[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4361]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING BILLY CASPER

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Hunter) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, this is the first day of the Masters, one of 
the most prestigious sports events in our Nation and, indeed, the 
world. And I rise today to commemorate the fact that for only the 
second time in 45 years, one of the great golfers of this decade, in 
fact, one of the great golfers of this century, Billy Casper, is not 
playing in the Masters. Billy Casper, won the Masters in 1970. He also 
won a couple of United States Open championships. In fact, in 1966 at 
Olympic Country Club in San Francisco, he came from behind in what is 
considered to be one of the most stunning come-from-behind victories in 
the history of golf. That is when he was seven shots back to Arnold 
Palmer with only nine holes to go and Billy Casper, called by Golf 
Magazine the greatest putter in the history of golf, managed to shoot a 
32 on the back nine at Olympic Country Club in San Francisco, one of 
the most difficult golf tracks in the world. He tied Arnold Palmer for 
the U.S. Open championship and the next day shot a 69 and beat Arnold 
Palmer.
  If you add to that great win, that great success, and his other U.S. 
Open success and his 1970 Masters success the fact that Billy Casper 
won 51 times on the PGA tour, which puts him the sixth winningest 
golfer of all time, and you add to that the fact that he has the best 
Ryder Cup record in terms of wins and losses of any player in American 
history, and you add to that the five Vardon trophies he won on having 
the lowest scoring average on the U.S. PGA tour, then you have to 
conclude that Billy Casper indeed is one of the great heroes in sports 
history.
  Mr. Speaker, I am proud that Billy Casper lives in San Diego, 
California. He still plays golf at San Diego Country Club, where he 
worked as a caddy as a kid. He has a big heart. He has been a great 
leader of junior golf in developing young golfers in our country and, 
indeed, the Nation. Billy Casper is joined by his wife, Shirley, in all 
of his efforts. He not only is a great athlete and a great teacher but 
a great person and a great leader in our community.
  Mr. Speaker, I know that the greatest golf field in the world is 
playing in the Masters right now. The game is still on. We will have a 
leader today; and ultimately on Sunday afternoon we will see who the 
champion is. But there is one great champion, the 1970's Masters 
champion who is not playing this time for only the second time in 45 
years, but he will be down there because he is a wonderful person. He 
has a big heart. He loves this event. He loves the tradition. He loves 
the galleries which in turn love him because he is indeed a great 
sportsman, one of the great representatives of the game of golf. Billy 
Casper.

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