In the wider world of golf, Y.E. Yang grabbed a victory at the European Tour's Volvo China Open. The Fresh Express Classic (Nationwide Tour) crowned a new first-time winner, Kevin Chappell. And Mark O'Meara lost a heartbreaker to Bernhard Langer when Mother Nature cut the Outback Steakhouse Pro-Am short. (O'Meara had just pulled even when the last round was cancelled.)
But Brian Davis may have suffered the biggest heartbreak of all. Going into a playoff with Jim Furyk at Harbour Town, Davis's shot rolled just off the green into the rocks and sand... and he brushed a reed with his club. He then went to official Slugger White and called a penalty on himself. Furyk, obviously not happy for Davis to lose this way, went to White afterward to confirm that it really was a penalty. Apparently the reed wasn't growing, but just laying there, so it counted as moving a loose impediment and cost Davis two strokes.
And the tournament.
I never cease to be amazed at how much class we see in professional golf... especially when the players who show it the most often are the ones with the most to lose. The golf gods certainly owe you one, Brian!
This gives Jim Furyk two wins this year, along with Ernie Els. Because of the unusual ending for this event, Brian actually gets more verse space than Jim does. But Jim is a class act as well, and I know he'll understand:
Brian Davis’s hopes really tumbled,
But he gracefully lost when he stumbled
Though it meant Jim's won twice.
Still, Jim’s words were precise
When he said Brian's heart never crumbled.
We were blessed to fall in love with such a wonderful sport.
ReplyDeleteThe finest ladies and gentlemen on the planet make a living do this and the other 99% (us amateurs) do it for love...