No Laying Up - Golf Podcast - NLU Podcast, Episode 761: 1996 Majors

Episode Date: November 6, 2023

No recap pod this weekend as we're all on the road after our Nest Invitational Tournament in Frisco, Texas. Instead, we bring you another calendar year majors deep dive with Soly and KVV as we turn the clock back to 1996. We start, of course, with the dramatic Sunday in Augusta as Greg Norman falters and Nick Faldo claims his third Masters. Then it's on to Oakland Hills (49:00) for Steve Jones's unlikely triumph at the U.S.st Open, Tom Lehman's lone major win in the Open Championship at Royal Lytham & St. Annes (1:27:25), and we wrap with the PGA Championship at Valhalla (1:29:55) where Mark Brooks beats local favorite Kenny Perry in a playoff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I'm going to be the right club today. Yes! That is better than most. I'm not in. That is better than most. Better than most. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to the No-Lang-Up Podcast, Sully here. We are reeling coming off the fourth annual Nest Invitational Tournament, aka the NIT held at the Omni Resort Frisco Fields Ranch. Had a great time.

Thank you to everyone that came out for that. We do not have a recap of the weekend golf lined up for this Sunday. All of us traveling on Sunday didn't watch a thing. We're going to hopefully have one by Tuesday talk some TGL stuff and talk a couple of other things that are going on, but needed a couple days to recoup. I got a four ball qualify or coming out Monday. So a little checked out of the golf world, But we do have a great podcast for you today. KVV and I we recorded this back in July. We tried to use this episode for when I was going to be on paternity leave, but ended up pushing it off pushing it off. We recap the 1996 majors. Again, this was several months ago. I don't think there's going to be anything dated in this, but

did this back in July and we are finally releasing it. And this of course brought to you by our friends at Titleist and the new four new T-Series Iron Models. That's T100, T150, T200 and T350. The evolution of the T-Series is a direct product of the endless cycle of player input on every facet of Iron Performance Control. Distance flight forgiveness looks sound and feel by making the world's most discerning players an integral part of the process. Titles is able to make improvements that golfers value most.

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title, but tell us what we're about to do. 19 96 the year I graduated from high school. We are ready to throw it back. Would you consider yourself to be, you know, were you a golf fan in 1996? I would say only marginally. I certainly was aware of it. My parents were watching it, but it was not like appointment television for me. I have some recollection of, certainly of the masters this year,

as hard to culturally escape, but I was trying to think about my other one with the Open Championship, which I've drawn here, and I have very vague recollection of it, maybe one shot that I could sort of, when I watched a little bit of the replay today, I thought, I think I remember watching that live. So that's one more than I remember from the 1996 Open Championship. If you're if you're new to these episodes, we've done a few of these years

in the past. I don't remember all the ones we've done. I know we skipped 1994. I think it was, but most recently did 1995. I try to get to one of these a quarter, I think, just kind of, they're always fun to go look back and watch old film, watch old tape, read old storylines. Big fun I had in this go-around. I was reading some of the writing and just like the tropes that were used in the 1990s to describe sports. Made me laugh really, really hard.

We didn't arm wrestle for this one, but 1996 has a very clear winner for which one was the most interesting major. And being the benevolent person that I am, I decided to give to you with the 1996 masters, I think. Before we get there, I want to play a little game with you, if you will. I love the game. We're going to go to the world rankings to start 1996. Okay. We're going to go one by one. I'm going to ask you whether or not you think this person would have gone to live if it existed in 1996. Yes. Love this game already. We're going to do the top 20. Okay. Okay. First one could not

be easier. Absolute all you three 60 windmill dunk. Do I even need to say the name and do you have your answer? Greg Erie Norman with one million percent have gone to live. Pretty hard to argue any other scenario in which he would have was in fact essentially trying to create a live was looking around passing his corn cob hat of hopefully for money to go start a new tour at this point, but I was, you know what, I'll say this before we move on to him. Number one player in the world was a little bit surprised to read that he was 41 years old. Yeah, maybe it just feels like a way that the game has evolved a little bit that like he was still seen as like the dominant force and was 41.

Can you imagine right now the number one player by far away being 41 years old, not unless it was Tiger, like, and he's a way pass on already now. So well, that's one of the most fun, I don't know, things I've learned throughout this process or enjoyed throughout going back through these old majors. It's just like, Hey, we remember who won. And if you had like a choke job, we remember probably the choke job, but seeing the constants, right, the ones that were there for like a lot of them that we have no memories of blah, blah, blah at this major, but of course Norman was there.

No memories of Norman at this major, but of course he was there. He was there. He was just there so much in this period that we've dove into. And a lot of different names pop up and a lot of these that we're going to get to, that it's a constant theme throughout the 90s that you don't really remember 25 years later on almost. But the rest of the list is actually kind of hard. I don't think I know these personalities enough to get there. But Nick Price, is he going to live or

not? I think he yes. Norman's closest buddy on tour at the time obviously showed some you know willingness to sort of I mean his from South Africa or some of to sort of, I mean, it's from South Africa or some Zimbabwe, but like played in South Africa during the whole apartheid stuff. So I would say yes. You'd probably be one of the live dudes who was basically like, yeah, mate, like I'm playing, but I'm not going to like talk. I'm not going to like, you know, screw over the, you know, European tour, the PGA tour, bad mouth and whatever.

I'm just going to go and make my money and I'm good. Ernie L's. It's hard to do this because obviously these dudes have aged since 1996. And so many dudes that did end up in the first wave with live were the guys in their 40s. And I picture these guys as being in their 40s. But we're talking when your number two, number three in the world, Ernie L's is three years off when in the US open,

two years off when in the US open in 94. I'm gonna say no. Like I just don't, I think he's, I'm gonna say no. I think I agree with that. I think I agree with that. I think it's interesting though, it's also because what's hard to parse is,

Ernie L's probably at this point is not playing on the PGA tour a lot, right? Like he's probably playing mostly in Europe still, coming over for the majors, but it's not like he's, you know, he may come over for Dural or they come over for the memorial or something like that. But his life isn't entirely on the PGA tour. So maybe he could be sort of seen as like, I doesn't make that much difference to me.

Yeah, I would say that's a 50-50 toss up for me. And I'd say this and mostly, I don't wanna like, if I say yes, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm like, shooting on that person and like, saying something about their character, but with the bells, I'll just say, you know, up in the air either way.

Okay, we gotta move a little quicker through these. Bernard Longer, up in the air either way. Okay. We got to move a little quicker through these Bernard longer stay and are going. Uh, going. Go. I think he's staying. I think he's playing European tour. He was so right. I was so rider cup centric again.

And there's a lot stronger European tour ties with a lot of these European's at this time that I think he's staying. Uh, if you lose the chance to play in the rider cup at this point, you'd probably leaning whatever. Corey Pavein. Corey Pavein. I think he's staying. If you lose the chance to play in the Ryder Cup at this point, you'd probably leaning wherever. Corey Paveen. Corey Paveen. I think he's staying. No, he's not going to stay.

I think he's staying. I think he's staying too. I think he's just staying. Oh, I just want to stand what this live thing is. This is absolutely abominable. It's a wonderful idea. I've known a lot of Saudis, a lot of people. Nick Fowdo, I think he's staying. I think he probably stays. Yeah, he wants to be involved with the Ryder Cup stuff. He's got his girlfriend in Arizona at this point. He doesn't want to,

you know, drag her around the Middle East. Moving on, friend couples. He does not go. He's not. He's no. Yeah. Jumbo Ozaki. Sure. I mean, he's a good guy. If he's back Japanese door, but Steve Alkittid. See, yeah, he's gone. Yeah. In fact, he's probably one of the people talking all bunch of shit. Like he's like, you know, why won't you go in Mike? It's a soul golf mate. He's the paparez.

Uh, yes, this era, I think, with a much better resume, of course. Tom Layman, Lauren Roberts. I don't think either one are going. I don't think so either. Jose Maria. I think, so I did make an argument in the mailbag recently that Sevi would have gone to live, which I didn't think about the writer cup when I made that argument, but I just sort of felt like Sevi was constantly pissed off at the European tour.

So I think if Sevi goes, then Jose Maria goes and they're sort of like, you know, it depends on Sevy then. And which in 96, that might have been, when did Sevy die in 2011? He, so 96 this game was kind of gone by then. Do I remember right? That could be a little early in that timeline, but he's not been, and all these majors we dove in on,

he's not been a part of, but if that's the case, he definitely would have gone and I don't know if it's if Jose Maria would have gone with it, but yeah, okay. Sam Torrance, I'm saying no. Ryder Cup captain. He was pending short, I mean, same with Stenson, but anyways, let's get into the, let's get into the majors now. It's a fun, it's a fun experiment. I don't know, I don't know these guys well enough to to to guess, but it's fun to guess on. We should play this game again in like five years when we. All right, those guys did it, Depp go ahead. But all right, take us to the 1996 masters. What happened there? The 1996 masters. So as we talked about Greg Norman, the number one player in the world has been the number one

player in the world for a long ass time at this point. Still like the straw that serves the drink in a lot of major conversations. Everybody sort of thinks like he's destined to win a masters, which as we've learned over history, like no one is destined to win a masters that I always think of when Tiger said this year, I'll always going to win a bunch of these. Like, I don't know that that works like that. You know, just because your game suits the masters does not necessarily mean that it's gonna work out for you

and haunts certain players over time. But he's still the big time favorite. Everybody sort of assumes weirdly though, as I found, Greg Norman coming into this masters, misses two cuts in a row for the first time. Do you know how many other times that happened in his PGA tour career to prior to that point? One, that it never happened zero. Did you just, I think you just said for the first time, actually, I do. Okay. Sorry.

I gave away. You didn't notice you said it neither did I, but yes. All right. So Norman had never missed two cuts in a row prior to, I thought it was a trick question. I said, yeah. Second. That's definitely me pulling some tricks on you out there. So, you know, that's kind of an interesting maybe hint that his game was not actually like in the best of shape. In fact, the Wednesday of the Masters that year, Norman woke up and his back hurt so much that he could not even really swing a club. And he didn't know what to do, like, wasn't sure, really, in Fred Couples, heard kind of like from a friend on the range or whatever,

hey man, I heard your back is hurting a little bit. I'm going to send my back specialist over there and I'm going to get you to have fixed up just right. And so that was a big sort of, you know, I guess gift in some ways that, that, you know, Freddie for years had trouble with his back. He honestly, it's all year. A lot of guys haven't back trouble in this era. Not sure like they were restricting that hip turn. What's going on?

