Golfers You Have Followed In A Tourny

[Eore]

i myself have been to one tournement (JOhn Deere Classic this year) and had the opportunity to follow some players in the pro-am and in the first round. this thread is a place to share your opinions on players that you saw

Zach Johnson-i caught him on the range and i asked for his autograph as he walked off the practice green after his round during the pro-am day. He grabbed my flag and kept walkng. didn't aknowledge me at all. he actually looked angry.

JP Hayes-saw him tee off number one during the pro-am. i said nice shot, go badgers (he's from wisconsin) and he walked over, signed my flag, and had a brief conversation with me. great guy.

Nick Watney-he has potential. he hit his tee shot into the trees. had a downhill lie in the rough with a huge branch 5 feet in front of him. hit it to about a foot. i asked for his autograph and wished him luck. he seemed genuinely happy and talked to me on the way up to the green.

Kenny Perry-i didn't like him before this tournement. caught him coming off a par 3 and initially didn't want to ask for and autograph. my dad told me i should because he might win the event (he did) and kenny is a really nice person. down to earth, and very willing to give an autograph.

Tim Herron and Jeff Overton-during the pro am they sat in tents while their ams teed off and walked behind or ahead of them in the fairway. i didn't hear either of them say a word.

Charlie Hoffman-very vocal with his ams. he was giving tips from the sand, chipping, and fixed a guys slice. i was disapointed when he missed the cut.

there are plenty more that i followed (gainey, lovemark, wi, etc) but i'll put their stories up later (maybe)

again, anybody else have stories from events that they attended?

[bigoak]

My wife and I were at Bayhill. Tiger,VJ, Lefty and just about everyone was there. We were watching groups go off the 10th tee and then left and walked away to see the 18th green. Suddenly there was a roar. I said to myself, that's an Eagle. It was Arnold Palmer walking toward the clubhouse. They love and respect Arnie for what he has done for the area. I followed Arnie up the side of the walkway to the clubhouse. I have followed Arnie at the US open at Oakhill. People love Arnie.

[CG031]

Just this weekend, my first and only PGA Tour event.

-Watson/Sabattini/Sutherland - Followed this group for a good six holes. Bubba was a jerk. Sutherland was a crazy nice guy. He even talked to me and these two guys next to me when I said "great chip" to him. He said "Thanks a lot man."..I found that crazy he actually talked to the fans during his round...Bubba didn't even respond when you cheered his name or anything. So I was like whatever. Sabattini was the average tip of the cap kind of guy. He was interesting to watch.

-Charles Howell - I was right next to him when he hit his shot out of the rough on number 4. He was a pretty cool guy. I enjoyed watching him for a few holes.

- Sergio/Pettersson/Allenby - Fun group to watch. Watched them most of the day. Sergio is very exciting to watch. He's one of the few players with "color" and personality on the tour. There are so many Steve Stricker's and Stuart Appleby's, etc. it's nice to see someone different and exciting on the course. He talks whats on his mind most of the time to the media, and is real cool with the fans. He gets a bad wrap by the media and just overall fans, but he's actually a real cool guy and one of the more fun players to watch IMO.

That's pretty much all I followed. I really enjoyed it. Ridgewood CC is the best course I've ever step foot on, just a great layout and awesome conditions.

[play4him]

I have a number of stories that cover quite a few years, so I can't talk about all of them. Here are some of the most memorable:

1) At the 77' U.S. Open, I'm walking along when out of nowhere Arnold Palmer walks almost right into me. He looks at me and gives me that Arnie smile while he signs an autograph for me.

2) At the first Masters that Tiger played in as an amatuer, he didn't have quite the crowd that he commands now. Anyway, on Hole #6, the players have to walk down a narrow chute toward the green. As he was walking by he stuck out his hand and shook mine. You don't see him do that anymore, and I can understand why.

3) Back in the 90's, I started doing pencil drawings of some of the top players. My thought was to draw them and attempt to get them signed by the player that I had sketched. I was thinking it would be a nice memory for my kids after I'm gone someday. I have over 20 drawings and probably 15 of them signed. During the U.S. Open at Southern Hills, I probably got 12 of them signed there. My very first one was Jack Nicklaus. He was coming off the practice tee, and I was the very first person to his right. I had his drawing out ready to be signed and he grabbed it along with my whole album that had all my drawings. The only problem was that he kept walking, and I couldn't walk along with him because of all the people. I was yelling " Over here" as he turned to look for me. He couldn't see me so he handed the album to a Marshall, who held it up and finally saw me waving at him. I can still remember the feeling of panic of am I going to get my drawings back or not. But then there was the awesome feeling of having my first drawing of Jack signed.

During that practice round as I mentioned, I probably got 12 different guys to sign their drawings. Out of all those players only two actually noticed that I had taken the time to draw them. The two players were Phil Mickleson & Paul Azinger. Phil actually spent at least 5 minutes talking to me about the drawings. He thought it was a cool idea for my children.

