Chapter 30

JMI CONTINUES – TROUBLE!

The twelve players who were cut, each got a check for $300,000 each from me, and an envelope of General Mills coupons, plus a big smile from Steven.

Each of them said something to Steven about how well he played, but Adam Scott said it best, “It may take 10,000-yard-long golf courses to achieve parity with all the sons of the PGA players that will likely start playing once they finish fourth grade.”

Having a son who plays golf doesn’t guarantee anything. Steven has a very sure grip, and a swing stronger than over have my peers! When he becomes taller, he will just be harder to match in distance.

He and my son had a fabulous fist bump, and Steven said back to him, “I am aware of how you helped my Dad when he was starting out. Thank you for that, Mr. Scott. You are my second favorite golfer.”

David and a NBC cameraman quietly filmed that at as it went out live to those very lucky people who were watching it. It made me very proud.

With a 10-person cut, due to the last minute dropouts, the remaining 48 players stayed in foursomes as the pairings were released:
(This next round, the two best scores go on, That was the PGA’s idea, and I loved it!

8:00am
Kyle Stanley
Chris Wood
8:20am{br}

Jordan Spieth
Padraig Harrington
Zach Johnson
Rory McIlroy
8:40am{br}

Charl Schwartzel
Patrick Reed
Ryan Moore
Brian Harman
9:00am{br}

Bubba Watson
Sean O’Hair
Luke Donald
Cameron Champ
9:20am{br}

Tiger Woods
Jon Rahm
Brandt Snedeker
Kevin Na
9:40am{br}

Jason Dufner
Bryson DeChambeau
Justin Rose
Justin Thomas
10:00am{br}

Kevin Chappell
Brandon Grace
Brooks Koepka
Jimmy Walker
10:20am{br}

Charles Howell III
Alexander Levy
Henrik Stenson
Ian Poulter
10:40am{br}

Brandon Stone
Graeme McDowell
Rickie Fowler
Jaco Van Zyl
11:00am{br}

Shane Lowry
Ryan Fox
KT Kim
Steve Stricker
11:20am{br}

Kyle Stanley
Dustin Johnson
Tyrrell Hatton
Tony Finau
11:40am{br}

Ross Fisher
Tommy Fleetwood
Johnny Masters
Steven Masters

On the way from the course to home, we picked up some McDonalds.

Cory reminded me that
Ross is 45, from Ascot, Berkshire
Tommy is 36, from Southport, England

Bringing in the food, Steven asked my mother, “Could you home school me, so I could be in more tournaments, Grandma Julia?”

My mother looked over at me, and I said, “This wasn’t my idea!”

As soon as he put the food down on the kitchen table, Kel and Jules each gave him a hug and a kiss. Julia and Kelley T gave me a generous hug and kiss as well.

“Steven,” his grandmother said. “I don’t know the first thing about home-schooling.”

Kelley T, came over to us and said, “I know something about home schooling. I have planned to do it with Jules. Adding Steven to it would be a no-brainer, Cannon.”

Steven, said, “You would do that for me, KT? I would be forever grateful, and I have money to pay you with, if that would help.”

I looked at him, and he said, “My money from the Father/Son Tournament. I can use it now that I’m a Pro on the PGA Tour, can’t I, Dad?”

The kid is getting smarter every day, and that made perfect sense to me.

“Would $500 a week be enough, KT?”
he said to her.

he put out her hand to shake, but he took it and kissed the back of it, and she said with a beautiful smile on her face, “We have a deal!”

He pulled out her chair for her and sat between his sister and KT. Kel had a look on her face that could only be perceived as jealousy.

The next morning, Cory, Steven, and I got there for Thursday, the third round of six.

There were some withdrawals:

Lee Westwood, Back issues
Ian Poulter, Right hand sprain
Graeme McDowell, High back sprain.

They would be treated as part of the twelve to be cut, but no money. We did that so you couldn’t quit and get a big payday from it.

By the time we were about to start, the leader was Dustin Johnson with 22 points thru the 16^th hole.

“The final foursome of the day,

“Ross Fisher, 45 years old, a Golf Pro since 2004.”

A very nice applause for the Englishman, as he teed it up, settled in and hit it very straight.

