Sometimes the world works in mysterious ways. Sunday, October 25, 2009. It was exactly 10 years to the day of the anniversary of Payne Stewart's tragic and untimely death when I found myself playing the very same course in which he won his final tournament; the 1999 U.S. Open. To cap off Sunday's final round Stewart dramatically holed a 15-footer to save par on #18 and defeat Phil Mickelson by a single stroke. His resulting fist pump is one of the most famous images in all of golf. Sadly, it would turn out to be the last time he ever swung a golf club in a major.
Exactly 10 years to the day of his passing I holed my own 15-footer for par on #18 to secure a personal victory for myself; a 39 on the back side of Pinehurst #2. It was some of the best golf I've ever played and I can't help but wonder if it was Payne there on #18 who was guiding my final putt as it swept through the break and on into the center of the hole. I suppose we'll never know, but for just that single instant it felt like my very own moment in time.
Big thanks to WGT for making this possible and to Jarid, Lee & John for being the best playing companions a guy could have. Real friendships were forged that week because I could not have hand-picked a better group of people to play golf and hang out with. It was truly a week I'll never forget.