[Robert]

Day 4 PGA Journal

Saturday, 5 April 2008

Today dawned fairly with just a zephyr breeze out of the East Southeast. The terrible winds of earlier in the week were gone, and this became a major topic of conversation. Yesterday I forgot some numbers: There were 169 birdies; 288 bogies; 36 double bogies and 2 “others!!. Just one eagle!

This morning the caddies showed up early to prepare the standards for the course, and it had been decided that they would carry them for pay. Good idea. We were informed by the PGA that we could only use 4 starters, so my chance at being a starter was shot out of the sky, but there is always next year. AND I just might finagle a duty as a walking scorer with one of the last few groups. (Yeah, just in time for television….I ain’’t really dumb!)

On the whole the set up for today’s second round was much faster and easier. With few exceptions, everyone was on time. There were no people trying to talk on their cell phones like yesterday when I had to confiscate three cell phones in two minutes. N0 phone no cameras.

I found out that there are a couple of slooow players: Levi and Denis Watson, and a fast player, Jim Thorpe.

Once again I found myself in the trailer and following the play from afar..Oh well, I was accompanied by some really nice PGA officials that made the day go by really fast.

As I said in the opening, the wind was even less than the day before and the course was open for the taking. There were some spectacular rounds with Joe Ozaki’s new course record of 65 ( seven under par) the leading score for the day. Of the first group of Wiebe, Allem and Fernandez, only Wiebe survived to lead going into the final day. The stroke average was lower (71.95 vs 74.68 for Friday), and the number of good scores in the 60s went up dramatically (28 vs 3 yesterday), and finally there were 56 scores of below par versus only 13 on Friday. On Friday nobody escaped the dreadedbogie, and today there were seven, Wiebe of course and surprise John Harris who shot 82 on Friday went low on Saturday going -5 for the day.

There were some nice stories going around. How Gene Hickman, who had been Fulton Allem’s caddie until just a few weeks ago, was playing fairly well in his Champions Tour debut. Joey Sindelar was not going so well inhis first start on the SeniorCircuit…

My team of scorers (well it was Henry’s team, but I was catching them) did a fantastic job today, we did not have one scoring error-a difference between our scores and the official score that the players turn in. The had not been seen on the tour in many weeks!! Hooray for us.

Without a real golf culture, the marshals are hiving a tough time controlling the people in the grandstands that think this is like baseball, or like a Presidential press conference where you are allowed to trample everyone except the President. We had to send marshals to several sites along the course to hold back the crowds. And yes, there were crowds. Oh not like the Masters, but crowds..and remember it costs big bucks to get out here.

And where will Hillbilly’s new chacabana be used??? Ahhh, at the Volunteer’s Ball on Sunday.

Tom whitehead and Bill Jaspar from the Sosua area are certainly two of our best scorers, by far. So far they have collected more than a half dozen balls!!

My eyes will not stay open, so I am going to bed…

Good night.

HB