The Open

At the end of last week, I was asked if I could join some of my team in Limerick, Ireland for the next week for work. Once I found this out and realized that I’d be heading in that direction, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to make a stop in Edinburgh on the way over and attend the British Open at St Andrews. Because of the limited available flights, I arrived early Saturday evening, which allowed me to take in the final day today.

Before I start, please be warned that this is a long entry. There were no cameras allowed inside the grounds, so instead of pictures, I get very detailed with my re-telling of the day.

This was actually my second visit to the Old Course at St Andrews. Jenn and I visited here in 2006 when we traveled after my semester abroad at ESADE during my second year of business school. That day was very different than today. The course was closed when we visited and there were no more than 20 to 30 other people there as we walked from hole to hole. Today was a different story. If I make it back for a third visit, I am going to actually play a round.

It was very clear from the moment I started the day by boarding the train towards Leuchars that the Old Course knew how to host an Open. It couldn’t have been easier or more efficient taking the train and then transferring to the bus to get to the course. Once entering, the whole event was extremely well organized and incredibly well run.

I arrived around 9am and picked up my ticket at the box office that I ordered at the end of the week. It was surprising to me that tickets were still available and so easy to get, but it was certainly a pleasant surprise. I entered through the tented village, which is so named, funny enough, for the numerous tents. This was the central spot for refreshments, advertising, and merchandise. There were also two huge screens showing the golf telecast from BBC. For breakfast, I had an egg salad sandwich because they were out of eggs at the grill and I didn’t want just a bacon sandwich, sans the egg, which is what they offered me.

The weather was cool and windy, but not bad at all. I had prepared for the worst, but it turned out to be an absolutely perfect day with beautiful blue skies. I ended up taking off my rain jacket and wrapping it around my waste, otherwise, I was just fine in a button down with a pullover. It got a little warm in the early afternoon, but not too bad.

I followed John Daly and his American flag pants around in the morning. I wasn’t the only one. He’s built up quite a following, many who were wearing versions of his Loudmouth pants. The two interesting parts about watching him were number one, that any point he was not actually taking a shot, he had a cigarette in his mouth, and two, his girlfriend, former Hooters waitress, Anna Cladakis. She was of course in matching American flag pants, and was following him the entire day. She’s just an interesting character to watch, as is he. I was somewhat horrified to see someone approach her for her autograph. I thought about it and couldn’t come up with one logical reason why a person would want her signature.

Some other things I observed while walking back to the first tee were plenty of people in knickers, one guy in a kilt, and two guys dressed like pirates. It’s interesting seeing how people dress at a golf tournament as the majority actually dress as if they are going to be playing golf (including golf shoes) and not watching. It makes sense, I guess. Some people looked a little too put together for watching golf. I also really enjoy seeing Miguel Jimenez taking shots out of the bunker in the practice area with a cigar in his mouth. I had a tuna salad sandwich for lunch and a Snickers bar. I hadn’t had a Snickers in quite a long time. It’s no Take 5, but it’s a pretty good candy bar. On that note, I saw a commercial recently for M&M’s with pretzels on the inside. I’m going to need to get my hands on those.

I followed Phil Mickelson for a while. He had more supporters than Daly. People love Phil. They cheer for him through thick and thin. He had a smile on his face the entire time and really seemed to be enjoying himself out there. It probably is because he had no chance of winning today and there wasn’t much stress, but regardless, it was good to see. His choice of a purple golf shirt today was highly questionable. I wonder who actually dresses the golfers. Do the sponsors just send them clothes and they have to mix and match? Do their wives plan out their outfits and tell the sponsors what to send? This is something I need to find out.

After Phil got to the turn, I walked around a bit. I watched Sergio a little and ended up sitting on the 9th hole for an hour or so. I watched Tiger from 15 to the finish. He also seemed to be having fun today and was yucking it up a good bit with his playing partner, Lucas Glover. Again though, I’m guessing he takes on a different attitude when he knows there is no chance of winning. By the way, it doesn’t seem like all the stuff about his personal life has affected the support he gets on the golf course. He is still the number one attraction. At this point, it was a little after 4pm and already I could get no closer to the 18th hole than in front of the 17th green. I realized then that there was no way I was staying until the end. It was way too crowded.

I decided instead to walk back to watch the leaders. I reached them just as Oosthuizen birdied 12 and Paul Casey gift-wrapped the Claret Jug for his playing partner with a triple bogey. I watched them putt out number 13 and decided with an insurmountable 8 stroke lead, I was confident Louis could close it out, and I headed back to Edinburgh.

What really hit me today is how much I miss playing golf. I hardly played at all in the past year due to my work schedule, aches and pains, and other various excuses. I won't be doing much golfing this year while in Bratislava, but when I get back, it's something I will make more of an effort to do. Even though I'm not very good, I love playing. I need to make more time for it.

I’m glad I made the effort to go to the Open while I had the opportunity. I had only been to one golf tournament previously, the Byron Nelson in Dallas, and I remembered why I hadn’t been to another since. Golf simply plays better on TV. On television, you can see every shot from every golfer and you always know where everyone stands. At the course, it’s difficult to see the ball, and frankly, difficult to see at all unless you are sitting in the grandstand, which is fine if you are okay watching one hole rather than following specific players. What doesn't come across on TV is how difficult the greens are. It's also really impressive to watch the players in person. They are so good. Overall, I’m glad I went and saw a British Open at St. Andrews.

In 2010, I have attended the NCAA national championship game, the NFC championship game, the Super Bowl, and now the British Open. I am extremely fortunate and know it. Not everyone has the ways and/or means to do these things and I recognize that. I am lucky that it’s worked out for me to experience these incredible events this year. It helps that I have amazing friends and family, some of whom offered me the opportunity to attend some of the above events. I’m also lucky to have a supportive wife who not only encourages me, but insists that I jump at opportunities like this because you never know when or if they will ever come around again. I’ve tried to be better about looking at life in this way as much as I can and Jenn has been an incredible influence in doing so. I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately as we’ve had some friends and family that have passed away or become ill. I certainly don’t want to approach life as if every day could be my last, but it is important to remember that it isn’t going to last forever and we only get one shot at this, so I might as well make the most of it and as much as I can, and do what makes me happy.