Finally, Fergus knew, it was his time to win again in the pros  PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator PALM COAST, Fla. -- The record books now show that Keith Fergus won the Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort. But let's begin by recognizing who didn't.  Keith Fergus celebrated with his trophy in front of the scoreboard announcing his victory. (Chris Condon/PGA TOUR/WireImage)
Set against a stage of cloudless blue skies and an emerald green and blue ocean, the inaugural tournament had a strong cast of leaders, including Hale Irwin, Mark O'Meara, Fred Funk, Brad Bryant and Raymond Floyd. It could have been Ben Crenshaw or Jay Haas, who sat within the top 20. An 8 on No. 4 took Tom Watson out of the running, but he was there at the start. David Eger had a special round, shooting an 8-under 64 to finish tied for eighth. But no, it just wasn't meant to be for those guys. It wasn't their time. Of the top 12 players coming down the stretch, 10 -- including Fergus -- made bogey on the final hole. On this April Fools' Day, the rest of the field was foiled by the course, and Fergus held on to the lead he'd had for the entire tournament by shooting a 70 in the final round. See, it was Fergus' time. He'd seen the signs and knew that it was his turn. While using the "flicker" to surf the channels Saturday night, Fergus stumbled across the movie, "The Rookie." Fergus had once taken time away from golf and coached (the powerhouse University of Houston golf team), just as Dennis Quaid's character does in the movie before his pupils persuaded him he had the baseball skills to return to the pros. "I'm sitting there, watching it. They said, 'Coach, it's your time.' There's a sign. I'm sitting there watching that [and] that's pretty much my story, really," said the 53-year-old Fergus, who said he often gets called "Coach" because of his stint as one. Then, he was met with another sign, as friends who'd watched him win at the 1982 Georgia Pacific Atlanta Golf Classic came to watch on Sunday. There are just times when that feeling hits that something special is coming. Fergus, who admitted he wasn't usually adept at hitting out of the sand, felt that his shot at the 10th hole would go in the hole. "Just a lot of things this week were happening. And I thought, you know, I wanted to think that [it was my day]...There were so many little signs, I guess, that maybe I just wanted to think this is it." He tried not to get ahead of himself, patiently plodding through each hole and trying not to think about the trophy presentation or what 375 Charles Schwab Cup points and $375,000 -- his largest check ever -- would bring. But, after 18 holes, he finally had a chance to relish the victory. "When I got there, I wasn't ashamed to win. I put in my time. So I won't belly up there. If it's my time, I'm going to be standing in the doorway and it was. Luckily I was able to walk through." Twice a runner-up on the Champions Tour but never a bride in 71 prior starts, with his win Fergus became just the second player -- the first being Ron Streck in 2005 -- to win on the PGA TOUR, Nationwide Tour and Champions Tour. "That was my goal, to be the first. Streck beat me to it, dadgumit," the Texan said with a chuckle. The others near the top of the leaderboard also recognized that it was Fergus' time to notch a Champions Tour win and the hat trick. "Keith's been a really good ball hitter for a long time. [He] struggles with his putter like some of us. I think that's probably what kind of held him back," said Purtzer, who tied for fourth. But Fergus got the short stick going this week, making a clutch 11-footer on No.17 on Sunday to give him a two-shot lead heading into the 54th hole. On the final four holes, a stretch that ranked as the toughest on the course this week, he was just 1-over over the three rounds. "It was his week," said Purtzer. "I'm happy for him. He's a great guy." "Keith really played well," said Bryant. "I've been trying to hit it up with Keith for about 35 years. He's always outdriven me. So it's pretty funny. But I've known Keith a long, long time. He's just a great guy." And he's a true family man. The guy with the friendly Texas drawl and warm blue eyes doesn't have a typical golfer's story. With status still left on the PGA TOUR in 1986 after he had won in 1981, '82 and '83, Fergus walked away to spend time with his then-young children. "When your kids are in school, you're gone a month. And the biggest fear was I come home, walk in the door one day, and they say, 'Who is this?' I didn't want that to happen. And a lot of people say, 'Man, you're crazy' and this and that. But I've never regretted a day in my life. I felt like those times, that time I spent with my kids, were some of the most valuable times that I could have been with them," Fergus said. In his time off, he coached and worked in golf course design, but once his kids got older the itch to play competitive golf returned. He returned and, at age 40, won twice on the Nationwide Tour in 1994, then played on the PGA TOUR from 1995-1998. "I felt like I could [still play]. And then when I went out and won twice the first year out on the Nationwide Tour, I felt like that wasn't such a dumb idea." He didn't quite leave his family behind, though. When he returned to the PGA TOUR in '95, Fergus began labeling each ball with his loved ones' names, beginning with wife Cindy, then oldest son Steven, daughter Laura, daughter-in-law Candace and grandson Keegan. As Fergus went on a 40-hole stretch without making a bogey at the start of the Ginn Championship Hammock Beach Resort, "Candace" and "Keegan" didn't even come into play this week, and it was "Laura" who sealed the win. "The ball stays in until I make a bogey, it gets lost or damaged off a rock. Once I get to Keegan, I start over," explained Fergus. It keeps his family interested, as they often ask whose name was on the ball for each shot. It also reminds Fergus that they are the reason he is out there. That doesn't mean, though, he's not also out to win. "I haven't really won in a while and I was after that trophy. After a while, that's really what you can hang your hat on when you're 83, 84, 95, sitting in your rocking chair. I can always look at that trophy and I'll think back to this time. "And that's why we work. That's why we go out. That's why we compete, is for moments like this." Copyright 2007 PGATOUR.com. All rights reserved. |
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