Dan Forsman may not have won the green jacket this week at the Masters, but he accomplished all three goals he set for himself - to make the cut, make the top 24, and have a chance to contend for the championship on the final nine holes.
He also won plenty of respect, from fans, fellow professionals and the world's media as he contended for the lead in the world's most prestigious golf tournament all four days.Forsman will have to live a long time with the quadruple-bogey 7 at the 12th hole that ended his chances of winning when he was just one shot off the lead of Bernhard Langer.
But most golfers who take a quadruple-bogey with the eyes of the world watching wouldn't have handled themselves as well as Forsman did.
He came back to post consecutive birdies on the next two holes. Then afterward he didn't run and hide like many athletes do in times of trouble.
He patiently answered questions from the press just outside the scorer's tent, again in the large media room and again just outside the player's locker room long after the tournament was history.
Forsman won praise from fellow professionals, including Jack Nicklaus, for his fine play all week. He received several ovations from the galleries, including a standing ovation as he walked up the 18th fairway despite being seven shots behind. And he wowed the media with his candid and articulate remarks. "This guy's terrific," one writer was overheard to say as Forsman met the press.
By now most golf fans know how Forsman made his quadruple-bogey 7 by hitting into the water twice at Augusta's 12th hole Sunday afternoon.
"It's very painful. I wish it wouldn't have happened," he said. "It's kind of embarrassing. It's the Masters, you're in the middle of the hunt, a lot of people are rooting for you . . ."
Besides a lot of folks at Augusta National, a lot of people back in Utah were rooting for him Sunday.
Forsman didn't grow up in Utah and he didn't play for BYU. But he is an adopted Utahn.
He met his future wife, Trudy Holley, at the 1979 Pacific Coast Amateur at Riverside Country Club in Provo. At the time he was a student at Arizona State University.
They were married in 1981 and he later converted to the LDS Church. In 1985 the Forsmans made Provo their permanent home.
Ironically, last week while at home in Provo, Forsman had rented a video called "18 Holes of Championship Golf" which features Nicklaus talking about golf's toughest holes, one of which was Augusta's 12th.
Forsman watched footage of several top players such as Tom Kite, Larry Nelson and Sandy Lyle hitting shots into the water there in the final round of the Masters. He laughed heartily when someone asked him if he was going to make the video part of his permanent collection.
It showed how Forsman was able to keep his sense of humor.
Speaking of his troubles at the famed "Amen Corner" Sunday, Forsman quipped, "Hopefully I can say `Amen' next time instead of `Oh hell.' "
Of his plans to play the 12th hole in the future, he said, "I think next year I'm going to lay up short of the water."
He also said he wished he "could have had a mulligan."
But he won't soon forget about it either.
"I'll think about it for awhile," he said. "It's not easy to take."
Forsman plans to head to Hilton Head, S.C. for the Heritage Classic, which begins Thursday. After that he'll return to Provo for a "spring break."
He has already qualified for the U.S. Open at Baltusrol in New Jersey in June, and he said he plans to "focus on the big tournaments this year."
Forsman is looking forward to coming back to next year's Masters, which he qualified for by finishing in the top 24.
"I'll be back. This gives me a lot of confidence for next year. It's been a thrill this week."