- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 424,731
- Reaction score
- 43
AUGUSTA, Ga. — When Ethan Couch was seeking an accounting job in his hometown of Edmonton, the CEO of the firm joined the virtual interview and asked him one of those classic interview questions: not the one that if he were a superhero which would he be but rather to name his greatest achievement or the coolest thing he’d ever done.
Couch, 23, proceeded to reference how he had coached both a local basketball and volleyball team to county championships, something he was particularly proud of, but he didn’t stop there.
“I don’t go out of my way to tell my Masters story but all of a sudden it popped in my brain and I said, '“'It may not be my greatest achievement because I didn’t really do anything, but it definitely qualifies as the coolest.'"
This is the story that Crouch told of how a decade ago, as a 13-year-old boy with an inoperable cancerous tumor, had his wish to attend the Masters come true in fairytale fashion.
Kevin Streelman is the co-star of this story. He won the 2014 Travelers Championship by making a remarkable run of seven consecutive birdies on the final seven holes, setting a PGA Tour record for consecutive closing birdies by a winner. In addition to a fat check and a two-year exemption for his second career win, Streelman earned an invitation to the 2015 Masters, which would mark his fifth appearance in the major championship.
The first time he qualified in 2011, he invited his father to caddie for him in the annual Par 3 Contest. In the ensuing three years, he followed with his mother, wife and father-in-law. This time he was determined to do something different and Googled the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which creates wishes designed to create better health outcomes for kids fighting critical illnesses, and cold-called them to see if there were any kids who dreamed of going to the Masters.
His daughter, Sophia, was born the previous December amidst pregnancy complications. She'd spent seven days in the NICU before coming home. Enduring that afforded him a matured perspective.
“I know God put it on my heart to make that phone call,” Streelman said.
North of the border, outside of Edmonton, Ethan's feet were sore and he couldn't bend to put a tee in the ground or tie his shoes without losing his balance in 2013. Mother's intuition led him to the doctor, where Ethan quickly was diagnosed with a tectal glioma, a slow-growing brain tumor in the roof of the brainstem blocking his body's ability to circulate spinal cord fluid, causing hydrocephalus – known as "water on the brain" – and all of the other symptoms in his behavior.
Two days after the diagnosis, Ethan underwent third ventriculostomy, drilling a hole in his skull to divert the spinal cord fluid away from the tumor, which qualified him for a wish. After the surgery, the nurse told him to take his time thinking of what he’d like to do – going to Disney is the most popular choice – but Ethan had made up his mind before she had even left the room.
“I already know,” he told his mom, Jennifer.
“You do?” she said.
“I want to go to the Masters!” he proclaimed.
Jennifer Couch was shopping at the Dollar Store when she received a call from Make-A-Wish that Streelman was offering a chance for Ethan to be his caddie at the Par 3 Contest in the Masters. She dropped everything she had in her hands and rushed out of the store to finish the call. On the morning of March 7, 2015, two days after Ethan’s 13th birthday, he was sitting on his living room couch in his underwear playing Nintendo Wii when Streelman called and his father, Jeff, put the call on speaker and handed him the phone. When Streelman introduced himself, Ethan instantly recognized the name from competing in a weekly fantasy golf pool with his family and studied the Tour pros religiously. Streelman invited him to be his caddie and Couch went speechless.
“I think I said four words during the eight-minute-or-so call,” Ethan remembered. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get to caddie there."
“It was a true drop the phone moment,” Streelman said. “I just heard him and his parents crying and I started to cry too.”
Ethan picked up the phone and said he’d love to be on the bag. They met at Augusta National Golf Club on the Tuesday of tournament week. They toured the TaylorMade equipment truck where a custom-made putter was built for him. During the practice round, they witnessed James Hahn make an ace at No. 12 and followed Streelman's practice round. On the 17th hole, Streelman received a 20-minute putting tip from Steve Stricker and found something. Streelman introduced Couch to Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy, who had One Direction’s Niall Horan caddying for him that day.
“I remember telling my mom that was the coolest day ever and it won’t even be the best day of the week,” he said.
Wednesday at the Masters was a humid day and Ethan remembers cooking in his white jumpsuit. Streelman played with Ian Poulter, who had his son on the bag. Walking off the first tee, Streelman said, “Hey, buddy, I’m going to try to win this thing for you today.”
