The 2015 Deutsche Bank Championship   Thursday Pro-Am    September 3, 2015

Up and on my way at 4:15am to arrive at TPC Boston by 6:00am, in the dark, an ungodly time of day, but filled with the excitement of starting our annual get-together with people from all walks of life who serve as mobile marshals at the DBC.  Began the process of getting caught up with old acquaintances who I'd met over the last 7 years of volunteering.  Great seeing David, Karen, Maureen, Tony, Jack, Jim, & Diane again.  Got assigned to Rory McIlroy for his 12:20pm teetime.  There was an instant buzz in the air as DBC had decided to group the three biggest names in the game, with Jason Day and Jordan Spieth teeing off at noon and 12:10pm respectively, right in front of our group.   To pass the time, I volunteered to marshal for Rickie Fowler's group, going off at 7:30am.  Had a blast working with the lead marshal Jim, who is an Eddie Murphy-type guy, the unofficial ambassador of DBC.  We had a group of 4 mobile marshals, including James and Joe who all worked well together and needed minimal direction.  Ricky Fowler was excellent with the gallery, signing autographs and posing for pictures, but a tad less exuberant than in 2011 when I'd last worked with him during the pro-am.  Then he was brand new to the PGA Tour and the hot young stud.  He's still that, judging by how many hundreds of fans I saw dressed in regulation Rickie traffic-cone orange.  If anything, he has a bigger presence than back then.  His amateur partners were in awe as well, resulting in less than spectacular golf shots occasionally, but having a great time nonetheless.  It means a bit of extra work for us marshals, finding duffed balls outside the ropes or in the rough. The ams are always so appreciative of our help, with profuse thanks.  At times I collected 1 or 2 of Rickie's broken tees, and handed them to little kids at the rope for a souvenir.  Our group was joined for a short while by Jacques Brand, CEO of Deutsche Bank. Seemed like a nice fellow, walking along with his sons while chatting with Rickie.  I left after completing the back 9 with this group, having to save my legs for my primary assignment later on.  It was 84 degrees by 10am, going to be a scorcher.

Back at the volunteer tent I put my feet up and texted all my friends about my assignments for the day while having my second breakfast.  I was eventually joined by Tony, Steve, & Diane for lunch, having a lively discussion about the Tom Brady-Roger Goodell controversy.  We all then headed to the first tee for the arrival of Jason Day. He has such a gracious way about him, attentive to everyone who greets him, seemingly interested in it all. Just coming off his fantastic win at Whistling Straits.  After he teed off, Jordan Spieth arrived, along with Jacques Brand, one of his amateur partners for the day, as well as former N.Y. City Mayor Michael Bloomburg.   A small entourage was also gathered, including Mr. Brand's 91 year-old mother, a spry grand-dame who got to ride in a cart. After they got under way, Rory McIlroy arrived and was met with cheering and applause.  I remember standing nearby as all this was going on, as the temperature reached 90 degrees, thinking this is going to be one interesting day! So we were off, our 3-man mobile marshal crew consisting of Steve, Tom, and myself.  Seems like I was all over the place during the round, at times right next to Rory, other times looking for wayward amateur shots, on the cart path holding back crowd movements while everyone finished putting.  Had to get a bottle of water at every 3rd teebox to stay hydrated.  The back 9 was a long hot walk, my legs feeling it in the heat, but so was everyone else including the players.  Rory held up really well, signing for fans at every hole, unlike last year when he waited until after the round.  At one point, I had a very interesting chat with an English woman standing at the rope, accompanying Spieth.  Turns out she works on Mr. Brand's staff at Deutsche Bank, and was very interested in details of volunteering and marshaling.  I told her I have to train all year to be able to walk 27 holes / 7+ miles in this heat as a volunteer.  We finished our round at 5:20pm.  The tremendous galleries we'd anticipated never materialized, probably due to the heat and it being only Thursday of Labor Day weekend.  All I know is I was drained.