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‘2K10″ is the hep name for 2010… So I’m cool !!

Here are a few of the memories I have of what we covered on Fairways since 2K !!.. We will be back the week before the Masters in 2K10 for our 17th year.. 6am we arrive, on air from 7-8am with special broadcasts for the major events..

Pretty early you might think for 3 such veteran broadcasters, but I don’t know if we’d have it any other way (not that we’ve been offered !!) As you read the following you will see how many great story’s we have broadcast, and these are just some of them..

Scott has been with Weeksy and I for the decade, the original host was Bob Durant who last I heard was doing a little weekend gig up in Owen Sound,is long since gone… Weeksy is often on the road with TSN and more these days with Scoregolf, but I always get him up even on the left coast to report live !!

CANADIAN OPEN:

2000: Tiger Woods - Glen Abbey
2001: Scott Verplank - Royal Montreal
2002: John Rollins - Angus Glen
2003: Bob Tway - Hamilton Golf Club
2004: Vijay Singh - Glen Abbey
2005: Mark Calcavechia - Shaughnessey golf Club
2006: Jim Furyk - Hamilton Golf Club
2007: Jim Furyk - Angus Glen
2008: Chez Reavie - Glen Abbey
2009: Nathan Green - Glen Abbey

2000 Glen Abbey.. “the shot” Last hole 210 from the bunker right of Fairway.. Tiger 6i from a good lie in the bunker… needs birdie..
Hits one of the great shots in his career. over the pond onto a 20 sq ft of green for our championship… Beats Graham Waite, NZ, by a shot.. Last time he played here..We were there to call it on Fairways..

2002 Angus Glen..John Rollins won it but remember Neal Lancaster blew it on the 72nd, then again on the first playoff hole.. I remember how pumped my pal Kevin Thistle was in our post round interview..His legacy of ‘the customer is king” lives on todayat the Glen..

2003 in Hamilton. players loved the course, good finish with Tway beating Bart Bryant on a shot makers track. I remember meeting Scott in Oakville and driving out to Ancaster at 5am. It rained so hard that on Saturday morning we were flooded in the media tent and Bob and Scott were standing on their chairs as the flood ran all over our equipment.. I thought we might get electrocuted…

2004 Glen Abbey… Vijay Singh beats Mike Weir at Glen Abbey… Scott Metcalfe and I broadcast this playoff live for Fairways off a monitor in the media centre,and at a crucial moment in the playoff we had a power failure and had no idea what was going on..

Mike should have won this 3 ways to Sunday, he missed so many putts, and Vijay who went on to win 11 times that historic year, kept hitting 370yd drives down 18 with 9i into the green..

Both Scott and I were with him (Weir)as he came into the Media tent and he looked like a punch drunk boxer… His IMG rep waived us off…. I still think Vijay would have rather Weirsy won…

2007 Angus Glen… Big criticism of the course and Davis Love who was paid to re-design the North for not showing up..Hot, muggy weekend, RBC not on board yet… VIjay missed a 20 footer on 18 from above the hole, still can’t believe his 8i approach didn’t spin back down the hill.. Furyk wins back to back…Scott and I called it all from the media centre miles from the action !!

2K10 will be held at Royal St Georges in Etobicoke.. 1st time since 1968 when Bob Charles won !!

MASTERS:

2000 - Vijay Singh
2001 - Tiger Woods
2002 - Tiger Woods
2003 - Mike Weir
2004 - Phil Mickelson
2005 - Tiger Woods
2006 - Phi Mickelson
2007 - Zach Johnson
2008 - Trevor Immelman
2009 - Angel Cabrera

2001 ..Tiger first of back to back Masters for Tiger and I don’t remember much except he beat a guy that was world #1 the year before… remember David Duval ??

2003.. I like all Canucks didnt leave the TV for 4 days..Bob was in Augusta, Scott and I in studio and we brought you it all..

It was the year that made Weirsy,he made every putt,especially that crucial 12 footer on the 72nd hole, chipped great and made Canada proud when he beat Len Mattice in a playoff.. It comes third in my stories of the decade..

Leafs played on Monday and Mike dropped the puck to a standing ovation after doing a sponsors deal with Sears..

2005.. Tiger and Chris DiMarco tied and Tiger won in the playoff but I remember 2 things. Chris agreed to do an interview early in the week when I called so we were rooting for him and he almost chipped in on the 72nd to win the thing in regulation. He was 7th in the world and was the backbone of the victorious US Presidents Cup squad going 4-0-1. Next year he fell out of the top 30 and has never consistently been back near that form..

