{"id":115953,"date":"2019-03-04T19:00:12","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T16:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ww-vb.mine.nu\/w108\/golf-shouldnt-apologize-for-its-unknown-champions-if-anything-it-should-be-celebrating-them-more\/"},"modified":"2019-03-04T19:00:12","modified_gmt":"2019-03-04T16:00:12","slug":"golf-shouldnt-apologize-for-its-unknown-champions-if-anything-it-should-be-celebrating-them-more","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/golf-shouldnt-apologize-for-its-unknown-champions-if-anything-it-should-be-celebrating-them-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Golf shouldn&#8217;t apologize for its unknown champions. If anything it should be celebrating them more"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-reactid=\"10\">\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"In 1981, John McEnroe, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, opened the U.S. Open tennis tournament against Juan Nunez, a 24-year-old Chilean, who had to play his way through three qualifying matches to get into the main draw.\" data-reactid=\"11\">In 1981, John McEnroe, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, opened the U.S. Open tennis tournament against Juan Nunez, a 24-year-old Chilean, who had to play his way through three qualifying matches to get into the main draw.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"With threatening clouds scudding overheard, Nunez played the match of his life\u2014for one set. He took McEnroe to 6-all, then won the tiebreaker to win the set, 7-6.\" data-reactid=\"12\">With threatening clouds scudding overheard, Nunez played the match of his life\u2014for one set. He took McEnroe to 6-all, then won the tiebreaker to win the set, 7-6.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"The reaction in Louis Armstrong Stadium was thunderous. Almost everyone in the crowd was on their feet, cheering for Nunez. McEnroe shook his head in disgust, then won the next three sets, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. As always, he was blunt about what he was thinking as he waited out the Nunez ovation after the first set.\" data-reactid=\"13\">The reaction in Louis Armstrong Stadium was thunderous. Almost everyone in the crowd was on their feet, cheering for Nunez. McEnroe shook his head in disgust, then won the next three sets, 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. As always, he was blunt about what he was thinking as he waited out the Nunez ovation after the first set.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"\u201cNone of those people even heard of the guy before the match started,\u201d he said. \u201cThen, he wins one set and they\u2019re cheering like he\u2019s a member of their family.\u201d He smiled. \u201cDid they really think a guy ranked 193d in the world was going to beat me?\u201d\" data-reactid=\"14\">\u201cNone of those people even heard of the guy before the match started,\u201d he said. \u201cThen, he wins one set and they\u2019re cheering like he\u2019s a member of their family.\u201d He smiled. \u201cDid they really think a guy ranked 193d in the world was going to beat me?\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"canvas-image Mx(a) canvas-atom My(24px) My(20px)--sm\" style=\"max-width:100%;\" data-type=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia image\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" data-reactid=\"15\"><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"535\" data-reactid=\"16\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"800\" data-reactid=\"17\"\/><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:66.9%;\" class=\"Maw(100%) Pos(r) H(0) Cur(p)\" data-reactid=\"18\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Upsets like the one that McEnroe nearly endured in the 1981 U.S. Open are commonplace in golf.\" class=\"JsEnabled_Op(0) JsEnabled_Bg(n) Trsdu(.42s) Bgr(nr) Bgz(cv) StretchedBox W(100%) H(100%) ie-7_H(a)\" itemprop=\"url\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/wMST5h4KyylNf3ai94pubw--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_7\/744579d1665e0b83d835bae194bac8d4);\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/g\/images\/spaceball.gif\" data-reactid=\"19\"\/><noscript data-reactid=\"20\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Upsets like the one that McEnroe nearly endured in the 1981 U.S. Open are commonplace in golf.