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Where are they now?
Posted: Friday May 19, 2000 09:50 AM
Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle will answer your questions every Thursday during the golf season. Click here to send him a question. I played in an unusual golf outing last week at home just northwest of Pittsburgh. The format was four-man teams. Scoring was based on the two best balls per hole, using handicaps. What was unusual about this outing was the closest-to-the-pin contests. All outings have them. When we approached one of the par-3 greens, the little flag signifying closest to the pin seemed awfully close to the hole. When we got near the green, we saw it was sticking out of the cup. Some lucky guy had made a hole-in-one. Another lucky guy made a hole-in-one on one of the other par-3 holes. Both holes were in the 185- to 200-yard range. Man, this is a tough league. My host, Michael Luke, overheard one of the lucky guys in the locker room later. "I don't get it," the lucky guy moaned, "I make a hole-in-one and we're still in last [bleeping] place." Join the club, pal. And, hey, where's my free drink? The mail:
We now live in a world of global golf interest. It would be beneficial to all if the majors were held in four different countries, instead of one in the United Kingdom and three in the U.S. Maybe it is time to discuss why they cannot be played in four different countries every year? The top 100 in the world would be exempt. Kind of a cool idea, Darryl, until you think about it. Exactly which U.S. majors would you move? The Masters is Augusta National. It can't go anywhere. How about a nice U.S. Open in Thailand or Japan? No way. Perhaps the PGA Championship could move, but I don't see the PGA of America shifting it to another country. And where in the world could the British Open shift where it wouldn't go to a worse golf course? Why give up St. Andrews or Muirfield or Turnberry to go anywhere else? No, it's not time for the majors to move. You'll have to settle for the World Golf Championships, which feature the top players of this planet and will move all over the world. Or you could try buying a television.
Do you believe Al Del Greco of the NFL could compete on the PGA Tour? It seems he wins quite a few of the celebrity tournaments he enters. Hey, Larry, I still can't believe Del Greco can compete on the celebrity circuit. I used to write about him while covering the hapless Green Bay Packers of the mid-1980s for The Milwaukee Journal. No, Del Greco is no future PGA Tour player. Celebrity golf isn't anything like the PGA Tour, Larry. The courses are about 1,000 yards shorter and 1,000 times easier. Who wants to watch Lawrence Taylor shoot 104? Come to think of it, who wants to watch Rick Rhoden or Johnny Bench shoot any score? I don't get it. Al could make a run at the Senior tour if he keeps improving for the next decade or so. A few other ex-athletes have, including pitcher Ralph Terry, quarterback John Brodie and bowler Jim Stefanich. Mike Schmidt didn't make it through Q school last year on his first try; too many foul balls.
What ever happened to Vicki Goetze? I went to school with her and thought she was going to be a female Tiger Woods. She was never like Tiger Woods. Goetze-Ackerman, as she is now known, was doubtful as a pro prospect because she was such a short hitter. She could get by in amateur golf with those bunts but not against the likes of Michelle McGann, Karrie Webb and Laura Davies. Since Goetze-Ackerman rose to prominence in the early 1990s, the LPGA has become more and more athletic. A man on the PGA Tour who averaged 235 off the tee when the rest of the Tour averaged 270 couldn't compete. Goetze-Ackerman had six top-10 finishes, slightly more than $340,000 in winnings and is 809 over par for her career, in case you're wondering.
What ever happened to Matt Kuchar? Two years ago he made the cut at the Masters and U.S. Open but I haven't heard a thing about him since. Does he lack the talent to become a solid pro? Wong again, Andrew. Matt is still at Georgia Tech, pondering a pro career. There's a quantum leap in ability and shot-making from amateur golf to the pro ranks. Players such as Tiger Woods, Sergio Garcia and Aaron Baddeley are remarkable exceptions and probably made most of us forget how hard that transition is. The majority of players who make it to the Tour, if they ever make it, spend four or five years in golf's minors. It's much too early to count out Kuchar. But he's no sure thing. Almost no one is. Not counting Bo Derek.
Click here to send your golf question to Gary Van Sickle.
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