Stick to your game plan.

John Cook knew someone was going to have to shoot a low score to catch third round leader Fred Couples. "My game plan was if someone was going to shoot a low score, it might as well have been me," said Cook. "Hal Sutton and I were talking on the first tee and we both looked at each other and said, well, why not. While we're here we might as well give it some good."

With third-round leader Fred Couples unable to separate himself from the field, Cook slowly climbed up the leader board. On the downwind par-three thirteenth hole, Cook's seven-iron hit the left edge of the green and took a perfect bounce to within three-inches. Meanwhile, Couples' tee shot on twelve found the lip of the left fairway bunker, and he suffered a bogey after being forced to chip out. Following a solid three-wood, Cook's nine-iron from 130 yards landed five feet left of the fourteenth hole, setting up his second consecutive birdie … and the heat was on. Cook now trailed by only one shot.

"John put pressure on me to win," said Couples. "When John started to birdie a few holes, I didn't have enough to get two or three ahead again." "It got interesting. I was a little bit edgy on the course. I hit the ball well enough until we got tied and then I couldn't keep going."

Cook then hit his driver left on the par-four fifteenth hole. "I wasn't real comfortable on the tee and I jerked my one bad drive of the week in the left into bogey land." "I didn't really let that bogey bother me because I knew these holes were playing tough. Making a bogey at 15 was not criminal - it wasn't the end"

Couples' tee shot on the fifteenth hole landed in the right rough, just past a tree. With a flyer lie, Couples approach shot ended up past the hole, up on a bank beyond the green. His awkward chip gained speed as it rolled toward the flagstick, nearly hitting the pin before stopping six feet past. He made the putt to save par.

Cook's drive on the par-five sixteenth hole failed to catch the slope and bounced left into the rough. With a good lie, Cook originally pulled out his three-wood. "In my mind I didn't think it was the right play," said Cook who then asked the advice of Greg Rita, who was serving as his caddy this week. "Greg agreed with me," Cook continued. Switching to a seven-iron lay-up, Cook setup a perfect nine-iron shot from 125 yards. His shot landed four feet from the pin, setting up a birdie putt that gave him a share of the lead.

"It was the shot that won me the golf tournament," said Cook. "My game plan the whole way was to make two pars on 17 and 18." "I knew two pars would give me a chance to get in the playoff at a minimum."

Through the first fifteen holes, Couples had managed only two birdies, sinking a fifteen foot birdie putt on the par-three fifth hole and two putting from fifteen feet on the 533 yard par-five seventh hole after only needed a seven-iron to reach the green in two. Headed to the par-five sixteenth hole, it was time for another one.

Couples hooked his drive into the rough, then pulled his lay-up shot into the left bunker short of the green. "A sixty yard bunker shot. That's the last shot you want," said Couples, who made a nice putt for par to stay tied for the lead at 15-under.

The pin on the 196 yard downhill par-three seventeenth was on the front right portion of the green, guarded in the front by water. Cook hit a five-iron safely to the middle of the green. "I didn't want to be a hero," said Cook. His slick forty-foot putt down the severe slope slid six feet past. "I just told myself, Mark O'Meara says it all the time, 'line up the blade, just keep your head steady, go ahead and make your stroke,'" said Cook. "I kept my head steady and it poured right in."

Watching from the tee box, Couples decided to go for the right side of the green. After seeing Harrison Frazar's six-iron land safely on the green, Couples chose his weapon - the same six-iron that came up short at the thirteenth hole of this year's Masters - costing him a possible green jacket. "It was a left-to-right wind and in your face." "I really felt like I could just hit it and let the wind be your friend," Couples said.

"It started kiting towards the flag and I really thought it was going to be a great shot."

The large enthusiastic crowd erupted as Couples launched his fatal tee shot that at first appeared headed directly at the pin. "I was saying, hold on and catch part of the green," said Couples. "When it came up short, it was shocking." The cheers turned to groans of disappointment - Couples shot bounced off the rocks short of the green and fell to a watery grave. After pitching to the green, Couples missed the bogey putt. " I just basically lost focus and hammered it five feet by and missed it for triple," said Couples.

While playing the eighteenth hole, Cook was unaware of Couples' tragic misfortunes on 17. After sinking his par putt, Cook was excited as he pulled his ball out of the cup. "I had accomplished what I wanted to do," Cook said, unaware that he now led the tournament by three shots. "I kept trusting myself and trusting my intuition," he continued.

Couples missed his birdie putt on the closing hole to finish at 12-under, tied with Hal Sutton and Harrison Frazar. "On the back nine today, I didn't play well. A little has to do with my swing, a little has to do with momentum and a lot has to do with triple bogeying a par-three," said Couples.

Sutton finished with a round of 69, which included four birdies. "I didn't hit it quite as well today," said Sutton. "I felt I had a chance to win if I had made the (birdie) putt on seventeen."

For Harrison Frazar, the chance to play for the tournament championship before his hometown friends and family was a great learning experience. "I learned its still golf - the same game you played Thursday and Friday. I've seen the best of competition," said Frazar, whose even par round featured a roller coaster front nine of three birdies, three pars and three bogeys.

Defending Champion Tiger Woods made a brief run up the leader board before finishing at seven-under.

Steve Stricker recorded a final round 65 and finished in fifth place at 11-under. Scott McCarron fired a front-nine 30 on his way to recording the day's low round of 64 and finished in a tie for sixth place with Phil Mickelson and Bob Friend at 10-under.

"With the exception of one drive, I hit the ball pretty much where I wanted to all day, took advantage of some real good shots and some good numbers," said John Cook, who finished at 15-under. "The times I had the green light, I went and hit a lot of good shots and hit a lot of shots close. When I didn't have the green light, I just kind of set it out to the middle of the green and just took my medicine."

On the fourth hole, Cook hit a seven-iron to twelve feet to make his first birdie of the day. On the par-five seventh hole, he two-putted from forty-five feet for his second birdie of the day. Following a bogey on the eighth hole where he hit his two-iron approach to the right, Cook pulled out the driver on the short par-four ninth hole. "I was very aggressive on that tee," said Cook. "I piped it down the middle and hit a little nine-iron in there to four feet." He used the same strategy on the following hole, setting up his second consecutive birdie with a knockdown eight-iron shot to five feet below the hole, setting the table for his late round heroics.

"I am truly, truly honored to win this event," said Cook. "I'm truly honored to win something with Byron's name on it. He's been one of my idols. Ken Venturi has been my teacher since I was really, really small. And a lot of what we talked about is what he and Byron talked about. So winning this event is truly special."

Cook received a check for $450,000 for winning the GTE Byron Nelson Classic. The victory was Cook's tenth PGA Tour victory.

John Daly won the GTE Long Distance Championship on Sunday with a drive of 292 yards on the par 5 sixteenth hole.

Tiger Woods' drive of 311 yards was good enough to win the $2500 prize which is donated, by GTE, to the player's favorite charity. John Daly took second with a drive of 298 yards and Richard Coughlin was third at 297 yards.

Don Dowell is the Editor/Publisher of Golf in the SouthWest
(May 17, 1998)©