Woods: Olympics, Cog Hill perfect for each other
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Count Tiger Woods among those who not only approve of the changes on Cog Hill's difficult Dubsdread course, but among those who see it as a potential site for the U.S. Open – and the Olympics, if Chicago wins that prize for 2016.
"I think it would be great, and I think you would have to have it on a public venue," Woods said. "I don't think you could have it on a country club. I think it would have to be a public venue, just because of the nature of what the Olympics is all about. Certainly, this golf course is a stand-alone among public venues in the Chicago area.
"I don't know another (public) golf course that could rival this one as far as difficulty."
Tim Finchem, the PGA Tour's commissioner, is also in the Chicago Olympics camp.
"We could play golf in the Olympics in 2016 in any of these cities, but Chicago has the best golf, probably, of any city in the world," Finchem said. "This isn't a bad place right here at Cog Hill. But there are so many great courses in Chicago, it'll be good to have a couple of years to decide where to play."
The governing body of Olympic golf would be the international federation that includes the United States Golf Association, Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, and the various pro tours, including the PGA Tour, LPGA and European PGA Tour. The Chicago Olympic organizing committee would have a great deal to say about it.
Cog Hill and Olympia Fields have shown great interest, Medinah is expected to be interested, and Conway Farms, the club in Lake Forest which recently hosted the Western Amateur, also wants to host. The first three places are far more likely, and, from successful fundraisers for World Sport Chicago the last three years, Olympia Fields probably has the inside track.
As for the Open, Woods said he thought Dubsdread could host the USGA's big party.
"It depends on how they set it up, though," Woods said. "If you get the rough up, fairways would certainly be narrowed. I can certainly see them hosting one here, but you have to get the right conditions, or guys would be posting some pretty good scores here."
Verplank recalls the magic of 1985
Scott Verplank was still a student at Oklahoma State when he won the 1985 Western Open as an amateur. Even now, he has fond memories of that amazing week at Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook.
"What a great experience," he said of beating the best players in the world, including, in a sudden-death playoff, Jim Thorpe. "It was pretty out of the blue. And it's kind of a shock, regardless of who you are.
"It would be like an amateur kid coming out and winning one of these playoff events," Verplank continued. "That's the field the Western Open drew."
Verplank wasn't just another token amateur in the field. He had won the U.S. Amateur the year before, and came into the Western the winner of his previous three tournaments, including the Western Amateur, and, the week before, the Porter Cup. On top of that, the day before the Western Open began, on the final day that Medinah Country Club's No. 3 Course was played as a par 71, Verplank went out with Bill Shean and posted a course record 65, birdieing the first four holes.
"Looking back, I should have known," Verplank said. "I had a 10-shot lead at the Porter Cup with four holes to go, got bored and bogeyed the last four to win by six. I should have said, 'I need to move on (and turn pro).' So then I come here and win the tournament.
"If I could have advised myself, I probably would have turned pro. But I don't regret that, because I went back to college and had a great time, graduated and accomplished goals I'd set for myself. It (turning pro) was a half-million dollar deal, not a $50 million deal. If it was today, if somebody did what I did 24 years ago, he'd be hitting the jackpot."
Verplank's done all right as a pro. He's 13th on the regular PGA Tour career money list, with $24,353,656. That $90,000 that went into Thorpe's pocket for "low pro" honors isn't even missed.
Around Dubsdread
Paul Casey withdrew with a rib injury, leaving the field at 69 players. It's the third year in three that the full 70 players will not be in the championship. Last year, Woods was MIA because of his wounded knee, while in 2007, four players, including Padraig Harrington and Phil Mickelson, were not at Cog Hill. … Along with Stan Mikita, WGN Radio's Steve Cochran and Auto Show PR maven and radio host Paul Brian, owner of one of Chicago's great voices, were in the pro-am field. So was golf architect Rees Jones, who refurbished Dubsdread. Said Jones, "The course won."
– Tim Cronin