They needed to lift the left heel a little bit, but a lot of back injuries in this area, probably because they weren't doing any workouts. They weren't always back then. Yeah. You're just kind of mosey in through. So when Norman, maybe it was harder to rotate through when you had those metal spikes that were stuck in the ground. Who knows? So when Norman famously opens with a tie is the course record with a 63 Fred couples fiance says to him and to the press. Well, you sure picked a great time to, you know, help out Greg Norman, man, because, uh, you know, Freddie was also like the second favorite in this one, which is interesting, right? To like run over to like help a competitor that much on the day before the Masters like,

it's a I'm not saying we'll get to don't incident in like that in Oakland Hills as well, which we'll get to, but that's, it's just interesting. I'm not saying it's right or wrong. It just kind of speaks to how golf works. It's a traveling kind of friendship, circus, circle, whatever, but that's just very interesting. So I'm actually a little bit sad that we can't play our usual game here of I name the person and you have to come up with their last name because it's only big hitters really on the leaderboard the first day. There's literally no one except for one person who I can name that I don't think that you

could get their name and I'm going to throw it out there. English golfer and I think you might even know anyways, David. Does that ring a bell to you? David Gilford? That's right. Yeah. You may have remembered him from your Ryder Cup pod. That's right. About the war on the shore who he played on a couple of Ryder Cup teams and actually I went to and oh in that war on the shore Ryder Cup six time Euro tour winner. He opens with a 66. But so Greg Norman, obviously, is the

our first round leader just tears up the course. Everybody's like, oh my God, this is the year Greg's gonna do it. He's amazing. Phil Mickelson opens with a 65 as well. Really feels like, first, I'm gonna sort of storm into contention in one of these masters moments. So he's gotta be close to winning a major at this point. Right? He's gotta be there.

It'll be any day now. Couple notes before we just sort of get into the main event here. Tom Watson five puts the 16th green on Thursday. Not sure how that's positively. Yeah, just a tough one. Ray Ray Floyd makes a hole in one at the Masters on 16 with a five iron love that five iron. I know why we're covering this era as well. It's a little different bulkhead. Roll back the ball. Our man Tiger Woods just about to turn professional later this year. She's an opening round 75 and follows it up with

another 75. He insists he is not going to turn professional. In fact, he points out that he has an economics paper due on Wednesday that he needs to get working on at Stanford. So he's not all that bumped. He says, my plans have not changed. I went to college to get an education. That's the most important. Earl says that if Tiger does ever turn pro, that people can blame the NCAA for their prying ways. Because earlier in the week, Arnold Palmer had bought Tiger dinner and Tiger had to mail Arnie a $25 check

because otherwise it would be deemed an improper benefit and he might lose his eligibility at Stanford. Sounds like Tiger could have written an economics class about one about that in the NIL and two about the effect he's about to have a professional golf. Yes. Tiger here says, I love this quote, I got this from Chicago Tribune. Everybody sees the millions of dollars out there that I'm supposed to be turning my back on. But what happens if I go pro and I don't do well, I'll have no place to play. What am I going to do? Go to Asia. This is the problem. This is not the Tiger Woods voice of 96.

He's like a lot higher pitch. I know. It's very. We're kind of one trick ponies with the Tiger voice show. I don't have the Tiger 96 voice handy. Yes. He was a lot more lowquacious back then. Just a lot more like curious, a lot more like excited to talk.

He's not beaten down by talking to media yet. This is true. And it very much like a soft, we've talked about this before, sort of a soft little kind of more of the Michael Jackson molds. So I've done that tiger in the past, Center Pods. It's, you know, a little bit nervous about bringing it out again without practicing. Anyway, Norman, so Norman falls it up on the next day, shoot 69. Feels like, oh my gosh, things are going great. Four shot lead the next day hanging around Nick Faldon. And second, Nick Faldon's for

what 69, 67. Some other names sort of of relevance to this era, David Frost. And Phil Michelson then follows up his first round, 65 of the 73, also kind of hovering on the lead award, Lee Janssen, Bob Tway, Scott Hoke, Scott McCarran, VJ, making an appearance. He'll show up later in the open chip chip. And they Corey Pave and Anian Wusnum. So pretty much like a memorable cast of hitters, like nothing to the 90s right there. Yeah. So nothing too great.

Just one other note I forgot to mention on tiger. Once again, led the field in driving distance. It's remarkable how long tiger was back. And like honestly, longer than he was in his prime, averaging 342 off the tee was hitting it. People were giving John daily shit because tiger was hitting at 30, 40 yards past John Daly. Now, couldn't put a ballata to this. Yes. Yes. Could not really control it. I was hitting it all over and especially had distance problems with his irons and stuff.

But like, if you watch those clips of him, like the way that his hips move so fucking fast, like it's unbelievable how quickly he can sort of get through to the ball. Weirdly, just another couple like goofy notes. I don't know if you remember this so I saw it, but Ray's Creek used to be like a river. Like it used to be like raised all the way up.

So basically like any ball that landed short was getting sunk into the river and like carried away. This was the first year that they drained it down to be like a creek. And guys were actually playing out of the creek and making up and down and making birdies. Michael Campbell was sort of the first guy to sort of do this that year,

hit it at 6 out of the hazard and was able to basically, it was like half submerged and he blasted to 10 feet and made a putt. I was just thought was kind of an interesting historical thing of like the master's is constantly changing. I always thought that was just based on the rain. Like I remember going back and watching highlights based, you know, I never really thought about when they actually drained it and turned it into nothing. Apparently, I guess it is based on the elements they can

true. That's true. Of that tree falling down. Did it test the trees in 1996? Not may might have. I haven't planned it yet. That came shortly after this. That's true Hopefully they'll get to test in the trees because we know how important that is all right round three Norman kind of starts to show some signs of like He's kind of hitting it all over the place like cannot really find the fairway Just kind of missing all but his short game that sort of Saturday was unbelievable scrapes it together shoots a 71 puts him at 13 under looks like, you know, he's got to sort of be paired with

Phil Mickelson. But Nick Fowldo birdies the 18th hole that day sneaks into the final pairing. And you know, it's starting to wonder like everybody's still thinking Greg's got this no big deal. But Fowldo gives a really good sort of ominous quote, which I will find just a second where he essentially says I'm sure a lot of anybody says who knows what's gonna happen tomorrow? Someone could go out and I could go out and shoot 67. It's a lot of pressure. I'll say it is if I put some heat on him Who knows what will happen the 65 on Sunday? Hey, who knows? This is a pressure-filled golf course.

It is far from over. The press at the time doesn't really take this heat. They think, man, this is over. Like, we're good. Apparently, all the Australian writers were writing their Norman Wins stories. In fact, I pulled a fun headline from, I think it was the Atlanta Journal Constitution,

although it's the, we're using a story from the Charlotte Observer, it says, today's round is just a formality. Norman's got it. And the lead of the story by Ron Green, great golf writer, this is not a shot at Ron, probably would have written the same thing. In fact, did write the same thing about Justin Thomas once.

Greg Norman won the Masters on Saturday. Then this is back up the second line. It was now if he can only keep from losing it. Don't worry, he won't lose it, not this time, surely not this time. I think that's kind of like, I think that's kind of tugging cheek a little bit of, he's wanted, he could lose it, but like, surely it won't happen this time. I don't read that as a historically bad call there. That's kind of like a, I mean, come on. He asked to wait at this time, right? Right. I don't know.

Maybe who was the writer that hit, maybe you're about to get to this, that hit Norman with the quote in the, I don't want to ruin it if you've got it. Yeah. So his dormant is leaving the course Saturday night. He does a press, press thing. He's walking through the bar at Augusta. And there's a British writer who he's known for many years, to Peter DeBringer, I believe the same.

He says, well, great go boy, not even you can fuck this up. That's good. Norman says at this point, like years later, he says, now why did he say that? Like why did, you know, why did you have to sort of put that thought in my mind and starts to actually like let it perhaps like affect him a little bit. I mean, look, there's a reason that Greg Norman

didn't win like Ted majors. And these are sort of, you know, those kind of things. In fact, another sort of person, normal was sitting in the locker room Saturday night. He was the last guy in there. One of his friends came by and said, oh, your last night in here, right? And Norman sort of chuck, Norma was sitting in the locker room Saturday night. He was the last guy in there. One of his friends came by and said, oh, your last night in here, right? And Norma and sort of chuckled and said,

oh, I hope so. And the locker room attendant thought that everyone had gone and shut the lights off and Norma was sitting there all alone and dark with his thoughts. Oh, I never heard that. So yeah. There's a couple of things in here

that I had not remembered or heard previously that were very quite interesting. Just for some context, like what this kind of meant, culturally like Dan Patrick sort of famously said on sports center, if Norman blows this, it'll be the biggest collapse of golf, it'll be the biggest collapse in modern golf history. So it's like the sort of even though like everyone kind of thought that Norman was going to get this done, it was sort of hovering in the air. So our friend, our dear friend, Peter Kostis, actually has an interesting tidbit here is,

Peter had said throughout that week that he was watching Norman on the range, and he saw that Norman had been sort of experimenting with a stronger grip all week, sort of in the earlier in the week. And that's part of the reason why he played so great in the all week, sort of in the earlier in the week. And that's part of the reason why he played so great in the first round is that he was just like taking the sort of, you know, right side out of the course, like everything was, you know, hitting his straight or hitting a fade or whatever.

And slowly over the course of the week, his grip got a little bit weaker, a little bit weaker each day, and he started playing progressively worse. And costus was like walking around Saturday night as sort of all this kind of stuff's going on. And he sees Brian Hammond's from the golf channel. They sent Brian Hammond's, he was the only person there.

They had a cameraman in Brian and he would send reports back to Orlando. On Saturday night, I'm walking from the 10th tower after rough the air back to the TV compound On Saturday nights, I'm walking from the 10th tower after off the air back to the TV compound, which is behind the part three golf course. And Brian was down there getting ready to do a stand-up back to Orlando.

He looks at me and he goes, well, looks like Sharky's gonna finally get his green jacket. And I made the mistake of all mistakes, rookie mistake. I made the mistake of all mistakes, rookie mistake. I made the assumption that our conversation was a private conversation off the record. Which he wasn't, and Brian did absolutely nothing wrong. But I said, look, Brian, I'm not sure about that. He goes, what, he's got a six shot lead.

I said, yeah, you know, butch changed his grip. Straighten his grip earlier in the week. He kept it on Thursday, played great, butch changed his grip. Straighten his grip earlier in the week. He kept it on Thursday, played great, had a two shot lead. His grip got a little bit weaker on Friday, played okay, ended up with a four shot lead. His grip got even weaker today. He missed it both ways, which you can't do on this golf course.

And if it hadn't been for some unbelievable short game shots, he could have shot 78 today, but he's got a six shot lead. So as lead's gone from two to four to six, and everybody thinks he's playing better. Well, if his group gets any weaker, he could be in for a long day tomorrow. That's what I said. Now, unbeknownst to me,

golf channel had bought time on the local CBS affiliate in Augusta, Georgia, for the week. They bought an hour at night to do a recap, whatever. And so evidently, I didn't see it, but evidently, they go back and forth with Brian. They asked Brian what the state of affairs was in Augusta. And he said, virtually everybody I've talked to, thinks that Greg Norman is going to win his first green jacket tomorrow, except just interestingly enough, a few moments ago, I talked with CBS's Peter Costas who said that Greg could be in for a long day.

Blah, blah, blah. Well, don't you know that Greg was watching? Background story, Frank Trichinian, our producer and Greg Norman were best of friends, really, really good friends. And so Sunday morning, Greg called Frank and basically unloaded on Frank about me and my comments. Now, I know none of this has happened. I walk into

the TV compound and Frank screams out of his office. Costus get in here now. Oh God, what am I done wrong now? And he said, did you tell the whole world last night that Norman was going to choke today? And I go, no, I don't think so, Frank. I would have remembered if I said that. He goes, well, I just hung up with the phone with him. And he wanted to put his hands around you and throw it and strangle you. So I'm going to, what is this about? And then it dawned on me that I had talked to Brian. And then one thing led to another.

