September 2010 - Posts
Why the beginning of Tigers remarkable collapse can be traced back to the 2009 BMW Championship
Few things excite me more than when the PGA rolls through my hometown for the third leg of the FedEx Cup playoffs at Cog Hill Golf and County Club in Lemont, Ill. I was fortunate enough to be there in-person a year ago as a sports columnist for the Bugle News and watching it on T.V. now conjures up memories about the amazing sites and sounds of last year’s BMW Championship; particularly in regards to one embattled golfer, Tiger Woods.
Woods strode confidently into the 2009 BMW Championship on the heels of wins at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Memorial, AT&T National, Buick Open and the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. However, Woods was not on the top of the FedEx Cup standings. His friend, Steve Stricker, stole the top spot just days earlier with his victory at the Deutsche Bank Championship.
Woods had his eyes set on reclaiming the top spot and was the heavy favorite going into the opening round - he had already won at Cog Hill four times in his career. But 2009 was supposed to be different. Cog Hill Number Four – Dubsdread – had just undergone a massive overhaul that took famed golf course architect Rees Jones two years and $5.2 million to complete. Frank Jemsek, owner of Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, promised that the new Dubs would be bigger, badder and burlier than ever before.
Woods posted solid scores of -3 (68) during Thursday’s opening round and -4 (67) on Friday, September 11 giving him a share of the lead with local favorite Mark Wilson and earning him a spot in the final pairing for Saturday’s third round. What happened next was nothing short of magnificent.
Woods opened up his third round with a bogey on the opening hole. He then posted birdies on 10 out of the next 17 en route to a round of -9 (62) and a new course record. This unbelievable achievement was only mildly overshadowed by another major Chicago sports story; the induction of Michael Jeffrey Jordan into basketball’s Hall of Fame.
I remember sitting in the media tent on Saturday afternoon listening to Tiger Woods interact with the other reporters. One of them, whose name and affiliation escapes me, asked Tiger if he had spoken to Jordan in light of both of their incredible achievements.
Tiger responded that he hadn’t yet and then continued to comment about their friendship, concluding with; “the two of us are good friends. In fact, I’ve always looked up to him like an older brother.”
The sound of those words stung my eardrums and made me wince in pain.
I am a native of Chicago and have not only been a life-long Bulls fan, but also a die-hard fanatic of Michael Jordan. Well, more accurately, Michael Jordan the professional basketball player. As a childhood fan, there was no one I wanted to emulate more on the basketball floor. Yet, as high as I, my friends and the rest of the world regard Jordan for his achievements in the NBA, I was always skeptical about Michael Jordan…the man.
Even as a child I remember hearing rumors that labeled Jordan as arrogant, tedious, childish and cruel; or worse, a womanizer and a cheat.
After commenting publicly that Woods considered Michael Jordan to be like an older brother, I knew that an eventual downfall was almost a certainty. I did not expect Woods to prove me right just two months after his last professional win.
Just a week ago, I embarked upon a rare journey into the heart of Chicago Golf. Now, less than 24 hours after Tiger Woods’ dominant -19 victory at the BMW Championship and 48 hours since his record breaking 62 on a course that promised to be bigger, burlier and tougher than the Dubsdread I grew up on, I can’t help but feel sorry for the Jemseks and Chicago golfers everywhere.
Chicago always has been and always will be a working-class, blue collar town; no matter how flashy and out-spoken the elitist minority may become. The people who grace this city’s fairways do so almost exclusively on the weekends and fork over their hard-earned dough every time they get the itch to tee it up. When you speak to these weekend warriors, the stories they tell you rarely begin or end at places like Medinah, Olympia Fields, Bob O’Link or Butler National. More often than not however, their stories do take place at Cog.
It is as much our dream to host a U.S. Open as it is the Jemsek’s and I fear that Tiger’s masterpiece on Saturday has crushed our spirits. It’s not our fault. You have to be wired a certain way and a student of history to be a sports fan in a town that is home to the 1908 World Series champion Cubs, 1969 Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks and 1985 Super Bowl Bears. Bringing a U.S. Open to Chicago and hosting it on a public course like Cog Hill would rank right up there as a crowning achievement in sport, but right now it is not to be and we slink away from this weekend with the same painful aphorism tattooed to our minds; wait till next year.
