Maltbie is happy staying off the course

DUBLIN, Ohio -- Only two players have teed it up in all 26 Memorial Tournaments. Founder Jack Nicklaus is an obvious answer. The one you wouldn't guess is ... Roger Maltbie?

The fun-loving Maltbie, probably better known these days as a roving, foot-soldier commentator on NBC telecasts, made his annual foray back into tournament golf at Muirfield Village last week. He shot 84-78 and missed the cut.

"I asked Jack, 'You're not going to send me a letter, are you?'" Maltbie joked. "He said, 'No letters.'"

Yeah, but he did ask for your e-mail address later, Roger? Maltbie laughed when I handed him that line.

MAILBAG I know it is still very early, but do you think Ryder Cup captain Curtis Strange is a little concerned that more than half of his team is struggling to find their form? I agree that the Ryder Cup team should not be reconstructed because it would be unfair to those who earned their way onto the team last year. But it seems like David Duval, Hal Sutton, Jim Furyk and Davis Love have not hit their strides yet. I imagine Strange will start to worry if his horses cannot get out of the gate in the next few weeks. —Kevin Forbes, Newton, Mass. Relax, Kev. It's way, way too early to get nervous about September -- but, yes, Strange was probably cheering during the Memorial when Duval and Furyk had great finishes and Furyk wound up winning. Sutton, who has had some injury problems, could be a long-term worry. How are pairings established for the early rounds in tournaments? It seems as if rookies are usually put together and elder statesmen are with their favorite playing partners. Do the players have a say in with whom they play? Is it random? Is it based on previous records? —Gail Blizzard, Massachusetts Players are divided into categories by their status -- major winners, tournament winners, qualifying school grads and so on. They are randomly paired by computers, so that's why you frequently see former major winners playing together. Can you explain why I should not be allowed to carry a backpack into a PGA Tour event? What purpose does this rule serve? People are allowed to bring in chairs that are in carry cases and baby strollers, and everything is inspected at the gate, so why not a backpack which is barely large enough to hold a few layers of clothing that may be needed because the weather is so unpredictable in the spring? The weather in the south can be 60 in the morning, heat up to 90-plus in the middle of the day, a front can move through in the afternoon with rain, and the temperature can drop back to 60. Maybe next year instead of getting a babysitter, I'll bring my fussy baby just so I can have a stroller to carry all of my stuff in. We may upset a few golfers when she's crying, but at least I'll be prepared for the weather. —Tyler Bennett, Dallas No, Tyler, I can't explain it. My guess is it's as much money-related as it is security-related. They don't want you bringing in your own food and drinks when you could be buying the $4 hot dog and $6 beer at the concession stand. But ultimately, you can thank terrorists for this latest inconvenience.

Maltbie plays the Memorial as a former champion. He won in 1976, a victory memorable because he held off Hale Irwin for the win and also because he got an infamous break, when an errant shot struck an out-of-bounds post and stayed in play. It was one of five victories in Maltbie's career. He also won the World Series of Golf that year. Other than his NBC appearances, though, you haven't seen much of him recently. He'll tee it up again next week, however, in the PGA Senior Championship at Firestone in Akron, Ohio.

"I haven't been back there in 17 years," said Maltbie, who lives in Los Gatos, Calif., with his wife and two teenage boys. "It'll be nice to go back and play.

"I haven't played at all, very rarely. It's very hard for me to go out and play golf for no other reason than to play golf. Tournament golf is fun, getting ready for tournaments is fun. A week or two before I play, it hits me that I should practice a bit. Then I usually get good and disgusted about the way I'm playing and I promise myself I won't let that happen again. Then it happens again. I guess that sends a message about my interest in the game."

Maltbie wouldn't mind playing the Senior tour, but he has no status. When the Senior tour initially decided to expand tournament fields, it planned to add six players, mostly former tour players. But after the final vote, that number was cut to three. Guess who's fourth in line? Maltbie. As of now, the only Senior event he knows he can play is the PGA Senior.

