I’ve been to Bellerive Country Cub all of one time in my life.
Ozzie Smith held a press conference there the morning after his selection to the Baseball Hall of Fame was announced in 2002. I wish I returned on Sunday for the final round of the 100th PGA Championship.
As Tiger Woods sank a birdie putt at No. 18, pumped his fist and the crowd roared, I got misty eyed. Woods would finish second to Brooks Koepka, but his 64 on Sunday and the energy it brought to Bellerive and 5.5 million television viewers was incredible.
As Woods crossed an elevated walkway to the clubhouse to sign his score card, the camera panned out to capture the thousands of fans wildly cheering him. It wasn’t like the old days. It was a new day.
Woods might not ever capture that 15th major tournament, but this second-place finish truly put him back in the hunt. He held a final round lead last month at The Open in Scotland, but somehow Sunday’s performance seemed more impressive.
After two holes of the 72-hole tournament, Woods was thee-over par. For the first nine holes on Sunday he flirted with disaster – yet he kept charging. The back nine, where he found struggles for three days, brought out the best golf we’ve seen from Woods in years.
Koepka’s 16-under made him the PGA Champion. Woods’ 14-under allowed us to look back and remember the young Tiger. It also proved this guy is far from finished as a threat to win many more golf tournaments.
Let’s go back to that bridge. Woods was interviewed on CBS, and he said the St. Louis crowd helped him throughout a challenging and thrilling weekend.
“I played hard. It was a bit of a struggle to find my game today. I was hanging in there, just grinding it out and trying to make as many birdies as possible,” he said after posting the lowest final round score in a major in his storied career.
“The fans were so positive all week. I can’t thank them enough for what they were saying out there and what it meant to me as a player … coming back trying to win a major championship again. I’m just so thankful to be here.”
The St. Louis area was thankful to host your performance, Tiger.
The sand trap
Ok, it was a fantastic weekend. But let’s not make it out to be more than it was. The event was far from free and it was held at an exclusive country club in one of the wealthiest zip codes in the state.
Mike DeCola, president and CEO of HBM Holdings and the tournament’s general chairman, told the Post-Dispatch, “One of the reasons I took this job is that I wanted the opportunity to show the world the other side of St. Louis.”
“We have some problems in this town that manifested themselves maybe in some unattractive ways, but that weren’t unjustified.
“But there’s another side to St. Louis, too. The corporate response, the responses to some of the incidents that have happened in our area are under the radar screen. Everyone wanted to focus on the bad things that happened. No one has focused on the great way our community responded to deal with the underlying causes. … It’s not what’s been getting the headlines. We were trying to give the world an opportunity to see St. Louis in a better light, and I think we did that.”
My question is “how has this community responded to deal with the underlying causes?”
It was a great tournament, but let’s leave it at that.
Not missing Matheny
After Monday night’s thrilling 7-6 win over the Washington Nationals, the St. Louis Cardinals had won eight of 10 games and moved to nine game over .500. the high mark for the season. This is the same team that was .500 after a loss on July 25.
In three weeks, the Cardinals went from underachievers to contenders for a wild-card slot in the playoffs.
What’s the difference? The answer is obvious. Mike Matheny is long gone.
Let’s go back to August 2. Following a dramatic 3-2, ninth-inning, come-from-behind win against the Colorado Rockies, Jose Martinez had this to say:
“We’re playing better. That means we’re playing together, we’re playing more like a family. The chemistry is unbelievable. Our trust is really up right now so we have to go out there and keep doing the same every day.”
None of us really know how fractured the clubhouse was under Matheny – but obviously there was something very wrong and the culture has improved to the point that the Cardinals are back in the playoff hunt.
HBCU Top 10
St. Louis has at least two venues capable of hosting a HBCU football game between two of its best teams. The Dome at America’s Center and Busch Stadium are available and, with the right marketing, could draw a legitimate crowd.
This is not just wishful thinking on my part. Indianapolis continues to host its Circle City Classic, which is now in its 35th year. It raises more than $5,000 in scholarships and brings together the city with several events including a parade featuring marching bands from both universities.
This year’s game on Sept. 22 at Lucas Oil Stadium will feature Howard University and Bethune-Cookman. Both schools are ranked in the HBCU Preseason Top 10. Here is the ranking:
1. North Carolina A&T (20 first place votes); 2. Grambling (1); 3. Alcorn; 4. Howard; 5. Bethune-Cookman; 6. Southern; 7. North Carolina Central; 8. Tennessee State; 9. Prairie View A&M; 10. Hampton.
Other teams that received votes are Alabama State, Norfolk State, Florida A&Ms and Alabama A&M.
North Carolina A&T is the lone HBCS school ranked in the Top 20 of the FCS national preseason poll. The Aggies are No. 14.
What’s Indianapolis got they St. Louis hasn’t? Let’s get a single game here between ranked HBCU powers and see where it takes us.
By the way, I haven’t forgotten the Gateway Classic. The concept should be resurrected, but the entire region would have to get behind this game for it to be a success.
The Reid Roundup
Willie McGee’s stock as a bench coach is on the rise. He has tutored Marcel Ozuna back to a top-notch defender in the outfield. He’s assisting the young, spirited Harrison Bader and defensively challenged Jose Martinez to round out an outfield that has been a major part of the Redbirds’ turnaround… One reason there are few black head coaches in the NFL is because there are so few offensive coordinators. Most head coaches in today’s NFL have held that position before being promoted. Keep an eye on Eric Bieniemy, Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator. He’s in his first year and working with rookie quarterback Patrick Mahomes… I’m a fan of Dexter Fowler, but the Cardinals have been on an absolute tear since he broke his foot and went on the DL… Some North Carolina football players sold their exclusive Air Jordan shoes and are facing various suspensions. These players will miss more games than those involved in the academic scandal that ran for years at the same school. Something’s wrong… Serena Williams is dealing with postpartum emotions. Like the true champion she is, she’s sharing her story with the world… Less than 10 NFL players protested during the national anthem during the first week of preseason games. Had the NFL not formed its ridiculous policy, the controversy would be over – except for the POTUS tweets…
Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
