American PGA
If you tuned in to the PGA Championship this week, you’re sure to hear at least a few references to Shaun Micheel. That’s because the tournament is back at Oak Hill, Donald Ross’s Western New York masterpiece where Michel won 20 years ago – then ranked 164th in the world – with a two-stroke victory over Chad Campbell.
Michel, who had finished his previous six starts before that week T60-T24-10-MC-MC-MC, was shortlisted for the win in Rochester. Not even his own. “I really can’t believe this happened to me,” he said on Sunday night in 2003. “I came here on a Tuesday to play a practice round and saw how tough this golf course is. And after last week, I’ve been trying to make the cut. I know that sounds pretty simple, but In fact, that was my main goal, and I probably would have been glad to do so.”
But then he realized that the course was too tough for everyone else, too. If he can keep his ball in play and avoid big numbers, he might have a chance. A blazing hot bat didn’t hurt the cause. “I’ve made more kicks this week than I’ve really remembered in a long time,” he said. This formula—combined with one of the most close-putting 72-hole shots ever, a 7-iron from 162 yards to advantage range—provided Michel not only his first title, but also his first win on the PGA Tour. The new hero described his new situation as exciting and terrifying at the same time.
After his victory, he said, “I think the fear of the unknown scares us all, and I certainly had that day.” “Even though I’m a PGA Champion, I don’t know what’s in store, I really don’t. I hope I get some guidance.”
It’s strange looking back on those notes nearly two decades later, because when you listen to Michelle speak today, his antics on a Sunday evening in Oak Hill were clearly present. He had every reason to fear what was to come, as he had no idea how to handle his newfound success. When you win a major, you might get a shiny trophy and a seven-figure check, but you don’t get a guide.
Michel is back on the court at Oak Hill this week, and he’s a less competitive threat than he was in 2003. He’s now 54 and has missed the cut in his last 11 PGA appearances. Michel had shoulder surgery in 2008. He lost his full-time touring status in 2011, and three years later required heart surgery. His son, Dad, who wasn’t born when Michelle won the PGA, is now a freshman. “A lot of my life has really changed,” Michel said Monday. “We all kind of went through things. There was good golf, some bad golf, losing my parents. There was a lot of stuff.”
Michelle could have left her there, but he didn’t. When asked what an unexpected breakthrough in a major could do to a player’s psyche, he spoke in great detail about the downside to his PGA success.
“When I won that as a first, like I said, I was still in the process of learning to play top-level golf. I went from being on tour to, well, I held my card for a few years, I was in competition, I blew up some tournaments. It’s about time.” Now to get into the competition and start competing. That’s just the process that I felt you had to go through. Then when I won one, when I won here, I didn’t know what to do with myself. I was like, How in the world can I surpass what I’ve just accomplished?
“I think the way I won, kind of the moment out, is like, What do I do. I struggled because it was the last major. I had a long time between the PGA and the Masters. There was a lot of interest in me and my story, my family, the birth of Dade. months. There were so many things that shocked me at once.”
All players deal with these feelings to some degree after climbing to the top of the game, but some are better equipped than others to deal with the white-hot burn of the spotlight.
“My personality isn’t like that — I don’t like being the center of attention in anything,” Michelle continued. “It just changed the way — I like to just play golf, and if I can play invisible there, that’s better for me. I didn’t enjoy the commentary, some of the stuff I heard afterward. Many writers wrote a lot of stuff, and I thought, well, this isn’t What I really want to happen.
“I just won a golf tournament. I didn’t do anything special. It took me personally a long time to get through some things, and to some extent 20 years later I still struggle with that. I think every player wants to feel like they belong in a trophy. I’d just like to I say I think the guys who got that trophy, they played for their place in the game, their legacy, and I think I played to keep my job. I think that’s really unfortunate. I look back, and I’m like, That’s exactly how I played. I played like Every shot was life or death and every round and every year whether I was exempt or not. That seemed to be what I was playing for.”
If you think Michelle may have benefited from a mental games specialist, you’re not alone.
“I really regret not asking some advice from, say, Dr. Rotella or anyone else,” Michel said of the famous sports psychologist Bob Rotella, who has written several books on golf. “I made a lot of mistakes. This is one of them.”
Once upon a time, Michel was just another under-the-radar professional, struggling to make the cuts and provide for his young family; The next day, his name was on a silver cup stacked several stories high next to those of Woods, Nicklaus, Snead, and Hagen. Over 72 holes in the bruising spot, Michel proved he belonged. But he still didn’t Feel Like it belongs. In his mind, it was as if he had pulled off a quick goal in the golf world, and now he needed to figure out how to continue the charade.
“I tried to justify the name on the cup,” he said. “I’ve tried to do that with my kids. They push me out and encourage me to play. But when you win and then your expectations change and you become, like I say, perfectionist-driven, that’s my undoing. I gave up some of the things I used to do well, and that was time management.” Training and playing with a group of people, and training rounds.I went to TPC Southwind [in Memphis]Next thing I knew I had a video camera and an alignment bar, which I did for five hours every day, and then I got hurt in 2007 and had to have shoulder surgery and missed almost a year.
“I look in the mirror and have it all. I look back, it’s amazing what you kind of learn as an older person, and you’re like, Julie, if I could rewind. Who knows if it would be different. But I’ve done some things I’ll never do again.” “.