Fairways • Spring 09
Hey, Listen Up!
Dan Forsman

by Randy Dodson

In only his 12th tournament on the Champions Tour, Dan Forsman captured the the AT&T Champions Classic overcoming a five-stroke deficit in regulation and then beating Don Pooley with a birdie on the first extra hole. Afterwards the 50-year-old Riverside Country Club member said, “I’m at a loss for words right now.”

Forsman had won five times on the PGA TOUR before making the jump mid-season last year to the Champions Tour. Forsman carded a 6-under 66 - the best round of the day - to tie Pooley at 11-under on a very tough Valencia Country Club course. Forsman birdied three of the last five holes in regulation, parring the 18th after a “lucky break.”

Forsman and Pooley went back to the 546-yard, par-5 18th for the playoff where Dan made a 12-foot birdie putt and Pooley had a 5-footer lip out, sealing the victory for Forsman.

A few weeks after his victory, on an early spring day at Riverside, Dan found the words to describe his win for Fairways magazine. So Hey, Listen Up!

What happen on that Sunday, with the players in front of me, I knew I need some birdies to bolster my position in the tournament.

I birdied 14 and 15, so then I was thinking, wow, I got the Mo on Sunday!

After I birdied 17 things were looking very promising.

On 18, I just said to myself, I got the momentum going, I can’t lay up now. I decided to go at it on my second shot and hit the rescue off the deck,
try to make two putts and get out there.

As fate would have it, I tensed up a little bit, came out of the shot and the ball leaked right on me. The marshal initially gave me the out of bounds sign.

So then, I am going through the whole routine; get another golf ball, make a drop, thinking the whole time; that was a stupid shot.

I got down there, and my wife Trudy said, “Hey, don’t give up the ball might be in.” Sure enough the rules guys had the string out and said,
“Your ball is on the string, you’re in play.”

I hit a great pitch shot from there, leaving the ball 20 feet below the hole.

I hadn’t experienced such a roller-coaster of emotions like that in a long time.

I made my par, and had to wait for Jay Haas and Don Pooley, two of the best putters that ever lived. I just went to the putting green and
found some solace and just waited for the outcome... hoping for a playoff.

The break I got on 18 was unbelievable.

I need to get over to the practice putting area before the playoff and find some peace. I needed to get centered on what just happened.

I played a very good back nine. I’m tied for the lead. Now there’s a playoff. It’s now a match play situation, what are the dynamics of that? How am I going to play 18?

Do I go for it, do I lay-up based on what just happened?

I had to very quietly replay all this in my mind.

As I looked at my birdie putt on the playoff hole, it was kind of one of those putts that I had been making all week, just a couple balls out to the left.

It was definitely one of those miraculous situations.

It was odd that I had been practicing those 8 to 9 foot, left to right putts here at Riverside, thinking that I am going to have to make one of these this year.

After making my putt, I was just pumped; I just had to get my ball out of the hole as quickly as possible.

I was thinking that Don had made a bunch of these type putts over the course of his career, he definitely was going to make it in my mind.

I watched Don go through his routine, knowing that it was a difficult putt given the circumstances.

When his putt spun out, I thought, Oh my gosh, unbelievable! What a great feeling to know that I had won my first Champions Tour event.

It was a really good field on a great golf course.

On the Champions Tour you have to make a lot of birdies early and get yourself out there in front of the sprint.

It’s amazing, now, to find myself playing with the great champions of the PGA Tour past. Early on there was a great sense of awe, for me.

Some of these guys I have not seen in a long time.

I am looking forward to playing the senior Majors. I had the chance to do very well on the regular Tour but never got the job done.

I would like to win a Senior Major event. To win one of those events against the best world-wide field would be really significant.

Randy Dodson is the publisher of Fairways magazine.