Lee Janzen - Part 3 (The 1998 U.S. Open)

Mike Gonzalez 0:15

I'm not sure there's an Arnold Palmer today. Is there? You know, the guy that looks after uh decorum and behavior and how you need to present yourself to the public on the on the PGA tour.

Lee Janzen 0:27

No, I I don't I don't think we have an Arnold Palmer. Um, you know, Jack always behaved pretty well too. Uh good sport. So gracious when he didn't win. Um, but we all should take those lessons and carry those on and pass them on to the next generation.

Mike Gonzalez 0:44

Yeah, no question. So this win at the 1993 U.S. Open uh uh was instrumental in getting you into your first Ryder Cup at the end of that year. Uh we're going to the Belfry where Tom Watson and Bernard Gallagher were uh the captains. You were the youngest player at the time at age 29. How was that experience?

Lee Janzen 1:04

Yeah, how about that?

Mike Gonzalez 1:05

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 1:06

Um yeah, we had a veteran team. Um I didn't play a ton after the U.S. Open. Um I'd played 19 tournaments up to the U.S. Open, which was a lot through June, and then played a handful of time the rest of the year. So I probably wasn't in as good a form as I should have been. And my son was going to be born about a month later. Um, as it turns out, I was the only one there without a spouse because of that. Um being the youngest and quiet, um with introvert personality, or some people call it shy. So um, which is fine. That's you know, I I do not have to be the center of attention ever. Uh but the Ryder Cup was definitely what an experience. Um being in the room with the guys just the the whole week, the conversations um so and the and just the crowds uh playing in enemy territories you can you can say. Uh yeah, because they're not pulling for you. No, they're not. No, no, they have their own little way of uh digging you. You're like, hey, mind the water on the right. You know, yeah. Oh, by the way, uh, in case you hadn't noticed, don't forget about the water on the left. This whole uh so what an experience I I learned so much. And um Landy Watkins did something that uh I've told many times. So he was a pick, Raymond Floyd was a pick. Um the first two days, I played once, John Cook played once. Um Sam Torrance went in the envelope with an ingrown toenail, couldn't play. So that means we have to put somebody in the envelope. And this is after the matches are already determined. Um Lanny Watkins, undefeated in singles play, match play, hears me and John Cook talking about which one of us is gonna go in the envelope because we've only played one match up to now, anyway. Goes straight to Tom Watson and says, You put me in the envelope. I was a pick, you let those guys play.

Bruce Devlin 3:10

Oh my gosh.

Lee Janzen 3:11

And this is for the writer cup, which is a big deal.

Bruce Devlin 3:14

It's a very big deal.

Lee Janzen 3:15

Yeah. And he drew Savvy Ballisteros and he would have beaten him. Um Jim Gallagher ended up playing him and he beat him. Um Savvy with Jose was very formidable, but Sevy on his own was not quite the same anymore at that stage.

SPEAKER_03 3:32

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 3:32

But still, it's Sevy Ballisteros. You know, just the legend of them is enough. You gotta play him. Um, I lost my match on 18 to Colin Montgomery, one down. Well, he won he buried 17. I had a chance to tie the match on 18, but it went to 18. And then John Cook, I think, won his match. So it turns out uh Landy's move was you know, I always remember that he did that, but and it did not cost us the Ryder Cup either.

Mike Gonzalez 3:57

Yeah. Well, you look back on that experience, there were 13 Hall of Famers on those two. Amazing.

Lee Janzen 4:03

Yeah, it'd be interesting to find out how many Hall of Famers, what which Rider Cup has had the most Hall of Famers?

Mike Gonzalez 4:09

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 4:09

Maybe the 81 team, they were pretty stacked.

Mike Gonzalez 4:13

Yeah, I I probably have that in my notes somewhere. It comes up occasionally. I'll always go back and check. Uh that was a pretty strong team, but uh, I don't remember. But uh uh anyway, that that had to be uh one of the highlights of your career looking back on that first big team competition representing the US.

Lee Janzen 4:31

Yep, just the family room or well, the team room, eating eating all of our meals together and hanging out at night. You know, there's it functions every night. You got to get dressed up for everything, and uh there's not a lot of free time, but we cherish the free time that we did have.

Mike Gonzalez 4:48

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, let's go on to the next uh tour victory, which came the following year. And Bruce, one thing I'm noticing as you go through Lee's record, he won on some pretty good golf courses.

Bruce Devlin 4:58

He sure as heck did, didn't he? Yeah. Westchester Country Club the next year wins by three over Ernie Ells. And boy, did you shoot some good scores. 69, 69, 64, 66, 16 under par. So there wasn't much problem coming down the uh par five eighteenth hole there, was it?

Lee Janzen 5:21

No. No. So you know you can say I have a score to settle, and it doesn't always work out that you get to settle it, but having not won there the year before bothered me. So when I went back there in '94, I was determined to play better.

