A Day The Tways Will Never Forget

By David Shefter, USGA

Longmeadow, Mass. – Moments after The Golf Channel had concluded its obligatory post-championship trophy presentation and interviews with the winner and runner-up of the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur, Bob Tway made his way down toward the green where the final match had ended.

In the middle of the 15th green at Longmeadow Country Club, the 1986 PGA Championship winner embraced his son, Kevin, who had become a major champion in the eyes of the junior golf world. The hug lasted only a few seconds, but the memory will linger for a lifetime.

Fighting tears, the elder Tway congratulated him on his stellar accomplishment.

“He couldn’t say much because I think he was crying,” said Kevin, who celebrated his 17th birthday on Saturday with a 5-and-3 victory over 16-year-old Brad Johnson of Birmingham, Ala., in the first 36-hole final in Junior Amateur history. “He just said, ‘Great job, son and happy birthday.’ ”

For Bob Tway this had been an enduring week and far more difficult than holing a bunker shot at the 72nd hole to defeat Greg Norman at the ’86 PGA at Inverness. It was more nerve-racking than standing at the first tee of the U.S. Open. That he can control. All he could do this week was watch and hope. As any parent will tell you, that’s a tough ordeal. Tway did his best to stay out of the limelight, often watching each hole from a good distance and occasionally chatting with his former college coach at Oklahoma State, Mike Holder, who attended the Junior to get in recruiting for future talent.

Kevin Tway now has something his more-famous father, Bob, never has accomplished: winning a USGA championship. (Sam Greenwood/USGA)

Tway had played the Junior Amateur himself back in the mid-1970s, but without much success. He was eliminated in the first round of the 1975 Junior in Nashville and failed to make the match-play cut in his other appearance.

Kevin took him for a much wilder ride this week in Massachusetts. The journey certainly had a few anxious moments. He took out the stroke-play medalist, Sam Saunders, in round two, trailed Russell Henley in the third round by as much as three holes on the front nine before earning a 3-and-1 win, and then pulled off a miracle rally in the quarters against Tim McKenney to post a 21-hole victory. He was 3 down with four to play before collecting birdies at 15 and 18 and winning 17 with a par to force extra holes.

No such comeback was necessary in the final. Tway played a stellar morning 18, registering five birdies and shooting the equivalent of 4-under 66 (with match-play concessions) to grab a 4-up lead at the lunch break. Johnson did play poor golf either, shooting a 70 but two of his birdies at 15 and 17 were only good enough for halves.

“I can’t say I gave it to him,” said Johnson. “He made some putts early and I got a little discouraged. He played great. It’s tough to look at a five-birdie 66 when you are not swinging that great.”

Tway’s mastery of the Donald Ross greens seem to get better with each round, perhaps a result of some drills his caddie/swing coach E.J. Pfister gave him early in the week. During stroke play, Tway was pulling his putts, so Pfister put down two shafts and instructed him to putt the ball between the clubs to help get the ball started on line better. The result was a few more made putts and a confidence level that rose as the matches got tougher.

“If I could give him a good line, he seemed to hit it on line all the time,” said the 39-year-old Pfister, himself a former NCAA individual champion at Oklahoma State and now a full-time instructor. “Most of the time he made them if I gave him a good line. The only reason he missed is if I gave him a bad read.”

And Tway certainly made a few clutch putts and shots during the afternoon 18. At the 20th hole, he flew a 77-yard wedge shot to a few inches from the flag for a conceded par to halve the hole. At No. 27, he rolled in a 15-footer for par, but Johnson answered with an 11-footer for birdie to cut the deficit to 5 up. Three holes later, Tway holed another 7-footer for par to get another halve.

“On the last green (32nd hole) I was glad it was over,” said Bob Tway. “I didn’t know how much more I could take. I don’t know how to describe it. Obviously, you are very proud. It’s just an awesome feeling. I guess it’s the most nervous I have ever been.

“No matter who you are, even watching your kid play T-ball is always tough. For some reason, watching him play other tournaments didn’t seem that big of a deal. This championship is a big deal. No matter what you do the rest of your life, to win a USGA event is unbelievable.”

When Kevin Tway showed up this week at Longmeadow he was often referred to as Bob Tway’s son. It is something that goes with the territory when you are the son of a famous athlete or celebrity. Sam Saunders endures that everywhere he plays as the grandson of Arnold Palmer. Gary Nicklaus, Andy Miller, Bill Haas and Kevin Stadler deal with that as well.

Even winning the Junior isn’t likely to change that for Kevin, but it can go a long way in making a path that is his own. He’s now accomplished something his father never did. Perhaps a few people might refer to Bob Tway as Kevin Tway’s father.

“I haven’t won the tournaments that he has won yet,” said Kevin. “This is just another step up to getting to where I want to go in life, which is a professional golfer.”

He also arrived with only enough clothes for about five days of golf. Little did he realize he would be spending eight full days at Longmeadow. So Tway, his caddie and father hit the local stores to buy extra shirts, underwear, socks and shorts.

“We really didn’t know where a laundry machine was,” said the younger Tway. “I don’t like doing laundry. We just figured it was easier to buy new clothes.”

His next decision will be where to put the Junior trophy among the family mantelpiece of hardware. When the cup finally reaches Tway’s Edmond, Okla., home (the USGA ships it to the winner who possesses it for a year), Kevin can finally take the time to look at all the great names that have been engraved into the oversized silver bowl. Tiger Woods, David Duval, Johnny Miller, Gary Koch, Brett Quigley, Hunter Mahan and even his caddie Pfister’s longtime Western New York junior rival Tim Straub are all there.

“To have my name on there is an honor,” said Kevin Tway. “It feels pretty good.”

Said Bob Tway: “He surprised me this week. I knew he could play well, but to go through this tournament like he did and play that well when he needed to, I was pretty impressed. Every match was tough. All these kids are great players. You’ve got to have a lot of luck and lot of game to get through it.

“That’s why when Tiger Woods won three of these and three U.S. Amateurs is better than winning the [Tiger] Slam [in 2000 and 2001]. I think this was a tougher deal.”

By a twist of fate and scheduling, Tway will be able to defend his Junior title next year. The 2006 championship ends on July 22, making him eligible to compete by exactly one day. Competitors can’t turn 18 on or before the end of the competition.

So Tway could become the first person to win this title twice as a 17-year-old.

Bob Tway just laughed at that possibility.

He also knows how tough it will be to do it again.

“He played eight days of golf and three of them were 36 holes,” said Tway. “I’m not sure people understand how much golf that is, especially under this kind of pressure. Match play is a lot more strenuous than medal play. To withstand all of that is probably one of the toughest things to do.”

It’s even harder as a spectator.

David Shefter is a USGA staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.