Chris DiMarco’s showdown with Tiger Woods in the third and fourth round of the Masters was one of the 2005 season’s defining moments. DiMarco earned the respect of golf fans the world over when he refused to knuckle under and hung with Woods till their playoff ended and Tiger edged him out. That final round pairing of DiMarco and Woods did a lot for DiMarco’s image and proved that he had the heart to win the biggest events.
While proving he could take heat in a Major without shooting a 76, DiMarco’s next few years will prove whether he gets a chapter or a footnote in golf history.
DiMarco was born August 23, 1968 in Huntington, New York and moved to his present home of Orlando, Florida when he was seven. His dad, Rich DiMarco, played basketball at St. John’s University and his two older brothers, Rich and Mitch, were involved in sports growing up. He was surrounded by avid sports fans in his formative years and played football himself growing up.
I played football for about eight or nine years, quarterback and middle-linebacker different years. And I played Pop Warner. My son’s in Pop Warner right now, so that’s about the time I started, eight years old. Once I got to high school I realized that I wasn’t big enough, so I stopped. I was always very athletic, and I did very well playing golf the five or six months that football season wasn’t on. Once I got better at golf, it just seemed like the way to go.
At 6-foot even and 180 pounds, not many people can survive the NFL, but thankfully being huge isn’t a prerequisite to playing on the PGA Tour. It was during his high school and college days that he honed what would become a solid golf game.
Being in contention at the Masters this year was important to Chris and he capitalized on the opportunity for all but nine holes. It was his second-nine during round three that cost him the tournament. Play had been halted early on Saturday because of weather and he had lit it up those first nine holes for a total of 33 strokes. When he returned to play Sunday morning he finished the back nine with a less-than-stellar 41.
What was remarkable for DiMarco is that he was able to shake of his poor Sunday start to fire a 68 under intense pressure. Woods’ one-under 71 turned out strong enough for a tie but DiMarco didn’t concede the match, he fought it out. Woods just happened to get a few well-earned breaks down the stretch and did what was necessary to wrap up the win. DiMarco was the first man in my memory to make Woods sweat with a tournament on the line.
The 2005 Masters is what golf fans needed, a slugfest that put Tiger in the spotlight again and showed us that DiMarco has grit. One of our staff writers, Brian Whittaker, suggested that DiMarco might be America’s New Underdog. DiMarco certainly doesn’t want to relish second place. When asked if losing to Tiger was the best thing that happened to him in terms of fan support and getting his name out there he responded, “My fans wanted to see me win and my goal was to win so losing to me wasn’t the best thing that happened to my career in any sense.”
Golf fans enjoyed watching DiMarco go head to head with a guy that was hitting the ball 80 yards past him. Chris falls short in the distance category as he is 151st in driving distance on Tour this year. When asked how he handled being out-driven by Woods at the Masters he simply responded, “You hit your iron shots inside of him, that’s what you do.” His iron game and putting is why DiMarco is on the PGA Tour and he often does hit his middle irons inside other’s short irons.
So far, 2005 has proved to be another “almost” year for Chris DiMarco. Of the 19 events he has played so far he has three seconds, one third and a total of five top-tens, missing the cut 6 times. DiMarco had a solid hold on this year’s Zurich Classic at the end of round three but couldn’t close the deal in round four. DiMarco is having to learn to get our of his own way when the pressure is on and I give him credit for showing that he can do that.
DiMarco is an outstanding player who has improved steadily since joining the Tour but hasn’t put up performances yet that have overwhelmed the competition. There is no doubt that he is living the dream of many by playing on the PGA Tour, but he has yet to set himself apart. I believe it is possible for DiMarco to win more events because he is becoming accustomed to contending at the big ones. He’s had some major disappointments along the way including a 76 in the final round of the 2004 Masters to finish T6. He placed second in the 2004 PGA Championship to Vijay Singh in a three-way playoff. While disappointing, he credits the 2004 Masters with teaching him how to win. He watched how relaxed Phil Mickelson seemed in the final pairing and took some notes.
DiMarco has the dubious distinction of being the first player to fall in back-to-back major championship playoffs since Tom Watson at the 1978 PGA Championship and 1979 Masters Tournament by placing second in the same two events in 2004-2005. Chris is going to need to win a major or two and a few regular season events to cement his place in golf history.
DiMarco would have fit in well in the days before swing analysis, video, launch monitors, sports psychologists, and the paralysis of analysis. “I hit maybe 20 balls to warm up before a round,” said DiMarco in a 2002 interview, “and none after. I’m not a video guy, either. It’s just the ball and me. How can I take advice from an instructor about making a putt in front of thousands of people on national TV when that instructor has never been in that situation? How can he tell me how I should feel?” Not bad advice in a day when people can become overwhelmed by a 1,000 swing thoughts all competing for air-time.
While DiMarco doesn’t take too much range time at tournaments he obviously practices. He said the key to putting involves, “Lots of practice. You have to become familiar with the tendencies of the green and develop a feel for your putter. The only way you’ll do that is with lots of practice.” He has made good use of his claw and modified-claw grip in recent years. He has finished high in putting stats with only four others ahead of him in putting average currently.
Given DiMarco’s ability to finish in the top-20 in the money list every year since 2000, his solid iron game, solid putting and improvement in so many areas there is no reason to believe that his late thirties and forties won’t be successful trophy-hoisting years. It is up to DiMarco to prove that he can not only make a great living on the PGA Tour but bring home some trophies home in the process.
Photo Credits: © AP Photo/Amy Sancetta, Unknown.