Bruce Devlin 5:38

Play better, you didn't.

Lee Janzen 5:39

In the first two rounds, I made a double each day. So I was, even though 69s are pretty good at Westchester, yeah. Um two doubles, not good. In the 64, I three putted the first hole. So at some point I had to get my mind straight and stop making mistakes.

Bruce Devlin 5:57

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 5:58

And you did, which I did. And then uh Sunday, we had a little bit of rain, a little bit of wind, playing with Ernie L's. Um, and I made some bogies, but I kept making birdies. I don't know how many birdies I made the last day, but I made a ton of birdies that week.

Bruce Devlin 6:14

Yeah, a lot.

Lee Janzen 6:15

Um and then we came down, we were still pretty close. Um I made about a 30-footer on 16 for birdie, which I guess gave me a two-shot edge at that point. Um, and then 18 dog leg left. I have to hug the corner if I want to get there in two, which I thought was the best way to play the hole because two-shot lead, he can still make Eagle. I gotta make Birdie. Um, so I got it around the corner, hit three wood up there in the greenside bunker, not too far away, and left myself a pretty easy pot for Birdie. He made par, and I made the pot for Birdie. So they're easy to make when you don't have to.

Mike Gonzalez 6:56

I seem to recall back in the day, guys, that uh Westchester paid some pretty good purses. Yeah. They were the biggest purses back then.

Lee Janzen 7:06

Well, I don't remember. Um probably let's see, probably about a two and a half million dollar purse, but I don't know, 1994.

Mike Gonzalez 7:15

Yeah, I mean, before you came along, it's I seem to remember, and and I I think this is wrong because I went back to check about I always had this uh memory that Bobby Nichols won the first hundred thousand dollar purse at Westchester. But they they paid some pretty good purses uh back in the day. Yeah. Well, you had a big one the next year. Uh it's not counted a major, but uh shouldn't you look at strength of field? I think yeah, most people would consider the players' championship to be a major. Uh Bruce, this was the 1995 players' championship.

Bruce Devlin 7:47

And beat Bernhard Langer by one shot. Uh again, put in that one bad round there, 69 to start with, and then a 74. Uh and then two nice rounds, 69-71 the last two days. That uh to win, to beat a great player, too, Bernhard.

Lee Janzen 8:07

Yeah, well, the players' championship is full of great players. Um I realized the first time I played in it and shot even par and missed the cut that that is the toughest tournament to make the cut in. Um, it's the strongest field on a hard golf course. Yeah. So um, you know, you want if you win that, you have beaten the best. There's you know, and and it's always the biggest purse, too. So that you have that added uh nervousness to it when you're playing 18 with all that water. Well, 16, 17, and 18. But yes, uh, even the 74. I played pretty well. We had a lot of wind the first two days. The year before, Greg Norman shot, you know, very low. I don't know how many underpar, but um it was always said it was the players' championship, that the players were supposed to be in charge of it. So we voiced our opinions uh throughout the tour that the course needed to be set up a little differently. You know, the fairways were too soft, the greens were too soft. So when we got there in '95, the course was firm and fast and baked out. Um and we had four good days of wind and nice weather. Um, I know the third hole, you had to land at a foot on the green if you wanted to hit the green, even with the back pin. So um, the greens were hard. It was tough to get the ball near the hole. So hitting nine or ten greens around was it really wasn't that unusual. You had to just position yourself very well the whole week.

Mike Gonzalez 9:33

So uh uh as you looked at uh I guess after three, Bernhard was leading with Corey Paven. Uh you and Payne Stewart uh were third and fourth. You end up playing with Payne that last day, then?

Lee Janzen 9:49

I did, yes. Um, and we, you know, were trying to hang on the whole way. Um I drove to the right on 14. There's um grass bunkers that you can't hit the ball on the green from. So I got it up in front of the green out of there, which was a pretty good shot. Didn't hit a good chip and then made like a 20-footer for par. Um that was huge. Uh because I just missed a short putt on the hole before for par, a three-putt. So it was a chance, you know, two bogies in a row is no fun.

Mike Gonzalez 10:21

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 10:21

Um, two good shots on 16. I made a birdie. 17. My goal was to hit it over the left corner of the bunker because the way the green is configured. If it's just right of the middle of the green, it will funnel down to the right where the pin was. So I was trying to take as much water out of play as possible. Um I hit nine iron. I guess I hit it too smooth because it carried just on top of the bunker and rolled back in the bunker. Paint then hit it on the back of the green. So, as we talked about Baltasroll, where I was closer to the hole off the green and he was putting. We walked on the green. I said, You want me to come up? He says, Nope. I'll putt.

Mike Gonzalez 11:04

No. That's great. That's great.

Lee Janzen 11:07

Yeah, and he had a great putt down there pretty close, almost went in, and then I hit my bunker shot to a tap in, and we went to the last hole.