2009 Angel Cabrera has always been a favoutite of mine. He plays quick, practices rarely, and hits it as far as anyone. When his putter is behaving lookout.. A 2 pack a day guy, he won this Masters and quit smoking in the same week !!
2K10…. Will Tiger be playing ??..

US OPEN:

2000 - Tiger Woods
2001 - Retief Goosen
2002 - Tiger Woods
2003 - Jim Furyk
2004 - Retief Goosen
2005 - Michael Campbell
2006 - Geoff Ogilvy
2007 - Angel Cabrera
2008 - Tiger Woods
2009 - Lucas Glover

2000 at Pebble Beach.. Tiger wins first of 3 US Opens in the decade and I remember it was a 3 hr bad time difference for us as they were on the west coast, but he won by 15 shots over Ernie and Miguel….. embarrassing for a National Championship…
We did an interview with Scotty Bowman who was with Tiger in the final group as one of the official scorers !!

2001 at Southern Hills in Tulsa, the Goose beat Mark Brooks in a playoff, but remember the gimme he missed to 3 putt the 72nd to allow the playoff !!

2004 at Shinnecock where it was so hot they lost the greens. Retief established himself as the world’s best fast green putter that year, I remember he made 12 one putts to beat Mickelson..
Here’s something you won’t know.. He was using a YES putter which was being promoted wildly by 2 Canadian guys who had no money to give Retief to use their product. So he played the entire week with his main sponsor, Taylor Made’s head cover on the putter !! What an opportunity lost !!

2005 Micheal Campbell completes his golden year beating Tiger at Pinehurst and has hardly been heard of since. He can barely break par now as he plays on the last year of his exemption. Still he will be knighted in New Zealand eventually for this historic win.

2006 Aussie Geoff Ogilvy posts his +5, 285 then watches with us all in amazement as Mickelson, who’d won the previous 2 majors, drives 80yds off line on the 72nd, off the tented village, then tries a crazy under the trees, 3 iron hook into oblivion, doubles the hole to fall into 3 way tie with Furyk and sadly Monty who needed only par on the 72nd to win from the middle of the fairway, pushed his 7i into the thick rough beside the green, took bogey, I’d say his best chance to win that elusive major..

2008 Tiger beats Rocco in a playoff on a broken leg… Classic of all time, Rocco one of the ‘old guys” renissance that year, with Goydos at the Players and later Greg Norman at the Open. Sadly Scott and I can’t broadcast it due to previous programming commitments for the station..

2009 at Beth Page Black rain and more rain…. Mike Weir in contention due to great hybrid play…Finally his balky driver cost him and in a thrilling ” you can have it I don’t want it” final round, Lucas Glover prevailed over the man in the “painters cap” Ricky Barnes…

2K10 is at Pebble Beach..

The OPEN:

2000 - Tiger Woods
2001 - David Duval
2002 - Ernie Els
2003 - Ben Curtis
2004 - Todd Hamilton
2005 - Tiger Woods
2006 - Tiger Woods
2007 - Padraig Harrington
2008 - Padraig Harrington
2009 - Stewart Cink

2002 at Muirfield, Ernie Els so often the bridesmaid this decade beats Appleby, Elkington and the little Frenchman Thomas Levet in a 4 hole playoff as Levet picks Ernie up on the final hole with a mighty bearhug…

Then I remember 2 years of “who?”

2003 Ben Curtis at Royal St Georges

2004 Todd Hamilton playing along the ground all week breaks Ernie’s heart in a playoff at Royal Troon. Ernie misses putt after putt in the final round including a 10 footer to win at the 72nd. He was in tears , consoled by his wife after the playoff and Hamilton’s 5 year exemption just ran out..

2005 at St Andrews, first of 2 back to back by Tiger, this year Monty gave all we Scots hope as he battled Tiger right into the last round, but just ran out of ammo..

2007 now it was Paddy Harrington’s turn to win back to back and the playoff this year was back at Carnoustie where Van de Velde had his collapse in 1999.
Remember Sergio played so beautifully all week and I still can’t believe his 12 footer to win on the 72nd lipped out. The birdie forced the playoff.

But first Paddy hit it into the burn twice on the same hole to take double bogey 6. He thought he was done.

Paddy took charge in the 4 hole playoff and I remember how bitter Sergio was in the post game interview..

2009 at Turnberry was my story of the decade in golf until Tiger’s recent crash and burn shocked the world…It obviously over shadows all the great things that happened.. Of all the times to happen, it was during our Fairways off season !!!

