The walk Chris and I shared up the 18th fairway in South Africa is one I will never forget. After Chris hit his second shot onto the green and we knew it was inevitable he was going to win, Branden Grace stopped us and said, “You two walk ahead and enjoy this moment.” In a very classy way, he stepped to the left of the fairway and allowed us to go ahead. I can remember starting that walk, unsure if I had the energy to do it, but Chris put his arm around me and said, “we’re going do this one together” and that’s when the tears came.
In golf, and probably anything that’s worth working hard for in life, people often see the great times and quickly forget the amount of work it took to get to that moment. I’m not sure I can think of any golfer who hasn’t gone through ups and downs in his or her career. We’ve certainly had our share – from spending months apart at a time while I was pursuing my career and Chris was pursuing his dream, to the low points when Chris would stand on the tee and could not see how he could keep the ball on the planet let alone make a cut, from having a sponsor drop you, to people believing Chris was too small to compete on tour. Chris chose to use those setbacks as motivation to keep working harder. And in those times, much like the walk up the 18th fairway, we would put our arms around each other and we would continue to climb the hill that is professional golf.
You could not see it on TV, but we both had tears in our eyes. While I was thinking about the setbacks Chris had overcome, he was focusing on all the amazing support we have had. We honestly felt everyone cheering us on, and the messages of support and congratulations have meant so much to us. We are both humbled and extremely grateful.
We may have conquered the 18th fairway at Glendower Country Club, but we both know there are more fairways to climb. And much like we have done in the past, we are going to put our arms around each other and make the journey together. To everyone who reads Chris’s column every month, thank you for going on this journey with us.
