THE 2006 BUICK OPEN

On Friday August 4th, 2006 I got to experience something that I will never forget. 2 of my friends and myself traveled to warwick hills country club in Grand Blanc, Michigan to watch the PGA professionals play the 2nd round of the Buick Open. I had never actually seen these guys play in real life so I of course was very excited. We showed up to the course around 8 in the morning not really knowing what to expect. Some of the players were out early trying to finish up their 1st round which was delayed due to the rain on thursday. As we were walking to try and find out where we wanted to start, my friend tapped me on the shoulder and said hey look there is Jim Furyk. So we decided to follow that group around which also included Chris Dimarco and Jeff Sluman. It was by far the best group as a whole. They are not long hitters by any means, but their short games were what was impressive, how they spin every shot back towards the hole, within 100 yards. It was a great group to watch and Jim almost made a hole in one on the signature 17th hole, as it stuck about an inch from the cup. Sorry Mr Furyk, someday you will get one like me. We then wandered the course and were able to catch up with guys like Kenny Perry, Geoff Ogilvy(US Open Champ), Corey Pavin, John Cook, and David Toms. It was just weird to be so close to these guys. After eating some expensive hamburgers and having a couple of beers, we decided that we wanted to get to the driving range to try and catch Tiger Woods. All the talk all day was when he would actually tee off due to the previous delays. We had a great day all around so far, but that was the main thing was to see the best player in the world. We got a front row seat in the bleachers at the practice tees, and up comes players such as Fred Funk, Robert Allenby, Paul Azinger, and Mike Weir who was the current leader at -9. The highlight of my day was seeing Stephen Ames walk by. For those of you who dont know who the heck that is, let me give you a little background on him. Awhile back, he was paired to face Tiger in the 1st round of the Accenture Match Play championships. In an interview he said he wasnt too worried about facing him the way he had been driving the ball all over the golf course lately. Tiger of course got word of this, and most people know he is a highly motivated individual. He then proceeded to take Mr Ames to the woodshed for a beating that he will never forget. He beat him 9 and 8, which to people that dont know golf means, that he was up 9 holes on him with only 8 to play. It is not often that a match play ends after 10 holes. Anyway, when he walked by us, i blurted out 9 and 8, and he gave me the look my wife gives me when i wanna go and spend money on golf all the time. He was not to pleased with my comment. Anyway, golf carts were dropping players off about 100 yards away at the top of this hill and then they walked down to the practice tees. All of the sudden we spotted Tiger and his caddie Steve Williams. The picture above shows his tee shot from the 6th tee that day, which we were at watching and he bombed it 330 yards down the pipe in case you were wondering. We werent aloud cameras so that is not a picture I took of course but we did see that exact swing and that hole. It was pretty quiet for everybody else, but as he approached the range, everyone stood and clapped for him and screamed like little school girls. Tiger does make most males seem homosexual since they just stare at him all day and gaze into his eyes as Ben put it. I must say I was caught up in the moment. He was about 20 yards in front of us hitting golf balls a long long way. We watched for about an hour and then headed out to the course so that we could watch him play a few holes. I knew it wouldnt be an easy task. We skipped ahead to hole 3 which was about an 190 yard par 3. In about an hour or so he got there and the security just circled the green. He stuck one within about 10 feet and the place just roared for him. We then proceeded to watch him play holes 4-7. I think he birded 2 or 3 of those, so the place was just ecstatic. I cant even begin to describe the following that he gets. There were other greats there such as Vijay Singh and John Daly, but everyone wants to follow Tiger around. He is much bigger in person. His Caddie, Steve Williams, looks like a guy you dont wanna mess with though. He yells at everyone to keep quiet and he is always in charge of controlling the environment around Tiger. Like I have said before, when you are the caddie for the best golfer in the world, you have to do that. I cant imagine trying to tee off. The gallery was literally 8 rows deep on both sides of the fairway and then of course behind him. They say he gets in his zone and he can find a way to drain that out. After the experience of watching Tiger, we got to see Vijay shank one into the woods(which is always a good thing), and then watched Big John Daly hit one of the farthest drives I have ever seen. It was one of the coolest experiences that I have ever had. I play a lot of golf and respect how difficult of a game it is. These guys make it look so easy, but they are out there struggling and grinding. With the exception of Ohio State football games, this is the next best thing that I like to do and I cant wait until I get to see them play live again. Tiger went onto win the tournament at 24 under par. He shot a 66 everyday of the week to do so. Congrats Tiger, it was awesome to see you in person. He even asked me my advice on how to play the 6th hole at Ironwood in Wauseon, Ohio.