Day 1 At The Rex

72 today. Which is gonna mean a god round is necessary tomorrow. Nothing crazy, but a good solid round in the 60's. Justin actually played quite well today tee to green,but we just couldn't get any putts to fall. We could speculate as to why or what, but sometimes in golf it just goes that way. I didn't have my most stellar day as a caddy either today, dropping the head cover once and losing my positive in the moment vibe for a few holes. But I'm gonna learn and move forward. There is a learning curve and I'm making my way. Our first early day off in a while so I think I'll get away, take care of some odds and ends, maybe read, maybe watch a movie, maybe go for a soak. Whatever it is I do, it'll be chill! Let's get it going tomorrow and get that energy going in the right direction again! Until tomorrow friends...Miyagi out.

Let's Get In On In Raleigh!

Hey all! Hope all is well, and you're looking forward to following us and rooting us on again this week at the Rex Hospital Open. Early time tomorrow, 7:40, so a short one tonight. No TV coverage this week, so keep track of things on the PGA Tour site. Feeling re-energized and ready to go! More tomorrow with hopefully a good update. One shot at a time, the best we've got on each stroke. Til tomorrow friends and send your positive mojo! Yellow bib for the first time tomorrow this season, and we plan on keeping it that way! Gnite...

Wednesday Pro-Am Day in Raleigh

Now no one really thought that last weeks winner wouldn't be a part of this week's Pro-Am, did they? It's actually quite an honor, and means that the Tour is deeming Justin one of the guys worthy of representing the tour! Cool! We'll see who we get this week, but I'll give anyone 1000 to 1 odds that we won't have anyone as smoking hot--or as funny and nice--as Paula Trickey! You know, make that 100,000 to 1!!

Other than that, I'll be re-checking some numbers and elevations, and rolling some putts on the back nine today, which I didn't do yesterday. Beautiful golf corse with some meaty holes. We'll see how it plays today...the course was designed to roll out and with all the rain it's NOT. But the drainage was pretty decent and as long as we don't get more rain, it should start to play firmer. Time to go get ready, caffeinate myself, and have some fun!

Golfweek Interview With Justin...And He Remembered Miyagi Too!

Check out the nice piece in Golfweek about Justin's win. He even remembers the little people too! A champion and winner. Thanks my friend!

www.golfweek.com/news/2010/may/18/nationwide-notes-hicks-road-pga-tour/

More Info...

For more info and updates (like you want more to read, right?), be sure to join my Facebook group "Tom's Summer Internship 2010" on my FB homepage. You can click on the link or try http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111631348868091

Tuesday And Back To Work!

Well it's still overcast and sprinkling in Raleigh this morning. The forecast is for things to clear up this afternoon and a high of 75. What a difference from last week's heat and crazy humidity! Today's plan is for us to head to the TPC at 9, practice for Justin while I walk the course and do my pacing, layering, and charting. Justin knows the course pretty well, is still tired, and plans to ease back into it today. That's just a bonus for me as I'll get to walk bagless for a day and save my legs, as I have to admit that I'm still a little worn out as well. It'll give me a chance to hide away a little too and will give Justin a chance to do talk with all the folks who will mwant a word from him about last week. I'm eager to see the course and it's green complexes,which Justin says are worth a look see.

On other notes, it looks like "Miyagi" is emerging as the nickname of choice...apologies to those who preferred others, especially fellow pro Joe Affrunti and his caddie Emmitt who were strong advocates of "Bruce," the Trickster who has pushed for "Chong Wang," and you readers who liked "Chow." I personally liked "Mr. Lu" but Miyagi it is!

I may check in later to tell you about the course. We'll see how the day unfolds. As we will not be on TV this week, I'll try to keep you updated with short posts more often. Til then, enjoy your day and back to work!

We've Got A Winner!

Good afternoon everyone! If you don't know by now, Justin won the BMW Charity Pro-Am yesterday! He shot a great round of 66 playing in the final group with 3rd round leader Fabian Gomez and his celebrity amateur partner Jennifer Mills. There's not much to say other than it was an incredible day, one of the most exciting experiences of my life.

