[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 171 (Saturday, November 22, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2414-E2415]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
TRIBUTE TO CHARLES LEWIS, III
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HON. DENNIS MOORE
of kansas
in the house of representatives
Friday, November 21, 2003
Mr. MOORE. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to
commend a remarkable man who lives in Leawood, Kansas, in the Third
Congressional District. Charles Lewis, III, has served as the golf pro
at Mission Hills Country Club for more than 25 years, in addition to
his many other services to the Kansas City community. Unfortunately,
for the people of Kansas City, Charles recently announced his plans to
retire.
On September 14, 1960, Charles Lewis, who was competing in his first
U.S. Amateur tournament, beat Jack Nicklaus at the St. Louis Country
Club, a feat which some experts have called the greatest match-play
upset of the 20th century.
Since he was a child, Charles Lewis has devoted much of his time and
energy to golf. In addition to perfecting his own skill through
practice, Charles has spent many years at the Mission Hills Country
Club helping others do the same. He also serves on the advisory board
of the Junior Golf Foundation of Greater Kansas City, an organization
that has introduced more than 3,000 children to the game.
I commend Charles Lewis, III on this 20th day of November 2003 for
his incredible skill and dedication to sharing his passion for this
exciting game, and place into the Record an article from the Kansas
City Star detailing his achievements.
[From the Kansas City Star, June 4, 2000]
Local Pro Once Beat Nicklaus
(By Howard Richman)
On a wall in his Mission Hills Country Club pro-shop
office, Charles Lewis III displays one of his most prized
possessions, a portrait of Jack Nicklaus.
Forty years ago this summer, Lewis stunned the golf
universe when he owned
[[Page E2415]]
Nicklaus, the man who has been called the greatest golfer in
history. Nicklaus will be in town Tuesday to play in the
Children's Mercy Hospital Golf Classic at Blue Hills Country
Club.
But one sultry, unforgettable afternoon, Lewis knocked off
Nicklaus in what some experts have called the greatest match-
play upset of the 20th century.
It was Sept. 14, 1960. The site: St. Louis Country Club. In
anticipation of large galleries, ropes kept the spectators on
the outside looking in, which was a good thing because this
U.S. Amateur tournament had taken on the feel of a major
professional championship.
Lewis, who was born in Miami, Okla., and raised in Little
Rock, Ark., was participating in his first U.S. Amateur. A
19-year-old unknown, Lewis seemed to handle his first major
event as if it were a scramble with some friends back home at
The Country Club of Little Rock.
Lewis won his first three match-play matches, rarely in
jeopardy through any of them. Although he had no real big-
time-event background, Lewis knew he was prepared for this
moment.
``As a kid, I'd go play on my dad's course (his father was
the head pro at the country club),'' Lewis said. ``Sometimes
there wouldn't be anybody out there. I'd play a variety of
shots. I'd go around trees. Under them. Over them. I had
no fear of hitting shots.''
Lewis had to face his fear, if he had any, in the fourth
round at St. Louis Country Club. Lewis was about to go head
to head with Nicklaus, the defending Amateur champion and
runner-up to Arnold Palmer in the U.S. Open just a few months
earlier. In the morning's third round, Nicklaus shot a 31 on
the front side on the way to a 6 and 5 drubbing of Phil
Rodgers. In his early match, Lewis beat Connecticut amateur
champion Dick Sideowf 6 and 4.
Then it was time for Lewis to match his game against
Nicklaus, who was receiving accolades in the same fashion
that Tiger Woods would receive them more than 30 years later.
``He (Nicklaus) was the fair-haired boy,'' Lewis said.
``People talked about how he did things different than
anybody else, how he could hit it straighter and farther,
like the way they talk about Tiger.
``Me? I was the country boy. But I was never really scared.
I had played a lot of golf.''
It was estimated that more than 5,000 spectators tailed
Lewis and Nicklaus in their match, an impressive crowd for a
non-title match. It turned out to be a match that Lewis
dominated, due in part to Nicklaus' awful putting.
Lewis birdied the par-4 No. 1 and went 1-up. Nicklaus
bogeyed the second hole, which Lewis won. When Lewis birdied
the par-5 fifth, he went 3-up. Nicklaus 3-putted No. 6. And
No. 7. By the time they made the turn, Lewis was a cozy 6-up.
The upset was all but sealed.
``Jack and I didn't really talk during the match,'' Lewis
recalled, ``but I do remember his dad say something to me as
I was walking along. He said, `You're thumping my little
boy.' I'd met Jack's dad before. He was a class act. Like
Jack.''
Nicklaus finally won his first hole at No. 10 but not
because of anything spectacular on his part. Lewis 3-putted.
Lewis, though, didn't swerve out of control. In fact, The New
York Times reported that Lewis, ``under the pressure of a
huge gallery, and meeting his first big test, was cool and
poised.''
The match came to an early conclusion when Lewis hit his 4-
wood approach at the par-5 15th onto the green. Nicklaus'
second shot found the rough. Lewis birdied and closed the
deal. His 5 and 3 win over Nicklaus shocked golf circles.
Just last year, Golf World magazine ranked Lewis' win the
greatest match-play upset of the 20th century.
Nicklaus, who won the Amateur in 1961, has the fourth-best
winning percentage in U.S. Amateurs of players with at least
20 wins (24-5 record). Lewis, though, prevented him from
possibly winning three in a row. The only one who has done
that was Woods during 1994-96.
In his book, My Story, Nicklaus said this about his loss to
Lewis: ``I 3-putted six times, once from near gimme range,
and never had a hope against Charlie Lewis, a good golfer
from Arkansas. I learned some more about controlling the
psyche and about self-pacing from that experience.''
Lewis still remembers what Nicklaus said following their
match.
``He said, `Good luck. . . . I hope you win it all.' I
think he meant it,'' Lewis said.
But Lewis couldn't win it all. He went on and won his next
two matches. The sixth one was important because it earned
him an invitation to the Masters. In the scheduled 36-hole
semifinals, Lewis' streak was halted. He fell to Bob Gardner
2 and 1.
Lewis played in two more U.S. Amateurs. But none of them
matched his achievement in 1960. After serving in Vietnam
with the Marines, Lewis came back, won the 1967 Arkansas
Amateur, then gave the PGA Tour a shot. He thinks his best
finish was 14th place, which was worth $2,200. After two
years, Lewis relinquished the idea of trying to make it out
there.
``His personality wasn't made for the tour,'' said Lewis'
wife, Marilyn, who plays more golf than her husband. She's on
the golf course five times a week.
``He could play the game,'' Marilyn said. ``But he hated
going from town to town. He wanted to be somewhere where he
could put his feet up and relax.''
Lewis returned to Little Rock, where a friend told him
about an assistant club-pro job in Kansas City. Lewis phoned
Duke Gibson, the pro at Blue Hills Country Club, and Gibson
hired Lewis over the phone. Twenty-eight years ago, Lewis
moved on to Mission Hills.
On Tuesday, Lewis hopes to rekindle memories with Nicklaus.
``It's been years since I talked to Jack,'' Lewis said.
``We played a practice round together when I played in the
Masters. I hope I get a chance to talk to him. As I said,
he's a class act. But I'm sure he would have preferred to
beat me.
``But that was a day I accomplished something. I saw more
media than I had ever seen. I got telegrams from people I
didn't even know. Next to my marriage, that (beating
Nicklaus) is the greatest thrill of my life.''
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