Mike Gonzalez 11:14

Yeah, and uh uh you had a little five-footer knee knocker on that last, didn't you?

Lee Janzen 11:20

Yes. Um I hit uh the the T shot was downwind, right to left, which I thought was perfect for me, ideal. I don't want to play that hole with a left to right wind. Um so I hit three wood off the T, used the wind, got it down there, had seven iron in. Um I pushed it a little bit out, you know, five feet right of the green. And it's sprinkler by the edge of the green. You know, now we have a rule that if you're within two club lengths of a sprinkler, right, you can move it. Well, I had to, I wanted to putt it, but the sprinkler was right in my way, so I had to chip it. Um I didn't, I don't know if I hit a perfect chip, but I hit a pretty good chip. And putt's pretty straight, but still, you make a five-footer to win a tournament. That's you know, you've played your way into that spot. It's a little easier when you do that, but you just take anybody in the world and just say, okay, you've got to make this five-footer for this. You know, it's a daunting thing.

Mike Gonzalez 12:17

Yeah. Well, what a what a big win. And and you know, in many respects, I think this tournament is somewhat like the Masters in that the viewing public gets the chance to know the golf course. They know all the holes pretty well because you played the same venue every year. So 17 obviously has become world famous. If you were to just regular day, regular weather, take a hundred balls out to 17T, how often does the average tour pro hit that green, hit 100 balls under no pressure conditions?

Lee Janzen 12:47

On a just an average weather day?

Mike Gonzalez 12:49

Yeah, just an average weather. Yeah, but you know, probably probably 9,900 times, I guess, right?

Lee Janzen 12:56

Yeah, I'd say pretty close to 100.

Mike Gonzalez 12:58

Yeah, yeah, yeah. But uh, I guess uh you get under the gun and and throw a little wind in there, it's a little different deal, isn't it?

Lee Janzen 13:05

Yeah, yes. Um I'd I'd missed that green, but not hit it in the water, I think two or three times that week, too. Uh Dave Musgrove was caddying for me then, and he he I he grumbled a little bit. He goes, I because he had to carry the bag all the way to the bunker where all the other caddies leave the bag back at the walkway. Yeah, yeah. So he was like, I can't believe I have to carry this bag up here again.

Mike Gonzalez 13:27

Yeah. Well, and and and as you know, because you've played it, Bruce uh designed a little uh Island Green Par uh three here at Secession. And uh Bruce, I don't know, what is that, about 60% of the surface area of the 17th Green at TPC? Yeah, about that.

Bruce Devlin 13:43

Maybe 65%. It's about a it's a third less uh square footage than uh 17th at TPC.

Lee Janzen 13:52

Only a third?

Bruce Devlin 13:53

Yeah, only a third.

Lee Janzen 13:54

That's uh that's seems like maybe it's a third of the size.

Bruce Devlin 13:57

No, two-thirds of the third of the size. It's a it's a little interesting hole, too. Yeah, that's our that's our full pucker shot.

Mike Gonzalez 14:07

Uh yeah, that's a fun hole.

Lee Janzen 14:08

I've played that hole many times. I used to play an outing there, a two-day outing where we had a Ryder Cup style matches.

Mike Gonzalez 14:13

So did you?

Lee Janzen 14:14

You know, it was got it got pretty heated when we were playing that hole because that was an important hole.

Mike Gonzalez 14:19

Yeah. Oh well, good. I told him, I told him, Bruce, yesterday that that that golf course of all the ones you've done, 150 or so around the world, that's uh that's kind of your baby.

Bruce Devlin 14:30

Yeah, well. We know the story there, don't we? You and I. What's happening? That's where I'm gonna end up being. So swimming with swimming with the fishes. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 14:43

I'll go, I'll say hi to you someday, many years from now.

Mike Gonzalez 14:46

All right, buddy. Sounds good. Yeah, I hope it's I hope it's many. I hope it's many. Well, uh, great win at the players' championship. Uh, we'll call it a third major, but uh, you weren't done in 95 because you had some other good things to happen. Bruce, uh, let's go on to uh Kemper.

Bruce Devlin 15:03

Kemper. Yeah. Win uh win in a playoff with uh uh Corey Paven for your second victory that year, which was great. Um boy, I tell you what, pretty good scores that year too 68, 69, 68, 67. Uh pretty consistent, Mr. Jansen, that week.

Lee Janzen 15:29

Yeah, so when we played that course that year, um I think they had a hard winter and the course had Zoja Grass fairways. So I think there was a little bit of um freezer burns one way to say it, but they the I think the the harsh winter killed some of the grass and it hadn't grown back yet. So um it was hot and dry that week too. So the course was playing super fast, uh, which I love playing. I love playing fast conditions. Um that was the week before the U.S. Open that year, which the year before was Westchester, the week before the U.S. Open. So the week of the U.S. Open and the week before were good weeks for me.

