Slight in stature but strong in heart, Chris Heintz has never
shied away from scaling the tallest of mountains.
So when the opportunity to play a practice round with Tiger
Woods at the PGA Tour’s Buick Invitational presented itself,
the UCLA freshman golfer pounced on it.
Armed with an inside tip from other professionals at the event
that Woods likes to play his Tuesday practice rounds at dawn,
Heintz formulated a plan that would ultimately have him teeing off
with his idol.
Like clockwork, on the morning of Feb. 10 at 6 o’clock,
Woods and his intimidating entourage emerged from the shadows, and
all that stood between Heintz and his dream scenario was the
courage to ask one simple question.
Woods said yes.
“I couldn’t even believe I was able to speak,”
Heintz said. “I thought I was going to swallow my tongue. I
had a chance to meet my hero and play with him. It’s almost
comparable to going up to Jenna Jameson and asking her out. It was
awesome.”
“Chris thought it was the president of the United States
walking up to the first tee,” said UCLA men’s golf
coach O.D. Vincent.
With the seemingly hard part out of the way, Heintz could now
focus on his actual round and preparing for the upcoming
tournament.
Then again, Heintz still had to negotiate his opening drive in
the presence of golf’s most intimidating and renowned
player.
“The hardest thing was hitting that first tee shot,”
Heintz said. “My legs were just trembling, I thought I was
going to fall over. I didn’t care where the ball went, as
long as it went in the air.”
And so, with a sizable gallery for a practice round closely
following, the odd pairing of the world’s No. 1 golfer and an
unheralded college kid emerged from the rising sun on Torrey
Pines.
Initially, Heintz was resigned to play quietly and quickly,
figuring Woods need not be bothered.
“He didn’t need some punk kid asking him some stupid
questions,” Heintz said.
But as the round progressed and the two became more comfortable
with one another, the dialogue increased, leaving Heintz a unique
perspective into the mind of one of the world’s most
recognizable athletes.
Woods talked about life on tour, the distractions amid the
constant frenzy, women and basketball. The former Stanford star
apparently couldn’t resist a light jab at UCLA’s
struggling hoops program.
“He asked me if I was going to try out for the basketball
team because he said UCLA definitely needs some help,” Heintz
said.
“He also told me some stories and shared some secrets
about the course. I was pretty numb,” he said.
But as quickly as the round started, it drew to a close, leaving
Heintz to reflect on the four-hour journey he had just
traversed.
It might have only been for 18 holes on a Tuesday morning, but
his round with Woods provided a lifetime of lessons.
“The round went by so fast, in a blink it was over,”
Heintz said. “It was almost like a religious experience, a
turning point for me. I got to see what I have to do to compete
with him.”
Heintz only had to look up to find the most obvious difference
between himself and Woods.
Though Heintz is long off the tee, he was routinely 25-30 yards
behind Woods.
“Only now am I finally realizing what I had that
day,” Heintz said.
If Heintz plans to have more days like that one, he’s
going to have to make it on the PGA Tour, one of his professed
goals.
While playing with Woods was a dream come true, playing in the
actual event was the greater learning experience.
“It was very inspiring,” said Heintz, who missed the
cut by a mere two strokes. “Getting a kind of sneak preview
of what it’s like for a week makes me want to go out and work
harder.”
And Heintz took solace in knowing that as he strives to achieve
his goals, he’ll never be alone.
Family and friends surrounded him on the course, encouraging him
on his every shot. His teammates, an ocean away at a tournament in
Hawaii, were also right there with him.
“It was hard for me to be in Hawaii,” Vincent said.
“I really wanted to be with Chris. I wish it were scheduled
differently, but I was very proud at the way he handled himself as
a professional.”
“We were really happy for him,” senior teammate
Steve Conway added. “We were getting updates on how he was
doing almost every minute.”
Heintz has more than three years before he can even begin
contemplating a pro career. In the meantime, he is surrounding
himself with quirky hints of his potential future stardom.
After he qualified to play at Torrey Pines back in October,
Heintz’s girlfriend bought him a hat with the slogan
“Tour Star” monogrammed on it.
When callers dial up Heintz’s cell phone, they’re
greeted with “Hey, it’s Chris the tour
player.”
“It’s an everyday reminder when I check my messages
that that’s what I want to be, for one day for that to be
legit,” Heintz said. “If I work hard, practice and
improve, the PGA Tour is a place that I can survive.
And why doubt him?
Heintz has already shown he can make good on his dreams.