Greg Owen is a professional golfer from England who has struggled to become a solid regular player on the PGA Tour. On Sunday of this week last year, he came to the 17th hole at Bay Hill with a one-shot lead, just two holes away from his first PGA Tour championship and a congratulatory handshake from the Bay Hill tournament chairman and golf icon, Arnold Palmer. Owen had never even met Palmer.
Owen’s tee shot on the par-3 17th missed the green, but he chipped his second shot to 40 inches from the cup, so it appeared that he had saved par. However, he missed the putt and then proceeded to three putt the hole, missing the second putt while angrily attempting to tap it in from just inches away. The double-bogey cost him the lead and a bogey on the final hole of the tournament sealed his fate. A devastated Owen dutifully handled the post-tournament media sessions and then immediately left for his home in Orlando. His chance at a congratulatory handshake from Palmer was gone, perhaps forever.
As the newly-christened Arnold Palmer Invitational got under way yesterday at Bay Hill, Golf Digest’s Steve Elling passes along the contents of a letter that Owen found in his mailbox a few days after his meltdown at last year’s tournament.
March 22, 2006
Dear Greg:
Not to belabor the point, but I want you to know how I sympathize with how you have to be feeling about what happened at the end of the tournament last Sunday. In somewhat different circumstances, I’ve been there a time or two over the years myself.
You should try to draw some consolation that, until that happened, you had outplayed everybody in contention. There’s no reason why your time to win shouldn’t come further down the line.
You handled your disappointment very well afterwards and I wish you well the rest of the season.
Sincerely,
Arnold Palmer
Owen immediately framed the picture. And Arnold Palmer reaffirmed his place among the great sportsmen of our time.