Mike Gonzalez 16:10

Yeah. And and you know, Corey must have been playing well that year because he was he was right there in the in the players' championship. Of course, uh, you beat him in a playoff here, and then he goes on to Shinnecock to win the U.S. Open that year.

Lee Janzen 16:21

Yes. So 93, I lost Westchester the week before and then won. In 94, I beat Ernie at Westchester and he won. When I beat Corey in the playoff, I shook his hand. I said, But the constellation prize is you get to win the U.S. Open next week. And then he did.

Bruce Devlin 16:40

How about that, huh?

Mike Gonzalez 16:42

That's great. Yeah, that's great. Well, you were three back uh uh coming in that last round, and uh you must not have liked 18 too well, huh?

Lee Janzen 16:52

It was a good hole for me. Yeah, I guess. I know, and 17 was very tough for um the whole field for some reason. Um figuring out the win was tough, and it was a front pin. Um the guys made doubles and bogies, and um a lot of guys fell back because of number 17. And um when I was finishing on 18, I I don't know that I was that close to a playoff, but I've already 18. I hit two good shots and made like a six-footer. And then I waited, and uh Corey Baven ended up making par from short left of the green. He had an incredible up and down. Um, but we had to wait a little while and then a storm was coming in, so they rushed us back to the T. And I believe the last group was still finishing on 18 when we teed off.

Mike Gonzalez 17:39

Really? That's unusual.

Lee Janzen 17:40

I don't know if there's a rule, but they were we were on the T waiting for them to get out of the way. Maybe we had to wait for them to putt out before we could actually start, but we were back there ready to go because they wanted to get that thing going for the storm.

Mike Gonzalez 17:50

Right, yeah, yeah. Yeah, well, just what I was alluding to for our listeners, uh Lee on uh number 18 goes birdie, birdie, birdie, birdie, playoff, birdie. That's not too bad.

Lee Janzen 18:08

No, uh I didn't, and the birdie in the playoff wasn't necessary, but why not?

Mike Gonzalez 18:14

Yeah, that doesn't need to be part of the story, does it?

Lee Janzen 18:16

Yeah, uh Corey had already two-putted for a bogey, um, and all I had to do was two-putt, and it would just win in. You know, it's just a professional golfer. He's thinking, you know, I don't care that a two-putt wins, I still want to make it.

Mike Gonzalez 18:27

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, the only bogey free final round of the field, uh, a second good win in 1995, but you weren't done because you were gonna go out and play Jack Vickers course in that thin air in Colorado and enjoy some milkshakes, probably. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 18:44

Yep, I had a victory milkshake.

Bruce Devlin 18:46

Ah, the good.

Lee Janzen 18:47

Um, I think the years passed, yeah. The years passed, I probably had a milkshake every day and realized that probably wasn't good for me. Um, all that sugar. So I I probably said to myself, when the tournament's over, I'll have a milkshake.

Mike Gonzalez 18:59

Yeah, well, this is what we're talking about for our listeners. The the the international, which was always contested at Castle Pines Golf Club, a club that uh Jack Vickers from Vickers Oil had founded. And uh this was in 1995. Of course, it was a different uh tournament, different format for you guys, wasn't it?

Lee Janzen 19:15

That's right. Um and they moved the format around a little bit, but it was stable for all the years. Used to be um a single qualifying day on Wednesday and Thursday, then they cut the field like well half the field play Wednesday, half the field play Thursday. Then they had another cut on Friday, and so on, and they just and everybody started back to zero every day. Um, so in 1995, the first year they played cumulative, uh huh. Accumulative. So we counted all of our points every day.

Bruce Devlin 19:45

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 19:47

Um, so I I was kind of meandering around zero points the first day playing with Ernie Ells, um, and he was playing great. I don't know, he I felt like he was around 20 points the first day, but um I think I made an Eagle on eight and finishing on the front side, which five points, you know, instead of just being 200, I picked up five points, uh, which was a big help, and then had a good day the second day. So we got to Sunday. Um, and anything can happen on Sunday. And started off well. I bogeied, I remember bogeeing eight, nine, and ten, which is uh not the end of the world in Stableford because it's only a loss of a point. And a birdie is two points, so you're out of two birdies, you actually pick up a point. Um so it came down to the end. I knew I was uh still in it. I hit it, left off a 12 in the rough behind a tree, and I said to my caddy Musgrove, still catty for him, I said, Well, it looks like I got him right where I want them now, don't I? And he just laughed. I got it on the green somehow, I two-potted. Um, and then I buried 14 and 15 and 16 and 17. And I needed about an eight-footer for power and eighteen to win.

