Controversy dominated 2013 from the start, but there were also plenty of heartfelt moments that made for great theater. Here are the top quotes from the second half of the year.
Controversy dominated 2013 from the start, but there were also plenty of heartfelt moments that made for great theater. Here are the top quotes from the second half of the year.
“I don’t care either way how I got this trophy — I got it. And it just so happened to be with one of the best rounds of my career, which is really the way I’ve played my entire career. I’ve always tried to go out and get it. I don’t want anybody to hand it to me. I want to go out and get it. And today, I did.” – Mickelson on winning the British Open. (Getty Images)
“Best round I’ve ever seen him play.” – Mickelson’s longtime caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, on his Sunday 66 at the British Open that finally won him the claret jug, the major Lefty thought he may never win. (Getty Images)
“My worst, hardest loss of my career was the U.S. Open just a month ago. For days, I didnt get out of bed.” –Mickelson, on his U.S. Open loss to Justin Rose, before rebounding to win the Open Championship. (Getty Images)
“Zoe will be getting a very nice gift from me.” – Snedker, who won the Canadian Open after Hunter Mahan withdrew while in the lead to be with his wife for the birth of their daughter Zoe. (Getty Images)
“You cant just fall out of a tree and do the U.S. Open. ... No way they can step in and do the job we’re doing ...” – Miller, on the new deal that will move the U.S. Open from NBC to Fox starting in 2015. (Getty Images)
“I love Europe, I love winning and I love beating the Americans. And were going to win tomorrow.” – Ciganda, after Europe took a 10 1/2-to-5 1/2 lead in the Solheim Cup. Europe went on to finish off the U.S. 18-10 on Sunday for their first Solheim win on American soil. (Getty Images)
“Yeah, I grabbed her butt.” – Dufner’s admission that he did, indeed grab his wife Amanda’s rear end when celebrating his PGA Championship victory. Dufner fired a final-round 63 to win his first major but it was his unorthodox celebration that seemed to have everyone talking after the tournament. (Getty Images)
“This one will raise a few more eyebrows among the players, that’s all I’m gonna say.” – Miller, on NBC, commenting on Tiger Woods’ two-shot penalty at the BMW Championship. It was just the latest controversial ruling for Woods in a season filled with rules infractions. (Getty Images)
“Just said to myself on (No.) 9, how many opportunities are you going to have in your life to shoot 59.” – Furyk, after becoming the newest member of the PGA Tour’s ’59 club’ at the BMW Championship. (Getty Images)
“Cool phone call, one of the best I’ve ever received.” – Spieth on his reaction to Fred Couples picking him for the Presidents Cup. Spieth capped one of the greatest rookie season’s in PGA Tour history by helping the U.S. to a Presidents Cup victory. (Getty Images)
“I’m sort of looking forward to getting to December and drawing a line under the season and starting fresh in 2014.” – McIlroy on his season-long PGA Tour slump that ended by not even qualifying for the Tour Championship. McIlroy did manage to finally break through for a victory at the Australian PGA in November. (Getty Images)
“It’s here with me. It comes pretty much everywhere. I wear it in my hotel room all the time just by myself.” – Scott, still basking in the glory of becoming the first Australian to win the green jacket. Scott returned to his homeland in Novemeber for the first time since winning the Masters and nearly won the Australian triple crown. (Getty Images)
“Freddie (Couples) wanted me to bring him to the press center but Sammy has already gotten enough press today.” – Love, on Sammy the squirrel, the U.S. Presidents Cup team’s unofficial mascot, who was seen riding around with Love during Thursday’s matches. (Getty Images)
“I figured this guy was the perfect Carlton.” – Kuchar, on Presidents Cup playing partner Tiger Woods and their ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’ handshake routine. The Woods-Kuchar duo went 3-1 and Tiger delivered the winning point in Sunday singles to lift the Americans over the Internationals. (Getty Images)
“My private life is private, and I’d like to keep it that way.” – Rory McIlroy, one of many times this year he refused to address media reports that he and girlfriend Caroline Wozniacki had broken up. (Getty Images)
“He won five times and contended in majors and won the Vardon Trophy. And how shall we say this ... was a little cavalier with the rules.” – Chamblee, commenting on Tiger Woods’ season in a column for Golf.com. Chamblee later apologized and resigned from his position at Golf.com amid criticism for accusing Woods of cheating, without knowing his intent. (Getty Images)
“There’s nothing you can call a golfer worse than a cheater. This is the most deplorable thing I have seen. I’m not one for hyperbole, but this is absolutely disgusting. Calling him a cheater? I’ll be shocked, stunned if something is not done about this. Something has to be done. Cheating involves intent.” – Steinberg, Tiger Woods’ agent, reacting to Brandel Chamblee’s grade of Woods’ season. Chamblee gave Woods and ‘F’ for being ‘a little cavalier with the rules.’ (Getty Images)
“What a whirlwind of a day, but I’m happy to announce the birth of my daughter Zoe Olivia Mahan born at 3:26 am. Thanks for all the support!” – Mahan, via Twitter, after withdrawing while in the lead from the RBC Canadian Open when his wife went into labor.
