But while he's at the top of the news, the real story behind this sports world phenom is his father, a man who had a vision of his son's greatness before anyone ever dreamed of it.
"I have predicted this, and I knew this would happen a long time ago," a proud papa said after his son had just won his first major event. He wasn't lying.
The old man was born 65 years ago to a black father and a woman who was half Native American and half Chinese. Sports became a major part of his life since his parents, who died when he was young, were not. His father died when he was 11; his mother passed away two years after that.
He was a good baseball player -- good enough to first become an all-state catcher in high school and then to win a scholarship at Kansas State. He was the first black player in the Big Eight.
BUT THE CARDS just did not hold a sports career for him. Instead, he found his place in life with the military. There were only two problems: Raising his own family, which began when he was 21, and the upcoming 1960s horror called the Vietnam War, where he would serve two tours of duty.
His first wife was named Barbara Gary and together, they had three children -- Kevin, Earl Jr. and Royce in the years 1955-58. But he was a military man, a Green Beret who would rise to the rank of Lt. Colonel. So being away was just as normal as pie.
"I was a young 21 year-old-kid who thought he knew everything. I was married too early and too young. But I guess it was the Man's (God's) way of putting me through a trial period and a training period," he said.
Fast forward to 1970 -- three years after he met his present wife, Kultida Punsawad, in Thailand and one year after they were married. She was a devout Buddhist who like himself was a mixture of cultures. She was half Thai, a quarter Chinese and a quarter Caucasian.
The setting was a jungle in the war zone. He had fallen asleep and as he lay there on the ground, a viper -- a snake just as deadly as a Viet Cong's bullet -- was creeping toward his right eye.
A bite would surely kill him. But his pal, Nguyen Phong, was nearby. He woke his friend up to the danger and he escaped with his life. His friend, however, ended up missing in action. It was a devastating blow to deal with, especially since his buddy was one of those strong individuals who seemingly would go on forever in life no matter what -- someone with the will of a tiger and heart of a lion.
AFTER THE WAR, he returned to the States and to his new wife and three children. His ex-wife had moved back to Kansas. Two things happened next that changed his life -- and the lives of all of us who passionately follow sports. The first occurred in 1974 when he took up golf at the age of 42. This was a man who was driven to succeed at whatever it did.
The second was the birth of his now-famous son on Dec. 30, 1975, in Long Beach, Calif. He named the kid Eldrick, of all things.
The old man left the military shortly after his son's birth to become a purchasing agent for McDonnell Douglas -- perfect work for someone to develop a golf game to complement.
So to practice, he set up a net in his garage and there, whenever time allowed him, he would go and smack balls to hone his swing. He brought his baby along with him and sometimes wondered if the kid in the high chair was really starring at him or just gazing out like all babies do.
He got his answer a short time later.
"ONE DAY, WHEN HE WAS 10 months old, I unstrapped him from the high chair while I took a break from practice," the proud father recalls. "He toddled over to his little putter, walked over to my hitting area, selected a ball, set up, and hit the ball into the net. I was so flabbergasted that I almost fell out of the chair. I ran to get his mother. ...
"I knew I had a great athlete on my hands when he was 10 months old."
Great is not the word for it. After that came all the publicity caused by his young golfing son. He was on "The Mike Douglas Show" at age 2 and then "That's Incredible" at age 5.
He played in every tournament he could and he won just about every one of those -- to even this day.
Who is he? If you don't know, then click here for the rest of this story.
I love the site!
-- From Brian at a juno.com.
Thanks, Brian. We like it here, too.
Chipper Jones hit three grand slams in 13 games. I thought I read somewhere that Babe Ruth hit only three grand slams in his entire career. Can this be right?
-- From Elmer in Atlanta, living on that AOL air
That's not right, Elmer. Babe Ruth had 12 career grand slams; he hit two in two consecutive days. The all-time career record is held by Lou Gehrig with 23. The most in a season was Don Mattingly with six.
Did you see that story by a woman writer with the St. Louis paper? She was really upset that Tiger Woods' coach was involved with an all-male country club. What do you think?
-- From Hank in Denver at an .edu there.
I saw that story, Hank, and I still don't get it. Some women think it's perfectly OK -- hell, they even celebrate it -- to have all-women organizations, all-women colleges and all-women sports. But when they spot anything all-male, they gripe about it. Seems like a double standard to me, but men are not supposed to complain either, because that's not politically correct.
1) What honor did earn with the victory at the Masters? Give up?
2) What did Jack Nicklaus say when asked if he minded being compared to this kid? Give up?
3) How many shots under did he finish at the Masters? Give up?
4) Who finished second in that event and how many strokes was he behind? Give up?
5) He drove a golf ball 435 yards (thanks to some wind) at Troon during the British Open. What did he say about it? Give up?
Mike Emmett has been kicking around sports departments in newspapers and online operations around the U.S. for years. Got something to say to the Irishman? Email him with a click here.
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