I don't remember any major rules disputes with Tiger, but I do remember 15 or 20 mortal men move a 2,000 pound loose boulder impediment to allow him a clear recovery shot.
Story time, you've probably heard this one before:
I was at Pumpkin Ridge Sunday in the grandstand behind the 18th green for one of Annika's major disputes. It was a really tight tournament, and Annika needed par to tie and birdie to win. Ultimately three players tied for the lead, with Annika one behind when she bogeyed.
5th place went to Aree Song, who was about 17 at the time. Her caddie was a member of our club, and a very unusual member at that. He claims to have over 20 holes in one, and I have actually witnessed one of them, from the 16th tee looking back at the 15th green. He also claims to have shot 57 and 59, and carried a +5 handicap (at age 55 or so) for the last couple years. Virtually none of the great players in the club have played with him, and so there is plenty of questioning his feats, especially when he so easily mentions them in short conversations. But he's got a helluva swing, really simple. And his loop finished 5th, and I know he helped.
Annika still has plenty of time to dispute where the drop should be, even after my story. She was short right, in the trees, and it took her a good 18-20 minutes before she dropped where didn't want to. She then made a tactical error; seemingly trying for birdie, she went right at a really tough pin, and flopped it short into the bunker. If she had hit a long one to the steeply sloped back, it would have held and fell back to about 30 feet, and she might have won the Open. John Vander Borght will probably affirm this.
Meanwhile, Hillary Lunke and Kelly Robbins are left back in the fairway, twisting in the wind. My memory is a little cloudy here, but I think Robbins hit a beautiful fairway wood onto the green in two and made birdie. Lunke made par, and they and Angela Stanford went to a Monday 18 hole playoff, which I also followed. Hillary Lunke won the tournament the next day with a really beautiful 15 footer on the last hole to win. Terrific moment.
Now here's a really odd stat: I think Lunke won while having the shortest driving distance in the field. Has that ever been accomplished before? Says a LOT about PR- Witch Hollow. This is a course that opened to great fanfare 13 years ago, with aspirations of a U.S. Men's Open. But the change in the power or length of the players has rendered it obsolete, and there is little room to expand it. On the other hand, Pumpkin Ridge used 360 acres to create two full size courses, each of which is challenging and enjoyable for the members. And we don't mind not having to take a month off from golf some June. However, some day the PGA should have its championship on our Ghost Creek course, lengthened and prepared for play. Oregon is August is super sweet.