Well, it's been a long but entertaining week for me. It started at 8:30 AM on Monday morning and ended on 5:30 PM on Sunday evening. All in all, I had a great time but I don't think my legs could take much more.
Ernie's Sunday finish was incredible. I won't recap what happen since it was on television but it was a great sight to watch. I was standing at the front of the tee box on 18 which is a dogleg left. I would think players would hit a draw here but Ernie lined up for a fade. I think he was trying to cut the corner but it struck me as weird. The only reason I say this is because he teed the ball on the far right hand side of the tee and when he addressed the ball, I was staring straight at the face of his driver. The guy next to me took a step back so I did, too but he ended up hitting a perfect drive in the middle of the fairway.
I stuck around up until Vijay birdied 18. I was hoping there would be a playoff between Ernie and Vijay for the crown but 18 is a par 5 and practically everyone birdies this hole (even Michelle). I knew it was practically in the bag for Vijay when he teed off on 18 tied for the lead but I had to stick around anyway.
Here are a few other observations I noticed that you probably don't get to see on camera:
- Shigeki Maruyama seems to have his own marshals. I'm not sure if this goes for all of the Japanese players who get crowds or not. Whenever someone is about to hit, the marshals hold up "Quiet Please" signs. For Shigeki, there are also marshals who hold those signs which I assume say Quiet Please in Japanese.
- On Friday afternoon, I caught the grounds crew following a couple of holes behind the final group. They go in carts and fill up all of the divots. Then on the green, four PGA Tour guys check things over for the next day's pin position.
Someone posted a comment on one of the pictures I took and asked what the best day to take photographs at a tournament was. You can't bring cameras for the actual tournament so that leaves you with three days to take pictures. Here's my take on things:
- Monday: You won't catch many of the "big name" players but this would be the day where you won't have to fight anyone on the course. There aren't many spectators at all and you'll be able to take your pick at any position on the course.. For the Sony Open, they had players start at the back of the driving range on Monday and move in everyday. So you'll be able to get the closest to the players on the range on Monday.
- Tuesday: If you only have one day to go, I would pick Tuesday. Players practice all day on Tuesday and virtually all of the players will be there on this day.
- Wednesday: This is the day of the official Pro Am. Most of the players are around and this is my choice for second best day to take pictures, only because there is a considerable crowd.
Great post, victory! You really went above and beyond in your coverage of the Sony...where else on the web could we get insights like that? Most excellent job, my friend.
Great job reporting the action from the sony. I also attended tuesdays and thursdays rounds and from your descriptions I probably was standing next to you. i plan on attending next year as well, maybe we could arrange to meet. again great job!!!!
It's nice to see 4 senior players make the cut. Craig Stadler did quite well tying for 9th. Also, it was nice to see Kite, jacobsen, and D. Mast, a 53 year-old qualifier, complete all 4 rounds.
Great post, victory! You really went above and beyond in your coverage of the Sony...where else on the web could we get insights like that? Most excellent job, my friend.
January 17th, 2005, 01:34 AM
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