Chance to see a golf major is a rare sight
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Michael Bush ran for more than 3,200 yards and scored 31 touchdowns in the National Football League.
That was after Bush scored 39 touchdowns and averaged nearly 6 yards per carry for the University of Louisville. That, of course, was after Bush did anything he wanted to at Male High School in Louisville, Ky.
If you’re making a list of the best athletes this city has produced during the last 25 years, Bush better be extremely high on your list.
On Monday, the first day the gates at Valhalla Golf Course swung open to the public for practice rounds for the 2024 PGA Championship, there was Bush, scrambling like an open field runner, making his way through the thick gallery to watch as many professional golfers as he could study and enjoy.
There was Jon Rahm on the range, tightening his short game. There were Patrick Cantlay and Rickie Fowler attacking the 18th green. There was Dustin Johnson on the practice green.
There goes Tiger Woods, leaving the course around noon after playing nine holes.
“Missed Tiger,” Bush sighed. “Got here a few minutes too late.”
That’s the way it was at Valhalla on Monday on a spectacular day massaged by unrelenting sunshine. Even guys who have played on football’s biggest stage blended into the crowd to see what they could see. You should do the same. This is the fourth time the PGA Championship has brought its signature event, one of golf’s four major championships, to Louisville since 1996.
It’s not scheduled to return. That’s not to say with 1,000% certainly that it won’t be back. But ...
… eight future sites for this tournament have been announced — and Louisville is not on the list. Frisco, Texas, is on the list — twice. And Frisco, Texas, is the new home of the PGA of America, which sold Valhalla to a group of Louisville businessmen in 2022.
“It’s awesome and it’s good for the city, right?” Bush said. “And I want to see the latest equipment and techniques. Being a student of the game, I’m always trying to get an advantage.”
Bush will turn 40 next month but he still aspires to play some level of professional golf. He was looking for an advantage. Nearly everybody else was looking for an autograph, a picture or, if they were really pushing their luck, both a picture and an autograph.
A thick collection of kids of all ages, from maybe 3 to 83, lined the hill from the 18th green to the clubhouse, trying to get something signed. For some it was an inflatable golf ball. For others it was a flag. People waved pictures, ticket stubs, blank pieces of paper.
After he finished playing the back nine and then retreated to his marked parking spot reserved for former PGA champions, Woods dutifully and quietly signed for nearly 3 1/2 minutes.
Fowler and Cantlay played together — and then signed together, satisfying nearly every person lucky enough to stand on the east side of the path while mostly ignoring folks on the west side. That went over as well as three -putt.
“Rickie, it’s my daughter’s 9th birthday!” One father yelled.
“Rickie, I’ve been waiting two hours; I’m your biggest fan,” a teenager yelled, even louder.
“Rickie, it’s not fair we get left out!” Another teen yelled loudest all.
Fowler said nothing. He simply kept signing — and then drew an ovation when he crossed to the path and signed a few more.
“The course looks great,” Fowler said. “It should be a great test. I can’t wait to get started.”
Unlike Fowler, Jared Jones has not won 10 professional events or finished second in the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open. Jones, 38 years old, is the director of instruction at River Oaks Country Club in Houston. He qualified as a club pro, finishing his practice round with Tyler Collet, another club pro from Vero Beach, Fla.
To the autograph crowd they could have been Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan and Sam Snead. They were asked to sign and sign and sign and sign. And they did.
“It’s a championship setup and it’s going to be a great test,” Jones said. “It’s certainly helpful if you can hit the ball a long ways. It looks like they have (the course) in the exact condition they want for a major tournament.
“If you expect to win, driving distance will be important, but you better keep it out of the rough after your first shot.”
Gotcha.
Now to the most important question:
Who’s going to win? A long shot like Mark Brooks in 1996?
Or one of the game’s elite players, like Woods in 2000 or Rory McIlroy in 2014?
I went back to Bush, who is serious about his quest to improve his 4-handicap and play in some professional events. He’s traveled across the world to watch professional tournaments since he retired from the NFL in 2014.
“I think it’s going to be somebody we don’t expect,” Bush said. “A dark horse.
“Obviously, I’d love if Tiger would win it, right? If not Tiger, with (Louisville native Justin Thomas) in it, you want the hometown to win, too.
“So who knows?”