Ten questions with the AP's Doug Ferguson

with associated press golf writer doug ferguson, the 2019 recipient of the pga of america's lifetime achievment award. doug once covered sports for the ap right here in tulsa.

This will be your 104th major

1championship. What sticks out as the top three and why and how about the other end of that, any one stick out as the worst major for any reason?

Pebble Beach for the 2000 U.S. Open always seems to come to the forefront. Tiger introduced himself in 1997, but that U.S. Open to me is when he really became Tiger because it was the one time he was playing against himself more than the field. His 12-under par record has since been broken, but the difficulty of Pebble and the fact he won by 15 shots is incomparable. He won by 15 with a triple bogey. 2005 at St. Andrews would be next, only because of the images in my head from that week and the symbolic torchpassing of that week. I don’t think I’ve ever seen more people on balconies and looking through windows down across the 18th as Jack came across the bridge in his final major appearance and, of course, birdied the 18th. I recall Jack saying the hole would have moved if needed — I think he was joking. And about that time, Tiger was teeing off in his second round and two days later had his own Swilcan crossing in his return to dominance. That was the fourth time Jack played a major for the last time and Tiger won them all.

Going slightly outside the box, but also standing out is the 2002 U.S. Women’s Open at Prairie Dunes. Tiger was on a heater that year and I went to Chicago for the Western Open. As my bags were coming off the carousel, our national writer, Nancy Armour, texted to say Tiger was a WD with the flu. I walked straight upstairs and booked a flight to Tulsa and drove to Hutchinson. Juli Inkster, who I think is the most under-appreciated female American athlete, returned to the site of the U.S. Women’s Amateur she won right after getting married. Annika Sorenstam was at the absolute top of her game and this 42-year-old gamer flat out whipped her to win a second Women’s Open. Tremendous.

The not-so-memorable are hard to find. Trevor Immelman winning the Masters in 2008 because he had a big lead without any sense he had real staying power, such as Seve or Tiger when they led big. Shaun Micheel saved the ‘03 PGA at Oak Hill with his 7-iron at the end, but that never had an edge-ofyour-seat feel to it over the last hour.

What about PGA Tour or other

2events, how many have you covered and do you have a top three there and why?

I’m approaching 650 tournaments on the PGA Tour alone, including the Ryder Cups. From the Tiger division, the most epic to me was Kapalua in 2000 when Ernie Els caught him on Saturday (believe he faced a 4-shot deficit) and they went toe-to-toe on Sunday. They match eagles on 18 to force a playoff, birdies to extend it, and then Tiger wins on No. 1 with a 40-foot putt that was downhill, into the severe grain with about 6 feet of break. That’s the year Ernie said, “He’s 24. When he’s 40, he’ll probably be bigger than Elvis.” Pebble in 2000 gets runnerup in the comeback division. We were having soup in the press dining, thinking of what this would mean to Matt Gogel, when Tiger’s approach on the 15th spun back into the cup for an eagle. About four of us pushed back our chairs and got back to our seats about the time he nearly jarred it on 16 and went on to make up a 7-shot deficit that he faced on the back nine.

The Canadian Open in 2004 felt as

10QUESTIONS

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 Jack Nicklaus on the Swilcan Bridge for final time at St. Andrews. 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

3interviews with PGA Tour players, who are some of the best at being honest, informative and also entertaining.

Geoff Ogilvy was always the smartest interview. There should probably be a separate Irish division among McDowell, Harrington, Rory, Darren Clarke and Paul McGinley. The most entertaining was Colin Montgomerie. Nicklaus was always the most gracious with his time, Nick Price and Adam Scott are always engaging and honest, Arnold made you feel the most comfortable. Paul Goydos was highly entertaining because he delivered humor through fact. Some of the newcomers in the press used to expect him to be funny. You could never lead Paul to humor. You just asked serious questions and you received answers full of insight and often humor. In terms of being practical and intelligent, given the right question Patrick Cantlay can be exceptional.

I’ve increasingly found it difficult to ask players about their very good rounds on Thursday or Friday at a tournament that doesn’t really take shape until Saturday afternoon at the earliest, barring anything special. Last year, Patrick Cantlay shot 68 on Thursday morning, tied for fifth, bigtime player. They brought him over mainly to capture a few comments for the tour’s video. I had nothing and it felt like a waste of time, his and mine. So I asked him, “What would you ask you?” He smiled and thought about this and said, “I think I wouldn’t be very good at your job.” To which I replied, “Obviously, I’m not very good at it, either.” And we sent him on his way.

As we go to press, we don’t

4know if Phil Mickelson or Tiger Woods will be competing at Southern Hills, which is very unusual. If they both wind up in the field, any chance either could be competitive?

Nothing either does surprises me, but this would be close. The PGA Championship is a month or so after Alan Shipnuck’s book. We don’t know what else is in there, but the Saudi stuff will be revisited and it’s not pretty. Tiger took a pretty big spill with his personal life at the end of 2009. He was 34 and had time to recover. Phil is 51. I think Phil has the tools to compete for several more years, but can only see one magic week every 18 months or so. That happened to be Kiawah last year. Tiger? He was playing in a scramble and riding in a cart. And how much he wants to or can practice to get back to a non-ceremonial level, I’m not seeing it. Not ruling it out, either.

