My day with Jim Thorpe

Heartbreak is the very nature of golf, a sport that pits veteran players against rookies for their jobs. It is a cruelty that few other sports require of their players. A championship season in most sports comes with huge bonuses and long-term guaranteed contracts. In golf, a victory gives you the right to compete for two more seasons. In the second year of that exemption if you do not finish in the top 125 it is back to square one.

John Maginnes (Wireimage)

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John Maginnes, a veteran of q-school, says he learned a great lesson while waiting out the rain in 1994.   • Complete column,  click here In 2003, Maginnes was set to quit for a TV gig -- until typical Q-School fate intervened.  • Complete column,  click here

Early in my career, I was playing in the second stage. I was playing well and knew that if I shot par or better in the final round I would advance to the finals. I was in the hotel room with my brother, who was caddying for me, when I called to get my pairing and found out I'd be playing with Jim Thorpe. Now, Jim was not exactly a major championship winner, but for a boy from North Carolina, Jim was a big deal. I had always wanted to meet him. I knew a few of his brothers. I had played high school matches on the course where he grooved that unique whirlybird golf swing of his. As I hung up the phone, the look on my face must have said it all. I explained to my brother that I had enough pressure on me -- and now I had a wonderful opportunity to embarrass myself in front of a real PGA TOUR player. My brother's solution was to take me next door to the bar and feed me a couple of beers until I calmed down. Just a couple, and it worked, too.

The next day I introduced myself to Jim on the first tee. He has the largest hands that I have ever shaken. Jim kept to himself much of the day, and he put together one of the best ball-striking rounds that I have ever seen. Jim hit all 18 greens in regulation and two par 5s in two. He lagged every single putt regardless of the distance and put together a bogey-free round that could have easily been 9 or 10 under. The second stage of qualifying school is pass-fail, though. All Jim was trying to do was pass, and he did so easily.

On the final hole, I thought that I needed a bogey to advance. I pulled my tee shot left. From the tee, I could not tell if the ball got past the grove of pines up the left-hand side of the fairway on the par 4. If it did get past the trees, there was a small creek where my ball could have very easily taken a bath. I was making things much harder on myself than necessary. Jim had hit first off the tee and was a good 50 yards down the fairway as I stepped off the tee. From his vantage point, he could see my ball sitting just beyond the trees and short of the water with a clear shot to the green. He turned and yelled "safe," motioning with his arms as if I had just slid into third.

Jim was going to qualify easily but he was actually pulling for me to join him at the finals. I do not remember if I made par or bogey, but I do remember shaking Jim's hand on the 18th green. I also remember sitting in the lounge after the round and listening as Jim told stories of life on TOUR. He held court for about an hour. Several other young players were there, and we laughed and listened, hoping to glean some pearls of wisdom.

Before Jim turned 50 and joined the Champions Tour, I was fortunate enough to get to know him a little. We played occasionally on TOUR together. We went to the track a couple of times, as well, but those stories are for a different time. Jim is one of the game's great characters. I would put him in the same category with Fuzzy Zoeller and Peter Jacobsen.

So on Sunday, when you read the names of players who did not advance to the final stage, do not judge them too harshly. Veterans have been going back to q-school since it was invented. Some are successful and some are not. But what I have found is that they are all better for the experience. There is nothing wrong with being humbled a little. It keeps you real. Two weeks from now, there will be even more names that you will know at the finals. Some will re-tread old footsteps and some will walk away from the game. However, every player who embarks on the pursuit can walk a little taller, pass or fail.