\" class=\"StretchedBox W(100%) H(100%) ie-7_H(a)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/wMST5h4KyylNf3ai94pubw--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_7\/744579d1665e0b83d835bae194bac8d4\" itemprop=\"url\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"Ov(h) Pos(r) Ff(ss) Mah(80px)\" data-reactid=\"30\"><figcaption class=\"C($c-fuji-grey-h) Fz(13px) Py(5px) Lh(1.5)\" title=\"&lt;h1 class=&quot;title&quot;&gt;Connors - McEnroe Final at Benson &amp; Hedges Championships&lt;\/h1&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;caption&quot;&gt; Upsets like the one that McEnroe nearly endured in the 1981 U.S. Open are commonplace in golf. &lt;\/div&gt; &lt;cite class=&quot;credit&quot;&gt;McCarthy&lt;\/cite&gt;\" data-reactid=\"31\">\n<div class=\"figure-caption\" data-reactid=\"32\">\n<p> Upsets like the one that McEnroe nearly endured in the 1981 U.S. Open are commonplace in golf. <\/p>\n<p> <cite class=\"credit\">McCarthy<\/cite><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><button class=\"C($c-fuji-blue-1-b) Cur(p) W(100%) T(63px) Bgc(#fff) Ta(start) Fz(13px) P(0) Bd(0) O(0) Lh(1.5) Pos(a)\" data-reactid=\"33\"><span data-reactid=\"34\">More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"No, most of them didn\u2019t. Because in tennis, guys ranked 193d in the world don\u2019t beat guys ranked No. 1 in the world. But in golf, it happens.\" data-reactid=\"35\">No, most of them didn\u2019t. Because in tennis, guys ranked 193d in the world don\u2019t beat guys ranked No. 1 in the world. But in golf, it happens.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/keith-mitchell-buries-a-winning-putt-and-the-label-of-relative-unknown?mbid=synd_yahoo_rss&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Sunday\u2019s Honda Classic was yet another example.&lt;\/a&gt; NBC and most in attendance got exactly what they wanted: three-time major champion &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player&quot; href=&quot;\/pga\/players\/12875\/&quot;&gt;Brooks Koepka&lt;\/a&gt; and hyper-popular &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player&quot; href=&quot;\/pga\/players\/9633\/&quot;&gt;Rickie Fowler&lt;\/a&gt;\u2014both of whom live within 10 minutes of PGA National Resort and Spa\u2014making back nine charges to get to eight-under-par and tie for the clubhouse lead.\" data-reactid=\"36\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/keith-mitchell-buries-a-winning-putt-and-the-label-of-relative-unknown?mbid=synd_yahoo_rss\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sunday\u2019s Honda Classic was yet another example.<\/a> NBC and most in attendance got exactly what they wanted: three-time major champion <a class=\"yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player\" href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/pga\/players\/12875\/\">Brooks Koepka<\/a> and hyper-popular <a class=\"yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player\" href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/pga\/players\/9633\/\">Rickie Fowler<\/a>\u2014both of whom live within 10 minutes of PGA National Resort and Spa\u2014making back nine charges to get to eight-under-par and tie for the clubhouse lead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"But a couple groups back, someone named &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player&quot; href=&quot;\/pga\/players\/13758\/&quot;&gt;Keith Mitchell&lt;\/a&gt; wasn\u2019t going away. Mitchell came into the tournament ranked 162nd in the world, his best finish on tour this season, a T-14 at the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in the fall\u2014won by Koepka.\" data-reactid=\"37\">But a couple groups back, someone named <a class=\"yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player\" href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/pga\/players\/13758\/\">Keith Mitchell<\/a> wasn\u2019t going away. Mitchell came into the tournament ranked 162nd in the world, his best finish on tour this season, a T-14 at the CJ Cup at Nine Bridges in the fall\u2014won by Koepka.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"Koepka\u2019s biggest win as a pro? You pick from the three majors he\u2019s won the last two years. Fowler has been criticized by some for only winning five times on tour. His biggest win was the Players Championship in 2015. Mitchell\u2019s only victory as a pro had come in a mini-tour event.\" data-reactid=\"38\">Koepka\u2019s biggest win as a pro? You pick from the three majors he\u2019s won the last two years. Fowler has been criticized by some for only winning five times on tour. His biggest win was the Players Championship in 2015. Mitchell\u2019s only victory as a pro had come in a mini-tour event.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"And yet, there was Mitchell, having birdied three of the previous six holes to match Fowler and Koepka at eight-under, standing over a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th green with a chance to win. And, there was Mitchell, draining the putt for the victory.\" data-reactid=\"39\">And yet, there was Mitchell, having birdied three of the previous six holes to match Fowler and Koepka at eight-under, standing over a 16-foot birdie putt on the 18th green with a chance to win. And, there was Mitchell, draining the putt for the victory.