Bravo
Well-Known Member
- Aug 27, 2004
- 5,822
- 15
I attended the 99 USO at Pinehurst. I had a business unit in Winston Salem NC and my manager there obtained two tickets for the opening round on Thursday. We drove down very early on Thursday morning.
When I go to a tournament, I like to see all of the holes and I like to see as much of the field as I can so I have developed a method of walking the course backward. This method allows "the field to come to you" and when a group of big names is coming up, you can often secure a position right along the ropes, after the group ahead vacates - and before the horde following the big names gets to your area.
We went through the gates and walked straight to the ninth green and watched some groups come through. We then proceeded to 8 and 7 etc.
As we approached the 3rd green - which has a snack bar and grandstand - we decided to take a breather. I got a sandwhich and we sat in the grandstand and watched several groups, including Tiger and Greg Norman...We learned that all the players used the same strategy on this hole by watching through our binoculars toward the tee.
The third hole at Pinehurst is by far the shortest Par 4 on the course at 336. It is a simple dogleg right par 4. In the crook of the dogleg is very deep rough. This crook is about 210ish from the tee.
Every player we saw, got out a long iron and hit it to the outer part of the dogleg and wedged in. We saw a couple of birdies as a result of good wedge shots. Tiger parred the hole when his 12 footer lipped out.
After awhile, we decided it was time to walk back toward #3 tee and on to the clubhouse area. We walked along the third fairway and the area was deserted...a group that included some amateurs was teeing off and there was no gallery.
As I approached the 3rd tee, I checked my Lineup and it said that Darren Clarke, Jim Furyk and John Daly were coming up next. So we decided to wait there. We stood at the ropes of the teebox and chatted up the marshals - a couple of country club wives from Charlotte.
Peacefully quiet - just the four of us.
Suddenly, through the pines, we see the group approaching. The guy with the sign is up front and I see Daly and a mob of spectators behind him.
Somewhere in all of this, Clarke and Furyk are coming behind.
Daly is such a sensation. That day, he was dressed in Black pants, black shirt, black shoes and a bright orange leopard-skinned golf hat which looked like something you would find at a Wal-Mart. Pure redneck. And don't forget the white-framed wraparound sunglasses with orange lenses. The perfect fashion compliment to the hat.
He had a Mullet haircut at the time. Cut very short on the top with long blonde hair flowing out of the back of the hat.
Suddenly our quiet scene has become noisy and boisterous. Before they arrived there were four people: the two of us and the two marshal's inside the ropes. I look around and about a 1000 people are lining both sides of the fairway with a mob about ten deep standing behind us.
For some reason, I looked up at the scorers sign. It said,
Furyk 1 (in black), Clarke 1 (in black) and Daly 2 (in red).
John Daly has birdied the first two holes. He is the early leader in the 99 Open. No wonder his supporters are juiced.
Now, I see that Daly and his caddy have the yardage book out and are in an animated discussion about what to do. Clarke and Furyk are standing at the back of the tee with their irons in their hands.
Daly is thinking about Going For It. He and the caddy look down and point at the book and look up and point at objects in the fairway.
The crowd watches in anticipation.
Furyk and Clarke are furious at the sideshow. They know that the right play is the long iron. The landing area is clear ahead they want Daly to hit. Because he is low, he goes first.
Finally, Daly goes back to his golf bag. His fat hand reaches out for the....furry Driver headcover!!
The crowd Explodes...it was like a touchdown in a Superbowl or a goal by Manchester United vs. Arsenal.
They are cheering a club selection.
Now Daly walks to the tee line and puts his ball up. It looks to me like he is playing about a 5 inch tee. The ball looks like it is little water tower there.
He paws the ground like a bull and aims straight for the crook of the dogleg. If the hole plays 336 with the dogleg, I guess we could imagine it is only about 310 to the green.
Massive backswing...blistering swing forward...Whoosh...
It carries the dogleg and starts rolling straight for the green...from what I could tell he was a bit short of the fringe.
