I initially became aware of the world of tournament golf in the 1960s. Arnold Palmer won the 1963 Western Open in an 18-hole Monday morning playoff with Jack Nicklaus and Julius Boros at Beverly Country Club, a mere two city blocks away from my childhood home. Four years later, I was caddying in the Western at Beverly as Nicklaus outlasted Doug Sanders on the final hole to win his first of two consecutive Western Open titles. By then I was avidly playing the game as well as following its stars during what would become golf”s golden era.
Tournament golf wasn”t all that great to watch on television in those days. Normally you”d see the last three or four holes of an event and sometimes they were tape delayed. Because of Palmer and his quest for the grand slam in 1960, the three American majors – the Masters, United States Open and PGA Championship – received more recognition and status and, invariably, more broadcast time and more broadcasted holes.
I vividly recall Dave Marr winning the PGA Championship in 1965, crying once the tournament was over, and claiming that his career was now solidified because of his major win and lifetime exemption. In those days, majors usually paid out $20,000 to the champion and it was contended that you could earn up to 10 times that much in endorsement money. Yet for every Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Billy Casper and Gary Player, who were winning multiple majors in those days, there were the occasional “who”s he?” victor who got to cash the tournament check but most probably didn”t come close to Palmer-level endorsement money.
From 1960 through 1975, a total of 16 Masters tournaments, the aforementioned big four won the green jacket a total of 11 times. From 1960 through 1966, Palmer, Nicklaus and Player won all seven Masters. Yet in the midst of their dominant era, there were a couple of usurpers to the winner”s circle at Augusta National.
In 1966, Gay Brewer, a solid journeyman professional, had a golden opportunity to win the Masters. The winner of seven tour events at that time, Brewer was a B-level professional, capturing events in places such as Mobile, Waco, Seattle, Hawaii and Pensacola. A Masters win would make his career.
Alas, the 1966 Masters was not meant to be for Brewer. Taking a one-shot lead into the final hole, he three-putted the 18th green for a bogey, fell into a three-way tie with Tommy Jacobs and Jack Nicklaus, and lost the 18-hole Monday morning playoff to Nicklaus.
Brewer wasn”t that well known, but the Kentucky native was definitely resilient. He returned to Augusta National the following year and found himself back in the hunt once again. After three rounds, he trailed a rock-solid leader board featuring Bert Yancey, Julius Boros and Bobby Nichols, with Player and Palmer close behind. On Sunday, Brewer made amends for 1966 by one-putting 10 greens, shooting a 5-under-par 67, the low round of the day by two strokes, and two-putting the final green to defeat PGA champion Nichols by one shot.
The ”67 Masters was the high-water mark of Brewer”s career. He would win 10 times on tour, win twice on the newly formed Senior Tour in 1984, and kept returning to the Masters as a past champion, playing in it through 1999. He died at the age of 75 in 2007.
Texan Charles Coody was another journeyman during golf”s golden era. After graduating from Texas Christian University, he turned professional in 1963 and won at Dallas in 1964 and Cleveland in 1969. He was a solid pro, but he was nonetheless two tiers below the gods of the game, namely the aforementioned big four along with the new guy, Lee Trevino, as well as a step below such second-tier professionals as Bert Yancey, Frank Beard, Johnny Miller and Tom Weiskopf.
From 1960 through 1966, Coody failed to make a cut in a major. He did come in 52nd at the 1966 U.S. Open, and over time he seemed to be able to handle golf”s biggest stages, coming in eighth at the 1968 PGA and finishing fifth in the 1969 Masters. Yet there was no real reason to expect great things from Charles Coody when the 1971 Masters teed it up that Thursday morning. That changed quickly as Coody shot a dynamic 66 to take a three-shot lead over Don January and a four-shot cushion over Nicklaus.
However, journeymen who jump into first-round leads at majors seldom hold on to win, and Coody was no exception, shooting 73 on Friday and 70 on Saturday. Meanwhile, Nicklaus and January were climbing up the leader board as was relative newcomer Johnny Miller. When Sunday”s final round dawned, Nicklaus and Coody led January by two, Weiskopf by three, and Miller by four strokes. Miller caught fire on the front nine on Sunday and after 14 holes he had a two-stroke lead over Nicklaus and Coody.
With but four holes left to play, Miller went backward and made two bogeys to shoot 68, the lowest score of the day. He finished the Masters at seven under through four rounds. Nicklaus was unable to make any sort of a move, shot an even-par 72, and also finished at seven under. January also shot a 72 and finished at five under, tied with sweet-swinging Gene Littler, who carded a 69. Coody made birdies on the 15th and 16th holes, shot 70, and was the surprise winner of the 1971 Masters, winning by two strokes.
The third round of the 2013 Masters begins this morning at Augusta National. Top-tiered professionals such as Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy remain among the favorites. Second-tiered talents such as Sergio Garcia and Brandt Snedeker have a great chance to don the green jacket come Sunday afternoon. Yet just like Charles Coody and Gay Brewer, there”s always room for a journeyman to become a bonafide major champion. In the modern era, it happened to Trevor Immelman and Mike Weir, and in the Hogan-Snead-Nelson era, it happened to Herman Keiser and Claude Harmon. That”s why they tee it up and keep score. That”s why there are always hopes and dreams for golfers such as Marc Leishman and David Lynn.
