RBC Heritage memories: The bartender
This year marks the 31st Heritage that Chris Wagner, the bar manager at The Crazy Crab in Harbour Town, has worked.
And he's got the stories to prove it.
"There was a caddie who was quite a con artist who came in one year on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday," Wagner recently recounted. "And by Sunday, his bar tab was $400."
When they ran his credit card, it was declined, Wagner said.
"I asked, 'What are you going to do?' "
"Wait a minute," he said. "I'll be right back."
"He comes back in with a big 'CBS Sports' banner, throws it down on the bar, and we haven't seen him since," Wagner said.
The banner still hangs at the end of the bar.
Wagner also has stories about golfing greats who have saddled up to his bar over the years.
Wagner recalls the late Payne Stewart coming in every day when he played the tournament 12 times in the 1980s and 1990s. He would sit in the same place and order the same thing: a dozen oysters and a Bud Light.
"But, the poor guy, it took him 45 minutes to eat a dozen oysters," Wagner said. "Fans stuck pens and paper in his face. But no matter what he'd done on the golf course that day, he always graciously signed and posed for everyone."
Many touring pros want a dark booth in the corner where they might eat dinner in peace, Wagner said. But one exception was another two-time Heritage champion, Fuzzy Zoeller.
"Fuzzy Zoeller came all the time," Wagner said. "I remember he drank vodka tonics. And he always wanted to be seated in the middle of the dining room where he loved meeting everyone. He would even walk around the room greeting people."
Nick Faldo came in a week after one of his three wins at the Masters -- and the hostess didn't recognize him. She told him the wait would be an hour.
His response: "What if I told you my name was Jack Nicklaus?"
Luckily, another employee recognized Faldo and he got a table immediately.
These days Faldo still comes to the tournament. But instead of waiting for a Crazy Crab table, he waves the honest-to-goodness CBS Sports banner as analyst in the tower at the 18th green.
April 9, 2015 Sure, golf will be played, but the stories outside the ropes make the event unique (plus a hole-by-hole video tour) | READ
This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 1:50 PM with the headline "RBC Heritage memories: The bartender."