10
2022 PGA CHAMPIONSHIP • MAY 16-22
QUESTIONS
coming off the carousel, our national writer, Nancy Armour, texted to say Tiger was a WD with the flu. I walked with associated press golf straight upstairs and booked a flight writer doug ferguson , the 2019 to Tulsa and drove to Hutchinson. recipient of the PGA of Ameri- Juli Inkster, who I think is the most ca's Lifetime Achievment Award . under-appreciated female American Doug once covered sports for athlete, returned to the site of the U.S. Women’s Amateur she won right afthe ap right here in tulsa . ter getting married. Annika Sorenstam This will be your 104th major was at the absolute top of her game and this 42-year-old gamer flat out championship. What sticks out whipped her to win a second Womas the top three and why and en’s Open. Tremendous. how about the other end of that, any The not-so-memorable are hard to one stick out as the worst major for find. Trevor Immelman winning the any reason? Pebble Beach for the 2000 U.S. Open Masters in 2008 because he had a big always seems to come to the forefront. lead without any sense he had real stayTiger introduced himself in 1997, but ing power, such as Seve or Tiger when that U.S. Open to me is when he re- they led big. Shaun Micheel saved the ally became Tiger because it was the ‘03 PGA at Oak Hill with his 7-iron at one time he was playing against himself the end, but that never had an edge-ofmore than the field. His 12-under par re- your-seat feel to it over the last hour. cord has since been broken, but the difWhat about PGA Tour or other ficulty of Pebble and the fact he won by events, how many have you cov15 shots is incomparable. He won by 15 ered and do you have a top three with a triple bogey. 2005 at St. Andrews would be next, there and why? I’m approaching 650 tournaments on only because of the images in my head from that week and the symbolic torch- the PGA Tour alone, including the Ryder Cups. From the Tiger division, passing of that the most epic to me was Kaweek. I don’t think palua in 2000 when Ernie Els I’ve ever seen more caught him on Saturday (believe people on balconies he faced a 4-shot deficit) and and looking through they went toe-to-toe on Sunwindows down day. They match eagles on 18 across the 18th as to force a playoff, birdies to exJack came across the tend it, and then Tiger wins on bridge in his final No. 1 with a 40-foot putt that major appearance was downhill, into the severe and, of course, birdgrain with about 6 feet of break. ied the 18th. I recall That’s the year Ernie said, “He’s Jack saying the hole Jack Nicklaus on the Swil24. When he’s 40, he’ll probably would have moved can Bridge for final time be bigger than Elvis.” if needed — I think at St. Andrews. Pebble in 2000 gets runnerhe was joking. And about that time, Tiger was teeing off in up in the comeback division. We were his second round and two days later had having soup in the press dining, thinkhis own Swilcan crossing in his return to ing of what this would mean to Matt dominance. That was the fourth time Jack Gogel, when Tiger’s approach on the played a major for the last time and Tiger 15th spun back into the cup for an eagle. About four of us pushed back our chairs won them all. Going slightly outside the box, but and got back to our seats about the time also standing out is the 2002 U.S. Wom- he nearly jarred it on 16 and went on to en’s Open at Prairie Dunes. Tiger was on make up a 7-shot deficit that he faced on a heater that year and I went to Chicago the back nine. The Canadian Open in 2004 felt as for the Western Open. As my bags were
1
2
32
GOLF OKL AHOMA • APRIL/MAY 2022
In pursuit of the elusive Tiger quote. big as major that year. On the 100th anniversary of golf’s fourth-oldest national championship, the 50-year anniversary of the last Canadian to win, Mike Weir had a two-shot lead late in the round. He wound up in a playoff with Vijay Singh, making his debut as the new No. 1 in the world. Singh wound up winning, and the air was sucked out of the Great White North. I still remember my lead from that one: “Vijay Singh is No. 1 in the world and Public Enemy No. 1 in Canada.” As for the favorites, I was home for the 2003 AT&T Pebble Beach because Tiger stopped playing. Watching on TV, I remember thinking, you can never miss this again. Not because it was nice weather. Not because Davis Love III staged a great comeback. It’s one of the best events in golf, a confluence of all that tour golf is about — professional, entertainment, corporate and amateurs. There is a spirit about Pebble and Carmel that in my eyes rivals St. Andrews. And then Riviera follows, which is probably my favorite tournament course. Best two weeks in golf (before the NFL added a week and Phoenix got dumped in the middle). You’ve conducted thousands of interviews with PGA Tour players, who are some of the best at being honest, informative and also entertaining.
3
W W W.GOLFOKL AHOMA.ORG
