Why We Compete

The Washington Post's Eli Saslow was online Monday, June 4 at noon ET to discuss discuss Why We Compete, a series exploring why sports endure and why we compete. In Part II, Eli focused on a high-stakes golf tournament in Las Vegas.

A transcript follows.

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Eli Saslow: Thanks for checking in again. Well, at least in one respect, I'm two for two so far on the compete series: For both stories, the people I've written about have been constantly thoughtful and helpful. Kevin, in particular, was a great guy to spend time with. Even while under immense pressure at a tournament, he never acted particularly stressed or cranky. He's got a big week coming up. Today, he's playing a 36-hole qualifier for the U.S. Open. Then, on Thursday and Friday, he'll finish up at The Ultimate Game. If things go well, he could be looking at $1 million and an entry into the best golf tournament in the world. Now that would be a breakthrough week.

If you want to contact me or ask me something later, send me an e-mail at saslowe@washpost.com. The pole-vaulting community has that memorized...

Anyway, on to the questions.

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Random question, but I'm curious: What's "deconstructed gazpacho?" Diners have to make it themselves?

Eli Saslow: Wow. I've always dreamed about taking Tom Sietsema's food critic job, and now, for two paragraphs, I have it:

At the Ritz-Carlton, the deconstructed gazpacho was a scintillating bowl of tomato puree accompanied by three small side dishes -- guacamole, onions and cucumber, I believe. At the waiter's instruction, a patron stirs in the ingredients, tasting to his own specificity.

It was really, really good (I also ordered it). Aside from our local chain Julias (pronounced, of course, with a silent J), the Ritz had some of the best gazpacho I've ever had.

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Virginia Beach, Va.: Eli,

Did you or were you able to find out if these "financial backers" have any type of athletic background or are they just people who love the "risk big, win big" element?

Another great article! Keep up the good work and I look forward to the second part!

Eli Saslow: Thanks so much. Kevin's financial backers didn't have much in terms of athletic resumes, as far as I could tell. One of his sponsors is a 3-handicap golfer and played a few rounds during the trip. But for the most part, the five businessmen from San Francisco were there to experience the thrill of this tournament vicariously.

No doubt that Bob Kahan, the prime sponsor, loves sports. That's why he travels to the best events and plays professional poker -- because he loves competition. And I'm guessing, if he could, Bob would probably pay a lot more than $50,000 if, for just one day, he could ingest Kevin's golf skills and play in a tournament like the Ultimate Game by himself. He would love to be as involved as possible.

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Washington, D.C.: Eli,

You left us hanging at the end there: Did he win the $2 million or not?

Eli Saslow: Ahh, I didn't really mean to leave you hanging. I went out to the first round of the tournament, which took place last Tuesday and Wednesday. During those two rounds, the Ultimate Game field was trimmed from 40 to 12. The final 12, including Kevin, play this week at the Wynn Las Vegas. They will play two rounds of stroke play, and first place will take home the $2 million prize.

When I first heard about this event, I considered traveling to the finals and writing about the last 12 guys. One problem: It's going to be televised this weekend on Fox, and everybody will see who wins. So in order for the story to maintain some tension, we decided to write it this way instead.

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Robin Hood had a point: Does Kahan give money to charity? Or does he just spend it all on entertaining himself? Betting $3,000 a hole? Gross.

Eli Saslow: I see where you're coming from...

The truth is, I'm not sure about Kahan's financial habits. He may well donate money to charity, but I'm not sure. Certainly, he has a ridiculous amount of money and he likes to spend it on himself. That said, in this particular instance, I didn't find anything about it to be gross.

What Kahan did here was help a young, up-and-comer golfer get the chance of a lifetime. Kahan got a great, thrilling weekend in Las Vegas. He got three days of time with some of his closest friends. And, in the end, he doubled his investment.

If I had $50,000 to spare, this doesn't really seem like a bad way to spend it. Do you think?

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Portland, Ore.: Did Streelman say anything about resenting Kahan and his posse? I mean, he was kind of a pawn in their game. And Kahan has SO much money and Streelman doesn't.

Eli Saslow: No, I didn't see or hear or sense anything other than absolute gratefulness from Kevin. Sure, he's a pawn in Kahan's hand. But Kahan is also a pawn in Streelman's hand. It works both ways.

I think Streelman recognizes his relationship with these guys as symbiotic. They're both getting something out of it.

And here's the funny thing: Even though Kahan and Streelman are vastly different in age, occupation and socio-economic status, they have some striking similarities in personality. They're both great story tellers. They're both gracious and thoughtful. During their time together in Las Vegas, they worked hard to get along and accommodate each other's interests. In fact, after the Ultimate Game, it's possible they'll continue to keep in touch.