So Frank threw me out of his office, told me it could be in stupid. And then I put two and two together and I figured out what happened because one of the texts told me that they saw it on the golf channel, they were watching Saturday night. And so I walked back into Frank's office and back then we don't do it anymore or CBS doesn't do it anymore,

but there was a fairly substantial calcutta and Frank had Norman in the pool. And so I walked back in and I said Frank I finally figured out what happened. This is what happened. And by the way if all he has to do on what is arguably the most important morning of his golf life is to call you and complain about me. He's in worse trouble than I thought when I walked out. So not exactly like a great headspace that Norman is in this morning. This is an interesting tip that I had never read, but as I sort of do in research, the Sam Wyman of the golf digest, I think he's one of the sort the top editors over there now. He talked to Norman years later for a book about how do people deal with losing a diversity. And the 96 masters

are a big part of it. And Norman admitted to Sam that he was dealing with a personal issue that morning that was sort of consuming his head. And he was never admitted what it was. Why I'm in sort of alluded to the fact that he'd been married three times. And he was, his never admitted what it was. Wyman sort of alluded to, you know, the fact that he'd been married three times. It's hard to know like if I was unclear if that was sort of an illusion, like maybe D&A's wife had some sort of argument or whatever. But Norman talked about this later,

and Bush Harman was like, what the fuck is wrong with you on the range? He was just like all out of sorts. And Harman said years later to Wyman, I've always said one night he and I were negating it drunk somewhere. And I was going to say, okay, what the fuck happened on Sunday? He's never told anybody, he's never told Tommy Navarro, his caddy, what it was. We knew something was wrong. We were both standing by or saying, standing there by saying, who is this guy? This is not the guy that

we left last night. And Norman said, he told Wy or saying, who is this guy? This is not the guy that we left last night. And Norman said, he told Wiming this, the day could have been salvaged if he'd been honest with Harmon and Navarro about what was really going on, but he never did. And by the time he missed his first fairway and route to an opening bogey, there was no turning back. I should have told them both and just purged, Norman said. It would have taken like 10 minutes and would have been over with, but I didn't do it. So the lesson here is don't harbor things internally. Don't push the elephant under the rug,

anxiety and happiness both come from within. So you have to ask, which one do you prefer? Wow. Yeah, like I mean, the only thing I can remember or think of, and this might be totally separate from what he's talking about was Was there was something happen between Saturday and Sunday of some one or friends or whatnot coming in town, like taking his, his plane got sent back home to bring people up to celebrate on Sunday or something like that against his will. His wife at the time, I guess, had organized that something along those lines is the only thing I'm thinking of, but I, that doesn't sound right

if it's, if it's really still a secret to this day. Yeah, it's weird. I mean, I just, you know, who knows? I mean, obviously, like, Norman's had a lot of, you know, drama in his personal life. It's hard to speculate, like, too much about what it was. But I honestly, like, I know we've kind of made our jokes about Norman, and he has treated people poorly, I think, in a lot of things life. But you just like, you read this kind of stuff, and you can't help but feel a little bit, you know, sympathy for him because, I mean,

he honestly, he handles what happens with such a remarkable amount of class. Like he doesn't complain or be a sure make excuses or whatever, and he just, even though he had like super contentious relationship with the press all those years, like he phases the music and kind of laughs it off, and it's like, hey, it's not a funeral guys, like I didn't, you know,

and he's, for years has been willing to talk about it and basically admit, like, yeah, I just, you know, I didn't have it that day, and he did the whole documentary with the same guy who did the, the Bulls documentary, Jason, I just, you know, I didn't have it that day. And he did the whole documentary with the same guy who did the, the Bulls documentary, Jason, I can't remember exactly how it's called, but yeah. Yeah. And so, and they sit down and like rewatch the whole, like, you know, 18 holes of what happened.

It's really great. And in fact, like, you know, Rory watched that and felt so much sympathy for Greg that he's texted him. There's a one of the first times that like, they had like a personal interactions like came in like I really, you know, felt for you during all that. So I think it's probably the last time they had any kind of warm, uh, sort of moment. Norman certainly said for he was brave, washed right after.

I was like, fuck this guy, man. I mean, this was, this was like the, I think this is the fourth podcast we've covered this tournament in some way. Like I still can't get enough of it. It is so I honestly don't know if I probably would have been here, but because Tiger had a huge effect on me. But like, this was one of my first golf memories. This was I was extremely impressionable at this time.

I've said this many times. I was close to 10 years old at this time. And man, it was just like the fact that that could happen in golf at the somebody that was balling out for 54 holes and could just melt down in front of the entire country, entire sports world. It was so appealing to me. It was so just ingrained in again, I say this every time we do a 90s pod is like, I, chokes happened way more often back then with that equipment.

It was way, way harder to get it in the house than it is currently. I don't know how you even possibly debate that at this point. Yeah. And I mean, it's every time I think, it feel like it clouds, maybe I don't clouds is the right word, but like seasons like every feeling that we have when someone has a big lead. It's like, oh, well, this could totally happen. Yeah. You know, this is, I mean, I, I don't know, the masters, I feel like it just used to sort of maybe torment some people a little bit more than it did. I don't know what,

maybe that's equipment. So, you know, um, anyway, like, there's some, it's a really good writing on this area. Like, obviously, Rick Rally's been our sort of, uh, dude, uh, in a lot of ways for looking back at all these majors. I just want to read like has been our sort of dude in a lot of ways for looking back at all these majors. I just want to read, like, this is sort of a famous story that he wrote about Norman's collapse. And it begins, on the drive to the golf course, she saw a graveyard and secretly held her breath, closed her eyes and made a wish.

When your dad is Greg Norman, you stop trusting Sundays and you start working all the angles you can, six shot lead or no. But by the end of the day, Morgan Lee Norman 13 was just another mourner in a green carpeted funeral procession, a red eyed witness to the blackest golfing day of her father's life. The day he somehow spent all six of those shots and five more besides, stilled 50,000 people and turned the glorious spring afternoon of the masters into a four and a half hour cringe. Pretty good like scene setter right there as you know, Rade was a dude. So I don't know like how

worth it is like going step by step through some of you know what happened essentially like Norman feels like the lead that he didn't really feel like he was in trouble until the ninth hole. When he hit a shot that came up probably six feet short and spun all the way back down and cut the lead to two. And he was like, oh crap, like I'm in trouble now. So that was sort of like a,

there was a great moment in that documentary too where again, he's watching it back on the iPad and I think Jason asked something like, hey, when was there a time where you knew, like, like something was up and he points at the iPad? He's like, that right there. That was it right there. And I was like, fuck, man, that was,

that was powerful storytelling of, to relive it that way. And that's, again, that's good as to Greg. In a recent good as to Greg of like being really to put, I mean, great, he's one of the most vain persons ever to walk the face of the earth. Like, even in defeat, he's willing to get in front of a cab ride and talk about it again,

but it was interesting perspective. It's, I was kind of always wondered, like, what is it that drives that about him? Like, why was he willing to sort of relive that failure over and over again? It's, I don't know. I mean, I don't know that I would do. I don't know any other golfer. I mean, like, it's not like Rory has ever gone in and, you know, literally

one of the most friendly media people ever and like relived shot by shot. What happened in, you know, 2011, right? So, I mean, you know, if he wants to do it, I'm happy to sit in the room and say, Norman one, Rory zero. Norman wins the fight. So things start to get a little more tense. You know, it makes a bogey on nine, makes a bogey on 10 after sort of a, you know, a bad second shot. And it's sort of shitty chip. Makes another bogey on 11. At this point, he and Fowler tied, you know, going into the 12th. And this is where Riley kind of has another sort of, I think, for the, it's a very, we talk about like the writing of the Times of like what it is.

So it says, now there was an uneasiness among the dogwoods, a sickening feeling as Norman came to the one hole. You do not want to come after blowing a six shot lead. It is the 12th. The Drew Barrymore of par threes, small, gorgeous and sheer trouble. Oh my god. It's a perfect 1996 quote. I got so good. Yeah. True. Where it was probably like, I don't know, up there in celebrity rankings at that point. What a what a what a time capsule that quote is. So on Saturday, Norman actually had left a ball like that sort of sailed wide on 12, but it

actually kind of got the couples clinging. It just held up on the bank and everyone's like, oh, maybe that's the break that Norman needed to win the Masters. Well, he does the same thing like on 12 on Sunday, shot tumbles down into the water. It's like, you know, you only get one one clinging your entire life and he already sort of used his up. David Lightbatterer actually sort of esc quoted here in the story says, Greg's routine was so different. He's standing over the ball for an incredible amount of time. I say if he's spending six, seven seconds longer per shot, fidgeting, moving around in ways I've

never seen him do, is, you know, is this where it's like the humanity of his daughter was like praying to try to calm Norman's wife. It's gonna be all right, Mom. And this is right before it. And it might be all right in time, but the shot definitely wasn't. Pushed it right of Faldos Ball, which sat happily on the green. They washed it slide back into the pond.

Sorry, only one couples cling per master's, double bogey, fifth straight five. The first time all week, he did not lead. Unfathomably, Faldon led by two shots in five holes. Norman had handed Faldon six shots. So he actually makes a birdie on 13. But I hit it up and I pause just once I get to say we were recording this the week after the US women's open. And I think I said on the on the pod last Sunday I said, Alison Corpus, if you're a coach of any kind, like get a replay of

that, of that final round, watch the demeanor, watch the routine on repeat and like learn from that. Like that's how you handle major championship pressure on a Sunday. Yeah. Do you want the opposite of how to do all that? Watch the 1996 Masters on YouTube because it stands out. I don't, I have never timed Norman's routine. I don't know the time. And I can tell you, just from watching it, he stands over the ball way too long, way too many re-gripsed. It is horrible to watch in that regard. And all of the mindset stuff you're talking about

leading up to this, everything is just the total opposite way you would go about it. Yeah. So on 13, he actually hits it up in the pine straw and he wants to go for it. And Navarro is like, yeah, man, like we can't do this. Like let's please lay up. Riley wrote let him cook.

Riley wrote Navarro argued that hitting a ball, 213 yards off of pine needles too much to ask for a man who'd hit only five greens all day. Such a sweet dig. So they both par 14, but we come to 15, which is sort of gives us the most memorable image of the day. Norman falling to his knees as he tries to chip in for Eagle. Back to 13 real quick, just because I've referenced this moment a lot of times, but Fowdo takes about three minutes to hit his shot into 18, but it's back and forth between like two iron and four wood if I remember right. And it was a real suspense, real drama.

