Feb 8, 2008

Forsman at home at Spyglass

By John Reid / Daily News Staff Writer

PEBBLE BEACH - Something about Spyglass Hills Golf Course brings out the best in Dan Forsman. The ex-Los Altos resident carded a 1-under par 71 in the first round of the AT&T Pro-Am Thursday, placing him four shots behind the leader. It was 15 years ago when Forsman established the course record at Spyglass, shooting a torrid 64 in the 1993 AT&T tournament. Phil Mickelson broke that record with a 62 in 2005, then Luke Donald equaled Mickelson's record in 2006.

"I don't know how you do a 62 out here," said Forsman, a 1977 graduate of then Awalt High in Mountain View. "That's lightin' it up. I like the tournament here. There is no more beautiful place in the world than the Monterey Peninsula. Being a Northern California boy, I'll always remember coming down and watching the great players in the past. It's a fun event. There are a lot of great people involved running it like Clint Eastwood and Ollie Nutt."

Forsman had an interesting round. Starting on the back nine at 8:10 a.m., he bogeyed No. 10 by three-putting. Forsman rebounded to birdie No. 11 and No. 12, then recorded pars the next 15 holes

"Forsman played solid," said John Roman, caddying for Forsman for the first time. "His driving was right down the middle. He put himself in good position. The few greens he did miss, he had nice chips and short putts for par."

A good pitch shot led to a birdie on No. 11. At No. 12, Forsman felt a pain in his left side after his swing from the tee box.

"On the 12th hole, a par 3 down the hill, I went after it," Forsman said. "I cooked a 7-iron to the left of the flag. It's like a bursitis. There's inflammation. I haven't walked this kind of hilly course in a long time. The good news I made birdie, so it was worth it."

Forsman was an inch or two away from a few more birdies. His drive on the 595-yard No. 1 traveled 285 yards, the hole a dogleg left in the direction of the Pacific Ocean. Forsman hit his approach shot from 110 yards away about 20 feet from the pin. His putt was headed into the hole before stopping an inch short. At the 322-yard par-4 No. 2 hole, Forsman's approach shot landed off the green, but 10 feet from the pin. His putt stopped two inches short of dropping in the cup.

"That's the nature of this golf course," Forsman said. "You can't be too aggressive. I can't because I don't want that much pressure on myself coming back. I made a good putt on the last hole to save par. One-under is a big deal versus par. You work hard all day and you want to finish under par."



First tourney of year

Forsman, who earned an invitation to the AT&T because of the Past Champions category, played 13 PGA Tour events and two Nationwide Tour events in 2007. This is the first tournament he has played this year. His next scheduled go-round is at the newly named Arnold Palmer Invitational at the Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Orlando, Fla., March 11-16.

"I had a good fall," the 6-foot-4 Forsman said. "I had a top 10 finish in Texas. That really helped my cause to get into some early tournaments."

Forsman claimed the first of his five PGA Tour victories back in 1985 when he won the Lite Quad Cities Open. His last tournament victory was the SEI Pennsylvania Classic in 2002.

"The first win is always the one you remember the most," said Forsman, who resides in Provo, Utah. "You're trying to get through and you know you can do it. Any time you can win a tournament playing against the best players in the world, that's a memorable experience. The other tournament wins were equally emotional and charged for a variety of different reasons."

In 1993 at Augusta, Forsman was on the cusp of etching his name amongst legends as he led the Masters on the final day after miraculously saving par on the 11th hole. It unraveled in a hurry for Forsman, though, with a quadruple bogey on the treacherous No. 12. He finished tied for seventh, his highest ever finish at a major. He also tied for seventh at the PGA Championship in 1992.

"Leading at Augusta on the last day was better than any tournament I have ever had," Forsman said. "I remember vividly climbing up to the tee box on No. 12 after making a great save for par out of the back bunker on No. 11. I had made one the greatest shots I have ever hit. When I walked up the hill at 12, I heard, 'Dan, you can win this tournament. Come on, Forsman!' I thought, wait a minute. They want me to win this thing. Where's Jack (Nicklaus)? Where's Tom Watson? Where's Seve Ballesteros? Where's Greg Norman? In a strange way, I had reached something I had thought I would never reach. I sobered up quickly at No. 12."

Forsman's drive hit the water, so did his next. It snowballed from there.

"We had bad yardage," Forsman said. "I couldn't get the yardage right. It was just a nightmare. It was one of those dreams you have where you can't get the job done."



Words of encouragement

Forsman recalls that before he started that Easter Sunday round, legendary golfer Gary Player had some words of encouragement for him.

"I came off the putting green and Gary Player came over to me," Forsman said. "He's got the black on and he says to me, 'Dan, I told you at the beginning of the week you could win this tournament. You can do it, my friend. Go out and use your head out there. They have some tough pins.' It was like the Supreme Court Justice had made a ruling. That was very memorable."

Forsman turns 50 on July 15 and plans on joining the Champions Tour.

"They're hearing footsteps," Forsman quipped.

The way he played Thursday, he's not ready to leave the PGA Tour just yet.

"I told my wife I'm playing pretty good golf," Forsman said. "I had two good practice rounds. I'm hitting the ball solidly. I feel balanced. I feel good. My swing feels good. My short game is getting better. My putter is starting to be strong."

Forsman groomed his golf skills as a youth only an hour and a half away when his family was a member of Los Altos Country Club. A former Central Coast Section medalist in '76, Forsman won the Palo Alto and San Francisco Junior city championships.

Don't count him out at this weekend's AT&T. He has been here before on more than one occasion.



E-mail John Reid at jreid@dailynewsgroup.com.