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NW D.C.: Are you at liberty to say what the next "Why We Compete" story will be about? The chart says it's about ego... Love the series so far!

Eli Saslow: Thanks so much. I'm thrilled you like it, and I'm even more thrilled that you're looking forward to the next part. The ego story, safe to say, will be about people you've never heard of in a sport you've never seen. We started out with a weird one -- extreme ultramarathoning -- and then came back to a pretty mainstream sport with golf. Well, with the next one, we're headed back out into no-man's land. Oh, and I hope you like dogs.

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Clifton, Va.: Sorry, golf is not a sport! Your life is not in danger on the golf course. There are only two sports auto racing and bull fighting!

So you lose some money -- you aren't playing with your life or for your life!

Eli Saslow: Hmm. Golf not a sport? Try something for me sometime: Watch a golf swing in slow motion.

I was actually watching some golf yesterday with Rachel, my girlfriend. She saw a golfer swing a club in slow motion, and her jaw dropped. "I never thought of them as athletes before," she said, "but now I do."

If you see a golf swing in slow motion, you notice that these guys have insane flexibility. They contort their shoulders and hips into extreme positions and then swing them forcefully.

Moreover, no sport requires as much hand-eye coordination as golf. If you miss on your swing by a fraction of an inch, the ball is headed for the woods, or the lake, or -- if you're particularly unlucky -- your little brother's shoulder.

So I say it's a sport. And a great one. What do other folks think?

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Washington, DC: What do you think Kevin's odds are of winning this tournament? If he loses, will it be time for him to give up golf and try something else? He seems like a great guy, a rare athlete who is humble and competing for the right reasons. I hope he's not depressed if this doesn't work out.

Eli Saslow: I hope he's not depressed about it, also. I think, because he continues to improve, he will probably keep working on his golf for a while longer. He is very close; and he really does have a realistic shot to break through.

But in terms of quantifying how good he is, that's really difficult for me to do. I'm a pretty mediocre golfer -- kay, I'm actually pretty bad -- and watching Kevin hit balls at the range was mesmerizing for me. He hits it long and straight every time. He shapes it with spin. He can pick out a small patch of grass 220 yards away and plop the ball right on top of it. To me, he looked absolutely amazing. But about 500 other guys are just like him. When it comes to breaking through to the PGA Tour, I think the difference is mainly luck, attitude and persistence. Kevin's got two of those down.

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Reston, Va.: I love this series so far. We don't get enough stuff like this from The Washington Post, or anywhere else. I can't wait to see what's next. Can you give us any hints?

Eli Saslow: Thanks. The all-around effort on these stories -- from the page design, to the graphics, to the online presentation -- has really been fantastic. I'm glady you like it.

Well, aside from the weird ego story hinted at above, we'll have five other stories. Two will be about football. I think we'll try to be pretty consistent in doing about one each month. I hope we can maintain the quality.

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com pete: Why do we compete? The word compete is derived from "com" which is a root for "together" and "petio" which means "to question" or "to strive." To compete therefore means to "question together". What are people trying to question together in a $1 million golf tourney?

Eli Saslow: That's for the derivative information. That's pretty fascinating. I suppose, at the Ultimate Game, people are trying to question how well they will stand up under pressure. If you're a golfer and you get a chance to stand over a putt that's worth $2 million, that's a pretty good, honest look in the mirror. All 40 golfers who signed up for the Ultimate Game wanted a chance to be in that moment: How would they hold up? What were they capable of under pressure? How would their mind and body respond to such a test of nerves?

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Cleveland Park, D.C.: How common is it for golfers to be in this "professional but not PGA" limbo like Streelman? Are there any big names in golf today who had this type of route?

Eli Saslow: I think that's actually pretty common. There are a ton of small professional tours out there, and most golfers pay their dues on at least one of them. There are pro tours specific to North and South Dakota, to Arizona, to California, etc. I wish my pro golf knowledge was good enough to give a few examples. But unless you're Tiger Woods, you probably had to spend a few years honing your competitive drive and tournament instincts on one of these smaller tours. It's kind of like baseball: A lucky few players progress through these tours to big money and big fame on the PGA Tour; but most of them top out before they've made it that far.

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Washington: Loved the story, and the series so far. I read the first few paragraphs and couldn't put it down. I'll be watching Kevin this weekend.

What do you think Kevin's odds are of finally breaking through onto the PGA Tour? He certainly seems to have the game and the drive.

Eli Saslow: Thanks. That's nice of you to say.

If anybody has a good shot, it's Kevin. I talked to probably a dozen other golfers at The Ultimate Game, all of them phenomenal players. Out of the entire lot, Kevin has the most consistent, calm, unbothered demeanor. Watching him attempt crucial putts was fascinating. Everybody around him looked ready to crumble. His mom turned away, his girlfriend bounced up and down, even his caddie had to turn and face away from the green. But Kevin's expression never changed. He kept his hands steady -- he just learned a new putting technique -- and repeatedly drained 3 and 4 foot testers. He's pretty gutsy.

