Bryant gets huge win, and new moniker, at U.S. Senior Open  PGATOUR.com Editorial Coordinator HAVEN, Wis. -- When Brad Bryant sat down with members of the media following his first major championship win at the U.S. Senior Open, he asked for a show of hands.  Brad Bryant calls caddie Tony Smith the answer to his prayers. (Morry Gash/AP)
"Let's get a few things straight. How many of you thought I would be here?" said Bryant, munching on his celebratory refreshment of choice -- an ice-cream sandwich that was a cool treat after a Wisconsin day at Whistling Straits where temperatures soared into the 90s. As maybe two hands went into the air, Bryant laughed. "That's what I thought." The 54-hole leader, Tom Watson, had a long putt on No. 10, an "if he makes this, it's over, it's just his day" type of putt. With pants flapping and the pin flag flying in the 20 to 30-mph winds, Watson drained it for a seemingly comfy three-shot cushion with eight holes to go. Only it wasn't over, not by a long shot, as Watson went double bogey-bogey-bogey on the next three holes to drop from the lead into a tie with Bryant. From that point forward, it was Bryant's tournament, as the unexpected winner came from 2 under at the start of the day, six shots back of Watson, to 6 under for the tournament. "Blissfully unaware" that Watson was falling apart behind him, Bryant's 68 gave him the second-largest come-from-behind performance at a U.S. Senior Open -- a tournament with a rich history of winners including Arnold Palmer, Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Trevino and Billy Casper -- and a major win. "It will be an unbelievable honor to have my name next to Arnold Palmer or Jack Nicklaus, those guys," Bryant said. "Let's face it, guys, I'm not in their league. I wasn't, and as far as great golf goes, I never will be. Those are the greats of the greats of all the game. "I'm a journeyman that happened to have a really great week here," he added. "And what a privilege it is to be a U.S. Open Champion, a Senior U.S. Open Champion." With the emotion heavy in his voice, Bryant humbly gave credit to his family and his caddie Tony Smith, whom he said was an answer to a prayer. "Before I started the Champions Tour, there were a couple of things that became real matters of prayer, that I spent hours and hours on my knees praying about," he explained. "And one of those things was that God would send me a caddie that not only would help me, but that would become a good friend that I would enjoy spending time with. "He sent me Tony and it's just been incredible what Tony has meant to me," the 52-year-old added, noting that Smith knew his game better than himself, a real advantage in the final round when variable winds on the Lake Michigan-side course caused club selection difficulties. "The other thing that I prayed about was at some point in my career I would do something really significant when my sons were with me," said Bryant, choking back tears with his two teenaged sons and wife Sue looking on with pride. Bryant, nicknamed "Dr. Dirt" by Gary McCord in the late 1970s, is a family man to the core and even shares a love of the game with younger brother Bart, a PGA TOUR professional who earned wins at the 2004 Valero Texas Open and the 2005 Memorial Tournament presented by Morgan Stanley and THE TOUR Championship. Brad lists Bart as his favorite athlete and claims that Bart's two wins in 2005 were Brad's biggest thrills in golf. But this time it was Bart calling to congratulate his big bro. "I talked with my brother while Tom was playing the last hole. That was pretty neat. Andy Bean called me from home, from Lakeland, Fla., and I'm sure the people at home in Lakeland are going to be ecstatic for me," Bryant said, as he plans to celebrate his victory with loads of chicken wings at Beef O'Brady's, a Monday night tradition for his sons and a group of 20 guys from their church. "Guess who gets to buy for everybody? I do!" joked Bryant. And he will certainly be able to afford it, as his $470,000 payday at the U.S. Senior Open put his 2007 earnings at $1,619,748. Four-time Champions Tour winner Bryant had already won once this year, successfully defending his 2006 title at the 2007 Regions Charity Classic. With his win this week, Bryant also stole the lead in the season-long Charles Schwab Cup point's race from Jay Haas as well. "You know, when you win a tournament like this, when you win a U.S. Open -- this is the big apple right here," he said. "This is the tournament that, when you turn 50, this is the biggest event you get to play in the rest of your life." Ben Crenshaw, who finished runner-up to Bryant by three strokes on Sunday, recalled one of his favorite Bryant stories from a time playing on the PGA TOUR. Crenshaw, Lanny Wadkins and Bryant were all paired together in a tournament during the '80s and stood waiting as the first tee announcer went through their various tournament wins and accolades. "At that time, Brad had not won anything," Crenshaw said. "And I was playing with Lanny and he goes through Lanny's spiel, tournament wins and he goes through my spiel and then he goes, 'And Brad Bryant.' And that's all he said." The ever-smiling and good-natured Bryant, who wouldn't earn his sole PGA TOUR victory until many years later at the 1995 Walt Disney World/Oldsmobile Classic, took it in stride. "(Brad) said, 'Everybody around here knows that I've never won nothing,'" recalled Crenshaw. "So he's a great guy, a very self-effacing guy. He's played some unbelievable golf, he's played spectacular on the Champions Tour." And now, when he stands on the first tee, an announcer will have plenty to say, not the least of which is "major champion." |