“Tommy Fleetwood, 34 years old, a Golf Professional since 2010.””

More well-known for his long hair, he reminds me of Hugh Grant. He teed it up, took a single practice swing and put it out about 20 yards past Ross.

“He may be Pahrump, Nevada’s favorite son, but next up is considered the greatest golfer under 30 years old and has broken most of golf’s greatest records. He attended UNLV for a single year, with his team and he won the national championship. Here he is, Johnny ‘The Cannon’ Masters.”

A huge sound of noise gave me some energy. “Bertha please, Cory,” I said.

“Bertha, Bertha, Bertha!”

I got it and hit the laces, putting it long past the other guys.

“Nice shot, Cannon,” my son said.

“Last, but certainly not least, is the PGA’s newest Professional golfer, at the ripe old age of 8 years old...”

‘I’m 8 and three quarters,” he yelled interrupting the announcer to giggles and applause.

“Excuse me, he starts third grade this coming August, and seems to have the attitude of a much older young man. Here he is, Steven ‘The Howitzer’ Masters!”

His applause was louder than mine, deservedly so.

“May I have my Bertha, please, Cory?” he asked to another chant.

She gave it to him, and he said, “Thanks Mom,” and almost outhit me. He started striding off the tee, like he owned the place. Look out Mr. Thomas, you never know?

I had told Cory to keep an eye on him, since he had never played three days in a row before. She told me she had thought of that, as well, and loaded up some extra bottles of water.

He started up like he had left off the previous day: (After five holes)

Ross Fisher - net 0 pts
Tommy Fleetwood - net 6 pts
Johnny Masters - net 7 pts
Steven Masters - net 14 pts

I saw him stopping and having a drink of water on every hole. Good Boy!

At the end of the front nine.

Ross Fisher - net 9 pts
Tommy Fleetwood - net 11 pts
Johnny Masters - net 19 pts
Steven Masters - net 29 pts

(Let me explain a little of that, I went birdie, birdie, eagle, making 12 points, but The Howitzer went eagle, eagle, birdie, for 15 points getting his third hole-in-one in as many days. I can’t wait to watch this on TV when we get home. What they must be saying about him can only be amazing.)

Cory and he had to pee at the mid-point. Tommy came over to me and said, “Johnny, I think that all the records that you are breaking, Steven will be breaking as well. Don’t let how good he is go to his head. Say ‘No’ when necessary.”

Together, they came out, “Miss us?” and I gave her a kiss and him a hug.

“How are you doing, so far, kiddo?” I asked him.

“You aren’t supposed to ask me that?” he said.

I looked at him, and then Cory, who said, “He’s right. There are things one pro cannot say or ask another pro during an event.”

“I meant, physically, I am his father!”

“He’s fine. Ask me and I can ask him. Don’t make a thing out of this, OK?” she said more quietly.

There might be something to the fact that he is so young, compared to the rest of us PGA golfers. Like he mentioned, I am three times his age!

He was like a machine, on the back nine.

At the end of the round:

Ross Fisher - net 24 pts
Tommy Fleetwood - net 21 pts
Johnny Masters - net 37 pts
Steven Masters - net 47 pts

First thing Steven did was have a quiet conversation with his caddy, and she came to me and said, “He’s sorry about earlier, and he shot a medal 55!”

Oh, the smile on my face about his score, “My son shot a medal 55 today. Who else can say that?”

Our playing companions both gave him fist bumps as did most of the golfers who had heard the loud rantings of a very proud Papa!

Another score in the 50s, being quietly proud of myself.

Between the four of us, we only had a single bogey all day. (Ross on the 10th)

The dozen who were cut were:

(Those who withdrew)
Patrick Reed
Ian Poulter
Graeme McDowell

Ross Fisher
Tommy Fleetwood
Marc Leishman
Cameron Smith
Jordan Spieth
Padraig Harrington
Bubba Watson
Bryson DeChambeau
Steve Stricker

Steven handed each of them the check for $350,000 and I gave them each a handshake asking them to come back again next year. Only half of them said ‘I may.’

After that was done I saw a couple walking towards us, with the woman distracting just about everyone along the way.

“Hello Johnny,” Mr. Michael Thomas said extending his hand.