You could imagine the crowd reaction. I look over at Clarke and Furyk and they are rolling their eyes. The normally staid US Open has become a circus.
When I go to a tournament, I like to see all of the holes and I like to see as much of the field as I can so I have developed a method of walking the course backward. This method allows "the field to come to you" and when a group of big names is coming up, you can often secure a position right along the ropes, after the group ahead vacates - and before the horde following the big names gets to your area.
We went through the gates and walked straight to the ninth green and watched some groups come through. We then proceeded to 8 and 7 etc.
As we approached the 3rd green - which has a snack bar and grandstand - we decided to take a breather. I got a sandwhich and we sat in the grandstand and watched several groups, including Tiger and Greg Norman...We learned that all the players used the same strategy on this hole by watching through our binoculars toward the tee.
The third hole at Pinehurst is by far the shortest Par 4 on the course at 336. It is a simple dogleg right par 4. In the crook of the dogleg is very deep rough. This crook is about 210ish from the tee.
Every player we saw, got out a long iron and hit it to the outer part of the dogleg and wedged in. We saw a couple of birdies as a result of good wedge shots. Tiger parred the hole when his 12 footer lipped out.
After awhile, we decided it was time to walk back toward #3 tee and on to the clubhouse area. We walked along the third fairway and the area was deserted...a group that included some amateurs was teeing off and there was no gallery.
As I approached the 3rd tee, I checked my Lineup and it said that Darren Clarke, Jim Furyk and John Daly were coming up next. So we decided to wait there. We stood at the ropes of the teebox and chatted up the marshals - a couple of country club wives from Charlotte.
Peacefully quiet - just the four of us.
Suddenly, through the pines, we see the group approaching. The guy with the sign is up front and I see Daly and a mob of spectators behind him.
Somewhere in all of this, Clarke and Furyk are coming behind.
Daly is such a sensation. That day, he was dressed in Black pants, black shirt, black shoes and a bright orange leopard-skinned golf hat which looked like something you would find at a Wal-Mart. Pure redneck. And don't forget the white-framed wraparound sunglasses with orange lenses. The perfect fashion compliment to the hat.
He had a Mullet haircut at the time. Cut very short on the top with long blonde hair flowing out of the back of the hat.
Suddenly our quiet scene has become noisy and boisterous. Before they arrived there were four people: the two of us and the two marshal's inside the ropes. I look around and about a 1000 people are lining both sides of the fairway with a mob about ten deep standing behind us.
For some reason, I looked up at the scorers sign. It said,
Furyk 1 (in black), Clarke 1 (in black) and Daly 2 (in red).
John Daly has birdied the first two holes. He is the early leader in the 99 Open. No wonder his supporters are juiced.
Now, I see that Daly and his caddy have the yardage book out and are in an animated discussion about what to do. Clarke and Furyk are standing at the back of the tee with their irons in their hands.
Daly is thinking about Going For It. He and the caddy look down and point at the book and look up and point at objects in the fairway.
The crowd watches in anticipation.
Furyk and Clarke are furious at the sideshow. They know that the right play is the long iron. The landing area is clear ahead they want Daly to hit. Because he is low, he goes first.
Finally, Daly goes back to his golf bag. His fat hand reaches out for the....furry Driver headcover!!
The crowd Explodes...it was like a touchdown in a Superbowl or a goal by Manchester United vs. Arsenal.
They are cheering a club selection.
Now Daly walks to the tee line and puts his ball up. It looks to me like he is playing about a 5 inch tee. The ball looks like it is little water tower there.
He paws the ground like a bull and aims straight for the crook of the dogleg. If the hole plays 336 with the dogleg, I guess we could imagine it is only about 310 to the green.
Massive backswing...blistering swing forward...Whoosh...
It carries the dogleg and starts rolling straight for the green...from what I could tell he was a bit short of the fringe.
You could imagine the crowd reaction. I look over at Clarke and Furyk and they are rolling their eyes. The normally staid US Open has become a circus.
