TUESDAY, MAY 22, 2018
On Sunday morning, golf lost a World Golf Hall of Famer in Carol Mann, a woman who was widely respected for her respect for the game and concern for others. A winner of two major championships, including the 1965 US Women’s Open, Ms. Mann showed her best stuff when she won 10 times in 1968 and eight more times in 1969 on the LPGA Tour. She later became president of the LPGA and an ambassador for the game among golf and sponsors alike.
In 2007, Ms. Mann told us her story for the Links Players Magazine. Here is an excerpt and a link to the complete article.
In 1998, Payne Stewart lost the U.S. Open.
There really is no other way to put it. He had a four-shot lead going into the final round and he fell apart on the back nine.
It was a tough week for a man who had already held the title once in 1991, but he had been able to get up and down as long as he was missing the greens on the long side. On Sunday, however, he started to miss greens where you can’t miss them, and he gave away his lead. Lee Janzen came from five back to beat Payne by a shot.
After the tournament, when he went to the pressroom for his interview, I was there. At the time, there was probably not too much sympathy for what had happened to Payne, because he was not that popular with the members of the press. They regarded him as arrogant and pompous and a lot of things they were not. Because of this, he had not endeared himself to them. And this day was no different.
The sad part, from my perspective, was that he didn’t seem to get it. He didn’t understand why people weren’t on his side, nor did he seem at all humbled by the whole experience. But I felt sorry for him.
I followed him out of the press area and met him one-on-one. I stopped him and said, “Payne, I just want to give you a hug.”
He let me. Then I said, “Payne, you are going to win soon. You are going to win this tournament soon.”
I don’t know what gave me that impression, but it was there and I said it.
Complete article