YOU MAY WANT TO REMEMBER THE NAME SEAN
O’HAIR!
By Bob Acton of Aces
Sportsbook
Probably like most of you occasional golf fans,
I usually like to keep tabs on the production of one Tiger Woods.
So needless to say, after he missed his first cut in seven years
at the Byron Nelson last Friday, I turned my attention to the
MLB and NBA.
One hundred forty two consecutive tournaments
in the money is mind boggling and much has been made in the past
of the somewhat military lifestyle that existed between Earl Woods
and his son Tiger.
Well on the weekend news centered on the play
of Sean O’Hair who is a 22-year old rookie on the PGA tour
and is the son of one Marc O’Hair who shall we say encouraged
his son to turn pro.
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Actually encouraged is an understatement, how
about trained his son, for the battlefield of golf with a strict
regimen of 24/7 golf. In a segment first broadcast three years
ago the elder O’Hair referred to his son as good labor.
There is no confusing the fact that Mr. O’Hair looked at
the 19-year old as his business and sole interest in life.
It seems unlikely that O'Hair can escape questions
about his path to the PGA Tour, a story that reeks of a father
who treated his son like a commodity.
Up every day at 5 a.m. to run, on the course from
7 a.m. to 4 p.m. The father made him run a mile for every bogey
on his scorecard and derided him for missing shots. It was all
in the kid's best interest, to make him the best.
``What am I supposed to do -- say, 'Oh, Seany
boy, you don't have to get up early today?' The military, they
know how to build a champion,'' Marc O'Hair told the Sentinel
in December. ``Somebody who slacks off, that's a loser. The typical
high school kid is hanging out at the mall. That's a loser.''
Far too often we hear about the burned out child
phenom athlete who can only take so much and crumbles under the
pressure of his obsessed parent and flees from the game. Sometimes
they seek out the company of the first person they meet that allows
them to forget the game they grew up playing. This for a young
male may mean the companionship of a female that allows them to
bury the nightmares of their childhood.
Yes young O’Hair did flee into the arms
of a beautiful woman, but instead of escaping golf, he flourished
with the support of wife and former college golfer Jackie. She
has brought self esteem and perspective to his life and his game
is sizzling.
So as Sean O’Hair continues his fine play
on the PGA tour, questions remain about his severed relationship
with his father and how ironically enough his mentor now is father
in law and caddie Steve Lucas. Sean will only suggest that he
loves his father and one day hopes they can reconcile. As for
the elder O’Hair he has suggested that he will bury his
son financially and points to contracts that he had with his son
that were signed when Sean was 17 and 20.
Marc O’Hair claims that he spent upwards
of $2 million training his son to be a professional golfer and
wants the contracts honored. Needless to say this is a story that
I can guarantee we will revisit, in the not too distant future!
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