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"How long had it been since there had been such an unlikely victory on the PGA Tour? You have to all the way back to\u2026January\u2014six weeks ago when &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/golf-needs-the-occasional-adam-long?mbid=synd_yahoo_rss&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Adam Long, then ranked 417th in the world,&lt;\/a&gt; stared down Phil Mickelson for 18 holes on Sunday and drained a birdie putt similar to Mitchell\u2019s to win the Desert Classic.\" data-reactid=\"40\">How long had it been since there had been such an unlikely victory on the PGA Tour? You have to all the way back to\u2026January\u2014six weeks ago when <a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/golf-needs-the-occasional-adam-long?mbid=synd_yahoo_rss\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Adam Long, then ranked 417th in the world,<\/a> stared down Phil Mickelson for 18 holes on Sunday and drained a birdie putt similar to Mitchell\u2019s to win the Desert Classic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"The 54-hole leader at the Honda was Wyndham Clark, a tour rookie who squeezed onto the big tour this year by finishing 25th on the Web.com Tour last year\u2014grabbing the last tour spot available. Clark shot a two-over-par 72 to finish seventh.\" data-reactid=\"41\">The 54-hole leader at the Honda was Wyndham Clark, a tour rookie who squeezed onto the big tour this year by finishing 25th on the Web.com Tour last year\u2014grabbing the last tour spot available. Clark shot a two-over-par 72 to finish seventh.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"&lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/a-short-heartwarming-story-about-vijay-singh-no-seriously?mbid=synd_yahoo_rss&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow noopener&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;&lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player&quot; href=&quot;\/pga\/players\/10\/&quot;&gt;Vijay Singh&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;, who turned 56 last month, also had a chance to win, until his tee shot found the water at 17 on the tournament\u2019s 71st hole. A Singh victory would have been an amazing story, too, but in a different way. He hasn\u2019t won on tour since 2008 and would have been the oldest man\u2014by almost four years\u2014to win on tour. Singh, though, is a Hall of Famer with 34 tour victories, three of them majors. He\u2019s not Juan Nunez by any stretch.\" data-reactid=\"42\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.golfdigest.com\/story\/a-short-heartwarming-story-about-vijay-singh-no-seriously?mbid=synd_yahoo_rss\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\/><a class=\"yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_player\" href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/pga\/players\/10\/\">Vijay Singh<\/a>, who turned 56 last month, also had a chance to win, until his tee shot found the water at 17 on the tournament\u2019s 71st hole. A Singh victory would have been an amazing story, too, but in a different way. He hasn\u2019t won on tour since 2008 and would have been the oldest man\u2014by almost four years\u2014to win on tour. Singh, though, is a Hall of Famer with 34 tour victories, three of them majors. He\u2019s not Juan Nunez by any stretch.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"Upsets happen in all sports, but they happen with far more frequency in golf. The greatest sports upset of my lifetime was the U.S. Olympic hockey team\u2019s shocking 4-3 win over the seemingly omnipotent Soviets in the 1980 Olympics. That was a once-in-a-lifetime event, so remarkable that two movies\u2014one good, one bad\u2014were made about it.\" data-reactid=\"43\">Upsets happen in all sports, but they happen with far more frequency in golf. The greatest sports upset of my lifetime was the U.S. Olympic hockey team\u2019s shocking 4-3 win over the seemingly omnipotent Soviets in the 1980 Olympics. That was a once-in-a-lifetime event, so remarkable that two movies\u2014one good, one bad\u2014were made about it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"The Boston &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team&quot; href=&quot;\/mlb\/teams\/boston\/&quot;&gt;Red Sox&lt;\/a&gt; World Series victory in 2004 was celebrated across the sports world, not because the Red Sox weren\u2019t an excellent team, but because they came from 3-0 down in the American League Championship Series to take down the hated Yankees and then ended an 86-year World Series drought by sweeping the &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team&quot; href=&quot;\/mlb\/teams\/st-louis\/&quot;&gt;St. Louis Cardinals&lt;\/a&gt;. How often have teams come from 3-0 down in postseason baseball series to win? The Red Sox are the list.