Tom Watson: Lessons of a Lifetime

There seems no better occasion than this period between the U.S. Open (Father's Day) and the British Open to discuss Tom Watson: Lessons of a Lifetime. There is nostalgia at both ends. Watson just completed what may be his final appearance in the U.S. Open appropriately at Pebble Beach, site of his momentous 1982 U.S. Open victory. He also just happened to have his son “on the bag” during the tournament. Now he is about to return to the British Open, this year being played at St. Andrews. You will, of course, remember the heart break from last year, losing in a playoff last year at age 59.

In between all of this Watson has produced Lessons of a Lifetime. There are few who have learned how to play the game like Watson. He always seemed to have just the right shot at the right time. Exhibit A, of course, is the chip-in on the 17th at Pebble Beach in the last round of the 1982 U.S. Open. There is no better player to listen to and learn from concerning how to play the game.

Make no mistake. This is an instructional two-disc set. It runs almost three hours and is neatly divided into two distinct parts. In Disc One Watson focuses on the fundamentals of the game (grip, setup, aim, etc.) and then gets into the golf swing. Disc Two holds the Watson specialty – the short game. In his prime there was no one better. Watson gives us the basics of the short game and also some of the intricacies around the green. This instruction is worth the price.
Fittingly, Watson ends Disc Two with a tribute to his longtime friend and caddie Bruce Edwards. Anyone with a sense of history for the game is aware of the story. Have a hankie ready for this part.

For any golfer, regardless of skill or involvement in the game, Lessons of a Lifetime is a must have. How could anyone pass up a learning experience from one of the greats of the game.

This DVD set is available at http://www.tomwatson.com/, Watson's new website. This is a place you will also want to linger for a while.

U.S. Women's Open fun facts

On the eve of the U.S. Women's Open here's a time line and some fun facts for your entertainment and enjoyment. There's also a couple of links to help you find more interesting info. Yes, we know and realize that Ms. Bivens and the LPGA are having a bit of a cat fight at the present, but we'll have none of that here. We just want to examine the biggest women's tournament of the year.

U.S. Women’s Open Timeline

1946 – First U.S. Women’s Open conducted by the Women’s Professional Golf Association in Spokane, WA. The tournament was held at match play and won by Patty Berg who defeated Betty Jameson in the final, 5 and 4.

1947 & 1948 – Event still conducted by the Women’s Professional Golf Association.

1949 to 1952 – Ladies Professional Golf Association assumes administration..

1950 - Babe Zaharias becomes the first multiple-time winner.

1953 – At the request of the LPGA, the USGA assumed the administration and running of the U.S. Women’s Open. Betsy Rawls won the first USGA conducted tournament.

1954 - Babe Zaharias wins the 1954 Women’s Open becomes the first three-time winner of the event and also the oldest at age 43 years and six months and remains the championship’s oldest winner to this day.

1960 – Betsy Rawls becomes the first four-time winner.

1967 – Catherine Lacoste of France wins the U.S. Women’s Open becoming the first and only amateur to win the event. Other amateurs have come close most recently Jenny Chuasiriporn in 1998 who lost a memorable 20-hole playoff to Se Ri Pak.
2008 - Inbee Park becomes the youngest winner of the U.S. Women’s Open at the age of 19 years, 11 months and 18 days. Park surpassed country woman Se Ri Pak who won in 1998 at 20 years, 9 months.

U.S. Women’s Open Fun Facts

FORMAT – 72 holes at stroke play; a cut after 36 holes to the 60 lowest scorers and ties, and anyone within 10 strokes of the leader. If the championship is tied after four rounds, a three-hole playoff will take place immediately following the conclusion of the fourth round. If the playoff results in a tie, play will immediately continue hole-by-hole until a champion is determined. This revised playoff format, departing from an 18-hole playoff on the following day, began with the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open.

PLAYOFFS – Ten 18-hole playoffs have been conducted in the history of the Women's Open. The 1998 playoff was the first to go extra holes. Only one player, JoAnne Carner, has been involved in more than one playoff – she won a playoff against Sandra Palmer in 1976 and lost to Laura Davies in 1987. The new playoff format started with the 2007 U.S. Women’s Open. If the championship is tied after four rounds, a three-hole playoff will take place immediately following the conclusion of the fourth round.

