Waldorf Brings Own Fivesome to Course

Patience.

Calm.

You Can Do It.

Duffy Waldorf will look to his golf balls for inspiration this weekend during the PGA Championship at Medinah (Ill.) Country Club.

Waldorf writes the majority of messages. Added encouragement in the form of artwork on balls is provided by Vicky Waldorf and the couple’s four children.

An American flag. A colorful tree. The names of sons Tyler, 9, Shea, 7, Justin, 3, and daughter Kelli, 5, scribbled beside red hearts with piercing arrows.

Waldorf, 36, a Canyon Country resident and Taft High graduate, wouldn’t tee up without them.

“It’s comfortable for me just because I’ve gotten used to it,” Waldorf said. “It’s like having a little bit of each person there with me when I’m on the course.

“It’s something that makes me smile even in the middle of making bogeys or not doing as well as I’d like in the big competitions. It gives a little bit of lightness in what otherwise is a pretty tense situation.

As for his appearance, Waldorf is anything but plain.

Routinely clad in colorful hats and Hawaiian shirts, Waldorf has carved a niche for providing spectators with a visual feast.

“I don’t mind sticking out,” Waldorf said. “Most fans really like it. You stick out, you make your own mark.”

On Thursday, Waldorf took to the course adorned in a bright crimson shirt and multicolored hat. He shot two-over par 74 in the first round.

The PGA Championship, the final of four major tournaments this year, concludes Sunday.

A 1985 UCLA graduate and college player of the year that season, Waldorf has competed on the PGA Tour since 1987. His second career tour victory came June 27 in the Buick Classic at Westchester Country Club in Rye, N.Y. Waldorf won the LaCantera Texas Open in 1995.

Waldorf ranks 43rd among money leaders this season with $685,785. Last season, Waldorf failed to finish among the top 100 money winners for the first time since 1990.

Waldorf’s victory in the Buick Classic by virtue of a one-hole playoff against Dennis Paulson earned him $450,000.

Waldorf has taken the tour in style, if not by storm. But the colorful attire has more to do with habit than superstition.

“It’s become more of a thing now that I don’t feel like I’m me out there without it,” Waldorf said. “If I don’t have the hat on, most people will say, ‘Hey, who are you? Where’s your hat?’ So I’d rather wear the hat and not be bothered with it.”

A few wistful words of wisdom help, too.

In the Buick Classic, Waldorf made six bogeys through 15 holes in the final round and needed birdies on the last two to tie Paulson. He pulled it off by making putts of six and five feet to force the extra hole.

He made another birdie to win the playoff.

Waldorf came through in the clutch while playing a ball inscribed with the phrase: “It’s up to you, New York, New York.”

The previous day, Waldorf made an eagle with a ball sporting a New York Knicks logo.

As his family has grown, Waldorf has been afforded a variety of ornate golf balls.

Tyler, who has begun to play golf with his father, prefers drawing pictures and displays good form. Kelli enjoys drawing people.

“Justin is a scribbler,” Vicky Waldorf said.

“I have to be very selective now,” Duffy said. “If Vicky wants to do one and the kids start doing one, they can reel off six real quick.

“It doesn’t always come out looking like the Mona Lisa, but the idea is there.”