When Davis Love III scratched out a sudden-death victory
over Woody Austin to win the MCI Heritage, he became only the 13th
player in golf history to win the same event five times.
It's an exclusive list,
including such players as Ben Hogan, Walter Hagen, Tom Watson, Jack
Nicklaus and Arnold Palmer. The only other
current PGA Tour player with five wins in one tournament is Mark O'Meara
in the AT&T at Pebble Beach National Pro-Am.
Why do some players excel at one particular course? Even the players
really don't have an explanation.
"I feel like I'm comfortable here," Love said. "Maybe
when I get in trouble or when I hit a bad shot, I don't lose my patience
quite
as fast here as maybe other guys do. It's a tricky little golf course.
I think once you have success on it, you can play good.
"I know Hal Sutton said
he felt comfortable here. When you feel comfortable, when you're
not steering it off the tee, you can play it. But to win
five times on a tour is pretty awesome, but to win five times in the
same place, pretty incredible."
Love's first PGA Tour victory came on the Harbour Town Golf Links
in 1987. He has since added Heritage titles in 1991, '92 and '98. The
Heritage obviously would hold a special place in Love's mind as the
site of his first title, but it doesn't explain much about why he plays
so well there.
The record for success in one tournament belongs to the great Sam
Snead, who won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times, with the first
title coming in 1938 and the last in 1965.
A familiar lament during Snead's career was that it was a shame the
U.S. Open wasn't played at Sedgefield Country Club in Greensboro, N.C.
Snead never did win that elusive national championship.
Four players have won the
same title on six occasions: Harry Vardon, British Open; Alex Ross,
North & South Open; Snead, Miami Open; Nicklaus,
the Masters.
Not surprisingly, Nicklaus also is one of those players with five
victories in the same event, the PGA Championship and the Tournament
of Champions.
He also doesn't have an answer to the multiple wins, but he has thought
a lot about it, especially at Augusta National.
"I never really had that much of a theory except that this golf course
seems to bring out the best in the best players," Nicklaus said at
the Masters. "It's a golf course that tests hitting the golf ball in
the air, it tests hitting it softly. It tests length, it tests accuracy,
it tests a lot of things; a lot more accuracy now than it used to be."
Playing the same course over many years in different weather provides
players of various types and abilities the chance to win.
"One year you might play this course as fast as can be, and the next
year you play it might be like it is right now," Nicklaus said a couple
of weeks ago. "And you just don't know. And you have to be able to
change and adjust, and more often I think the better players have a
chance to do that."
As Tiger Woods sought an unprecedented third straight green jacket,
Nicklaus espoused the belief that winning the third one should be easier
than winning the first one. Nicklaus had a shot at winning three straight
Masters in 1967, but missed the cut.
"I frankly think that the toughest thing to do is win the first time," Nicklaus
said. "It's much easier to win the second time, and it's got to be
far easier to win the third time. Nobody else has won for three years,
you know. I don't think that should be that difficult. I didn't play
well the year that I had a chance to win three in a row, but that's
the way it goes."
Earlier this year, Woods won his fourth straight Bay Hill Invitational
title, tying Walter Hagen and Gene Sarazen for most consecutive victories
in the same event.
Woods doesn't know what brings success in the same tournament either.
He has won in different weather conditions and with his game in various
states of repair.
"I've made my share of mistakes and still been able to win, and that
definitely brings confidence, even if you're playing well or playing
bad, you still have a pretty good feeling," Woods said.
So maybe it's as simple as success breeding success and good feelings.
Let the good vibes begin.
