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THE PROS
OB SPORTS GOLF & LEISURE
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SPRING 2017
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obsports.com
clothes in his rental house and view-
ing a feature on NBC about him and
his dad, Bill. An accomplished ama-
teur player, Bill signed up Payne for
his first U.S. Open qualifier when
Payne was 15 – and even teed it up
with his son in the event.
"Payne had tears in his eyes
watching that feature,"
Payne's wife, Tracey, told
Sports Illustrated later.
"He was an emotional
person, an emotional
player, and I believe that
thinking of his father
(who died of cancer in 1985)
gave him that extra motivation to go
out and win the tournament."
After Stewart sank the U.S. Open-
clinching putt, he punched the air
ecstatically, the joyful reaction me-
morialized today by a bronze statue
next to the green. Stewart whirled
around, embraced his caddie, Mike
Hicks, then approached Mickelson.
He cradled Lefty's head and told
him "Good luck with the baby.
There's nothing like being a father!"
Indeed.
Which brings us back to supper-
time, June 17, 2001. Dad and I had
already watched Mark Brooks bun-
gle the final hole by three-putting
the treacherous 18th green, to drop
from -5 to -4. Surely co-leader (at -5)
Stewart Cink would match or beat
that, but he hit long at 18, chipped
indifferently and faced a 15-footer
for par. He missed – and then
we startled the Father's
Day gathering by yelling
out "Ohmigod!" when
Cink also missed his 20-
inch bogey putt. Heart-
break! Now it fell to Retief
Goosen, Cink's playing part-
ner, who faced a birdie putt from 10
feet, knowing that a two-putt would
get him the win. He charged it a bit
too hard, running it two feet by. And
then … he missed the comebacker.
Playoff. Dad and I howled. The
dogs barked, forks clattered and we
were beside ourselves. We couldn't
believe what we had just seen.
And that's why we watch. You
never know what will happen.
Happily for all of us, it happens on
Father's Day – at the U.S. Open – a
tradition like no other.