And he steps up and just hits a laser for a two iron to the middle of the green and two putts for birdie. And it was just a really memorable shot of those times. And I always reference to for people to go watch that moment on YouTube. Well, it's a great, it's a great window into like the caddy conversation, right? The hand fan ears that are debating forever going back and forth. He goes back to the bag, what like three times or whatever, like I suppose maybe like, you know, it's a little bit slow play situation, but it's worth it. And there's CBS did a

great job of sort of letting that hang in the air, right? There's nobody trying to talk over this clip. You're just letting the drama of that moment build. Yep. Hold day, the whole day that whole rewatch is just letting drama seep through in the most natural ways. It's Hold day, the whole day that whole rewatch is just letting drama seep through in the most natural ways. It's just not, they're not handing it to you. I feel like it answers these days. We'll just kind of force it. They're not letting silence happen. And that I remember, I remember it's I've rewatched it, but it is, it's, it's, it's tense. Years later, in Norman, he referenced this on like in this moment, when he was feeling pressure that he used to stick his thumb into his rib cage so hard that he was in so much

pain that he couldn't take it, almost couldn't take it, just to try to block out all the other stuff. Whoa, imagine him like locking up 14, 15, fairway, like jamming his thumb into his chest. Norm left four ribs shorter than when he started this day. So the chip on 15 is what sort of is brings us the most memorable image. Really, one of them of all time it ends up being on the covers, but so it's traded. I think is Norman, he has a chip on 15 for eagle, foul those probably like sitting like, you know, 10 feet away. Norman feels like if he makes this chip and foul doesn't make his birdie, he might still be in it.

He might have a chance. His chip runs up, it misses by an inch or two, and Norman just falls to the ground like he's been shot. Everything in his body just goes out of him. He told Graham Bissinger a year later that he knew in that moment that it was over, that he was not going to win Fowler makes his birdie anyway the cold-hearted blood cold cold blooded motherfucker

And so Norman goes up to 16t and he said later that like he felt like he was honestly like blacking out like his body And his arms didn't feel connected at all And he just didn't even like he usually picked like a spot on the TV tower where he sort of tried to hit like a You know a draw off of. And he was all week, he'd sort of hit that spot. And he's like, I don't even remember that swing. And he ended up right in the middle of the pond. It was hit.

And you watch him. He's looking at it. He doesn't show disgust while it's in the air. And you're like, oh, is this and it is a horrific shot. It does not come close to anything like, dude, what were you looking at? Like, what were you hoping for out of that? I mean, I remember the image of him like walking dragging his club along the ground, like trying to clean the club.

And that's what it was like to this is, we got to get the fuck out of here, guys. This is hard. I mean, that was when it was truly like a funeral presentation. Like, it's just like a misery. So afterwards, you know, essentially they played out, but it doesn't matter. Fowler makes a weird birdie on 18. And like Hugs Norman, and basically is like, you know,

I don't know what to say. Like I feel, you know, sort of terrible. And, but I feel so bad for you. Like in the, in the moment where like Nick Fowler won his third green jacket, he's like feeling more sympathy for Greg. And even like in the, you know, Crenshaw had to put the jacket on Fowler because he had won the previous year. And he says like, before he started, like he talks, I don't know, I don't remember guys

who won the previous year talks, but he talked on the microphone, according to this rally story. And Crenshaw said, our sincerest feelings go out to Greg. I don't know, I don't remember guys who were one that we were sure talks, but he talked on the microphone according to this rally story and and Crunchyle shed our sincerest feelings go out to Greg Before he did it and Faldo in his victory speech that I really do feel sorry for Greg So like Norman was the story like, you know, there was no like it's a good Lesson in like sometimes the losers are way more compelling than the winners so Norman meets the press and you know this is a person who's had a contentious relationship with the press and he just basically goes right and he says I screwed up. It's all on me. I know that

losing this master's is not the end of the world. I'll let this one get away and I'm still but I still have a pretty good life. A wake up tomorrow is still breathing. I hope. And then he pauses as he says all these hic hiccups I have, they must be there for a reason. All of this is just a test. I just don't know what the test is. Thousands and thousands of people wrote him a fan mail years for years to come about how appreciative they were of how he sort of dealt with it.

Norman said he was at a soccer game the next day and someone came up to him and said, I wanna tell you, you taught me the greatest lesson in life. And now I can teach it to my son how to handle defeat, how to handle disappointment and how I should conduct myself going forward. So I told him you did win, you won in life. And Norman sort of felt like that was almost more important in some ways than, you know, he said, I could have, I could have knocked on into that press conference and walked away

and said, Hey, I'm gonna go home and cry. He said, no, that's the responsibility you have if you wanna be in the arena. If you're gonna go out there and accept the accolades, you've gotta accept the punch in the stomach just as much. You've gotta be man enough to do it. And if you don't shame on you, I can name quite a few professional golfers today

who have run away from that responsibility, which really pisses me off because their responsibility is to the game and to that tournament. Because when you pass through and you want people to say, he or she really did a good job of playing golf, but really, they did a good job of instilling certain values for us to study. I don't know if I would say that Greg has like great values, but I think that that it's comes as sportsmanship. What a top bloke. as of 96. Yes.

I was trying to I just quickly Googled. I was like, wait, doesn't he go home that night and cry on the beach? But I just Googled it quickly. That Sam Wyman article, I think you're referring to, he did that was 87 after the chip. So a different. He says heartbreak hurt him a lot more. Yeah. He says because he thought like in that moment, like I've, I've got it in control.

There's no way what that layer reminds me of. I I'm gonna be able to get this up and down like all I essentially have to do Is to put this and I won the master's and all of a sudden chips it in it's like holy shit Jim nance actually had a great interview with Norman like a couple weeks later on his boat It's funny. I want to I would love to I took a screenshot of the pictures I think I'm gonna tweet about because they're both like so young looking and so like it's remarkable like time capsule. Dan says to him, do you believe your destined to be a tragic figure or do you believe your destined to one day win it? Norman says, I think there's things that are written in the wind, you know, in people's

life. I see it happen to people and I can see it happen to me sometimes, the good and bad that happens. Maybe it's destiny, I don't know. Now there are some things where there's a reason why it happens. I can see it happen to me sometimes, the good and bad that happens. Maybe it's destiny, I don't know. Now there are some things where there's a reason why it happens. I will win it. I just know it. When my game is on and it was there, I just didn't happen.

But I'm going to go in there and I'm going to kick some serious butt in that term and I'm going to put a green jacket on. I didn't have an area. It did not happen. Yeah. But he did say, you know, he and Faldo have had sort of a contentious relationship for many years, said that a lot of that hug on the green sort of resonated with a lot of people. So people have this idea that Nick and I have been unfriendly since 1977, which has never been the case.

Like what happens Sunday Saturday, we played, we had a great day, we had a great day Sunday. We chatted in the initial part of the round, it showed people that we aren't unfriendly rivals, we're friends, we do have emotions for him to do and the say the things that he did when we were in that hug. Those are the things that will stay with me for the rest of my life. Yeah, it would have been great to put the green jacket on. But if I had put that green jacket on, what would that moment have been this? Would that moment have been succinct as it was? Who knows? The most endearing thing for me was the emotion that I felt from everybody. People care and I care.

And then he said, and I want to get out there and win the MCI Heritage Classic. I watch this drive. So that's about all I have from the Masters that year. I mean, just there's really some good writing in general if you had some stuff that I had. I'm all for it. Well, quick ad there was just, you know, I was looking at it. Does he have any more master's close calls? I don't remember this and we'll get to it eventually. But 1999, it sounds like he has a, he eagles the 13th hole to get to minus seven,

which looks like I don't have the time, the time I'm in front of me, but that was probably tied for the lead. Bogey's 14 and 15 after that and finished three shots back in Jose Maria. But if he plays those, I mean, if he birdies the par five 15, then doesn't bogie 14, he finishes a day, dunders and a playoff of those a Maria. So another joke, painful, painful that back nine just fucking haunted him. I mean, just every I might watch it again tonight. I mean, I he has been documentary that they did is worth watching. He actually goes like Augusta let him come and play.

You know, I think it's only nine holes there, but like play a little bit more. So it's like to use for the walk and talk stuff about, you know, and he sort of says, it shows that I had a, I made an impact if, you know, if Augusta, even though I'm not a champion of gustal, let me come back here and play a little bit more just to sort of let her talk about this stuff. So I agree with that. He said, I think you said something like I've been impact on the history of the club.

I'm like, oh my God, did you ever? Yes, you did. Yes, you did, sir. A quick break here to check in with our long time partners at precision pro golf. They have dropped some awesome new gear for the course. They have the new no laying up duo golf speaker delivers high quality audio,

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NLU, again, that's precisionprogolf.com slash NLU code no laying up for $20 off your annex 10 range finder back to the pod. Well, I mentioned this earlier, and I don't know if it even, it's so unmemorable that I'm, if I asked you where is the 1996 US open? Do you remember where it was? God, I, no recollection.

Is it a, I mean, I would guess like Oakland hills? Correct. We are going to Oakland hills. Wow, what a pull. The North or the South course, which what? Oh God, no idea, South. South course, you're exactly like this. I'm gonna buy a lottery ticket tonight. What city in Michigan, can you get there?

It's outside Detroit. Something bluff. Oh, close. All people, the Michigan people are screaming so loud at the car. Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Okay, so the purse of the 96 US open is $2.4 million. The winner gets 425 K and today's money that is 4.67 million and 826 to the winner for reference.

Cam Smith finished fourth at the US Open this year and made more inflation adjusted than the winner would have gotten for the 1996 US Open. Thank you, Mr. Woods. Our eventual winner. Do you remember who wins? Do I, I'm trying to figure out if I want to tell the story of do I want to not spoil who wins? I think not don't spoil it just because he's not exactly. I know because the the person who lost has involved in a later, uh, okay, one of my majors. Okay. So I'll skip past that to say this. The eighth time Oakland Hills has hosted the US Open. The first since 1985. It also hosted the PGA in 72 and in 79 and would also go on to host the PGA in 2008.

Courses measured 6,974 yards, par 70. It actually measured shorter than it did during the 1937 US Open. It was a par 72 at the 37 US Open, but it was only 50 yards longer than the 51 US Open, which was also played to a par 70. So 45 years in between, and of course it only been lengthened 50 yards at the same par. So golf equipment was not moving as quickly as it is now.

