Golfweek 50th anniversary memories: Senior writer Jim McCabe handled PGA Tour and more

As part of the fun surrounding our 50th anniversary, Golfweek has been walking down Memory Lane with a number of former employees who helped make the brand what it is today.

We continue the series with a longtime senior writer who is proud of his New England roots, Jim McCabe.

When did you work at Golfweek?

2009-2016

What was your Golfweek title, and give us a brief description of what you did.

Senior Writer. Covered about 25 PGA Tour tournaments a year, wrote features, columns, and news stories.

What's your current title and company?

Pretty much retired, though I work for Augusta National during Masters week, writing for masters.com. And I work the PGA Championship, PGA Seniors, and KPMB Women's PGA for the PGA of America. But what fuels my enthusiasm all year is my weekly digital golf newsletter called "Power Fades." I have been writing that since April of 2001.

What's the one moment you're proudest of while working with Golfweek?

2014 Masters, just standing beneath the oak tree out back, when I see Billy Casper walk over to the ropes and start hugging a patron, who couldn't stop crying. With Billy Harmon, Bob Goalby, and Jay Haas standing there, I had three good relationships to turn to and they filled me in on a remarkable story.

The patron, a military officer during the Vietnam War, was at the Masters to meet the man who saved his life, Casper. Turns out the soldier, Clebe McClary, was horribly wounded, was blinded in one eye, lost an arm, and pretty much wanted his life to end. Casper, on a visit to support the Red Cross and the troops, told the soldier to never give up, that God wanted him to continue the mission on Earth. Clebe fought relentlessly to get healthy and turned into a motivational speaker and esteemed military officer. I witnessed this at about 2 pm, listened to Harmon, Goalby, and Haas explain the story, and by 3 p.m., I was in the press building explaining what I saw to Jeff Babineau, my friend and my editor. Took him two minutes to say "write it," and perhaps three hours later, it was on the website.

I won a GWAA award the next year. Immense pride, not just for the way it came together in a short time, but for the way Babs and other colleagues pulled together to shift assignments around for that day so that I could write this story.

What's the 'hair-on-fire' moment you remember most vividly?

Probably the 2011 PGA. Keegan Bradley had won earlier in his rookie year; he was playing his first major, and I pitched him as a feature story for that week. We used to circle features during the majors and Keegan made sense. Babs agreed, God bless him, and after each of the first three rounds, Keegan had played well, and Babs would laugh. "Go longer, Jimmy Mac," he would say. I had the time and space to call Keegan's high school coach, his PGA father, his college coach, and his high school buddies, who confirmed that Keegan indeed spent a few years living in a trailer. "Tin Cup" experience. That Keegan won was beyond belief; never did I expect it. That Babs and Golfweek crew afforded me the space to write such a complete story was a priceless joy.

What's your favorite golf course you've played and why?

Boston Golf Club. Provincial, for sure. Not only is it just 20 minutes from my home, but the man who had the vision for BGC and pulled it all together was a dear friend, John Mineck. The fact that John died in 2007 while working on his dream course, just two years after it opened, makes every visit there feel like a spiritual experience. I'm there to play golf, yes, but I'm there also to share time with John.

(Editor's note: We appreciate all the former employees who have contributed time and effort to this feature. The golf journalism community is a small one and we're proud of the achievements of all our former colleagues.)

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Golfweek 50th anniversary memories: Senior writer Jim McCabe handled PGA Tour and more