Back-to-Back Winners
Mickey Wright – 1958 & 1959
Donna Caponi - 1969 & 1970
Susie Berning - 1972 & 1973
Hollis Stacy - 1977 & 1978
Betsy King - 1989 & 1990
Annika Sorenstam - 1995 & 1996
Karrie Webb - 2000 & 2001

Multiple Winners
Four-Time Champions
Mickey Wright (1958, 1959, 1961, 1964)
Betsy Rawls (1951, 1953, 1957, 1960)
Three-Time Champions
Babe Didrikson Zaharias (1948, 1950, 1954)
Susie Berning (1968, 1972, 1973)
Hollis Stacy (1977, 1978, 1984)
Two-Time Champions
Louise Suggs (1949, 1952)
Donna Caponi (1969, 1970)
JoAnne Carner (1971, 1976)
Betsy King (1989, 1990)
Patty Sheehan (1992, 1994)
Juli Inkster (1999, 2002)
Karrie Webb (2000, 2001)
Meg Mallon (1991, 2004)

Youngest to Play
Beverly Klass, 1967 - 10 years, 7 months, 21 days

Lowest Score, 18 Holes
63 - Helen Alfredsson, first round, 1994

Lowest Score, 72 Holes
272 - Annika Sorenstam (70-67-69-66), 1996
272 - Juli Inster (65-69-67-71), 1999

Best Final-Round Comeback to Win
5 strokes - Murle Lindstrom, 1962
5 strokes - Donna Caponi, 1969
5 strokes - Jane Geddes, 1986
5 strokes - Betsy King, 1990
5 strokes - Lauri Merten, 1993
5 strokes - Annika Sorenstam, 1995

Much of this Info we found at the following locations. They deserve a big shout out.


http://golf.about.com/; http://www.usga.org/; http://www.lpga.com/

The good, the bad, and the ugly from the U.S. Open

From the remains of the U.S. Open here's the Good, the Bad and the Ugly (in that order) from those scribes still scribbling.

Rex Hoggard, senior writer, at golfchannel.com (isn't everyone nowadays?), has a wonderful piece on friendship and Lucas Glover.

Our friends at Golflink.com headlined their most recent newsletter with this gem … How to Develop a Solid Putting Rhythm: At the U.S. Open this past weekend many leaders missed crucial putts down the stretch. Learn how to develop a better puttting rhythm to drill putts in clutch situations. Bad news is they left out a key factor - a little thing called U.S. Open pressure.

Jim McCabe, GolfWeek, is a little peeved at the USGA for making the finishing hole at Bethpage so weak. He tells us that “the last five pairings came along and made 10 ho-hum pars.” Unfortunately he left out the part that about half of those guys in “the last five pairings” might have had a change to win with a birdie. McCabe then concludes his article with a litany of nondescript stats for your reading boredom.

Why Lucas Glover won the U.S. Open

A few final thoughts on the U.S. Open now that it’s finally over.

All the “shout outs” need to go to Glover’s bagman, Don Cooper, for not letting his man pull a Jean van de Velde on the final hole with a major championship in the bag. Yes, we know that the majority of scribes and fans don’t like the fact that Glover could hit 6-iron and 9-iron and secure the championship, but that’s the way the hole was strategically set for that day. It played as a 354-yard par four. When was the last time you witnessed a hole that short on the PGA Tour? Like, never! How many of the wannabe champions – Glover, Woods, Mickelson, Duval, Barnes – made birdie? None, that’s how many. It was a great concept by the USGA. Glover could have hit driver, but he may have hit it anywhere, made double-bogey and sent the championship to a four-way playoff. Nope, Cooper and Glover plotted the perfect strategy.

During the play of the final four holes we got to thinking about the time-worn cliché usually reserved for the Masters: The tournament doesn’t start until the last nine on Sunday (or in this case Monday). This is also completely accurate for the U.S. Open except for 180 degrees in the opposite direction. With the Masters we expect birdies and eagles galore as player after player makes a run at the title. (That just started to return a little this year.) With the U.S. Open it’s totally the opposite. The winner is usually the player who can make pars over the final few holes. Case in point – Glover. Mickelson bogeyed 15 and 17 and Duval bogeyed 17. Glover played the last three in one under. That’s why he’s the U.S. Open champion.

For some good insight into Glover, read his post round interview here.

If you happened to tape, TIVO or DVR the final round, take a look at Glover’s putting routine. It never changed. Good instruction here.

Kudos to NBC for their coverage of the stopping and starting and the coming and going of the five day event. It seemed like they were on the air continually from Saturday morning until it ended on Monday. (You can bet they were hoping for no playoff.) If you wanted to watch the U.S. Open, NBC was there for you. It was great couch potato Father’s Day stuff. Try this piece by Brad Klein of GolfWeek for a little insight into what went on behind the scenes.

Wonder what the weather will be next year at Pebble Beach?