Mike Gonzalez 21:03

Oh my! Oh my. Well, uh, a good win on a great golf course. And uh uh you mentioned your long Sunday morning you had before your final round of Baltas roll winning that first U.S. Open, kind of walking around the clubhouse and taking in all the history. Well, I I did the same thing when I was at uh at Wallace Golf Club just north of Little Liverpool a few years ago and and learned that it was Dr. Frank Barney Gordon Stableford from Wales and from that club, Wallacey Golf Club in England, that actually uh got the score was the guy that uh yeah that invented this uh the scoring system that you played uh in uh during that tournament at Castle Pine. So a little bit of history trivia for our listeners. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 21:46

I bet we can guess that Mr Mr. Stableford made a lot of birdies and he wanted to reward himself somehow.

Mike Gonzalez 21:52

Maybe so, maybe even some eagles uh here or there. I don't know. But uh anyway, so that's that's win number three and ninety five, but you weren't done. Because you were probably hoping to get on the Ryder Cup team, but Captain Lanny Watkins didn't pick you. So what what happened with that deal?

Lee Janzen 22:10

Well, we played the PGA the week before. That was the deadline for the Ryder Cup. And then he made his picks on Sunday night. So the win came after the picks. Gotcha. Which actually got a lot of attention because I didn't get picked, and then I won. Because I think there were a few people that thought he might pick me. I had already played in a Ryder Cup. I'd already had two wins and I was up there on the money list. So in 93, Tom Watson picked two veterans and we won. So you know, when you look at it from the viewpoint, you got a veteran, rider cupper, he's gonna pick veterans. You know, that seemed to be the formula.

Mike Gonzalez 22:50

Yeah. I'm sure he picked up you forgiven him. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 22:55

He picked Curtis Strange. Um, and Curtis Strange is a great Ryder Cup player. Now he wasn't on his game. Um, but still, you know, you have confidence in a guy that he can go to the Ryder Cup and perform.

Bruce Devlin 23:06

Correct. Yeah, yeah.

Lee Janzen 23:08

And he was right there, right? Um, his match was one of the deciding matches right there at the end. Yeah. So it's that's a tough deal.

Mike Gonzalez 23:16

Yeah. Well, it is, but uh that's all right. You you you uh uh a couple years later, '97, you were able to play uh uh at Valderama, which probably was the Sevi show. Wasn't that the year he was captain and just seemed to be destined uh to go their way?

Lee Janzen 23:32

He was everywhere. I don't I found out later that there are tunnels at Valdorama. Oh. And he knew where the tunnels were. I'm not sure anybody on our side knew there were tunnels. Um because I saw Sevy all the time. He was everywhere.

Mike Gonzalez 23:47

You just thought he was in a time machine.

Lee Janzen 23:49

He was yeah, I thought maybe there was three or four of them. I don't know. But he was everywhere.

Mike Gonzalez 23:54

Yeah. Well, uh, it's too bad you didn't you didn't have the opportunity to play on home turf, but uh that would have been fun. Yeah, yeah. But you certainly played under the gun, both uh going to Belfry and then and then the Sevi's deal in Spain.

Lee Janzen 24:09

Yeah, I learned so much the first time around. I was ready the second time. Um I was ready for the crowd and the energy and all of that. Um and had fun with it too.

Mike Gonzalez 24:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh what Bruce and I tend to find is we don't spend a lot of time talking about the Ryder Cup losses with you guys. It's more the wins. Does that make sense?

Lee Janzen 24:31

That's yeah, yeah. I my experience with both of them were great. Um, I played way better the second time. Um my my match with Jose, there I am playing a Spaniard in Spain, the very first Ryder Cup in Spain.

Bruce Devlin 24:45

And beat him.

Lee Janzen 24:46

Uh we're on we're on 16T, and I could do the math that if I lose to Jose, he clinches the Ryder Cup in my match. Um 17 was where everybody gathered and cheered and everything. So um 16 is extremely hard par four, and I won that hole. Um, and then 17 uh I laid laid up, hit it on the green, and had about a 15-footer, and you know, and the European side is gonna cheer for anything. They're cheer against you, cheer for anything. And I wanted to because I hit a good shot, I was sort of I put my hand up to my ear, and I was just like, I don't hear you now because I've silenced you, right? And it all of the US fans started chanting and going crazy, like I wanted to hear them, which turned out great.

SPEAKER_03 25:33

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 25:34

Um, and I buried that putt. So everybody around the green was disappointed they didn't get to celebrate the Ryder Cup. And then I buried 18 and won my match. So I went from the worst case scenario of losing, being the losing match in the Ryder Cup to pulling the match out somehow.

Mike Gonzalez 25:52

Yeah, yeah. What a as you said, what a great win to beat Ollie in Spain. Yeah. I mean, he was certainly a Ryder Cup hero for many years, uh, particularly when he's paired with Sevi. But uh and and then of course he had that experience too at Brookline, uh with this with his putt being sort of interfered with, I guess would be a fair way to say uh toward the end. But what a yeah, what a Ryder Cup performer he was over the years.

