“SHINNECOCK BY THE SAHARA” and “WEE WILLIE’S WONDER”
#886/#885
886. U.S. OPEN GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
FINAL ROUND
JUNE 20, 2004
SHINNECOCK HILLS GOLF CLUB
QUALITY OF PLAY—6.11
DRAMA—7.99
STAR POWER—8.23
CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—7.35
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—7.05
LOCAL IMPACT—6.25
TOTAL: 42.89
“SHINNECOCK BY THE SAHARA”
South African golfer Retief Goosen was the Top Gun of PGA Tour players, not because of his natural instincts or maverick behavior but because his two nicknames around the Tour were “Goose,” naturally, and “Iceman,” because of his calm, almost blank demeanor. In 2001 in Oklahoma he Cruised (oof) to a playoff win over Mark Brooks for his first-ever major. In 2004, America’s Open championship returned to Shinnecock Hills CC in the Hamptons, for the first time since Corey Pavin’s win in 1995 (see #953 on the list, “Pavin’s Run”). Goosen, as part of the “Big Five” golfers of the era, along with Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, and fellow South African Ernie Els, was a strong favorite to win again.
A bit of Republic-on-Republic gamesmanship before the final round helped him take out Els. While practicing his putts, Goosen coldly ignored the affable Els and his motivational guru/coach, a former Belgian pop star named Jos Vanstiphout, an overly tanned figure with Elton John sunglasses and the man credited with “reprogramming Retief” when the two worked together during Goosen’s days of struggle in Europe. Nothing out of the ordinary, one would think, but the cold shoulder from his countryman and friend psyched out Els, who had always had the upper hand over the younger Goose when the two were rising through the ranks in Africa. Goosen had required a playoff in 2001 because of a missed gimme on the 18th hole—it was Vanstiphout who cleared his head and prepped him mentally to easily win the playoff.
Now, however, the player turned on both mentor and motivator. It worked, for not only did Goosen destroy Els, he was also the only player who could handle the unforgivable, unmanageable course. Shinnecock is famous for difficult greens and breezy seaside conditions, but in 2004 the hard sun and strong wind combined to bake the greens into marble. “It looked like someone took a bunsen burner to them” was one account, and chip shots on to the sloping greens rolled back to the player’s feet so often “it looked like a Skeeball competition,” according to Alan Shipnuck in Sports Illustrated.
By Sunday players like Woods and Singh were crashing left and right. The USGA was forced to into taking an unprecedented step, that of watering the greens during play in order to force a little holding moisture into them. It didn’t help much—the average final round score was 78.73, and 28 players shot over 80.
“This isn’t golf,” said Els. “This is crazy.”
Only two men were unfazed—the Iceman, who goosed his chips close to the hole and didn’t miss a putt, and Mickelson, fresh off finally winning his first major two months earlier at Augusta. Phil was treading water until the greens were watered, then put together a patented back-nine charge for the lead. His birdied 13 and 15 to forge a tie with Goosen, causing explosions from the partisan crowd, who had fallen in a classic NYC way for Phil after he came up short in the 2002 Open at Bethpage, the muni about an hour east of Shinnecock.
The place went truly berserk at 16, where Goosen parred out but Mickelson dropped an 8-footer for birdie after a sensational approach that he placed in the perfect upslope spot. It was Lefty’s first lead of the day, and the man the players called “FIGJAM” (F**K I’m Good, Just Ask Me) seemed about to win his first Open after a pair of excruciating second place finishes.
At 17, Mickelson’s tee shot hit the bunker in front of the hole, but it was hardly an unplayable lie—indeed, it was a save Mickelson would generally make 90 percent of the time. But with the Open on the line, and the green baked into concrete, his chip out of the sand hopped and scurried five feet from the hole. Again, a putt easily makable for a player of Phil’s caliber, but he left his try well long, and then missed the next one, too. As at the ’99 Open, Mickelson’s double-bogey on the 71st hole cost him the tournament.
Goosen hit the same bunker, but powered his chip close to the cup, and, true to form, the Iceman putted in for par, taking a two-stroke lead to the 18th tee. He naturally made no errors on the final leg, and captured his second U.S. Open title, thanks in large part to his sensational putting—he only required 24 putts in 18 holes, an incredible performance given the conditions of the greens.
After winning the title on this Father’s Day, he raced to kiss his pregnant wife, Tracy, expecting with twins.