Our playing partners were a pleasure to play with, Justin stayed focused and patient all day, we worked great as a team, and I didn't throw up on myself! Although he made a great birdie to seal the win on 18, his pars on 16 and 17 were the keys to victory. On 16, a par 5, he hit his second shot from a difficult lie and his ball plugged into the lip of the green side bunker. I have never seen a ball so buried, and after consulting a rules official, Justin had to gently brush away sand until first, we found it, and second, confirm that the ball we found was his. After brushing about two inches of sand away, he then had to brush sand back onto the ball to recreate the original lie. He then swung as hard as he could to just get it on the green, and two-putted from 40 feet, draining a 6 footer for par. On 17, Justin hit a perfect 7-iron--one of the best shots he hit all day--and the ball hit a concrete green and bounded over the green. From an awkward lie, he chipped it to 8 feet and drained a hard right to left breaking putt for another fantastic par. Awesome. I can still remember the goose bumps after both holes. Little did we know that at the time, the par saves made the last hole much easier to play.

After an hour rain delay, during which we sat in his car listening to music, we warmed up, and went out back to our drive on 18 fairway. After watching Fabian, the only player left who could beat us, miss the green with his second, Justin hit a 7-iron to 3 feet from 173 yards and made the birdie to win by two. A winner finishing like a champion!

We are now on the way to Raleigh for the next event, still savoring the victory but beginning to focus on this week. We are happy, tired, but very excited to keep it going! This post has already been extra long, so I'll wrap up, but thanks to all of you for all the support...the emails, texts, calls and Facebook posts are overwhelming and moving. Thank you, we are grateful and will keep on trying our best!

After 3 Rounds at the BMW Charity Pro-Am

Hello everyone!  For those of you following the tournament, it's clear that Justin has put himself in great position for tomorrow's final round.  He currently stands in a tie for 4th, with only three players ahead of him going into Sunday at 15 under par.  We posted a 69 today.  A good round that puts us right in the chase.  Justin is playing as well as I've ever seen tee to green, just did not capitalize on a couple of birdie chances today.  But overall, everything balanced out in the end.  Got a few unlucky breaks, got a few good ones, and hung in there.  We will be in the final group tomorrow, playing with Fabian Gomez from Argentina and his amateur partner, Jennifer Mills, a one-time anchor woman for the Golf Channel.  I love that we're in the final group, and we feel good about things.  We had an early start but an early finish today, so got in the requisite post-round practice, rest, and dinner done early.  Because we tee it up in the final group tomorrow, we start at a reasonable 10:10 am, so no 5 am wake up calls tomorrow!  

So we look forward to tomorrow with anticipation and are thinking good thoughts.  This is the time for a few cliches because nothing else fits...we'll do what we've been doing all week, take it one shot at a time, not get ahead of ourselves or dwell on the past, and take what the course gives us.  I sound like I'm being interviewed on TV!  But that's the way we've gotta approach it, so that's what we'll do.  We're playing to win and going to try our best, and we'll accept whatever shakes out by tomorrow afternoon.  Please watch us on the Golf Channel starting at 1 pm and root us on!  We'll take all the positive energy we can get!

And most importantly, we've had a good time and we're gonna have a good time no matter what tomorrow.  I'll be back tomorrow with another update!  Time for the hot tub and some rest.  Let's go have some fun! 

Rounds 1 & 2 at the BMW

Hey all! The storyline halfway through this week's event in the Carolinas:

1. JUSTIN--A very nice opening round of 66 at Bright's Creek Golf Club in North Carolina. His score of 6 under par put him 2 shots back of the leaders. He's playing quite well and managed to get some putts to fall. He followed that up with a round of 65, also 6 under par today at Thornblade Club here in Greenville. That puts him in a tie for second at the moment only 1 shot behind the leader. We both feel pretty good about thing but realize that there are still 2 more rounds to go, and lots of guys are capable of shooting some pretty low scores. Positive but staying in the present. A special tip of my cap to Justin for not only playing great but for being mentally strong during a couple of pivotal moments in each round that kept things going.

