The year 2014 is quickly coming to a close, but before it ends, we want to take a look back at some of the most notable quotes of the year in Colorado golf:
— Christie Austin on being voted into the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame on her birthday:
“Honestly, my first reaction was it was a hoax because it’s my birthday and my husband (Bob) does stuff like that all the time.” (Christie and Bob Austin are pictured together at left.)
— Doug Rohrbaugh of Carbondale, after making a 5-foot birdie putt in sudden death at Q-school to earn conditional status on the 2015 Champions Tour:
“I made a Tiger (Woods) fist pump look like nothing.”
— George Solich, general chairman of the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills, on the event receiving the PGA Tour Tournament of the Year honor for the third consecutive year:
“The third in a row, we didn’t know if that was achievable. But it was hard for the Tour to ignore the job the team did.”
— Connie Gallagher of Denver, on acing a 253-yard par-4 hole at Pebble Beach:
“It was embarrassing. It was the first time I had ever played Pebble Beach and I was not paying attention (to club selection). I was just looking at the view. Looking back, I wouldn’t have taken out driver. It was just kind of a fluke.”
— Gillian Vance on qualifying with Jennifer Kupcho for the first U.S. Women’s Amateur Four-Ball Championship:
“I think it’s extra special because for 50 years and however long it will be going on, we’ll be able to say we played in the first one.”
— Chris Thayer on winning the CGA Mid-Amateur and ending Keith Humerickhouse’s run of consecutive titles at four:
“Keith was one of the first people to congratulate me after the playoff. He’s a real classy guy. I thanked him for winning four years in a row. It pushes everyone to get better.”
— Kent Moore (left) on being victorious in major CGA championships every decade since the 1970s:
“It shows that I won’t give up, I guess. Not a lot of talent, but a lot of persistence.”
— Billy Horschel on winning the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills after faltering with a chance to win earlier in the week at the Deutsche Bank Championship:
“The people on Twitter and social media … say that I choked and ‘you’re no good.’ That doesn’t affect me, but I just like to stick it to them and it was nice to get that victory and stick it to some of those people that had some negative comments for me. That just adds fuel to my fire, and I’m going to stick it to you every time.”
— Horschel on the crowds at Cherry Hills:
“There were thousands and thousands of people out here this weekend. I hope the PGA Tour realizes what kind of fan base and what support they have in Colorado.”
— Melyzjah Smith, on what she said upon meeting Hunter Mahan, whose hole-in-one at the 2013 BMW Championship earned her an Evans Caddie Scholarship at CU:
“I just wanted to make sure to tell him how grateful I was and let him know how big an impact he made for me. He’s the reason why I’m going to school (on scholarship).”
— As one of three lucky winners of $12,000 pro-am spots in the BMW Championship, Pete Knutson was beside himself with joy at the prospect of playing alongside a PGA Tour professional at Cherry Hills Country Club:
“I’m giddy, just absolutely giddy. My mom said I’d never amount to anything by golfing all the time. Look at me now, mom.”
— Heather Gardens PGA head professional Robert Macaluso:
“I made a joke at one of our PGA meetings:
“Everybody is all about the junior golfers, but I’m over at Heather Gardens where my job is to help the seniors keep playing. They talk about PGA pros and what are you most proud of, and they talk about they shot 66 the other day or ‘I’ve got a large junior program’. I’m most proud of, I’ve got a great staff and a great community that has supported me for 22 years — and we’re keeping these people playing golf into their 90s.”
— Macaluso, noting that comedian Jack Benny always used to say he was 39 years old, regardless of his actual age. With that in mind, whenever 95-year-old Don Meyer would shoot 39 at Heather Gardens, he’d come into the golf shop and say, “Jack Benny today”.
“After he turned 90, and his game (wasn’t as good), we changed it to ‘Senior Jack Benny’, which is (shooting) 49. So now he’ll go ‘Senior Jack Benny’ when he shoots 49.”
— Former CU golfer Luke Symons on undergoing hip surgeries five times since 2009:
“If I knew (the issue) I probably wouldn’t have to keep having them done.”
— Cole Nygren (left) on holing out from 296 yards for a double eagle at the HealthOne Colorado Open:
“It’s the best shot I’ve ever hit definitely. I’ve had a couple of hole-in-ones, but that tops it. It was pretty unbelievable. I’ve never felt anything like it. Rarely do you make better than a hole-in-one.”
