Musings: O'Hair a deserving champion at PODS

Most golf fans last got a good look at Sean O’Hair at the 2007 Players Championship. You probably remember the scene. In contention on the final day, O’Hair arrived at the infamous par-3 17th hole, the Island Green at TPC Sawgrass. What ensued was the proverbial car crash, painful to watch but impossible not to. Needing a birdie, O’Hair made an aggressive swing and watched his ball release through the green and into the water. His wedge from the drop area produced the same result. O’Hair limped away from the hole with a quadruple-bogey 7 on his scorecard and another psychological wound to carry after overcoming an adolescence full of them.

A frustrating season of mid-pack finishes followed for a player who seemed to be brimming with potential, and things didn’t get any better as 2008 began. If anything, they got worse. O’Hair arrived at the 2008 PODS Championship coming off two straight missed cuts and total earnings of under $40,000.

On the strength of a brilliant final-round 69, O’Hair leaves Palm Harbor, Fla., with a long-awaited second career PGA Tour win, making him one of only seven Tour players in their 20s with multiple wins on their career ledgers. He also leaves with an invitation to this month’s CA Championship and next month’s Masters, a revitalized career and a much-needed jolt of confidence. Ah, the spoils of victory.

“When I won (the first time, at the 2005 John Deere Classic), it just kind of happened,” O’Hair said. “I didn’t really appreciate it. I thought I was good enough to do this every year. But it’s been such a struggle to get to this point again. This is awesome, and I’m going to enjoy it.”

If anyone deserves to enjoy a moment like this, it’s O’Hair. His struggles with a domineering father have been well-documented. The elder O’Hair viewed his son as a potential cash cow, sending him to David Leadbetter’s golf academy and forcing him to turn pro at the age of 17. Marc O’Hair was a punishing presence during the formative years of Sean’s career, serving as part road manager, part drill sergeant. “The thing about my dad is that, in his own twisted way, he did the best he could for me,” O'Hair told Golf World in 2005. “But anyone who has the right perspective thinks he's crazy.”

It’s possible that today, Marc O’Hair is somewhere smiling and giving himself credit for his son’s hard-earned success. But he hasn’t spoken to his son in years, and Sean doesn’t expect the phone to ring.

Given his life experiences, O’Hair is a seasoned veteran at age 25. And the best appears to be ahead. Few players deserve it more.

That Cink-ing Feeling

As closers go, Stewart Cink ain’t no Mariano Rivera. After his collapse at the PODS Championship, Cink is now 1-for-9 when leading after 54 holes on the PGA Tour. In the last 25 years, only Mike Weir (1-for-9), Jeff Maggert (1-for-10) and Larry Mize (0-for-9) can match or exceed Cink’s record of futility.

While the PODS Championship answered many questions about Sean O’Hair, it raised a whole batch of new ones for Cink. Like, is he ever going to win again? His last win came in 2004, at the Bridgestone Invitational. Will he ever close out a tournament? This was the third time in five tournaments in 2008 in which he played in the final group. He shot a 73 in the final round of the Buick Invitational and lost to Tiger Woods by 10 shots, and he faced off with Woods in the finals of the Accenture Match Play Championship and got waxed by an 8 and 7 margin.

This time, there was no Tiger Woods looming over him. His pursuers were O’Hair, Billy Mayfair, John Senden, Ryuji Imada and Brandt Snedeker. Fine players all, but hardly like looking in the rear-view mirror and seeing Dale Earnhardt.

Cink squandered a three-shot lead in the final round with some sloppy play, poor putting and a few bad breaks. His tee shot on the par-5 14th nestled against a tree, leading to a bogey and a change at the top of the leaderboard. A double-bogey at 16 followed, and it took a 50-foot birdie putt on 17 to get Cink back to 2-under and a tie for second, two shots behind O’Hair.

His final-round 74 came after Cink had vowed to grab the tournament by the throat. “My goal is to give no one a chance tomorrow,” he said after finishing the third round.

Instead, he gave everyone a chance but himself.

“I’m a little shell-shocked and a little bit angry,” Cink said. “I’m extremely frustrated after this. What happened to me — what I allowed to happen to me — is going to make me a better player in the future. But I've got some soul-searching to do.”

News and Notes

• Vijay Singh is the defending champion at this week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, and he’ll be looking to make history. Singh’s 31 career wins are tied for first all-time among international players, with England’s Harry Cooper. Another win would be Singh’s 20th since turning 40, which would extend his record in that category. In addition to his win at Bay Hill, Singh has finished second at Palmer’s tournament three times.

• Speaking of Singh’s post-40 success, his 20 wins since reaching that age alone would tie him on the all-time list with legends Greg Norman and Hale Irwin and place him ahead of greats like Ben Crenshaw, Tom Kite, Davis Love III and Nick Price.

• According to the Tampa Tribune, John Daly lived up to his party-boy reputation over the weekend. Daly bellied up to the bar at the Hooters Owl’s Nest next to the 17th hole at the PODS Championship on Saturday after missing the cut on Friday, and the beer flowed like water. Daly’s best finish this season is a tie for 60th at the Mayakoba Golf Classic.

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