In 2000, Zac Blair managed to get Tiger Woods’s autograph in the Valhalla clubhouse the week Woods won the PGA Championship on his way to holding all four majors concurrently.
Blair’s father, James, a PGA pro, competed in the event but Woods was the player Blair, then nine, idolised. Fifteen years later, Blair realised a dream when he was paired with Woods in Saturday’s third round of the Memorial Tournament, hosted by another golf legend, Jack Nicklaus.
Blair had no idea when he teed off at Muirfield Golf Club that his fantasy pairing would make him a witness to a nightmarish piece of history. With a two-under 70, Blair beat Woods by 15 strokes. Woods’s 85 was his worst score since he turned professional in 1996, eclipsing the 82 he carded in January in the second round of the Phoenix Open.
Woods played the first nine holes in 42 and came back in 43. Including his 40 on his first nine Thursday, Woods has shot worse than 39 in three of his six nines in this event, which he has won five times. He hit seven fairways, three more than Thursday when Woods’s irons and short game helped him grind out a 73. He hit nine greens, one more than Friday when he putted beautifully to salvage a 70 and make the cut on the number. The difference on Saturday was that he struggled in all phases of his game.
Woods’s day was characterised by his play on the par-4 18th. After finding a water hazard off the tee, Woods hit his next shot short of the green, chipped to the false front and watched his ball roll back in the fairway, chipped into a greenside bunker, blasted out and two-putted for an eight. It was the sixth quadruple bogey of his pro career.
“He’s just kind of working through some things,” Blair said of Woods, who declined interview requests. “Obviously it takes some time to work through some swing changes and stuff like that.”
Blair, a 24-year-old rookie, added: “He obviously had a tough day. But he was super-nice, superfriendly, was always willing to talk, and I thought we got along great. It was fun.”
Blair’s father, James, took a red-eye flight from Las Vegas and landed in Cincinnati before dawn on Saturday. He arrived at the course less than 30 minutes before his son’s 8.28am morning tee time. His father said he would not have missed watching his son play alongside Woods for anything.
“The only thing that could have been better is if Tiger had beaten him by one to keep it going,” said Blair’s father, a club pro in Utah.
“Every time I see Tiger I thank him for the wonderful life he’s made for me as a PGA golf professional,” Blair’s father said. “Look at what he did for my son. Just to see the excitement in my son’s eyes with the fist pumps, how many people Tiger energized. I pray every day he gets it back. I’m really pulling for him.” New York Times Service