I think we would have had some takes about this golf course back in the day. So golf equipment was not moving as quickly as it is now. I think we would have had some takes about this golf course back in the day. Donald Ross golf course redone by, can you guess? Don't say the flaws. The open doctor. We got a Robert Trent Jones redid it. Want to give another shout out for sponsoring our long segments

of United States open content with no commercials. Rolex in 1996 has a mother US open film that is on YouTube. We thank the USGA for uploading all this stuff to YouTube. There's a there's a reason why they were on the top of the live call list after I know that we're just gonna announce they've been they've been OGs all along. Rolex needs to know. The host of the video is of course Johnny Miller and I'll give you I can you guess what he references within the first minute of his intro of this video. Oh, I'm gonna say his own 63 final round 63 at Oakmont, to win the US Open. It's a great video. You should see how young Dan, Dan Hicks looks, which you can forget pretty quickly how, how long Dan Hicks has been doing this. But Nick Fowdo and Greg Norman coming off the 1996 Masters, of course, are the favorites. They're followed by Ernie, Pave and Monty,

Davis Love and Phil Mikkelson. The winner of the 96 US Open was listed as part of the field. Was not listed at, you know, again, this one site that sports odds history, I think I used to look these up, but was not listed in the odds. So this was the same day as game six of the NBA finals, which the bulls would win. Also Brady Anderson hit two home runs on his way to a jaw dropping 50 on the season, more than double of any other season in his career. I have no idea how that happened. Not even a regular, suspicious at all. No, it must have been. I figured as a Baltimore bolter morion, uh, that you would appreciate that. So the course gets absolutely soaked by rain on Wednesday, washing out a bunker. I mean, I'm talking like get the hoses and pumps out absolute

day loose on Wednesday. It was like a borderline miracle. They could get the course ready by Thursday. But they were there. They were playing a lot of dockers, a lot of cotton shirts. Absolutely zero swag. There's not one ounce of swag to be had by anyone. Even Norman doesn't look sharp on this US up. I mean, Norman, you know, had some tough looking shirts. The, the, the hats that he wore were fresh. And he had the, he was the kit man of the 90s. And even this week, he just did not bring this stuff. One of the guy, I don't want to spoil the winner yet, but he's wearing a King cobra hat with the, he has a titanium element like the, the, the periodic table of elements, the titanium logo on the back of the hat like GI in the little box,

which is a thick activation on the cobra. Yes, it activates. 1996. I mean, the, the titanium thing was still relatively new. Let's bring back periodic tables on this. When we we talk about C. Woo Kim being an unstable element, I can be a huge man. Mimuli is the outstable. Yeah. Unstable cop out.

How many media members do you think were credentialed with the 96 US Open? Oh gosh. Number 100. 1600. 1600. 1700. Really high to me. It really did.

Yeah. What on earth? Yeah, I don't just came from the women's years open and I bet there were 53 people credentialing in the press. I mean, I suppose that doesn't include like the people who work the cameras and all that stuff. But that is insane. Yeah, they might have been pumping these numbers a little bit, but anyways, Woody Austin and Payne Stewart jump out to the first round lead at minus three. Lee Jansen and Michigan native John Morse are sitting at 200 par.

And there is a slew of guys, including Paul Azinger, David Baganio Jr., who I believe is still playing off. He's the dude that has the major medical that he makes one start a year and just keeps extending his major medical and getting paid by the PGA tour. Stu Sink, Bob Ford, the head pro at Oakmont, Frank Nobolo, Jumbo, Ozzaki, Philip Walton, and Gary, TRIVASANO are round out the crew at minus one. Tiger Woods got it to two under par at one point, but doubled the 15th and made quad on 16 after going in the water twice. He hit a mid-iron into the water right and then spun a wedge back into the water from the drop area. It was not controlling his spin in this era. Just made a couple mistakes. Doesn't have good numbers.

You know, but that's a good beautiful thing as I get to go out and play golf again tomorrow. That's what he actually says in the kind of I got an architecture paper. Let's do that. It's just got to get home work on it. Greg Norman absolutely undresses a caberman who got him twice in his back swing and if it sounds pretty justified, but gets mad at him and then tells him, and don't you go shaking your head at me. Yellow got him as he is bad after a par three shot.

After round two, pain stewart leads alone at 200 par, Woody Austin, Ernie L's in a fellow by the name of Greg Norman, are one shot back at one under. Norman shot 66 on Friday to tie for low round of the day. Also shooting 66 was Steve Jones after opening with a 74. He is T5 with a 74. He is T five.

We've Jones 10. 10 green. Davis loved the third Frank nobolo or no Frank nobilo. Or what is Dan Hicks says wrong in the video. It's it's not below. But he says no below. That's what he says. He keeps calling Frank nobolo the whole. So I don't know if this is Frank's first entrance onto the scene, but Sam Torrance is also sitting T five. The other names in the top 10, Billy Andreid, John Cook, John daily, Jim Furek, Tom Watson,

and Neil Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster Lancaster, I don't know. I know the country club is Lancaster and they get mad when you say Lancaster, but Lancaster shot a 29 on Friday on his second nine tying the US wreck open record. Can you tell me who he tied? Uh, the US open record. Would that be Jack Nicholas? I will give you a hint. We covered this on our 1994 US open podcast.

Uh, is this, uh, oh, yeah, it's a bread, facts and, right? Neil Lancaster shot a 29 on Friday tying the US Open record. Who did he tie? He tied Neil Lancaster. What? He died. Shot of 29 and shittacock hills the year before in the final round. Yes.

Neil Lancaster's like best ball, US Open is a 58. Probably even better than that. But yes, he shot a 29 at both US Open's back-to-back years. Both times tied his own record. Wow. That was from the US Open at, sorry, at Riviera. Shinaka, the one we just did. Shinaka, okay.

And we went over this on there. I don't blame you for not remembering because I double checked. I'm like, wait a second, didn't he just do this? It is a fact that he did. Okay, So the PGA was a river. I didn't in fact, some shoot some ridiculous round. He went out in 28 on the front. I'm excited. Yeah, you're you're not you're not far off there. Not far. I'm not that wrong. I'm not wrong. But I'm not that wrong. Can you guess how many players made the cut?

players made the cut. 70, 108 players made the cuts. This is what's during the 10 shot. 10 shot rules. So 108 players played the weekend. One of them includes Mr. Jack Nicholas, which will get to that as well.

So 108 players playing the weekend. Can you imagine how hard it is to get like a hundred eight guys around on the weekend at the US Open. Oh my God. I don't know what they did if they went both T's or what they did. But I think they're in two sums. So Tom Laman takes the 54 hole lead at 200 par after a sizzling 65 on Saturday. Steve Jones is one behind at minus one. They'll be in the final pairing. Two shots back or Davis love. John Morris hanging around Frank no below. The rest of the top 10 is Woody Austin,

Ernie L. Jim Furek, Monty and Sam Torrance. So kind of a hitter's only thing up here aside from a couple, aside from Steve Jones and John Morris. Norman unfortunately faded to a 74 on Saturday and KVV, he missed a putt that I am like struggling to describe to you. So I know people listening, this is not going to really help you, but I'm going to show it to you. I'm going to upload a photo of Norman's putt that he missed on the 17th green because it

will shock you. I have never seen a professional miss a putt that has hit with two hands, like stood over it in a normal stance. Like here is the distance of putt that he missed on the 17th hole on Saturday, while in contention at the US open. I mean, it's, you tell me, is that over a foot? It's not over a foot. It's gotta be 10 inches, maybe.

It's, yeah. I mean, it was a tough scene. It misses low on the left side and, uh, it, it may come back to Haunt him a little bit, but that was really, really tough. But pain Stewart, uh, wilted after having the 36 whole lead, he said after that, he felt like he was naked out there. Uh, he shot a 76 to fall, uh, well out of, uh, contention, uh, at that point, it was a tough scene. He was

double-crossed everywhere. It was not good. So heading into round four. Greg Norman makes a charge. Some early birdies gets back to even par through seven, but he did falter from there. Laman Bogus, the opening hole to drop back into a tie for the lead with Steve Jones. Nobbelo birdies, the first and is also at one under par. Layman birdies, the second birdies, six and seven to open up a three shot lead with 10 holes to go in the US open. Three holes later, that lead is gone. Steve Jones birdies the ninth hole and makes a 40 footer on the 10th as Layman bogies it.

It's also worth noting. Layman led the US open at Shinacok just a year ago with nine holes to go also. So a bit of a developing story. Steve Jones birdies the par 512 and layman bogies it kind of got a raw deal hit a great, looks like a three wood into the green that goes into the back bunker in a tough spot and is and he hits on the green and then three puts from there. So Steve Jones actually has a two shot lead with six holes to go at four under, but he bogies the 13th hole. Another name emerges on this back nine after birdies on the 11th and 12 holes. That is Davis love and he pours in a birdie on the 15th to get to minus three.

A key number. Keep that one in mind. So Jones and love are tied at the top at 300 par and layman is one back as they are, as layman and Jones are getting to 15. John Morris is still around. He birdies 15 to get to 200 par but made two bogies coming in Michigan's own. John Morris is a Michigan's own. They were trying to win the game models.

First cut he's ever made in a major and he actually has a put on 18 to tie the lead. On the 72nd green, he actually ends up three putting it. It's not great. But Johnny's just having a field day with the pressure line. I mean, it's, it's, it's everywhere. It's absolutely everywhere. So they get to 16 Tom Laman hit a really, really, really good birdie putt on 16 that ripped out on the high side. It really looked like he made it. That was a big moment. Part 3, 17th was playing difficult all day long and Davis love gets up. He was 300 par but bogies the 17th hole and then he gets up to 18 and hits it to about 30 feet on 18 and has a putt to get in the house at minus three and they're really building the

drum up on this putt. Like Davis love has made a great run at this. And Johnny says before he hits it, he's like, I got a feeling this might be going in. Oh, narrator, it did not go in. He left it short. He left for Johnny for not doing the tape delayed shots. You know, that is exactly. Maybe that wasn't acceptable back then. They didn't use, you know, tape laid shots. But I think now like, you know, the thing I. I mean, maybe that wasn't acceptable back then if they didn't use, you know, tablet shots, but I think now, like, you know, the thing I've always heard about that famous Louis Ustazen shot, is that when Dave Vafferty says, oh, come to Papa, that it was on delay that he knew that it was going on.

Oh, right. And that's, like, said that line. It's hard to ruin it for you. I don't know if that's true, but that's what I've heard. So the good for Johnny for calling it live, like a man. So yeah, he lags it up there to two feet. Of course, on 18, surely that means that he, you know, taps in that par putt and we'll sit and wait for the leaders to come in. And again, I'm going to pull this up on the screen so you can see it. This is Davis loves putt on the 72nd green at Oakland Hills.

And he gets over it and it's nervy stands over it and then backs off and waves a bug away from the ball. Stand gets back over it and misses the putt on the low side. Missed a three putted from 30 feet to fall all the way back to minus one. As this is happening, Steve Jones bogies the 17th hole. So really he's one shot out of it. And layman or Jones are tied playing the last hole, playing together. So winter, one of them makes par are both, you know, a bit of a match play situation. There close to a match play situation here, but layman steps up is caddy wanted him to

take three, went off the 18th, but layman went with driver and he striked it. He drove it really well, but a bit left in the fairway. Cancel little right to left. It takes a tough kick and gets into the top right corner of the fairway bunker, like pretty tough break, honestly. It didn't look like a wayward tee shot. He was anxious the whole time, but maybe a poor decision to take a club that could reach that bunker, but it was, it was really tough. Jones splits the fairway.

