Waste Management Friday
The crowd was noticeably larger today but announced at a comical 101,709. Still, even if it was half or 3/4 of that total, it's a mighty impressive turnout. Behavior held steady until late in the day, but overall it's a decently behaved group considering how aggressively the spirits are flowing.
Even more interesting for me is the policy on cell phones. Fans are asked to put them on vibrate but no attempt is made to police usage. I've heard one phone ring in two days even though I was unable to Tweet or receive calls out on the course because of data overload issues brought on by so many people in one spot. I've seen no fans using cell phones on the course other than to send text messages or read emails. The combination of so much commotion at key spots along with the laissez faire attitude toward phones seems to help make it a non-issue. That, or the potential for intense heckling by fellow fans if a phone goes off. Market forces, baby!
A few shots from another perfect day in Scottsdale:;)
2nd round co-leader Camilo Villegas left himself with an incredibly difficult fairway bunker second shot on the par-4 17th. It looks pretty simple, but the combination of water behind and a tiered green made this quite tough (click image to enlarge)
;)
Both Waste Management and PF Changs are giving out these free "Box Seats" to fans and they're a huge hit. I sat on one and it was quite comfortable. They are also fully recyclable and already made out of recycled materials (Click on image to enlarge);)
On the par-4 17th and 18th tees, Camilo scribbled numbers furiously. I asked him after the round what exactly he was computing on par-4 tees and it's hard to say whether his cranky answer was a product of (A) thinking I was a novice scribe from the Phoenix Penny Saver making my first tournament appearance or (B) it was a product of his last hole bogey. (Click to enlarge)
;)
The warning for Saturday was posted throughout the course. Players will tee off in threesomes after the cut is made. Only Matt Every has a 3 footer for the field to complete round 2 so the cut can be made, like to 79 players. (Click to enlarge image)
Friday, February 26, 2010 at 05:53 PM
Reader Comments (31)
I worked the Quail Hollow Championship last year as a marshall, and I was the guy behind the teebox with the flag who pointed where the ball was going so that the guys in the fairway didn't get killed. On Monday, the news circulated that Camilo was one of the players who hated the flags, and not to flag him. Both times I worked, he walked to the teebox and looked at me and said "Please keep the flag down." From what I heard, he stepped onto every teebox for 6 days and asked every marshall not to flag him. I can't imagine how old that gets for him every week. He was a very small little dude--one of the smallest in that event."
We pony up the money for pro-ams
We buy the tickets at PGA Tour events
We watch the telecasts in sufficient numbers that sponsors advertise on the telecasts
We buy the products that their sponsors pay them big bucks to endorse
We serve as volunteers so more money can go into their pockets instead of to overhead
WE are their paycheck!
Geez, Camilo, how about a little perspective...
When they've been the center of the universe since they were junior golfers their perspective gets skewed.
"Tiger Woods has high-tailed it to Arizona to kick his addiction to painkillers and sleeping pills, the New York Post reported Thursday."
Here's the link...http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/tiger_in_heat_of_the_desert_CIustcWEkQ8gLoT7abNLRM
If true, it certainly answers a few questions about Tiger's condition on Thanksgiving night, and a few more about why he hasn't been more forthcoming...
http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2010/02/25/report-tiger-rehab-sex/
Anyway, Kevin: Since those flags are as much for the safety of the spectators as anything, how can the TOUR go along with that request.
Agreed on all points. We can just turn off the TV or change the channel when it's sports. But Wall Street? You and I get to reach for our wallets to bail them out and then watch them repeat the same behavior but this time with OUR money! Truly stunning...
Anyway, I'm an Esquirer devotee ... and right now I'm more concerned that Whitney Houston is dying. Good for her!
Did anyone else notice Camilo's blatant commercialism on behalf of Red Bull? It seems the guy can't do a post-round interview without his can of Red Bull. He did it twice at the Match Play and now twice at Phoenix.
Call me a cynic, but I feel like I'm watching the Winter Olympics where the skiers can't get their skis off fast enough after a race!
Rickie Fowler looked really, really stoopid in that hat.
Wonder how Mrs Doubtfire would've coped with the 16th!