Saturday, May 25, 2002
Julian just happy to still be playing the game
Memorial notebook
By Neil Schmidt, nschmidt@enquirer.com
The Cincinnati Enquirer
DUBLIN, Ohio — Jeff Julian didn't make the cut at the Memorial. But that wasn't the point. The point was simply playing. Living.
Julian, 40, is dying. He has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It's a torturous syndrome that causes the progressive loss of muscle control, and Julian has one of the fastest variations of the disease.
He figures he'll be dead within 18 months. Friday, though, he shot 1-under-par 71, and his two-round total of 148 missed the cut by just two strokes. “To be here, playing with some of the players in this tournament, is beyond my expectations,” he said. “It's almost hard to believe it's real.”
Julian, who turned pro in 1986 and has mostly bounced between tours since then, used a sponsor's exemption to get into the field. This is his fifth tournament this year; he hasn't made a cut.
“I played better today,” he said Friday. “But of course it'd have been nice to make the weekend.”
Just being here was an accomplishment. He was diagnosed last October after complaining of a sore throat. The news he got was devastating.
“Like a ton of bricks,” he said.
But he has been gracious for his sponsors. “If I'm not playing, I'm ... thinking about my situation,” he said. “Golf is a wonderful diversion.”
Equally inspiring was his playing partner, Erik Compton, 22, who underwent heart transplant surgery 10 years ago. He is the first pro athlete to compete after a heart transplant.
Compton also finished at 148 but he made the shot of the day Friday, chipping out of a bunker for birdie on No.18.
LOCALS LIST: Only one of the three Greater Cincinnati entrants, Franklin native Frank Lickliter II, made the cut. He shot even par Friday for a two-day total of 3-under 141. Steve Flesch of Union, Ky., shot 3-over 75 to finish at 4-over 148.
Oak Hills High grad Brett Wetterich included two eagles in his 1-under round of 71 Friday, an improvement on his 78 Thursday.
He used a 5-iron on the fifth hole to hit his second shot 209 yards to within 10 feet, and he hit a 5-wood on No.15 232 yards to set up a 20-foot putt.
He said he had rounds with two eagles before at lower levels, but not on the PGA Tour.
“That was nice,” he said. “It's disappointing to miss the cut, but I had a great time here.”
Lickliter and Flesch both had an eagle Thursday.
JACK'S BACK: Tournament host Jack Nicklaus shot 2-over 74 Friday to make the cut with a 145 total. It's the first cut he has made on the PGA Tour in two years.
“I'm striking the ball well,” he said. “If you asked me earlier this week if I could make the cut, I'd say no. But when you shoot a good score (his 71 Thursday), you stop thinking about making the cut and just think about shooting the best you can.”
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Julian just happy to still be playing the game