Lee Janzen 26:18

Right. Well, the Europeans made the Ryder Cup what it is. I mean, the when when they added Europe to the Ryder Cup and they started beating us, yeah, um, it has made the Ryder Cup huge.

Mike Gonzalez 26:31

Yes, it has. Yeah, yeah. Bruce and I have enjoyed uh reviewing the the history of the Ryder Cup, really almost from the 60s, some of the older guys and yeah, you know, up through you know, when it really turned the corner in 81 when when Europe got close, and and and and 83 in particular to Palm Beach Gardens, when they got really close with Jack the Captain, and then 85 they go to Muirfield and beat Jack in his place, and Lanny will tell you that was probably the toughest loss I ever experienced as a pro. Yeah. And that's when they started to turn it around. Jacqueline uh got serious about it with Europe, and uh, and then at some point they added the Europeans, and you get the Faldos, the Sevies, the the Bernhards, the the uh the the Sandy Lyles, the Wosnoms coming on the scene, and man, were they tough. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 27:18

Yeah. Um, and they would pair them with the right guy, seemed like they could take a rookie and put them with the right veteran, and they were a formidable team that way.

Mike Gonzalez 27:26

Yeah. So let's talk about win number two at the 1998 U.S. Open. Uh, I just want to uh share with our readers uh or our listeners, I supp I should say, uh, sort of the the U.S. Open record. Because sort of interestingly, you go uh way back to 1985, Oakland Hills cut, cut, cut, win, boom, right? That's that was the first one we talked about in 1993. And then you go cut, and then uh T-13, T-10, T52, and then uh here you are in 1998. Boom. Uh we're at the Olympic Club, uh, which I want to have uh I want to have Bruce tell you a little bit about it. Here his experience with Mr. Hogan back in the day at the at the Olympic Club. But uh this was a win by uh one over a guy that we've talked about a little bit on the program already, Payne Stewart. Yeah. Uh with rounds of 73, 66, 73, 68, even par. Uh boy, that's you you talked about remembering this one, uh Bruce. I remember the last one, I mean. I remember this one, watching this one on TV. No question. Absolutely. I'm pretty sure Tom Meeks was setting up this golf course. Yeah.

Bruce Devlin 28:41

So two back of the pain to 36 holes, right? And uh and then five back with one round to play. Yes. That was so that was a situation that was hard to overcome, actually. But around that golf course, as we all know, you know, anything can happen.

Lee Janzen 29:06

Right. And there had already been the story of Arnold Palmer and Billy Casper, right? Um and Ben Hogan and Jack Flack. Um and Scott Simpson beating Tom Watson. So you know, it was already out there that it was a hard course to keep a lead on. So um, yes, I I played pretty good the first day and shot 73. It was frustrating to be over par, but I I didn't feel like I was in panic mode. Um, and a reporter even asked me, like, how does it feel? You know, do you feel that you've shot yourself out of the tournament? And I just sort of snickered, like, just hard as this golf course is, whoever wins this tournament is gonna shoot at least one 73. Yeah. So that was my thought. So I teed off like an hour behind pain the first two days. Maybe it was, yeah, that seems about right. So he shot four under the first day, I shot three over, so that's seven. And he buried the first three holes Friday. Oh my god so I was 10 shots behind. Oh boy. Wow. Before I teed off on Friday.

Mike Gonzalez 30:12

Well, uh unlike the 18th hole at TPC at Avenel, uh, you might not have been a big fan of the 17th hole.

Lee Janzen 30:23

No. No, that was an extremely hard fairway to hit. They all were, but um, a par five converted and the fairway tilted pretty good where we were driving it. Uh the first day I hit in the left rough, made a bogey. Uh the next two days I hit it perfect off the T and made two doubles. Um I didn't hit a good shot. No second day, I was cooking along. I was six under par playing 17.

Bruce Devlin 30:47

Yeah, how do you from the middle of the faraway? Six with a double.

Lee Janzen 30:50

Yeah. Pin was in the front, and I hit a bad iron shot short right, and then chipped it over the green, didn't get up and down. Um, so I did that to myself. Um Saturday, I hit a good drive again. Um, and I I think I was in a divot. It wasn't a terrible divot, it was just like almost grown back into a back pin. I smoked a three-iron that hit and rolled over the back of the green, and the rough was extremely tough. Uh, and I didn't get it on the green and then didn't get up and down from there. So I hit two good shots and made a double.

SPEAKER_03 31:22

Yeah.

Lee Janzen 31:23

So um, I may have had something to say to that hole on Sunday when I walked off of the par.

Mike Gonzalez 31:32

I bet you did. But uh yeah, going into this uh this last round, you're still five back. So you look at that third round leaderboard with Payne at three under, everybody else was over par, including you and Nick Price, uh tied for fourth at uh plus two.

