Ben Wright: Buttered and Bunkered
Of all the great golfers I have seen in more than half a century of covering the game, I believe the best never to win a major was the majestic Irishman Christy O’Connor Sr. A two-time winner of the European Tour’s Order of Merit (1961, ’62) and a member of the Great Britain and […]
Ben Wright: Cliffs Valley Days
Jim Anthony, the owner and developer of the Cliffs Communities, came into my life almost by accident. After completing a voice-over extolling the virtues of Jim’s first course, the Cliffs at Glassy, I was dragged off to lunch in the temporary clubhouse on the mountain top by the Collins brothers, Dan and Mike, who were […]
Ben Wright: Frankly Speaking
My debut with the CBS golf team came at the 1972 U.S. Professional Match Play Championship. Despite the torrid August conditions at the Country Club of North Carolina that year, my reception was a frosty one. Producer-director Frank Chirkinian uttered not a word to me, except when it was my turn to speak, throughout the […]
Ben Wright: Slithery Slope
Of all my memories from broadcasting the Masters at the 15th hole of Augusta National, some of the fondest originated, oddly enough, during bathroom breaks. Invariably, whenever I shimmied down the ladder of the TV tower, I would run into old friends and take a few moments to chat, catching up on their lives and […]
Ben Wright: Oddly Matched
“British Captain Summoned before PGA Executive Committee, Fired for Lack of Effort in First-year Ryder Cup Debacle.” So screamed the fictitious tabloid headline I concocted at the conclusion of the 1976 “Real Ryder Cup Matches.” Let me explain. While covering golf for CBS that year, Jack Whitaker and I conceived the idea of an annual […]
Ben Wright: Magic in Monterey
Over the years, hundreds of golf fanatics have asked me which was the greatest shot I ever witnessed. It’s been an easy question to answer, thanks to one man: Jack Nicklaus. The best golfer who ever lived played scores of heroic shots, and nearly always when he needed one most. On occasion they even came […]
Ben Wright: Days at the Beach
It’s nearly time for another Bing Crosby National Pro-Am—I’m sorry, make that AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am—which means memories of that great event come flooding back to me like the giant breakers that crash along Pebble’s famed 18th hole. Unfortunately those memories don’t include my actually having played in the Crosby, as it will always […]
Ben Wright: Frequent Flier
Gary Player is as much a legend for the countless miles he has traveled as for the worldwide victories he has amassed upon arrival. In 1974—arguably Gary’s greatest season ever—I was very much a part of those ceaseless travels, during a memorable stretch that began at the Qantas Australian Open in Perth, Australia. There Player […]
Ben Wright: Feeling Chipper
Christmas came early for me this year—on August 27, to be exact. Who would have thought an aging hacker, ailing with pneumonia and consigned to playing “game improvement” clubs, was capable of championship golf and highlight-reel theatrics? But I’m getting ahead of myself. It all started when I ventured to Northern Michigan for Crystal Mountain […]
Ben Wright: Caught in the Middle
A reminiscence about the “War on the Shore” at Kiawah Island’s Ocean Course
