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01-21-2024, 10:33 AM
(This post was last modified: 01-21-2024, 10:34 AM by
Mick.)
Answer is John Daly.
He won the PGA Championship in 1991 as a rookie (it was his first PGA tour victory of any kind). Daly was the ninth alternate and only got in because Nick Price withdrew after the birth of his first child -- Daly used Price's caddy, Jeff "Squeaky" Medlin. As an aside, six spectators were hit by lightning during the PGA Championship and one passed away...Daly established a scholarship fund for the spectator's two daughters, one of whom is now a doctor. The Ryder Cup was held a month later, and RC Captain Dave Stockton selected Chip Beck and Raymond Floyd as his two allotted captain's picks. Beck went 1-2, Floyd went 2-2. Stockton considered, but decided against Nicklaus (because of his attitude) and Daly (because of his youth) and Curtis Strange was in poor health. And Beck was 13th in the standings and was 3-0-1 in prior Ryder Cup matches. Stockton also considered Tom Watson and Tom Kite. Kite was 12th in points, but had been playing poorly. And Stockton thought Floyd was the best putter among his options. At 49, Floyd was the oldest to compete in a Ryder Cup. Apparently, Stockton polled other Ryder Cup members who thought Nicklaus would be more of a detriment than a help. Tim Simpson was 11th on the Ryder Cup points list, he wasn't considered. Beck went 1-2, Floyd went 2-2.
Daly won the 1995 British Open at St. Andrews, but Ryder Cup captain Lanny Wadkins literally didn't consider Daly for one of his captain's picks. Instead, he picked Curtis Strange, ranked 61st in the world, and Strange hadn't won in six years. Daly would have been invaluable in four-ball matches. Scott Hoch was a birdie machine. Predictably, Strange went 0-3 in the 1995 Ryder Cup, losing 1-up to Nick Faldo after finishing with three bogeys in a row. The Europeans won back the Ryder Cup by a point, 14.5 to 13.5, after being two points down entering the final round.. The American Ryder Cup team had five rookies, but only one was in his 20s, Phil Mickelson who was 25 (Daly was 29 at the time).
Which NFL team has won the most playoff games post-NFL/AFL merger?
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