In golf, as with other sports, many people talk a good game.
Though that talk can indeed be cheap, sometimes the words are worth remembering. With that in mind, we collected some of the most memorable quotes from the year 2009 in Colorado golf.
John Douma, who birdied nine of his last 10 holes in the HealthOne Colorado Open, on still losing by four strokes to Derek Tolan (pictured), whose 22-under-par total was a tournament record by five shots:
“It was like chasing a bullet.”
Fort Collins resident Skip Manning, who donated Arnold Palmer’s visor from the 1960 U.S. Open at Cherry Hills to the USGA museum:
“With all I’ve done in golf, and all golf has done for me, (potentially selling the visor) would cheapen the whole experience. “¦ It has honor where it is.”
Seventy-three-year-old Castle Rock resident Dale Douglass, winner of 11 tournaments on the Champions Tour and three on the PGA Tour, in noting that the 2010 Senior PGA Championship at Colorado Golf Club in Parker likely will be the final Champions tournament of his career:
“I think I need to get the hook.”
After Colorado Golf Hall of Famer Myran Craig passed away at age 80, former Colorado Open executive director Ronn Spargur remembered Craig’s humble beginnings as a player:
“I used to tease him that he only turned pro after winning the (fifth) flight of the Colorado Open (in 1967), but it was true.”
PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem on University of Colorado graduate Hale Irwin being named the 2009 Ambassador of Golf:
“Hale is the ultimate example of all that is good in the game of golf.”
Cherry Hills Village resident — and former No. 1-ranked player in the world — David Duval, after finishing second in the U.S. Open, his best showing on the PGA Tour since 2001:
“I stand before you certainly happy with how I played, but extremely disappointed in the outcome. I had no question in my mind that I was going to win the golf tournament today.”
Steve Kerr, the new owner of Colorado National Golf Club in Erie, on Steve Jones, his former golf teammate at the University of Colorado (the 1996 U.S. Open champion was a freshman at CU when Kerr was a senior):
“Jones said I taught him how to drink. Actually, I think I just taught him the difference between 3.2 and regular beer.”
When the CGA and CWGA were looking for a director of golf for their new CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora, they sent each of the finalists a list of four concise questions. Dave Troyer, who would later get the job, on responding with 14 pages worth of answers:
“I figured they’d say either that he knows what he’s talking about, or that he’s crazy.”
Jim Bunch of Denver, chairman of the USGA’s Rules of Golf Committee, on serving as a rules official at major championships:
“It’s long periods of inaction interrupted by moments of sheer panic.”
Derek Tolan, on how he and Pat Grady needled each other during their senior season on the CU golf team:
“We both grab all we can to rub in each other’s face.”
Then-CGA president Bill Fowler, on the 13-years-in-the-making CommonGround Golf Course, which is located partly in Denver and partly in Aurora, and also fell under the jurisdiction of the Lowry Redevelopment Authority:
“I think we found a new Olympic sport: synchronized bureaucracy.”
Erin Houtsma, on making the 36-hole cut at the HealthOne Colorado Women’s Open despite being 6½ months pregnant:
“I don’t want to tell my son, “˜I played while I was pregnant with you, but I missed the cut.’ My goal is to make the cut and not hurt myself.”
Arnold Palmer, who drove the green at the par-4 first hole at Cherry Hills en route to winning the 1960 U.S. Open, speaking to the college-age contestants in the Palmer Cup that was played at the club:
“I’m going to be on the first hole, and the first guy that pulls out a 1-iron, 2-iron or 3-wood, I’m going to run out there and hand him his driver.”
Broomfield’s Steve Ziegler, after driving the first green at Cherry Hills during the Palmer Cup while Palmer himself was watching:
“Like that?” Ziegler said to Palmer.
Tom Watson, who received the Will Nicholson Award in Denver, on his inspiration for becoming a good junior player:
“I wanted to see my name in the paper. That was cool.”
Runner-up Benjamin Krueger, after watching Wyndham Clark of Greenwood Village win the CGA Junior Stroke Play by 11 shots:
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he turned pro before he got out of high school.”
Steven Moore of Greenwood Village, when he and Kent Moore won the CGA Father-Son title shortly after sister Sarah and mother Janet combined to claim the CWGA Mashie championship:
“There was some pressure since (Janet and Sarah) had won theirs first. We didn’t want them to have all the fun.”
Derek Tolan, on dressing in a Bronco orange shirt for one of the rounds of the HealthOne Colorado Open:
“It was at the top of my laundry.”
Chris Raap of Highlands Ranch, after skipping a day of school to play in — and win — the CJGA Junior Series Championship for the 10-and-under age group:
“I don’t care if I miss school.”
Broomfield’s Steve Ziegler, on becoming the first player since Brandt Jobe in 1985 to win the CGA Match Play and Stroke Play championships in the same year:
“I’ve never done anything grander than this.”
Dan O’Shaughnessy, head professional at Fitzsimons Golf Course in Aurora, on his unexpected victory at the FCA Denver Open:
“This came out of nowhere. I’m sure if you asked any of the other players, they would say, “˜O’Shaughnessy won?'”
Greeley’s Kim Eaton, on becoming the first player in history to win CWGA championships at the junior, open-age, and senior levels:
“That’s been one of my goals for a number of years. Usually no one stays around long enough (to complete the cycle).”
Fellow competitor Rick DeWitt, on Bill Loeffler adding a HealthOne Colorado Senior Open title to his three victories in the Colorado Open:
“Billy’s a winner. When he wants to win, he wins.”
Robert Polk of Parker, on becoming just the fourth individual to win the CGA Senior Match Play and Senior Stroke Play in the same year, joining John Olive, John Golden and Larry Eaton:
“That’s some very good company. Anytime you’re mentioned in the same breath as people like that, it’s pretty tall cotton.”
Hawaiian phenom Kimberly Kim, on playing in very cold Colorado conditions — and even a little snow — in her first competitive round for the University of Denver women’s golf team:
“That’s the coldest I’ve ever played in. I didn’t know what to think. That wasn’t golf, that was survival.”
Former Coloradan Steve Jones, winner of a U.S. Open and seven other PGA Tour events, on interviewing Jack Nicklaus for 33 minutes on Jones’ new radio show in Phoenix:
“I am speechless. That is so cool. I can’t even imagine interviewing Jack Nicklaus. I never thought about it.”
Former Colorado State golfer Martin Laird, on how he was going to celebrate after his first victory on the PGA Tour:
“It’s going to be big. I’m sure I will have a headache for a few days.”
