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Calkins: Seagal gets high drama in FESJC's final shots
By Geoff Calkins
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May 30, 2005
He teetered backward, then collapsed in a heap of relief.
Justin Leonard is not one of the more flamboyant guys on the PGA Tour. But when he tapped in a 4-foot putt to win the 10th tournament of his career -- and avoid the indignity of dithering away an 8-stroke lead -- he allowed himself to tumble to the grass.
"That wasn't easy," said Leonard.
No.
But then, it was golf.
Who said it was supposed to be?
Ask Greg Norman. Ask Jean Van de Velde. Ask the newest champion of the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
"I got that uh-oh feeling," Leonard said.
"It was hard to watch," said Amanda, his wife.
"Is he the guy in the white hat?" said Steven Seagal.
That's right, Steven Seagal. Germantown's own action adventure hero. He was at the 18th green to try and sink a 20-foot putt and win $50,000 for St. Jude after the tournament was done. Seagal doesn't know anything about golf -- he had never picked up a club before Friday -- but he knows drama when he sees it.
Leonard's second shot at 18 was tight against the grandstands. His lead had been cut to two strokes.
"That's a hard bleeping shot," said Seagal.
Hey, this isn't an R-rated tournament!
But Seagal was right about the precarious position Leonard found himself in.
The guy came into the day with an eight-stroke lead. The last time anyone blew one of those was, uh, never.
Not to say people were expecting a ho-hum day, but even before the round the scoreboards said "Congratulations Justin Leonard."
Officials insisted this was because he had won $50,000 for leading after 54 holes.
Yeah, right.
This was over, finished, done.
"Pretty easy and comfortable," said Leonard, talking about the front nine Sunday. "Just cruising along."
And then something happened.
Golf happened?
David Toms said he needed some time to adjust to the changes in the course. The two-time defending champion seemed to have it figured out Sunday afternoon.
He eagled 16, chipped in for birdie at 17 and finished with a stunning 63.
"One of those magical days" is what he called it.
Watch an eight-stroke lead disappear!
Leonard noticed. He didn't pretend otherwise.
"To go from eight shots to two with those two holes left ... there was a definite shift," he said.
Which is the delicious part of this game. The way it inevitably tests the mind.
This wasn't about Leonard hitting good, technical golf shots. This was about him staring into the abyss.
He couldn't blow an 8-shot lead, could he?
But how could he stop it now?
He hit his tee shot right on 17. If he missed the putt that followed -- a tricky 7-foot downhill slider -- the lead would be cut to a single stroke.
By this time, Toms was on the practice tee, preparing himself for a possible playoff.
Leonard tapped the ball toward the hole. When it dropped, he slowly, deliberately, pumped his fist.
"The biggest putt of the week," he said.
Naturally, Leonard couldn't find the fairway on 18, either. Then he put his second shot up against the stands.
"They're allowed to move the ball like that?" asked Seagal.
See, Steven, it's quieter than blowing the stands up.
Leonard chipped to 34 feet, missed that putt, then had that stomach-churning 4-footer coming back.
It fell. He fell.
"Just relief," he said.
We understand.
When Leonard picked himself up, he delivered one of the sweetest acceptance speeches you'll ever hear.
He complimented the changes to the course. Called them "the best changes I've ever seen."
He said that all week, "people were thanking us for coming to play. I couldn't quite understand why."
(It's a Memphis thing, Justin. We're funny that way.)
And then Leonard brought up the $50,000 he'd won from Crestor for leading after 54 holes. He said that, after talking about it with Amanda, "we decided to donate our $50,000 ..."
His voice broke. He couldn't speak. Amanda quietly came to the rescue.
"To St. Jude," she said.
Talk about your perfect ending, eh?
Unless you count Seagal's putt for more cash, and what a scene that was. Not only hadn't Seagal ever played golf before Friday, he hadn't even played Putt-Putt.
But Rob Akins worked with him a couple times. Seagal stood over the 20-foot putt for one second, two seconds, three seconds ...
C'mon, hit the ball.
You tell him that!
He struck, at last. The ball sped toward the cup. And if the day hadn't served up enough reminders of how fickle the game can be, we give you this final quote.
"It went in the hole," said Seagal. "And then it went out."