AFTERMATH:
Goosen was in pole position to win back-to-back Opens in 2005 at Pinehurst, but a final round 81 destroyed his chances. “I messed up badly,” he said afterwards. “I obviously threw this one away.” He never threatened to win another major, but maintained a strong international career, and he continues to play on the Champions Tour. Mickelson still has yet to win the U.S. Open, despite six, count ‘em, six second-place finishes. Given his public fronting of the LIV Tour, someone affiliated with the old PGA will probably booby-trap his gold bag with a grenade if he is contention at any future Opens.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“This is our national championship and Shinnecock Hills is a great golf course, but they lost control of it. This is not supposed to be how golf is played.”
—Tiger Woods
FURTHER READING:
“Harsh Days at Shinnecock” by Alan Shipnuck, Sports Illustrated
VIDEO:
885. NEW YORK RANGERS VS CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
MARCH 23, 1952
MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
QUALITY OF PLAY—8.31
DRAMA—7.89
STAR POWER—6.79
CONTEMPORARY IMPORT—6.05
HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE—7.75
LOCAL IMPACT—6.11
TOTAL: 42.90
“WEE WILLIE’S WONDER”
They called Chicago Blackhawks right winger Bill Mosienko “Wee Willie,” as he was just 5’8” and 160 pounds. As such, he was frequently savaged on the ice, but he seldom fought back, getting into just a single fight in his 14-year career. Mosienko was a heck of a player, part of the “Pony Express Line” with his fellow small fry, the brother tandem of Doug and Max Bentley. Mosienko was named to five all-star games and twice named second team All-NHL, and won the Lady Byng Trophy for being the league’s gentleman in 1945. But on Sunday night, March 23, 1952, Wee Willie Mosienko performed a scoring feat not just beyond any hockey player before or since, but also one that would leave Wee Willie Keeler himself dumbfounded.
Just 3,254 fans paid their way into the old Garden to witness this season finale between two going-nowhere Original Six clubs. But the feat they witnessed would go into the books as one of the great scoring achievements in NHL history.
The stage was set early for rapid scoring, as Hawks center Gus Bodnar beat Rangers goalie Lorne “The Roverboy” Anderson just 44 seconds into the game. Anderson and Chicago net minder Harry Lumley were under assault thereafter. As the Brooklyn Daily Eagle put it, “the goalies found themselves pretty much on their own as their defensemen religiously refrained from checking opposing forwards.” There were no penalties, and the distinct impression was that most involved simply wanted to get the game over and done with.
Save for the stat padders, that is. The goals game fast and furious after Bodnar’s early tally, mostly scored by the Blueshirts. New York built a 6-2 third period lead, thanks in part to a pair of goals from Big Ed Slowinski. Then the 30-year old Mosienko went to work. At 6:09 he scored his 29th goal of the season. Just 11 seconds later, he tallied number 30, and like the one immediately before, he did so by sliding it along the ice past Anderson. The Hawks sensed blood now, and the Mosienko/Bodnar unit stayed on the ice. They won the draw, Bodnar fed Mosienko, and the ginger crossed Anderson this time by top shelving a wrist shot for the natural hat trick. The clock read 13:30 left, meaning Mosienko had scored three times in just 21 seconds, easily breaking all prior marks for fastest hat trick. Bodnar assisted on all three goals.
Mosienko had saved the puck from the first two goals, but in the excitement of the hat trick he had to be reminded to grab the puck and save it for later. The Hockey Hall of Fame eventually gathered all three slabs of rubber from Wee Willie.
The previous record was three goals in 1:04, set by Carl Liscombe of the Red Wings in 1938. Mosienko’s feat also shattered the team record for fastest hat trick, set by the Montreal Maroons, who scored thrice in just 24 seconds in 1932.
Despite the heroics from Mosienko, the Rangers still led 6-5. But farce turned to tragedy when Chicago’s Sid Finney scored to tie the game, and then again to win it with just 38 seconds left. “Heavy of heart, but with hopes for next year, the Rangers and 3.254 stoics bade one another good-by for the season…the Rangers finished fifth,” wrote Dana Mosley in the Daily News. The Blackhawks stunning victory was just their 17th all year, against 44 losses and 9 ties, and they finished a distant last in the six-team league.
AFTERMATH:
Wee Willie played a few more years with Chicago, then retired with 258 goals and 282 assists to his credit, at the time of his retirement seventh among all-time NHL scorers. He returned to his native Winnipeg, where he became a bowling alley kingpin. He died in 1994.
WHAT THEY SAID:
“During his career Mosienko suffered four nose breaks, a fractured jaw, knocked out teeth, a fractured shoulder, a dislocated shoulder, a shoulder separation, a fractured ankle, numerous sprains, torn ligaments in both knees and head cuts.”
—“Mosienko Hangs Up Ice Gear,” Ottawa Citizen
FURTHER READING:
Mosienko—The Man Who Caught Lightning In A Bottle by Ty Diello
VIDEO: