Defending champion Denis Watson has vivid memories — both good and bad — of his Boeing Classic victory a year ago.
The bad came first. Watson led by two strokes as he arrived at the 17th hole in the final round, only to plop his tee shot in the water. He ended up with a double-bogey and let several rivals back in the chase for the title.
In fact, seven players went to a playoff, a record for a PGA Tour-sanctioned event. The previous record was six, set at both the 1994 GTE Byron Nelson Classic and the 2001 Nissan Open, both PGA Tour tournaments.
Watson then ran off four consecutive terrific shots to claim his victory. First he chipped in from about 20 feet for a birdie on the first playoff hole — a repeat of No. 18 — to join R.W. Eaks and Craig Stadler on a second playoff hole. The other players were eliminated.
Returning to the 18th tee, Watson reached the par-5 green in two strokes and dropped an 18-foot putt for an eagle and the victory.
“I remember screwing up at 17 and letting everybody back in,” Watson said wryly.
“But then I remember chipping in like it’s yesterday,” he added. “And then making a putt for eagle. Those are pretty great memories.”
Watson, a native of the African nation of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia), is hoping for similar good fortune at this year’s Boeing Classic to turn around an otherwise frustrating 2008. He suffered a knee injury at a Champions Tour tournament in late May and has had trouble getting back in a groove, despite taking several weeks off.
“I’m hitting good shots, but my bad shots have been very poor,” said Watson, who has had balance problems during his swing because of the injury.
Hearing voices
Curtis Strange was a Champions Tour rookie a year ago, so 2007 was his first crack at TPC Snoqualmie Ridge.
It was memorable, but not for the right reasons. Strange didn’t play well, finishing tied for 71st, and his round was marred by a boisterous heckler.
The heckler, it seems, was either a Duke fan or graduate, and started riding Strange, who attended Atlantic Coast Conference-rival Wake forest.
“That’s all part of what we do, unfortunately,” Strange said. “It’s the way of the world, but that wouldn’t keep me away (this year).”
Newcomers
Eight Champions Tour rookies will be playing in their first Boeing Classic this week. They are Sandy Lyle, Jeff Sluman, John Cook, Dan Forsman, Ken Green, Gary Hallberg, Mike Hulbert, Mark Wiebe and Ronnie Black.
Major stars
Lyle and Sluman are two of 10 players in this year’s field with victories in golf’s four major championships. Lyle, from Scotland, won the 1985 British Open and the 1988 Masters. Sluman won the 1988 PGA Championship.
Hale Irwin and Nick Price have the most major wins for players in this year’s Boeing Classic. Irwin won the U.S. Open in 1974, 1979 and 1990. Price, from Zimbabwe, won the PGA Championship in 1992 and 1994, and the British Open in 1994.
The others in the field with major wins are Ben Crenshaw, Fuzzy Zoeller, Mark O’Meara, Scott Simpson, Tom Kite and Wayne Grady.
No-shows
A few familiar faces have dropped out of this year’s tournament. Among them, Oregon’s Peter Jacobsen, who has a hip injury related to his 2006 hip replacement surgery.
Also missing this year will be Bernhard Langer, the tour’s 2008 money leader (family situation) and Stadler (injury).
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