While I was shaking his hand, Steven took Jennifers and kissed the back of it saying, “My Dad told me to kiss every beautiful woman I meet that way, until I’m tall enough.”

She loved it as all beautiful women do, giving him a pretty smile in response.

“I actually watched part of the last two days of your tournament,” Michael said. “Is it true that they declared Steven a Full Professional?”

“Yes, they did,” the Howitzer said for himself. “I am now guaranteed $400,000 even if I lose tomorrow. And I have also won three cars so far.”

“Really?” Jennifer said, sounding taken by my son’s charisma.

“What’s next?” Michael asked. “I mean what’s the format for tomorrow?”

“Eighteen twosomes, and those who lose, will take home a cool $400,000 each. The PGA and NBC are about to release the parings any minute,” I answered.

“What if you and Steven have to play each other?” Michael asked.

“I hadn’t thought of that until you just said it. I guess we will deal with it, if it happens!”

I had counted two players between our scores, so it wasn’t likely (Knock on Wood.)

On the electronic scoreboard, the pairings were being displayed:

9:20 am
Kyle Stanley VS
Cameron Champ

Chris Wood VS{br}

Luke Donald

Would be first off the tee and the final four were:

12:00 pm
Dustin Johnson VS
Steven Masters

Johnny Masters VS
Tommy Fleetwood

It was further announced that the two winners from each foursome would play in the following Saturday round. That means either its MASTERS VS MASTERS, or one of us gets knocked out after tomorrow!

Michael and Jennifer were still standing there looking at us, with Cory having joined us.

“I almost learned golf, back when this place was first built, however not long after that Jack Nicklaus passed away and my interest died with him,” said the world’s richest man.

“If not you, maybe Jennifer would like to learn how. I could teach you, if you wanted me to,” I said, before the hand of my wife was twisting my arm.

“I would love to learn how to play golf,” she said very coquettishly. “I am just too busy making movies with my husband. Thank you for the offer, Johnny!”

They walked away and Cory was squeezing my arm, saying, “I would love to kiss your balls, Johnny!”

We had lost track of where Steven was, and saw him, looking at the pairings for the next day.

“Let’s go, Howitzer,” his mother said.

“Sorry,” he said catching up. “We might have to play one another, Dad. How would we do that and still share Cory?”

“I have been thinking about that. After we get home, we can talk about it.”

“Sure thing. I can’t wait to see Kel, Jules, and KT.”

He took his bag from Cory, as we got to our car and headed straight to get something to eat.

From the back seat, “Does this Tournament offer FedEx points, Dad?”

“Yes, it does, as many as any other regular PGA event, starting with 500 points for 1^st place down to 3 points for 70^th,” I answered while driving.

Cory added, “World Golf Championships start with 550 points, the four majors start at 600. It’s been around since 2007, with Tiger winning the first and third one.”

I finished up the topic by saying, “At the end of the regular season, the top 125 players, by point total, advance to the FedexCup Playoffs, a series of four tournaments offering quadruple points relative to the regular PGA TOUR events.”

“So that means first place gets you 2,000 points for 1^st place?”

“That’s correct,” his mother said as we pulled up to Red Robin.

As we walked in, there was a “HOWITZER,” shout out. Cory looked at me, and giggled.

We sat down, getting menus in the process. Our server came back with a pitcher of water for us, asking Cory what she wanted. She ordered a Crispy Chicken Burger and a Diet Coke.

Stevens’ turn, “I want a Howitzer Burger, that would be two pieces of hamburger meat, two slices of regular cheese, with Mayo and Bacon only, please?”

She giggled, and said, “Yes Sir, and what about the Cannon, a Johnny Masters Burger for you, Sir?”

“Yes, please and a Diet Coke for me too.”

“Do you want something to drink, Howitzer?” she asked.

“No thank you, water is fine for me.”

We left with food for the others in takeout boxes. We got home to big applause and hugs and kisses.

As KT hugged my son, he asked, “If I have to play my dad, would you be my caddy, please?”

She looked at me before saying, “I would love to, Howitzer. I hope you know your club distances, I haven’t even walked a course in a few years.”

“Maybe not, but having you there would be intimidating, don’t you think?”

“You want to intimidate your Mom and Dad?” KT asked.

