Q: Along the way, you also developed a friendship with Mark O’Meara and Tiger Woods, right?
Boris Said: Especially Mark O’Meara. I’ve known him for a long time and he was best buddies with Tiger for a long time when they were living at Isleworth [a luxury home community with accompanying country club in Orlando, Fla.]. So I’ve gotten to hit around with and play with those guys and talk to them.
I’ve actually taken Mark O’Meara out driving in this Porsche that we were testing down in Sebring. I’ve given him rides in our BMW race cars. It’s a pretty good time.
And actually, Mr. [John] Cook [another professional golfer], we put him in one of our race cars and he was actually a pretty good driver. Stuart Appleby [another well-known golfer] is a pretty big race fan. So I’ve known all those guys for a long time. They’re awesome guys.
Q: So you got to meet Tiger Woods. Have you actually played golf with him?
Boris Said: Not a whole round, but a few holes and stuff. He’s an awesome guy. He’s as normal as every day can be.
Q: Where did you play with him at?
Boris Said: At Isleworth. I used to always go down there and stay at O’Meara’s house, and pimp golf off him — because that’s a beautiful golf course there. And he was hanging out with Tiger a lot back then, because they both lived there.
Q: Was that awesome on one hand to be playing with Tiger, but also a little intimidating? Not just with Tiger, but with guys like O’Meara?
Boris Said: O’Meara isn’t [intimidating]. You don’t even realize how good they really are until you add up the scores afterward. He makes you feel real comfortable. He’s just a great guy, and those guys never really made me feel intimidated in that setting. When I played in the Bob Hope [Chrysler Classic], in that setting, that was a little more intimidating.
Q: Who did you play with in that pro-am tournament?
Boris Said: Billy Andrade. Harrison Fraser one day. J.L. Lewis and J.P. Hayes. I did pretty good. I shot like a 77 on the last day, and it was really windy. So I was pretty happy with that. I also shot a 74. I had one day that was like an 84, but I thought I did pretty well.
Q: What is it that you like so much about golf?
Boris Said: How hard it is; how much you have to concentrate. And how it’s just like racing. It’s a game of mistakes. You’ve just got to keep on working at it. One shot, you have it; the next shot, you don’t. It’s just a fun game. And it doesn’t matter what your level of play is. You can have fun with anyone.
Over the years, I’ve met so many people through golf. I’m opening a BMW franchise this year and I tell everybody that’s because of my golf game — because I played a lot of golf with the chairman of the board for BMW and I raced for BMW for 13 years. Those relationships you forge on the golf course seem to last a long time.
Q: Do you have a favorite golf story or two?
Boris Said: I’ve got a lot of golf stories. I guess one of my favorites is the first time playing at Isleworth with those guys, I took a guy named Lee Morris, who used to be No. 2 at Ford Racing. I figured just to brown-nose him a little bit one time, I told him after testing, “Hey would you play a round of golf with me? It might really help me get a sponsor if you showed up.” He didn’t want anything to do with it. So I said, “The guy lives at Isleworth. It’ll be really fun.” Then he perked up and said, “All right, I’ll go.”
As we were driving over there, he was asking me, “What’s this guy like?” I was like, “Oh, you know, he’s kind of a rich jerk. But he owns a big company and we’ll play golf with him. It’ll be fun and then he might sponsor us.” He was like, “OK.”
We rolled into Mark O’Meara’s house and he rang the doorbell. When O’Meara answered the door, the guy about had a heart attack. He turned into the biggest fan I’ve ever seen. He was gawking over all the trophies and stuff. Mark gave him a signed golf glove and hat, and he looked just like a NASCAR fan. That was something I’ll never forget. We just had a great day of golf and dinner and everything else. It was an experience for Lee Morris that I’m sure he’ll never forget.
Q: How did you hit ‘em Monday?
Boris Said: Not very good. But that’s the great thing about golf — and racing. When it doesn’t go right, there’s always tomorrow to try again.
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