Jimmy Walker’s Wanamaker Was Many Years In The Making

Jimmy Walker was leaving the practice tee before the final round of the PGA Championship on Sunday afternoon when his friend and teacher, Butch Harmon, put his arm around Walker and said: “Now go show everyone who Jimmy Walker really is!”

Walker did exactly that. He took the momentum of a great back nine from the morning’s third round and rattled off nine straight pars. At the 10th hole, he started what would be his ultimate career run when he holed a bunker shot to get to 12-under par at Baltusrol then another birdie putt at the 11th sent him on his path to the Wanamaker Trophy.

Along the way, he fought off a bid from the Open Champion — Henrik Stenson, the world’s No. 5 player and then fended off a last-hole eagle by the world’s No. 1, Jason Day, who did not go quietly. “When he made the eagle, it was on me,” said Walker, who then rolled in a birdie at the 17th to get to 14-under par. All he had to do was scratch out a par at the 18th. He did that, it wasn’t pretty, but he got the job done.

Walker’s journey to the Wanamaker and his first major title did not come overnight.

The former Baylor golfer from San Antonio turned pro in 2001, finally made it to the Nationwide Tour, now the Web.com, in 2003. In 2004 he was the Nationwide’s leading money winner. He was plagued by injuries in 2005, His first full season on the PGA Tour was 2006. He promptly lost his card. He was back on the Nationwide in 2007 and played well enough to regain his tour card in 2008. He lost it again, went to the Q-school and finished 125th on the 2009 money list. He kept his card. The following year he went to 103 on the money list then in 2011, 68th and into the FedEx Cup for the first time. In 2012, he jumped to 43rd but it was then he made a key decision.

In April of 2013 he reached out to Butch Harmon. “I sent him a text, it took him three weeks to answer,” Walker recalled. Walker went to Las Vegas and Harmon had a session with him, they got along great, there was promise. But then afterward, weeks followed, nothing from Harmon. It was then that Walker’s wife Erin took matters into her own hands. She swiped her husband’s phone and sent Harmon a text that went:  “Look, you don’t know me, I’m Jimmy Walker’s wife. If you don’t want to work for him just say no we need to move on.”

Harmon apologized and of course, he wanted to work with Walker and did. Walker responded by picking up his first tour win at the Frys.com six months later then won at the Sony in January of 2014, then again in February at the AT&T, lighting up Pebble Beach. He won twice again in 2015, again at the Sony then at his hometown event — the Texas Open in March. But Walker was not having great success in the majors and then went into a 16-month winless drought.

Walker had a so-so showing at the Masters then missed the cut at the U.S. Open and Open Championship. He had zero momentum coming to Baltusrol and was way under the radar. But Harmon never stopped believing in Walker. “He had gotten down on himself but I kept telling him to keep his head up,” said the man who works with both of the current American players to win majors this year — Walker and Dustin Johnson.

Walker finally broke through on a rainy weekend in New Jersey and was flawless over his final 27 holes on Sunday, playing them in seven-under par then holding off a determined Jason Day over the last two holes Sunday evening.

Back when Harmon first worked with Walker, Walker inquired as to how much how owed Harmon for the first lesson. “Nothing,” Harmon told him. A week later Walker sent him a $1,200 bottle of 2000 Chateau Margaux, a rare French Bordeaux wine.

Harmon had been saving it.

“Now’s the time for me and Jimmy to open it,” Harmon said with a smile.

That wine was 15 years in the making.

Just like major winner Jimmy Walker.