One day in 2003, Corey O’Connor’s father called with great news: They were going to play a round of golf with Hall of Fame NBA player Michael Jordan. It was for the annual Mario Lemieux Celebrity Invitational at The Club at Nevillewood in the South Hills. Tee time: 9:35 a.m.
His father, Bob O’Connor, was a popular Pittsburgh city councilman, who would later become mayor. Corey O’Connor — today, a popular Pittsburgh city councilman — was a freshman at Duquesne University.
Ecstatic at the chance to meet MJ, Corey O’Connor double-checked the tee time. Jordan wasn’t listed as their celebrity golf partner. That time slot went to Rick Rhoden, a former Pirates pitcher and then a pro golfer. O’Connor took it in stride.
Turns out, his dad got the time wrong. They were scheduled to play at 10:35 a.m. And indeed, Jordan was their partner. There was a fourth person, as well. O’Connor can’t remember who it was.
So Jordan, arguably the greatest basketball player ever, played golf with the O’Connors that day in June 2003.
Last week as ESPN aired “The Last Dance,” the story of Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, O’Connor posted on Twitter a photograph of him, Jordan and his late father. (Bob O’Connor died in September 2006, just six months into his term as Pittsburgh mayor.)
Corey O’Connor remembered the feeling as they stepped to the first tee. A crowd of people followed and cheered.
Jordan said he wanted to go first. He hit a perfect drive in the fairway, O’Connor said.
“I was a little nervous to hit in front of all those people,” O’Connor said. “Our fourth guy hit the ball into the crowd and Jordan joked with him about the shot, just like golfers do.”
O’Connor posted the tweet on Monday after he watched the first two episodes of “The Last Dance” the night before. He can’t remember who snapped the photo, but he cherishes the image.
“Everyone knows who Michael Jordan is,” O’Connor said. “When I got home that day, I called all of my friends to tell them I played golf with Michael Jordan. I didn’t have a cell phone back then, or I would have taken so many pictures. Everyone would have known I played golf with Michael Jordan. It was so much fun.”
Corey O’Connor remembers the star player walking to the first tee from the driving range, with a big cigar in his mouth, a crowd of people with him and following him.
A little bit of rain started to fall.
O’Connor, who coaches golf at his alma mater, Central Catholic High School in Pittsburgh, walked the front nine with Jordan. They talked about golf shots, Chicago and how bad a golfer Charles Barkley was. They discussed Jordan’s experience competing in the Olympics.
Jordan would recognize a good drive, a shot from the fairway, a chip shot or a putt, O’Connor said.
O’Connor said he shot a 37. Jordan shot 39.
Then it began to rain harder.
They took a break, and O’Connor said Jordan offered his dad a bet: five a hole. He wanted to compete against the younger O’Connor.
The “five” didn’t mean $5.
“Jordan said, ‘No, $5,000,’ ” O’Connor recalled.
He said his dad responded, “I like my kid, but I don’t like him that much.”
The bet never materialized as the rain continued. The game was canceled.
They made sure to get that cherished photo. O’Connor keeps the original photo in his office.
“That’s a once-in-a-lifetime kind of experience,” O’Connor said. “Jordan was so nice. He signed some golf balls. My dad, of course, tried to sell the city of Pittsburgh to Jordan.”
“I am not very tall and he is a very tall guy and a great athlete. To watch someone on television and then see him right in front of you, well, that doesn’t happen every day.”
