Where I Stand — Brian Greenspun: The game goes on

Thursday, Oct. 11, 2001 | 8:51 a.m.

First, like any good journalist, I am confessing my bias. I love golf and would rather play the game than go to work. To anyone who knows me, especially my mother, who shares this same bias, this comes as no surprise.

So it was no great shock for my colleagues at work to learn that if they wanted to talk to me the rest of this week they would have to come to the TPC courses at Summerlin or the Southern Highlands golf course because that's where I would be. That is also where hundreds of golf-crazy amateurs are joining most of the world's best professional golfers as the long hitters chase $4.5 million. The pro who wins first prize will earn $810,000. I don't care where you work, that is a lot of money.

So, for those of us who can't play the game the way we once dreamed or who just want to walk the lush, green fairways with the best in the business, the Invensys Classic offers us a chance unlike most others. I have played in pro-am tournaments across the country and very few give amateurs the opportunity to play three days with the big boys with the added bonus of a select and lucky few of us teeing it up on Saturday, complete with the national television exposure we all crave. So, while none of us wants to miss a three-footer or duck hook a drive into a ravine in front of millions of our fellow citizens, each of us competes for the opportunity to do just.

So, let's go back to the quote. It came from one of the world's best professional golfers and one of my favorite people, Tom Lehman. And it came during the first round of the Invensys, during which I and my partners had the good fortune of watching Tom shoot the lights out on his way to a share of the lead in the clubhouse at nine under par.

On the golf course, just like it is in offices and in homes across this country, the horrific murders of thousands of Americans by terrorists is the topic of conversation. And why shouldn't it be? Better yet, why should golfers be spared the realities of life in the 21st century? There are millions of us who use a few hours on the links as an escape from life. Our ability to focus on a little white ball in our quest to hit it into a four-inch hole hundreds of yards away oftentimes makes the difference between sanity and the alternative when we get back to real life. For the elite few hundred who play this game for a living, there is no escape. It either happens on the course or they look for another job.

I think that is one of the main reasons why the fans who will flock to the courses this weekend to watch these guys tee it up like to be there and watch the action firsthand. This is their job, they do it better than any other people on Earth, and they do it not because of the pressures of real life but in spite of them.

When President George W. Bush told us that one way Americans can help win this war against terrorism is to go back to work and go back to our homes to live as normal a life as possible, I tried to do just that. Part of my normal routine includes a game or two of golf. I couldn't concentrate to save my life. That's why I asked Tom how he and the others could be out here competing at the highest level when they, too, had the same fears and concerns as every other American. Believe me, when you see some of the pros unable to focus because a camera flash goes off in the distance, it is not hard to accept the fact that anthrax stories and hijack thwartings might have at least a similar effect.

Tom told me the same thing I would expect to hear from any other person back at his desk or back in the home tending to everyday life. If we falter for a moment, if we change our lives in any significant way, if we don't continue to do what we do best in the pursuit of our dreams, then we have given in to terrorism. And, that, Tom Lehman said, he was unwilling to do. That was just before he made nine birdies on his way to the lead of the Invensys.

And when my young caddy, Jace Bugg -- a name that is both interesting and soon to be far better known in the world of golf -- asked one of his golf heroes how he manages to play at such a high level while still joking with the amateurs, helping them when they ask for it and putting up with their less than stellar playing ability, Tom's answer was equally consistent. He understood, as do most professionals, that without the amateurs paying the hefty entry fees, he and his colleagues would be playing for much smaller paychecks. Being able to concentrate as needed was a skill to not only to be acquired but also to be perfected because that was part of the job.

So, there you have it. According to Mr. Lehman, the best in golf will get better because the terrorists want them to get worse. It is as simple as that.

Golfers have always believed that their game, more than any other, provides a glimpse into the soul. If that is true, then not only is golf getting better but so is the soul of America. Come out to the Invensys this weekend and see for yourself. You will be doing what our president has asked and you will be doing something good for yourselves. Fresh air, good friends and a healthy walk in the park.

Life doesn't get much better than that.