But to my golfing brothers and sisters and displaced Chicagoans all over the country and all over the world, I say don’t give up. Renovated courses, as with brand new ones, need time to mature before its full potential can be realized. Even Tiger Woods is aware of this fact and remarked during the tournament that the greens were “probably a year or two from settling” and rolling the way Rees Jones intends. Zach Johnson echoed similar sentiments when he was asked if Cog could be tougher and host a national championship saying that the rough could be higher, the fairways tighter and the pins placed in more difficult spots.
Yes, the dream is dead…for now, but I believe that good things still linger off on the horizon and soon the day will come that our national championship is played at Dubsdread -the people’s course.
The End
When I went to bed on Saturday night, Tiger Woods had a net score of 197 (-16) and led by seven strokes after three rounds at the BMW. B
arring a heart attack, an unexpected volcano eruption (fyi-Chicago doesn’t have any volcanoes) or an alien invasion, it was obvious that Woods would be hoisting the BMW Championship Trophy by Sunday afternoon. As such, I didn’t wake up until the crack of noon and arrived at the course shortly after the final pairing had already teed off.
I stopped in the media center first to fuel up on Pepsi, Klondike Bars and fried chicken. I took my time because there was no reason to rush. The tournament was already over; there was no excitement in the atmosphere outside and nothing vaguely interesting to look forward to.
As expected, Tiger Woods cruised through his round without incident to claim the BMW Championship. It was his fifth title at Cog Hill, his 71st career victory - two behind the great Jack Nicklaus - and the win earned him the top spot in the FedEx Cup rankings going into the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
To be continued...
Tiger’s course record 62 squashes any hope of luring a National Championship
I woke up sometime after sunrise and made my way over to my older brother’s house on the morning of round three. My brother jumped in the car and after pleasantries were exchanged, we made the bulk of the 45 minute trip in silence. Finally, my brother spoke up.
“What’s with the flashing red light,” he asked looking at my dashboard?
“It’s a service notice,” I replied. “The passenger airbag is off and I need to get it fixed.”
“Oh,” he said.
“But don’t worry,” I mumbled. “If anything happens, I’ll be fine.”
We arrived at Cog Hill Number Four in time to catch a couple of the early pairings. We walked the course together for a few hours and then retreated to the media tent to fill up on Pepsi and Italian Beef sandwiches before heading out to the first tee to follow the final pairing of Mark Wilson and Tiger Woods.
Tiger opened his round in mortal fashion, scoring a bogey 5 on the par four first. What ensued over the next 17 holes was nothing short of a masterpiece.
Woods bounced back with birdies on holes 3, 6 and 8 before taming the 610 yard par five ninth with 
an eagle for a 31 at the turn.
Not even the cruel elevation changes of Dubsdread’s back nine could slow Tiger as he roared through the second half of his round with birdies on 11, 13, 14, 15 and 17; posting back-to-back 31s for a third round total of 62 and a new course record.
It was the single most thrilling and terrifying experience I had ever witnessed. It was thrilling in the sense that I was watching the greatest golfer in the world bring a tough golf course to its proverbial knees. It was also terrifying because any chance of Cog Hill hosting a U.S. Open had literally been crushed under the weight of Tiger’s course record 62. The U.S. Open selection committee never bestows the prestigious honor of hosting a national championship to a course that nearly allowed a double digit round under par, regardless of who happens to post it.
The curse of Len Ziehm, as I anticipated, had come true in the most brilliant and heart wrenching way possible. Tiger’s 62 not only squashed any short-term hopes of luring a U.S. Open to Cog Hill, but also gave him a commanding seven stroke lead going into Sunday’s fourth round; eliminating any chance of final round drama.
By the way, Mark Wilson was able to post a humble even par round of 71; neither losing nor gaining ground in the shadows of Tiger’s masterpiece. He will be nine shots off the pace when the final round commences tomorrow morning.
To be continued...
Whether you are a casual golf fan or a die-hard fanatic, chances are good that you have seen a tournament on T.V. If you have, chances are better that you have heard someone off camera yell, “get in the hole!”
Although these painfully annoying screams can be heard by the audience watching from the comforts of their living rooms, the networks never give these rubes the satisfaction of putting their faces on T.V. Therefore, the identity of this particular demographic of golf fan has always been a mystery to me. By some stroke of luck, Frank Jemsek, owner of Cog Hill, was about to inadvertently point me in their direction.
