Yep, there are errors, and no one's unhappier about them than I am.
By way of explanation, I should say that Scorecard's publishing circumstances were unusual. Getting to market by May 15 required reducing the usual twelve-month book production schedule to about six, meaning I had from mid-September (after the Ryder Cup) to January 1, 2007, to write all 350 pages. That's the literary equivalent of running five marathons a week for two and a half months. As I wrote the manuscript some synapses were bound to misfire, and copyediting turnarounds were so fast that I missed a few things in fact-checking. To be honest, I went into the project knowing that errors would be inevitable.
But an explanation's not an excuse. I deeply regret the mistakes, and truly hope they don't detract too much from anyone's enjoyment of the book. For the record, here are my corrections (along with a couple of reader-prompted clarifications). Rest assured the errors will be corrected in any future edition of the book.
- Payne Stewart's winning par putt on 18 in the final round of the 1999 U.S. Open wasn't 40 feet; it was about 15 feet. (Typing in the middle of the night, I must have crossed up this putt with his par-saver on 16, which was at least twice as long, though truthfully no longer than 30-35 feet).
- The following gaffe is the worst in the book, and it's in the same paragraph (which is really embarassing-- I'm 100% sure I wrote this section at 3 a.m.). I say Phil Mickelson bogeyed the par-5 16th at the 2001 PGA at Atlanta Athletic Club as the result of a "silly go-for-broke play." Of course, the 16th is a par-four, and Phil's bogey was a three-putt. (What was silly about it: Phil later explained that he steamed his first well past the hole because spectators had told him it was a slow putt.)
- Tiger's storied 2000 Canadian Open 18th hole 6-iron to beat Grant Waite was from a fairway bunker, not "thick rough." (Simple brain cramp. How could I not remember that? It was part of a played-to-death Nike commercial, wasn't it?)
- Tiger's hole-in-one was the first of his pro career, but not the only.
- Mike Mills is the bassist, not lead guitarist, of R.E.M. (Sorry, Bert.)
- I said Steve Elkington won the PGA at Riviera in '98-- it was of course '95. (Duh! I was there! Another product of writing at three in the morning.)
- Chicago Blackhawk great Stan Mikita's name was misspelled. (I blame my Makita power drill.)
- Guess I should have mentioned Loren Roberts's name-- not just Monty's-- in connection with the 1994 U.S. Open playoff won by Ernie Els. (In context, mentioned only Monty because he was the subject of that paragraph.)
- I said Tiger hasn't played at Pebble since 2004, while his last was in 2002. (Typo.)
- With regard to Michael Allen's age, which one reader wrote to say I got wrong, here's the deal: he's said to be 46 in the Hawaii chapter, and then 47 in the New Orleans chapter, because his date of birth is January 31, 1959.
- One reader protested that Phil Mickelson's memorable full-swing flop shot for birdie on Saturday at last year's Memorial was on the 18th hole, not the 10th. Going back to the clippings, I found this in the following day's Columbus Dispatch: "But nothing Mickelson did was any prettier than the full-swing flop shot from behind the green on No. 10 that traveled all of about three feet, then rolled down into the hole for birdie."
