SHUHEI MATSUO
Assistant Sports Editor
Going to college sports games and watching how athletes play their sports makes me realize how they are so skilled in what they do. I mean, when you see them elsewhere, they are like just normal college students. But once they put on their uniforms and play their sports, they almost seem like different people.
Professional athletes are even more amazing. They have this aura around them, and you can just tell they are a big deal even if you don’t know them. They have charisma. I mean, that’s how professional athletes make money, but what they do is still mesmerizing to ordinary people.
I had a chance to go see the Nissan Open at Rivera Country Club in Pacific Palisades on Sunday, and I saw a number of the world’s top-ranked golfers such as Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk, Ernie Else, Sergio Garcia and Charles Howell III.
I see these guys on TV all the time, so I know how good they are. But seeing their game with my own eyes was even more inspiring. The PGA Tour’s commercials don’t lie. These guys are good. I mean, really good.
As you might already know, I’m golf nuts, and I can play and/or talk about it all day. I know many people think it’s the most boring sport, but you know what, I don’t even care. I love what I love.
I have spent a lot of my time on golf because I have always wanted to be like those guys on the tour. I tried out for the Pepperdine golf team three times but didn’t make it. All right, maybe I didn’t play well enough to play college golf, but I can still talk about the greatest game on the planet.
It seems like such a simple game. You hit a small ball into a tiny hole, but the hole is like a few hundred yards away from the tee box. The more you think about it, the harder it gets. Golf is such a mental game, and it can really get into your head at any moment.
This year’s Nissan Open ended with a playoff victory by Howell over Mickelson. They are both excellent golfers, but Mickelson is obviously more famous and has won many more tournaments than Howell.
Howell had won before but only one PGA tournament in 2002. So he hadn’t won anything in nearly five years. Don’t get me wrong, it’s certainly not easy winning on the tour once. But having a victory and not winning for a while can be even tougher mentally. It’s just Tiger that makes this game look so easy.
Being able to see two of my favorite golfers compete in a playoff, I had an amazing time at Riviera on Sunday. When I was watching those pros play the course, it looked like an easy course with wide fairways. But if I were standing on the course as a player, it would have been a different story.
The ability to make difficult tasks look easy — that’s the beauty of entertainment. All those professional athletes show their skills and entertain the audience, and that’s how they make money. Same with college athletes with only one difference: They just don’t make any cash entertaining the spectators.
There are many talented athletes at Pepperdine, and some of them will turn pro when they finish their college career. The cool thing is, it’s still free (for the most part) for us to see their performances.
I can name several Waves that I know will turn pro soon or later. But I don’t want to jinx it or anything so I am not writing those names in here.
Actually, if you follow Pepperdine sports well enough, you can figure it out by yourself. Two easy steps: Go online and check our athletic Web site, and go see the games. It might be clever to do it before they start charging you in a few years.
02-22-2007
