Golf Central

On this day in 1916, Francis Ouimet decided to open a sporting goods store in Boston, Massachusetts, despite knowing the possible consequences. A working-class lad, Ouimet had vaulted himself into public consciousness three years earlier by winning the US Open as a teenaged amateur against the world's best professional golfers.

But by 1916, Ouimet had a hard decision to make and a stand to take: If he opened a trading sport shop, he would be considered a "professional"; if he didn't, he could keep his amateur status. But he needed money. He wanted to go into business. So he took on the great big evil US Golf Association, and he won. Here's how: ...

On this day in 1990, an unheralded shiny new 21-year-old pro from Las Vegas named Robert Gamez - who had turned up at the Northern Telecom Tucson Open at the TPC at Star Pass in Arizona - won the thing in his very first start.

Gamez coasted in, cruising home with a closing 2-under 70 as none of the veterans in a star-studded field were able to put any pressure on him. With the win, Gamez earned $162,000 and an eternal place as the answer to one of golf's priceless pieces of trivia: Who are the only golfers to have won a PGA Tour event in their very first start on the Tour? (The answer is four, by the way ...)

I think you were right with your Sherman tank analogy yesterday. ...: About KJ Choi? Yeah, that was pretty much a Second World War performance by the squatty Korean star this week.
By its mechanical efficiency? ...: Pretty much, yeah. KJ led wire-to-wire, pretty much blitzing the field before running into some opposition and bogging himself down in the mire a bit. But The Tank stuck it into low gear and got there in the end.
That said, KJ is turning out to be some reliable player. ...: You've got that right. The Sony is KJ's seventh win on the PGA Tour since 1992, and at 37 it seems like the little former powerlifter is really stepping into his prime.
Yeah, he's now "one of those guys" ...: You mean one of those guys that really needs a major victory to complete his resume?
That's what I mean. ...: And I agree. KJ has five PGA Tour wins since October of 2005, the same amount as Phil Mickelson, and more than any other guy on the Tour except for Tiger Woods.
What do the Official World Golf Rankings say? ...: Well, they update them pretty quickly. KJ jumps over Adam Scott and Padraig Harrington to the slot of the No. 7 best player in the world.
It wasn't pretty, though, was it? ...: Not really. KJ struggled like most of the rest of the field, with Waialae playing tougher than it had all week, and didn't make a birdie until the final hole, when he stiffed a wedge for a kick-in birdie to finish on 14-under.
Anybody make a run? ...: Everybody's favourite villain Rory Sabbatini did, showing he's a damn fine golfer even if he's not a great guy. He shot 2-under on the day but ran out of steam and three-putted the last to finish three shots back of KJ.
Hey ... want to hear some trivia? ...: OK. What's that?
KJ was wearing all white today ... and Daniel Chopra was wearing all white when he won at Kapalua? ...: So you're saying that you've got to dress like a housepainter to win on the Tour this year?
I'm just saying ...: Well, I'm just saying that's a streak that's bound to end soon. I don't think Tiger's wearing all white on a Sunday any time soon.
No, but it's blinding while it lasts ...: See you on the mainland. Or not ...

You know, sometimes it's just a matter of "knowing how to win." ...: OK, Cliche Boy. Explain.
Well, poor Johannesburg lad Mark Murless had led this thing wire-to-wire but he just couldn't close it out. ...: What happened to him?
He went to bed on a two-shot lead but woke up and couldn't putt anymore. ...: Ah, the old "I forgot how to putt" overnight syndrome.
That's right. ...: Didn't seem to affect Richard Sterne, though.
Nope, so we got a South African winner after all. ...: And Sterne's pretty legitimate. He was the highest-ranked player in the field of 204, and played like it in the last round, shooting a splendid 65 in the last round, with birdies on the last two holes to get into a three-man playoff with Swede's Magnus Carlsson and fellow South African Garth Mulroy.
Took him two playoff holes to seal the deal, though. ...: And a great fairway bunker shot on the second hole to set up his winning birdie. And it's nice to see the little guy win for once. Sterne's only 5-7 and 10 stone soaking wet, but that's three wins for Sterne on the European Tour, and he's only 26, and now ranked 33rd in the world.
Starting to look like a seasoned veteran. How did our seasoned veteran from Ulster end up? ...: Darren Clarke got it together down the stretch but it wasn't enough to cancel out his 73 in the first round. He finished two shots out of the playoff.
Promising, though ...: Yeah, we've seen some pretty intriguing golf so far on the European Tour, even though we haven't seen Europe in ages.
Where does this peripatetic Tour take us next? ...: Next week we head for the desert! ... as the Tour takes us to that hub of European-ness, Abu Dhabi ...
This Tour is starting to remind me of Beau Geste ...: Just remember to bring your funny hat, Legionnaire ...

On this day in 1957, an all-round genial bloke and battler on the golf course who was long known as the best player never to win a major championship was born, in Goldsboro, North Carolina: Mark Francis O'Meara.

Growing up in Southern California and turning pro in 1980, O'Meara had forged a career as a frequent winner on the PGA Tour. From the mid 1980s to the late '90s, O'Meara was a consistent threat to win: Starting with a victory at the Greater Milwaukee Open in 1984, O'Meara chalked up 14 PGA Tour titles by 1998, and was the king of his era at Pebble Beach, where he won four times.

Despite all that, O'Meara celebrated his 41st birthday in 1998 with hair graying at the temples and no major championships. But what a year 1998 was to be: ...