Drained of funds, depressed because another furiner was going to win our national championship, we plotted our exit strategy from the historic golf venue built beautifully on the sand piles of south central North Carolina.
It’s hard not to like Martin Kaymer, and he certainly looks like the class of the golf world and someone who might be dominant for a while. When you blister a U.S. Open field like he did, it’s not a fluke. I told that to Bob, one of my traveling companions, and he reminded me of Rory McIlroy back in 2011, when he set the Open record at 16-under, on his way to an eight shot win, the same margin as Kaymer won by last month at Pinehurst.
Then McIlroy came back a year later and set the PGA record for margin of victory when he won by 8 shots at Kiawah, which broke Jack Nicklaus’ record of winning by seven, when he won the 1980 PGA at Oak Hill. The Bear shot 6 under, his closest pursuer was Andy Bean at plus one.
Just to put in perspective how long ago 1980 was, Sam Snead and Julius Boros were both in that tournament. Snead was 68 and Boros, a much younger 60. Neither would play on the weekend. Snead had however made the cut the year before and finished at eight over at Oakland Hills, 16 shots behind David Graham and Ben Crenshaw. Graham won the playoff. Snead was the oldest player to make the cut in a major at age 67 years, 2 months, 7 days. The record still stands.
Another interesting fact about “Slammin’ Sammy, is that he is the only man ever to win a LPGA event.
The Royal Poinciana Invitational was a golf tournament on the LPGA Tour in 1961 and 1962. It was played on the par-3 course of Palm Beach Golf Club in Palm Beach, Florida.
In 1961, the field consisted of 24 men and women, both amateurs and professionals. The tournament was 54 holes and won by Louise Suggs, by one stroke over local pro Dub Pagan. Snead came in third, two shots behind.
A year later, the field consisted of Snead and 14 LPGA golfers and was played over 72 holes. Snead won by five shots over Mickey Wright, making him the only man to win an official LPGA Tour event.
Snead died in Hot Springs, Virginia, in 2002 following complications from a stroke, four days before his 90th birthday.
Boros would die from a heart attack in 1994, on the golf course at the Coral Ridge Country Club in Fort Lauderdale. He was found by two club members, sitting in a cart under a willow tree near the 16th hole, his favorite spot on the course.
Friend Fred was telling me about a show on the Golf Channel, or maybe ESPN, that is re-running this month from a couple of years ago. It is an interview with Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and Lee Trevino. I hate I missed it.
Fred said the four legends were asked who the greatest to ever play was and they all agreed it was Sam Snead. They also said that if he had given up his beloved persimmon for modern technology he would have won tournaments in his 70’s.
The Slammer shot a final round 68 at the 1974 PGA, finishing tied for third, three strokes behind Trevino. He was 62. It was his third consecutive top-10 finish at the PGA, but it would be the last time he would contend in a major championship.