Tom Egan was a friend of mine from Evansville, Indiana. He used to work with Ran when both were employees of the USGA, back in the 1980's. He actually introduced me to Ran, and Tom Egan was an early user of golfclubatlas.com. Back in the early days, it was kind of like the "wild west" on this website, with many people setting up fake names to post under. Many have heard of the legend of Dr. Katz, who was Tom Egan posting under the name of Dr. Katz.
In memory of Tom Egan, I want to share the following story he told me in the 1990's, when I also lived in Evansville:
Tom was born in Evansville, but his career took him to the east coast, where his golf passion led him to become a member at Baltusrol. Tom was a good player, and his wife was not much into golf, but Tom always encouraged her to give golf a try. During their time in New Jersey, Tom's wife began playing a little golf but mostly with Tom in the evenings. Tom began to encourage her to join one of the Baltusrol Ladies Golf groups, which were divided into the better players, who played in the 18-hole group ("18-holers"), and the less accomplished players, who played in the Baltusrol 9-hole group ("9-holers"). Tom suggested to his wife that when she met women while at the club, she should ask them if they played, and which group they played in (this sets the story).
In 1985 the Women's US Open was held at Baltusrol. In the days leading up to the event, there were dinners at the club to celebrate the event and to welcome players and other guests to the club. One such dinner was hosted by the USGA in the Baltusrol clubhouse. Tom was a long-time member of the USGA Museum Committee, so he and his wife were invited to the dinner. Tom explained that they arrived at the dinner early, in order to enjoy the cocktail hour and to mingle with guests before being seated. In the car ride from their home to the club, Tom suggested to his wife that this particular evening might allow her to meet some of the Baltusrol lady golfers. As Tom's wife (a non-golfer) surveyed the room, she saw lots of women and was thinking about Tom's advice of meeting some of the women who played in the Baltusrol ladies club events. Tom being a huge golf fan, was noticing all of the ladies tour players in the room. He turned and noticed that Pat Bradley was just a few feet away from him, and he broke away from his wife and introduced himself to this Hall of Famer. Tom said she was so friendly and thanked him and Baltusrol for hosting her and the other players that week. Tom asked if she would mind it if he brought her over and introduced her to his wife, and Pat Bradley graciously agreed. Tom and Pat Bradley walked back over to Tom's wife. This is how the conversation went:
Tom: "Honey, I'd like to introduce you to Pat Bradley."
Tom's wife (a non-golfer): "Oh hi...very nice to meet you Pat...are you a 9-holer or an 18-holer?"
Pat Bradley (without batting an eye): "I'm an 18-holer."