Russell Turns It On

By the Thursday afternoon round at Ellison Park, the two leaders were low-fiving and exchanging “nice putt” compliments. Russell was smiling over a two-stroke lead at the end of the round, while the ever confident Champ was also smiling, secure in his abilities and obviously relieved that the bad blood was over. Climo had shot a -6 for the afternoon, the same as card jumper Aaron Wield (pronounced "Wild"), the 16 year-old with the big arm. The Wield Child had managed to hijack a spot on the lead card at his first Pro Worlds, and dominated in the distance competition. He would eventually turn in an impressive 7th place finish.

Friday promised some fine golf, and the leaders delivered. Aaron Wield had lost his place to fellow Wisconsinite Barry Schultz, who would hold onto 3rd place through the Finals.

The day began at Chili (rhymes with “fly dye”), a cool course which offers only six solid deuce opportunities and slides in a few monster holes, including #11 -- the nefarious “911” -- aptly named for its mondo length.

Ron Russell picked up an additional stroke on Climo at Chili, and one more after the second round at Black Creek. There were lots of smiles and high-fives through the rounds, and the leaders were clearly having fun again. Barry Schultz turned in an impressive -10 at Black Creek, Climo -11, and Russell an amazing -12.

Going into Saturday morning’s semi-final round, Climo was four strokes out and facing the strong possibility of losing his crown. Schultz was fifteen strokes off the lead and no threat to 2nd place, but was busy fighting off a resurgent Stokely and Michigan’s Al Schack. Each challenger would ultimately finish tied for 4th.

With all tension between the players dissipated, the semi-final round was pure disc golf, served up in heaps by the best players on the planet. The scorecard see-sawed back and forth, pumping high doses of adrenaline into both competitors and gallery. Every awesome shot was cheered, every missed putt gasped at.

When the semi-final round was complete, Climo had managed to shave only one stroke off Russell’s lead, which now stood at three. Nine holes to go.

The End Is Near For Climo

Hundreds of spectators were assembled to watch the safari-style Final Nine, which featured Russell, Climo, Schultz and Scott Stokely on the lead card. The afternoon sky was choked with ominous clouds, but the earlier rain had moved off by the time the leaders stepped up to the first tee pad. Russell parked his drive, Climo landed on the edge of the green, while Schultz and Stokely were both in the rough.

When Russell hit his deuce putt and Climo doinked off the basket, the writing was on the wall. Unless the red-hot Russell fell apart, there would be a new champion.

The lead was now four strokes.

The battle continued for eight more holes, and Climo would never make up the stroke he had lost on hole one. As the group approached Chili’s tricky, picturesque eighteenth green, a number of players suddenly hoisted the new champ onto their shoulders and escorted him to the basket under a hail of cheers. The cameras clicked. The TV cameras whirred. The crowd exploded from the twin bleachers on each side of the fairway. Ron Russell had triumphed over nine-time champion Ken Climo by four strokes. He would forever be known as The Man Who Beat Climo.

After completing the hole, Climo bowed graciously to the audience and his rival, then stepped down. An astonishing dynasty had come to an end.

Russell would spend the next hour signing autographs on the eighteenth green, grinning from ear to ear the entire time. After all, he was no longer in a hurry to get somewhere. He'd finally arrived.

That night at the awards ceremony, Ron Russell lauded his mentor and inspiration for several minutes. “Ken is a true champion,” he said. “He always has been. I’ve always looked up to him, and I’m just elated to be able to play at his level.”

For complete scores and information on all the 1999 Worlds action, visit pdga.com. You'll find more Worlds photos in the gallery.