I've got a lot more stories but I'll stop there.

[TigerCurtis333]

Bridgestone is the only tournament I go to, as it's local and my paper also is given a press pass. I missed it this year due to vacation, however both my guys didn't make the trip so no harm no foul.

But Tiger - it's awesome to go ahead to the 18th and hear a HUGE roar from the 12 hole because he chipped it in.

Ben Curtis - was a lot more fun to watch. You can get a lot closer, I may be prejudice since I was already a fan of his and I had an interview with him after his round, so I got to walk the entire 18 with his golf coach, Herb from KSU, and then talked with his caddie in a couple of fairways. Honestly one of the nicest and most humble people I've ever had the privilege to meet.

[$2 Nassau]

Bubba Watson: I like the guy's game and love watching him hit balls on the range. Guy has a bag full of shots, but at times he can be a bit of an ass out there which was kind of disappointing. Yells at himself out there quite a bit. He hit a drive into a bunker and yelled "nice shot, yeah, best you ever did....!!" Looked like an idiot, not to mention the poor english.

Justin Rose: All business for the most part. Although he did have fun with the crowd this year in CT at the Travelers Champ. He shanked like a 100 yd wedge BAD. Missed the green by about 20 yards to the right. Got up and down for par from a really tough spot and then had some fun when the crowd cheered the par after just a horribly ugly wedge shank.

[chingali]

I've been fortunate to have been to a lot of golf tournaments and seen a lot of players over the years. I'll list a few of my favourites.

• Greg Norman, Jack Nicklaus, Seve Ballesteros and Tom Watson playing in a Skins tournament at The Australian Golf Club in Sydney back in the mid 80's. It was played over a couple of days, 9 holes each day. From memory Norman won most of the cash, this would have to be me all time favourite tournament memory by a long long way.
• Tom Watson at Royal Melbourne in the late 80's, he won there in '84 but it was a few years later I saw him play there, I think he finished in the top 10 or thereabouts
• Lee Trevino playing in the wind and hitting magic little punch shots all day long at The Lakes in Sydney, I think it was about 1989 or thereabouts. He was an absolute magician, I think he finished in the top 5.
• Bernhard Langer playing at Concord in Sydney, probably about 1986 or so. I remember it was during that fantastic run of tournament wins for Norman and it was at about that time. Bernhard Langer was the purest ball striker I think I've seen.
• Greg Norman about 20+ times, you have no idea how good he was unless you saw it up close. Quite a few times I watched him during pro-ams before tournaments and he was always very talkative and friendly - a very nice man. Come tournament time the game face came out and he was super focused, but otherwise he's a real down to earth type of character. My favourite memory of Norman was watching him practice late one day at Concord Golf Club across the road at the temporary practice facility they always set up near the hospital. He was hitting I think a 3 or 4 iron that was landing as softly as a 9 iron and his caddy was out there shagging balls. He'd hit one and his caddy would take a step to the right to get it, he'd hit another and his caddy would take a step backwards, hit another and a couple of steps to the left. He did that for about half an hour and his caddy barely had to move. I went and watched him play a couple of years ago at Royal Sydney and he is still a great striker of the ball however his short game isn't as mercurial as it once was.

Sadly Australian golf isn't what it once was, we don't seem to attract the big names like we used to however I still try to get out to see a tournament round or two each year whenever they are in Sydney. If someone like Mr Woods were to ever leave the safety of his homeland and come down under I'd travel wherever I had to.

My best advice is to get out and watch these guys whenever you get the chance. Years from now you may regret it if you don't.

[MrKadash]

Among many, the best time I had was following Jack, Tom Watson, and Gary Player in the first round of the Senior PGA Championship at Firestone in '03. Tom was stoic-faced and never acknowledged anything, but Gary and Jack were decent and fun to watch.

For the sheer fun factor, following Gary McCord around at the '01 Senior TPC at Dearborn was a blast.

Probably my most memorable was the first autograph I ever got, from Bobby Clampett at the Buick Open in Grand Blanc in the early 80's (can't remember which year - probably '81 or '82). Incidentally, the second was Andy North about 5 minutes later.

[PEZGolf]

i myself have been to one tournement (JOhn Deere Classic this year) and had the opportunity to follow some players in the pro-am and in the first round. this thread is a place to share your opinions on players that you saw

I have been fortunate enough to follow these golfers in tournaments in the past: Arnie, Jack, Gary, Tom Watson, Payne Stewart (especially in the 1989 Tour Championship when he shot 29 on the front nine at Harbour Town Golf Links, set a new course record for that nine, and just lost to Tom Kite on the first hole of a Sudden Victory Playoff) ---also the US Open at Baltusrol, when he just lost to Lee Janzen, and the Heritage in 1992, Lanny Wadkins, Greg Norman, Raymond Floyd, Curtis Strange, Scott Hoch, John Daly, Bernhard Langer, Nick Faldo, Seve (in his hey day), Nick Price, Wayne Levi (tied the course record with a 63 in the third round of the 1989 Tour Championship), Annika, Lorena, Paula, Natalie, Juli Inkster, Michelle Wie, Sam Snead, Lee Trevino, Doug Sanders, Freddie Couples, Fred Funk, and others. Our favorite golfer to follow, to this day, is Payne Stewart. What a great short game, and enthusiasm he displayed.