"Even if I had gotten in, I wouldn't have played very much," Maltbie said. "My kids are 15 and 12. I want to be home. I didn't get married until I was 30, had kids at 36. I'm already gone more than I want to be gone now, really. If I could play half a dozen Senior tournaments a year, that would be fun. I'd enjoy that. The hard part is finding a break in my schedule, plus I'm standing with my hat in hand, will you invite me? I sent one letter asking for a sponsor's exemption to Charlotte; they folded. I sent one to Bruno's; they said they handed out their exemptions last fall. 'Last fall,' I said, 'I've never heard of a tournament doing that.' 'That's how we do it,' they said, then they sent me beautiful letter saying they would have invited me if they'd known sooner, thank you. I sent a third one to Kansas City, but they weren't too interested. The guy told me, 'It's between you and Steve Veriato. I said, 'Well, I can't possibly compete with Steve Veriato, so ...'"

The bottom line is, don't look for Maltbie to make much of an impact on the Senior tour. Yes, he'd like to play, but he doesn't have time to play much and he doesn't have the motivation to get his game in shape. And with the level of competition on the Senior tour, that's not a recipe for success.

"I can't play in this league anymore," Maltbie said of the regular PGA Tour. "I do think I can play in the Senior league, I really do. Just because I won't play much doesn't mean I can't compete. But I've got to get myself ready. I've let myself become a wreck. I always carried too much weight, but I'm heavier now than I've ever been in my life and that has an impact on my swing. I've got to lose some weight if I'm going to play. If I don't do those things, that will tell you how much I really care about playing.

"I tell people, if I was going to be the next Jack Nicklaus, I'd have got that done by now. It was a fun career, I won some tournaments and competed at the highest level. That was great, but it's kind of like the fire has gone out. When I'm home, I just can't divorce myself from everything and say, 'I'm outta here, I'm going to play golf.' The kids don't care whether I'm across the street or in Kansas City -- if I'm not home, I'm not home. It's the same difference to them."

Playing the Black

This report from Bethpage Black, courtesy of reader Frank Boensch of New York, who offered me a spot in a foursome for the Black Course after successfully getting a tee time by phone. I couldn't make it but asked him to share his experience:

"Man, did you miss a great time! Thank god it was not on Saturday. With all the rain Friday night and Saturday morning, they closed the place. It would not have been a pretty sight watching me cry all the way back to the city. Fortunately, the rain pulled in a clear, cool, absolutely perfect day for us on Sunday. After getting basically strip-searched to get our tickets to play (this included them putting wristbands on us that could be detached only by the starter) and having our fourth make it two minutes prior to them releasing his spot, we made it to the first tee.

"As usual, the starter gave us an ultimatum -- if you make practice swings on the tee, you are out of here. I hit first, and even with 20 to 30 people watching, it was a pretty nice ball. A friend from Sleepy Hollow followed with a slight push; my father decided to see what it would be like to hit one in the hospitality tents; and my fourth, who is not a very good player at all, hit his divot further than the ball. With this performance, he came over to me and said, 'I am pretty nervous.'

"It really ended up being one of my best days on a golf course. We basically had a five-hour discussion on whether the big boys would tear the place up. We came to the conclusion that the Black will do a lot better than most people expect, especially if there is wind. There are a few holes that could yield a number of birdies (Nos. 2, 4, 6, 9, 13 and 14), but there are also a few on which four pars in four days will beat the field (5, 7, 10,12,15 and 17). The rough was not really long but it was incredibly thick. If they bring it up any more it will be difficult to get more than a 7-iron down to the ball. The greens are rolling very true and, even after two inches of rain the day prior, were pretty firm. I can only imagine if there is no rain and some wind during Open week."

The Short Game

You think Dublin, Ohio, home of the Memorial Tournament, is kind of a square town? Lay off. Dublin's big Fourth of July rock show will feature David Cassidy and Don McLean. Those guys are pretty dang groovy, aren't they? ... Gary Player was on hand at the Memorial for pre-tournament ceremonies in which South African golf legend Bobby Locke was honored, along with LPGA great Kathy Whitworth. Player told stories about the late Locke, calling him one of the best 20 golfers in the world. "He never had a shag bag," Player said. "Well, I should say practice bag because in Australia, shag bag is slang for prostitute." Next year's Memorial honorees will be Julius Boros and Bill Campbell.

Sports Illustrated senior writer Gary Van Sickle writes for the magazine's Golf Plus section and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.

 

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