Laman gets up there, looks at the lie surveys it and like gets bends down to the ground, looks at it, says it's a big lip. Gets in there and has seven iron and he's's what he's wagging and he just like backs off he's like I can't get this there like I this won't even get there. So he's not going to take a club that could hit the lip that he also can't reach the green with. It goes back for a different club blast it out and lays up about 60 yards short of the green. Steve Jones steps up 168 yards worth noting that the sportsmanship note at some point, I don't know if this was on 18 or if this was earlier in the round, but Steve

Jones referred to this afterwards. He said that layman came up to him at one point and said, I've got a Bible verse for you. Be courageous and be strong was included in that Bible verse. I don't know exactly what it was, but it seemed like these guys are pretty good buddies, but there is a I don't know exactly what it was, but it seemed like these guys are pretty good buddies, but there is a A a channeling of the Lord spirit between the two of them in the in the final this final round I'm appreciative the Lord can take some time to decide the US Hope and winner, you know, it's They're not going there. We're not going there busy for another pod, but It does speak to me a little bit like the class that layman shows throughout all of this is pretty remarkable to me and we'll sum that as well. So, uh, Jones steps up and they get over. He's like,

it's one, Roger Mopi says, one 59 front, one 68 flag, it's seven iron and hit it hard. It was a great call. And Jones lashes at it, draws it in. It's in the air and Johnny's like, where is this one, Roger? And that's going on the right side of the green. It's in the air and Johnny's like, where is this one Roger? And that's going on the right side of the green. It's drawing in. It looks pretty good. Takes one hop and almost jars in the hole. I mean, it missed by two inches. Rolls 12 feet above the hole. And I guess they're walking up to 18 green. And he asked Steve Jones asked his brother and his caddy,

how is it stand? And he says, lay him in love or tie with you at plus two. Or at minus two. And that was wrong. So I don't remember when the, I guess he does, his brother Scott corrects him before they get up there and says love is actually at one. And while layman's struggling to make part.

So layman pitches up from 60 yards, but goes past Joneses, Mark has a 15, 18 footer down the hill to save par, does not make it. Jones has a 12 footer, it's fast putt. And he like kind of tries to like walk it in and will it in and it misses low. It goes 18 inches by on a little far by. Uh, Luckily no one's missed a short putt on that. So, you know, he's on a different side of the

hole than love was on. Like loves putt did not actually look very simple, but Jones's putt should be, uh, he said those the longest foot of his life. NPC like misses the contact he makes with the putt because they cut away to look at his wife. But what? But he like, he does a couple practice strokes and hits it so quickly when he gets over it that they basically miss impact. And it goes right in the heart. It's no big deal. His kids come out and the receive Jones is one in 1996 US open. His kids run out on the green.

He picks them up as daughters waving at the people. I got pregnancy hormones going on over here. It hit me and the feels pretty good. I was I was feeling that ball, but a little bit layman pretty quickly in an interview says, you know, after he's like, I couldn't have picked a better guy to win. Steve Jones is a great guy and zooming back to what I was going to set up with Steve Jones, but didn't want to spoil the ending. Jones, a four time PGA tour winner as of 1989, but suffered a dirt pike accident in 1991 that threatened to end his career. He separated his shoulder, sprained an ankle, as well as he suffered from ligament damage

in his left ring finger. Because of that, almost every writer wrote about this, he developed a reverse overlap grip. A very funky grip way of gripping the club, hit these big sling and draws everywhere, kind of a funky swing. Didn't play for three years and didn't make it back on tour until 1994. The 96 US Open was the first US Open he played since 1991, and he had to go through sectional qualifying, including a playoff at sectionals, and was the first winner to do that since Jerry Pate in 1976. So that's a lot of the writing afterwards was about,

their bikes about all of this, but our friend, the Eugene Register guard, of course, our friends there, their headline was Stellar Field, humbled by a man named Jones, which is just, I googled it, a man named Jones, is that like, I Googled a man named Jones. Is that like a book or is it a movie or something like that? It's not. It's just a straight up shot at Steve Jones, which is such a sick way to honor the US open champion. Rick Riley, his, his post, his gamer was a letter to Ben Hogan. Oh, okay.

And Hogan did win at Oakland Hills. Um, he says, I'm writing to you about this, about this Steve Jones, a nice guy who is about as square as a pan of cornbread, which is sweet, as a what has happened to golf when the open champ grips the club completely wrong. Seriously, he grips it like Marilyn Monroe used to grip a microphone, which is by putting the index finger of his left hand on top of his right hand, which is the opposite of what it says you should do in all the books you ever wrote. He calls it his reverse overlap.

Varden Jones grip and laughs about it. He grips it the way this way because he blew out his left hand at a dirt bike accident in 91 and couldn't play golf for almost three years. The doctors weren't sure he was ever going to play. In fact, he wasn't too sure either. Maybe that's why he kind of gave up a few years ago and started selling some waterless car wash gizmo. He said, that's not all this Jones was battling this layman fell it down the stretch and

it's real warping wolf with Jones mostly one shot ahead of layman. And about the 16th hole Jones is just about as nervous as a priest on a Sunday with a Sunday tea time. And guess who talks him off the ledge? It's layman. Yes, sir. Layman lays a little Joshua one nine on him. They're walking on the fairway, supposedly trying to beat each other's brains in layman says to Jones, God wants us to be strong

and courageous. That's God's law. And Jones looks at him and says, right, amen. This calms Jones down enough that he's able to beat layman in love by one shot. Now, my next question is, you never said anything like that to Sneed or Demarron or Nelson. Did you? I mean, I can't see you say anything at all. Remember when you won in 51 and Clayton Heffner, who was second by two shots shook your hand afterward and said, congratulations, Ben. And you replied, thank you. How'd you do? You know what's hilarious to me, Salih? Is it Ben Hogan is alive at this point? Yeah, I just looked it up. And so like, can you imagine Ben Hogan getting his sports illustrated? He's pretty old at this point. He's gonna die within a year.

But it's like, what if you're like Ben Hogan, like, what the fuck young man? Like, why are you writing a letter to me about this? Nobody? Listen, as a writer, as a writer, sometimes you got to take risks. Sometimes you got to do a little bit of quirky stuff. If, you know, somebody who you're hoping to write a like David love, Dave's love wins the US Open. It turns out to receive Jones. Sometimes you got to get creative sometimes like, you know, with Wyndham Clark, you got

to write a scene piece. He also writes that Jones would later credit Hogan's book for helping win the US Open as he realized he wasn't practicing nearly hard enough after reading Hogan's book. So he also wrote about some USGA stuff going on. He said, but if you were here, I'm not sure you would have recognized the place speaking of Oakland Hills. The USGA has this funny habit of taking classic Donald Ross courses like this courses with roller coaster greens that were meant to be put it on at nothing more than say five on

the stint meter, turning them into 10 and 11, which makes things kind of preposterous. Oakland Hills became home of the 15 foot putt with 20 foot break to make things even gore the USGA took two halls, the eighth and 18th that look like par fives are built like par fives and our par fives and made them par four. So the landing areas made no sense and guys were hitting three woods in the greens that were built to handle wedge shots. I mean, if you're going to admire the Mona Lisa, admire it. Don't redo the eyes and change the shadowing and try a new frame, right? So yes, that is the Mona Lisa being compared to Oakland Hills, which is a tough stretch. But it seems like the media

has been complaining about the USGA setups for, oh, I don't know, 30, 40, 50 years. This is from Larry Dornin at the New York Times. He said there were just two players left with a chance to lead by then. They're're both the same group. Greg Norman's early charge had long since dissipated. John Moore's Amish Gnative bogey the 16th and 18th. Frank Noble, the New Zealander, whose ancestors were Italian pirates. How does someone even find out such a thing? Frank, please come on the bus guys to talk about your piracy in your family. like, because I want to know all about these pirates. This your pirate lore and your family of the novel has talked

about like, your families, like just sailed around like, you know, the Mediterranean, like robbing people. And then they went to New Zealand after they got a bunch of bounty. Also, walk the bike. It was so sick. My jaw when I read those like, oh, that's why we do these pods. This literal way is why we do this podcast. Oh, the walk the plan never so good. I'm never going to be able to see Frank Nobel on TV again without being a Italian.

He will get Italian fire. Oh, I don't know how to bring this back around. Steve Jones was the fifth consecutive US Open champion. He would never want a major before, including Tom Kiteley, Jeds at Erdee, Ells and Cory Pavan. Steve Jones was the Colorado sand greens champion two years running per Rick Riley as well.

You would go on to win three more times on tour. This was the third close call for Laman after the 94 Masters to Jose Maria and the prior years US Open that Corey Paveon. Jack Nicholas played his 40th consecutive US Open and hinted once again that there won't be a 41st. He said he would be back if he wins the US senior open but did he did not do that again.

He would of course play four more and play his last US Open at Hevel in 2000. Check. How can we ever miss you if you just don't leave? So I need you to help me with this part. I forget which newspaper I saw this in, but there's a little note section that's in there. And man, I have no idea the relevance of this or why,

but it just starts, it's a, it's four little grass here, very short. Okay. It says, Dr. a, it's a, it's four little grass here, very short. Okay. It says, Dr. Jack Kavorkian, who has made his reputation by bucking the establishment, thinks golf could benefit with some changes. For example, he'd like to see names on the back of golf shirts similar to baseball. There I go again, said Kavorkian, who was a spectator at the US Open on Saturday. I always want to change things and here I am surrounded by traditionalists.

I wanna, it says Kavorkian who has been present 29 times at suicide, at a suicide said he wanted to meet Jack Nicholas who was playing the 40th and perhaps last open. I'm going to walk up to Jack Nicholas and tell him, if you don't win, I'm here, said Kavorki. We took up golf 10 years ago. What?

What? No, no, no, that is what he got. That's what he got. That's what he got. That's what he got. It comes out of nowhere, out of after like, oh yeah, Lauren Roberts, tough week, whatever.

Boom, Jack Kavorki, it has entered himself to the 1996. You know, if you're Lauren Roberts, Kuff Week, whatever. Boom, Jack Covorki had as editor himself to the 1996, you know, so if you're not familiar with who this is, for this is reading from his Wikipedia page, he publicly championed a terminal, patients right to die by physician assisted suicide, saying dying is not a crime.

He said he assisted at least 130 patients to that end. He was convicted of murder in 99. It was often portrayed in the media by the name of Dr. Death. Your death. Okay, first of all, let's say you're a media person and you recognize Jack Kavorkian hanging out in the grandstands that he was open, right? So you go up into the grandstands, you're like, Dr. Jack, Dr. Death, do you have a few minutes

to talk about Jack Nicholos? Do you have any takes? And like, it's, it's Kavorkian saying, I'm here to euthanize Jack's open for free. Yes. And just euthanize Jack Nicholos. Euthanize Jack Nicholos, if he's having trouble, I will help you.

I mean, there's a pretty funny bit by Dr. Jack of working to like say, like, oh, you know, if it's, if it's over, I'm here to, you know, just snuff it out to get, you know, some hard to chloro foam, like, you know, hold your head under water. Wow. Yeah. 96. I was hoping delivered more than I thought it would.