\" data-reactid=\"44\">The Boston <a class=\"yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team\" href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/mlb\/teams\/boston\/\">Red Sox<\/a> World Series victory in 2004 was celebrated across the sports world, not because the Red Sox weren\u2019t an excellent team, but because they came from 3-0 down in the American League Championship Series to take down the hated Yankees and then ended an 86-year World Series drought by sweeping the <a class=\"yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team\" href=\"http:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/mlb\/teams\/st-louis\/\">St. Louis Cardinals<\/a>. How often have teams come from 3-0 down in postseason baseball series to win? The Red Sox are the list.<\/p>\n<p><button class=\"read-more-button Td(n) Cur(p) D(ib) Fw(b) Fz(14px) Fz(15px)--lg W(180px)--sm Bdc($c-fuji-blue-1-a) Bdrs(4px) Bds(s) Bdw(2px) Bgc($c-fuji-blue-1-a):h C($c-fuji-blue-1-a)! C(#fff)!:h Lts(.3px) Px(30px) Py(10px) Lh(1)\" data-reactid=\"46\"><span data-reactid=\"47\">Story continues<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"Ov(h) Trs($transition-readmore) Mah(0)\" data-reactid=\"48\">\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"The NFL\u2019s greatest upset was Super Bowl III, when the New York Jets\u2014a 17-to-19-point underdog, depending on which history book you read\u2014beat the Baltimore Colts, 16-7. No one knew how good the Jets were because the NFL and AFL hadn\u2019t merged yet and the assumption, based on the first two Super Bowls, was that an AFL team couldn\u2019t compete with the NFL\u2019s best.\" data-reactid=\"49\">The NFL\u2019s greatest upset was Super Bowl III, when the New York Jets\u2014a 17-to-19-point underdog, depending on which history book you read\u2014beat the Baltimore Colts, 16-7. No one knew how good the Jets were because the NFL and AFL hadn\u2019t merged yet and the assumption, based on the first two Super Bowls, was that an AFL team couldn\u2019t compete with the NFL\u2019s best.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"canvas-image Mx(a) canvas-atom My(24px) My(20px)--sm\" style=\"max-width:100%;\" data-type=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia image\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" data-reactid=\"50\"><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"533\" data-reactid=\"51\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"800\" data-reactid=\"52\"\/><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:66.6%;\" class=\"Maw(100%) Pos(r) H(0) Cur(p)\" data-reactid=\"53\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after his teams 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)\" class=\"JsEnabled_Op(0) JsEnabled_Bg(n) Trsdu(.42s) Bgr(nr) Bgz(cv) StretchedBox W(100%) H(100%) ie-7_H(a)\" itemprop=\"url\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/fe2hyWcbN.2VccEVIfwz_Q--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_7\/c19ad54614b85d7cd13c4c4511d03d97);\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/g\/images\/spaceball.gif\" data-reactid=\"54\"\/><noscript data-reactid=\"55\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after his teams 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images)\" class=\"StretchedBox W(100%) H(100%) ie-7_H(a)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/fe2hyWcbN.2VccEVIfwz_Q--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_7\/c19ad54614b85d7cd13c4c4511d03d97\" itemprop=\"url\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"Ov(h) Pos(r) Ff(ss) Mah(80px)\" data-reactid=\"65\"><figcaption class=\"C($c-fuji-grey-h) Fz(13px) Py(5px) Lh(1.5)\" title=\"&lt;h1 class=&quot;title&quot;&gt;Super Bowl LII - &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team&quot; href=&quot;\/nfl\/teams\/philadelphia\/&quot;&gt;Philadelphia Eagles&lt;\/a&gt; v &lt;a class=&quot;yom-entity-link yom-entity-sports_team&quot; href=&quot;\/nfl\/teams\/new-england\/&quot;&gt;New England Patriots&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/h1&gt; &lt;div class=&quot;caption&quot;&gt; MINNEAPOLIS, MN - FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after his teams 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images) &lt;\/div&gt; &lt;cite class=&quot;credit&quot;&gt;Kevin C. Cox&lt;\/cite&gt;\" data-reactid=\"66\">\n<div class=\"figure-caption\" data-reactid=\"67\">\n<p> MINNEAPOLIS, MN &#8211; FEBRUARY 04: Nick Foles #9 of the Philadelphia Eagles celebrates with the Vince Lombardi Trophy after his teams 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII at U.S. Bank Stadium on February 4, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots 41-33. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox\/Getty Images) <\/p>\n<p> <cite class=\"credit\">Kevin C. Cox<\/cite><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><button class=\"C($c-fuji-blue-1-b) Cur(p) W(100%) T(63px) Bgc(#fff) Ta(start) Fz(13px) P(0) Bd(0) O(0) Lh(1.5) Pos(a)\" data-reactid=\"68\"><span data-reactid=\"69\">More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"Two years ago, few people gave the Philadelphia Eagles a chance in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, but, with backup quarterback Nick Foles, starring in a made-for-Disney performance, the Eagles won. People forgot they were 15-3 prior to the game, not exactly the 162nd best\u2014or, for that matter 417th best\u2014team in football.