Well, Neil isn't satisfied with that. No, he wants you to read his book too!That's right, Neil has joined the ranks of published authors with his new book, The Longest Shot, which is subtitled Jack Fleck, Ben Hogan, and Pro Golf's Greatest Upset at the 1955 U.S. Open. (On the outside chance you're a bit slow on the uptake, it's a book about how Jack Fleck beat Ben Hogan at the 1955 U.S. Open. Funny how that works out, isn't it?) The easiest way for me to sum it up is with the official blurb from the book's Amazon page:
The inspirational story of the unknown golfer from Iowa who beat his idol in the 1955 U.S. OpenLook, I'm not going to drop a huge sales pitch on you because I don't need to. If you read Neil's blog, you don't need me to tell you he can write. And since he's got links to the book's page at several booksellers, why don't you just pop on over and get yourself a copy? It'll be a nice way to spend your time during all that slow play at the Colonial. (Of course, that won't be Kevin Na's fault... ;-)
With the overlooked Jack Fleck still playing the course, NBC-TV proclaimed that the legendary Ben Hogan had won his record fifth U.S. Open and signed off from San Francisco. Undaunted, the forgotten Iowan rallied to overcome a nine-shot deficit over the last three rounds—still a U.S. Open record—and made a pressure-packed putt to tie Hogan on the final hole of regulation play. The two men then squared off in a tense, 18-hole playoff from which Fleck emerged victorious in one of the most startling upsets in sports history.
On par with the classic golf narratives of Mark Frost and John Feinstein, The Longest Shot will surprise and delight fans as they trace the improbable journey of an unheralded former caddie who played his way into the record books by out-dueling the sport's greatest champion of his time.
Sounds like it will be a good read. Very much like "The Greatest Game Ever Played". Recommended to me by my girlfriend who cried when she saw the names Vardon, Ouimet and Hagen on the trophy.
ReplyDeleteDid I mention a replica of the US Open trophy is in our clubhouse?
ReplyDeleteI cried when I saw the names McDowell and McIlroy on it.
ReplyDeleteThat run of foreign winners might end this year, JB. Just to name a few, Kuchar, Dufner, Mahan, and Fowler have definitely made themselves contenders. But I wouldn't write off Donald or Westwood yet, either. Looks like it's going to be a great Open!
ReplyDeleteI think you might just have killed their chances... My money's gonna be on Oosthuizen now.
ReplyDelete;-)
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