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DEL.ICIO.USDaughter’s birth trumps Masters debut for Quigley
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Jeff Schultz
Augusta — On a day when wind gusts and drag-strip greens made grown-up men look like 6-year-olds trying to master the par-3 loop-de-loop, Brett Quigley played golf at the implausible intersection of bogey and Nirvana.
His opening tee shots went into the woods. People yelled, “Congratulations.” He was 3-over through six holes and was moved to tears — just not for reasons you might think.
There was a hospital bracelet on his wrist. A pink tee in his pocket. A picture of his daughter stuck between pages of his yardage book.
“I probably wasn’t as sharp as I would’ve been if I had been here the last couple of days,” he said. “But it was so peaceful out there.”
His score?
“Didn’t matter.”
Actually, 76 isn’t all that bad for his first Masters. Quigley is tied with Phil Mickelson.
But the circumstances that led to his inaugural Masters round Thursday — a day after the birth of his daughter in Florida — were unlike any other player in the field, even if it really wasn’t that unusual for the Quigley family.
In August 1969, Paul and Geneva Quigley prepared for the birth of their child. Paul, stationed in the army at Fort Devens, Mass., also was an avid golfer and had only one concern. There was a post tournament coming up.
“I told my wife, ‘If this kid is going to be a golfer, he or she will wait until after the tournament,’ ” Paul Quigley recalled. “She looked at me like I had six heads.”
All six heads turned out to be prophetic. Brett was born on Monday, the day after the tournament. Thirty-eight years later, the timing of Brett’s first child wasn’t quite as well-timed.
Clearly, Lillian Sage Augusta Quigley has no future in golf. Her impending arrival chased her father off the course during a practice round Tuesday, two days before his Masters debut. He had just left the 11th green and was walking to the 12th tee when he decided to check for messages on the cellphone that he sneaked onto the course.
He was at Amen Corner, of course, when it rang.
“Literally, as I turned the phone on, it started ringing,” he said.
A friend told him he needed to fly home to Jupiter, Fla., to be with his wife, Amy. Quigley, whose wife wasn’t actually due until April 16, didn’t quite grasp the urgency of the situation.
“I said, ‘I’m on 12, I’ll just play the last couple of holes,’ and he said, ‘No, Amy’s in labor. Her water broke.’ I said, ‘Oh gosh,’and I turned to my dad and said we gotta go. [Practice partners] Lucas [Glover] and [Jeff] Sluman were kind of in shock.”
That phone call came shortly after 1 p.m. Amy’s contractions were three minutes apart. Quigley left his clubs and his father (also his caddy) in Augusta and caught a flight for Jupiter. Four hours later, he was in the hospital. After a protracted labor, doctors performed a C-section. The newest Quigley was born at 2:55 a.m. Wednesday.
Brett spent the rest of the sleepless day with his wife. He changed two diapers. (“I feel like a real veteran.”) He thought about not returning to Augusta, but his wife convinced him. He made it back in the evening.
It was his first Masters, but he floated through the day. He got to the course and handed out cigars on the practice green. (Another 150 have been ordered.) Adrenalin carried him through fatigue. He smiled all day. Nothing fazed him. Paul Quigley said he couldn’t recall his son ever being so relaxed on the course.
Turns out, the biggest moment in somebody’s career isn’t so intimidating when it comes the day after the biggest moment of his life.
“Exhausting. Incredible,” said Quigley, who also has an uncle on the Champions (Senior) Tour. “There were probably five or six times out there when I was fighting back tears.”
When asked about the timing of his daughter’s birth, Quigley recalled telling his 93-year-old grandmother the due date. “The first thing she said was, ‘Couldn’t you have planned that any better?’ ” Quigley said.
Given the family history — well, no.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Jeff Schultz, Masters
Comments
By Steve
April 6, 2007 6:16 AM | Link to this
One of the most boring columns ever. I’ll bet the paper sent you to The Masters to cover golf, not do fluff pieces on someone with no chance whatsoever of winning.
By JSS
April 6, 2007 6:29 AM | Link to this
I told you he was a NO TALENT HACK, there were so many angles and ways to cover the Quigley story. Still again Jeff Schultz took the easy way out! Good old “Hootie” Schultz!!!
It is 6:30 AM, and Jeffrey Schultz is still a NO TALENT HACK!!!
By itsme
April 6, 2007 7:02 AM | Link to this
This is the first golf column I’ve ever read from start to finish. Loved it!
By Rin Tin Tin
April 6, 2007 8:04 AM | Link to this
Now we know what Schultz is going to write about if Martha Burk ever has a litter of puppies.
By Michael Scharff
April 6, 2007 9:43 AM | Link to this
Actually, Jeff, I thought that this was a very nice piece of work. I always enjoy whatever you write, and as a father of 4, I appreciate this column in particular.
By Jeff Schultz
April 6, 2007 12:22 PM | Link to this
Itsme, Michael — thanks for the comments. Brett’s a great kid. He’s 1-over for the day through five holes. … As I look up at the board, Tiger has gone bogey-par-par-bogey-par-par in his first six holes. So much for a second-day move — at least not yet. Wonder what the pre-tournament odds would’ve been on neither he nor Phil making the cut (and, no, I’m not making that prediction). Talk at you later. JS
By JSS
April 6, 2007 3:57 PM | Link to this
You’re a HACK!!! Being a father doesn’t give me a soft spot for your incompetentce as writer and as a man… Hey Schultz, Still using shoe mirrors?
And unless someone goes really low, they both will make the cut…
NO TALENT HACK