\" data-reactid=\"70\">Two years ago, few people gave the Philadelphia Eagles a chance in the Super Bowl against the New England Patriots, but, with backup quarterback Nick Foles, starring in a made-for-Disney performance, the Eagles won. People forgot they were 15-3 prior to the game, not exactly the 162nd best\u2014or, for that matter 417th best\u2014team in football.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"A year ago, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County became the first 16th seed to win an NCAA Tournament basketball game, when it beat top-seeded Virginia. It only took 136 games for a 16th-seed to beat a one-seed. It may take another 136 before it happens again.\" data-reactid=\"71\">A year ago, the University of Maryland-Baltimore County became the first 16th seed to win an NCAA Tournament basketball game, when it beat top-seeded Virginia. It only took 136 games for a 16th-seed to beat a one-seed. It may take another 136 before it happens again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"But golf history is littered with stories even more surprising and dramatic than Mitchell\u2019s and Long\u2019s. Frances Ouimet comes to mind and, no, I didn\u2019t cover the 1913 U.S. Open, though I suspect Dan Jenkins did. Jack Fleck over Ben Hogan in 1955 at Olympic is another example.\" data-reactid=\"72\">But golf history is littered with stories even more surprising and dramatic than Mitchell\u2019s and Long\u2019s. Frances Ouimet comes to mind and, no, I didn\u2019t cover the 1913 U.S. Open, though I suspect Dan Jenkins did. Jack Fleck over Ben Hogan in 1955 at Olympic is another example.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"Fast forward to 2003 when Ben Curtis, a PGA Tour rookie ranked 396th in the world, won the Open Championship, outdueling Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III and Thomas Bjorn down the stretch. A month later, Shaun Micheel\u2014who had never won before on the PGA Tour and would never win again\u2014hit one of the great shots in golf history on the 18th hole at Oak Hill (a 7-iron to a foot) to clinch the PGA Championship.\" data-reactid=\"73\">Fast forward to 2003 when Ben Curtis, a PGA Tour rookie ranked 396th in the world, won the Open Championship, outdueling Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Davis Love III and Thomas Bjorn down the stretch. A month later, Shaun Micheel\u2014who had never won before on the PGA Tour and would never win again\u2014hit one of the great shots in golf history on the 18th hole at Oak Hill (a 7-iron to a foot) to clinch the PGA Championship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"A year after that, Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a playoff in the Open Championship. Hamilton, however, had won 11 times in Japan and had won the Honda Classic\u2014how about that?\u2014earlier in the year. But, after that victory in Scotland, he never won again.\" data-reactid=\"74\">A year after that, Todd Hamilton beat Ernie Els in a playoff in the Open Championship. Hamilton, however, had won 11 times in Japan and had won the Honda Classic\u2014how about that?\u2014earlier in the year. But, after that victory in Scotland, he never won again.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"canvas-image Mx(a) canvas-atom My(24px) My(20px)--sm\" style=\"max-width:100%;\" data-type=\"image\" itemscope=\"\" itemprop=\"associatedMedia image\" itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\" data-reactid=\"75\"><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"450\" data-reactid=\"76\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"800\" data-reactid=\"77\"\/><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:56.3%;\" class=\"Maw(100%) Pos(r) H(0) Cur(p)\" data-reactid=\"78\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Golf has enjoyed occasional unknown winners in majors.\" class=\"JsEnabled_Op(0) JsEnabled_Bg(n) Trsdu(.42s) Bgr(nr) Bgz(cv) StretchedBox W(100%) H(100%) ie-7_H(a)\" itemprop=\"url\" style=\"background-image:url(https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/SHkkmVcTV3OVmIpOJM1wMw--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_7\/7438830a26bf6b5700cdcf77a9f893ba);\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/g\/images\/spaceball.gif\" data-reactid=\"79\"\/><noscript data-reactid=\"80\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Golf has enjoyed occasional unknown winners in majors.