Ethan was concerned about the Masters curse. Since the Par 3 Contest began in 1960, no winner has later won the Masters Tournament in the same week. None of that mattered to Streelman, who let Ethan hit a shot on the final hole that splashed into the pond but proceeded to birdie five holes and shoot 5-under 22 to tie Camilo Villegas, who made two aces, for the lead. On the second playoff hole, Villegas was in tight and Streelman had at least a 30-footer for birdie. Streelman pointed to a spot at least 5 feet to the right of the hole and said to Ethan, “What do you think of this spot?” Ethan nodded his approval and Streelman coolly rolled in the big right-to-left bender. “I never thought he was going to make it,” Ethan recalled.
One hole later, Villegas hit his tee shot into the water and Streelman was the winner. Mike Tirico interviewed them on the live broadcast and there was nary a dry eye as the story of Ethan’s wish went viral.
“It’s one of the greatest moments I’ve had on grass,” Streelman said all these years later.
The next day Ethan made the rounds at the TV compound, doing another interview behind the desk at ESPN and with CNN including meeting Paul Azinger for whom the family cat Zinger was named.
It would be a beautiful story if it ended there but Ethan’s wish proved to be just the beginning of this beautiful friendship. Several months later, he let Ethan know that there was something in the mail for him – as the closest to the flagstick at No. 6 in the Par 3 Contest, Streelman received a crystal jug and he was allowed to order one replica, which he got for Ethan and sits proudly on his mantle. Travelers COO Andy Bessette invited Ethan and his family to attend the Travelers Championship in Hartford that summer.
Two years later, Ethan’s tumor started to grow and he needed proton radiation at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Streelman helped arrange for the PGA Tour to give Ethan an honorary membership at TPC Sawgrass. Ethan was the first patient of the day at 6:30 a.m., and then went to practice at Dye’s Valley Course.
“He didn’t get sad or lonely or miss his friends while we were in Florida,” Jennifer said. “He was motivated to play golf. That was all Kevin.”
Ethan still gets a brain scan every six months but the size of the tumor has remained intact and he’s living a normal life. Every year, when Ethan and his family visit his grandparents in the West Valley of Phoenix they have dinner with the Streelmans at Grayhawk Golf Club. “It’s one of my favorite nights of the year,” Streelman said. “I consider Ethan and his family as part of our family.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Kevin Streelman had Make-A-Wish caddie Ethan Couch at 2015 Masters
Continue reading...
Couch, 23, proceeded to reference how he had coached both a local basketball and volleyball team to county championships, something he was particularly proud of, but he didn’t stop there.
“I don’t go out of my way to tell my Masters story but all of a sudden it popped in my brain and I said, '“'It may not be my greatest achievement because I didn’t really do anything, but it definitely qualifies as the coolest.'"
This is the story that Crouch told of how a decade ago, as a 13-year-old boy with an inoperable cancerous tumor, had his wish to attend the Masters come true in fairytale fashion.
You must be registered for see images attach
Kevin Streelman is the co-star of this story. He won the 2014 Travelers Championship by making a remarkable run of seven consecutive birdies on the final seven holes, setting a PGA Tour record for consecutive closing birdies by a winner. In addition to a fat check and a two-year exemption for his second career win, Streelman earned an invitation to the 2015 Masters, which would mark his fifth appearance in the major championship.
Kevin Streelman cold-called the Make-A-Wish Foundation
The first time he qualified in 2011, he invited his father to caddie for him in the annual Par 3 Contest. In the ensuing three years, he followed with his mother, wife and father-in-law. This time he was determined to do something different and Googled the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which creates wishes designed to create better health outcomes for kids fighting critical illnesses, and cold-called them to see if there were any kids who dreamed of going to the Masters.
His daughter, Sophia, was born the previous December amidst pregnancy complications. She'd spent seven days in the NICU before coming home. Enduring that afforded him a matured perspective.
“I know God put it on my heart to make that phone call,” Streelman said.
You must be registered for see images attach
North of the border, outside of Edmonton, Ethan's feet were sore and he couldn't bend to put a tee in the ground or tie his shoes without losing his balance in 2013. Mother's intuition led him to the doctor, where Ethan quickly was diagnosed with a tectal glioma, a slow-growing brain tumor in the roof of the brainstem blocking his body's ability to circulate spinal cord fluid, causing hydrocephalus – known as "water on the brain" – and all of the other symptoms in his behavior.
Two days after the diagnosis, Ethan underwent third ventriculostomy, drilling a hole in his skull to divert the spinal cord fluid away from the tumor, which qualified him for a wish. After the surgery, the nurse told him to take his time thinking of what he’d like to do – going to Disney is the most popular choice – but Ethan had made up his mind before she had even left the room.
