The Majors-In Pursuit of Golf's Holy Grail - Softcover

Feinstein, John

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316277959 ISBN 13: 9780316277952

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2000

Synopsis

WHAT DOES IT TAKE to win a major championship and reach the absolute pinnacle of golf? Through a season of the four tournaments -- the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA Championship -- known collectively as the majors, John Feinstein takes us where the television cameras never go, both off the links and "inside the ropes", as he reveals the special challenges and rituals, the frustrations and exhilaration, that mark the lives and careers of the world's greatest golfers.

About this title

Review:

As much a force of nature in sporting pursuits as John Grisham is on lawyers or Steven King is on the weird, the dauntingly prolific John Feinstein once again steps up to take a swing at golf. While A Good Walk Spoiled chronicles the pressures and tensions of a full season on the PGA Tour, The Majors narrows the vista, and expands the importance, to the chase for the four prestigious titles--the Masters, the U.S. Open, the British Open, and the PGA--that separate the great careers from the pretenders. That the chase occurred in 1998 turns The Majors from a compelling chronicle into a thrilling one.

A thorough reporter, Feinstein does the necessary homework both inside and beyond the ropes. He dusts off history and anecdote to provide perspective and explore how and why these four particular tournaments sprouted such regal fur around their collars. Still, perspective is just background if there's no focus to give it meaning, and he finds a bagful of it in the individual quests and the public and private dramas of, most notably, Fred Couples, Lee Janzen, Tiger Woods, Mark O'Meara, Phil Mickelson, and David Duval. All entered the season with much to prove--to themselves and posterity, and the latter is what the Majors are so imposingly about. As Feinstein observes, "Four days a year, golfers go out to play for Forever. Those are the four Sundays at the major championships. They all know what is at stake." As the record shows, none staked a claim more improbably or excitingly than O'Meara, who put a pair of exclamation points on a long, distinguished--but significantly Major-less--career with stunning, gutsy victories at both the Masters and the British Open. Feinstein records these quests with precision and color; as usual, he aims at a target and shoots better than par. --Jeff Silverman

About the Author:

John Feinstein is an American sportswriter and commentator. He is a columnist for the Washington Post, an author, is a guest commentator on NPR, and does color commentary for United States Naval Academy football games. He is also a frequent contributor to The Tony Kornheiser Show. During a radio broadcast of the football game between the Naval Academy and Duke University on October 1, 2005, Feinstein blurted an obscenity over-the-air in response to what he perceived to be a bad call on the field. He immediately removed himself from the rest of the broadcast, except to return at the end to apologize on the air. Although he offered his resignation to the Naval Academy, they rejected it because of his contrition and have invited him to continue to participate in future broadcasts. Feinstein was a sports writer for the The Chronicle while enrolled at Duke University, where he graduated in 1977. One of Feinstein's nicknames is "Junior", despite not having the suffix in his name. The name was given by Tony Kornheiser because of the similarities in his temper to John McEnroe. Feinstein sometimes fills in as a guest host on The Jim Rome Show. Rome considers Feinstein to be one of the most intelligent people he's interviewed on the show, and occasionally teases him about an over-the-phone interview that was interrupted by Feinstein's daughter.

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0316277959
• ISBN 13: 9780316277952
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 513