US Open

Day 4    June 16, 2013    Father's Day

Jim and I decided to park closer to the course rather than spend extra time taking the shuttle, which would be swamped at the end of play later today.  Found a spot for $25 in someone's driveway; every house had a parking sign in the neighborhood surrounding Merion.   We entered through a different gate than other days, placing us at the opposite end of the course, a long way from my assignment at the 7th green grandstand.    No problem, we went over to the cart area beside the clubhouse and the attendant was nice enough to loan us one under the circumstances.  I arrived at 9:00 for my 8:15 assignment, but I needn't have hurried as I got there even before the hole captain.  Very few spectators at that hour as well.  Met the area captain, in charge of 3-4 grandstands in this section of the course, nice kid, said it was his first marshaling experience, and he was assigned to a supervisory position.  He was doing a great job taking care of us all day, bringing water to our crew of 4 marshals as we worked, very little shade at this spot.  The 7th is a nice par 4, I was placed perfectly to watch all the approach shots coming straight at us, plus was perched directly over the 8th tee, with a great view of that as well.  Got a little tricky at times as the 7th green and 8th tee were so close together that we had to keep things quiet for both areas. Our grandstand was tiny, holding only 100 people, so this really wasn't too difficult, we got to know lots of fans as it became a pretty cozy viewing area.  Worked with some great marshals, especially Joe and Richard, two brothers who had worked a combined 11 US Opens.  Joe was so into it, he'd even gotten his name monogrammed onto his volunteer golf shirt just for the occasion.  The grandstand reached capacity around 11:30 and stayed that way until I was relieved at 12:30, my next assignment starting at 2:30 at the 12th green grandstand.

I grabbed lunch at the concession stand between holes 10 & 12, then sat in the shade to watch the play on 11.  This is such a terrific hole, with water and bunkers making for a very difficult approach shot.  Lots of history made here in past championships.  After lunch I headed over to the 12th green side grandstand, meeting Bill the captain, nice Southern gentleman, who I'd worked with earlier in the week on 17.  This was a medium sized location, holding around 500 at capacity.  The 12th hole is a par 4 uphill dogleg right, tough birdie hole, saw very few during my 4 hour shift.  After an hour, Bill told me his relief at captain was 2 hours late, another no-show.  He asked if I would captain the afternoon shift, getting the headset on and organizing our 5-man marshal crew.  Great bunch of guys to implement the plan for coordinating spectator traffic flow, designating the 2 stairways as either entry/exit only, writing re-entry passes, with 2 marshals working the aisles and signaling to me how many people to admit.  We reached grandstand capacity for the last 5 player pairings by late afternoon, no one wanting to give up their seats on Sunday at the US Open.  Really enjoyed interacting with the fans, fielding lots of questions about what it was like volunteering, how did I get involved in this, etc.  Fans were very cooperative despite the packed house, maintaining a hushed atmosphere as players worked on the 12th green just a few feet below us.  Excitement continued to build as Justin Rose, (who would eventually win), Jason Day, & Luke Donald played through, culminating with Phil Mickelson and Hunter Mahan, the final pairing.  To add to the drama, it started to rain over the last 30 minutes of play, with one rumble of thunder heard in the distance, threatening to halt play and postpone the outcome.  I prayed that wouldn't happen, which would have required us to evacuate the grandstand.
After Phil and Hunter passed through, all the spectators began to file out, with countless fans thanking us marshals for our efforts, keeping the crowd under control without being over-bearing, finding seats for everyone, keeping sight lines unblocked, and basically ensuring a great fan experience.  This makes  our job that much better.  We're paying for the privilege to volunteer, putting in long hours, but are paid back with those appreciative comments.

I met up with Jim and we went for food to map out our strategy for the big finish of the tournament.  Much as we did at Congressional, we figured there would be a need for extra marshals at the 18th green.  We met with the hole captain there who was anxiously working the chute between the ropes heading from the green to the clubhouse where players would exit and greet their families.  A huge crowd had gathered behind the ropes including player's wives/girlfriends, media of all types, police, USGA officials, friends, and all sorts of beautiful people.  I offered our services to the captain and he immediately placed us in the chute to help with keeping it open between the ropes, Jim and I on either side, only 8 feet apart.  From our vantage point we could see each player as they finished on the green, shook hands, then proceeded toward us to make their way to the scoring area inside the clubhouse.  Invariably each one was stopped by people in the crowd to exchange greetings and fist-bumps before they moved on, passing between us. Jim introduced himself to a lovely woman standing behind the rope, who was quite pregnant, even offering to bring over a nearby folding chair for her.  She graciously accepted, turns out she was Hunter Mahan's wife.  Jim had another close encounter with a player as he later happened to be standing by another beautiful woman, holding a small baby, Mrs. Jason Day.  When he came by after his round to embrace his family, it almost looked like Jim was going to get a hug too. The look in Jim's eyes was fantastic, he couldn't stop saying "its like we've got all access passes!"  I chatted with two gorgeous women, a photographer for a Baltimore newspaper and a Brit who was absolutely ecstatic about Rose's apparent victory. The atmosphere rose to a high pitched roar as Rose putted out at +1, with only Phil in any position to catch him from behind, if he could birdie 18.  Unfortunately for him it didn't happen, so close.

The tournament over, we walked into the clubhouse, intending just to use the bathroom but when a passing waitress handed us two beers, decided to hang out awhile in the grill room, soaking it all in at the last.  What a tremendous finish to a terrific experience at Merion.

Jim and I raising a glass to toast a successful US Open at Merion

Phil putting out at 12th green. That's me just above him on the grandstand.