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Full Court Press

BY PAUL ARNETT

Sunday, May 13, 2001


Gamez is long gone
but not forgotten

ON THE TEE

THE TRIVIA QUESTION asked before the commercial break of CNN's Headline News seemed simple enough. Who was the first PGA Tour golfer selected as rookie of the year?

My first thought was Arnold Palmer, maybe Jack Nicklaus or even Tom Watson. The real question here was when did the PGA Tour start naming a rookie of the year? If Hamlet had been a golfer he might have said: "Aye, there's the rub of the green.''

It would have been easy to reach for the PGA Tour media guide nestled comfortably between Harry Potter and Stephen King, but that would have meant getting up off the couch. Not an option. I thought of using former Star-Bulletin golf writer Bill Kwon as my phone-a-friend. Then I remembered I owed him a six-pack of Becks.

Time was running out. The commercial was over, Headline Sports was 10 seconds from taking a wrap and the answer was soon to be revealed. I pushed record on the VCR -- erasing the key scene from "All My Children'' my wife made me pay for later -- stuck my fingers in my ears and began to sing the "Spirit of Aggieland.''

Somewhere early in the first verse my wife started shaking me violently and was screaming something like, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!'' It caused me to open my eyes just a second before the answer left the screen. It was Robert Gamez in 1990.

One of my earliest newspaper assignments in Las Vegas was to cover the high school state golf championship. Nobody on the staff wanted to drive 60 miles to Pahrump, so they sent the new kid to this sagebrush community best known for the legal brothels located on the outskirts of town.

Gamez was a high school senior bound for the University of Arizona. In several years, he would lead entering the final round of the NCAA championship in Oklahoma City, only to lose to a golfer named Phil Mickelson down the stretch. On this day, some unknown from nearby Henderson kept him from ever winning that state title.

Years later, we would meet again at the Ko Olina Golf Course. After an incredible rookie season, including winning his first PGA Tour event, the local club signed Gamez to a five-year deal. It would be the highlight of a career that eventually landed in the rough.

"DO YOU REMEMBER the time we walked with Robert during the final round of some golf tournament in Las Vegas?" my wife asked after ruining the trivia question for me. I did. It was at the Nevada Open on the lush Tropicana Hotel course where the MGM Grand currently rests.

"Whatever happened to Robert?'' she asked, almost to herself. "He was going to be the king of the world."

These days, Gamez is far removed from the throne, currently No. 140 on the money list, a 1-iron to the green from where he used to be. Injuries have plagued him of late.

He did flirt with a 59 at this year's Bob Hope, before settling for a 61. Perhaps an award for comeback player of the year is in his future. And if CNN should ask, "Who is the only golfer to win PGA awards for both ..." I'll know the answer.


Paul Arnett has covered all the major golf tournaments
in Hawaii, including the Mercedes Open, Grand Slam
of Golf and the Sony Open.





Paul Arnett has been covering sports
for the Star-Bulletin since 1990.
Email Paul: parnett@starbulletin.com.



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