Golf : Lemmon, a Veteran of 25 Pro-Ams, Says the First Was Most Memorable

The pros on the PGA Tour can recall in detail the eagles and birdies they’ve made on a particular hole here in the AT&T; National Pro-Am.

Other memories aren’t as fond, but they relate more to the average golfer.

Take actor Jack Lemmon, for example. This was his 25th tournament, and he has now missed the cut for the 25th time. He said his first one is the most memorable.

“After I played here for the first time, they asked me back for comedy relief,” Lemmon said.

“It all started on the 14th hole at Pebble, a par-5, when the TV cameras came up on me. From the time I saw the cameras I averaged 10 or 11 shots per hole, including the 17th, a par 3. With 2 in the ocean, I was a little cranked up.

“My wife had a 16-millimeter film of me on those last 5 holes. It was 5 minutes long. They couldn’t believe what was going on.

“When I reached what should have been my second shot on the par-5, I came into view of the cameras. As I remember, the announcer commented, ‘Jack Lemmon is lining up for his second shot. Pardon, it’s not his second shot. It’s his fifth shot.’ So I was 5 at the corner.

“I finally chipped up for my ninth shot. The ball came back 10 feet behind me. Afterward, I got a telegram from Paul Hahn, the trick-shot artist, that read: ‘Impossible.’

“When I finally got onto the green, I was lying about 13 then. I had a 35-foot putt left and I was trying to sink it for a 14. And I asked my caddie, ‘Which way does it break?’, and he said, ‘Who cares?’

“Yes, I do remember my first tournament here.”

Wait, there’s more.

Asked about his most unusual experience here, Lemmon said:

“It was on the par-5 sixth at Cypress and it was raining. I hit my second or third shot into the slop and had about 60 yards to the green. The ball was sitting in mud.

“So I said to myself, ‘I’ll just hit a sand wedge and hit behind it, just like a trap shot.’

“I hit behind the ball about an inch or two, nice and easy. The mud stuck to the club and the ball stuck to the mud. When I stopped the club, the ball went behind me about 15 or 20 yards.

“I thought I had a lost ball. That’s a trick shot. It’s not easy to do.

“Then I hit the next one into a trap. The club kept getting shorter and shorter while I was in the trap. I realized I was sinking in the trap, so I hit it real quick.

“It flew over to the other side of the green. My caddie pulled me out (quicksand?) with a club and I left my right shoe in the trap. It’s pouring rain and we can’t find the shoe. I finished the round in a sock.”

The shoe, trivia buffs, has never been found.

Jack Nicklaus, who at 49 is a distinguished senior citizen on the tour, shared some of his thoughts on the game recently.

On modern equipment, which he feels has made the top golfers equal: “If we had the same exact equipment we had 15 years ago, I think we’d have a couple of real dominant players now.

“To me, a dominant player is one who can win when he’s not on his game. Seve Ballesteros and Greg Norman would fit that.”

On the United States’ best player: “Curtis Strange dominates with his consistency. He doesn’t dominate in any one phase of the game, so he has to be sharp in every area.”

On big purses, more tournaments and the temptation to play every week: “I always felt that in golf, you have to prepare yourself to peak at the right time. That’s hard to do when you play every week.”

Nicklaus, who has been plagued by back problems, is now doing stretching exercises recommended by Pete Egoscue of San Diego.

Nicklaus refers to Egoscue as an “anatomical therapist” and was urged by pro Phil Rodgers to see him.

“If I do the exercises properly, I should get better and better,” Nicklaus said. “I should be able to play pretty good golf by April.

“There will be days when I’ll get stiff, but I’ll have some good days and that’s important.”

Nicklaus said the stretching exercises allow his back and hips to rotate in a normal position.

“My hips hurt me on the last part of the rounds because I’m using them, which I haven’t been able to do in years,” he said. “I’m finding myself in positions on the golf swing that I haven’t been in for a long time. It’s like using muscles you haven’t used for years.”

Golf Notes

For most hackers, a hole in one is an unexpected bonus. Now, Southern California-area golfers can actually try for a hole in one in a tournament sponsored by the American Golf Corp. It’s a 3-phase, prize-winning competition with the first round starting Wednesday. Golfers will get 12 chances to hit a ball into a pool of water from 75 yards. Those who succeed will advance to the next round March 4 for the nearest-to-the-pin competition. The field will then be pared to 20 finalists March 11 at the David L. Baker course in Fountain Valley.

In addition to a nearest-to-the-pin shoot-out from 75 yards, the finalists will get 1 shot at a hole-in-one from 150 yards, worth $1 million. In case of ties--what are the odds?--the prize money will be split. Courses serving as sites for the competition in Los Angeles and Orange Counties are Arcadia, Brookside, Camarillo Springs, David L. Baker, El Dorado, Fullerton, Heartwell, La Mirada, Meadowlark, Rancho San Joaquin, Skylinks, Recreation Park, Vista Valencia, Westchester and Westlake Village.

Nine former champions are in the field for the Nissan Los Angeles Open that begins Thursday at Riviera Country Club. They are Chip Beck, 1988; Doug Tewell, 1986; Lanny Wadkins, 1979 and ‘85; David Edwards, 1984; Johnny Miller, 1981; Tom Purtzer, 1977; Pat Fitzsimmons, 1975; Dave Stockton, 1974, and George Archer, 1972. The tournament will also include 9 of the top 10 money winners last year: Curtis Strange, Beck, Ken Green, Tom Kite, Mark Calcavecchia, Sandy Lyle, Ben Crenshaw, David Frost and Wadkins.

Lee Trevino, who will be eligible for the Senior PGA tour next December, told Golf Digest that he can’t wait to be a rookie again. “I knew I was on the wrong tour when I tried to bum a cigarette in the locker room at the 1987 U.S. Open at Olympic. There were 25 pros in the locker room and none of them smoked. I knew my time had gone by.”

Peter Jacobsen has formed a musical group called Jake Trout and the Flounders. Jacobsen sings, while pros Mark Lye and Payne Stewart back him up on the guitar and harmonica. Two professional musicians are also in the group. . . . The LPGA and Jamaica’s Department of Mining, Energy and Tourism will sponsor the Jamaica LPGA Series, which will offer $500,000 in bonuses during the women’s golf tour this year. The player with the most bonus points will win $150,000.

Can any octogenarian top this? Walter Keller, the golf and tennis store proprietor, has just turned 80 and has a 5 handicap at Riviera. . . . The 39th annual Golf Course Superintendents Assn. of America tournament will be held Feb. 6-7 at 4 courses in the Palm Springs area. . . . The Frank Sinatra Celebrity Invitational tournament is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at the Palm Springs Country Club.