by John Hamarik

I was in Vegas the week of the Ryder Cup and was fortunate to have watched the entire final round at the Monte Carlo Casino where I have stayed the past four years. I was in the Sports betting area on Sunday. If you have never been into a casino sportsbook, imagine about thirty huge screen TV's playing every football and baseball game and horse races all at once. There are hundreds of people who have bet on every possible game, over under, perfecta, trifecta, you name it, they have a bet that you could place on it.

Anyway, when the US was making their charge, there was more noise from the people in the sportsbook yelling and screaming for the Americans, than there were when Marino threw a last minute touchdown to cover the spread. Finally, when Justin drained that forty footer to secure the Cup for the Americans, total chaos broke out at the Monte Carlo. It truly was something to experience, Hell, I'll bet have of the guys in there never picked up a five iron in their life, but they sure knew the importance of the Ryder Cup.

Ok, here is where I am going with this story. Wednesday afternoon, five o'clock to be exact, I was leaving the Belliago after meeting the nice people from LiquidMetal Golf. I just walked out the front entrance, heading across the street to Paris, one of my favorite new Casinos, when I was waiting for a speeding cab to pass. As I moved out of the way to avoid getting hit, I accidentally bumped into a guy to my right. I turned, and said, "Excuse me", when I laughed and said, Oh my gosh, " How are you????"

It was Tom Lehman. He was on his way home after spending a couple of hours at the PGA show. He shook hands and we spoke for awhile. I must have played golf with Tom fifteen times back in the mid 1980's. I told him how proud I was of him and the entire US team for what they accomplished at the Ryder Cup. He was still riding cloud nine, and said that it was the most exciting thing he ever experienced in golf. We reminisced about old times, and I laughed and said, "Tom, I remember when you couldn't break and egg, let alone, par!" We both smiled and I told him that he deserved all that he has accomplished, because he has always been such a hard worker and a devoted golfer. I told him to keep up the good work and I look forward to seeing him on the next Ryder cup team. He asked me what I was doing and I told him about the arthritis, but he already knew.

Tom said, "John, you have such a wonderful ability to teach the golf swing to you students, I am sure that you are reaching your own dreams, even though it is not on the Tour with the rest of us. We would like to have you out here with us, but I'm sure that your calling is to help other with their game because you are one of the best."

I thanked him and told him to have a safe trip back to Scottsdale to be with his family.

Let me tell you this, Tom Lehman is one of the good guys on Tour. He is a great person as well as a great golfer. Good luck in 2000, Tom, you have a lifetime fan here.