The Grandaddy Of All Open Champions: "Old" Tom Morris

More so any sport still played today, golf winds its way through history, leaving a trail a greatness still recognizable to those who take the time to look. Of all the great champions who have graced the game, Tom Morris Sr. stands as one of the greatest champions and benefactors of golf -- and the sport that still clearly bears his imprint to this day.

The Open Championship (don't call it the British Open, thanks) is perhaps the most perfect example of the enduring nature of golf-- it has existed for 149 years, and the annual event has only been interrupted by world war and a controversy in 1871 that led to The Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews and The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers administering the event. Its winners are a veritable who's-who of golf, and if one looks down the list of those who have hoisted the Claret Jug or worn the Winner's Belt from today back to 1860, it is like reading a roll call of the greats of the game from now back to the origins of the modern game.

(photo: Old Tom Morris in 1905, right; in the 1890's, below)

The Greatest of the Early Champions: Thomas Mitchell "Tom" Morris, Sr.

First played in the fall of 1860 at Prestwick, the inaugural Open Championship had a clear favorite among the eight professional competitors who vied for the prize belt that would be given to the winner: the keeper of the Prestwick Greens and crack golfer, Tom Morris. Morris did not win that day, losing to his fiercest rival, Willie Park Sr., by two strokes in a three round event that were played consecutively in a single day over 36 holes.

The next year, 1861, Morris began setting a mark of excellence on the young tournament that would not be eclipsed until his son came along, where Morris Jr. not only broke his father's records but also placed himself high in the annals of the game itself.

"Old" Tom Morris, as he came to be known in order to distinguish him from his son "Young" Tom, was a clubmaker, a golf course designer, a greenskeeper and, of course, a great golfer. Many of the elements of the game we take for granted today came originally from his hand, for example, Old Tom was the man who standardized courses at 18 holes, he was the first to groom hazards in order to enhance their punitive nature, and as a designer, he was the first who placed hazards in a manner such that strategy in avoiding them was clearly required in order to garner the lowest score possible. Obviously, these are things that modern course superintendents and designers do every day as part of their work, but it was Morris who was the first -- and in so doing, he changed the game forever.

He learned his skills from the man who is credited with being the first golf professional, Alan Robertson, and the two men also played in foursomes together and were never beaten from 1842 till Robertson's untimely death in 1859. Of Robertson, it is said that he was never beaten, and of Morris, much the same can be said of his play in the early years of his golfing career being that he was Robertson's partner and apprentice.

"£1 a day I charged plus expenses, and walked every venue." -- Tom Morris, Sr.

As a course designer, his handiwork is still golfed upon every day even now: Morris created the legendary courses at Carnoustie, Prestwick, and Muirfield, Royal Dornoch, Royal County Down along with Warkworth in Northumberland, Rosapenna in Ireland, among others. He also made changes and greatly evolved the Old Course at St. Andrews -- it was Old Tom who laid the sod of the 18th green there with his own hands. His work greatly influenced the likes of Alistair MacKenzie, designer of Cypress Point and Augusta National, Donald Ross, designer of Pinehurst #2 and Seminole, among many others.

Morris was also one of the first widely known champions that played the gutta percha golf ball (the aforementioned Willie Park Sr. being another) that eventually helped enhance and popularize the game -- prior to the gutta percha, balls were hand-stitched leather stuffed with feathers that were extremely expensive and thus unaffordable to any but the very wealthy. While some middle-class duffers were to be found in that time, they often were forced to play with limited equipment, especially when it came to golf balls. With the relatively inexpensive gutta-percha ball, more commoners could afford to take up the game, and thus the second great influx of the middle class (the sheep herders who invented golf as we know it being the first) into golf. Old Tom also developed and built golf clubs in his shop and even helped create many of the rules of the game that are still in place to day.

By 1867, Old Tom had established a clubmaking business aside the 18th green of The Old Course in Saint Andrews. He ran the business for the rest of his lifetime, and consistently employed at least six craftsmen, one of which, Bob Martin, was a double winner of The Open Championship at St Andrews in 1876 & 1885.

(pictured above: Prestwick, photo by Bryan Robson; an advertisement forMorris Sr. golf equipment, and below, the 18th green at St. Andrews Old Course.)

Those accomplishments alone would place Old Tom Morris at the pinnacle of great men and women in the great game of golf, but one distinction places Morris there as well: he was also a fine champion golfer. He won four Open Championships, in 1861, 1862, 1864 and 1867. He competed often on the courses surrounding St. Andrews, with his son "Young" Tom being one his competitors or partners. While the one would defeat the other with some regularity, Young Tom had an edge on his father, that being his superior putting skills.

In fact, Young Tom would often joke with his father if he left a short putt that "The hole'll no' come ta ye, Da." That in mind, it can even be said that the Morris father-and-son combo created the infamous lament of "Never up, never in."

They remain the only father and son to come first and second in the same major golf championship - with Young Tom triumphant over his father. Another record of Old Tom's would stand until 2000. He held the record for largest margin of victory in a major championship at 13 strokes in the 1862 Open Championship, which Tiger Woods finally surpassed with a 15 stroke win at the US Open at Pebble Beach in 2000.

Old Tom played in every Open until 1895 and died in 1908 at 86. His death was caused by a simple mistake -- he thought that a door led to a water-closet (bathroom) but instead was a wine-cellar, and he fell down the stair leading into the cask of bottles fracturing his skull in the process. He was buried next to his son in the Cathedral Church Yard in St Andrews, after a massive funeral that saw a procession where nearly every resident of the town and many from afar came to see him into his afterlife.

For a far more in-depth examination of Old and Young Tom Morris, I would suggest "Tommy's Honor"by Kevin Cook.

tomorrow: Harry Vardon

Cancer Claims Father of Tour Player Jonathan Byrd

PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd suffered a tragic loss Monday night with the passing of his father. Jim Byrd was 65.

The State: Cancer Claims Father of PGA's Byrd:

"There were many constants in Jim Byrd’s life — his family, his faith, his love of golf — but when it came to sports allegiances, you would have to call the father of PGA Tour player Jonathan Byrd and Clemson assistant golf coach Jordan Byrd ... well, conflicted.

"Byrd, who died Monday night at 65 after a nearly two-year battle with brain cancer, was born and raised a North Carolina Tar Heel, playing freshman baseball and varsity football at UNC from 1965-67. But both sons wound up Clemson Tigers, and Byrd loved them and their sports careers more than life itself.

"So he learned to compromise — while never compromising his sense of humor.

"Al Adams, insurance agent and public-address announcer for Clemson football, discovered that in 1999, when he and the Byrds were on a Clemson-sponsored golf trip to Ireland.

“On the bus to the hotel, we were sitting across the aisle when I discovered he was a North Carolina grad,” Adams said. “I said, ‘You mean I’ve got eight days of listening to Tar Heel stuff?’

“Jim gave it back as good as he got. Once we were watching the ACC (basketball) tournament at his house, and he said, ‘Are you pulling for Carolina?’ I said of course not, and he laughed and said, ‘I just wanted to be sure.’

