THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606170142
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JIM DUCIBELLA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MICH. LENGTH: 83 lines
Dirt-bike accidents aside, Steve Jones must live right. Has there ever been a United States Open champion who had more guardian angels looking over his shoulder than the newly crowned trophy-holder?
Answer: No. Friends. Teachers. Fellow competitors. Even Ben Hogan got into the act.
All that, and Jones' own ability to tame the course Hogan dubbed ``The Monster'' in 1951, gave the 37-year-old his first victory since 1989. His 2-under-par 278 was one stroke better than Tom Lehman and Davis Love III.
Lehman played no small part in Jones' success. He was paired with Jones in the final group. They've been friends since the Lehmans moved to the same Arizona neck of the woods as Jones about 10 years ago.
When Jones was going through an awful three-year period in which he couldn't play pro golf because of a problem with the ring finger of his left hand caused by a dirt bike accident, Lehman did all he could to keep his pal's confidence high.
From a purely competitive standpoint Sunday, Lehman went way overboard keeping his pal focused and confident.
Both men being devout Christians, Lehman greeted Jones on the first tee with a biblical passage.
``The Lord wants you to be courageous and strong,'' Lehman told Jones, who hadn't played in an Open since 1991, had never played well enough to be in the final group and whose courage and strength were in short supply in the moments leading to his first swipe at the ball.
At 16, Jones and Love were tied for the lead, Lehman one stroke behind, and aware that his buddy might need another shot of courage.
``He said it again as we were walking down the fairway,'' Jones marveled. ``It really calmed me.
``I didn't encourage him at all. I wanted to win. . . Seriously, I didn't know what to say. He kept saying things and I'd say `Amen.' He was saying all the right things.''
Lehman's assistance didn't end with the psychological.
At the par-5 12th, Lehman hit driver off the tee, then hit driver again from the fairway. The shot was a disaster, flopping into a rear bunker out of which Lehman made bogey. Jones, hitting second, was going with the same game plan until he saw what happened to Lehman. He changed to a 3-wood, knocked it into a different bunker, but had a far easier lie and made birdie.
Then came 18. Love had already dropped a stroke back with a bogey on the finishing hole, and Jones and Lehman were tied. Lehman's wedge to the green stopped four feet further from the hole - but on the same line - as Jones' ball. Lehman had to putt first, giving Jones a free look at how the putt would break. Lehman two-putted for bogey and Jones needed two for the title.
``Every kid dreams of winning the U.S. Open by making a putt on 18,'' Jones said. ``Fortunately, mine was just about a foot. One inch longer and who knows where it might have gone.''
Bible passages saw Jones through his Open triumph. Scripture of a different order put him in the right frame of mind coming to Oakland Hills.
A buddy from Phoenix sent Jones a recently published, unauthorized biography of Hogan, one of the game's icons, whose greatest of a thousand triumphs may have come at the Open held here 45 years ago.
Jones devoured the book in three days. When he arrived here, he put himself through Hoganesque practices, arriving home exhausted on Monday and Tuesday nights.
``I honestly don't think I could have won this tournament without reading that book,'' Jones said. ``Sounds crazy, I guess. But it takes a lot of guts to win and I wasn't ever sure if I had the guts to win another tournament, let alone a major.
``I kept telling myself what Hogan said, you know, focus in on each shot and don't worry about the outcome.''
When Jones was at his lowest, broke, his finger still healing but in desperate need of wrapping his fragile left hand around a club again and learning a new swing, Arizona teaching pro Paul Purtzer stuck by him, offering him free lessons.
``I can't thank Paul enough,'' Jones said. ``He has always told me, `You are the greatest. You are the greatest.' '' For a year at least, Jones is that. Thanks to a little help from his friends. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS
A dirt bike accident almost took away Steve Jones' golf career. His
faith - and a book on Ben Hogan - helped give him the U.S. Open cup.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Steve Jones enjoys the company of son Cy and daughter Stacey after
winning the 1996 U.S. Open for his first victory since 1989. by CNB