Tour veteran Greg Chalmers had the good fortune (or perhaps misfortune, depending on how you look at it) of competing alongside Tiger Woods in his prime.
Chalmers first encountered Woods when the two were teenagers, competing at the 1994 Eisenhower Trophy tournament in France. Chalmers said he remembers thinking, “Holy s—, this guy’s pretty f—— good!”
The 49-year-old Australian didn’t win his first PGA Tour event until the 2016 Barracuda Championship, but prior to that, Chalmers had eight international victories between 1995 and 2014, including the 2011 Australian PGA Championship, when he held off a charging Woods to claim the title. What was that like? Chalmers explained to hosts Colt Knost and Drew Stoltz on this week’s episode of Subpar.
“Just a hot last day,” Chalmers began. “Wasn’t really thinking consciously about what it was with Tiger or anything like that. Just got hot going the last day, three under through a handful, and then just hung on like crazy.
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“I hit it to two feet on 15, and that was, on a par 3, a birdie. And that got me kind of a couple in front,” Chalmers continued. “And then I missed the green on 16, missed the green and had to get up and down, made a five-footer. And then I missed the green on 18, it’s a tough par 3, and I had one of those 40-yard bunker shots into the wind kind of thing, and hit it out to six feet, made that.”
Chalmers ultimately prevailed by one shot over John Senden and two shots over Woods. But he said the most amusing part of his victory came in the aftermath, when he was at home, sipping a bourbon and watching the tournament highlights. When the commentator teased the upcoming shot of the day, Chalmers was sure it would be his stuck shot on 15 that helped him win the tournament. Instead, it was one of Tiger’s.
“I’m like, you mother!” Chalmers said with a laugh. “Not happy. The guy gets everything.”
For more from Chalmers, Knost and Stoltz, check out the full episode below.