“He loved his Heels, but also his boys.”

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Byrd family.

Upcoming Wisconsin Tournament Names "Miss Beer Cart" for the Year

It takes more than a pretty face and a winsome smile to win the title of Miss Beer Cart in Wisconsin. The winner will be crowned after a competition where

[D]rivers compete against one another in different events that involve speed and neatness on the beer cart, driving tests that include speed, agility and accuracy and also a question and answer session with our selected judges. Before the event begins, a long drive competition is held between the beer cart drivers. This is done on an amphitheater like setting on the first tee. Once the event begins, each driver gets her turn on the beverage cart. Votes are tallied during dinner based upon pre-round competitions, long drive challenge and service during the event.

The spoils of victory?

The winner will enjoy the crown of Miss Beer Cart Wisconsin for one year and may be asked to represent the Pageant at various events. We provide participation awards and cash prizes for the winning participants.

Alongside the competition will be a Captain's Choice tournament for the fellows, who I suppose will be served by the contestants. And if the ladies in the contest are as attractive and as good at their jobs as are the ladies here at Eagle Ridge, it should be a tough competition indeed....and a fun day for everyone.

NFL Hall of Famer Jim Brown Wrongly Rips Tiger Woods

According to football legend Jim Brown, Tiger Woods should use his status as the world's pre-eminent and most recognizable athlete as a platform from which to speak for social change. What Brown ignores or overlooks is that Woods is already doing just that, albeit in a quiet but very effective way.

Brown made the following comments on HBO's "Real Sports" program in an episode which will begin airing Tuesday:

“You know what’s so interesting about Tiger to me? If it was just a matter of me looking at an individual that's a monster competitor, this cat is a mamajama; he is a killer. He'll run over you, he'll kick your ass. But as an individual for social change, or any of that kind of ----? Terrible. Terrible. Because he can get away with teaching kids to play golf, and that's his contribution. And in the real world, man, I can't teach no kids to play golf and that's my contribution, if I got that kind of power."

Woods was not Brown's only target for his withering criticism, he also lashed out at former NBA superstar and current Charlotte Bobcat executive Michael Jordan:

“There are one or two individuals in this country that are black that have been put in front of us as an example. But they're basically under a system that says, ‘Hey, they're not gonna do a certain thing.’ Yes, that disappoints me because I know they both know better."

It was after his playing days that Brown made his greatest mark on the world: he founded several "community programs aimed specifically at improving economic opportunities for American minorities. His latest enterprise is Amer-I-Can--its name emphasizing the "I Can"-- a project aimed at fostering self-esteem and diffusing tensions among urban gang members. Brown has created a 15-step course in personal responsibility that he has introduced everywhere from maximum-security prisons to encounter sessions in his own Hollywood living room." In short, Jim Brown was and is a difference maker in our world, one that everyone should be grateful to for his work.

But in Tiger's case he's wrong. Woods is already a social activist who is making a difference and in ways that far exceed golf. In USA Today:

"Greg McLaughlin, director of the Tiger Woods Foundation, said Wednesday that Woods' success in golf is understood by the public, but his true focus is not.

"When the foundation started in 1996 our goal was to provide opportunities for disadvantaged kids," McLaughlin said. "His focus is on educational resources for disadvantaged children."

"To that end Woods created the Tiger Woods Learning Center in California, and he's currently planning another in Washington, D.C. The foundation is considering three locations, and Woods hopes to have a decision on the site this year.

"Like the learning center in California, it will have a limited component of golf and will not be a place where students learn to play golf. The focus will be on academics."

If that's not empowerment and making a real difference, what is?

Brown Deer Park, Home of US Bank Tournament, Damaged By Vandals

The course that's the site of the PGA Tour's US Bank Championship (July16-19) was damaged by vandals a mere two weeks prior to the tournament.

WTMJ AM 620 Report

"Vandals tore up a green at the site of an upcoming PGA golf tournament, just two weeks before the event.

"It happened at the 17th hole at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course, home of the U.S. Bank Championship to be held July 16-19.

"The 17th hole was badly damaged, just two weeks before the annual PGA event.

"The damage was likely done by motorcycles."

What possesses some people to destroy something for no good reason is simply beyond me. The tournament The Tour's only stop in Wisconsin, the US Bank Championship donates 100% of its net profit to charity, with this year's main recipient being the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, one of the highest rated pediatric centers in the country. Essentially, if the tournament is harmed, kids in dire straits are also hurt, and in my view that's simply unconscionable.

The grounds crew is working diligently to restore the damaged areas in time for the tournament. According the to the Milwaukee Journal

"About 60% of the putting surface on No. 17 was damaged by vandals on the night of June 23, according to tournament director Dan Croak. The damage likely was caused by a motorcycle or motorcycles.

"I got the call early Wednesday morning (June 24) from Tim," [tournament director Dan] Croak said, referring to course superintendent Tim Wegner. "My reaction was extreme disappointment."

"Wegner and Brian Zimmerman, chief of operations for Milwaukee County Parks, immediately formulated a plan for repairing the damaged turf. They pooled resources from the parks department and even borrowed equipment from local private clubs.

"At this point we're operating under the assumption it will be playable for the tournament. It may not be pretty and it may not be perfect," Croak said.

The tournament already faces an uncertain future, as it will lose its title sponsorship from US Bank after this year with none in the wings to take its place. Its current slot on the PGA Tour schedule against the Open Championship, along with low attendance and TV ratings, were reasons cited by U.S. Bank for pulling out of the event.

(photo: Milwaukee Journal)

2m

Payne Stewart's Son Playing Tournament This Week on Pinehurst #2

Aaron Stewart, 20, is competing in the pretigious North and South Amateur this week on the site of his father's famous -- and final -- win.

On a misty, cool Father's Day ten years ago, Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Payne Stewart had one of the best final-round US Open battles on the venerable Pinehurst #2 course, with Stewart prevailing over Mickelson at the last, when he sunk a fifteen-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win his second US Open.

Stewart had been the picture of calm, cool and collected that day, going about his business with an almost detached air despite the heat and light the three men were generating as they came down the stretch towards the clubhouse. When his winning putt fell in the cup, he could no longer contain the raw emotions that had been coursing through him all afternoon. He thrust his fist into the air with a whoop and holler, and celebrated the well deserved win.

Four month later, he was dead -- a victim of a horrible aircraft malfunction that allowed all of the air in the cabin to escape, killing everyone aboard while the plane flew onward as a ghost ship.

Aaron Stewart was ten years old at the time, and not even a big golf fan or player. He didn't start taking the game seriously until he was in high school, and last week was the first time he returned to the Pinehurst course since the 2001 dedication of the statue behind the 18th hole that marks his father's legacy there.

Aaron is in his sophomore year year at Southern Methodist, and one day hopes to be a PGA Touring pro. “Our family has always thought very highly of the people here and Pinehurst overall, so when I found out about the North and South, I thought if I could get in, it’d be a lot of fun to play,” he said.

