3 years ago
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Provided TPC Summerlin doesn’t go shrouded successful acheronian during a lengthy playoff, a large cheque volition beryllium presented Sunday to the victor of the Shriners Children’s Open. It volition astir apt look similar a large woody to those who travel golf.
But it volition beryllium obscurity adjacent arsenic large a woody arsenic the ceremonial 25 years agone erstwhile Tiger Woods received the oversized first-place keepsake aft defeating Davis Love III successful a playoff to triumph his archetypal pro tournament.
Jack Sheehan, maestro of ceremonies astatine that historical cheque passing, said helium volition ne'er hide the archetypal question helium asked the cherub-cheeked 20-year-old astir cashing large successful conscionable his 5th pro start.
“If it’s a mean player, you inquire astir the strategy the past 3 holes — wherefore did they laic up astatine 16, what was his thought connected 17, a truly hard par 3 … that benignant of thing. But with Tiger, I wanted to bash thing a small different,” Sheehan said astir the fable successful the making having conscionable turned pro aft 2 years astatine Stanford.
“I said, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, however astir a circular of applause for the richest assemblage dropout successful America?’ He looked maine dormant successful the oculus and said, ‘I deliberation Bill Gates has maine connected that.’
“I thought, are you kidding me? He’s right. Gates dropped retired of Harvard his freshman year. It was astir similar helium thought astir that beforehand.”
It was arsenic if Woods knew helium was destined to triumph and, arsenic his reply to Sheehan’s follow-up query suggested, not conscionable successful Las Vegas.
“I said, ‘Tiger, this is your 5th tourney arsenic a professional. Are you amazed the triumph came this soon?’
“He looked maine consecutive successful the oculus again and said, ‘To beryllium honorable with you, Jack, I’m amazed it took this long.’ ”
More connected Tiger’s first
Usually erstwhile it comes to milestone sporting events, determination are infinitely much radical who volition archer you they were determination to spot it than really were determination to spot it. In the lawsuit of Tiger earning his archetypal PGA stripe, you astir apt tin judge them, said Sheehan, who remembers the hills astir the last holes astatine TPC being live with the dependable of Tiger.
It was large and raucous and boozy, astir similar the Black Hole astatine a Raiders crippled successful Oakland.
“One of the things I retrieve arsenic I stood connected the (18th) greenish with him is the full near broadside slope wherever they present person that bar, that was conscionable covered with people,” Sheehan said. “Everywhere you looked, determination was a gallery, and that’s truthful antithetic for Las Vegas due to the fact that we’re 1 of the astir poorly attended tournaments.”
It besides looked antithetic from the emblematic play crowd, Sheehan said.
“It was a multiethnic gallery. I thought that was cool; I privation it could beryllium similar this each year.”
No walk-off ace
Regardless of what is engraved connected the commemorative plaque connected the 17th tee container astatine TPC Summerlin — and what TV commentators and play reporters person whispered and written — Jonathan Byrd did not triumph the 2010 Shriners Open with a walk-off hole-in-one during a three-way playoff that lasted 4 holes successful adjacent darkness.
Tournament-winning ace? Yes, says Summerlin nonmigratory and sports enthusiast Kelly Deverell, who has emailed maine much than erstwhile to acceptable the grounds straight.
But not a walk-off ace.
“(Byrd) deed archetypal successful the radical of 3 and aced the hole. The different 2 players (Martin Laird, Cameron Percy) past had to deed their tee shots successful hopes of besides scoring an ace,” Deverall writes.
“No 1 walked disconnected aft Byrd aced the spread due to the fact that the lawsuit wasn’t over.”
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The scorecard from Tiger Woods’ last circular of the 1996 Las Vegas Invitational is connected show astatine the Las Vegas Golf Hall of Fame grounds astatine Las Vegas National Golf Club. If you look closely, you tin spot idiosyncratic appeared to person changed his people connected the No. 8 spread from a 4 to a 3.
Apparently, Tiger wasn’t carrying an eraser successful his container that time on with his clubs and the aboriginal of pro golf.
Contact Ron Kantowski astatine rkantowski@reviewjournal.com oregon 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski connected Twitter.
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