“No, everybody else. Nobody has seen you for a while, and I may get people wondering, who the babe is carrying my bag!”

“STEVEN!” his mother said, with a giggle added.

“Mom, I’m having to wait for Kelley, my sister, to grow up and become my caddy. What’s wrong with having her namesake help out in the meantime?”

His sister came up to him and said, “I don’t mind, Steven, but once I am old enough to become your caddy fulltime, Aunt Kelly will have to step back.”

Everyone had a nice laugh to that, as Kel gave her brother a big hug, then took him to sit by her while she ate her Red Robin dinner.

Jules moved to sit on his other side, and put a french fry in her mouth, waggling it until he got the other end of it. It ended with a touch kiss.

“BOOM!”

“What was that?” Steven said.

“Lightning, I think,” I said. I went to the front door, opened it and there was another BOOM and rain started. Despite moving from Pahrump to Loveland and now Vincennes, rain doesn’t happen much as much as it had, snow even less, which is good when you are a professional golfer.

Steven pulled Kelley up on his lap, and held Jules by the hand as the Booms got quieter and quieter.

Mom and Dad were off somewhere, and after a big meal and a round of golf, I was ready for a nap.

KT took her daughter and they would nap together, to keep Jules from getting worried.

“Dad, can Kel sleep in my bed, she is really scared?”

I thought for a while, and with my wife taking my arm, she said, “Just kick off your shoes, OK?”

“No prob!” he said.

We cleaned up the leftovers, and I ate a mouthful of cold fries, to Cory’s dismay.

I checked on the kids, finding her holding his arm and he was all smiles as they waved to me.

“Go to sleep, kids. If it rains all night, it will affect the golf course.”

There was no more lightning, but the sound of rain helped me fall asleep.

I woke up after two hours, feeling OK, and the rain had stopped. That could make for hard fairways and greens like glass.

The three of us got there and I found out the greens were running at 10.5 on the stimpmeter, that’s pretty fast!

We did some side by side research on our competitors before we left for the course.

Being the host of the tournament, I left Cory and Steve and gave a slight handshake to all of those left in the JMI.

To my surprise, Commissioner Moynihan showed up, and Steven and I gave him a firm handshake.

“Are you looking forward to going to Q School, Steven?”

“What’s that, Sir?” he responded looking at me.

“You are a professional golfer and need to get a Tour Card, so you can play on the PGA Tour in any Tournament you want.”

“Dad, I am confused! I thought being declared a Professional meant I could immediately start playing on the tour!”

“Commissioner, when you said he was considered a professional, you made no mention of the need to go to Q School. I was given my Tour Card without needing to go. He is playing against a former number one in world, Dustin Johnson in less than two hours. He needs to get the same exemption I did. It’s not fair. You didn’t even mention Q school, until two hours before he plays for a potential payday of $500,000.”

“You seem to have conflated the word Professional, meaning a person who makes money vs an amateur who doesn’t with the Professional Golfing Association. You were given a special exemption. That doesn’t mean that your son gets one. He can go to Q school and as soon as next year he can be on the PGA Tour making all the money you want him to make.”

That made me unbelievably upset, so I said, “Sir, he needs an exemption, he is an excellent representative just as I was called when I was only a teenager. Why is he being punished by a system that has a simple solution to it?”

“Don’t get so upset, Johnny, it’s only a year!” he said.

Cory had her hand on me, to calm me down. I wasn’t ready to do that just yet.

Walking towards him, and getting close enough to whisper in his ear, “Commissioner, if we don’t get the exemption, I will have to talk to your wife, about when I saw you in a tight embrace with Judy Rankin, who is not only a married woman, but is also ten years older than you. I have video ... Sir!”

He said, “Resorting to extortion, are we, Mr. Masters?”

“You aren’t denying it, sir, I honestly couldn’t believe what I saw, but if I have to tell your wife, you will likely get embroiled in a prolonged argument that will take lots of money to deal with. I have had this in my back pocket, so to speak, from before you were named Commissioner, and you will very likely be removed from your current position.”

I backed away from him to give him a clear chance to think about my ‘shakedown’.

A minute passed by, then five, then he said, “I need to make an announcement, can someone get a cameraman and someone from NBC, please?”