Was it a classic case of déjà vu when Lilia Vu jumped into the lake after winning her playoff against Angel Yin in the recent Chevron Championship? True, player and caddie had reveled in the moment, while there were plenty more who saw it as a charming end for a tournament whose TV audience had peaked at 1.54 million as NBC kept it on air for way longer than scheduled.
Yet perhaps it was because of the riveting standard of play that there were others who wondered whether the watery finish came across as a bit of a tired gig, one which had had its day.
“These things,” said David Cannon, the famous Getty photographer, “have to be spontaneous if they are going to work, and the change of venue (from Mission Hills in California to The Club at Carlton Woods in Texas) offered the perfect opportunity to call a halt to what had been a great tradition.”
For the most spontaneous dive into Poppie’s Pond that Cannon ever saw at the event, he went with the 2008 edition of what was then known as the Kraft Nabisco Championship when Lorena Ochoa joyously leapt into the water with a wave of family members and friends at her side.
What of other jubilant reactions? Cannon picked out Seve Ballesteros’ fist-pump reaction to winning the ’84 Open at St Andrews, and Paula Creamer’s cartwheel in front of the Swilcan Bridge ahead of the 2007 British Women’s Open, to celebrate the championship’s first visit to The Old Course. Creamer also was singled out for the jig which followed her holing of a 70-foot eagle putt to win the 2014 HSBC Women’s Champions in Singapore.
Cannon was not finished: “There’s nothing to beat Tiger when he goes crazy after winning another major; and then there was that never-to-be-forgotten moment when Jerry Pate dived into the lake next to the 18th green at the 1982 Players Championship.” As to why Pate dragged course architect Pete Dye and PGA Tour commissioner Deane Beman with him, it was because they had made TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course so darned difficult.
“The others,” Pate said, “all had these negative thoughts going, but I didn’t, and to me it was worth one or two shots every round. Of course it was hard; almost silly in some places. But someone was going to win, and why not me?”
... there were others who wondered whether the watery finish came across as a bit of a tired gig, one which had had its day.
Now for a pat on the back for those PGA Tour Champions officials who, for the purposes of this year’s inaugural Galleri Classic at the Chevron Championship’s old home at Mission Hills, said they did not want any of their seniors jumping into the pond. They clearly thought it more classy to leave such goings-on “to the legacy of the LPGA.”
The crowd – assisted by John Daly – were yelling “jump, jump” the moment when David Toms holed the winning putt. As it was, the 2001 PGA Championship winner took no notice. He gave a gentlemanly wave and went on his way without doing anything in the way of a hop, a skip or a jump.
Yet it was hardly Vu’s fault that her watery dip was not spontaneous. Firstly, the players had been talking all week about whether they would do it or not, with some among them even taking the precaution of buying waterproof mascara. Secondly, the spontaneity factor was ruled out altogether when Vu had to be directed to a “safe place,” one where the murky depths had been dredged and netting introduced to keep interested alligators at bay. (Snakes, though, could not be ruled out.)
Regardless of whether Vu’s was a wise decision, it was a relief to see that this talented golfer was among the starters a week after her triumph. Back in 1999, when Dottie Pepper completed the champion’s leap at a time when the natural jumping area at Mission Hills had still to be separated from the odd stream, she caught a bacterial infection, which kept her out of the game for three months.
When she visited the doctor with her symptoms, the first question he asked was a concerned, “Have you been swimming in dirty water?”
Lewine Mair
E-MAIL LEWINE
Lorena Ochoa jumps into the water after the final round of the 2008 Kraft Nabisco Championship.
Stephen Dunn, Getty Images