Category: ProFiles

After Phil Mickelson’s bizarre performance on the 18th hole of the U.S. Open, the best thing we could do is visit some of the more poignant quotes related to Phil Mickelson’s meltdown.

Is it just me or did Phil play that hole much like us hackers? I seem to remember playing all 18 holes just like Phil’s 18th at my local course last weekend. The guy has enough golf skills to get the job done but apparently someone turned off his ability to manage a course.

Fasten your seat belt, because here comes the pain.

Continue reading “Nine (Post-Collapse) Holes With Phil Mickelson”

2006 is the fifth time that Winged Foot has hosted a U.S. Open. It has proved to be a stern test of golf and a perfect stop for the U.S. Open. It’s doglegs, narrow fairways, deep bunkers, and challenging greens have tested professionals and amateurs alike for many years.

This week we’re looking at previous major winners at Winged Foot. In keeping with the nature of the U.S. Open a little blood has been spilled in the process of crowning a champion in past U.S. Opens at Winged Foot Golf Club.

Continue reading “Winged Foot Major Champions”

Calvin Peete stalked fairways long before Tiger Woods became the face of the PGA Tour. According to a cursory look at PGA Tour history, Peete was one of the best players during the 80s.

Happily married to Pepper, Calvin overcame significant challenges and a late start to play on Tour. His mother dropped him off at her mother’s house and after one visit never returned. He has come a long way since those days. He helps his wife take care of their two girls Aisha and Aleya these days and only plays golf occasionally.

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Since 1976, Jay Haas has been a regular on the PGA Tour. Introduced to golf by his uncle Bob Goalby, the 1968 Masters champion, Haas has played steadily for many years. Perhaps his greatest legacy will not be his trophy case but what he gave to the game and to his competitors in his journey as a professional.

While Haas hasn’t amassed an overwhelming number of wins, he has collected the wholesale admiration of his peers on the PGA and Champions Tour. He has received some of golf’s most prestigious awards: the 2004 Payne Stewart Award for upholding the traditions of golf, the 2005 Jim Murray Award from the Golf Writers Association of America, and the 2006 Bob Jones Award, the USGA’s highest honor for distinguished sportsmanship. Golf is, according to tradition, a gentleman’s game and Haas has carried himself as one for many years.

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In 2005 Dr. Alister MacKenzie was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in the lifetime achievement category. He became the first architect included in the hall. His induction is no mystery. Consider some of his courses: Cypress Point, Crystal Downs, Royal Melbourne, and Pasatiempo. His crowning work is Augusta National, one of his first designs in the States and a collaborative work with the great Bobby Jones.

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There is so much attention given to those who can hit the golf ball a country mile that guys like Corey Pavin are largely left in the dust. Pavin was one of the best players on Tour through the 80s and 90s after having quickly established himself as a contender by winning a PGA Tour event only two years after turning professional.

Once a centerpiece in golf’s elite, we haven’t heard much from Corey Pavin in the last few years. But he is still scratching a living out of the game as he remains one of the world’s top players. A lot of us would gladly have taken his 108th place on the 2005 PGA Tour money list.

Continue reading “Nine Holes with Corey Pavin”

The road to excellence and success naturally takes one through difficult experiences. Tom Watson has walked that road before on and off the golf course. “If you want to increase your success rate,” said Watson, “double your failure rate.” I suppose thats what we fans have the hardest time understanding sometimes. Examples abound: Phil Mickelson was once “the best player to have never won a major,” Tiger Woods went through his “slumps,” Greg Norman had his epic meltdowns, and Tom Watson was once thought of as a “choker.”

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Arguably the best ball striker of all time, Ben Hogan has become a legend. Even before his playing days ended in 1971 Hogan had become a folk hero for surviving a serious car accident and continuing to play. His 1-iron into the 18th green at Merion Golf Club is perhaps the most famous shot in golf and occured after the violent crash.

He spoke very little on the golf course and is reported to have said, “I play golf with friends sometimes, but there are never friendly games.” 1964 U.S. Open winner Ken Venturi reported Hogan said, “There’s three ways to beat somebody: you outwork them, you out-think them, and then you intimidate them.”

Continue reading “Nine Holes With Ben Hogan”

If only the rest of us could pick golf up as fast as Kathy Whitworth did. She won the New Mexico State Amateur in 1957 and 1958, just a few short years after picking up a club for the first time. Her determination and natural ability put her on the fast track to success.

No other golfer, male or female, has more Tour victories than Kathy Whitworth. She set the bar at an amazing 88 victories at the United Virginia Bank Classic in 1985.

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