\" class=\"StretchedBox W(100%) H(100%) ie-7_H(a)\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/SHkkmVcTV3OVmIpOJM1wMw--~A\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjtzbT0xO3c9ODAw\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/golf_digest_7\/7438830a26bf6b5700cdcf77a9f893ba\" itemprop=\"url\"\/><\/noscript><\/div>\n<div itemprop=\"caption description\" class=\"Ov(h) Pos(r) Ff(ss) Mah(80px)\" data-reactid=\"90\"><figcaption class=\"C($c-fuji-grey-h) Fz(13px) Py(5px) Lh(1.5)\" title=\"&lt;div class=&quot;caption&quot;&gt; Golf has enjoyed occasional unknown winners in majors. &lt;\/div&gt; &lt;cite class=&quot;credit&quot;&gt;Getty Images (4)&lt;\/cite&gt;\" data-reactid=\"91\">\n<div class=\"figure-caption\" data-reactid=\"92\">\n<p> Golf has enjoyed occasional unknown winners in majors. <\/p>\n<p> <cite class=\"credit\">Getty Images (4)<\/cite><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><button class=\"C($c-fuji-blue-1-b) Cur(p) W(100%) T(63px) Bgc(#fff) Ta(start) Fz(13px) P(0) Bd(0) O(0) Lh(1.5) Pos(a)\" data-reactid=\"93\"><span data-reactid=\"94\">More<\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"After his winning putt on Sunday, Mitchell, who is 27, noted that even though he\u2019s not that much younger than Fowler (30) and Koepka (28) he\u2019d been watching them, \u201cfor years,\u201d while he was grinding on mini-tours and then the Web.com Tour.\" data-reactid=\"95\">After his winning putt on Sunday, Mitchell, who is 27, noted that even though he\u2019s not that much younger than Fowler (30) and Koepka (28) he\u2019d been watching them, \u201cfor years,\u201d while he was grinding on mini-tours and then the Web.com Tour.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"\u201cEveryone has to win their first tournament somewhere,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis was mine.\u201d\" data-reactid=\"96\">\u201cEveryone has to win their first tournament somewhere,\u201d Mitchell said. \u201cThis was mine.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"Actually, that\u2019s not quite true. Many players spend years on tour and never win a tournament. Many others never reach the tour. That\u2019s why Paul Azinger was completely correct when he said, \u201cthis would be a life-changing moment for him,\u201d as Mitchell stood over his final putt on 18.\" data-reactid=\"97\">Actually, that\u2019s not quite true. Many players spend years on tour and never win a tournament. Many others never reach the tour. That\u2019s why Paul Azinger was completely correct when he said, \u201cthis would be a life-changing moment for him,\u201d as Mitchell stood over his final putt on 18.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"A win on tour makes you a PGA Tour member forever. It means you have a job for at least two years and (unless it is a tournament played opposite a WGC event) means you are in the Masters.\" data-reactid=\"98\">A win on tour makes you a PGA Tour member forever. It means you have a job for at least two years and (unless it is a tournament played opposite a WGC event) means you are in the Masters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"Mitchell was asked how many majors he has played in. He smiled and said, \u201cZero.\u201d Then he added, \u201cwell, actually half-a-major. I played in the Players last year. That counts as half-a-major doesn\u2019t it?\u201d\" data-reactid=\"99\">Mitchell was asked how many majors he has played in. He smiled and said, \u201cZero.\u201d Then he added, \u201cwell, actually half-a-major. I played in the Players last year. That counts as half-a-major doesn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"No, it doesn\u2019t, but that doesn\u2019t matter.\" data-reactid=\"100\">No, it doesn\u2019t, but that doesn\u2019t matter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"What matters is that Mitchell has a lot more than the tangible rewards (including a first prize of $1,224,000) in the wake of his victory. He has the memory of making that putt on 18 to win and, in the process, defeat two very famous players.\" data-reactid=\"101\">What matters is that Mitchell has a lot more than the tangible rewards (including a first prize of $1,224,000) in the wake of his victory. He has the memory of making that putt on 18 to win and, in the process, defeat two very famous players.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"It was certainly a memorable finish. But one more likely to occur in golf than in any other sport.\" data-reactid=\"102\">It was certainly a memorable finish. But one more likely to occur in golf than in any other sport.<\/p>\n<p class=\"canvas-atom canvas-text Mb(1.0em) Mb(0)--sm Mt(0.8em)--sm\" type=\"text\" content=\"--\" data-reactid=\"103\">&#8212;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/golf-shouldnt-apologize-unknown-champions-154407247.html?src=rss\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] In 1981, John McEnroe, the defending champion and No. 1 seed, opened the U.S. Open tennis tournament against Juan Nunez, a 24-year-old Chilean, who had to play his way through three qualifying matches to get into the main draw. With threatening clouds scudding overheard, Nunez played the match of his life\u2014for one set. He &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":115954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tie-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hameed.nwar.uk\/sa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}