I watched the last couple of hours of the St. Jude event yesterday hoping that Harrison Frazar would win over Robert Karlsson. Not that I have anything against Swedes. Rather, after reading a story in Sports Illustrated by Frazar, I was fascinated to see what would happen if he managed to break through. Rarely are sports figures self-reflective, and even more rarely do they share that with the broader public.
This is the start of Frazar’s piece from a few months back:
I love golf. I always have. I believe in everything that’s good about the game: the honesty and integrity and reliance on self that it demands. It still amazes me that I can make a ball go 300 yards and land exactly where I’m looking. Hitting a shot just right and watching the ball fly against the sky is still one of the most thrilling things I can imagine. But as much as I love golf, I’m not sure I want to play it for a living any longer.
Do yourself a favor and read the entire story here.
And if you’re interested in one of the more intriguing post-round interviews, check out Frazar’s piece discussion with the press after his win.
A bestselling author and award-winning columnist, Robert Thompson has been writing about business and sports, and particularly golf, for almost two decades. His reporting and commentary on golf has appeared in 
Great story on Fraser. I have a story about him that might indicate that he was right that until recently, he was a “grumpy” guy on the golf course. I was at the 2007 U.S. Open at Oakmont. During the Wednesday practice round, I visited the range to watch the players practice. I happened to be standing right behind Fraser, who was hitting balls. South African Tim Clark was practicing beside him. Fraser had placed one of those plastic sticks in front of his feet as a guide to make sure his allignment was good. I guess he didn’t like the way he was hitting the ball, because out of no where, he angrily reached down, grabbed the plastic stick, and spiked it against the turf as hard as he could. It took a big bounce and came crashing down on Tim Clark’s head. Clark had no idea what happened, only that he had been hit in the head by a projectile. Fraser, who clearly saw Clark get hit, acted as if nothing had happened. He offered no apology to Clark, simply picked up the stick, placed it down where it had been, and continued hitting balls. He never said a word to Tim. Clark, with a look of disbelief, just shrugged his shoulders at the small group of spectators who witnessed it and walked away to the other side of the range. I remember thinking that Fraser was being an idiot, and still feel he owes Clark an apology. But at least now, from the article, maybe I have a better understanding of why Fraser acted the way he did.