He will need to survive two days of medal play to qualify for the match play bracket over the weekend, and should he do that, he will have a chance for a rare father-son victory in different tournaments on the same course.

Aaron will have a secret weapon that may well make that a strong possibility: Mike Hicks, his father's former caddy who was on the bag for Payne's 1999 victory will be caddying for him this weekend. Of Aaron, Hicks told Raleigh's WRAL TV that “The mannerisms and the way he conducts himself, there’s a few things that remind me a lot of his dad."

And if Aaron Stewart can conquer the tough test that is the #2 course, he will in many ways become just like his famous father as well.

Does Your Club Have Its Own "CSI: Handicap?"

Handicaps are golf's great equalizer: players of two different abilities can have a match with one another, and based upon their handicaps, if each plays to their established abilities, then there should be a close and interesting match between the two. That is, as long as everyone is honest about their scores and their golf, and also if they are consistent in posting their scores when they play.

Problem is, not everyone is scrupulous and they game the handicap system in order to achieve a higher or lower index than they rightfully deserve. The later scofflaw, the guy who inflates his scores in order to have a higher index, is probably trying to gain an edge in tournaments at his club or elsewhere. The perjorative common term for this kind of cheater is a "sandbagger." And in my view, sandbaggers are the worst kind of cheat there is in the game of golf.

Fortunately, the USGA takes handicap cheating very seriously, and has create a way for your club to have its own "CSI" to serve justice: a Committee for Sandbagger Identification.

No one is perfect, and we all make mistakes when it comes to the rules of golf from time to time. The best of us call penalties on ourselves when this becomes apparent -- and we do so out of honor and respect for the game. Sometimes we may miss something, and are reminded by a competitor -- and our faces turn red in apologetic shame for the transgression. It wasn't that we weren't trying to play honest golf, it's simply that we didn't know we had crossed a line. We play by the rules and we post our real scores, not something we pulled out from some unmentionable region beneath our wallets.

And the USGA Handicap system is quite fair: it expects folks to have career days sooner or later, and also have days when their score might indicate their desire to toss their bag in the nearest lake. All of that is accounted for, with the simple expectation: play by the rules and report hoest sports. Easy enough. Thankfully, almost no golfer has to run through the complicated formula for handicap calculation -- computers do that, but rest assured, it is a fair system.

Fair, unless there's a guy who will deliberately cheat -- improve his lie when no one is watching, for example. That's another level higher on the golfing blackguard, and he is the detestable sort who makes a match grueling in that you have to not only be vigilant over your own game, but his too. If you catch him in the act, he usually denies what he's done, because let's be honest here -- lying is also part and parcel of cheating on the golf course...and most liars try to cover one lie with another lie.

At the pinnacle of golf's con artists and ne'er-do-wells is the fellow who cheats across the board by sandbagging.

He's the grifter of the game, the hustler who wants you to believe that he's a fourteen indexer -- right before he goes and drops an easy 75 in the money match of your annual club championship. Truth is, this guy is a real five handicap, but he wants to have that trophy so badly that honor means nothing. Considering the high intrinsic value golf places on honor -- we are our own referees, after all -- what does that say about him? Nothing much good, you can be sure of that.

The next day, this fellow might not be able to find the fairway with a seeing eye dog, or make a putt longer than two inches, but on days when trophies and cash is handed out, he's Tiger Woods. After all, he's "working on his handicap" -- or if you prefer, getting ready to scam his next victims.

Truth is, that fellow is a coward afraid to play you true handicap to true handicap. He may be better than you in reality, but he's afraid to play without crutches. You might beat him and his ego might not be able to handle that.

Fortunately, there are remedies for that sort: the Handicap Committee of your club. You do have one, right? The USGA gives the Handicap Committee a lot of leeway and power to manage their club's handicaps, and they can, at their discretion, fix a problem index for a golfer who won't be honest about his scores. It's a thankless job, but a necessary one to ensure fair competitions. Without their work, the grifters would make a mockery of the handicap system and eventually interest in tournament play would suffer. Who likes to play a game rigged against them, after all?

Specifically, the rule states "the Handicap Committee shall determine the amount of the adjustment." That can be for sandbagging, failing to post good scores, or any number of the range of handicap infractions. Cheaters post fictional scores, or quit after 12 holes to avoid posting a score, for example, can be fixed right up once the Committee figures it all out. Their powers are such that they can also simply take someone's handicap index away entirely -- thus crippling the scofflaw's ability to enter into amateur tournaments. That's happened three times here in North Carolina that I know of, and each time the USGA faithfully backed the Handicap Committee after evidence was presented.

Don't think that the adjustment is always to a lower number -- there are people who deflate their handicap in order to keep a single digit or otherwise low index, presumably to protect their pride. That's not the guy you want in a better ball match, uneless you have a strong back and plan to carry him on it for 18 holes.

How long does a penalty handicap last? As long as the committee thinks it should, although the USGA wants the committee to review such decisions each month when handicaps normally are revised.

So there is justice in the golfing world.

The Open Going Back to Giving The Winner A Belt

Ryan Balangee at Waggle Room reported this first, but it's interesting to note nonetheless: Prestwick to Hand Belt to 2010 Open Champion.

"FOR only the second time since Young Tom Morris won three consecutive Opens between 1868 and 1870, an achievement which entitled him to take permanent possession of the championship belt, Prestwick golf club will present the winner of the Open in St Andrews in 2010 with a replica of the prized red morocco leather belt ornamented with silver.

"While all the victors since Young Tom, who received a gold medal in 1872, have lifted the Claret Jug, Sandy Lyle was the fortunate recipient of a replica belt in 1985 at Royal St George's to mark the championship's 125th anniversary."

This is a fantastic idea, and I am very glad it will come to pass. In my view, all too often, golf is forgetting its roots and its traditions, and by doing this, Prestwick will be calling attention not only to that, but also to two of golf's earliest and greatest champions, Old Tom Morris and Young Tom Morris (pictured wearing the Champions Belt, left.)

The Morris father and son combo were probably the first pair of great champions in the game. Each won the Open Championship four times, "Old" Tom in 1861, 1862, 1864 and 1867, and "Young" Tom, his son, won it in 1868, 1869, 1870 and 1872. No Open was held in 1871. Young Tom's four consecutive victories is notable in that he was given the Champions Belt after the third win and the famous Claret Jug was purchased for the next tournament in 1872, and his became the first name to be engraved on it. In their time, they were golf's greatest champions and both added greatly to the game, though Young Tom's life ended in heartbreak and tragedy.

In September 1875 Young Tom and his father were playing a match with Willie and Mungo Park, and Young Tom received a telegram that his beloved and pregnant wife, Margaret, had suddenly got very sick. The Morrises rushed home but during their journey, they received a telegram that it was too late: Young Tom's wife and newborn baby were dead.