[play4him]

Our favorite golfer to follow, to this day, is Payne Stewart. What a great short game, and enthusiasm he displayed.[/QUOTE]


Speaking of Payne Stewart, he is one of my most treasured drawings that I got autographed. He also hit one of the most amazing shots I ever saw.

On No.8 at Augusta National, he had hit his drive way right during a Tuesday practice round. He walked up to the ball with his driver still in hand. He turned around looking for his caddy, who was way back toward the tee box with another caddy. I guess he got tired of waiting, so he proceeded to hit one of the most amazing shots I've ever seen.
In those days, they didn't grow the rough like it is now, so the rough was lower than alot of normal golf course fairways. He looks at his predicament which includes nothing but trees between him and the green. The fairway is at least twenty yards to the left, and he has a big headed driver he's going to try to hit back toward the fairway and "slice" around the trees. As I said, the lie is in the rough but when he sits the driver behind the ball, the ball is well below the top of his driver. I'm thinking there's no way he's going to hit this very high, and on top of that cut it around the trees. He gets up there and takes his ultra smooth swing that he's remembered for, and hit a nice high "slice" around the trees and up the fairway. Off of that lie and the angle that he had to hit it, I was amazed how he pulled it off. But that was Payne.

[PEZGolf]

Today, I followed Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Camillo Villegas, Stewart Cink, and Notah Begay in a Skins Game to benefit the Notah Begay Foundation. This was held at the Turning Stone and Resort Championship golf course, called Atunyote. The location is in Verona, New York, 32 miles from my house. The course was designed by Tom Fazio, and is the site of the PGA Tournament in the first week of October. Vijay hit the ball super, but missed a number of short putts. He still led the Skins Game when I had to leave after 11 holes.

[PEZGolf]

Our favorite golfer to follow, to this day, is Payne Stewart. What a great short game, and enthusiasm he displayed.

Speaking of Payne Stewart, he is one of my most treasured drawings that I got autographed. He also hit one of the most amazing shots I ever saw. On No.8 at Augusta National, he had hit his drive way right during a Tuesday practice round. He walked up to the ball with his driver still in hand. He turned around looking for his caddy, who was way back toward the tee box with another caddy. I guess he got tired of waiting, so he proceeded to hit one of the most amazing shots I've ever seen. In those days, they didn't grow the rough like it is now, so the rough was lower than alot of normal golf course fairways. He looks at his predicament which includes nothing but trees between him and the green. The fairway is at least twenty yards to the left, and he has a big headed driver he's going to try to hit back toward the fairway and "slice" around the trees. As I said, the lie is in the rough but when he sits the driver behind the ball, the ball is well below the top of his driver. I'm thinking there's no way he's going to hit this very high, and on top of that cut it around the trees. He gets up there and takes his ultra smooth swing that he's remembered for, and hit a nice high "slice" around the trees and up the fairway. Off of that lie and the angle that he had to hit it, I was amazed how he pulled it off. But that was Payne.[/QUOTE] Good story! Payne was a real shotmaker, as he demonstrated many times, especially when he won the 1989 PGA, and the US Opens in 1991 and 1999.

[907golfer12]

I have followed Mark Calchavecha (SP?), Charles Howell III, Stephen Ames, and Jim Furyk. They were all great to watch, and Jim is a very nice guy, he gave me a ball that he used during the round as he walked off #16 at Kapalua earlier this year.

[bflat450]

I have followed Bubba Watson, Justin Rose, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson, Hunter Mahan, J.J Henry, Chris Dimarco and a few others all at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, CT at TPC River Highlands.

[PEZGolf]

Today, I followed Vijay Singh, Mike Weir, Camillo Villegas, Stewart Cink, and Notah Begay in a Skins Game to benefit the Notah Begay Foundation. This was held at the Turning Stone and Resort Championship golf course, called Atunyote. The location is in Verona, New York, 32 miles from my house. The course was designed by Tom Fazio, and is the site of the PGA Tournament in the first week of October. Vijay hit the ball super, but missed a number of short putts. He still led the Skins Game when I had to leave after 11 holes.

It is great that three of the golfers that I saw in the Skins Game are among the four leaders at the Deutsch Bank tournament---Mike Weir, Camillo Villegas, and Vijay Singh!!