Exactly how can you not love Todd Hamilton? The man’s been through the golfing versions of hell, purgatory and the Japanese Tour. He’s fought, lost, dusted off, and started clawing again. And just when you think it’s over, just when Els starts hitting the clutch shots, when the man who went second at Augustaand fourth in the U.S. Open looms over him, the man delivers. The “Any Given Sunday” Rule got put to the test today–and it passed with flying colors.You see, Todd Hamilton is not your average golfer. Wait, yes he is. He’s a hack, he’s one of us. He was missing cuts on the Japanese Tour (only recently found to actually exist). He turned 38 and fathered three without ever earning PGA membership. He finally got a PGA card in December, after eight years of Q-school. That was supposed to be the never-give-up story.
Looks like there’s a new story in town.
Hamilton came into the Brit not looking for anything special. “If you could have told me at the start of the week, ‘We’ll give you second place, you don’t even have to bother showing up,’ I would have probably said, ‘OK’,” said Hamilton afterward. But on a brutal Sunday that saw the top players fall, the big men made small and a 3-hole playoff brawl, Hamilton just hit the right shots. The performance was so shocking that even Hamilton didn’t even realize where he was when he won. He picked up the ball like it was a practice round. Only after a few seconds did he realize where, and now who, he was. 300 winless events will do that to you.
Will there be a repeat at the PGA in August? Probably not. Will Hamilton pull a Ben Curtis? More than likely. Does anyone have a problem with that? No. Here’s a man who was a Japanese kamikaze, then an American Avenger (at least that’s how I took to Andy Roddick’s Wimbledon reception.) Tin Cup, then Claret Jug. A hack’s Horatio Alger.
Somehow, I’m okay with just that.
3 replies on “Who Loves Ya- Baby?”
Extend You need to extend this article, its too short. Get deeper into the story, expand your ideas. Get us in the life of Mr. Hamilton. Right now i could care less about this guy. Make me interested in what this man did. Then i will vote for it.
Todd Hamilton, champion golfer of the year Todd Hamilton’s story is indeed a never give up story, and should be admired as such. His week at The Open reflected his struggle to achieve as a professional golfer. He endured a mediocre first round, pulled himself into position on Friday, vaulted to the lead on Saturday, and held on to win on Sunday. Through it all he followed his game plan; he persevered. Only at the second playoff hole did he deviate by hitting driver instead of the irons he had chosen through the week. He hit it in play, and the decision may have contributed to his playoff victory.
Anyone familiar with professional golf understands the foolishness of dismissing Hamilton as a “loveable bum.” The man has 11 career victories on the asian tour, which is at least as competitive and deep as our AAA tour, the Nationwide. Earlier this year he had his first PGA tour win at the Honda. He is thirty-eight years old, an age when many golfers enter their primes. Anybody remember a certain major champion named Tom Lehman?
To say that this is the last that will hear of Todd Hamilton (or Ben Curtis for that matter) is hasty at best.
Champion of the Year? What about 1-2-3 Lefty? There is something to be said for his calm under pressure (note that I said that too.) However, in the spirit of dropping names, I’ll go with Shaun Micheel, Rich Beem, and yes, Curtis. At this point in time, neither of us is wrong, nor do we have any clue what’s about to happen in the man’s career. The best answer is stay tuned.