What are your expectations for

5the future of the SGL?

When there’s money, there’s a chance. We haven’t heard any names as of late March, only an eight-tournament schedule offering money that not even good players deserve. The top players care more about their legacy and I can’t see them going. Rory referred to “pre-Champions Tour,” which was clever. I think you’ll see a Jason Kokrak or Kevin Na — I mention them because of their connections to Golf Saudi — caring only about money. Worth watching is when a journeyman wins against a field comparable to an opposite-field event and pockets $4 million. Greg Norman has gone from a “league” to vague details of a tournament to force the tour’s hand. To me, that shows he cares more about taking over golf than “growing the game.”

The Player Impact Program, is

6it just another way to give money to those who have built the tour or do they really want to reward those who are moving the needle now? What about quiet guys like Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay, who just hit amazing shots and win tournaments, how do you reward them?

Morikawa and Cantlay and Scottie Scheffler and the like will get rewarded by winning, and not just prize money. When you win big, you’re must-see golf, or watched more than before. I think that leads to top 10 in needle-moving. Otherwise, we’re dealing with the “it factor,” and the only reason we call it the “it factor” is we don’t know what “it” is. We just know it. Spieth has it. So does Rory. Rahm isn’t a big self-promoter, and he was on the list because of his performance. That’s a broad look. You leave out Max Homa because these are people who are there for the tweets regardless of the trophies. The PIP people are known by the mainstream sports fan.

Rory McIlroy seems to have

7emerged through the pandemic, Ryder Cup and SGL as the conscience of golf. Is he as respected a player and person as there is in the game today or who else is up there?

He’s up there pretty high. Spieth would be as well if he had kept winning at the rate he had from 2013Catching a moment with Phil Mickelson above, 2017, and still might. Rahm strikes Patrick Cantlay below me with that potential, too. These are not perfect people, but they are real and they are consistent. Rory is bold in thought. Whether his views have staying power, he is willing to put himself out there.

You’ve witnessed the Tiger

8Woods story from the start. Any amazing chapters left to be written on the course?

See above — be surprised by nothing. But if you’re looking for an answer, I’d be surprised. I used to jokingly say if only he knew how to lose, he never would have won the ZoZo Championship in Japan so that ‘19 Masters would have been the last one. Pretty special. He was really flat, and at times the behavior was odd, the rest of ‘19. Then the pandemic and still lacking purpose in his game, it seemed. And then the car crash and some still unanswered questions (what kept him from hitting the brakes?).

How much has your job changed

9due to social media and the expectations of readers to know everything immediately and be able to comment on it themselves? What’s been the most satisfying aspect of your career?

That’s still a work in progress. Twitter, along with bringing a little more immediacy, has brought poor journalism and endless gossip into the world. People hear and

repeat without asking questions, without making even a phone call to verify. Tweet first, check later. Plus, I’ve found most of the social media stuff — “OMG, you have to see this!” — has a short shelf life. I try not to spend too much time there or I’ll either go blind or lose my head. If it’s important, we’ll get to it. I have been caught behind on occasion, but I would take that over rushing out with material that really doesn’t matter. I’m probably in the minority here. So be it.

Satisfying? Very simple. Telling stories that inform and entertain, and using 25 years of experience for context. That’s the job part. The travel? Sure. Not sure I would have ever made it across the bridge from Denmark to Sweden (‘03 Solheim Cup) or gone Down Under and to South Africa. I’ve covered golf on every continent where it’s played. That’s cool. But the people rule the day. Everyone. Players for whom I have great respect while keeping the line clear between press and athletes, rules officials, TV production crew, cart drivers, volunteers and police I see every year. It’s a wide net if you’re paying attention.

There is no one performing 10 at the level of Tiger from 19972008 and maybe never will be, but is the depth on the tour now the best you’ve seen? How many players right now are capable of being No. 1 in the world if they have a good stretch and is that more than ever before or is this all hype?

I say this all the time: No way I would want to play this game for a living unless I was really, really good. You sent me this question before Scottie Scheffler rose to No. 1 in the world. Collin Morikawa went through commencement at Cal three years ago! It’s brutal out there. It’s so hard to win and such a fine line. You take notice of those who do. Are Scottie and Viktor and Rahm on heaters? I doubt it. Because ultimately it’s about winning. And the ones who get my attention are those who give themselves a chance. That’s all you can ask. We’ve had tournaments where No. 1 could have gone to five players. And none of them were named Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy, the two who have been No. 1 longer than anyone since Tiger. If you want to make it big, you better be prepared to put in the time. That’s what strikes me about today’s golf. It’s now a sport and a job. It is full-time on the range and in the gym and looking at what’s on your plate at dinner.

An experience unlike anything in our region!

• Excellent Bentgrass Greens • Tree-Lined Fairways • Food & Beverage • Practice Areas • Updated Clubhouse & Golf Shop

Call us today! (580) 234-3080 Visit us on Facebook

Located at 2013 W. Rupe Avenue in Enid, Oklahoma

Just minutes from all the Shopping, Restaurants and Motels in Enid.

Visit us online at www.meadowlakecourse.com