It was exactly two weeks ago that the 124th edition of the United States Open Golf Championship came to its dramatic conclusion with a series of missed putts by Irishman Rory McIlroy and a stunning up and down from the sand by Bryson DeChambeau. Since then the PGA Tour's summer schedule has moved along. Last weekend world number one Scottie Scheffler beat Tom Kim in a playoff at Hartford. This week the tour resumes its weekly competition with the playing of the Rocket Mortgage Classic at the Detroit Golf Club.
While we've seen the world's top players over the past 14 days, Rory McIlroy has been in self imposed seclusion, taking time off, trying to get his head together, and preparing to return to competition in time for the Scottish Open in July. Fans of the game have to wonder how Rory is handling his disastrous conclusion at our National Open. Will he return in top notch form and put the Open's conclusion in the rear view mirror or will it be an anvil around his psyche that will result in a lack of competitive success? Only time will tell.
All I can say is that Rory McIlroy is not the only top-notch golfer to let a major golf championship slip through his proverbial fingers. Rory was not alone.
During golf's golden era of the 1960s and 1970s, Jack Nicklaus was the golfer of his generation. He would end up winning a career defining 18 major championships from 1962 through 1986. Sometimes Jack simply beat everyone else. Other times he was the fortunate benefactor of a hiccup from one of his worthy opponents. Such was the case at the 1970 British Open at St. Andrews. The colorfully dressed Doug Sanders was a second tier pro, just beyond the upper echelon stars of Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Billy Casper, Raymond Floyd, and Lee Trevino. Sanders came into the final hole at the birthplace of golf needing just a par to take home the Claret Jug. After hitting the 18th green in regulation, Sanders found himself 40 feet from the cup, needing to two putt for the win. He left his birdie putt 30 inches short and then stepped up to his short par putt. He went through his routine, but for whatever reason, he momentarily stopped and picked up some sort of a blade of grass in his putting line. Sanders then started all over again and decelerated on his stroke. The putt missed the entire cup and drifted to the right. The next day Nicklaus won the 18 hole playoff with a birdie putt on 18. Sanders would never again get a chance to win his sole major title. Golf's "Peacock of the Fairways" ended his career with 20 PGA Tour wins but zero majors.
The scenario was eerily the same some 19 years later at the 1989 Masters. American Scott Hoch was a solid professional who was good enough to represent Team USA in a pair of Ryder Cup Matches. He was in a head to head sudden death playoff with Englishman Nick Faldo for the historic green jacket. On the first playoff hole, Hoch had a two foot putt to win the Masters. He cold missed it and Faldo went on to win his first of three Masters titles on the next playoff hole. It was the second year of a final hole heartbreak for Hoch who three putted the final green from 10 feet at the 1987 PGA Championship. A made putt would have resulted in victory while the second putt would have gotten him in a playoff. Instead Hoch was a solid pro with 11 career PGA Tour wins during the Faldo- Greg Norman era.
Although it didn't occur on the final hole or during a playoff, American Hale Irwin actually whiffed a one inch putt during third round play at the 1983 British Open at Royal Birkdale. When the dust finally settled after 72 holes of play, Hale was a mere one stroke behind Tom Watson who captured his fifth Open Championship. He called it a "mental lapse" and said he spent the remainder of his five decade career being very careful with short putts. Irwin was a top notch professional who had already won the 1974 and the 1979 U.S. Open and would win a third one in 1990. He would also go on to become one of the most dominant players on the senior tour.
I recall all three of the aforementioned struggles with short putts that determined major titles. I wasn't around for two other miscues of note. At the 1946 Masters, Ben Hogan completely missed the cup on the final hole from just two feet out resulting in a surprise win for virtual unknown Herman Kaiser. However Hogan didn't exactly dwell on the miscue as he would go on to win nine major championships over the next seven years. One year later Sam Snead missed a three foot putt on the final hole of an 18 hole playoff, handing the U.S. Open to Lew Worsham. Snead would go on to win seven majors in a lengthy career.
How Rory McIlroy handles his frustrating loss at the 2024 United States Open will depend upon his mental toughness as well as a bit of fortunate luck. He just might rebound like Irwin, Hogan, and Snead or he will struggle from this point onward as did Scott Hoch and Doug Sanders. The next few years will tell the tale of the tape for the 35 year old professional.
Next Week: Six time PGA Tour winner visits Cobb
No comments:
Post a Comment