That is it. That is all I have for 96. I think we'll hopefully be a little quicker than the, I know I will be with the PGA because of course they don't give you anything to work with, but Italian piracy. I don't think I can ever follow up with Thai piracy. Please, please, please assign me a story about Frank Novela and his family. And this, we're going to loop DJ in on that. We got gotta get a lot of this. Oh my God. All right, so for the Open Championship, the 125th playing of the Open Championship,

we go to Liffem St. Anne's, which is the first golfing club in England that had ever held a golf tournament way back in the 1800s. Not the first Open Championship, they wouldn't host that for another 27 years, but first place that they ever held a golf sort of tournament Where I think it was like eight guys got together and an old time in Mars being one of them

So Liffam has a lot of history hasn't hosted the open since to all one So it's been a long time But actually I'm Scott blue it Ernie else right yeah, it's funny. It's like like with Norman We still think about it. Yeah, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie,

Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie,

Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie,

Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie,

Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Ernie, Er, Ernie, two of his opens, 79 in 1988. Sevy also competes in this one and misses the cut. This is kind of what we were talking about, the end of Sevy's kind of relevance. And this is sort of another reminder of that because this place where he had one two of the opens, he kind of just, you know, hits a wildo all over the place, which he did back then, but he doesn't quite have the recovery magic that he did back then. So not I'm not going to dig deep in this. I think for the most part, we kind of understand, you know, who is, is going to end up winning this if you remember historically, but it's a, it's a person we've already talked a little bit about in this. So I'm going to start off and just ask you, sorry, what great golfer is, is a shot back after 36 holes in this open championship.

Jack Nicholas. Jack fucking Nicholas at 58 years old. I feel like just doing these pods, you'd have been 56, I believe. 56. Okay. Because he was 58 when he made the run. And I think we's not the deal. We still have another. Yes. Even after this, we still have another, like major championship or jack analyst, the jack necklace legitimately contend. Yes.

I think you can make the case that we still kind of underrate how freaking good jack. Yes. Like the fact, I mean, who at 58 other than Tom Watson one time was still competing in major 56, competing in majors just, it's totally like on her film. He shoots 66. The film will be filled.

It's yeah, we'll be filled. He shoots 66 in the second round to get to seven under. It's the best round since the 65 that he shot at the 86 masters. And he did all this with a gimpie back. I wasn't even sure that his back was going to hold up. In fact, saying was like, you know, if it's if it's firm and fast, great. If it gets a little bit cold out there, I don't think my back can hold up and sort of, but does say, you know, who knows what happened over the weekend? I might play great or might go out

the next days, two days and shoot 150. He shot 150 next two days. Just still completely insane and we'll come back to Jack again in a couple of you know, in due time when we get to the the the masters, which is still to me one of the most amazing things ever is that Jack Neville's legitimately contends in the 1998 masters year after and beats Tigerwoods, a year after Tigerwood. Yes. One by 12. That's the greatest facts ever. Yeah. All right. So the first round leader of this tournament is Tom Lehman. Tom Lehman rebounds from his US Open Disappointment and just is out here striping shots and making everything shoots a 64 in the first round. It really could

have been a 62 like bogie's last to break the course record in the first round. This of course, everyone's like, oh my gosh, is it Tom Layman's redemption story? Like, you know, is he finally going to win a major? I was sort of struck by watching the video of this. Like, I was sort of struck by watching the video of this. Like, if you were trying to make the case that golf was cool. 1996, Tom Lehman was a really bad person to sort of do it. I mean, very kind of dumpy looking, you know, balding. Literally the face of dockers. Like he was a docker, dockered logo.

Yes. Yeah. I mean, wearing like $30 dockers at this moment, like if Greg Norman was like the, the cool epitome of, you know, like cutting edge golfing fashion, then Tom layman was like the dude who you still see at like your local muni in like the new balance sneakers. I mean, he'd run more than about. But like that kind of look of like, you know, a dad. And look, I'm a dad. I'll hopefully, you know, a dad. And look, I'm a dad, hopefully, you know,

I have learned to dress a little bit better, but it's the pleated khakis look. It's the, we can recognize not cool. As to not cool guys, we can recognize not cool. For sure. And Tom layman's swing, you know, even though it's like, I don't, I mean, you could not swing like that in today's professional game and win majors. Cause it's like, it's made for like, hitting it straight, you could not swing like that in today's professional game and win majors.

Because it's like, it's made for like hitting it straight. You know, it's getting the club three quarters back. It's, you know, bumping your hips and it's, it's flushing it. But it is not a kind of swing, I think, that, you know, it's like a very unethical like John Rom in the sense of the club never really gets above your shoulder. Anyway, remarkable. I'm going to sort of just skip ahead because I think this is, we kind of,

it knows who ends up winning Eric's layman. But what's remarkable, I think, about this is that the ghost of the masters is, the 96 masters is still haunting us in a lot of ways, because Nick Faldow ends up, he's a six shots back going into Sunday. And everyone thinks like, oh, it's deja vu all over again. Like Nick is going to absolutely like walk this dude down. Laman had a sort of made a habit of losing majors.

And so everyone thinks like the absolute killer Nick Fowldo is going to go out and just run him down and it's going to be, you know, the same old, same old. And I did you know this at Lithium starts with a par three. I can't remember that many majors that I have a par three. I forgive my ignorance in that, but I've played a couple of times. So yeah, I do remember that. Well, thank you. Famously, Ian Wuznam at the 2000, whatever the one, Duval won, I forget what you that is, 2002, he was trying multiple drivers out on the range and get the opening hole. The caddy would have noticed that there were two drivers in the bag, but it's a part three.

So he stuffs it, hits it to like two feet and makes birdie, and then get to two T and realize he has two drivers in the bag. What a good tip. Thank you for refreshing us on that. I'm just gonna read as we get into some of writing back to stuff. I'll read a little bit from right of these gamers. He just, excuse me. Tom Lame is about as far from Norman as a man can get.

Lame and never expected to be playing in a major much less leading one. This is a man who has a deep working knowledge of the Dakota's tour, the Carolina's tour and all the worn out fan belts and hoses in between. This is a man who was once so smelly and broke and he couldn't afford a motel to take a shower in. So he pulled over his old vovo behind a building, stripped to his shorts and showered in a driving rain store. A pretty good love to imagine time when Wayman and the middle of Minnesota just, you know, getting half naked, showering in the rain.

Wayman is sort of, you know, he feels like I'm going to, I can only control what I can control going into the final day. He realizes, you know, Nick Fowldo is Nick Fowldo. He's obviously going to make a run at me. I'm not going to, you know, think about him. I'm not going to watch him all day. I'm basically just going to watch my own shots. And it doesn't actually work that great because

the layman comes out and is like not very good. The first thing doesn't make a birdie until the twelfth hole. Fowl though makes a couple birdies early, starts to kind of walk him down. But really one of the most interesting things is is Fred Cuppels comes just screaming shoots of 30 on the front and just kind of blazes past Faldo and cuts the six-stroke lead to two

by the time that Layman gets to the sixth hole. And then right after that, Ernie L's comes sort of screaming in, you know, getting him to do it in two of the lead. And actually, he gets to 13 under, which is what eventually will sort of be the winning score. But Layman finally, when he gets to 12, he hits, you know, what's, he described as his best shot of the week. He hits it to about 12 feet in

the long part three there, makes it for birdie, gives him a two shot lead and sort of puts him, was put some air into his lungs. Freddie comes completely apart on the back. She's a 41 on the back. And then what crazy sort of remember is that Litham as you've played at many times just enormous amount of bunkers What a hundred and I think eighty nine or something 250 something truly 250 yeah, okay So L's is like has a chance like late in the round let a fowl though actually his his putter completely betrays him And he's sort of slowly kind of fading, can't make anything. And one of the other things that I sort of point out is in this, we always talk about how, you know, the, oh, the English fans sometimes like, or the European fans kind of are

always knocking Americans for not being very classy for the fans in the rewatch of this are so profiledo, like it is just deafening. It is like completely like Like people are shouting, there's someone shout something in layman's backswing at some point. Basically, it says like, nice pot Greg, knocking in Greg, and you know, it says they're sort of, you know, wanting this to come a part again. So, and a lot of people say, remember Augusta, you know, it's time lay steps over the ball. So not exactly the best look for the English fans here, as they sometimes like to lecture us about behavior, sometimes warrant it. But anyway, it's a, it's probably a pretty little kind of boring fun around.

Nothing really, the theatrics don't really happen. It's just kind of like a battle of attrition. Laman plays well enough to win. Else has a chance if he makes birdie on 18 to get into a tie, drives it into a pop bunker, and basically has to go for it, hits it into the lip, and it goes six feet forward, like nothing sort of, you know, isn't gonna happen. So then Laman's able to bogey 16, bogey 17 and basically make up, you know, a

par on 18 to sort of to win it. You know, I wish I had sort of, you know, and it's something all that much more interesting. I said, I thought that was really funny in the press conference afterwards. Tom layman said that he feared that it would be written on his gravestone. Tom layman, he couldn't win the big one, which I was like, man, your family has to really hate you. They put on your gravestone. Tom layman couldn't win the big one, which I was like, man, your family has to really hate you. He put on your grave stuff. Tom layman couldn't win the big one. Like what is what is now, you know, dad, we really ought to honor the food here is that

you sucked and you couldn't win the big one. So what I remember most about dad, we'll never forget is how we never brought us all been major championship trophy. But layman's first and only major famously, he becomes the number one player in the world takes away from Greg Norman and holds it for one week, the shortest one week run as the, I think we'll be one the Turchamp chip later that year,

but the shortest one week run as the number one player in the world in history. Wow. Good for him. I was happy that after reading the 96 one that knowing what comes next for him, it seems like it probably would have been a pretty popular win amongst American media at the time. I would think so. Yeah. It is remarkable how many like little digs rally gets it at Nick Fowl though because of his like love life. It's like the lead of the story is like

to stand up Nick Fowl though, you don't need a guy with seven Ferrari's five boats to helicopters. You need a guy with a perfect, not a guy with a perfect swing or close or a perfect chin. What you need is a kind of guy who looks like a rump roast on the outside, but it's tougher than a wool or steak on the inside. Someone who spent a lifetime trying to make a check at the Duluth Open, a guy wearing $35 dockers, a guy with a bald spot, and a happy Gilmore kind of lurch at the ball, and a funny hitch in his neck that makes him look like he's in a limbo contest. What you need is a big bone midwestern boy like 37-year-old Tom Laman who's never going to be in the centerfold and golf digest, but would be just, was just stubborn enough to hold off the unkillable foul though.

Jesus. There's like three references to Fowl does marriage falling apart in this relationship with Brianna, the Arizona golfer in this story. I got there's another stake joke coming up here shortly as we go to the 1996 PGA championship. Do you know where we're going? I have no idea. I pulled the Vulcan hills out of my ass, but I include who is on this one. Valhalla for the first. Let me Valhalla at you.

Uh, again, of course, there's a six minute like throwback highlight video on this. That's it. PJ have America get together. You know, the drill here. There's a 24 minute no-lang up video on Valhalla. If you want it, like four, we have four X as much Valhalla content, uh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no who could you say? Yeah, and then we have the 2000 PGA with Bob May and Tiger Woods, one of the greatest majors ever. See, it's great golf course. Look at the leaderboard. I love this little note, Jack Nicholas, who designed the course also played and missed the cut by a stroke at age 56. I just love the playing a major on a course you designed, like blows my mind. The thing where he was making changes to Augusta while he was playing it is like just like in his prime kind of like in the early 80s. It's remarkable to me. He also missed the cut by a stroke in in 2000 at age 60 in his final PGA.