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Laurel, Md.:"So I say it's a sport. And a great one. What do other folks think?"

Neither playing golf nor racing cars requires being an athlete.

But it does take an athlete to play those games the way pros do it.

Eli Saslow: Okay, that's a lot closer to my opinion. Although I think that both car racing and golf require some of the key skills that define athletes: hand-eye coordination, reaction time, etc.

Any other opinions?

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Anonymous: What did his fiance think of all this? Is she tired of pinching pennies and waiting for him to "make it?"

Eli Saslow: Good question. Thanks for submitting it.

Courtney Caples, his fiancee, was definitely more nervous than Kevin during the two rounds I watched. But I don't think she's tired of pinching pennies, and I don't think she's particularly anxious for him to break through. She seemed genuinely supportive and excited about his golf. Any pressure Kevin feels to "make it" is self applied. If it were up to Courtney, my guess is she'd let Kevin pursue pro golf until he retired, broke and immobilized by arthritis.

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Robin Hood had a point: Re: your response. Yeah, the end result is that it's a good deal for Streelman's career but YOU KNOW that's only maybe 1 percent of Kahan's motivation, if that. He just gets a kick out of it because he's BORED and RICH and SELFISH.

Eli Saslow: That might be true. But I still don't think that, by participating in this, he is then NECESSARILY of questionable character.

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Washington, D.C.: I have heard that sports are popular, particularly among men, because it is the only area of their lives in which they feel comfortable expressing their passions unreservedly.

Does this make sense to you?

Eli Saslow: Sure, that makes some sense. I'm not sure if I can pull any examples out right now. But I would guess that reasoning plays a part in all of this.

To really get to the root of why sports are so popular among men, I'd need a few days for this chat and some serious help from sociologists, historians and sports psychologists. There are so many reasons...and hopefully this series will help illuminate and explore a handful of them.

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Bethesda, Md.: Are they definitely holding this event again next year? I think I might want to try to get involved -- not as a golfer but as a sponsor of some sort. Is there a minimum investment per sponsor? What are the rules in terms of that?

Eli Saslow: Go for it -- although, for some of the criticism Bob Kahan had come under here, you might want to pause and think first.

But seriously, I do think it will definitely be held next year, on the same weekend. As far as I know, there's no minimum sponsorship. If you wanted, you could compile 50 buddies in the office, invest $1,000 each and find a golfer. But if you want more information, check out www.theultimategame.com. I believe they have a lot of legal info on there for potential sponsors. And I think they may even be talking about growing the field -- and the winner's purse -- for next year.

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Chevy Chase, Md.: It was great to get two such different perspectives about this event -- the millionaire and the up-and-comer. First, what are Kevin's chances of making the PGA Tour. And second, what did you make of Kahan? Isn't what he's doing a little slimy? Do you think he's in this for the right reasons, or is he just a thrill seeker taking advantage?

Eli Saslow: I think we've at least started to answer these already. But here it goes for my personal opinion on Kahan: I don't really think participating in this event, as a sponsor, is unsavory in any way. I understand how his wealth and apparent hedonism can come off as such; and in those aspects, I'll refrain from judgment here. But, pertaining only to his involvement in The Ultimate Game, I think sponsoring a player seems like a fun, above-board, nice thing to do.

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Washington: Hey Eli, this is Arif. Not sure you remember me, but I went to 'Cuse with you. (Lived in BB frosh year). I absolutely loved the last two articles and really looking forward to the upcoming ones. Keep up the good work.

Eli Saslow: Arif, thanks a lot. I remember well. Shoot me an e-mail if you'd like, and we can catch up. But I'm really thrilled you've been enjoying the stories.

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I don't even like golf: and I found your story amazing. Thanks.

Eli Saslow: Thank you. That's really nice. I think golf can be an acquired taste. I didn't like it for about 10 years. And about once out of every three rounds, I still don't.

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Ex-Silver Springer: To me, the essence of sport is the presence of an opponent with a goal different from yours, with each of you attempting to prevent the other from reaching the goal. If physical ability and skill were enough, competitive bricklaying would be a sport.

Everything else is a game.

Eli Saslow: Well, it hurts to give up the last word on this, but you might have just had it. We're running out of time...I appreciate the thoughtful responses.

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Eli Saslow: Thanks again for bringing such good feedback, everybody. We'll continue to do a chat after each one of those stories. I look forward to hearing from some of you again, then. If you want to reach me before then, just e-mail me at saslowe@washpost.com. I'll answer quickly -- unless I'm shanking around on the course.

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