Tiger gets all the early headlines by missing the cut, but then Tom Watson at 59 plays his favourite links course, ” there is something special here for me” as well as anybody that week and he stands on the 72nd needing a 10 footer to make history, and of course the rest is history.. The putt was never close, he battled bravely in the 4 hole playoff with Cink, but in the end fell just short.

Golf can be a cruel game, and that Open, sadly for Cink will always be the one that Tom lost.

2K10 is at the Old Course..

PGA:

2000 - Tiger Woods
2001 - David Toms
2002 - Rich Beem
2003 - Shaun Micheel
2004 - Vijay Singh
2005 - Phil Mickelson
2006 - Tiger Woods
2007 - Tiger Woods
2008 - Padraig Harrington
2009 - Y.E. Yang

2000 Tiger continued a spectacular year by beating a gallant Bob May in 3 holes of playoff. He finished birdie birdie to force the playoff with some wicked clutch putts. I think he and May both played the back nine in 31. Tiger has already won the US Open by 15 and the Open at St Andrews that year. Bob May now shows up ocassionally on the Nationwide tour, but that was his week and Tiger was at his best to beat him.

2001 all I remember was David Toms winning and having an ace with a 3 wood as the defining shot..

2002 it was Rich Beem’s week in the spotlight and again he will be remembered for ripping a 5 wood to eagle the 15th I believe, to beat Tiger by a shot at Hazeltine..

2008 Paddy I remember, because it was his 3rd major in a row

2009 YE Yang my candidate for shot of the year, that 3 wood smoked over everything including a hillock and a bunker guarding a nearside pin placement, that almost went in from 250 odd yards !! Good enough to beat good old Tiger, and ensure his legend in China and the game of golf !

So there are some thoughts ,yours are welcome as always.

It’s been a hell of a decade, we have interviewed Arnie on his 50th anniversary of his Canadian Open win at Weston, Jack and Tom while visiting the east coast for an exhibition match and some salmon fishing…

So many newsmakers, and great golfers have been on our show.

We have taped interviews with him, but the only guy I haven’t had on live is Tiger.. Now would be a great time don’t you think !!

Ryder Cups

2002 The Belfry GC,Sutton, Eng. Europe 15 1/2 US 12 1/2
2004 Oakland Hills, Detroit, MI Europe 18 1/2 US 9 1/2
2006 The K Club, Kildare Ire Europe 18 1/2 US 9 1/2
2008 Valhalla GC, Louisville, KY USA

The 2010 Ryder Cup will be played at Celtic Manor in Wales and the captains are 2 stalwarts of the Cup over the years, Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin..

Ryder Cups are my favourites when it comes to ‘on the edge of your seat, can’t miss a shot golf ‘. I have related it to a Poroit mystery like Murder on the Orient Express where you can’t miss a clue if you want to figure out the murderer !!!

I think I have won Bob and Scott over to the Euro side after all these years !!

2002..This was the 2001 event that was cancelled due to the terrorist attacks on the twin towers in NY..
Sam Torrance and the always pithy Curtis Strange were the captains..

In the end Phillip Price (Wales) beat Mickelson 3 and 2 in the match of his career and Jesper halved with Tiger, who would have thunk it as Sam and the boys redeem the 1999 Brookline, Justin Leonard US win…

2004.. It was outside Detroit at Oakland Hills Hal Sutton vs Bernard Langer and I remember Sutton pairing Tiger and Phil together and it was a disastor for the States..
Monty made the winning putt and has still to lose a singles match in 7 appearances…

Monty and Paddy beat Tiger and Phil 2 and 1 as Europe didn’t lose in the Friday morning 4 balls,then Clarke and Westwood beat them 1 up in the afternoon foursomes… 6 1/2 to 1 1/2 day one..

By Sunday the States were in trouble and while Tiger beat Casey 3 and 2, Mickelson lost to Sergio by the same score and the rout was on..

2006 was my favourite Ryder Cup memeory of the decade.. at the K Club in County Kildare, Ian Woosnam and Tom Lehman were the skips and it rained and blew threw the practice rounds..

Darren Clarke had lost his wife to breast cancer and he was the emotional sparkplug for Woosy’s team

They hammered Tiger Phil etal 18 1/2 to 9 1/2, a real drubbing then at the finale dinner wore ‘pink suits” in support of Darren and breast cancer research… Not a dry eye in the house…

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year my friends..

BryanA

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009 at 3:00 pm and is filed under Commentary. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.