“Yeah, she probably is.” – Dufner, on the ‘Howard Stern Show,’ responding Stern’s claim that “Everyone says she’s way too hot for you.” Stern’s show was one of several media stops for Dufner where he chatted about everything from his new PGA Championship to married life to other golfers that rub him the wrong way.
“I fell in love with golf at an early age. I think ... because my dad kept it fun and light. ... That’s what I want to do with Sam or Charlie.” – Woods, on his kids possibly picking up the game while celebrating with his son Charlie after his WGC-Bridgestone win. It was Woods’ 79th PGA Tour victory, but the first his 4-year-old son had seen in person.
“She said yes!!!!!” – Johnson, in a caption of an Instagram photo confirming he was engaged to Paulina Gretzky. Gretzky was first spotted in Johnson’s gallery in Hawaii at the beginning of the season, where Johnson played coy about the relationship.
“After seeing the video I thought the ball just oscillated, and I thought that was it.” – Woods on the two-shot penalty assessed to him at the BMW Championship. Woods was moving leaves around his ball when high-definition cameras showed his ball moved slightly.
“The hardest part is over. It was everything I thought it was going to be. I was standing there ready to go and then I heard Lusi and I had to give her one last kiss. It was the best part.”– Lyle, on his emotional return from a second bout with cancer at the Aussie Masters. Lyle teared up before his opening tee shot. (Getty Images)
“Uh, I guess so. My teammates used to call me Urkel back in college. Yeah, I do have that little nerdy of side of me. That’s probably why I got into Stanford.” – Woods, on girlfriend Lindsey Vonn calling him “dorky-goofy” during an interview. (Getty Images)
“Just because I don’t show my emotions doesn’t mean I don’t feel anything. What I have gone through this year is more challenging than anything I’ve gone through in my life.” – Park, after accepting her Player of the Year award at the LPGA Rolex Award Celebration. Park won three consecutive majors and ascended to No. 1 in the world. (Getty Images)
“When I first started playing against Arnold, my goal was to beat him and become the best I could be. If that meant de-throning ‘The King,’ then that was what I had to do.” – Nicklaus, reminiscing on his rivalry with Arnold Palmer. (Getty Images)
“It didn’t feel too odd or special. That actually surprised me. I thought I was going to be nervous. One of the good things was I actually wasn’t thinking about any money or related stuff. I just tried to play my game, which was obviously very helpful.” – Ko, 16, after her first round as a professional at the CME Group Titleholders. Ko successfully petitioned the LPGA to waive their age requirement after winning two LPGA events and finishing runner-up in this year’s Evian Championship as an amateur. (Getty Images)
“You’re working hard, you’re trying to find the reasons why … It’s frustrating, but I never lost belief. Golf is a long career, I’m 24 years old, and I can get a bit impatient at times. If I take a step back and look at the big picture, it hasn’t been too bad of a year. It’s been made a lot better with this win.” – McIlroy, upon winning the Australian Open in December for his first win of 2013, after a frustrating, yearlong slump. (Getty Images)
“Any time you’re head-to-head with the best player that I’ve ever seen is fun. I know I’m probably going to fall down and fail more than I’ll probably succeed in those situations, and I have, but I finally got one on him. I’m certainly going to savor it. My guess is that it’s not going to faze (Woods) in the slightest, because he seems to always rally and get back up.” – Johnson, reflecting on his playoff win over Tiger Woods at the World Challenge.
“It’s sad for everyone who had gotten a chance to certainly not only meet him, but also be influenced by him. I had a chance to meet him with my father back in 1998. He invited us to his home. It was one of the (most) inspiring times that I’ve ever had in my life. It’s a sad day for many people around the world.” – Woods, reminiscing on the time he had the privilege of meeting South Africa’s Nelson Mandela, who passed away in December.
“(If) Tiger would give open answers to questions – ‘real’ interviews, not just ‘nothing’ interviews… Journalists and broadcasters should not be mere cheerleaders. There’s too much of that in golf right now, to be honest. And not nearly enough untainted honesty. If correspondents do nothing more than claim how great everything is, any semblance of reality is lost.” – Ogilivy, in a column appearing in Golf World magazine on how he believes the Tiger Woods-Brandel Chamblee situation could have been avoided.