On course ...

After listening to the kind of sportsmanship purveyed by the knights of the greens and unfairways all summer long, we had been ready to cancel our subscription to the PGA Tour when a wonderful thing happened in the U.S. Men's Senior Open.

At least 40,000 spectators opened their hearts in two members of the cast, a great old champion named Tom Watson and the man who has carried his bag for 30 years, Bruce Edwards.

What made the event so poignant was that it was predicated on heartbreak. It was going to be a Bast time for the champion and his caddie. Edwards is suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), more commonly known as Lou Gehrig's Disease, but he was treating it as an imposter. He had refused the offer of a golf cart and was traversing the 72 holes with the 40-pound bag over his shoulder, a jaunty step, and a big smile.

The final hole became a glorious yellow brick road for the gallery. Coming down the broad path leading to the clubhouse, Watson and Edwards linked arms and strode the final 40 yards to a thunderous chorus of voices chanting, "Bruce! Bruce! Bruce!"

It was all too beautiful for words, but the caddie chose to say them: "Thank you, friends. I have been blessed. I have lived my whole life to a game I have loved and with a friend, Tom Watson, who was the brother I had never had. I couldn't have asked for anything more."

What he didn't mention was that he had a third blessing. He had told a lovely lady that he had ALS and couldn't ask her to marry him ... but would she? And she had said, yes!

As we sat in front of our TV set, watching this incredible fairy tale unfold, an antic thought crossed our mind. Would a man named Hootie have allowed such a thing to happen on his golf course?