Lee Janzen 31:49

Yes, so what uh right. I'm not exactly sure where I was. I mean I was devastated, but double bogey in 17 on Saturday. Um, but I also knew I needed to keep my focus on 18, not to give away any more shots. Um and then a big lift came when I realized I was still in the top five. Um, because I felt like I, you know, that kind of thing, you shoot yourself out of the tournament making a double late in the round. Um, but that was then I realized how hard the course was playing for everybody, it wasn't just me. And uh everybody was having their struggles with the golf course.

Mike Gonzalez 32:23

Yeah. So compare and contrast for our listeners the two experiences with the two wins. I mean, the first one, you're sleeping on the lead, and the next one, uh, you're five back, maybe pressure is a bit abated uh because you don't have that leader mantle that you're wearing uh to bed on Saturday night.

Lee Janzen 32:42

Right. Well, um well, each major has his qualifications to get in. And at that time, um, the easiest well, one way to get in the masters the next year was have a good finish in the U.S. Open. Um at the time I was not exempt for the Masters the next year. So that really that was on my mind starting out Sunday morning was I wanted to play well enough to be in position to secure that I'd be in the masters to start the year the next year. Um so you know that it wasn't necessarily that I was thinking, okay, I've got to go shoot a great score so I can win the tournament, but I did want to play well. And it didn't start out that way. No, I drove in the rough on two and made a bogey, and then I missed the green on three and made a bogey. So that was uh I then I just wanted to do something positive on the next hole. So I drove in the fairway, I hit it on the green, I made a good putt. Um I remember seeing the video that the putt almost came in sideways because of where the pin was, the brake on it. And then I thought disaster had hit again on number five.

Mike Gonzalez 33:56

Yeah, so tell us about that.

Lee Janzen 33:57

Uh so five's a very tough hole. Um, you know, US opened lots of tough holes, but downhill, dog leg right, fairway sloping away. So uh the shot off the tee really calls for a fade. Um can I fade the ball? It's not my shot, I can, but I don't always pull it off as well as I can if I'm drawing the ball. Um so I pushed it into the trees and we walked off the tee. Uh a marshal met me. I don't know, I may have been 100 yards off the T and said I washed it all the way, it stayed in the tree. Um so there this is where I didn't know the rules very well. Yeah. When I left the T, or before I left the T, that was the best time to hit a provisional. Um, when you leave the T box and go back and hit again, that ball's in play, period. Yes. Doesn't matter if it you call it a provisional.

SPEAKER_03 34:49

Right.

Lee Janzen 34:50

So I'm headed back to the T, and before I get to the T, they yell and said the ball fell out of a tree. So that saved me. You know, now I don't have a lost ball, and now I'm not putting the other one in play and having to deal with that. There was no picnic from there. Um, had to go under a tree, carry the rough, and then stop it before it went through the fairway. I get it to the first cut of rough on the other side, hit it onto the back of the green on the fringe, not too far from the pin, but I chipped in for par. Um, so you know, one hole earlier, I did something positive to turn things around, and this hole could have been a seven really easy, and I walked off with a par. Um, and that was huge walking to the next T, just knowing that I escaped with par when it could have been so much worse. Um, and that made the rest of the day a lot better. Yeah. Because it was fairways and greens after that.

Mike Gonzalez 35:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly right. Uh, I mean, three three more birdies to come with no bogey. So uh, you know, after the um after the bogey on four, uh, or rather, uh on three, you you played you played the last uh 15 holes, four under par. Pretty strong again in a in a U.S.

Bruce Devlin 36:05

uh, with a three shot save at five.

Lee Janzen 36:08

Yes. Yeah. Um that would have done, you know, possibly done me in. I mean, what my strategy from there might have been too aggressive, and you couldn't play that course that way. Correct. Um you just had to execute, really. Um, you had to fade the ball into the hook, the right to left fairways, and draw the ball into the other fairways. So, you know, just you never had a flat lie. You're always working against the slope and the wind.

Mike Gonzalez 36:33

So you were you were playing with Payne that Sunday, correct?

Lee Janzen 36:37

No, he was um two groups behind. Oh, gotcha. Okay. Yeah, he was.

Mike Gonzalez 36:42

Oh, sorry.

Lee Janzen 36:42

So that's that's the most excruciating 30 minutes of golf I ever experienced, and I didn't hit a shot because I had to wait to see what was going to happen.

Mike Gonzalez 36:51

Who did you play with that last round?

Lee Janzen 36:53

Steve Stricker.

Mike Gonzalez 36:54

Stricker? Yeah. Right, okay.

Lee Janzen 36:56

Okay, all right. And he was playing pretty good. Um but I told him somewhere in the middle of the back nine, I said, you know, I started out today just wanting to get in the masters, so finish strong. So you, you know, if you're not in the masters already. And he just sort of looked at me funny because I think he was only one or two behind me at the time. He's like, I could still win too, you know.

