By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
The tennis career of Mardy Fish was highlighted by numerous clutch Davis Cup victories for the United States in front of heckling fans on foreign ground.
At the 2023 American Century Celebrity Golf Championships at Lake Tahoe, Calif., Fish fell victim to a heckling fan at the most inopportune time.
Fish, the most successful golfer on the celebrity golf tour whom Jack Nicklaus called “The best non-professional golfer I’ve ever seen play” was leading NBA superstar Steph Curry of the Golden State Warriors by 72 points to 69 points in the Stableford scoring format on the final hole of the event. When Fish was in mid-swing on his final tee shot, a fan intentionally yelled out in a successful effort to distract. Fish then duck hooked his drive short and way left barely 200 yards down the right side of the fairway. Next to a tree, Fish could only pitch the ball out about 100 yards. Fish, who easily could reach the 500-yard par 5 18th hole in two shots, then was on the green in three shots, whereas he usually would have been there in two shots had he hit a normal tee shot. Curry, meanwhile, was within 25 feet of the hole in two shots. Curry, trailing by three points, needed to sink the eagle putt for six points, and hope that Fish did not make his putt for birdie to tie him with three points. Fish lagged his birdie putt close to the hole and tapped in for a par and one point, to lead by four points. However, Curry dramatically hit a “buzzer-beater” eagle putt for six points to beat Fish by two points.
“It’s unfortunate what happened to Mardy. We need to have better spectators than that,” said Steph Curry’s father Dell to NBC Sports of the ill-timed heckle during Fish’s swing.
If regular stroke play scoring had been used at the event, Fish would have scored a total score of six-under-par and would have won the event by four strokes over Curry, who would have finished at two-under-par.
Fish won the 2020 American Century event at Lake Tahoe and has won the other celebrity golf “major” – The Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions at Lake Nona, Florida – four times, most recently in 2023 as you can read about here: https://tennisgrandstand.com/2023/01/23/mardy-fish-wins-title-at-lake-nona-florida-in-pro-celebrity-golf-again/
He made history as the first athlete to play an ATP Tour and PGA Tour event in a career when he played in the 3M Open on the PGA Tour in the summer of 2022, as you can read about here https://www.worldtennismagazine.com/archives/21087
Fish annually hosts a golf fundraiser for his Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation at the prestigious Windsor Club in Vero Beach, Florida on the Monday leading into the Hilton Grand Vacations event at Lake Nona every January. (To make a donation, go to www.MardyFishChildrensFoundation.org.)
Fish played 11 matches for the USA in Davis Cup, posting a 7-7 record in singles and 4-1 in doubles. He famously won all three points for the United States against Colombia in front of a raucous crowd in Bogota in 2010 and also famously beat Stan Wawrinka in singles and Wawrinka and Roger Federer in doubles in a 2012 victory against Switzerland in Fribourg, Switzerland.
