It was Kevin O'Brien's life-long dream to walk the fairways at Pebble Beach Golf Links. In November, the 48-year-old New York City firefighter's golf fantasy came true. Raymond Downey, deputy chief of Special Operations Command, died Sept. 11, 2001. (Provided to PGATOUR.COM) He discovered he couldn't focus on Pebble Beach's tradition and beauty without thinking about his leader and friend, Raymond Downey. Downey, deputy chief of Special Operations Command, was one of 343 FDNY firefighters who died on Sept. 11. "I'd give it all up just to have him back," O'Brien said. "He's one of a kind. To work with him was an honor. He confided in me that he was retiring (Jan. 1) and wanted to travel to California and drive down the coast. Ray told me despite the fact that he wasn't a good golfer, he wanted to play Pebble Beach. "He said, 'I'll tear it up, but I just want to play Pebble Beach.'" O'Brien made sure Downey is a part of the famed course, site of this week's AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. O'Brien was invited to the West Coast to play in Reggie Jackson's Mr. October Foundation Tournament, Nov. 5 at the Bayonet Golf Course. But he arrived the day before, in time to fulfill a dream and honor Downey in the same moment. On the wooden picket fence guarding Pebble Beach's 18th tee, O'Brien attached a silver bracelet given to him by the Downey family. Engraved on the bracelet is: Raymond Downey, SO, FDNY 9-11-01. "I stretched the band back, predrilled two holes in it and nailed it to the fence on the 18th tee box," he recalled. "There was an assistant greenskeeper who was floating around and he kind of went ballistic. "He said, `Excuse me, what do you think you're doing?' He runs over and sees me as I was finishing. I stood there and had tears rolling down my face. He just looked at me and said, 'OK.' "It's a great honor just to have it there in his memory ... When I told residents of the area what it was about, they said they were going to make sure it stays there. It would be nice to see it on the AT&T and make mention of it. It is special, and he is a special person." Kevin O'Brien nailed a silver bracelet on the 18th tee box in honor of his fallen friend. (Provided to PGATOUR.COM) As of a week before the AT&T, the bracelet had not been removed. O'Brien hopes it remains there through Sept. 11, 2002. The tribute didn't stop on the 18th tee. O'Brien, who on good days is a 7-handicapper and on bad days a 15, reached the scenic par 5 in two. Somber skies nearly masked Stillwater Cove when he delivered two perfect shots with a driver and 4-iron. He walked on the green and picked up his 40-foot eagle putt that, if made, would have given him a 37 to go with his 46 on the front nine. A stunned playing partner asked why didn't he finish. "I just walked off the course and let Ray Downey finish," he said, penciling a four on the final hole. Why not the perfect ending: an eagle 3? "Ray Downey couldn't make that putt," O'Brien said with a chuckle. "If he were alive right now, he'd say he'd probably five-putt it. That's how he was." As a firefighter, Downey was recognized by presidents, received 30 commendations from the FDNY and was considered an expert on fire tactics and rescue efforts. O'Brien pauses when recollecting Sept. 11, a day that began as a typical day off from his duties. At 8:45 a.m. on Sept. 11, O'Brien was in his Staten Island home when American Airlines Flight 11 hit the north World Trade Center tower. Eighteen minutes later he was on the Staten Island Ferry en route to Manhattan when United Airlines Flight 175 hit the south WTC tower. "I got there at 9:30," said O'Brien, a four-year member of the Special Operations team. "We didn't know at the time how many we lost. We knew it was going to be heavy. I had no idea it was going to be this heavy: 343. "It's a staggering amount of people." Only three of eight firemen survived from O'Brien's Special Operations unit. Pain hasn't left O'Brien, the father of four. Neither has guilt. "It's purely luck of the draw," he added. "If I would have been working, I would have been with Ray." Earlier this month, he was able to put Sept. 11 out of his thoughts, albeit for a few hours, when he accompanied 9-year-old daughter Maureen to a father-daughter Girls Scout dance. Golf, too, gives O'Brien an emotional outlet. He wants "10,000 golfers" to sign up for his FDNY 9-11 Memorial Golf Ball, a two-day event scheduled for late May on possibly 70 golf courses in Myrtle Beach, S.C. (for more information, see www.fdnygolf.com .) Whenever O'Brien needs a laugh, he envisions Downey's hockey-like golf swing as the perfect remedy. No doubt, the deputy chief would be embarrassed of O'Brien's dedication at Pebble Beach. "He'd probably say, 'What are you doing out there?'" O'Brien said. "He was a very unassuming guy. (Last summer) the day after Mayor (Rudy) Giuliani gave him his key to the city and honored him, his wife made him go out and clean the gutters. "He was fine with that. That's the way he was."

 

 

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