Olympic Club’s Curse on Golf’s Greats?
By Matt Haley
A tradition in my house as young golfer was to enjoy Sunday lunch at my grandparents and then tune in to the last day of the toughest tournament in golf. My father and I shared many great moments on the golf course as I was honing my craft as a youngster and sitting there on those Sunday afternoons brings back memories that I will cherish forever. The grueling four days of the US Open begins this Thursday at Olympic Club in San Francisco and do not be surprised if an unheralded name rises to the leader board coming Sunday afternoon.
The Olympic Club has given us some of the most exciting finishes in US Open history, but one thing has not been is kind to superstars. In the four previous visits to Olympic Club a golf favorite has been humbled on Sunday afternoon. In 1955 little known Jack Fleck who I had the chance to meet while walking a property that was looking at developing a golf course sank a birdie on the 18th hole to force a playoff with the great Ben Hogan. Fleck emerged victorious and the beginning of the Olympic lore was created.
In 1966 the Open returned to Olympic Club where megastar and golf legend Arnold Palmer was favored to win the championship. During the final round Palmer had a 7 shot lead going into the back nine over Billy Casper. Casper was a respectable golfer, but who would think Palmer could lose a 7 shot lead in a major on the back nine of the final round. That would be like Tiger Woods losing after leading by seven with nine to play during a major. Unthinkable. Casper tied for the lead after Palmer bogied the 17th. Casper won the next day in a playoff which turned on to be Palmer’s third US Open loss in a playoff.
The 1987 Open did not yield a megastar in golf blowing a big lead because Tom Watson only led by one with five holes to play, but Scott Simpson played spectacular golf in the closing holes birdying three straight and saving par on the seventeenth with a miraculous up and down out of the bunker.
The last time the US Open made it’s way back to Olympic Club my golf hero was the target of the bad luck that seems to some of golfs biggest names here when on the West Coast. Payne Stewart had a one stroke lead on the back nine and on the twelfth his luck would change. Hitting fairways is such a premium at the US Open because par is a great score, and when you hit the fairway you think you have a great shot at making par. When Stewart arrived to his ball after his tee shot landed in the fairway he found it lying in a sand filled divot. Now if you are a weekend hacker thinking this is no big deal its probably because like myself we might use a little foot wedge to better the lie. Well Stewart did not have that option and his second shot was wayward of the green where he made bogey and eventually fell off the lead where Lee Janzen would take home the US Open.
Will one of golf’s megastars fall to Olympic Clubs misfortune that it has bestowed upon a great golfer in each of the times it has hosted the event or will a new tradition begin this week? The unpredictability and difficulty of the tournament is what brings me back every year, and if history serves as preview we are in for a big treat this father’s day.
As always you can follow the Haley and MandMsportshow on twitter @MandMSportshow and you can read more articles from Haley at The Water Cooler.