Morris never recovered from the loss, and he died on Christmas Day the same year. Legend has it that he died of a broken heart, which cannot be far from the truth -- with his spirit broken, his health declined and he was left prone to influenza, which many say actually killed him. While the story of influenza may or may not be apocryphal, one thing is a certainty -- without his family, Young Tom lost his will to live and joined his lost loved ones in the great beyond not long after.

Golf writers ever since have wondered how many more Open championships the 24 year old would have won had this tragedy not happened. Considering that he won four by the time he passed on and at a young age, it's conceivable he would have at least doubled or perhaps even tripeled his numbers of wins.

For his part, Old Tom cannot be overlooked not only for his winnings, but also for his ever-lasting contributions to golf: he standardized the concept of 18 holes and introduced the concept of modern routing, where typically each nine holes return to the club house. He added that one would go out into the prevailing conditions and return the opposite way, providing a more thorough test of one's game. Morris was also the first to place hazards in a way that a player could route their golf ball around or over them, offering a new strategy that had not existed before. He also was the first to top-dress greens, something that's standard fare at nearly any golf course in the world today.

Finally, Old Tom left behind a number of courses rich with design elements that they have been copied ever since. He deserves credit for Muirfield, Prestwick and Carnoustie as a prime designer, among others and he also lent a major hand to the Old Course in St Andrews among many others.

By reviving the Champions Belt, stories of these great men will be told once more, and for golf fans everywhere interested in the game, that's an experience long overdue in modern coverage.

Mickelson and Duval Think Bethpage Would Be a Great Ryder Cup Venue As Well

Phil Mickelson and David Duval both think that Bethpage Black -- and its fans -- would make a spectacular Ryder Cup venue:

"The people here are incredible, and I just keep thinking that this is like the ideal spot to hold the Ryder Cup," he said Monday.

"First of all, the course is terrific, because 16, 17 and 18 are so close together. And the way the fans are, I think we would have a big advantage."

"David Duval concurred. "Now that would be a heck of an idea," he said after tying Mickelson and Ricky Barnes for second place. "It's sure a good enough golf course for it."

And, as I said on Monday, it would also create an incredible home-field advantage for the American side, one that has all too often found itself outgunned and overmatched in the biannual event.

Say what you will about the way that fans behaved at the US Open, the Ryder Cup would be a perfect venue for the New York Fan atmosphere. It is most certainly a partisan event, and as we saw last year at Valhalla, the players can feed off of the positive vibes of the fans in attendance. Interestingly, a lot of writers are now saying that the stories painting fans at Bethpage as out of control were, shall we say, a tad overwrought. Patrick Sauer, who did a fine job of covering the US Open for Huffington Post (yes, the Huffington Post) said this:

" I read a number of articles about the drunken hecklers raining down obscenities on the poor fragile golfers. I am going to call at least half-bullcrap on that storyline. Sure, by the time Saturday's skies open up and poured around 7 p.m., there were plenty of soused golf fans that had put in a full day's drink. Including, umm, many of those who took shelter throughout the day in the hospitality tent. Was there some friendly taunting? Sure. And maybe "friendly" in the New York City area comes off as "aggressive and hostile" elsewhere, but I never heard anyone yell during a golfer's swing, nor did I hear any cursing at a particular player (Although I was never near poor old Fred Funk.) Yes, the mooks were out in full force, but they were mostly having fun, the obnoxious drunks were far outnumbered by people having a big time in the heavy stuff."

Golf blogger extraordinaire Stephanie Wei saw more or less the same thing at Bethpage, and she commented that

"At the same time, the energy, encouragement and enthusiasm have been unparalleled to anything I’ve ever experienced - especially at a golf tournament; one that has been muddy and wet, no less. Sure, they’ll always be “that” guy yelling something less-than-intelligent. But for the most part, people have been supportive and positive. (I mean, haven’t you heard the cheers for Phil?) The players haven’t seemed to mind either. In fact, I think many have been entertained and encouraged by the crowd’s response. What else can you do? It is pretty amusing."

"That" guy that Stephanie refers to shows up everywhere, and to paint New York fans as worse than what you might see at any tournament is wrong. After all, at this year's Player's Championship in Pontre Vedra Beach Florida for blustering "FIGJAM" in the direction of Phil Mickelson. And at this year's Bay Hill tournament, Mickelson was again the vicitim of someone with a complete lack of social graces when a fan yelled "Get in the lake!" after Lefty teed off. All of that leads me to believe that the over-stereotyped NY fan was probably slandered a bit by reporters with selective hearing last weekend. Sure sounds like they were no better or no worse than golf fans anywhere in the US.

The bottom line here is that Bethpage Black is more than course enough to be an incredible match play venue and the fans that have attended the two majors there have more than shown their mettle after two US Opens, so now the ball is on the the PGA's green -- they simply need to make the right call and get a future Ryder Cup in Farmingdale, NY. Whether the PGA listens to Mickelson and Duval and awards a Ryder Cup to Bethpage is anyone's guess.

The Ultimate Golf Room? With Lynni Megginson Designing It, I'm Sure It Will Be

Washington DC interior designer-extraordinaire Lynni Megginson is a dear friend of ours, and she's embarked on a project that most golfers would consider to be the ultimate addition to their home: a golf room in the CharityWorks GreenHouse, a project in McLean Virginia that will feature the best practices in Green Design for sustainability. According to the EPA, 43 percent of carbon emissions - the leading source of greenhouse gases - are created by residential and commercial buildings, and the GreenHouse will be be the first in the DC area that has zero. The private initiative will create a home that will eventually be sold at market.

Without any exaggeration or hyperbole, Lynni is rapidly becoming a superstar in the design world. Her work is found in the finest homes in the DC area, and she's a featured magazine columnist and guest on television shows like "Good Morning America." Regarding the CharityWorks design, she says that

'We’ll be installing a 150K HD simulator that enables you to tee off at any major course in the world from the comfort of your home. Our design vibe, however, will be more 'retro' as opposed to 'traditional pro shop.' This is the golf room that Dean Martin would have had in his house!'

I'm told that the simulator makes the new Tiger Woods game on the Wii platform pale in comparison. We'll have to see about that, as the new Wii/Woods game is getting rave reviews, but of course, it costs a couple magnitudes less money, so one would have to think that maybe the simulator going in the GreenHouse will have the edge. One thing is for sure -- it will be in an awesome setting.

The CharityWorks GreenHouse opens to the public in October.

Put The Ryder Cup In Metro New York City Pronto!

It's been amusing watching the banter in press and blogosphere over the conduct of the fans at Bethpage Black this week.

You'll hear different tales of how good or how bad they were, but one thing is certain: the fans braved the rain and the mud and supported the event...and that they added a rich, spicy flavor to the proceedings. There are few fans of any sport more stalwart or determined than the New Yorker, and without any doubt, the USGA had no worries over the weekend that the fans would brave the elements regardless of the challenge they presented.