I ran into Jemsek as I entered the grounds on the morning of the second round, but I didn’t know who he was at first. Jemsek is a tall man and he was thanking his patrons for coming to Cog Hill on the morning of the second round. As I made my way through the gates, I could hear Jemsek off in the distance. As I approached, I could see that the black band wrapped around his straw sun hat read Cog Hill and his name tag said Frank. I put the two together and walked over to him for a quick, impromptu interview.
“Hey Mr. Jemsek,” I said. “Joe Moylan with The Bugle. Do you have a second?”
“Sure,” he replied.
“Good, this won’t take long because I’m really only interested in one thing,” I continued. “I know that bringing a U.S. Open to Cog Hill was the primary motivation behind the Rees Jones renovation and we know from what some of the players have said this week that they think it is possible. However, there is a lot of buzz about Cog Hill hosting an event for the 2016 games if golf is accepted as an Olympic sport and Chicago wins its bid. Hypothetically speaking, if an Open does not come to Cog, would hosting an Olympic event be any consolation?”
“We’d be happy and honored to host both events,” Jemsek replied and turned away to greet more fans walking in.
“I can understand that,” I replied, regaining Mr. Jemsek’s attention. “But, I’m asking, in the event that
an Open doesn’t come to Cog, would hosting the Olympics be good enough to fulfill your father’s legacy?”
“Luring a U.S. Open was the primary reason why we brought Rees in last year,” Jemsek replied. “And it continues to be our main goal. If Chicago wins its bid for the 2016 games, we would be honored to host a golf event. But, I would rather have one in the hand than two in the bush, if you know what I mean?”
“I certainly do,” I replied. “And it looks like you have done an amazing job. Where would you recommend I go to catch the best action?”
“Number 12 tee,” he replied. “There’s a hill right there that should give you a great view of the green.”
The first groups were just teeing off. Robert Allenby, Brandt Snedeker and local favorite Mark Wilson were leading the pack off of number 10. I decided to walk with them until we reached the 12th hole and then parked myself on the hill Jemsek had told me about next to the tee box. Without paying close attention to my surroundings, I took a seat on the grass in front of a small group of guys that were more appropriately dressed for a construction site than a golf course. Wilson was up first and as soon as he completed his follow-through I heard it…GET IN THE HOLE!!!
The sound was deafening due to my close proximity and the shear volume of the man’s voice pierced my eardrums. I turned and scowled at the group, but they paid no attention. They were already deep in the bag and money was changing hands.
The 12th hole is a degenerate gamblers dream; long, difficult and a challenge to get the ball close to the pin. This 221 yard, downhill par 3 had historically been the most difficult “short hole” on the course and was even more so now that Rees Jones had deepened the bunkers flanking each side of the green and had recontoured the putting service. The slopes in the new green were so severe that they were visible to us fans more than 663 feet away.
My new “friends” were gambling heavily, each one taking a golfer in the approaching group and betting on which one would hit his shot the closest to the pin. What embarked after each swing was a series of screams for the ball to “GET IN THE HOLE!!!” One of the gentlemen behind me lost a good string of bets in a row and eased his pain by becoming more inebriated. As the afternoon progressed, the loser added a scream of “GET IN THE BUNKER” every time one of the opposing players hit his tee shot. It was classy in every sense of the word and the rest of the fans seated in the vicinity began to grumble.
Finally, one man had had enough and approached the group. He was a big guy, much larger than any one of the gamblers, but collectively they could have beaten him to a pulp. He approached anyway and very casually informed the gentlemen behind me that he was there with his elderly mother and two children and if they could tone it down, he would appreciate it.
“If not,” the man continued. “I’d be happy to shut all of your mouths for you.”
With that, he walked away and peace and quiet had been restored.
Let that be a lesson to everyone out there. Yelling “GET IN THE HOLE” is wholly unoriginal, painfully annoying and terribly unnecessary. Save it for the privacy of your home; Chicago golf fans have had enough.
Mark Wilson left me behind at the 12th to go on and shoot an impressive -5 (66). That coupled with his first round score of -2 (69) put him in the clubhouse with a share of the lead and earned him a spot in the final pairing for Saturday’s third round. His playing partner? Tiger Woods who shot first and second round scores of -3 (68) and -4 (67) respectively.
To be continued...