Michael Vlismas in Tulsa golf
On a steamy Monday evening in the week of the 101st United States Open, a man with a strange accent booked into the Doubletree hotel in Tulsa.
“It’s like Goose with an N,” he explained to the check-in clerk, who had never heard of him, nor had any interest in golf.
When he arrived at Southern Hills Country Club, the man went unnoticed amid the obsessive attention surrounding Tiger Woods and his quest to win a record fifth successive major.
In the first round, he had a small gallery walking with him as he went about his business. He was used to that. Even in his home of South Africa, he had always been known as the second-best golfer in the modern era, playing largely in the shadow of Ernie Els.
A 66 for the first-round lead got him slightly more attention, but the man was unconcerned. “It’s only a game, it’s not a life and death situation. There’s still a lot of holes to go before the end of this tournament,” he told the media. By the end of the second round, the man who played most of his golf in that far-off place called Europe was still at the top of the leaderboard, much to the surprise of everyone.
A level par 70 placed him in a tie for the lead at four-under with Mark Brooks and JL Lewis. “Just say it like Goose, but with an N,” he kept telling the American media, who were still shell-shocked by the indifferent performance of their beloved Tiger.
In 36 holes Woods went from the overwhelming favourite to win, to scrambling to make the halfway cut of six-over par. The world number one was not alone, squeezing in by a single stroke along with double US Open champion Els.
At the ninth hole in the third round, the man topped his drive. He unzipped his golf bag, took out a sandwich, and calmly ate while walking to his ball just on the fairway.
He had suddenly become aware of the hordes of people now following him, and publicity was something he had never been comfortable with. “Just keep calm,” he told himself. When he reached his ball, he hit his second shot to 3m, making the putt for birdie.
It set the tone for a back nine of sheer major championship class, and he finished the day at five-under par and still in the lead, but this time sharing it with Stewart Cink.
On the final day, the man had survived challenges from Brooks and Cink, and stood on the 18th green needing a two-foot putt for victory. He missed, entering a play-off with Brooks to be concluded over 18 holes on the Monday.
“I’m obviously not happy with what happened, but I’m not going to jump out of my hotel room window or anything,” he said. “If you’d told me at the beginning of the week that I would have to play 18 holes on Monday for the US Open, then I would’ve said, ‘Great, I’ll take it’.”
The play-off was brutal. Brooks collapsed in a fashion not worthy of a major championship play-off, and the man won by a comfortable two strokes.
And when he took hold of the trophy with the same hands that sank the winning putt, the man announced himself to the world: “Hello, I’m Retief Goosen.”
At the Doubletree Hotel, the check-in clerk was watching the Discovery Channel.