Golf_Digest_USA_-_May_2019

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108 golfdigest.com | may 2019

They arrived at the par-5
18th level. A glorious third shot
to five feet from Player and an
even better third from Els to
four feet reduced the matter to
a putting contest. Player, using
the blade putter he’d retrieved
from a golf-shop barrel in Japan
for $5, rapped his putt home.
Els matched him, as he had
against Tiger Woods on the
same green of their sudden-
death playoff at the 2003 Presi-
dents Cup. After Els two-putted

for par from 30 feet on the first
playoff hole, Player made yet
another five-footer for the vic-
tory. After the gallery swarmed
the green and sang the South
African national anthem,
“Nkosi Sikelel’iAfrika,” Player
and Els recounted it as one of
the most moving moments of
their lives in golf.

SEVE BALLESTEROS
vs. HALE IRWIN
ocean course
kiawah island, s.c.

▶ it appeared that Irwin’s
calculating style might wear
Seve down, but an incident at
the par-3 14th hole turned the
match in the Spaniard’s favor.
Irwin, after making a hole-tying
par, was asked by Ballesteros if
he hadn’t inadvertently whiffed
his tap-in putt before knocking
it in. Irwin took it as a refer-
ence to his carelessly whiffing
a six-inch putt during the third
round of the 1983 Open at Birk-
dale, where he lost by a stroke
to Tom Watson. Irwin replied
emphatically, “I did not make a
stroke,” and Seve accepted him
at his word. Still, the query—
and the motive behind it—ap-
peared to rattle Irwin. Hale

bogeyed the 15th to return the

match to all square, and at the

221-yard, par-3 17th, he dunked

a 3-iron shot into the water.

At the 18th, Irwin made a

gutsy 10-footer for par, and

it was up to Seve to hole his

par putt to secure victory. The

putt was six feet and on the

same line that Seve’s former

Ryder Cup teammate Bernhard

Langer faced in 1991. Balleste-

ros’ caddie, Billy Foster, whis-

pered to Seve a reminder that

Langer’s putt had broken ever

so slightly to the right and that

this putt would do the same.

Seve trusted Foster’s read, and

he stroked the ball into the cen-

ter of the cup to advance.

LEE TREVINO

vs. RAYMOND FLOYD

horizon city (texas) g.c.

▶ floyd popped the trunk

of his courtesy SUV outside El

Paso and was about to retrieve

his clubs, only to find Trevino

with them already on his

shoulder. “You playing today,

mister?” cackled Trevino,

who’d done this exact thing

in the exact place when Floyd

arrived to play their famous

money match in 1965. “Not

you again,” laughed Floyd,

who financially had barely

survived the showdown with

the then-unknown Trevino.

The two Hall of Famers

tore into Horizon—one of the

easiest tracks in The GOAT

lineup—as if it were a pitch-

and-putt, combining for 13

birdies and two eagles in the

first 12 holes.

Everything rode on the out-

come of the par-5 18th. As they

each selected fairway woods

to have a go at the green, they

engaged in brief conversation,

only one fragment of which was

discernible, Trevino saying,

“Let’s make that $50,000.” An

enormous side bet apparently

had been riding all along.

Floyd’s persimmon 5-wood,

which he’d used to devastat-

ing effect in winning the 1976

Masters, proved useful again,

delivering a shot 35 feet from the

hole. Trevino, using his prized

Bert Dargie model fairway

wood, bounded his shot a mere

four feet from the flagstick.

Moments later, Raymond’s long

eagle putt grazed the edge, and

it was left to Trevino. As he set-

tled over the ball, he said, “I’m

not gonna give myself time to

choke,” and without hesitation,

he rapped the four-footer home.

As the two shook hands,

Trevino said, “Raymond, if I had

to play you every day, I’d quit

golf and rejoin the Marines.”

DUSTIN JOHNSON

vs. SAM SNEAD

oakmont (pa.) c.c.

▶ sam rarely looked across

the first tee and saw an oppo-

nent who was his athletic equal,

but in Johnson he saw an ex-

tension of himself. When Sam,

loosening up, pressed his palms

on the ground while standing

upright—without bending at

the knees—Johnson smiled and

did the same. Sam, who won the

1951 PGA Championship on this

course, was rolling the ball beau-

tifully and took a 2-up lead.

Johnson, who won the 2016

U.S. Open at Oakmont, battled

back, but Snead displayed his

killer instinct at the par-4 17th.

On one of the great drivable

par 4s in golf—and one of the

most dangerous—Snead hit a

towering cut driver to six feet,

and the birdie that followed gave

him a 2-and-1 victory.

PETER THOMSON

vs. TOM WATSON

royal birkdale g.c.

southport, england

▶ thomson and watson won

five Open Championship titles

apiece, second only to Harry

Vardon’s six. They both had

captured a claret jug at Royal

Birkdale, a test as honest and

straightforward as the players.

It was anybody’s game until the

par-4 16th. There, Watson did a

very Watson thing, chipping in

for birdie and a 1-up lead. Two

excellent shots from Thomson

at the par-5 17th set up a simple

third shot and a birdie, but Wat-

son matched him. At the 18th,

Thomson received a terrible

break, his drive coming to rest

in the bottom of a deep, unre-

paired divot hole. “Tommo”

played a masterful recovery to

20 feet, but the par that resulted

only matched Watson’s.

Thomson was asked if he

had immediate plans going for-

ward. Tapping his wristwatch,

he said, “Tom and I are going

in for a late breakfast, which is

possible because we played 18

holes in under three hours.”

round of 16

BEN HOGAN

vs. BYRON NELSON

whiskey ranch fort worth

▶ the plan had been for the

Fort Worth rivals to play at

Glen Garden Country Club,

where they had caddied as

youngsters. But when they

arrived and found some

of the 112 acres had been

transformed into a whiskey

distillery, teetotaling Byron

blanched. Hogan noted that

the course had been altered to

a par of 68. But Nelson said,

“Ben, seeing as you’re here and

I’m here, let’s just play.” The

Hawk, eager to avenge his loss

to Nelson in a long-ago Glen

Garden caddie championship,

agreed. Hogan birdied the 15th

to take the lead, then matched

Nelson’s birdie on the 18th for

a 1-up win. “There’s still time

for some practice,” Hogan said.

“I hear that Palmer fella

doesn’t lie down for anybody.”

ARNOLD PALMER

vs. MICKEY WRIGHT

baltusrol (lower) g.c.

springfield, n.j.

▶ after wright had dis-

patched Bobby Locke in the

Round of 32, the specter of her