Freddie's Alley - Riviera Country Club is well known as "Hogan's Alley" thanks to the success that golf legend Ben Hogan had at the site. But another player dazzled the Riviera fairways and galleries during more recent years. Armed with his laid back attitude, wry smile, and smooth golf swing, Fred Couples hit his peak of popularity in the early to mid 1990's. "Boom Boom" was known for aggressive play, long drives, and for being one of the most affable players around. Freddie won 15 PGA Tour events in his career. Eight of them came between 1990 and 1994, including his only major championship victory at The Masters in 1992. Californians from Pebble to San Diego. and L.A. to Palm Desert seem to have adopted Couples as one of their own. His style and personality just make him feel like one of us. His success at Riviera has made him an absolute crowd favorite, even to this day. Couples has often been quoted as saying that Riviera is one of his very favorite courses. Given his track record, it is easy to see why.
The facts - Couples has twelve top-10 finishes in this event in his career. In 1990, he would fire an 18 under par 266 to win the tournament, besting Gil Morgan and my perennial favorites Peter Jacobsen and Rocco Mediate, who tied for third. His second win at the Nissan came in 1992, beating Davis Love III in a playoff. Amazingly, Fred was also the runner up in 1993, 1994, and 1996, losing to Tom Kite, Corey Pavin, and Craig Stadler, respectively. That means he finished either first or second in five out of seven consecutive years. You simply do not see players with that kind of record on any given course or tournament.
For me, it all started in 1989 at my first Nissan Open. I was there for the final round and got my first glimpse of Couples as he tied for 7th that year. My favorite and most memorable day watching Freddie happened in 1992 during the third round of the tournament. Entering the back-nine, David Love III was at four or five shots ahead of Couples and the rest of the field and appeared to be cruising. On #12, Love opened the door. He hit his drive into the trees on the right of the dogleg-right hole. Trying to reach the green, he nicked a tree branch and his ball fell into the deep barranca that crosses the fairway. My dad, who never cared much for David Love, was tickled when he barely advanced his third shot from the cabbage. He finally escaped the hazard, but came up well short of the green, chipped on, and ended up making a triple bogey. Luckily, we were there to witness the turning point of the whole tournament. One shot behind now, this time it was Couples drove his ball deep into the trees down the right side of #13. It looked like he was in jail but he spotted an alley and moved the gallery out of his way. We stood behind Couples and had a great view of the shot. There was a small window between branches where he could shape his shot and he needed a fade to reach the green. To our amazement, he hit a low, scorching punch-slice that perfectly missed all of the branches and skipped up onto the putting surface. The crowd went bananas and the shot left us with our jaws wide open. Couples went on to shoot a 64 that day, taking the lead from Love on the back nine with birdies at 16 and 17. During the final round, the crowd was clearly rooting for Couples. At the Nissan is very common to hear chants of "Freddie, Freddie, Freddie" and to hear a lot of hooting and hollering after every long drive or holed putt by the man. The event went to a playoff between Love and Couples, which was won by Fred on the second playoff hole. I remember Love commenting after the tournament that he clearly felt that the crowd was against him and that he didn't enjoy the gallery's antics. Welcome to "Freddie's Alley".
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| Freddie at the 18th |
Chasing Kevin Burton - In 1997, I worked for a little place called The Greens at Park Place, a very unique golf concept called a putting course. I was the Golf Manager, and was in charge of running events, managing the front-line staff and basically helping my General Manager with merchandising, sales, the membership, and whatever else he needed me to do. His name was Erik Rogers and he taught me a lot about the golf business. Erik was a very personable guy who loved the game. Before coming to run The Greens, he was a PGA Apprentice at Redhawk Golf Course in Temecula, where he knew a young golfer named Kevin Burton. Kevin was an aspiring tour player, and Erik introduced me to him one day. Kevin is a quiet family man from Idaho, which made him very likable.
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| Burton - 2010 |
In 1997, Erik invited me to go with him to the Nissan on Thursday. Kevin was playing in his third tour event, that year and had kicked us down a couple of "Player Guest' tickets. I had never before known anyone who had played golf on the PGA Tour, so I was quite intrigued by the experience. Our plan was to follow Kevin for 18-holes. Erik wanted to be there for moral support and to see how he would navigate the challenging Riviera track. Erik suspected that Kevin would play well at Riviera. His game was suited for more difficult golf courses because he was a straight hitter, good with his irons, and typically a good putter. He was not the type of player who would go really low on any given day, but he was more likely to play steady and grind out four solid rounds. He had also played in the Nissan Open once before in 1995, finishing in the money as a Monday qualifier.
Kevin teed off at #10 that day and we caught up with him around the 12th green. He was playing with Brett Quigley, nephew of famous Senior Tour player Dana Quigley, and Kelly Manos, who was a local qualifier and professional from Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach. Manos had a few fans in attendance who made the drive from Orange County like we did, but for the most part, we had a front row seat on every hole. Kevin played fairly well, hitting a lot of greens but seemed to have trouble putting. He missed a lot of birdie opportunities throughout the day and his frustration was clear when he acknowledged us for the first time as he walked off of #8. After missing a short birdie putt, he saw us as he proceeded to the 9th tee. He shook his head at us then put his head back down to get back into the game. He hung in there and ended up shooting a 70 on the day, a score that could have been much lower. He ended up making the cut and cashing his first PGA Tour check of the year later that week. It was really cool to watch someone I knew play inside the ropes. Although I was only an acquaintance, I was rooting hard for Kevin to succeed. Living and dying with every shot was tough. I can only imagine what it must feel like for wives or family members when they watch.
