Editor’s note: In the April issue, in the last story Dan Jenkins did for Golf Digest before his death at 90, he introduced our Greatest of All Time Invitational—The GOAT. The top 32 in the mythical event advanced from stroke-play qualifying at Augusta National to match play at venues around the world. In the May issue and online daily from March 20 through April 3, Senior Writer Guy Yocom is documenting the 30 match-play results leading to the final at Pebble Beach. Who will become the champion? The winner will be revealed online April 4 and in the June issue. Screenwriter Mark Frost, whose books have included The Greatest Game Ever Played and The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever, will write two versions of the final with different winners.
Previously: First Round Matches in “The GOAT”
The Round of 16
Phil Mickelson vs. Walter Hagen
Muirfield, Scotland
The fact that both players had won an Open Championship at Muirfield was only the first of their commonalities. Both were free-swinging geniuses, wildly creative, aggressive, prone to erratic driving and masterful on and around the greens. Off the course, they were somewhat the same as well. Both had dabbled in pro baseball and shared a zest for wagering.
Hagen arrived for the match 10 minutes late in an Austro-Daimler limousine, hoping it would unsettle his opponent. But Mickelson one-upped Hagen by buzzing the course in his Gulfstream G650 and out-Haiged him further by showing up 15 minutes late. Officials on loan from the R&A grumbled indignantly—as did local aviation administrators—but the match proceeded close to schedule.
Only two holes on the front nine were halved, with Hagen holding a 1-up lead. Spectators seemed almost disappointed when the pair tied the next four holes, each hitting every green in regulation. Mickelson, carrying two drivers as he had in winning the 2006 Masters, drove daringly at the par-4 15th with his “draw” driver and won the hole with a birdie. Always an underrated middle-iron player, Phil flagged a 6-iron to three feet at the difficult par-3 16th for another birdie to take a 1-up lead.
On the 17th tee, Hagen, in a mild display of gamesmanship, asked Phil for his thoughts on advances in deep-space exploration, but Mickelson responded with silence and blistered a 320-yard drive with his “fade” driver. With the par-5 hole easily within Mickelson’s reach, Hagen gambled with his second and hit his ball against the lip of a greenside bunker. The wonders of the 64-degree sand wedge unknown to Hagen—he later gasped when Phil showed him his—Sir Walter took two shots to escape, handing the match to Phil, 2 and 1.
While enjoying flutes of champagne together post-round, Mickelson, in a typical display of generosity, offered Sir Walter a ride home on his jet, but Hagen demurred, noting he preferred to go by luxury cruise line. Said Hagen: “Don’t hurry, don’t worry, and don’t forget to smell the flowers along the way.”
Mickelson def. Hagen 2 & 1
Arnold Palmer vs. Mickey Wright
Baltusrol (Lower) G.C. Springfield, N.J.
After Wright dispatched Bobby Locke, she no longer was considered a curiosity in the male-dominated field. The specter of her defeating Palmer prompted the media’s battle-of-the-sexes story line to accelerate in earnest. Wright handled the hype with experienced aplomb, declaring, “The golf ball doesn’t know who’s hitting it.” Palmer chose the all-praise route, assessing Wright’s game by saying, “If I had Mickey’s swing, I would have climbed off that tractor three years sooner.” Herbert Warren Wind declared in his New Yorker advance piece that Wright actually had the advantage: She had won the third of her four U.S. Women’s Open titles at Baltusrol in 1961, and Palmer’s loss to Jack Nicklaus at the 1967 U.S. Open there left scars that never fully healed.
Playing from a shorter set of tees—terms Wright reluctantly agreed to—she hit several of her tee shots 20 yards past Palmer’s and took a 2-up lead through 10 holes. The possibility of her defeating The King seemed not only plausible, but likely.
On the 11th tee, the tension building, a Bronx-accented voice from the gallery yelled, “Time to loosen your girdle, Arnie!” Palmer’s face flushed at the remark, and he tore into his tee shot, outdriving Wright this time by 10 yards. Thus began a patented Palmer charge, with birdies at the 11th, 12th and 13th giving him a 1-up lead. Wright didn’t flinch, making solid pars for halves at the next two holes, but Palmer birdies from long range at the 16th and 17th ended the match, 3 and 1.
“If I felt pressure like that every time I played golf,” Palmer said, “I’d climb right back on that tractor for good.”
Palmer def. Wright 3 &1
Ben Hogan vs. Byron Nelson
Whiskey Ranch, Fort Worth
The plan had been for the old Fort Worth rivals to play at Glen Garden Country Club, where they had caddied and learned to play as youngsters. But when they arrived and found some of the 112 acres had been transformed into an outstanding whiskey distillery, teetotaling Byron blanched. Hogan noted skeptically that the course had been altered, its par shortened to 68. But with half of Fort Worth in attendance to see the showdown, Nelson said, “Ben, seeing as you’re here and I’m here, let’s just play.” The Hawk, hungry to avenge his loss to Nelson in a long-ago Glen Garden caddie championship, agreed.
The ball-striking exhibition that ensued was spectacular, even on a course that measured just over 5,000 yards. They each birdied six of the first nine holes, and Nelson provided the match highlight with a hole-in-one at the par-3 seventh. At the turn it was Nelson by 1 up. The small, push-up greens continued to offer little defense on the back nine. On the 12th tee, while waiting for the gallery to clear the fairway, Hogan pointed to a piece of sloped ground in the distance and said, “The older kids used to roll me down that hill in a barrel.” Nelson’s reply—“You won nine majors and 64 tournaments, so apparently it didn’t hurt you much”—seemed to irritate Hogan slightly. He won the 12th to square the match, and a short time later birdied the 15th to take a 1-up lead.
Hogan missed a three-footer for birdie at the 16th, and his supporters swore they noticed the slightest bit of yip in his stroke, but there was no need to worry. Hogan never relinquished his 1-up advantage, matching Nelson’s birdie on the 18th for one of the most satisfying match-play victories of his career. After spending a few minutes with reporters, Hogan declined a celebratory sip of whiskey and instead limped toward the ninth fairway, caddie and shag bag in tow. “Where you going, Ben?” Nelson asked.
“There’s still daylight and time for some practice,” Hogan answered. “I hear that Palmer fella doesn’t lie down for anybody.”
Hogan def. Nelson 1 up
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