Mike Gonzalez 37:17

Were you not watching the leaderboard this day as as well?

Lee Janzen 37:20

Not at all. I didn't look at it at all. Once, once I walked off five, I was just I just felt like I was in a different mode, like a different zone. Yeah. Um, and I didn't want to do anything that would take me out of it. I just wanted to keep that going.

Mike Gonzalez 37:35

Yeah. I mean, you were you as it turns out you were seven back a pain after the third hole. Yeah. And then then you make birdie, and then you got good fortune on five. And uh it's interesting how sometimes you need a little something, don't you? You got it to make the difference. Uh right. Yeah. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 37:52

The ball could have just gone through the tree and right into the rough, but the whole everything that happened in between added to the whole, you know, walking off that hole with a par and how much better I felt.

SPEAKER_03 38:02

Yeah, yeah.

Mike Gonzalez 38:03

A little controversy, wasn't it, that week? Uh uh maybe maybe Friday with that top pin position they put on 18.

Lee Janzen 38:11

Right. So I don't think they ever did anything to that green from prior US opens, but for some reason, uh the back of the green was more severe. I don't know, maybe the greens were just that much faster. But if you uh pop your head out of the back of the locker room on 18, you can look right down on the green and see where the pin is. Which which I did Friday. Yeah. And I saw where it was. Um, and I knew that I above all things, keep it below the hole.

Bruce Devlin 38:37

Yeah. Otherwise, you could put it right off the green.

Lee Janzen 38:41

Yeah, so I hit it below the hole and I two-potted from my par.

Mike Gonzalez 38:45

Yeah. Well, as as as bitter as I'm sure this was, uh the defeat for Payne Stewart, uh, he came back the following year and got his U.S. Open win at Pinehurst uh four months before he left us. Yeah.

Lee Janzen 38:58

Yeah, and considered by many as one of the greatest U.S. Omen's ever played. Um just all of the number ones in the world, they were right on his tail. Yeah. And what a way to win.

Mike Gonzalez 39:12

Yeah, yeah, what a way to win. Uh, some people might remember the name Casey Martin. Um he was the first to play a U.S. Open in a cart that year, finishing T23. Um walking off that green, two-time US Open champion, obviously two-time major champion. I would think in the back of your mind, you're thinking, well, I'm gonna I'm gonna keep winning.

Lee Janzen 39:38

Well, um, yeah. I mean, there there's ebbs and flows of your career. Um, three wins in 95, but four top ten. So how do I become more consistent? Yeah, I became more consistent in 96 and 97, but I didn't win. Yeah. Um, I got close in 98 at the players. I had the league on the last day. And then Houston at the Woodlands, I had the tournament and fell apart coming down the stretch. Um, you know, those are those are tough to take, but they also can make you more determined to play better. So um I think those two losses led to my win at Olympic Club. They helped me get over the hump there. And then I played really well the next week in Chicago. Uh something I had a hard time with my first win is playing well right after. I wanted to I just really wanted to figure out a way to play great the next week. Um, so I did it that year. Uh 99, I had lots of opportunities to win tournaments. Um in May, I was in another car accident. So that was the Monday between the Byron Nelson and the Colonial. Um pretty bad whiplash, broke a bone in my neck and my back. Um I played that week. I don't know why. I was just I guess because I was already there, I thought I'd try. Um and it, you know, I started to feel better, but it was years later when really the injury started showing up. Um so it was a slow decline caused by that accident.

Mike Gonzalez 41:10

Yeah, yeah. And then I mean that's happened to others. Uh, but it's interesting as we talk to all the great players. Uh you they always have that same feeling walking off that that last green of their final win. They the thought in the back of their mind is, well, I'm just gonna keep doing this. I mean, I'm I'm still healthy, I've still got game, I can play. Uh, but at some point you win your final event, don't you? Yes.

Lee Janzen 41:34

Um, I got close some other times. Um, Jackson, Mississippi. I don't even remember what year that was. Uh um 05, maybe 04, somewhere in there. Um, towards the end of the year where I really had played terrible and needed to finish uh great to get in the top 125 or at least top 150. And I missed a playoff by a shot there. I finished 5'5. Um, so I could have won easily. And then uh a couple weeks later in Vegas, I think I finished in the top five. So there was hope that I could still do it.

Mike Gonzalez 42:08

Thank you for listening to another episode of 4 The Good of the Game. And please, wherever you listen to your podcast on Apple and Spotify, if you like what you hear, please subscribe, spread the word, and tell your friends until we tee it up again for the good of the game. So long, everybody. Whack down the fairway. It went smack down the fairway. And it started just like just smacked off line. My head is as long as you're still in the stage, okay? It went straight down the middle, five away.