Bryant steals the show from Couples

BART BRYANT spent 20 years trying to prove he belonged among the best, often lying awake at night wondering if three surgeries and too many trips to Q-school were a sign he was wasting his time.

Winning the Texas Open last fall was the first step but validation came on Sunday at the Memorial in Dublin, Ohio. Bryant somehow salvaged par from inside a hazard on the edge of the creek on the 18th hole, held off crowd favourite Fred Couples by one shot and had an audience with Jack Nicklaus, the tournament host who was duly impressed with what he saw at Muirfield Village.

“To win against a quality field like this ... to walk off the 18th green and have Mr. Nicklaus waiting to shake your hand and congratulate you is beyond comprehension at this point,” Bryant said.