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Burbank, California Their pear shaped bodies aside, watching Phil Mickelson at the 72nd hole of the US Open, it was hard not to think about Billy Casper. Casper won the first of his two US Opens at the same Winged Foot Golf Club in 1959; he won his second seven years later on a back nine more remembered for Arnold Palmer’s incoming 39 than the brilliant 32 posted by Casper. As the 2006 US Open will be remembered as the one Mickelson lost – rather than the Open that Geoff Ogilvy won – the 1966 Open, at the Olympic Club, is marked more for Palmer’s collapse than Casper’s comeback. History has a short memory. During the ‘40s and ‘50s, debate raged about who was the better hitter, Ted Williams or Stan Musial. During the ‘50s and ‘60s, New Yorkers spent many an hour arguing who was the better centerfielder Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle or Duke Snider. In the ‘60s, if you asked who was the more dominant pitcher Sandy Koufax or Juan Marichal, the results would be a dead draw. Yet in 2006, though all are Hall of Famers, to mention Musial in the same category with Williams, Snider in the same sentence as Mays and Mantle, or Marichal in the same breath as Koufax, would almost seem heretical to someone who never saw them play. So, before we forget Billy Casper completely, let’s remember him. Here are the facts: Billy Casper is one of the greatest golfers ever to play the sport. More successful than Phil Mickelson, more successful than Ernie Els, more successful than just about anyone who ever professionally swung a golf club. In his career, Casper won 51 times on the PGA Tour. A few guys won more tournaments, but their names were Nicklaus, Hogan, Snead, Nelson and Palmer. Casper not only won the US Open twice, he also won the Masters.  Phil Mickelson watches his US Open win slip away. Casper played on eight US Ryder Cup teams and captained another. During that time he won more points than any other US player. He won the Vardon Trophy for low scoring average five times, and was the PGA Tour Player of the Year in 1966 and 1970. Although overshadowed by Golf’s Big Three – from 1964 through 1970 – Casper won 27 tour events, four more than Nicklaus, and eight more than Palmer and Gary Player combined. He won eight more times on the Senior Tour. When the great Lee Trevino joined the pro tour, he focused on Casper. “I figured he was twice as good as me so I watched how he practiced and decided I would practice three times as much as him,” said Trevino. Casper didn’t overpower a golf course like Nicklaus, or electrify a crowd like Palmer. He hypnotized it into submission. “Palmer’s charge means tearing down the flags on the course with his shots,” says Casper. “When I charge, I’m getting in position on the greens for a par. That’s the difference between the two of us.” It’s also the difference between Casper and Mickelson. Phil refused to lay up on the par-4 72nd hole at this year’s Open, when a bogey would have landed him into a playoff. When Casper won at Winged Foot in 1959, he layed up all four days on the 243 yard par three, choosing to rely on his short game to help him make par rather than taking a chance on posting a big number. Casper had 32 one-putts in 1959, including one a day on that par-3 3rd hole. Casper relied on steady play, and a putter second to none.
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