Defending GGCC Champ Has Tenacity In His Bag

By BLAIR HOLLEY

Many years ago a little boy had an English Bulldog for a beloved pet. All these years later an old man can see that bulldog in the face of Hal Sutton.

Now that is meant as an out-and-out compliment and it refers to the tenacity which that breed shares with the defending champion of the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic.

That tenacity and a great talent will again be on display this month at Forest Oaks Country Club (April 26-29).

Sutton appeared at a press conference last fall. As one writer fumbled with a question designed to have Sutton comment on the quality of the field – regardless of whom played, the champ jumped in with, "You mean Tiger?"

Well, that hadn't been the intent but you never "look a gift horse, etc." in this business and everybody benefited when Sutton took off with the idea. He said, "We all try to beat the golf course and not an opponent but somehow Tiger lets us know he's out there. I'd love to defend my championship here with him in the field."

That's where the bulldog bit comes in, since Sutton convincingly proved he had the grit to stand toe to toe with Tiger Woods. Hal opened the 2000 Players Championship in late March with a trio of 69s and had a four-stroke lead on Tiger at the halfway point.

But Tiger carded a 66 on the third day and crept to within one slim stroke of Sutton's top rung. On that fateful final day, at a point when many other pros had withered in the face of Tiger's reputation, Sutton hung in there with a 71 to match his opponent and win the big event, 278 to 279.

Sutton said, "I felt the message should be delivered that he could be beat."

It would seem as if Sutton's temerity to challenge Woods at the Players has rubbed off on a few others on the Tour.

Apparently, Tiger took exception to some words Sutton issued in an interview a month before the Players. Some thoughts were "exchanged" and Sutton said, "Tiger Woods is not bigger than the game. He's not a god. He's human, just like I am."

Sutton already knew that no player was invincible and that he could combat a legend. In the 1983 PGA Championship, when Hal was one of the hottest young golfers on the tour, he had bitten Jack Nicklaus with the Bear charging the Bulldog at the end.

But then the dark days rolled in and by 1992 Sutton was on his way to becoming one of the forgotten stars of the game, earning less than $40,000. However, he rebuilt his game in the simple swing image of his youth and also found personal stability by marrying Ashley Powell in 1994.

His comeback began that year and he won $540,000, receiving the Hilton Bounceback Award. A victory in the 1995 B.C. Open in 1995 kept the momentum going and by 1998 his game was once again rounding into top form with a pair of tour wins, his first "double" since the former glory days of 1986.

The thrilling victory in the Players earned him more than the million-plus dollars he collected. It seems that he also collected respect from Tiger. At a subsequent tournament last year they met and Tiger said, "Man, you really kicked my ass at the Players Championship."

Never the one to back down, even at a compliment. Sutton says, "It's good to remind Tiger how that feels once in a while."

By the end of last season, Hal had accumulated those two victories for a total of five in a three-year stretch, the best run of his career. One of those, the GGCC, was by three strokes over Andrew Magee and came when Sutton had turned 41, which made him the oldest winner in Greensboro since 1965 when the incomparable Sam Snead won at age 52.

All you need do is look into that square-jawed face – there's that bulldog thing again – and know that Sutton is still a force. He closed his remarks at that press conference with, "I'll do my best to represent Greensboro as a worthy champion."

You can bet on that.