New Yorkers, for better or worse are direct and blunt, but one can always be certain where they stand with a New Yorker. No passive-aggression from that lot at a sporting event, and they will let a player know it when they've done well or they've done poorly. At a Masters or a US Open in another city, you might hear a couple scattered claps or silence following a poor shot. Not in New York. Someone will pipe up and let the golfer know exactly what the crowd is thinking.

Imagine, if you will, the 128th Open Championship at Carnoustie being held in the New York area and the crowd reaction to Jean Van De Velde's utterly silly collapse on the final hole. By the time Van de Velde had taken his third shot, the one in the heathers where he moved the ball only a few feet, if you were on the east coast you would have been able to hear the fans' catcalls. And it would have only gotten worse for the Frenchman as he took his fourth, fifth, and sixth shots on his way to throwing away the championship.

It will be quite a while until we get another taste of Big Apple hospitality in our national golfing championship, however. Future sites for the US Open are

2010 – Pebble Beach Golf Links (Pebble Beach, California – June 17–20)
2011 – Congressional Country Club, Blue Course (Bethesda, Maryland – June 16–19)
2012 – The Olympic Club, Lake Course (San Francisco, California – June 14–17)
2013 – Merion Golf Club, East Course (Ardmore, Pennsylvania – June 13–16)
2014 – Pinehurst Resort, Course #2 (Pinehurst, North Carolina – June 12–15)
2015 – Chambers Bay (University Place, Washington – June 18–21)
2016 – Oakmont Country Club (Oakmont, Pennsylvania – June 16–19)

and it is a virtual certainty that taken as a whole the galleries at these sites will be much more, shall we say, discriminating in their commentary towards players.

No matter where your opinion falls regarding the fans this week, there is an event in golf where they would provide a home-field advantage non-pareil: the Ryder Cup. Why that isn't planned for the near future is somewhat mystiying:

2012 Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Illinois, U.S.A.
2016 Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota, U.S.A.
2020 Ryder Cup Whistling Straits (Straits Course), Kohler, Wisconsin

The Ryder Cup should be in the tri-state area, stat. The Euros would have two years to dread playing in that crowd, and they would more than likely cross the Atlantic already defeated by the idea. And the NY fans would be all to happy to let them know about it.

David Duval Earns Back The Respect He Deserved All Along

Once the #1 Player in the world, and a major champion, starting in 2002, David Duval was beset like Job: depression that reared its head constantly, a back injury, a split with his finacee and possibly worst of all, a bout with vertigo that took away his keen sense of balance -- something of vital importance to a top-flight golfer.

Since his victory at the 2001 British Open, he's yet to win any tournament anywhere, and he's plummeted from golf's #1 to #882 coming into the US Open this weekend at Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, New York. Few if any gave David Duval any chance to make the cut, much less vye for the tournament win.

"[T]he PGA Tour should assign someone to follow him and scream "Fore!!!" during his backswing, just to give the spectators time to duck behind a tree." - Rich Tosches, Devil Ball Golf, 2008

In fact, when people in pro golf have heard Duval say lately that he felt like his game was back, they laughed at him. But it was David Duval who had the last laugh, this week anyway: with a mere four holes to go in the 2009 US Open, he was tied for the lead and poised to win the tournament. This not being a fairy-tale, there was no happy ending so far as a US Open win was concerned, but in reality, David Duval proved that he is still a winner and that's a win in and of itself not only for Duval personally, but for golf generally.

How soon they forget: this is the guy that shot a 59 at the Player's Championship, the guy that was always in contention, and the guy capable of reeling off victories with ease. The simple fact is that David Duval has accomplished more in golf than most players ever do, yet he became the victim of snide jokes filled with contempt.

Depression is not accurately described by its dictionary definition: "a mental state characterized by a pessimistic sense of inadequacy and a despondent lack of activity." It's not a state of feeling sad and not feeling good enough, though that can be part of it. It's certainly not something one can just shake off, as though they had a bad day at the office -- the popular conception of the disease amongst a lot of people. Research increasingly demonstrates a biological condition where "[of the thirty] or so neurotransmitters that have been identified, researchers have discovered associations between clinical depression and the function of three primary ones: serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. These three neurotransmitters function within structures of the brain that regulate emotions, reactions to stress, and the physical drives of sleep, appetite, and sexuality. Structures that have received a great deal of attention from depression researchers include the limbic system and hypothalamus." [link] In layman's terms, clinical depression is as much a physical disease as is muscular distrophy or a heart defect. Overcoming the disease is difficult, and while there is no cure, its symptoms can be mitigated with the proper treatment, and eventually the patient can function at near-normal levels.

It appears that Duval is doing just that, and just in the nick of time: he is in the last year of his PGA Tour exemption, meaning that he will need to either win a tournament, finish in the top 125 of money earned or re-qualify for the PGA Tour by going through Q-School this fall. His check for his second-place tie will go far to vaulting him up the Top 125, and if he brings the same sort of game that he had in his bag that he had this week at Bethpage, a win is not at all out of the question. Duval was achingly close this afternoon, and truly, it was only a lipped out putt and a raw rub of the green here or there that kept him out of at least a playoff with eventual winner Lucas Glover. Duval tied Phil Mickelson, and beat Tiger Woods, not to mention the rest of the field. He finished under par at a US Open venue. If he can do these things at Bethpage, he can do it again at a regular tour event.

And when he does, the know-it-alls in golf who haven't gone through one tenth of the turmoil in their lives that Duval has had in his won't be laughing. David Duval will be, but it will be with his wife, his family and to him, he says, that's all that matters.

In my mind, and with all due respect to tournament winner Lucas Glover, considering the arduous journey, David Duval is the real winner this week.

A Picture Says a Thousand Words

From Newsday's article "US Open Fans Heckle Tiger Woods"

Barnes Comes From Nowhere To Lead US Open

Mid-way through the third round of the US Open, little-known Ricky Barnes leads the tournament, and could on his way to joining a very exclusive club: that of the unheralded winner taming one of the toughest tests in the game of golf.

Barnes, the 2002 US Amateur Champion, has hardly made a huge splash on the PGA Tour his rookie year. His best finish was a tie for 42nd, he's ranked 169th in fairways hit, 105th for reaching greens in regulation and his putting a woeful 192nd amongst his touring pro peers.

Coupled with his unremarkable record in majors, one could see why no one gave him a second thought coming into the week:

Tournament	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
The Masters	DNP	DNP	DNP	21 LA	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
U.S. Open	CUT	DNP	CUT	T59	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP
British Open	DNP	DNP	DNP	CUT	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP
PGA Championship	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP	DNP

Barnes graduated from the Nationwide Tour to the PGA after last season, when he finished 25th on the Nationwide Money list, with his best performance on that tour being a second place showing in the 2006 Oregon Classic, where he lost in a playoff to Cliff Kresge.

While there is an incredible amount of golf yet to be played, and Barnes winning the tournament is by no means a sure thing - in fact, the odds are still stacked against him - what's clear is that Barnes has caught lightning in a bottle and has thus far mastered the sopping wet Bethpage Black golf course.

