I rounded the corner sent me into a panic.
Fortunately, Sampson remained calm as his master was falling apart. Even though the big guy could hardly walk to the car for the trip to the vet, and even though we had to use a gurney to transport him from the car into the clinic, Sampson never lost his cool. I wish I could have said the same, just for his sake.
According to Dr. Beaver, more tumors had grown on Sampson’s liver, and he was bleeding internally. There was a chance the bleeding would stop, she told me, “but it will come back.’’
That’s when I had to make the most difficult decision of my life, and truthfully, it hurt like hell. But it must have been the right one, because shortly before he departed this world, Sampson turned to me and gave me two sloppy kisses right on the mug. And then he very gently put his head between his paws like the dignified companion he’d always been and left me here alone, trying to figure it all out.
“Sampy”
I’m still trying. I guess if we had to do it all over again, we would still fight the fight with everything we could muster. Yes, the chemo didn’t work, but the experience brought us even closer, and considering that inseparable connection that already existed, that was truly remarkable.
To be honest, I’m not sure about anything else just yet. But given the circumstances, I’ll probably always look back on our great adventure with the Big C as more of life-changing experience for me than anything I was able to do for Sampson.
That’s why I decided to write this tribute to my best friend, “My Boy’ who used to snuggle at my feet while I kept writing about golf. I know Sampy would have enjoyed it, simply because he loved everything I wrote. Unconditionally.
For the past 10 years, the PGA Tour has been billing its players under this well-known and super-positive spin: “These guys are good!’’
While that’s true, it’s also apparent that, “These guys are bad, too.” Or why is it that for the past two weeks one of the main storylines at the Wells Fargo Championship and The Players Championship has been whether or not Rory Sabbatini is going to be suspended for his bad behavior earlier this year?
Seriously, is it really a surprise that the “Mini Volcano,’’ as Sabbatini is nicknamed – a tribute to “the Volcano,’’ the moniker worn proudly by former Tour delinquent Steve Pate – has erupted again? Reportedly, Sabbatini laid a profanity-laced tirade on a volunteer at the Northern Trust in LA and then followed it up with an equally four-letter worded tirade aimed at fellow pro Sean O’Hair at the Zurich Classic.
Apparently the Tour hasn’t quite figured out what Sabbatini’s punishment should be as he’s playing (and among the leaders) this week at The Players. It does make for some good TV, as the announcers go back in forth in their speculation on what the “double secret probation’’ for Sabbatini will be.
Personally, the way I see it, being a bad boy isn’t all bad. With apologies to Donna Summer, I’ve even assembled the Tour’s All-Bad Boy team and Sabbatini just barely made this, arguably, undesirable unit.
Naturally, the No. 1 spot goes to John Daly, who would easily qualify as the captain and automatic entry into the Bad Boy Hall of Fame. After going through four wives, a runaway train-load of alcohol, and more WDs and DQs than any other guy whose ever teed it up, Daly is the poster boy for the slogan, “These guys are bad, too.’’
Actually, I was a little worried about Daly protecting his sordid reputation when he let the air out of his body with the Lap-Band (laparoscopic gastric surgery). But he climbed right back to the top of this headline-seeking heap when he restored sexism all the way back to the Dark Ages.
During an interview on 790 The Zone in Atlanta not long ago, Daly implied that the reason Tiger Woods cheated on his wife with “127 or 128 women” was because Woods wasn’t “getting it anymore.’’
“My exes, if you look at my life, they just quit supportin’ me. Plus, they didn’t want to have sex anymore,’’ Daly said. “When that happens – and I’ve always been straight up front with every one of them – I said, ‘If you’re not going to give it to me, I am going to go out and get it somewhere else.’
“Is that adultery? Maybe so, but from what I understand, when you’re married they’re supposed to give it to you.’’
Asked if that’s what he talked to Tiger about at last year’s PGA, when Daly supposedly gave consul to Woods at Tiger’s request, Daly concurred. Or as the interviewer worded it: “So Woods should have gone up to a podium and said, ‘I’m not getting (sex) anymore, I’ve had enough.’?
“Exactly,’’ Daly retorted. “That’s what I did.’’
Or as Daly further spun it: “I told (Tiger), ‘If you would have come out that night (Thanksgiving, 2009) after the (one-car crash) incident and told the world what was going on – not listened to your agents, not listened to the anybody else, just what your heart said, and thought what you just told me – this story would have ended in one day.’’
Daly is amazing, but then again, so is Woods, who comes in No. 2 on the All-Bad Boy team. Granted, it wasn’t “127 or 128 women,’’ but Woods did do a great job of totaling his career with his infidelity that was played out through a dozen-plus mistresses. Plus, the bare truth is that Woods just isn’t a nice guy, although he’s not the leader in F-Bombs on Tour despite dropping more than a few on network TV.
No, that honor goes to Anthony Kim, who is just getting started on his bad boy image. Kim comes in at No. 3 primarily on the strength of his rampage last year at the Justin Timberlake tournament in Las Vegas.
Apparently, AK (-47?) got the boot from a cuss-loaded craps game at Bellagio and then went Happy Gilmore by showering the dance floor at another casino with a bottle of Dom Perignon. To top off his weekend, where everything that went on in Vegas apparently didn’t stay there, Kim thumbed his nose at the tournament by withdrawing with a thumb injury.
Which brings us to No. 4 on the All-Bad Boy team – Sabbatini. Truthfully, would anybody really care about Sabbo if he wasn’t such a well-known sour puss? Even when Rory Boy played for the University of Arizona, he was a head case who liked to destroy clubs and throw tantrums. Why would six wins and $24 million ever change the spoiled South African?
Rounding out the All-Bad Boy first team is Pat Perez, or “Double P’’ as he goes on his website, www.patperezgolf.com, where flames and a golf ball/clubs shaped like a skull and cross bones greet visitors. Once known as “the most tempestuous player on the PGA Tour,’’ Perez finally won a tournament to somewhat cool his hot head. Not that this dude who packs a signature boxing glove headcover will ever change, mind you.
Not long ago, the Tour suggested that Perez under go anger management. This followed a couple of well-publicized blowouts, the most notorious meltdown being the 2002 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, where he led all the way until a quadruple-bogey on the 72nd hole.’’
“The Tour suggested it, but I didn’t go,’’ Perez explained. “I get mad and show it. The only way I won’t get mad is if I win every tournament.’’
Such reasoning is why Perez is such a solid fit for the All-Bad Boy team. There were others who received consideration, like Tommy Armour III, the infamous carouser of Birds Nest fame; Colin “Rabbit Ears’’ Montgomerie, who has read the riot act to more than a few fans; Vijay Singh, “the Cheatin’ Fijian,’’ enough said; Frankie “the Blade’’ Lickliter, who once pulled a knife on a guy in a Georgia bar; and Jim Thorpe, the Champions Tour player who recently got paroled from the Big House where he had been housed for tax evasion.
It’s just hard to look past Daly, Woods, Kim, Sabbatini and Perez, as these are exceptional examples of players who truly are bad to the bone. But, hey, at least they’re not on the Tour’s All-Wimp team with crybabies like Paul Casey!
