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Shooting numbers

Phil Mickelson has entered the hall of fame by hitting a 59

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V Krishnaswamy New Delhi
For one brief second, as the ball rolled close to the cup on the 18th at the Poipu Bay Golf Course in Hawaii, a new figure "" a 14-under 58 "" looked likely on a golf score card.
 
Then the ball shaved past the hole, and Phil Mickelson, smiling ear to ear as usual, tapped in for a birdie "" and a 59 in the second and final round to win the Grand Slam of Champions. Grand Slam is a two-day competition held for the year's four Major winners.
 
Every sport has a magic figure. In test cricket, for instance, a triple century has been achieved 19 times by 17 cricketers but Brian Lara broke all records by making a quadruple century. Then for bowlers, it is the magic figure of 10 wickets, achieved only twice, once each by Jim Laker and Anil Kumble.
 
In tennis, only Don Budge and Rod Laver have achieved the Grand Slam. Similarly, in shooting it is a perfect score, in snooker it is a perfect 147.
 
Theoretically, it is possible to have 18 birdies with some eagles in golf. But in reality, a golfer has dipped below 60 and recorded a 59 only five times in a PGA or LPGA Tour-sanctioned event. Japanese player Shigeki Maruyama once shot a 58 but it came in the Qualifying round of the 2000 US Open.
 
It was in June 1977 that Al Geiberger had first shot a 59. More than two-and-a-half decades later, Mickelson joined that exclusive club last month. In 1991, Chip Beck achieved this feat as did David Duval in 1999. Only one woman, Annika Sorenstam, has so far managed to enter the 59 gallery of fame, in 2001.
 
Others like Doug Dunakey and Notah Begey shot 59s in the second-rung Nationwide tour, which in 1998 was known as Buy.com Tour.
 
Before Geiberger, records show that about seven players have acheived a 59 but they were primarily played on little-known tours. Since then, about six others have joined Geiberger. In sanctioned events, however, four men and one woman are in the 59 league.
 
The smooth-swinging Mickelson's stunning 13-under 59 came in ideal conditions at the 7,081-yard Poipu Bay course. Mickelson shaved the final hole with a nine-foot eagle putt that would have given him a 58. Still he tapped in for a birdie and smiled as the gallery cheered wildly.
 
Mickelson's spectacular round closed his best-ever season, and the round included 11 birdies, an eagle and no bogeys, and earned him $400,000. He putted just 24 times, including 11 times on the front nine. Mickelson's previous competitive career low was 61, at the 2001 Greater Hartford Open.
 
For the record, Jack Nicklaus' career-best round on the PGA Tour was 62, which he shot on three occasions. Tiger Woods has shot two 61s and a pair of 62s. Tiger has shot 59s in practice rounds but never in a tournament.
 
As Geiberger once said, "Well, you figure there are only 18 holes, so that's 14 birdies to get to 58 on a par-72 course. You're really getting to the edge of running out of holes. And it's a long way from 60 to 59."
 
His efforts earned him the sobriquet "Mr 59" and that made him more famous than his 11 PGA Tour wins and the 1966 PGA Championships.
 
In 1977, Geiberger, who played with Dave Stockton and Jerry McGee, hit every fairway at the Colonial.
 
He chipped in for an eagle on a par-5 and had a once-in-a-lifetime day with the putter. Of his 11 birdie putts, none was shorter than 8 feet and most were in the 15-20-foot range. He was in what golfers call "the zone".
 
Geiberger was only 2-under after five holes but played the next seven holes eight-under with six birdies and an eagle. After he birdied No. 15, the gallery started yelling 59.
 
He needed a birdie on the par-4 18th hole to break 60. He sank a ten-footer for his birdie and 59. Oddly, he won the tournament without shooting a single score in the 60s. He had a 70 and two 72s in his other rounds.
 
Even though the equipment is far better today, very few players have managed to hit a 59. The reason is that when a player approaches the last few holes, often he or she actually starts thinking of cracking that number, and in the process, succumbs to pressure.
 
For instance, Ashok Kumar was eight under 13 holes at the Noida Golf Club earlier this year. He said he started thinking about 60 but ultimately ended with a nine-under 63. "Maybe I should have just played my game and it could have been nearer," he said later.
 
A 59 does not happen every day and a 58, even more so. But golf fans keep standing to see that historic round.

 

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First Published: Dec 04 2004 | 12:00 AM IST

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