out of the game, and at that age, to do that was icing on the cake for my career. Whenever you win a tourna- ment, you hope you can do it by you doing something well, as opposed to someone having a mishap.
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How nerve-wracking was it to play a four- hole playoff for the British Open in 1998? It’s different. I think it’s the right way to do it. When you look at the dif- ficulty of winning a major, I think a four-hole playoff is a little more fair. It you make a bogey on the first hole, you can still bounce back and win. It keeps a little more drama going. I played Brian Watts and was fortunate to beat him. But I had a chance in previous Open Championships. In 1991 at Birkdale when Ian Baker-Finch won, I was in the final group with him. He played a phenomenal round and won the championship. But those two majors I won are very near and dear to my heart.
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You were one of the first to raise the issue of whether Ryder Cup players should be paid. What made you take that stance? I don’t think myself or anybody else ever felt that if we didn’t get compensated, we wouldn’t play in the Ryder Cup. It was never really a pay-for-play controversy, which is what the media wanted to make it. I don’t consider myself a greedy
person. People who don’t know me, what they have to understand is I found it ironic that X amount of dollars could be generated by a huge event, and these guys are professional golfers. This is what I do for a living, and everyone else involved is making money—the media, the announcers, the PGA of America and the vendors. The spectators have to pay to watch us play. The only group of people who aren’t getting paid are the people putting on the show. Some of the younger players
came to me and said, Hey, this isn’t right. So we approached the PGA of America and I just said, You might want to do something for the players. Give them some money for charity. I don’t think the players would play any less hard, or more hard if they got
X amount of money. Players play for their pride at the Ryder Cup. The Walker Cup is played by ama-
teurs, and they’re not compensated, because they’re amateurs. We’re profes- sionals. That’s what we do for a living. If I don’t play well, I lose money. I’m involved in charities, I believe
in charities, I think it’s important to give back, and I think it’s wonderful that the PGA of America has stepped up, and they are able to donate a couple hundred thousand or whatever it is to charity. Somebody had to take the fall for that. I believe the right thing was done.
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What motivated you to go into golf course design? I’ve always had a great ap- preciation, because we play so many wonderful golf courses and get to see what other architects have done. We obviously play in a lot of pro-ams, so I play with a lot of different types of golfers. Good players, poor players, beginners, low handicaps, high handicaps. The opportunity presented itself.
I haven’t done many courses, but I’ve done four in what has been a very difficult business over the last 10-12 years. For me, when I get the op- portunity to see a new design, the playability is important, as well as the aesthetic value.
Do you have a favorite course you’ve played? I always have to go with Pebble Beach, because of the success I’ve had there, because of the holes— that aesthetic value. There’s just no place to me that can compare to Pebble Beach.
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Do you have a bucket list? When you play as much golf as I’ve played, my pas- sion is being in a river. It wouldn’t be what golf course I want to go to—it would be what great steelhead river would I want to visit. I was able to fish the Dean River in British Co- lumbia, and it’s basically the Augusta National of steelhead rivers. I kind of hit my bucket list when I had the chance to fish the Dean.
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Who would be in your dream foursome? My dream foursome would probably
include Ben Hogan. It’s difficult, because I had a lot of chances to play with Tiger. Jack Nicklaus, Byron Nelson, Arnold Palmer, are the people I admire tremendously, along with Tiger. Those would be my dream group of people I would want to be around.
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What is your best tip for an amateur? The swing is very important in the game. Posture and setup are two things everybody can master. If you can set up to the ball properly, have good posture over the ball, a good grip—if you can do that before you make any movement with the golf club, I think you are going to hit a much higher quality golf shot.
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The World Golf Hall of Fame is becoming a biennial event, so you had to wait an extra year to find out if you are among the next inductees. How would you rank yourself? If somebody was going to rate my career—and if I was going to rate myself—do I think I was a great player? No I don’t. I think I’m a very good player, and I’ve had a wonderful career. Do I think it’s a Hall of Fame career? I would probably say yes, only from the standpoint relative to other players who have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I also take tremendous pride in my
worldwide wins. I was one of the few American players in the ‘80s who won multiple times on the Japan Tour. I’ve won the Australian Masters, I’ve won five times on the European Tour, and in South America at the Argentina Open. I didn’t just win 16 tourna- ments in the United States. I won globally, and the Hall of Fame is a global thing. I think you should base my career on the two major champi- onships I’ve won, the wins I’ve had at Pebble Beach, the global wins, playing on five Ryder Cup teams and two Presidents Cup teams. There are some other players
who have gotten into the Hall of Fame before me that don’t have the career I’ve had. Someone like Colin Montgomerie, he’s never won in America. I’ve won five times on the European Tour. I think I deserve to be in there.
WINTER 2015 /
NCGA.ORG / 49
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