|
|
The Story of Golf in Oklahoma
By Del Lemon
University of Oklahoma Press, 2001
ISBN: 0-8061-3300-7 $34.95
| |
|
The U.S. Open's return to Southern Hills brought back to mind the extraordinary circumstances surrounding Hubert Green's final round during the 1977 championship. It's one of many notable Sooner State events profiled in this engaging historical once around.
The death threat, which the USGA inexplicably took several holes to relay to Green, fortunately did not materialize. Hubert, being Hubert, characteristically took it all in stride. When apprised of the situation, he reportedly told an official, "You don't suppose it was somebody I was taking out." Ever cautious, caddies and fellow competitor Andy Bean veered away as they approached the 15th green where a hysterical woman caller had warned the assassination attempt would take place. Green gamely played on and despite a snap hook off the 15th tee brought it home.
Given this year's tragic finale, it might be more instructive to recall another file from the Oklahoma casebook - the putting experience of Chickasha native Orville Moody in closing out the 1969 U.S. Open.
"Sarge" made it through local qualifying by just
a stroke (a canned birdie from a bunker, no less), then shot the highest round of anyone who survived the sectional heats to make it through to Champions. Before Saturday's round, he learned that his teenaged caddie had dropped their carefully prepared yardage book down a Port-o-Let. Confidence unabated, Moody, a long shot if ever there was one, went out and posted a third-round 68 to trail by three. He played solid, if unremarkable, golf on Sunday, and was left with the proverbial putt to win the Big One on the 72nd green, all of 14 inches.
He marked his approach putt, waited for Jerry Barber to finish. He replaced his ball, surveyed the putt from all sides and addressed it "for what seemed an interminably long time, even for a player with a history of putting woes." Moody, who one friend confided, wouldn't be conceded a putt unless it fell in the hole, sank his "million dollar 14-incher," as he called it, and another golden episode in Oklahoma golf history was written. Surely, no one was happier than Michael Ashe, his youthful caddie.
Perhaps the last word on this year's shocking putting display goes to Dave Stockton, the 1970 PGA Championship winner, also at Southern Hills. "Nobody is going to beat up on that golf course," he said, previewing the '94 PGA. "The person who has the best mental attitude will win." Funny how that is.
For a state marked as Indian Territory well into the 20th century, Oklahoma has had an impressive run in golf. In the modern era, only four states have hosted more USGA championships. Perennially strong collegiate programs at the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, architect Perry Maxwell, legendary teacher Jack Grout, the incomparable Tommy Bolt, LPGA cofounder Betty Jameson, black pioneer Bill Spiller, nonpareil amateur Charlie Coe, PGA executive Jim Awtrey, the beat goes on. Here Mickey Wright shot her first competitive round without a bogey. Here Tony Lema won for the last time. Here Hogan served his country, six months at Tulsa's Spartan School of Aeronautics (with frequent visits to Southern Hills).
The author, a former Austin (TX) American-Statesman columnist, gives the high points a WPA-like treatment. It's full of stories, comprehensive stats and meticulously plucked anecdotes from period accounts. A sage remembers when Walter Hagen was "The Man." Doug Sanders talks about spirited games of 'Oklahoma Whip-Out,' where money changes hands after each hole.
Bent grass greens and a temperate climate fostered characters straight out of Will Rogers's imagination. Successful oil wildcatter Waco Turner, an early benefactor, would fly steaks in from Chicago, give away palominos, and divvy up prize money for birdies and "Opies," eagles named for his wife. His high-pocketed sponsorship reflects an astonishing philanthropy. Their tournaments were always among the most lucrative. In many respects the Turners were way ahead of their times.
When Pete Brown, the first black member of the PGA to win on tour, was anxious about showing up the next week at Colonial after winning the 1964 Waco Turner Open, the tournament sponsor produced a set of pistols. "If they give you any trouble," Waco said, "I'll escort you around."
The real story of Oklahoma golf is the remarkable commitment to the game by men and women with a decided Scottish kinship. People like U.C. Ferguson, a former PGA of America vice president whose affiliation with Lincoln Park, an early Tulsa public course, spanned 61 years. "He had boundless enthusiasm and boundless energy," recalled longtime golf writer Ross Goodner. "He never quit working for the game."
"He took care of the kids," remembered Susie Maxwell Berning. The first woman to receive a golf scholarship at Oklahoma State, she played on the men's team, and later won back-to-back U.S. Opens. "If they didn't have a golf club, Fergie made sure they got one. He was always there regardless of who you were. He treated everybody the same."
To raise money for the PGA's National Golf Day, Oklahoma Golf Association director Art Proctor once played 414 holes in 24 hours. Over 23 rounds, he was six under for the day and never shot higher than 75. A growing crowd encouraged him as he flagged. Now that's committed.
Or, perhaps it's just a reflection of the Oklahoma enthusiasm for golf that has nurtured generations of top players. To whit, the author can't help but marvel at the comprehensive coverage golf received (and perhaps still does) in the local press. The July 2, 1961 edition of the Daily Oklahoman, he notes, had no less than eight golf stories plus Wally Wallis's column "Golf Shop." Those were the days.
It's an enviable record all the way around and it makes for fun and informative reading. Every state should be so well served.
Duly Noted - Edition I - Shouting at Amen Corner
Duly Noted - Edition II - Precision Putting
Duly Noted - Edition III - In the Women's Clubhouse
Duly Noted - Edition IV - Royal and Ancient
Duly Noted - Edition V - Into the Bear Pit
Duly Noted - Edition VI - The Biography of Walter J. Travis
Duly Noted - Edition VII - Uneven Lies
Duly Noted - Edition VIII - Sir Walter & Mr. Jones
Duly Noted - Edition IX - The Golf Ball Book
Duly Noted - Edition X - Balls!
Duly Noted - Edition XI - To Brookline and Back
Duly Noted - Edition XII - The Golden Era of Golf
|
