We got assigned to Phil Mickelson and Jerry Kelly for a 9:05am tee time, my crew included Jim, Tony, and Melinda. At the first tee, Phil acknowledged my greeting, as did Notah Begay, walking along with our group for NBC sports. It was going to be a long hot humid day in the 90's, toughest weather of the entire Championship week. We also had the largest galleries of the week, so my buddy Jim got to experience the excitement of walking inside the ropes with one of the most popular figures in the game of golf. Neither Phil nor Jerry were in contention, so it turned out to be a more relaxed round, with Phil constantly chatting with Jerry, the caddies, us volunteers, and the spectators. Melinda, Tony, and Jim were all great marshals, taking lots of initiative as we escorted the players through the round. Melinda was the queen of tact enforcing the PGA "no pictures during play" policy. Our gallery grew to over 1,000 by the time we made it to the back 9. This was Jim's first look at these holes, and he commented on the layout being much less spread out than the front. (A shorter walking distance, also). After the round, we escorted the players to the scoring area, then Phil went to the autograph area, where a massive crowd was waiting behind barriers, clamoring for his attention. There were at least 200 people gathered, 5-6 deep in spots, handing Phil everything from hats, programs, & pin-flags to sign. Thankfully, we had extra security in place, including the Norton police officer who'd walked our entire round with us. Phil was in his element as he patiently worked the crowd. At one point, a young fellow in a wheelchair asked Phil to sign his "Hall of Fame" hat, which already had the signatures of Arnold Palmer, Jack Niklaus, and Gary Player. Phil said he would be honored, having recently been inducted into the golf HOF. In addition, Phil then removed his own hat which he'd been wearing all day and gave it to this fellow. It was a very moving gesture, and everyone witnessing it broke into spontaneous applause. I complimented my crew on a job well done and they all agreed it was a treat to be inside the ropes with Mickelson and Kelly.
We broke for lunch and I put my feet up, getting ready for the rest of the day, which would include finishing up the final phase of the DBC. Jim headed back home despite my suggestion that he stick around to witness the conclusion of the tournament. I rested for a couple hours, knowing I'd be called upon in relief to help out in the afternoon rounds with escorting the lead players. From what I could see while I was sitting in the shade in the volunteer pavilion, our staff were wilting in the heat as they staggered in for a break. On the headset I heard that several holes were running out of water in the coolers at each tee box. In addition, our marshal chairperson Maureen, and others, reported that batteries on their headsets were draining more rapidly in the heat. I went to the radio trailer nearby and got 3 fresh batteries, pledging my life to the radio guy to return them at the end of the day. I then scrounged up every bottle of water I could find, filling three large coolers in the volunteer tent. I radioed Maureen and she was on her way as soon as possible. Meanwhile, David, our mobile marshals co-chair came in looking pretty exhausted, so I offered to relieve him, which he gratefully accepted. He got someone to load a cart with the water coolers to deliver them out on the course. Meanwhile, I headed to the 10th tee to join our co-chair Karen and 5 other marshals, working with Rory McIlroy and Chris Kirk, the 2nd from last pairing. We all worked really well together, managing a gallery of 3,000 to 4,000, despite the heat and excitement. Rory couldn't quite catch-up at -11, and tied for 5th; Chris Kirk being the eventually winner at -15. My daughter texted me excitedly, saying she spied me alongside the 16th green as she was watching on TV. The excitement was palpable as we finished on 18, with thousands in the gallery crowding the entire length of the fairway. After escorting Rory and Chris off the 18th green, I stayed positioned nearby as Russel Henley and Billy Horschel, the final pairing, finished up. Horschel came up short in his attempt to pitch onto the green from inside 150 yards to send it to a sudden death playoff. The entire crowd felt badly for him as his ball landed in the hazard fronting the green. Despite his near-miss, it was an exciting ending to a thrilling DBC.
As we all gathered at the 18th green for the trophy ceremony, I said goodbye to everyone, see you next year.