USGA Has a Change of Heart, Will Allow Rained Out Thursday Ticket Holders Entrance on Monday

Judy Rankin, who is commentating on the USGA.com feed just announced that the USGA has decided that folks who had Thursday tickets to the rained-out proceedings access to the course on Monday using their Thursday ducts, that is, if golf is held that day. Considering the weather forecast, that seems like a near certainty. Additionally, the USGA has made the announcement giving people ample time to make any necessary plans.

This is a fantastic change of heart for the USGA and will go far to alleviate the frustation ticket-holders.

The Weather Soaks The Course, And The USGA Soaks First-Day Ticket Holders

As I tweeted earlier today, the USGA has decided to not refund or exchange any tickets for the lost first round of the US Open today at Bethpage...and people who spent the day seeing only a few holes of golf are not happy about the decision.

Golf.com's Press Tent: No Refunds or Rainchecks for US Open Ticket Holders

"According to the USGA's Rand Jerris, Thursday's abbreviated round -- in which the lead group made it to only the 11th hole -- counts as a day of golf and the USGA will not issue refunds or rain checks. While the tournament could finish on Monday due to forecasts for continued rain, Jerris said the USGA has not made a decision regarding possible tickets for Monday. However, Thursday tickets will not be honored and fans can throw them away, Jerris said.

"Jerris could not answer questions about how the no-refund decision was made or if there is a set number of holes or time on the course that constitutes a "day" of golf. He referred those question to USGA higher-ups who were not immediately available for comment. The extensive fine print on the back of the ticket does not cover the USGA's rain-delay policies, and no clear explanation of rain-check policy is contained in the USGA's online spectator guide."

(note: I added the link above to the fine print)

In the past, ticket conditions for USGA events have had the statement (which I will paraphrase from memory) that if one golfer strikes one shot, they consider that a day of golf and that no refunds or rainouts will be issued." That's missing from this year's policies, but I saw it in my Pinehurst ticket packages and remember it quite well because I made a point to tell that to anyone who was interested in buying one of my spare tickets and going with me to see the action. I wanted them to know they were taking on the risk I already had, and that I wouldn't be the one issuing them a refund, because that was the USGA policy. After all, it is not unheard of to have a rainy day in June in North Carolina. In fact, the storm now plaguing Bethpage spent Monday through early this morning here before moving north.

In my mind, that's a pretty severe and stingy policy on the USGA's part. Most sports have some form of partial rainout policies -- for example, most car races are not considered official if one car passes the start-finish line at the start of a race, nor is a baseball game official until two-thirds of the event has been played.

Even the USGA's own handicapping rules say that over two-thirds of a round must be played for it to count towards the whole. If a golfer doesn't complete 13 holes, they can only record nine for handicap purposes. That's a long way from hitting one shot off of the first tee.

Come Monday, if the US Open is not finished, crowds will start to thin as people who've planned to attend the event must return to duties at home and their jobs. If it goes to Tuesday, the US Open crowd may well resemble one might expect at a first round of a second-tier PGA Tour event -- in other words, empty grandstands and sparse crowds everywhere else.

The well-heeled organization would do well to generate itself some good PR and offer the soaked (in two ways, literally and financially) fans free entrance to Monday or at the very least a greatly reduced price for those days if it comes to it. Or they could offer a discount to next year's event.

But it's easier to keep the money and let people's irritation go by the wayside, just like any other heartless corporation. This is something that folks will remember when the USGA comes calling for donations in the future, and they can forecast that a lot more reliably than the weather over Bethpage this weekend.

And So It Begins...The Slobbering Onslaught of Endless Hyperbole

Every year, when the US Open begins, pundits, analysts and reporters fall all over themselves to top their previous year's hyperbole. Not only is it wildly inaccurate, it's insulting to the intelligence of the knowledgeable golf fan.

Without a doubt, the 2008 US Open at Torrey Pines was one of the most exciting ever played. And without looking at television and web ratings, it was also one of the most widely watched ever. No one can deny the drama of a hobbled Tiger Woods dueling back and forth with Rocco Mediate, the happy-go-lucky journeyman with a heart of steel that stared Tiger down for 91 holes before a single shot and missed putt gave Woods the win. It was compelling, awesome and entertaining golf. But it was the best ever?

That's a hard call, unless you happen to have a TV camera in front of you. The sycophantic hyperbole coming out of the mouths of nearly everyone covering the event as the greatest tournament ever played was so incessant that it became sickening - it gave the feeling that one had downed three cobs of cotton candy and a gallon of soda besides. Great, yes, but to instantly label it the best-ever was probably wrong, because at the end of the day, little changed in the golf world as a result of the tournament. The king, Woods, had held his ground while the challenger, Mediate, was left to shake his head in admiration. That was the expected outcome.

Consider other great US Opens through history, some that had and have lasting effects on the game:

Former caddy and store clerk Frances Ouimet beat Harry Vardon and Ted Ray (the Tiger and Phil of his day) in 1913, after a playoff between the three men. To even get there, Ouimet had to make a courageous and unexpected comeback in the final holes of regulation and in the playoff he had to battle not only his nerves, but also two of the most enduring icons of the game. That he did, and the rest as they say, is history. Ouimet's stunning upset, coupled with US-born Johnny McDermott's 1911 and 1912 wins put golf on the map in the minds of US sports fans, and has to be one of the top 5 upsets in sports of all time. Not only that, the victory also inspired a great many to pick up clubs and try golf for themselves, which fueled an explosion of interest in the game that has never receded.

Another stunning US Open was Ben Hogan's win at Merion in 1950. Hogan, who had been left incapacitated in a horrific car accident the year before, was not expected to ever walk again, much less win a US Open. Playing with legs tightly bound in bandages due to poor circulation, Hogan played nearly perfect golf. At the 72nd hole, needing a par to join a playoff with Lloyd Mangrum and George Fazio, Hogan struck a perfectly struck one-iron onto the difficult 18th green — a shot you may have seen in the immortal photo (left) taken by Hy Peskin — made his par and went on to win an 18-hole playoff to secure the championship the next day. A mere 16 months had passed since that accident, which at the time left Hogan's life in the balance.

The 1962 US Open battle between Arnold Palmer and a young Jack Nicklaus may rate as one of the best (if not the top) US Open duel. Palmer was the undisputed king of golf at the time, with thirty wins in the previous seven years, including four majors. Jack Nicklaus was a wunderkind Johnny-Come-Lately challenger at the time, but he had his own resume -- the 22-year old had the 1959 and 1961 US Amateur titles under his belt and had nearly bested Palmer in the 1960 US Open. Still, Nicklaus was searching for his professional win when he arrived at Oakmont, and few regarded the man still considered the greatest-ever to be a factor in the tournament.

Paired together in the first two rounds, the pair battled fiercely in a close-fought fight with Palmer pulling slightly ahead aver the first three rounds, but on Sunday, Jack pulled even to force a playoff. This did not at all please the crowd -- the '62 Open was played at Oakmont in Palmer's western Pennsylvania homelands -- and Nicklaus had to endure catcalls of 'Fat Jack,' poor etiquette on the gallery's part and open hostility from them as he challenged their beloved Arnie. Shaking all of that off, Nicklaus held steady and eventually forged a tie.