This event and the whole season for Kevin made quite an impression on me. Erik would update me basically daily about how Kevin was doing on tour, and it was a struggle. He only made only about 10 cuts and only two of the checks he cashed were over $10,000. His overall earnings that year were $78,534 and he finished 178th on the official money list. Although he lived out a dream by playing a full season on the PGA Tour, he found himself in a difficult position. What a lot of people don't realize is that PGA Tour players pay for their own expenses. Hotels, airfare, and caddies are not free. It costs an awful lot of money just to play in 26 events. For a player like Kevin who didn't have any major sponsors and who didn't make a lot of cuts in his first year, he probably lost money on the year. To make things worse, he was too low on the money list to qualify for the Tour in 1998 and did not finish high enough to even guarantee status on the Nationwide Tour.
Over the years, I have gained a great deal of respect for those guys who are grinding it out year after year and making a living at this game. There are many golf fans who think making the big show is some kind of gold mine, but it takes an awful lot of talent and an awful lot of heart to make it out there year after year. Watching Kevin was a mixture of happiness for seeing a guy live out his dream, but also a lesson. When you work at a golf course, it seems like every day you encounter someone who thinks they are going to make it on the PGA Tour the Senior Tour. What they simply don't know us how elite PGA Tour players are. With Kevin, we're talking about a former California State Open Champion, four time Idaho State Champion, six time Rocky Mountain Section PGA Player of the Year, etc. I always feel like telling them all about Kevin's story.
Luckily, Kevin has prospered in making a life out of golf. He became the head coach of the Boise State golf team in 2005 and has had a lot of success running that program. It couldn't have happened to a better golfer or a nicer guy.
Rooting for the Underdog - Riviera is known for being a true test of golf. If you look at the list of champions over the last thirty years, you will not find many "nobodies". For every Ted Schulz, T.C. Chen, and Kirk Triplett, there are two or three Fred Couples, Phil Mickelsons, and Corey Pavins. In other words, the best of the best seem to win at Riviera. But over the years, my dad and I developed a long list of lovable underdogs who we couldn't resist rooting for.
Rocco Mediate - When I first saw Rocco in 1989, I had never heard of him before. He was a guy who had never won a tournament or finished very high on the money list. My dad and I took an immediate liking to him because he seemed like he was having a great time out there on the course. He seemed very appreciative of the fans, and just looked like a guy you would get paired up with at the first tee of your local course. This isn't the Rocco we know today. He was once a little chunky, and the first time we saw him he looked like he slept in his golf clothes. He was a complete nobody at the time, but his personality just made him impossible not to like. To top it off, Rocco played great at Riviera. from 1990-1994 Rocco had four top-10 finishes including a tie for 3rd in 1990. He has finished in the top 20 eight times in the last 20 years, despite many of those years suffering from a severely injured back.
In 1999, a very similar situation took place. Estes again found himself in the final pairing of the day on Saturday, this time playing with Ernie Els and Davis Love III. Els was at the peak of his popularity in 1999, having already won the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997. Love also had a strong following at the time due to his PGA Championship win in 1997 and previously strong record on the tour. Estes held a one shot lead starting the day but a number of players passed him with low rounds. Els and Love both shot a 68, Tiger Woods shot a 65, and Ted Tryba's magical 61 dusted Estes and his 72 on the day. After a long day of not playing particularly well, Bob came to the 18th tee looking tired and somewhat dejected. Once again, there we were, feeling sorry for him, feeling that he deserved better, and we let him know we were there. Els teed off to a lot of cheers and applause. Love, who was known for being a long hitter, launched one to the delight of the crowd. Estes stepped up and hit third, playing modestly to the middle of the fairway. Other than a courteous golf clap from the patrons, there was virtual silence, except for two guys. "Atta Boy, Bob!" - "Nice Shot Bobbayy!". We got a lot of funny looks that day from people who weren't sure why we were rooting so hard for the unheralded Bob Estes. The answer is simple, we love rooting for the underdog. Els wound up winning that year and Bob finished 7th. If I ever see him again, I will root for him all the same.
A Few Other Likable Underdogs - Phil Blackmar. How can you not love a 6'7" professional golfer? Big Phil was always easy to spot lurching around the green like Herman Munster, and we loved seeing a big guy like us out there. Duffy Waldorf was famous for his ugly multi-colored hats but he also lived in my home town of Santa Clarita and played a lot of golf at Valencia CC. Bob Burns was an up and coming professional when we both worked at Valencia CC when I was a high school kid. Watching him inside the ropes was always a treat for me. Before he made the tour, he once lent me his golf cart and a towel when my idiot friend hit me in the head with his putter, opening a bloody gash behind my left ear, but that's a story for another time. There always seemed to be random Japanese players in the field every year. We took a liking to Yoshinori Kaneko. He always seemed to be very intense on the course and a group of a dozen photographers would follow him wherever he would go. He actually finished 3rd in 1992. We liked Omar Uresti just because of his name, and I never met a golf fan who wasn't intrigued at least a little by TC "Two-Chip" Chen.
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| Bob Burns |
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| Phil Blackmar |
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