In my last blog post, I left y'all hanging. I was still waiting near the putting green on the 18th hole of the Old Course during the British Open, and Tiger Woods was supposed to be finishing his round soon. However, the sunset had begun. There would only be a little bit of sunlight before the golfers had to pack up and start back up in the morning. I had been standing on a wall by the St Andrews Golf Club for nearly two hours waiting for Tiger, and I was going to be a tad bit upset if I didn't get to see him.
On the scoreboard overlooking the fairway was a list of players who were approaching the 18th, so I kept glancing up to see if Tiger was anywhere near us. As other groups passed, I began to think that I wasn't going to see Tiger. While waiting, I did get to see some other cool players:
No pressure, dude- it's just the whole world watching.
McIlroy is a golfer from Northern Ireland who
did very well on the first day of competition at
the open. In fact, I believe he tied for the lowest
score ever for a round at the British Open at the Old Course.
He's also 21 years old and makes millions of dollars. Damn.
He made this putt after botching the first putt.
McIlroy didn't do so well on the second day
of competition, though. Here he is sinking the putt.
Poulter (famous or not?) making a putt.
After two and a half hours of waiting on that wall, I finally saw "Woods" appear on the scoreboard overlooking that 18th fairway. The crowd around me got larger. A snooty and wealthy businessman on vacation came up to the man standing on the wall next to me and asked him to move. That man didn't speak English very well and refused to move. The wealthy dude's 20-something-year-old daughter became embarrassed and pleaded with her father to stop. Wealthy dude made some cranky remarks to the dude next to me. Good thing that dude didn't try to ask me to move. I would have punched him in the face. I had been waiting too long to see Tiger.
Just before the sunset gave way to the twilight, Tiger Woods stood in the tee box while dedicated fans cheered for him around the green. More than a few people yelled "Come on Tiger" or something similar, which was surprising because the golf fans had been very reserved for the previous couple hours. I watched as Tiger swung, but I couldn't see the ball for more than a second. Whenever I watch golf on tv, the camera easily follows the ball to where it lands. Watching it in person, however, is a different experience. I lost the little white ball in the clouds as it flew down the fairway. I'm not sure if the more dedicated golf fans could follow the ball or not. I pretended to watch the ball with everyone else when I was really just looking at the clouds until everyone's head suddenly turned to the right because the ball had just landed on the fairway. I could watch the ball bounce a few times once it was on the green fairway and rolled towards the hole. The ball then slowed just slightly as it rolled directly to the pin. Everyone started cheering and clapping once we realized Tiger was about to score a hole-in-one. Tiger had been trailing all day and desperately needed a break to stay in contention. A hole-in-one on the 18th underneath the shadow of the famous and iconic Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews could have put him in position to win his third consecutive British Open at St Andrews' Old Course, which is quite a phenomenal feat. Such a hole-in-one would be a historical golf moment that would be replayed on ESPN whenever they talked about Tiger, especially if he ended up winning the Open. To see such a moment in person would be like watching Babe Ruth hit a home run. After a few seconds of exuberant cheering and pure excitement to see if Tiger could actually make it, the exuberant cheers suddenly turned into sighs in unison as if a choir-type director had orchestrated us to make such a noise. The ball had barely bounced over the hole and stopped just a few inches away. Then we all started to clap because this would surely be an easy putt for Tiger. I watched all of this with my own eyes after standing on a wall of the St Andrews Golf Club for two and a half hours for Tiger. And this moment almost did not happen because time was running out. How awesome is that?
The Old Course Hotel and Tiger Woods
(in green sleeves) walking along the 18th
fairway and underneath a sunset
after he teed off.
Tiger Woods walking along the fairway to make
an easy putt, or so he thinks.
He missed the putt. It was supposed to be easy.
He threw his golf club in the air, and here you can
see him picking it up as a young boy feels the pro's agony.
I guess cheating on your gorgeous wife while she's
with the kids is easier than putting on the Old Course.
Tiger as he makes the final putt to save par.
So that's awesome, agreed? How could my day get any better than this? I just saw one of the greatest golfers who ever lived play on the golf course where the Scots invented the sport. I might as well go home. But I decided to stay because there was only one more group left. I might as well, right? I was lucky because the best part of the day was yet to come. What could be better? Well, I guess you'll have to check in tomorrow to see...
No comments:
Post a Comment