GWD_MAY_16

IAN WOOSNAM
bogey. But I remember Tom standing on
the 18th tee for ages. The wind was
helping a bit. I couldn’t believe it when he
pulled out his 3-wood. That was the
wrong club. For me, you either hit a driver
past the bunkers on the left, or you hit a
2-iron short of them. But with a 3-wood,
Tom had to shape his shot from left-toright
to avoid the sand. He overdid it and
found the trees on the right.
That didn’t make any difference to me
as it happens. I knew what my strategy
was going to be. I was going to rip it as
hard as I could up the left with my driver.
Although I was aiming down the
middle, with the wind off the right I knew
the ball would likely move to the left.
So I wanted to take the bunkers out of
play. Okay, I was trying to hit a straighter
shot. But I knew if I pulled it the ball
would fly the trap.
Once it did that it could only kick to
the left into an open area. Besides, I had
practised that shot earlier in the week.
I knew exactly what I was doing. The rest
of the world was down that left side.
The only problem I then had was all
the people sitting in their bloody chairs by
the green. I didn’t realise that people who
put their chairs down in the morning
retain the right to leave them there for the
day, even when they are somewhere else.
By that time you knew Ollie had taken
five?
Yes. And that Tom was in trouble. I was
on the fringe when he played from the
sand. I was nervous watching him. He hit
it a little thin and the ball landed right by
the hole and scooted to the back of the
green. When it landed, I remember
thinking, “Bloody hell. Thank God for
that.” So now I had to putt across the
fringe.
I should have chipped it really. But the
way the grass was cut – towards me –
I could see myself stubbing a chip. So
I putted it. The grain was into and rightto-left.
So was the slope, at least to start
with. Then the ball would break left-toright
after it got past the tier in the green.
My plan was to aim it straight, knowing
that the ball would go left then right on
the way to the hole. But when I hit the ball
it went straight over the fringe and wasn’t
affected by the grain. So it went at the flag
to start with, then broke to the right. It
finished about eight feet away.
Okay, what are you thinking at that
point?
I expected Watson to hole his putt. But he
charged it past, maybe four feet.
Which left me with a putt to win the
Masters, the sort of moment you dream
MY MAJOR
REGRETS
Why one major was scant
reward for Woosie’s talents.
“I think one major victory, relative
to par, would have to be
considered over par for me. I felt
like I had three or four in me.
I just didn’t have it in me, though.
I’ve never putted that well on
seaside greens, for example. If I’d
been more consistent on the
greens I would have won a lot
more. But I never putted well
enough. Actually that’s not quite
true. When I did putt well, I nearly
always won.
But I do have regrets. I can’t tell
you how often I missed four-foot
putts in an Open, then lost by only
a few shots. I’ll always be linked
with the extra club in my bag in the
2001 Open, and that pisses me off.
There was a guy at Augusta who
kept going on about it. I had to get
security to take him away. It hurts
that much. Then, when the Open
went back to Lytham in 2012, the
wounds were opened again.
THEY WERE CHEERING BECAUSE IT HAD GONE INTO THE WATER’
So I can understand why it took a while
to get them all organised.
But it did turn into a bit of a farce.
Where were the marshals to get them out
of the way? No one was bothering.
How long was it before you could hit
your shot?
It felt like about 20 minutes. It wasn’t far
off. I asked Wobbly (caddie Phil Morbey)
how far I had. He said, “I think it’s about
147 to the front. That’s the best I can do.”
So I had to play over all the chairs and
everything. Which was hard after such a
long wait. I just wanted to get on with it.
Tom had come out of the trees and
found a bunker.
In the end, I just took a club and
hit it. I couldn’t see it finish because
of the crowd in the way.
I actually didn’t quite catch it.
I missed it a little and it came
up just short of the green.
RIGHT: All smiles in his new
jacket, the most coveted piece
of cloth in sport.
about all your life. I used to stand on the
practice green at home thinking I was
Gary Player with “This to win the Open”.
I saw the line right away, slightly rightto-left.
But I was still looking for
something to take the pressure off me
a bit. Then it occurred to me, even if
I missed I was still going to be in a playoff.
That helped. I was looking for
relaxation and I found it in that thought.
Anyway, I put a good stroke on it. The
tension didn’t get to me.
Your reaction was pretty animated. Can
you remember what was going through
your head?
It was just “I’ve done it. I’ve done it.”
Suddenly I had achieved everything
I wanted to achieve in golf. From
driving around tournaments in an
old camper van to winning
the Masters at Augusta
National in a little over a
decade, I’d climbed that
mountain to the very
top. And it felt
incredible.
But it obviously wasn’t to be.
That, 2001, was easily the biggest
low of my career, by far.
I guess the other contributing
factor to why I didn’t win more
majors was that I began to change
my game. I began to piddle around
with my swing, because that is
what was in fashion at the time. It
worked for Nick Faldo but it wasn’t
me. That’s what ruined me really.
Not winning any more majors
bothers me, but overall I’ve had a
good career and I’m proud of
Augusta and I’m proud of the fact
that I got to number one before I
won a major. You have to play
some good golf to do that.”
May 2016 Golf World 45