Immelman trying to disembark cloud nine in time for tournament
By Helen Ross, PGATOUR.COM Chief of Correspondents
He sees the Green Jacket, which hangs in "its own little spot" in the closet of his Orlando home, several times a day. But Trevor Immelman says he still has to pinch himself.
Not because it's a fashion faux pas, though.
Ten days ago, Immelman joined his idol Gary Player as the second of the only South Africans to have won the Masters Tournament. As he returns to work this week at the EDS Byron Nelson Championship, Immelman is trying to come down from cloud nine. It won't be easy.
"It's just such an incredible feeling to know that I've won that tournament," the modest 28-year-old said Wednesday afternoon from Irving, Texas, during a national teleconference. "That's something that can never be taken away from me."
Immelman's three-stroke victory over Tiger Woods at Augusta National was the start of a whirlwind 48 hours that found him and his wife Carminita jetting to New York City for the first time. In between radio and newspaper interviews, he appeared on 11 different TV news and entertainment shows, including "The Late Show with David Letterman" -- where he read the infamous Top-10 List -- and "Live with Regis and Kelly."
On Wednesday, eight days after he returned to his Florida home, Immelman was prepping for his first tournament back. On Thursday, he'll be introduced for the first time on the first tee of a PGA TOUR event as the 2008 Masters champion.
"It's been a pretty crazy time for me," he acknowledged. "It's been real exciting for my family and to experience everything that's gone with the victory. ... It was fantastic.
"We had a nice couple days at home just trying to reflect on what happened. It still hasn't quite sunk in yet. ... Now that I'm here, I'm here to try and play as well as I can this week, and I've got to try and focus on this tournament."
Immelman said he never considered not playing in the Dallas-area event that honors one of the legends of the game. And he comes to the TPC Four Seasons Las Colinas with positive memories after finishing second at last year's tournament.
D.A. Weibring "improved every single golf hole," Immelman said, when the Champions Tour veteran spearheaded the remodeling of the course over the last 12 months. The routing is the same, but the green complexes have changed dramatically -- featuring many more swales and bunkers.
"It's fantastic, it really is," Immelman said. "It's such a huge improvement. And I think as soon as word gets out how good the golf course is, you know, you're going to start attracting a lot of great players to this event again."
Speaking of great players, Immelman said one of the many congratulatory calls he received came from Woods. He spoke to the game's No. 1 player in the days after Woods had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee the Tuesday after the Masters.
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"I think he felt like he needed to get it done," Immelman said. "It seems like, as per usual, he's trying to find a positive spin on it, and he's wanting to make sure that he comes back stronger, especially in that area around the left knee.
"I anticipate him to win the next event he plays in."
That next event could be the Memorial Tournament, or perhaps the U.S. Open at Torrey Pines, where Woods has won six times. Immelman has a track record there, too, winning the 1998 U.S. Amateur Public Links at Torrey Pines -- and he'll return as the only player with a chance to win the Grand Slam in 2008.
Of course, Torrey Pines' South Course is significantly longer than it was when Immelman, then 17, won the Public Links. The always juicy rough, firm greens and breezes blowing off the Pacific Ocean should only add to the challenge.
"Does the course set up for me?" Immelman said. "Obviously I've played well there in the past, so it's something that I look forward to. But at any U.S. Open, there (are) two things that are of utmost importance. The first is driving the ball in the fairway, and the second is putting your ball as well as you can.
"I think if I do those two things, then the course does suit me."
Immelman certainly did both well at Augusta National. He hit 86 percent of his fairways to lead the field and another 71 percent of his greens to rank second in that category. He was fourth in putting, with just two three-putts over 72 pressure-packed holes.
So who knows? Immelman will definitely go to Southern California with more confidence than in past years; his tie for 21st at Winged Foot is his best U.S. Open finish. He was tied for the lead through 27 holes there before being unraveled by a four-putt.
"You've just got to really enjoy the challenge," Immelman said. "You've got to love being out there, and you've got to love the adversity of just every shot being one of the toughest shots you'll ever have to hit. That's what a U.S. Open is all about. ...
"One thing you know at a U.S. Open is that you don't necessarily have to be under par to win the tournament. You've just got to go out there and just try and be as tough as you can. It's just really more a mindset of survival than a (PGA) TOUR event."
So maybe those days the avowed sports nut has spent querying people like Player, Nick Price, Jerry Rice, Roger Clemens and Jim Courier will pay dividends for Immelman.
"I've always been fascinated with what it takes to succeed, and whether that (is) in business or real estate development or sport," he said. "It just fascinates me how people found a way to get to the top."
And he knows what it feels like now, too.
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