2. ME--I'm beat! Bright's Creek is up in the southern part of the Great Smokey Mountains, and lugging the bag up the hills in 90 degree, humid conditions was a challenge. Today at Thornblade was less hilly, but it was near 90 again and super humid. Water, water, water! No complaints though as I'm getting my legs finally, and a nightly soak in the hotel hot tub helps! I'm having a great time, learning my way, and love what we're doing and the direction we're headed. We are really beginning to gel and communicate what we need to play the best golf possible. The nickname voting has "Miyagi" and "Chow" in the lead for now, with "Bruce" (in honor of Bruce Lee) and newcomer "Mr. Lu" (a player who almost won the British Open in the 60's) close behind. Players seem to like "Miyagi" and "Bruce," while readers are seeming to like "Chow." I'll of course keep you updated on what sticks. Fun!

3. RANDOM--As mentioned in earlier posts, this week is a celebrity pro-am event in which each group has two pros, one amateur, and one celebrity. And we couldn't have two nicer people in our foursome, Phil and Paula. Paula is our group's celeb, of Baywatch, The OC, and of numerous other television shows. Both have been super nice, fun, and don't take things too seriously, which while making rounds long keeps things in perspective. I'll say that the format hasn't hurt Justin's play!

That's it for today...watch us on the Golf Channel, check the links for the leader board and Justin's scorecards, and some interesting articles and even a video that features highlights from J's play for the first 2 rounds. I'm off to dinner, a soak, and bed. Our earliest day is tomorrow, so gotta get some rest for what is sure to be another long, hot, and fun day!

Game Time...Let's Tee It Up! More Tomorrow!

Facts and Info About Justin

Here's some miscellaneous info about Justin...

In his bag:

• TaylorMade SuperQuad Driver, 9.5 degrees, Graphite Design Prototype, X-flex...270 yard carry
• Adams RPM LP, 14.5 degrees, Graphite Design 902 Prototype, X-flex...245 yards
• Adams Idea Pro Tour Prototype, 18 degrees, Mitsubishi Rayon hBassara...228 yards
• Adams Idea Pro Tour Prototype, 22 degrees, Aldila NV MLTi Pro-X...218 yards
• Titleist CB Forged, 4-iron through Pitching Wedge, Rifle Flighted 6.5
• 4-iron...205 yards
• 5-iron...190 yards
• 6-iron...180 yards
• 7-iron...170 yards
• 8-iron...155 yards
• 9-iron...143 yards
• PW...130 yards
• SW (54 degrees)...114 yards
• LW (59.5 degrees)...90 yards
• Odyssey Tour Black #9 (no insert) for slower greens, #9 (with insert) for faster greens
• Ball: Titleist Pro V1x
• Apparel: Sligo
• Hat, Shoes, Glove: Footjoy/Titleist

So there it is.  You can see it's quite a mix of equipment, which reflects the narrow tolerances that players of Justin's caliber need to perform their best.

Chow for real this time!

Course 2 and It Feels Like Michigan!

Hey all...just had dinner at On the Border and relaxing in the hotel room.  By the way, I'd never been and it's very good and fairly priced.  We played Carolina Country Club today, and had a nice day and got some good pre-event work done.  Justin and I are figuring things out and we talked today about how we both feel pretty good about the pairing and have positive feelings about the next few weeks and the remainder of the year.  It seems to becoming a situation of me providing what he needs and him providing what I need.  Good things are coming our way...

As promised, a new feature to spice the blog up a little:

• I met a veteran caddy named "Rings" today.  His name comes from the fact that he has what must be 8 or 9 earrings.  I then found it necessary to demand that I have a nickname without delay.  The choices are:
• Miyagi
• Sensei
• Chow (vote for this one)

Please cast your vote by commenting on the blog, texting me, calling me, posting on facebook, or however you'd like, but it might be interesting to see which wins.

Tomorrow is our last practice day and we'll be heading into North Carolina actually to take a look at the third course, Bright's Creek Golf Course.  The saving grace for me is that because of the many pro-ams this week, players and caddies have been allowed to ride carts during practice rounds.  This is NOT usually the case, so my legs feel fresh, which is nice given the forecast of higher temps than the mid 60's we've had so far.  So much for the hot and humid deep south!

