6 minute read
Bogeyman
The Bogeyman
Dan O’Neill
(Editor’s note: This story appears courtesy of Morning Read (www. morningread.com)
The 30th annual Metropolitan Amateur will be conducted Aug. 5-7 at St. Louis Country Club, the Good Lord willing and the virus don’t spike. Another way of putting it would be to say this will be the 31st playing of the championship. See how that works?
That is, an event can’t have an “annual” date until it has taken place once before. The curveball reminds this scribe of another piece of terminology that drive him crazy, i.e. the term “defending champion.”
For instance, Seth Fair captured the 2020 Metropolitan Open at Lake Forest Country Club. Fair returned to finish second in the 2021 championship in June. Did Fair’s failure to “defend” mean he relinquished his 2020 title. Of course not.
Fair is and always will be the 2020 Metropolitan Open champion, no matter what happens this year. Yes, it’s a nitpick. But if you can’t pick a nit every once in a while, by God, what are we doing here?
On whatever terms you choose, the Metropolitan Amateur at SLCC will be special. The spectacular golf course, designed by the legendary Charles Blair Macdonald, is a fitting place to toast a championship that began in 1991. And what a debut it was.
Don Bliss, among the best St. Louis amateurs to ever put the ball in the air, was the first champion at Country Club of the Legends. The runner-up was Terry Tessary - a private course player and a public course player - what the Metropolitan was all about.
Thirty years later, SLCC also is commemorating a rich piece of its history. Onehundred years ago the club played host to the 1921 U.S. Amateur, a championship that included Bobby Jones and reigning champion Charles “Chick” Evans in the field. Jones was eliminated in the quarterfinals and Evans in the semifinals, and Jesse Guilford captured the title.
Guilford didn’t win the event in 1922, when Jess Sweetser prevailed at The Country Club. But in case you were wondering, Guilford is still the 1921 U.S. Amateur champion. Just sayin.’
To be honest, the Bogeyman has a soft spot in his heart for the “Metro,” as the championship is widely known. In fact, he might have a little scar tissue. To explain, as a young golf scribe for the Post-Dispatch in 1995, he didn’t just cover the championship at Spencer T. Olin Golf Course, he participated in it … sort of.
We all know that golf tournaments conducted during St. Louis summers are vulnerable to hot weather. Like traffic on Manchester Rd., it’s a given. But that 54-hole heatstroke championship took “sweltering” to a whole new level. The heat and humidity that week was paralyzing. And Spencer T., as Casey Stengel said of Busch Stadium during the 1966 All-Star Game, “holds it well.”
Jim Holtgrieve was the “defending champion” in ’95. A traditionalist, Holtgrieve wore long pants on the first day of competition, carried his own bag and shot a 1-over-par 73. The Bogeyman did not feel it was right - a great champion like Holtgrieve, toting his own luggage - and in an ill-considered moment of rectitude, volunteered to carry for Holtgrieve the next day, a day that would feature a heat index of 119 degrees
Out of empathy, Holtgrieve arrived the next morning with a lighter bag. But Ol’ Bogey wasn’t having it. “No, no,” said the novice caddie. “I want the big boy. Give me everything you got.”
Meanwhile, other players huddled around the clubhouse and quickly established an “over-under” of 14 holes on the loop. Smart money was on the under.
From that point, the memory gets a little hazy. Because what was supposed to be a “good walk spoiled” became something like a Bataan March. People were feinting, requiring medical attention, asking for priests.
Our threesome was holding its own, mind you. Playing alongside, Dan “Bummer” Berry had irrepressible Donnie Meyer on the bag, a veteran caddie who was undeterred by a spat of heat. Lugging for David Rhoads was Jo D Blosch, who had won the Metropolitan Women’s Amateur just a few weeks earlier. “You can’t help but learn by being around players of this caliber,” said Blosch, explaining her presence.
Guilford didn’t win the event in 1922, when Jess Sweetser prevailed at The Country Club. But in case you were wondering, Guilford is still the 1921 U.S. Amateur champion. Just sayin.’
To be honest, the Bogeyman has a soft spot in his heart for the “Metro,” as the championship is widely known. In fact, he might have a little scar tissue. To explain, as a young golf scribe for the Post-Dispatch in 1995, he didn’t just cover the championship at Spencer T. Olin Golf Course, he participated in it … sort of.
We all know that golf tournaments conducted during St. Louis summers are vulnerable to hot weather. Like traffic on Manchester Rd., it’s a given. But that 54-hole heatstroke championship took “sweltering” to a whole new level. The heat and humidity that week was paralyzing. And Spencer T., as Casey Stengel said of Busch Stadium during the 1966 All-Star Game, “holds it
Jim Holtgrieve was the “defending champion” in ’95. A traditionalist, Holtgrieve wore long pants on the first day of competition, carried his own bag and shot a 1-over-par 73. The Bogeyman did not feel it was right - a great champion like Holtgrieve, toting his own luggage - and in an ill-considered moment of rectitude, volunteered to carry for Holtgrieve the next day, a day that would
Out of empathy, Holtgrieve arrived the next morning with a lighter bag. But Ol’ Bogey wasn’t having it. “No, no,” said the novice caddie. “I want the big boy.
Meanwhile, other players huddled around the clubhouse and quickly established an “over-under” of 14 holes on the loop. Smart money was on the under.
From that point, the memory gets a little hazy. Because what was supposed to be a “good walk spoiled” became something like a Bataan March. People were feinting, requiring medical attention, asking for priests.
Our threesome was holding its own, mind you. Playing alongside, Dan “Bummer” Berry had irrepressible Donnie Meyer on the bag, a veteran caddie who was undeterred by a spat of heat. Lugging for David Rhoads was Jo D Blosch, who had won the Metropolitan Women’s Amateur just a few weeks earlier. “You can’t help but learn by being around players of this caliber,” said The only weak link in the group was yours truly, who actually was capable of being around players of that caliber and not learning a single thing.
It may come as no surprise that Holtgrieve, a USGA champion and Walker Cupper, did not ask his caddie for much advice that day. And the only time the misplaced scribe veered out of his lane was on the 11th green when he blurted out, “It’s not going to go that far right, Jim.”
Holtgrieve paused, reset, and hit the putt. It slid three feet wide of the hole - to the right. If looks could kill, his would still be doing hard time. Murder One.
After a brutal up-and-down hike at 14, Bogeyman reached Defcon 1. He stopped sweating, had ringing in his ears and goosebumps on his arms. With four holes to go, he was seeing mermaids and palm trees off in the distance. Nonetheless, with some load-bearing help from Holtgrieve, he made it to the finish and watched his player birdie the final hole to turn in a 72 - one shot better than the day before.
The next day - still seeing stars - the Bogeyman gave up the bag and went back to scribing for the final round. As it turned out, Holtgrieve didn’t “defend” his title. Craig Schnurbusch managed an incredible 5-under 67 on Saturday, coming from behind to win the fifth Metropolitan Amateur.
For his part, Holtgrieve shot a 71 and finished five shots back. You can’t help but wonder what he might have shot had the Bogeyman made the loop.
