'Are you going to pay me?'
As we all waited for the 1973 U.S. Open to come to Oakmont Country Club, a nice surprise came to me in 1972. Nearby Laurel Valley was to host the PGA National Team Championship, a PGA Tour event.
It was a two-man team best-ball competition. A few weeks before the tournament, Laurel Valley contacted Oakmont because they needed 10 more caddies. They posted a signup sheet and I was one of the caddies chosen.
This is the second in a 10-part series of recollections by Ed Wieszczynski, who caddied at Oakmont Country Club near Puttsburgh from 1967 to 1975, including at the 1973 U.S. Open. While looping, he encountered the likes of Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Whitey Ford and Mickey Mantle
We had just a few days to make our plans, so we figured on packing some tents and staying at a nearby campground. What could be more fun? Being 19 years old, living with a bunch of goofballs for a week in tents, and caddying in a professional tournament.
There was also a signup sheet to volunteer for the Monday qualifying round, where a bunch of teams play on Monday before the event and compete for the final spots available in the tournament.
I was chosen and caddied for Bob Wynn. He was a decent journeyman professional and brought along as his partner a friend who was a club pro. He told me during the round that it was a gamble bringing a club pro, but he was a friend of his and he had a lot of confidence in him.
There were eight spots available that day. One team finished first and was qualified for the tournament proper. But there was a second-place tie of eight teams. That meant there had to be a playoff and eight teams were playing for seven spots. One team needed to be eliminated.
Mr. Wynn said to me, “Those are pretty damn good odds, son.”. All eight teams played the first hole and every team made par. On the second hole, Mr. Wynn hit a very good-looking second shot but it bounced hard and went slightly over the green. Next to play was his friend, the club pro. He only had about 120 yards.
Coming Friday
‘Confessions of an Oaknont caddie’
Bad caddying, bad yardages.
T
After playing well all day, the friend hit an incredibly fat shot that went kerplunk in the lake in front of the green. Now Bob Wynn needed to get up and down from over the green to keep his team alive. He chipped to 5 feet and missed the putt. We were the one team eliminated.
As we walked back to the clubhouse, Bob Wynn was fuming. He said, “Why did I have to bring such a choke artist to be my partner?”. This was the same guy he was raving about earlier. We got back to his car and he said that since they were the first alternates, they could still get into the tournament if someone dropped out.
He told me to meet him there at 8 a.m. the next day. I got up the courage to tell him that I was already assigned to caddie for another player, John Schlee. He looked at me with fire in his eyes and got in his car. I tapped on his window before he could pull away. He rolled it down and scowled, “What now?”. I asked him if he was going to pay me. He grabbed a $20 bill out of his pocket and sped off. I had survived the first day.
Featured poto illustration of Ed Wieszczynski at Oakmont wearing his 1973 U.S. Open jumpsuit created with ChatGPT
Ed Wieszcznski lives in Pittsburgh
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