By Leonard Shapiro
Washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, July 17, 2006; 12:00 PM
HOYLAKE, England - If you are searching for a semi-long shot to win the British Open this week, take a look at 26-year-old Trevor Immelman, an immensely talented native of South Africa who's greatest achievement this week actually may have nothing to do with collecting the "auld claret jug" here in the Liverpool suburbs.
Immelman and his wife, Carminita, are expecting the club's first child any day now back in their U.S. home in Orlando. He said Monday that his wife urged him to play this week in the British Open, his favorite event of the year, but he wouldn't get on a plane until he was assured by her doctor the baby likely will not arrive until a week from this Thursday.
Both of them are armed with cell phones and a small battalion of friends back in Florida are poised to whisk her to the hospital if the child decides to arrive a bit sooner. Immelman said he's not certain what he would do if that happens during the tournament this week, though if he's in contention on the weekend, he knows his wife would scold him forever more if he pulled out of the Open and headed home.
He's probably going to be in contention. Two weeks ago, he broke through with his first victory on the American PGA Tour, where he's playing on a two-year exemption he received for being a captain's choice international team selection of countryman Gary Player in the 2005 Presidents Cup competition. He prevailed two weeks ago by two shots in the Western Open in Chicago, despite a final round charge by Tiger Woods on Sunday, sinking a 35-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to finish off his round of 67 and seal the deal.
"I pretty much saw every shot Tiger hit on the back nine," Immelman said here this week. "I saw him rolling putts in for birdies and the crowd was going crazy. Obviously a lot of people in the crowd were telling me he was on a charge ... There's just such a different energy when he's in the hunt and when he's playing well ... The energy was just incredible."
Still, Immelman held him off, and Vijay Singh, too, perhaps signaling his own arrival as one of the young, hot-shot international players whose ranks seem to be growing exponentially with each passing year.
Immelman has already had five top ten finishes on the PGA Tour this season and has earned over $3 million, more than justifying Player's faith in him as a captain's choice. When Player made the pick, he was roundly criticized for taking the kid and leaving off veteran players like Nick Price and Steve Elkington. Some even said Player was doing it specifically to get Immelman to play in the U.S. full time after playing most of his golf on the European Tour.
Immelman took some umbrage at that notion, pointing out that when the pick was made last summer, he already had earned enough in purses in his PGA Tour appearances to be in the top 125 money winners and exempt for 2006, at least. And this year, he's obviously proven he belongs.
"At first I didn't pay too much attention to it," he said. "Then it was a little bit frustrating because I didn't want other players and other fans and other people in the media to think I was getting a free pass on to the PGA Tour. I tried to get in touch with the right people in the media to just maybe try to set the record straight. That's been achieved, which is a relief to me because (a free pass) shouldn't be allowed."
Player has been following Immelman's career for a long time. In fact, Immelman said he was five years old when he first met Player.
"I've got a picture of this. It's the funniest thing you've ever seen," he said. "I was five and he came to do an exhibition at Somerset West Country Club. They allowed him to hit balls of the ladies tee off the first fairway. My dad took the photo of Mr. Player - he's on his follow through - and there's probably a hundred people standing behind the tee and I've kind of weasled my way right up to the front. And I've got no front teeth. I was standing there with just the biggest grin on my face and no front teeth. He put me on his shoulders that day and everyone has photos. I've known him ever since."
Player, of course, is the greatest golfer every produced in South Africa, and every one of the 11 South Africans in the field here at Hoylake this week can offer some anecdote on his influence on their careers. Immelman said Player left him a congratulatory message after he won the Western, just as he often leaves him text or voice mail messages win or lose.
"He lets me know what he thinks I need to work on or to congratulate me," Immelman said. After the Western, the message was "just saying well done and that he's proud of me and that he knew it was just a matter of time. He's such an incredible human being.
"A lot of times people only call you when you're playing well or won, but the reason you know he's so genuine is the fact that when I play badly, he'll leave a message too, saying don't worry about it, keep going, believe in yourself. For a guy who's that busy and been around the game and is such a great champion to take the time out, that's an incredible feeling when you get those messages."
Player also gave Immelman a spot of advice for this week, as well.
"He's told me I need to practice a lot of long putts before coming to the Open," he said. "You get so many 30-, 40-, 50-footers because the greens are normally so massive. He always says to me to make sure I do a lot of long putting to make sure that I can two-putt from those long-distances."
So there it is, a long-putting semi-long shot as the British Open champion. And even if they don't all go in for Immelman this week, a new baby in the crib always trumps a trophy on the mantel.
Leonard Shapiro's British Open Top 10
1. Tiger Woods: He was second at the Western and actually was steamed about being runner-up, a clear indication that he cares about golf again after the death of his father on May. 2.
2. Ernie Els: Played well at the Scottish Open with a tie for tenth and his last three rounds in the 60s.
3. Retief Goosen: The South African hasn't played well in majors this year but seems due for a turnaround this week.
4. Phil Mickelson: Has only had one top ten finish in 13 British Open appearances and still may have a post-Winged Foot hangover, but how do you ignore the No. 2 player in the world?
5. Vijay Singh: Seems to be getting back into his dominating form over the last five weeks, but he's often struggled on Open-style greens.
6. Adam Scott: It's about time for the Australian heart-throb with the Tiger-like swing to start winning major championships. This might be the first.
7. Trevor Immelman: The third South African in our top ten along with Els and Goosen, he won two weeks ago in Chicago and held off Woods and Singh for his first PGA Tour victory.
8. Thomas Bjorn: The great Dane has contended on Sunday in past Opens and played top-ten well in the Scottish Open.
9. Geoff Ogilvy: As the U.S. Open winner, he won't be coming in under the radar, but he also won the World Match Play and the talented Aussie should be in the hunt here on Sunday.
10. Fred Funk: A provincial choice, but he'll be able to hit it 300 yards off the tee with the roll here and he's the most accurate driver of the ball in the game, even if he's missed the cut in his last three British Open appearances.
Leonard Shapiro can be reached at Badgerlen@hotmail.com