Phi Alpha Cup Player Profile: Steve Burr

Friday, April 10th, 2009

“Scuba” Steve Burr ‘Gears Up’ Before His Round in 2006

WALKING ON WATER

April 10, 2009
“The lakes are something which you are unprepared for.” – Henry David Thoreau

If you had asked Team 1997’s Steve Burr three years ago what he feared most in life, his answer most likely would have been ‘water’. The man with more nicknames than P Diddy (Aquaman, Scuba Steve, Riverboat ‘Rito) had good reason to. For it was only a few years ago that Steve Burr was a man roundly and harshly criticized by golf pundits for spending more time in the water hazards than the fairways during Phi Alpha Cups.

These days however, you’re more likely to find Burr calmly smoking a pipe in the backyard of his Hoboken, NJ home than submarining for his Pinnacle around the 16th green. Once a man tormented by by his phobia of water, Burr is now a golfer at peace with his game.

“I got to a place where I was literally drowning in penalty shots,” says Burr.

It’s been a roller coaster career for Burr – one marred by both on and off the course flare-ups. Nicknamed “the Jacques Cousteau of the golfing world” by golfing analyst Johnny Miller, Burr hit rock bottom in 2006 after setting the record for longest PAC winless streak, largely due to his golf balls’ uncanny magnetism to water hazards. But after an off-season of soul-searching, Burr re-entered the 2007 Phi Alpha Cup a changed man, totally free of his water phobia, and posted a 2-1-1 record helping lead Team 1997 to a convincing win. Then during the 2008 Cup, after his team had taken a first day lead of 2-0, Burr inexplicibly exploded at teammates during the Champions dinner, leading to a series of offseason media interviews in which Burr hinted at leaving Team 1997 to foucs on a solo exhibition tour.

“Ask anyone who has battled water and they’ll tell you the same thing,” said Burr of his early career struggles. “It affects all aspects of your life. It’s something you never totally conquer, you just try to manage. Could I lose a sleeve of balls on the first tee in 2009? If there’s a creek in my way, absolutely. But there’s less chance of that now than there was in the past.”

Rather than focusing on the 38 water hazards spread across St. James Plantation’s three Phi Alpha Cup courses in 2009, Burr has instead turned his attention to Team 1998’s Jeff Eaton and Todd Balsley, challenging both to a ‘lose and retire’ scenario. After dominating both players early in his career, it’s a task Burr feels up to.

“People have come to expect either greatness or disaster out of Steve Burr, so this is just the next chapter,” said Burr of the bold challenge. “It’s sink or swim.”

Steve Burr Phi Alpha Timeline:

May 3, 2005-May 2, 2007: Burr sets record for longest winless streak in PAC history
May 4, 2007: Burr becomes the hero of the 2007 Phi Alpha Cup by posting a 2-1-1 record, helping lift Team 1997 to Cup victory
August 16, 2007: Burr honored and given the key to his hometown, Rockville Centre, NY
Fall 2007: Burr wildly calls out Team 1998 opponents during offseason and guarantees victory for 2008
May 2, 2008: Burr explodes at teammates during 2008 Champions dinner, and Team 1997 squanders 2-0 lead to lose 2008 Cup
June 2008: Burr threatens to leave Team 1997 to concentrate on solo career
January 24, 2009: Burr offers apologies to teammates and decides to return to Team 1997
April 2, 2009: Burr challenges Team 1998’s Jeff Eaton and Todd Balsley to “lose and retire” matches