For Verplank, Nelson victory would close lifelong loop  PGATOUR.com Contributor IRVING, Texas -- Scott Verplank remembers the stories. The lessons. The moments. And being 17, cocky and speechless the first time he heard Byron Nelson's voice on the other end of the phone.  Prevailing over a bunched leaderboard Sunday would feel like winning a major, says Scott Verplank. (Steve Grayson/WireImage)
Nelson just called to ask him if he wanted to hit some balls under his watchful eye. Verplank could hardly speak. "I think I was just barely smart enough to say, 'Yes, please,' " Verplank said, drawing a laugh. Some 25 years, an estimated thirtysomething personal notes from Nelson, four wins, two Ryder Cups and a family later, Verplank sat at Las Colinas reflecting on his relationship with Nelson. About Nelson the man and Nelson the golfer. About the rounds he played with him. About what it would mean to win a tournament in the city where he grew up; a tournament with Nelson's name on it. "God, he was one of the finest gentlemen I've ever met in my life,'' Verplank said. "I have the utmost respect for him, and because I'm from here and this tournament has his name on it -- it's a pretty big deal to me. '' Fifth major kind of deal for Verplank, whose third-round 66 left him one shot behind leader Luke Donald and in the final pairing for Sunday's shootout to decide the EDS Byron Nelson Championship. "If I play really well tomorrow, then hopefully I'll have a real shot at winning this tournament,'' Verplank said. "And if I happen to do that, it would probably be the highlight of my career.'' Yes, winning this would be personal. It would be not just his first win since 2001. It would complete the circle Nelson started with that first call. Then again, this has always been a special tournament to win. Just ask Tom Watson, who ran the tables here a few decades ago winning three in a row and four of six. Or Bruce Lietzke and Ben Crenshaw. Fred Couples. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson. Or Payne Stewart, who had his heart broken here a few times before finally winning in 1990 and forging a special relationship with Nelson. And, it's almost always a free-for-all on Sunday afternoon. A kajillion players stacked hip-to-hip on Saturday night. A back-and-forth final round that has gone to a playoff 10 times in the last 21 years. That Verplank put himself in position is huge. He's struggled through three elbow surgeries and a sore shoulder. He's finished second, fourth, fifth and tied for sixth here. He's lost a four-hole playoff. And at 43, he's going head-to-head with Donald, one of the best players yet to win a major. Make no mistake, though. This is no two-man race. Donald was disappointed when he pulled his tee shot at the 17th, hit a disappointing bunker shot and let a shot get away coming in. "I think just giving one back maybe gave a few more people a thought that they might have a good chance tomorrow,'' Donald said after his 67. "But not to worry. I'm looking forward to, again, the challenge.'' And, perhaps, his first win of the year. Provided he can outlast the kajillion. Honestly, there are 15 players within six shots of Donald and nine players within five, including former Nelson champs Mickelson and Vijay Singh. And low scores are out there -- try a pair of 64s, a pair of 66s and a 65 Saturday. The 29-year-old Donald -- he'll be 30 in December -- is coming off a tie for 10th at the Masters and has two other top 10s this season. He's been steady here with rounds of 67-66-67 and he's just about to crack the top 10 in the world. On the other end of the spectrum is Michael Allen. Allen won a playoff for the final spot in the field, is ranked 481st in the world and, at 48, just wants more chances to hone his game. He threw out an early 64 to get to 8 under for the tournament -- two back -- and one ahead of red-hot rookie Ken Duke, who also shot 64. If that's not enough, Mickelson (despite a still-cranky swing) is tied with Duke, Singh, Ian Poulter, Ryuji Imada and Fredrik Jacobsen. And, yes, they'd all like to win. Even if those who didn't know Nelson well. A hush fell over Las Colinas at 3:00 p.m. Central Daylight Time as the tournament came to a halt for one minute and honored Lord Byron once more. Spectators and vendors stopped. Players stood -- clubs in hand -- and watched the flyover. It was a moment to honor a lifetime. A time to look up into the Texas sky and remember a giant of a man. A legendary player. A gracious, generous Southern gentleman who touched more lives than he could ever imagine. A bagpiper ushered in the silent tribute; four F-18s escorted it out. A nice touch was what Donald called it. An appropriate honor for such a man, Verplank said. That phone call -- the only that rendered Verplank speechless -- came during his senior year in high school and led to an amusing moment. "The first time I met him and hit balls we went to Preston Trail, and we got out there on the range and the head pro came running out of the golf shop and says, 'Byron, Byron, Byron, how old is this guy?' '' Verplank recalled. "He's 17,'' Nelson said. "Well, he can't be here,'' the pro said. "You've got to be 21 to be on the grounds out there,'' Verplank said. "He's telling Byron Nelson you've got to leave, and I'm going, 'You've got to be kidding me.' '' They weren't, and so he and Nelson went to Northwood Country Club, hit balls and played 18. "Then he watched me hit some more,'' Verplank said. But one of his favorite stories? How that streak and how the 18 wins felt in 1945? "He would go to the golf course and he won all these tournaments and shot all these low scores and he'd go to the golf tournament, come back to the hotel, and (his first wife) Louise was there and she'd say, 'How did you do?' '' Verplank said. "He'd go, 'Not that good, I shot 66.' She'd go, 'Well, that's great.' He'd go, 'No, I wish I would shoot 80 and get it over with.' I just thought that was really interesting. He said the pressure got -- even back then without a bunch of you guys running around and not much coverage, whatever that is, but he said the pressure that he felt was getting to be unbearable.'' Yes, Nelson was human. Which is why all those notes he wrote to Verplank were so special. "Every one of them was pretty significant to me, to be quite honest with you,'' he said. "He always had encouraging words at good times and bad times, and it always meant a lot to me to get -- whenever the little letters came in the mail, I knew right who they were from, and that was pretty cool. " So would be would be winning the Nelson. Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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