The next day in the 18 hole playoff, Palmer bogeyed the first hole and gave Nicklaus a lead he would never relinquish despite multiple charges from Palmer. After that win, Nicklaus earned the grudging respect of golf fans, went on to win another 18 majors and now is held as the greatest ever to play the game.
The 1962 US Open, however, was where one of the great rivalries in the game was set ablaze, and it lasted until both men retired from tournament golf...but one has to wonder if ever they privately tee it up somewhere and battle just for the sake of playing one another. Today, they are good friends, but on the golf course, they were fierce rivals with neither giving quarter to the other.

With all due respect to Woods in 2008, his was a top three or four win for the ages, but it is difficult to put his win ahead of the three aforementioned wins until it stands the test of time and the judgment of history. But that won't stop Johnny Miller, Golf Channel announcers or especially ESPN from making their exclamations of it over and over and over yet again in the next few days.

They will also incessantly proclaim this year's venue, Bethpage Black as the hardest course ever known to golf. Without a doubt Bethpage is an incredibly tough track, mainly because it is so long and straying from its fairways so punitive. Then again, that's par for any US Open course. Oakmont is tough, so is Pinehurst #2, so is The Country Club and so is Pebble in US Open form. All of them are tough and they all test the world's best to the limits of their ability. The USGA sees to it. And each course has its unique toughness that makes it the hardest test of golf on US soil every year. It's almost impossible to label Bethpage as the toughest ever when they are all uniquely and insanely difficult. Next year, at Pebble Beach, the same claim will be made of that course, then the year after that, Congressional, and so forth and so on.

No matter how tough Bethpage proves to be, I doubt the record for the highest cut line since World War II is in danger: 155 (+15) The Olympic Club, San Francisco, 1955. And more than likely, the highest winning score of 290 strokes by Jack Nicklaus for 72 holes at Pebble Beach in 1972 is equally safe. Unless one or both records fall this weekend, the repeated claims of "toughest ever" as specious and hollow, and should be allowed to go through one ear and out of the other. After all, it's made every year without fail. Until one of those two records are broken, the proclamations are nothing more than noise in the signal.

Frankly, with all due respect to Bethpage, it's not even close to the toughest championship venue in the current rotation of the majors: in my humble opinion, the toughest tournament golf course I have ever seen is Carnoustie, hands-down, bar none. Just imagine if the USGA got its hands on that beast!

US Open Heros: Walter Hagen...People Know The Legend, But Not Much About The Man

Walter Hagen won 11 professional majors, more than anyone except Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods. Yet few people know his story, only snippets of myth.

Hagen also won 50 PGA tournament events -- and did so in a time when there were far fewer tour events every season. This was due to the Tour just getting started, and indeed, it had just been founded with Walter Hagen playing a key role. That places him in the top ten for wins, and his record has been in that upper echelon of the game for roughly eighty years.

As Gene Sarazen once commented: "All the players who have a chance to go after big money should say a silent prayer to Walter Hagen. It was Walter who made professional golf what it is."

Many people know that Walter Hagen is primarily responsible for the very idea of the touring golf professional, because he was the first professional to play tournament golf exclusively. Other pros at the time were attached to golf clubs, and when they weren't playing tournaments, they were teaching lessons to members, running the pro shop and even building golf clubs to sell. And not only did Hagen invent the concept of the touring pro, he also vastly improved the lot of touring professionals in tournaments everywhere.

“Don't hurry. Don't worry. You're only here for a short visit. So don't forget to stop and smell the roses.” - Walter Hagen

When Hagen first started playing tournaments, golf clubs refused entry to their clubhouses to pro golfers. Hagen found this distasteful and fought hard to end the practice. Once at a tournament in England, he rented a Pierce-Arrow limousine, parked it in front of the clubhouse and used it as a changing room after the club refused him entry to its locker room. With the limo he brought himself a butler who served him a fine meal, and The Haig made a huge show of it all to make the club's policy look as petty as we would now view it. Hagen's unstated but shouted message was "if I can afford to treat myself in this grand manner, who are you to deny me entry into your clubhouse?" Once Hagen even refused to accept the winning prize at a tournament because the club's members refused him entry to their clubhouse.

Indeed, tournament organizers depended on men like Hagen and his contemporary "Long"Jim Barnes for the huge crowds they drew when they played. Hagen also commanded huge sums at exhibitions, a practice he didn't invent but went far to perfect. Like many pros today, Hagen made far more money in exhibitions than he did from tournaments.

"Flamboyant" does not begin to describe Hagen, that word is too small for him. According to sportswriter Vivian Baulch, Hagen was "the first to grab the check and the last to leave the party." His friends were the stars of the day, Al Jolson, W.C. Fields, and many others, and Hagen's arm was seemingly always held by a stunningly beautiful woman he referred to as "doll" -- often because Hagen couldn't recall her name.

Perhaps because of his bon vivant nature, Hagen's his tournament golf record in the majors is over overlooked, but in fact, it is one of undeniable greatness:

• U.S. Open: 1914, 1919
• The Open (British Open): 1922, 1924, 1928, 1929
• PGA Championship: 1921, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927

In fact, it is fair to say that Hagen actually won SIXTEEN majors, considering that in the prime of his career The Masters did not exist and that the Western Open was considered a major in that period. If one makes that concession, they would need to add

• Western Open: 1916, 1921, 1926, 1927, 1932

to his list of major victories. Finally it is fair to note that also during the peak of his professional career Hagen was denied playing in majors at all due to their not being played because of World War I. Were they held, it may well be that Hagen could have had twenty total major victories and it would be him and not Jack Nicklaus that Tiger Woods is in pursuit of today.

It is also notable that Hagen captained the US teamin the first six Ryder Cups and played in the first five as a playing captain in 1927, 1929, 1931, 1933, and 1935.

"Make the hard ones look easy and the easy ones look hard." -- Walter Hagen

As a golfer, Hagen was an extremely entertaining, to say the least. Perhaps his play is best described by this quip from Bobby Jones:

"When a man misses his drive, and then misses his second shot, and then wins the hole with a birdie, it gets my goat."

Hagen was never what one would call a great driver of the golf ball, and often times from the fairway (when he found it off the tee) his approach shots could be indifferent. What made Hagen special was his ability to escape trouble and make miraculous recovery shots to land on the putting surface in regulation, and also his ability with the putter. Hagen seemingly sank every important putt in his career, many of them from 40-50 feet. Or longer.

In so doing, Hagen thrilled the crowds, which packed golf courses back then as they do now for Tiger. Indeed, Hagen was the Tiger of his day, every bit as popular in his time as Woods is now, his time being the 1920's, which were the Golden Age of Sports. Hagen's exploits were every bit as infamous as that of Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Red Grange, Notre Dame and even Robert Tyre "Bobby" Jones.

