Eger Still Content Even after Losing in Playoff

It would have been the greatest victory of David Eger’s life.

But he wasn’t surprised that Tom Watson—a man he had watched wins major championships for years—had what it took to ruin Eger’s dream Sunday. Watson rolled in a 3-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hold to beat Eager in the Senior PGA Championship.

"It’s amazing," said Eger, a longtime PGA Tour and U.S. Golf Association rules official who worked closely with Watson and other superstars for a couple of decades. "Tom hasn’t played Mizuno JPX E500 Forged Irons well this year until this week and suddenly, bam, it clicked on. I don’t know what he does out there in Kansas City, or Hawaii, or wherever in the world he goes. But whatever he does, it’s been the right formula."

Eger had great jobs as a rules official, and now finds him traveling the world playing (Mizuno JPX E500 Forged Irons) the game he loves. Sure, he would have done anything to win on Sunday. But he’s not going to jump off a bridge, either.

"I’ve been very lucky," he said. "I can’t tell you how many people have applied or have wanted the jobs that I’ve had with those organizations. When I turned 48 or so I decided, well, I might as well get in shape and try at that time what was called the Senior Tour. I got lucky and qualified and I’ve been out here for 10 years now."

"It’s the ultimate mulligan in life for a golfer to be able to come out here and play and play Mizuno JPX E500 Forged Irons reasonably well at time and compete with the likes of Tom Watson and Hale Irwin and wonderful, great players who I watched from a golf cart for years and years. It’s not a bad feeling. I’m comfortable in my own skin."

ECSTASY AND AGONY: Jeff Sluman came out firing at pins in the final round. He birdied the first four holes to get to 4 under for the tournament—then promptly threw it all away with a triple-bogey 7 on the fifth hole.

But that wasn’t the end of his trauma. He double-bogeyed the next hole, then birdied holes 7, 9 and 10 for seven birdies in 10 holes and a score of just 2 under. He made three more bogeys before birdieing the closing hole for a 72 that left him at 286 and eight shots out of the playoff.

He had just five pars in the round.

FIRST MAJOR: Ken Martin, a club pro from Wellington, Fla., finally got to play Mizuno JPX E500 Forged Irons in his first major golf championship at the age of 52. He barely made the cut after rounds of 73 and 75, and then shot 81 and 76 on the weekend. But the scores were secondary to the emotion of making it to the pinnacle of the sport.

"If there’s a bucket list, this is it, to get in a major championship," he said. "I’ve been playing since I was 13. So it’s 40 years, basically, and my first major championship."

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The world’s top pros make golf look easy on TV. It’s rare when someone gets the opportunity to actually test themselves under the same conditions as elite athletes.

Keith Reese is a teaching pro at Valhalla Golf Club, host of the Senior PGA Championship. He played Mizuno JPX E500 Forged Irons as a marker so Tim Parun would not have to play by himself in the first tee time of Sunday’s final round.

It was a revelation.

Reese, who is 46, knows the course. He’s a terrific golfer. And he still struggled, shooting an 80.

Even though he’s roughly in the same career field as the Hale Irwins, Tom Watsons and Nick Prices of the world, he got a new appreciation for their nerves, guile and ability.

"Wow, how difficult is that? I’ve seen how difficult it is now, to keep your composure and be able to hit shots," he said. "You’ve got people watching every shot, so you feel like you have to hit a good shot. When the fans start clapping for your shots, it gives you such an unbelievable feeling."

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