Was there ever a stranger day in professional golf than
Sunday, July 20?
At the British Open, the winner proved to be a 26-year-old from Ohio
whose best finish on the PGA Tour prior to Sunday was a tie for 13th
in the Western Open. The victory was also his first top-10 finish ever
on tour.
And has the British Open champion ever played in a Nationwide Tour
event in the same year as winning golf's oldest title? Curtis tied
for 20th in the First Tee Arkansas Classic in April.
For that matter, has any major champion ever played in a Nationwide
event in the same season as winning a major?
Or has any major champion ever won on the Hooters Tour, as did Curtis?
A few hours later, Craig Stadler, a Champions Tour rookie, came from
eight shots back to win the B.C. Open, the PGA event for those players
who haven't qualified for the British Open.
(Curtis played in the B.C. Open two years ago and tied for 46th.)
Stadler, himself the winner of a major, the 1982 Masters, had just
won a Champions major the prior week, taking the title in the Ford
Senior Players Championship.
Only one other player, Ray Floyd, had ever won on both the PGA and
champions tour in the same season.
No one had ever done it in back-to-back weeks.
So the fact that Stadler had the game to win his 13th PGA title was
not surprising, except in that he had not won on the PGA since the
1996 Nissan Open. What was surprising was that he had the game to come
from eight strokes back at the start of the final round.
All Stadler did was fire a nifty little 9-under-par 63, including
a crucial birdie on the home hole. That birdie was the difference between
winning outright and having to battle Alex Cejka in a playoff.
Curtis also had to make a pivotal putt on the 18th, this one for
a par that kept him at 1-under for the championship. At the time, with
Thomas Bjorn yet to encounter the sands of the 16th, Curtis' putt seemed
more about pride and position than anything else.
"I knew I needed that putt on 18 to win, to have a chance, at least,
I should say," Curtis said. "I didn't necessarily think it was going
to be the winning putt. And then just on the driving range I just was
having fun and just trying to keep relaxed and not really think about
it."
It didn't look like he was having much fun, though, as he nervously
rolled balls to a spot and hit them, talked to his caddie, listened
to the fans in the grandstands for a hint of what his fate might be
at tough old Royal St. George's.
Stadler, on the other hand, looked like he had stopped for a leisurely
meal and a beer as he sat at a table at the En-Joie Golf Course, waiting
for the rest of the field to finish. No hitting balls for the Walrus,
just a seat and some cellphone conversation.
Not that Stadler wasn't pleased with his performance.
After a solid tee shot at the 18th, he had walked up the fairway
to a raucous ovation from the fans.
"It was great coming up number 18," Stadler said. "I
regrouped there after hitting a horrible shot on the 17th."
The difference in what lies ahead for the two players is striking.
Curtis has a long career in front of him, filled with who knows what.
Could he be one of the greats of the game? Will he win more majors?
Or will Curtis be one of those players who wins a major at the right
time on the just the right course and never fulfills his promise?
Stadler, who graduated from Southern Cal two years before Curtis
was born, knows what's in front of him, and it's not grinding away
on the PGA Tour. Even though he has a two-year exemption for winning
the B.C. Open, Stadler said he will spend most of his time with the
over-50 set.
"I know I'll back here," he said of the B.C. Open. "Augusta,
a couple more."
And thatís it. Two winners,
both playing the game they love, headed in very different directions.