Matches between Jones and Hagen were legendary. The two had great respect for one another, and in fact, Hagen had given Jones some useful advice on how to handle major championship play that Jones later said was a turning point in his competitive career. They were at the least casual friends throughout their lifetimes, despite a fierce rivalry where both refused to give the other quarter on the golf course.

One match in 1926 was probably the lynchpin in Jones' decision to remain an amateur throughout his competitive career, which of course later led to the only Grand Slam ever recorded in golf. Had Jones turned professional, he would have been ineligible for the British and US Amateur championships, and thus no Grand Slam.

Late in 1925, Hagen approached Jones with the idea of putting on what Hagen would promote as "World Championship;" a 72-hole exhibition match between the two men, which would be played at the two golfers' respective clubs in Florida, where both had real estate interests to be played shortly after the beginning of the next year.

The idea of the "World Championship" was hardly new, in 1922, Hagen and Gene Sarazen had played one, and another contest in 1925 was held between Hagen and Cyril Walker, who had won the 1924 US Open, while Hagen won the 1924 (British) Open and PGA Championship. It was not much of a match, with Hagen winning 17-and-16 in that 72 hole affair.

The 1926 "World Championship" might be different, according to many sages of the sporting world. Jones had won the 1924 and 1925 U.S. Amateur and nearly won the US Open that same year. Hagen was the PGA Champion, his second running, making the pair two of the best, if not the best golfers in the world. Surely, the conventional wisdom of the day held, this "World Championship" would be a neck and neck affair perhaps decided by the last stroke of the last hole.

For his part Hagen figured that this particular "World Championship" match would not only draw a great deal of interest in the media and among fans everywhere, it would also draw spectators to the courses where they would be played, and of course those spectators would mean potential sales leads. Coupled with the caveat that Hagen would keep any and all financial proceeds from the match (Jones was an amateur and could not accept monetary benefits) it was a no-lose situation for The Haig -- his kind of match. Indeed, fan interest was keen and loyalties largely divided amongst those rooting for "the amateur" Jones, or "the pro" Hagen. For weeks leading up to the event, the press debated the merits and flaws in each players' game.

The match itself didn't live up to it's heavyweight title fight billing. Hagen handed Jones a humiliating 12-and-11 defeat, which Jones took it as a clear sign that he wouldn't be able to rely on his ability as a golfer to pay his bills, and that he would better be served by depending on his law practice for his salary.

The rest of Jones' story is legend. Time would of course, prove that Bobby Jones had every bit of ability one would ever possibly need to earn a living on the links, but the die was cast for the Atlantan to remain an amateur. Jones would go on to win golf's only true Grand Slam, retire shortly afterward and start a personal project that would come to be known as Augusta National and The Masters.

Lesser noticed was "The Rematch." It was not long after the "World Championship" that Bobby Jones had a chance to redeem himself when the pair competed again two weeks later in the Florida West Coast Open. This time, Jones fared better but Hagen still bested him by two strokes to win the medal play event.

Of that period, Jones recollected in his autobiography that "the biggest golfing year of my life, 1926, began with the most impressive trouncing I ever got -- and it was by a professional, Walter Hagen." Jones added "Walter was just too good for me." Jones then concluded that "I have plenty of distinguished company among the victims of Walter's rampages."

For his part, Hagen called the 1926 'World Championshi' "my greatest thrill in golf."

As a sportsman, Hagen may best be defined not by winning, but by losing. In 1950, a vote among golf writers was held to determine who was the greatest golfer of the first half of the 20th century, and there, Jones edged out Hagen. Afterward, The Haig told reporters that "I would have voted for Jones myself. He was marvelous."

Finally, it is odd that there are only two biographies generally available on perhaps golf's most colorful character: 2005's Sir Walter: Walter Hagen and the Invention of Professional Golf by Tom Clavin, and The Walter Hagen Story: By The Haig, Himself (by Margaret Seaton Heck, Walter Hagen, and Daniel Wexler.)

Given his place in the history of the sport, it is surprising that there are not a plethora of books about The Haig, not to mention a definitive bio-pic from Hollywood. Of the two books, I cannot recommend one over the other, and would in fact tell someone who asked me to read both. Two books is a scant modern record for golf's biggest character and one of its greatest-ever champions -- a man who belongs in the same sentence as Woods, Nicklaus and any other golfer who lay claim to greatness.

The Forgotten US Open Hero; For Shame, USGA

In 1971, the US Open was being played at Merion Cricket Club outside of Philadelphia, and an old man, dressed in an old rumpled suit and led by hospital attendants was ordered out of the clubhouse and told not to go near the locker room or the players. Course officials even considered throwing him off of the property for trespassing, but that never came to pass. Heartbroken, he was about to leave and to return to his rest home -- forgotten and near death at 79 years old.

Fortuitously at the same time, Arnold Palmer was walking to the first tee. He recognized the old man, and immediately put his arm around him. Palmer, a Pennsylvanian, instantly knew he was, and began talking to him with deference.

The old man's name was Johnny McDermott, and he was the first US-born US Open champion -- in fact, McDermott won the event twice: in 1911 and 1912.

"How’s your game these days?" Palmer asked him.

"I’m hitting the ball good," McDermott said, "but my putting is not what it should be."

Palmer replied kindly, "I know exactly what you mean." He smiled admiringly and added, "the only thing we can do is keep practicing."

Palmer, then as ever the gentleman, arranged for McDermott to remain at the tournament as his special guest with all of the privileges of a player in the event, something that the old man relished and said that he enjoyed every moment of.

Not long after that US Open, on August 1, 1971, Johnny McDermott died quietly in his sleep. He was eleven days shy of his eightieth birthday. The Philadelphia Inquirer noting his passing simply reported "Yeadon Man Dies, Won Open."

One must wonder how the USGA and too many others overlooked him then, and quite frankly overlooks McDermott and his golfing accomplishments to this day. Not too many players ever won a US Open, much less two. Sam Snead failed to capture the national championship, for example. Yet he is far more exalted in Far Hills, NJ USGA Museum than is McDermott.

At the 1911 U.S. Open in Chicago won a three-way playoff by two strokes and became not only the first American-born champion in the event, but also at nineteen, the youngest. McDermott would win again in 1912, which of course led to the infamous 1913 event at Brookline where former caddy Ouimet defeated two legends, Harry Vardon and Ted Ray. Those three US Opens contributed greatly to the game's popularity in the US.

Of McDermott, Robert Sommers wrote in his book "The U.S. Open: Golf’s Ultimate Challenge" that he "ended the domination of immigrant British golfers, and was leading a wave of young homebreds…who were to revolutionize the way the game was played."

Indeed, McDermott as the first American player to win the American title led the tidal wave to come of great American golfers. Ouimet helped put golf into the American conscious to stay in 1913. Not many years later, Walter Hagen won the US Open and the British Open, and with Hagen, the uninterrupted era of American players dominating the upper reaches of the game began in earnest. But few people remember McDermott, and that is a travesty.