So I missed the cut by a stroke twice at Valhalla. But a story quickly emerges in round one, Kentucky native Kenny Perry opens with a 66 to take a one shot lead over Steve Elkington and Phil Nicholson. We have Mark Brooks, Russ Cochran, Joel Edwards, Lee Jansen, Greg Norman, Nick Price, and Ian Wusnum at Four Under par. Jumping out to a three shot lead after 36 holes

is one young Phil Nicholson after another 67 Justin Leonard is in second alone at minus seven then Mark Brooks, Kenny Perry and VJ sink. I didn't know that. I didn't know. Remember this is one of the majors that Phil kind of pissed away. That's I wondered the exact same thing because he goes out and shoots 74 in round three. Again, wild to think we're seven and a half years away from Phil winning his first major at this point. And 25 years away from him winning the PGA championship in 2021, which I was going to say his last major, but may not be like, Phil could definitely let who knows maybe Phil went in a hoi like maybe that by the time you're listening to

this podcast. Another Kentucky native enters this way here. Russ Cochran lefty. Another lefty shoots a course record 65 and take a two shot lead over Brooks and VJ, Mark Brooks, Eagle, the par 415th, holding out from the fairway on this day. Phil goes into the final round, three shots back. Final round, Russ Cochran, bring them up, ejected hard, arguing balls and strikes, shoot 77. It just wasn't working for too much pressure in the final round. Tom Watson birdied six of the first 10 holes to get within two shots. Again, he famously never won the PGH. That's right.

That's right. This was one last final charge, but he played the final eight holes in three over to finish 17th. So did not win. Kenny Perry re emerges. He is draining birdies, fist pumping, getting the local crowd all riled up. He chips in for birdie on the 11th. He birdies 13. He birdies 14. It was his fifth birdie and seven holes and do it to him. Kenny. He is absolutely fucking jacked when he gets to 18 T with a two shot lead on the par five just about two

waltz into the clubhouse and strut up there and sit in the clubhouse for a while after a victory. I probably birded the 18th, right? He drives it into the left rough. Tries to advance it up the left. It goes in the rough again. He's short of the green in three chips. It passed the hole has like a eight, you know, an eight foot par putt. Maybe 10 foot par putt doesn't come close and he misses. He makes bogey only final hole. So I was one shot lead, but as bogey 18 shot 68 and waited as the clubhouse leader. And what's about to happen is quite funny. I never knew this, this next part. But as an aside, there's, I have no evidence of this, but again, I had to read a couple of newspapers

to find out that Steve Belkitt had missed a 15 foot birdie putt on the last hole that would have put him in what's about to happen, which is a playoff. Also tied with Tommy Tolls. I have no idea how Tommy Tolls got there at all, but some very close calls for Elkitt Tommy Tolls. Very close calls for Elkitt Tommy Tolls, but Mark Brooks close. Well, you were away. Tommy tolls. Very close calls for

Elk and Tommy tolls, but Mark Brooks drives in the fairway on 18. He's one back, goes forward, and two comes up short in the bunker, but pitches out nicely to about five feet, drains the putt, to send it into a playoff to a very muted applause. The local fans not thrilled with the fact that Kenny Perry will not have won, but Kenny Perry finishes round to 30, about 40 minutes ago at this point. Surely he's gotten like a lot of, you know, he's probably, you know, he's been hitting some balls right here. Yeah, staying warm. Do you know this? Do you know this part? I do actually. Okay. I did not remember this. Kenny Perry spends over 30 minutes in the booth after his round doing commentary instead of hitting balls. This is from Jaime Diaz who does the gamer for sports illustrator. He said when network officials told him to feel free to leave the booth to practice

shots and preparation for a probable playoff. Perry chose to stay offering his comments as the last two groups finished. It was a neighborly choice, but not a move from the Nicholas school of how to win a major championship. Perry said I was caught, probably caught up in the moment. And I probably should have gotten my butt down there on the practice screen. But that television time was good for me.

Good publicity. I've been around 10 years out here and shoot nobody knows who I am. You know what? Also would have been good winning the PGA championship. Yeah. Again, having been in the television booth for nearly 40 minutes, he goes full jack Nick

Lison has Perry asked for a chance to hit some practice balls. But after initially granting the request, PJ AmeriCorps officials changed their minds and told Perry to go directly to the 18th tee for the start of the playoff. Oh, that's kind of shitty. Like, I could have let it to the pad of a few swings out there. Come on. It said, although Perry was within his rights to insist on being allowed to warm up, he deferred to the officials who were being pressured by CBS and the threat of

lightning. Fucking CBS. He pulls us drive again in the thick Kentucky blue grass, tries to chop it out, finds more rough down the left. And Brooks would go on to birdie somehow. We don't have the video. I don't know how it happens, but he begs birdie and beats the hometown kid in the playoff. Brooks was absolutely electric afterwards saying, I don't know how it happens, but he begs Bernie and beats the hometown kid in the playoff. Brooks was absolutely electric afterwards saying, I don't think things will change a lot for me. I don't know what you want me to say. I was taught a long time ago that if you drop your guard, the other guy knows what's

going on. So I try not to drop my guard, just like refusing to give the media basically anything afterwards. Oh, cool. Very nice. I'm sure that worked out well for Brooks. Maybe he should have gone into the like booth and done a little commentary. We certainly remember Kenny Perry better than Mark Brooks. Mark works was actually in the mix and a lot of those. Yeah, he lost in a playoff of the US open at Southern Hills a few years later as well. But, um, Jaime

Diaz writes, Brooks's lack of emotion was fitting because the PJ of a holla didn't deliver on any of the several fairy tales that it had promised. The sweetest might have been Tom Watson, who at 46 was making a last-ditch effort to win his first PGA. Nick Price had his own inspirational tale spurred on as he was by his long-time caddy Jeff Squeaky-Medlin who earlier this year learned that he had leukemia. For a long time, look at Valhalla, it would be the site of Phil's first major victory, but that did not happen. The crew was dream-dashed, however, belonged to Perry, who lives three hours from Louisville and Franklin. A three time winner in his 11 years on tour, he bolted out of a large pack of final day

contenders with five birdies on the first 14 holes. Perry is considered a superior driver, but when it came time to plant a serviceable T-shot in the wide fairway of the 540 yard par 518, he was overwhelmed by the magnitude of this possible victory. His back swing put his driver in a familiar slot at the top. A parry rush his forward swing and hit a horrible duck hook. His ball dived down a steep embankment overgrown with bluegrass. The crowd, a parry would say, the crowd was going ballistic and my heart was racing. He couldn't get over the fact that so many people were rooting for him.

He said, I was so excited, so nervous, I just overswung the club. His A-daren recovery stayed in the rough. Third shot missed the green. And then he missed the putt. And then after the playoff, Perry walked past the gallery behind the 18th green in shock. The first time I'll wake, he didn't stop the sign autographs. Kind of sounds like Blocky a little bit after the,

after the, after this row. But he, as Katty said, he played so well. He just found himself in a whole new place mentally on that 18th tee, which is a bad time to do that. But, man, Katy Berry kind of blew two majors. Well, getting one up to that. It was probably a place Perry never thought he would be when he said, after winning the 95 Bob Hope Classic that he planned to stop playing the tour soon.

So he could devote time to his wife and three children and to operating country creek, a public course that he owns in Franklin. If he didn't know it then Perry knows now that he has the game to win a major. He said, this was good for my career. I'll be remembered for this. Uh, I'm sure. It's true.

Uh, Perry would go on to lose the 2009 masters in a playoff after making Bogey on both the 71st and 72nd holes and the second playoff hole. Dave Hackenberg, I believe for an Ohio paper wrote, you got a hand at Mark Brooks, Kenny Perry did. And under the headline, Perry is not ready for primetime. Bob Verde of the Chicago Tribune said, you've got to hand it to Mark Brooks and Kenny Perry did. So popular line also said that Brooks was tougher than a $2 stake and said that Perry showed the killer instinct of a ladybug, which was sick. He finished it by saying this year's field was the best of any major and Kenny Perry had

it whipped, but he wasn't ready for prime time, though he went on television anyways. So it's so funny to think about like, I would love to sit and watch the YouTube clip of Kenny Perry, like talking and talking and talking with 30, 40 minutes in the booth there. And like Johnny suggesting or whatever, like, you know, you might want to go down or Dan X, we were at CBS. So I've been. Okay. I don't know who was color at that point, but yeah. But like, hey, like, do you want to go down and, you know, hit some, I feel like it was, it was Ken Benchury. I feel like the reading, I remember years that Ken was like, hey, you know, maybe do you want to go hit some shots? Like, you want to go

warm up whatever, because I mean, he had obviously played really high level golf and that's hilarious. Because I always, I mean, I don't remember seeing it. I don't remember that all, but I remember jokes for years about Kenny Perry sitting in the TV tower when he should have been out it balls on the range. I imagine that happening. I remember like when walking Neiman didn't do it at the at the century at the tournament champions couple years ago, but it was he was just like out sitting on a picnic table and they were like crushing him for that, but it wasn't like nearly this time frame and it wasn't a major championship. And like you had go take a cart down to the, it was a different scenario.

But yeah, I imagine that happening these days is pretty tough. I remember when Tommy, when Tommy Fleet would shut that 63 at Chinacock, my job that day was to follow him around like whatever he did. And he was the only guy on the range just sort of standing there. And I remember a USGA guy came like running across and put the little like place card for his name, you know, that just says who's hitting whatever. I thought that was such a funny detail. We got to make sure we put it up, Mr. Fleetwood up here. I regret to inform you, Kevin. They kind of don't, it didn't really don't on me until we got, when I wrap this one up, this marks the end of where we initially set out with this series of

kind of pre-tiger 90s era. I think we started with 2009 to 2012 when we started doing these and we're back when we try to do four and one up four years in one episode and we learned we talk way too much for that. But I think we do keep going. I think we can, the tiger ones will will be will still obviously be interesting, but Of course, we've covered them and we've you know covered a lot of Tigers majors over the years in formats like this But worth redoing because over time it it wears and yeah, they are and think about now like somebody who's 30 years old You know, they were seven when Tiger Woods won the you know

Or excuse me. They were no no, it's less than that. They were, what was it, make them, they're 30 now there. Yeah. I'm messing up the math here. It's been a year and a half. It's been a year and a half. Yeah, it's super young. Like, that's, I think it was worth revisiting. And like, just reading all of the newspaper stuff,

leading up to it and watching some of the other stuff, I mean, like, to remember like what a phenomenon Tiger was was, I think it'd be fun for a lot of people who didn't really get to witness it firsthand. Because I was, you know, a freshman in college and you were in grade school, whatever. So, like, which, listen, I gave you 96 masters. I'm gonna call for a call. I'm gonna take 97.

I'm 197. Okay, I want that one. I'm gonna take 97. I'm 197. I want that one. I'm gonna take that one. You're gonna get congressional for US up, which I think there's some layman stuff in that one too, if I were to write. I look forward to that one. I'm gonna do 97 masters,

but I'm gonna come in and offer a few addendums afterwards. Love it, because it's such a big cultural event. That's, uh, I love it. So Kevin, thank you so much for this. A lot of work and research goes into these. I know it's a big time to come in. And we greatly appreciate it.

We thank everyone for listening and encouraging us to do these because they are a lot of fun to do. So we'll be back next time with 1997. Love this. Let's, uh, let's do this again soon. Cheers. Get the right club. Be the right club today. Yes.

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