Cook grew up playing at Miraleste High, which is now Peninsula High and was a standout golfer, earning a scholarship to Ohio State. Soon after turning professional, Cook moved to an exclusive suburb in Orlando, Fla.
He was joined by fellow Southern Californian, Mark O’Meara and several years later, Orange County’s most famous resident, Tiger Woods moved into the same neighborhood in Orange County, Fla.
The three played informal rounds at Isleworth and Woods was asking them questions about the game and the tour.
“He’s never been above trying to learn and get better at things,” Cook said. “I think Mark and I both seem to have helped him a little bit. He’s always asking things about short clubs and controlling distances, things like that.”
But while O’Meara and Cook were vainly trying to win money from Woods, they were also re-energizing their own careers.
“I think Mark said the same thing too, he re-energized us,” Cook said. “It’s easy to take a few steps back when you’re 45, 46 years old. If you don’t bring your game when you’re out there playing with him, he can really make you look bad. You don’t want to be embarrassed, so you keep working.”
It was then Cook’s turn to ask questions.
“I kept working hard and training and working and practicing and playing, picking his brain a little bit about things,” Cook said. “He loves to challenge people, whether you’re playing or working out or just practicing. He kind of kept us sharp in the years when we could have gone the other way.”
It has certainly helped Cook on the Champions Tour. He won his second event he played in as a rookie in 2007. This year in seven events, Cook has finished in the top 10 four times. He also finished tied for 13th at the Toshiba Classic, shooting rounds of 71, 67, 67 in his first time at Newport Beach Country Club.