— Micah Rudosky on he and his son, Jakob, both making holes-in-one in the same day, and in the same group — both using 8-irons — during a practice round for the Colorado Open:
“When (Jakob’s) went in, it was unbelievable. Then when I made it — that just doesn’t happen. In your group you might have one, but for both of us to have one — and they were both 8-irons … That’s kind of funny. We’ll never forget it.”
— Former CU Evans Scholar Ryan Pellet on the late Jim Moore, a longtime educational director for the Western Golf Association, which administers the scholarship for caddies:
“Nobody has a bad memory about Jim Moore. When I was in the house, he was always called ‘Smiling Jim’. He was the guy who could always get mad at you, but it was OK because you just knew he was guiding you the right way. There’s generations of Scholars that everyone has the same fond memories.”
— Amateur Keith Humerickhouse on facing Colorado PGA professionals in the annual Colorado Cup matches:
“It’s all fun, but when you get out there, it’s like, you don’t want to lose either. It’s that competitiveness that we all love. Camaraderie is awesome, (but) ultimately you want to win. I don’t care who you are.”
— Tom Lawrence, president of the CGA last year when the floods took a huge toll at CommonGround Golf Course, on the course fully reopening in late May:
“It’s like a rebirth.”
— Deb Hughes, whose decisive 18th-hole approach shot in the CWGA Senior Match Play final hit a small green drain cover short of the green, take a huge hop and end up on the green, leading to a tournament-winning birdie putt:
“I’ve never seen such a thing in all my born days.”
— CGA Mid-Amateur Match Play Invitational champ Michael Harrington on why he often enjoys wearing the color purple in competition:
“Since I was a little kid, I’ve always liked it. I remember painting my dad’s station wagon purple with a paint brush one time. He didn’t like that at all.”
— Cody Kent on winning the CGA Match Play title after finishing second twice during his high school years at the 5A state tournament, and also being runner-up in the 2010 CGA Junior Stroke Play:
“I’m tired of second place. It’s been a long time coming. I had a pretty good junior career. It kind of stuck in the back of my head that I didn’t win any junior or men’s CGA championships. That’s something I’ve been wanting to do, so it’s nice to get one.”
— John Elway on shooting a 71 in the first round of the HealthOne Colorado Senior Open in the spring:
“I don’t remember my bad habits yet.”
— Coloradan Jim English, low amateur in the 1959 U.S. Open:
“When you’re around this number of years, you’re going to have a few stories.”
— Colorado resident and 1982 Masters champion Craig Stadler, on being able to compete in the same field with son Kevin at Augusta National (left):
“It’s emotional in a very, very good way. I had envisioned this and knew it would happen some day. I was hoping it would happen some day. I was pretty sure. The rest was up to him. But it was very cool on Saturday evening registering and then walking down and (seeing our) two names next to each other on the scoreboard. That got me a little bit. … If and when I do bow out, I can’t think of a better way to do it than playing with your son in the same tournament. I mean, it’s awesome.”
— Part-time Denver resident Rick Reilly, on Jack Nicklaus winning the Masters in 1986 at age 46, as Reilly was covering the event for the first time:
“That might be the greatest thing I’ve ever witnessed in sports in terms of just sheer ‘slap your own face, spit out your dentures’ amazing.”
— Robin Jervey on leaving the CWGA after a 22-year run as executive director, to handle tournament operations for the Legends Tour:
“I’ve had a lot of tears the last 24 hours. It’ll be very hard to leave. I’m excited for what’s coming, but sad to go.”
— Rory McIlroy, at Cherry Hills for the BMW Championship, talking about the success PGA Tour players in their 20s are having:
“I think it’s great to see that there’s younger guys winning on Tour, and it only bodes well for the future of this game. I’m glad I’m the leader of that pack, and hopefully I’m the leader of the pack for the next 20 years as well.”
— CGA director of junior competitions Eric Wilkinson, on how people reacted when the doors to the Denver Golf Expo first opened and they rushed to the CGA/CWGA Used Club Sale:
“We didn’t open until 10 and some people were waiting in line for an hour. One guy thought another guy was cutting in line, and things started getting physical. They were shoving to get the best spot. It was like the Running of the Bulls.”
