Ames comes home a hero
By ERIC FRANCIS -- Calgary Sun
With champagne in hand and family by his side, Stephen Ames celebrated his first PGA Tour victory yesterday afternoon at the local steakhouse he co-owns.
Highlighting a 17-year journey that began when he quit as an accountant for his father's mechanical maintenance business in his native Trinidad and Tobago, Ames stood in the Vintage Chophouse shaking hands and wearing a grin that hasn't disappeared since Sunday's groundbreaking win at the Cialis Western Open.
"I've been working and playing for this for a while and on Sunday it all came together," said Ames, who spent a decade grinding it out on the Canadian, Hogan and European circuits before qualifying for the PGA Tour in 1997.
"It was around the corner for me to happen. I think it was always in me, built up inside of me that eventually I was going to win. It didn't just pop out. Quitting never once crossed my mind. I love the game too much to quit."
However, having just turned 40, it was only natural for him to wonder if time was running out on his chance to hoist crystal as a PGA champ.
"What I tried to believe is that I was strong enough mentally and I had enough heart to win," said Ames, whose many top-10 finishes this year have earned him $2.75 million US in earnings (sixth highest) and a career-best world ranking of 17th.
"In the past when I hit a bad shot, I looked at my swing. Then I realized you don't have to hit the perfect golf shot every time. I'm still in that perfection mode where I'm trying to get the perfect swing but no one will ever get there. What I had to change was my belief I was good enough to win with what I had."
Sports psychologist Alan Fine helped him get to that point by pushing Ames to focus on every shot, not just the challenging ones that caused a "sparkle in his eye" when he found himself between clubs or in a tough spot.
"He noticed and realized, 'Hey this kid's playing with a lot of feel, a lot of instincts, playing golf shots and challenging himself. It's a gift he has that he doesn't use enough,' " said Ames, who generally avoids talking to the media.
It forced Ames to dig deeper into his short game last winter to revamp his putting, chipping and a sand game he deemed "horrendous."
"I'm to the point where I'm not too much of a nervous wreck standing over the ball," said Ames, a 13-year Calgary resident who recently became a Canadian citizen and often shocks local hacks with swing tips at various ranges around town.
"I've played horribly in stretches and still finished top-10."
The grandson of a two-time national golf champion in Trinidad and Tobago, Ames' confidence as a player grew quickly from the time he says he took up the game at age 13, became a scratch golfer by 15 and was the best player in the Caribbean at 16. Still, the idea of pursuing a golf career seemed unheard of when he left for Boca Raton where he got a degree in business administration.
Returning home at age 23, he quickly grew bored of working for his dad and embarked on a whirlwind tour that landed him Sunday's first-place trophy and cheque for $864,000 US. It was then, like yesterday, his moment in the sun was capped by having his sons run into his arms to share the moment.
"They're a big part of my life and always will be my Number 1 priority," said Ames, who met wife Jodi, a former flight attendant, on a flight in 1989 while he travelled from a Canadian tour event in Calgary to the Quebec Open.
"It's family first and golf second for me. The most important thing is my family was there with me."
While admitting his new concentrated approach to the game is mentally draining and will limit his travelling stints to three-week blocks, Ames is obviously ecstatic about a win that will add several prestigious late-season championship tourneys to his schedule.
But what has him particularly pumped -- and drained -- is having to make last-minute plans to board a plane bound for Royal Troon in Scotland today to prepare for next Thursday's British Open.
"I'm not going to change anything in my routine or put my expectations up too high," said Ames, who finished fifth at Troon in 1997. "I enjoy the links style golf where more imagination is involved."
For the first Caribbean-born player on the PGA Tour, who winters in various golf domes around Calgary, imagination may just be his best asset.
After all, who else could've imagined he'd accomplish what he's been celebrating the last few days?
