Good guy Appleby is a winner

Fairly unknown PGA golf pro, Stuart Appleby, has overcome the tragic death of his young wife to become one of golf's brightest stars.

One of sports' good guys is Under Review.

I was thrilled to see golf's Stuart Appleby complete a wire-to-wire victory at the Shell Houston Open last weekend. It couldn't happen to a better guy, or a more tragic figure in the world of sports.

Particularly at this time of year, when we laud the performances of questionable characters like Kobe Bryant and Barry Bonds, it's important to recognize a smaller feat by one of the good guys in golf and in the sports world, in general

In case you don't know about Stuart Appleby, he is a very good golfer and even better gentleman, whose young wife was killed, when struck by a car in London in 1998. Many golf enthusiasts, who have seen Appleby, because he often hovers around the leader board in many tournaments, may be surprised at this news, because few announcers ever reference it, and Appleby never shows his grief.

With the win last weekend, Appleby became just the third player on the PGA Tour this year with two wins, joining Tiger Woods and Masters champ Phil Mickleson. He was so surprised at his large lead in the final round in Houston that he asked his caddie where he stood.

Unassuming and just plain pleasant, Appleby was, as he's always been in his eight PGA Tour victories, humble.

Appleby met his late wife, Renay, at a golf tournament, and she even caddied for him, before her death at age 25.

"While golf is a huge part of his life, the most important thing to him was Renay, his family and his friends," Martin Jolly, head of International Management Group, told Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio after the tragedy.

Most golf fans, though, never knew.

Well done, Stuart. Here's wishing continued success to one of the sports world's good guys.