LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Not every great performance comes with a trophy. Let's talk today about Erik van Rooyen, Sham and Journalism.
What do those names have in common? They're examples of runners-up who didn't fail. They got outperformed.
Over the weekend, van Rooyen, a 35-year-old from South Africa who has won twice on the PGA Tour, shot a four-day total of 23-under-par at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson. He fired weekend rounds of 65 and 63.
And still lost by eight shots to Scottie Scheffler.
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What else can you do?
"I'm really proud with how I played," van Rooyen said afterward. "Scottie was practically flawless, which is kind of what you expect from the World No. 1. ... I don't play with the world No. 1 too often, and you're almost flabbergasted in a way because I'd fire in — like that 5-iron on 9 comes to mind. I hit it to whatever it was, 5 feet, and he just makes the eagle. There's nothing you can do."
Monday marked the anniversary of Secretariat's 1973 Kentucky Derby. His winning time of 1:59.40 still stands as the fastest in the race's history. Behind him, by 2 1/2 lengths, was Sham. His estimated time was also under two minutes — meaning he would have won every other Derby ever run.
That's remarkable in itself, especially considering Sham knocked out two teeth on the starting gate and was still bleeding 45 minutes later.
Journalism's run in Saturday's Derby didn't rise to that level. But it was valiant. Trainer Mike McCarthy said he was proud. The colt got a good trip. The sloppy track likely didn't help him — or the winner, Sovereignty. But it was the kind of second-place finish that left no shame.
It happens more than we think. In 1978, Alydar chased Affirmed through all three Triple Crown races, finishing second each time by a combined length. There were Karl Malone and John Stockton, falling short all those years to the Bulls. There was Ted Williams, who batted .409 in 1941 but lost the MVP to Joe Dimaggio and his 56-game hitting streak. Sometimes, it's not about who finishes first. It's about who makes us remember.
Often, finishing second points to a small defect in performance. But on rare occasions like these, it also can mean coming face-to-face with an even greater performance.
QUICK SIPS
- Louisville City FC is putting the final preparations together for its matchup with MSL side Minnesota United in the US Open Cup on Wednesday night at Lynn Family Stadium. I'll have a preview of that match later today.
- Sending prayers to the family of Davis Randle, who passed away last week after a battle with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer. WDRB's Tyler Greever profiled him in February, on his emotional Senior Night experience.
THE LAST DROP
"It is said that a warrior's greatness is measured by the courage of his opponents. The same applies to athletes. Beyond all of Secretariat's record times and winning margins lies the horse who pushed him to three track records and helped secure his place in history. Sham will forever live in the shadows of Big Red, but once every few years he deserves to be thrust into the spotlight he was denied more than three [now four] decades ago."
Steve Haskin, remembering Sham, in a piece for Blood Horse magazine in 2009.
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