WAIKOLOA — Bob May is a rare exception to the old saying that no one remembers who finished second.
May earned a spot in golf lore for his battle with Tiger Woods at the 2000 PGA Championship at Valhalla, coming up just short in a three-hole playoff.
Woods was at the peak of his powers, coming off two dominant major wins where he took the U.S. Open and the Open Championship by a combined 23 strokes. May had no wins on the PGA tour to his name, but was having a solid — albeit less publicized — season.
Woods’ birdie on the first playoff hole — which he famously ran down and pointed into the bottom of the cup — proved to be the difference, but the duel still tops many lists as the best mano-a-mano battle in golf history.
“I feel like I got just as much publicity finishing second as I would had if I won,” May said. “I just didn’t get all the perks that go with winning.”
That PGA Championship victory was the third leg of the “Tiger Slam,’’ which Woods capped with his 2001 Masters victory in Augusta. Meanwhile, May was left dealing with the side-effect of celebrity from his runner-up result.
“It changed a lot, especially the things people probably don’t really think about,” he said. “I had to move to a gated community because we had people just showing up at our door. One day, the news station was just posted up outside. We were listed in the phone book and we had to change that after one day.”
May, now 47 years old, has seen his playing career hampered by a nagging back injury. He has no disk between his L4 and L5 vertebra, making it exceedingly hard to have the longevity needed to play a rigorous PGA schedule.
“I still have the capability and skills, but I can only play a few rounds in the row,” he said. “My back just won’t take it.”
That hasn’t kept May away from the clubhouse. He now runs the Bob May Golf Academy, teaching the game to golfers of all ages, skill levels and handicaps. The academy is based out of Las Vegas, but May is back on the Big Island until July 4 for a third stint at Waikoloa Beach Resort.
“We love it here,” said May, who gets to trade the triple-digit heat of Vegas for the winds of Waikoloa.
Although his battle with Tiger will be what fans remember, May’s resume is extensive. He was a top junior golfer and recruit out of high school, made multiple NCAA All-American lists while at Oklahoma State and collected more than $4 million of prize money in his 20-plus years on tour. At one point, he was even a childhood idol to Woods — seven years his junior — who grew up just around the corner from May and tried to gun down all his junior golf records on his climb to the top.
“A lot of stuff people are being told is speculation. What I’m telling people is from experience,” May said. “I’ve played at all levels. I’ve also played at the highest level, fallen to the bottom, and got back up.”
May uses the “swing the handle, not the clubhead” method by Eddie Merrins, who was his mentor. The basis is the length, direction, trajectory and shape of shots come from the way the grip-end of the club is swung with the forearms.
“I stick to that method,” May said. “That’s what I teach and I don’t ask students to do anything I can’t do.”
Humble and patient, May has found a calling as a teacher, giving back to the game. But as much as he enjoys riding his motorcyle and wearing slippers in his spare time, getting back on a competitive schedule is still on the docket. He plans to have spinal fusion surgery to help with his back issues in the coming months, and then is aiming to earn a spot on the Champions Tour (for golfers 50-and-over).
“People don’t understand how bad an injury can be for a golfer. We use every muscle in the body when we are twisting and turning. We simply can’t perform at the same level if something is wrong,” May said. “It’s not going to last forever, but I’m hoping to get a few more years out of it.”
May still keeps a keen eye on the pro game, which has given him even more of an appreciation for the past.
“I think people are just now starting to understand what Tiger did in his prime,” he said. “There are players — like Jordan Spieth or Jason Day — who can score as good as Tiger and possibly be as great as him at times, but I don’t think any of them will ever have the consistency he had.”
No one understands that better than May, who ran into Tiger at a time when he could not miss.
“It was a great point of my career and I enjoy talking about it,” May said. “Golf is a very unpredictable game. You just never know what is going to happen.”
