Glen Abbey home to indelible memories
30th Canadian Open at Ontario course could be curtain closer, writes Dave Hilson.
It was in either 1978 or ’79. The date is unclear with the passage of time. But it was certainly down in Glen Abbey’s iconic valley holes, where a 25-kilometre creek snakes its way through the course, that the incident took place.
That is, without a doubt, true. Because it’s indelibly etched into my memory.
My dad and I had made the long drive down from Owen Sound to catch one of the earliest Canadian Opens played at the new course, and to follow Jack Nicklaus, my idol and my dad’s favourite player, around the 7,253-yard layout.
Big Bob Murphy, one of the more rotund members on the PGA Tour at the time, who was grouped with Nicklaus and Calvin Peete on this day, pulled a mid-iron out of his bag on what might have been the 13th or 14th hole and ripped a divot from the ground so large I thought a maintenance crew was going to have to be called in to do some emergency work.
And it wasn’t just that Murphy had torn such a big piece of earth from the pristine carpet. The chunk of fairway almost went as far as the ball itself, and the look on Murphy’s face as he slammed his club into the ground was unforgettable.
That memory has stuck with me ever since, a lesson that golf can humble even the best among us.
There were other memories that day, of course; memories of watching Nicklaus work his way around a track that he designed but never won on, and getting so close to him as he walked through the ropes that I could reach out and touch him. I’ll never forget that.
And now, on the cusp of a record 30th Canadian Open to be held at Glen Abbey, I wonder just how many more memories the House That Jack Built has in it?
It’s no secret this could be the last hurrah here for the Canadian Open. ClubLink, the owner of the property, wants to develop the land, at least the part above the valley, into a housing complex. And the consensus opinion around here is that it’s going to happen.
So Golf Canada has already set about finding alternative sites, starting next year at Hamilton Golf and Country Club.
Glen Abbey has often been disparaged, even on these pages, for being too easy to host a national championship. But now that it might be going away, it’s like an old friend you have taken for granted.
“It will be sad to see it go, if that’s what happens,” Canadian golf icon Mike Weir said prior to teeing off at the Pro-Am on Monday.
“The course has held up well over the years. I played my first open here back in 1989 o ’90, so I’ve got a lot of great memories. It kind of feels like home when I come back.”
Weir, of course, produced in 2004 what must rank among the greatest of Glen Abbey moments when he nearly ended a winless drought among Canadians, but fell short to Vijay Singh in a playoff. Weir came to Glen Abbey when he was a kid to watch the pros play.
“One of the biggest things was the first time I came. There was a clinic that Andy Bean and Tom Kite did on the range right here,” the 2003 Masters champion says. “When they were done, they dumped out all these Titleist golf balls and all the kids got to stuff our pockets with brand new Titleists, which was very memorable.
“So that was my first experience. Then seeing Jack Nicklaus up close and Johnny Miller, and then later as I got into my teens, Nick Faldo and Nick Price and Mark O’Meara and guys like that I looked up to as well. A lot of great memories here.”
Another Canadian, David Hearn, from nearby Brantford, Ont., has some fond memories of Glen Abbey and he’s made some memories here, too.
It wasn’t long ago, 2015 in fact, when Hearn had the hopes and dreams of Canadian golf fans resting on his shoulders as he carried a two-shot lead into the final round, only to come up short and finish third behind eventual champion Jason Day and Bubba Watson.
“I’ll never forget the time Tom Lehman gave me a ride up the hill, the 15th green to the 16th tee in the tour van,” said Hearn, summoning his memories of past Canadian Opens at Glen Abbey.
“A couple of other rides, and getting golf balls from other professionals, you know, always running around getting autographs ... I have tons of great memories. Those are the things that last with people, so I try to do things like that to encourage the young players to fall in love with the game like I did.”
Hearn and Weir are among a group of 16 Canadians, led by world No. 55 Adam Hadwin, who will be trying to end a drought that dates back to Pat Fletcher and his 1954 victory.
If one of that trio, or compatriots such as Hamilton native Mackenzie Hughes, Nick Taylor or Adam Svensson plan to end the drought, they’re going to have to overcome a very strong field that includes world No. 1 Dustin Johnson, 2017 Masters champion Sergio Garcia, longhitting Bubba Watson, and backto-back U.S. Open winner Brooks Koepka to name a few.
“It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time,” Hearn says about the chances of a Canadian finally winning this event. “Hopefully, 2018 is the year.”