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Golf Notes December 12
It was his most important tournament of the year, and one of the most pressure-packed
events in golf. If that wasn't enough, his wife was having contractions and the
doctor said the baby could come any minute. The plan was for him to leave as soon
as he got the call.
Phil Mickelson at the 1999 U.S. Open?
Nope.
Lee Porter at the final stage of the PGA Tour qualifying tournament.
``She had all the telephone numbers and could reach me pretty easily,'' Porter
said. ``Would I have come home? You never know until you're in that situation.''
His wife, Michelle, was not due until Dec. 13, but she started having contractions
about the time Porter left Greensboro, N.C., for Q-school in West Palm Beach,
Fla., his last chance to get his PGA Tour card.
``It was definitely on my mind when I wasn't on the course,'' he said. ``On
the golf course, I had enough to think about. I didn't hit the ball very well,
and that made me work extra hard at it.''
Porter went into the last round one shot below the cut line, then closed with
a 4-under 68 and earned his card with two strokes to spare.
A daughter, Claibourne Ann, was born four days later.
``I'm glad she made it through the end of the week,'' he said.
Like Mickelson at Pinehurst, Porter says he would have withdrawn from Q-school
if his wife had gone into labor.
``That was my intent,'' he said. ``If I had nine holes to go, it would have
been a different story. That's just it. You can say one thing, but the reality
is you don't know what you'll do until you have to decide.''
Like Mickelson, he never had to.
Porter was home Monday with the newest addition to the family (he also has
a 3-year-old son), mapping out a PGA Tour schedule for next year.
The goal now is not to go back. The 35-year-old has made it through Q-school
four out of seven times.
``Four of seven,'' he said. ``I'd like to keep it at that.''
FARR AWARD
Kris Tschetter, who returned from hip surgery to finish 36th on the LPGA Tour
money list, has been selected by her peers to receive the Heather Farr Award.
The award is for a player who shows determination and an exemplary attitude
while returning from injury. Farr died in 1993 after a 4 1/2 -year battle with
breast cancer.
``I knew Heather for a very long time,'' Tschetter said. ``We met when we were
10 years old, playing together in the Optimist Junior World Golf tournament. She
was definitely a fighter. It feels very good to get this award because it means
that my peers noticed how tough my road to recovery was.''
Tschetter first felt pain in 1997 and went to five doctors over 2 1/2 years
until learning the problem was a torn labrum and torn cartilage. She tried to
postpone surgery until after the 2000 U.S. Women's Open, but the pain was too
great.
``There were times when I was healing so slowly that I wondered if I was ever
going to be able to play on tour again,'' she said.
Tschetter returned seven months later, made the cut in her first five events
and tied her career low with a 63 in the Standard Register Ping. Her best finish
was a tie for third in the Big Apple Classic.
GOLDEN HEIR
Gary Nicklaus sailed through the final stage of Q-school to earn his PGA Tour
card for the second time in three years, and his father walked every round.
``I don't think you'll see him here again,'' Jack Nicklaus said.
It was a quick turnaround for Gary Nicklaus, who missed the cut in his final
four tournaments and finished 169th on the money list.
``It's the best I've felt about my game all year,'' he said. ``This will give
me a lot of confidence. I should be able to get better results.''
Two years ago, Nicklaus needed a 63 in the final round to get his card. He
kept it in 2000 on the strength of a runner-up finish to Phil Mickelson at the
BellSouth Classic, where the final round was canceled by rain and the tournament
decided by a playoff.
``I'm a better player than I was two years ago,'' he said.
His father said Gary has a better appreciation of what it takes to win -- play
your own game and don't worry about anyone else.
``You're still playing the golf course. That's been the hard thing for Gary,''
Jack said. ``It doesn't matter if Tiger Woods is in the field or some kid from
qualifying school.''
CAREER MOVE
Mention Ian Woosnam and caddies, and the first name that comes to mind is Miles
Byrne, who was on the bag when the Welshman was penalized two strokes in the British
Open for having 15 clubs in the bag.
He wasn't the only caddie for Woosie to have back luck.
Phillip Morbey had been his caddie for years, but Woosie was playing poorly
early in the year and suggested to Morbey that he find someone getting better
results. He recommended Jose Maria Olazabal.
At year's end, Woosnam finished 18th on the Order of Merit. Olazabal finished
35th.
``I think he made the wrong choice,'' Olazabal said.
MARATHON MAN
A month after the PGA Tour season ended, Justin Leonard met one of his top
goals of the year -- running his first marathon in under four hours.
The former British Open champion ran the Whiterock Marathon in Dallas over
the weekend and completed it in 3 hours, 55 minutes, 30.3 seconds.
DIVOTS
Greg Norman carried the Olympic Torch at the Sydney Games. Now it's his wife's
turn. Laura Norman was selected to carry the flame on a portion of its trip through
south Florida. She was recognized for raising money for children's cancer. ...
The Salesmanship Club of Dallas, which puts on the Byron Nelson Classic, won the
PGA Tour's Benefactor Award for donating the most money to charity. It gave more
than $6 million, bringing its total contributions to more than $64 million in
the past 28 years. ... Wendy Ward has won the William and Mousie Powell Award,
given to the player who best demonstrates the spirit, ideals and values of the
LPGA Tour.
STAT OF THE WEEK
Davis Love III had a top-10 finish in 12 of 20 tournaments, the highest percentage
on the PGA Tour.
FINAL WORD
``I don't care if I'm shootin' at a tweety bird or what. I just like hearing
my gun go ka-boom.'' -- Boo Weekley, Q-school grad and avid hunter.
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