Lastly, we learned that one of our amateur playing partners for the first three days will be Paula Tricky.  This could prove to be a special challenge (like I don't have enough to learn and do!), as she is a former Baywatch Girl and actress.  I promise to do my best to stay focused and avoid the distraction!  I do have to say that having a beautiful amateur join us is preferable to any man (my apologies to all the guys, you know where I'm coming from).

Later for now, I'm off to the hot tub for a few minutes, some alone time to meditate for a bit, then to bed. I hope you all are doing great and enjoying the blog.  At least a little.  ;)  Chow.

Celebrities Scheduled To Play This Week

Here's a couple of links to who's playing along side the pros this week:

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100420/SPORTS/304200030/NFL-great-Jerry-Rice-joins-BMW-Charity-Pro-Am-lineup

and,

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BS&Dato=20080402&Kategori=YOURUPSTATE&Lopenr=804020802&Ref=PH

BMW Charity Pro-Am Week

Monday at a tour event usually means practice and some holes.  This week's a little different as it's a celebrity tournament (celebrities to come later), so the pro-am was today.  We actually played with 4 guys from Michigan!  Nice guys but a long, long day.  Not their fault but they hadn't touched a golf club since September!  Needless to say, the team wasn't so competitive.  Again, weather is unseasonably weird--65 degrees and drizzle.  We hear that it'll clear up and work up to 90 by Wednesday.  That's more like the south!

We'll have a good two practice days Tuesday and Wednesday.  We'll need it as this week the event is played over three different courses.

I'm gonna start a few new features to the post tomorrow that will hopefully be interesting and funny.  Stay tuned and keep reading.  I'm out, hitting the sack soon.

The Weekend

Justin finished in a T-34 for the tournament, with an overall score of 283, or 1-under for the week.  The winner was Martin Pillar with a final score of 12-under.  As you can all see, it's very competitive out here and every stroke carries with it great significance.  We were looking for a couple more under today as he had his best round of the week, but couldn't quite figure the greens out (and the course for that matter).  An ok week because he made the cut, but a bit disappointing for him because he was near the top of the list in ball striking stats for the week.  After a week off, we move onto South Carolina and play in the Celebrity event in Greer.  Should be fun.

I had a good time this week.  People were very nice, Justin was very patient with his rookie caddie, and I'm happy to have had a new experience.  I hope that I can get nothing but better from here.  The week off will help me rest my legs and I should feel strong for the BMW event.

For those of you just learning about golf, the first paragraph in English:

• T-34 means a tie for 34th place.  Finishing alone in a place is always more ideal than tying for a place, as then the player must split prize money for his finish.
• Tournament scores are referenced in total strokes played for the four rounds (283), and also in a score relative to "par."  Par for one round in Athens was 71 strokes, therefore par for the tournament would have been 284.  The 1-under means that Justin used 1 stroke under the par total for the week. The winner was 12-under, therefore shot a 272.
• When Justin feels like he left a couple out there, he means that we had opportunities to score better but let them slip away or got bad breaks...but such is life and golf, no?
• Figuring out the greens and course is a week to week adventure and challenge.  Each course may have different grasses, speeds of greens, wind, fairway and rough lies (of the ball in the grass), and lines of play that make navigating the course easier or more difficult.  World-class players adjust to all conditions in addition to competitive pressures, but all players have preferences and play better on average given certain course conditions.
• Making the cut, as described in a previous post, means that Justin made a check.  That's a good thing.  I also make a little more money as I receive a percentage depending on the finish.
• Having good ball striking weeks means that you have more opportunities to score lower.  Leading or being near the lead in ball striking for the week but finishing in the middle of the pack means that we did not take advantage of the excellent swings and shots Justin made all week.
• For all who care...Kevin Costner usually plays next week.  So if you want to see him because you're a fan, come on out.  But we'll know it's really because you want to see us.

That's all for now...waiting for my flight back home at the Atlanta airport.  I'm gonna take a nap.