committed to having more fun going forward.” Asked about some differences among today’s young players compared to previous generations, sports psychologist Gio Valiante cited a 1983 quote from the maniacally driven Hogan, who grew up poor and at age 9 witnessed his father’s suicide. “I feel sorry for rich kids now, I really do,” Hogan said, “because they’re never going to have the opportunity I had. Because I knew tough things. I had a tough day all of my life, and I can handle tough things. They can’t.” Says Valiante: “I suspect a far greater majority of today’s players come from more nurturing backgrounds, which tends to breed less obsession with greatness. The problem with being well adjusted and still try- ing to be great is that at some point, the question occurs, ‘What the hell am I doing this for?’ If the answer isn’t clear, that journey will end.” PGA Tour observers have also noticed an increased degree of conviviality among players, whether because they are more conscious of the shared stresses of competitive tour life or simply because they are more comfortable. “Everyone is friendly now,” says a veteran caddie. “Probably much better and healthier for your life but for greatness in sport? Tiger used to be aloof. It wasn’t personal disdain, but he wanted to prove he was superior and almost took offence at the possibility someone thought they could beat him. It was part of his edge.”
THE SURETY THAT AN ELITE PGA TOUR PLAYER IN HIS PRIME WILL PUT THE SINGLE-MINDED PURSUIT OF GREATNESS AHEAD OF NEW MONEY IS OVER.
Perhaps Tiger set the standard of greatness so high that it has drained the belief that it can be approached, let alone equalled. Only the icono- clastic Koepka, with five majors, is open about his belief. As he said in 2021, “In my mind, I’m going to catch him on majors.” Deane Beman, the commissioner of the PGA Tour from 1974 to 1994, remains a visionary at age 86. Ironically, the man who in 1980 developed the Senior Tour in part to lengthen the money-making years of his members believes careers on the PGA Tour will be getting shorter and not just because of more money. Beman lays out this sequence of reasons: Play- ers are getting better younger. The latest example is Nick Dunlap, 20, who became the first player in history to win on the PGA Tour as an amateur and professional in the same year. Part of this precociousness comes from the less complicated
SINGULAR DRIVE Ben Hogan won six of his nine
majors after a near-fatal car crash.
GOLF DIGEST SOUTH AFRICA 45
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2024
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