“I already know,” he told his mom, Jennifer.
“You do?” she said.
“I want to go to the Masters!” he proclaimed.
Jennifer Couch was shopping at the Dollar Store when she received a call from Make-A-Wish that Streelman was offering a chance for Ethan to be his caddie at the Par 3 Contest in the Masters. She dropped everything she had in her hands and rushed out of the store to finish the call. On the morning of March 7, 2015, two days after Ethan’s 13th birthday, he was sitting on his living room couch in his underwear playing Nintendo Wii when Streelman called and his father, Jeff, put the call on speaker and handed him the phone. When Streelman introduced himself, Ethan instantly recognized the name from competing in a weekly fantasy golf pool with his family and studied the Tour pros religiously. Streelman invited him to be his caddie and Couch went speechless.
You must be registered for see images attach
“I think I said four words during the eight-minute-or-so call,” Ethan remembered. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get to caddie there."
“It was a true drop the phone moment,” Streelman said. “I just heard him and his parents crying and I started to cry too.”
Meeting PGA Tour stars and Niall Horan 'was the coolest day ever'
Ethan picked up the phone and said he’d love to be on the bag. They met at Augusta National Golf Club on the Tuesday of tournament week. They toured the TaylorMade equipment truck where a custom-made putter was built for him. During the practice round, they witnessed James Hahn make an ace at No. 12 and followed Streelman's practice round. On the 17th hole, Streelman received a 20-minute putting tip from Steve Stricker and found something. Streelman introduced Couch to Jordan Spieth, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy, who had One Direction’s Niall Horan caddying for him that day.
“I remember telling my mom that was the coolest day ever and it won’t even be the best day of the week,” he said.
Wednesday at the Masters was a humid day and Ethan remembers cooking in his white jumpsuit. Streelman played with Ian Poulter, who had his son on the bag. Walking off the first tee, Streelman said, “Hey, buddy, I’m going to try to win this thing for you today.”
You must be registered for see images attach
Ethan was concerned about the Masters curse. Since the Par 3 Contest began in 1960, no winner has later won the Masters Tournament in the same week. None of that mattered to Streelman, who let Ethan hit a shot on the final hole that splashed into the pond but proceeded to birdie five holes and shoot 5-under 22 to tie Camilo Villegas, who made two aces, for the lead. On the second playoff hole, Villegas was in tight and Streelman had at least a 30-footer for birdie. Streelman pointed to a spot at least 5 feet to the right of the hole and said to Ethan, “What do you think of this spot?” Ethan nodded his approval and Streelman coolly rolled in the big right-to-left bender. “I never thought he was going to make it,” Ethan recalled.
One hole later, Villegas hit his tee shot into the water and Streelman was the winner. Mike Tirico interviewed them on the live broadcast and there was nary a dry eye as the story of Ethan’s wish went viral.
“It’s one of the greatest moments I’ve had on grass,” Streelman said all these years later.
The next day Ethan made the rounds at the TV compound, doing another interview behind the desk at ESPN and with CNN including meeting Paul Azinger for whom the family cat Zinger was named.
Ethan Couch, Kevin Streelman have remained friends ever since
It would be a beautiful story if it ended there but Ethan’s wish proved to be just the beginning of this beautiful friendship. Several months later, he let Ethan know that there was something in the mail for him – as the closest to the flagstick at No. 6 in the Par 3 Contest, Streelman received a crystal jug and he was allowed to order one replica, which he got for Ethan and sits proudly on his mantle. Travelers COO Andy Bessette invited Ethan and his family to attend the Travelers Championship in Hartford that summer.
Two years later, Ethan’s tumor started to grow and he needed proton radiation at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. Streelman helped arrange for the PGA Tour to give Ethan an honorary membership at TPC Sawgrass. Ethan was the first patient of the day at 6:30 a.m., and then went to practice at Dye’s Valley Course.
You must be registered for see images attach
“He didn’t get sad or lonely or miss his friends while we were in Florida,” Jennifer said. “He was motivated to play golf. That was all Kevin.”
Ethan still gets a brain scan every six months but the size of the tumor has remained intact and he’s living a normal life. Every year, when Ethan and his family visit his grandparents in the West Valley of Phoenix they have dinner with the Streelmans at Grayhawk Golf Club. “It’s one of my favorite nights of the year,” Streelman said. “I consider Ethan and his family as part of our family.”
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Kevin Streelman had Make-A-Wish caddie Ethan Couch at 2015 Masters
Continue reading...
