The Travelers Championship   June 21, 2023  Pro-Am

One might ask why continue this marshaling habit I've persisted with since after all it involves such very long days, very long walks over seriously hilly terrain in often brutal weather (searing sun, heat, cold, rain, wind), volunteering for no pay, day upon day of nothing but concession stand food, having to reapply sunscreen 3 or 4 times, wearing one of those ridiculous hefty bag-style ponchos to ward off the rain at times.  Yet, I've found not much compares with the thrill of standing on the first tee of a Championship, assigned as lead for my crew of Mobile Marshals, ("Mobile Ambassadors" at Travelers), hearing the roar of the gallery as the players are formally introduced, then heading off with them inside the ropes to walk 18 holes and help them have the best possible chance to succeed.  That feeling gets repeated over and over throughout the round as my crew and I respond to each challenge of managing the gallery in the most polite yet effective way in whatever circumstance we're presented with, ball outside the ropes, crowd up against the ball, everyone wanting to be within arms length of an actual PGA TOUR player! Where else in professional sports can you get to be in this position?   This is especially rewarding for the spectators during the more relaxed atmosphere of the Pro-Am when the player might actually exchange a few words with you, make a self-deprecating remark, or even pose for a selfie or sign an autograph on request.  

Inside the ropes.

This Travelers Championship was going to be a lot different than my previous single exposure to this tournament in 2019, partly due to the elevated status conferred upon it by the reconfigured PGA TOUR schedule, partly by having the opportunity to have wonderful accommodations and hospitality provided by my sister Shirley and her husband Jim in Farmington, a mere 18 miles from TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, CT, and partly since I was planning to volunteer for the entire Championship plus the Pro-Am, 5 days.  I was optimistic I could last that long at my age!  It still meant having to get up at 5AM in order to arrive at the course by 6 for the Mobile Ambassadors meeting.  On arrival, I immediately ran into some old acquaintances, Diane, Karen, and Maureen, who enthusiastically welcomed me back.  News of my return had preceded me as Diane said, "I heard you were going to be here!"  We shared news about each other since our last meeting in 2019, including my US Open experiences last year.  Met Greg Hammond our committee chair and heard my assignment for the day, a split Pro-Am format with Justin Thomas on the front 9, Rory McIlroy on the back.  Joining me would be Sharon, a former marshal and also a day surgical nurse, who would need a refresher course in marshaling along the way.  JT drew a rather sparse crowd for our 8:40AM tee time, which was a nice casual start to the week for us.  Sharon picked up my pointers quickly and was great to have along for 9 holes, then expressed eagerness for 9 more this afternoon with what would likely be a larger gallery for Rory. 

After a lunch break, I noticed that the Bill Murray, Geno Auriemma,  Michael Eaves "celebrity group", playing along with Kevin Kisner had just teed off so I decided to help marshal them for seven holes just to see what this experience might be like.  Of course I'd seen some of Murray's antics on TV at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, not sure what I'd see over the course of multiple holes.   I was pleasantly surprised at how funny Murray could be, on a sustained level, constantly talking to everyone, members of the gallery, volunteers, the Cromwell police officer accompanying our group, even me at one point, "How are you doing today?" Turns out Bill Murray is a pretty decent golfer as well, hitting some great shots, with a few shanks thrown in for laughs.  He was completely appropriate the entire time, no pranks, no one got tossed into a bunker or had an adult beverage swiped out of their hands.  And a complete hoot.  Random sample: Standing on the tee, Murray points at an elderly gentleman and says, "Shouldn't you be in school?" The gallery ate it up.  Seeing Geno Aurriemma was a real treat as well.  I couldn't wait to tell my mother of this experience; she worships Geno.  Poor guy was struggling to play golf in PGA height rough but kept on smiling and responding to shout outs from the large gallery.  Michael Eaves was the best amateur player in this group, pounding the ball consistently.  We also encountered Amanda Balionis Renner on an adjacent fairway, lighting up the fans with her electric smile, if not her golf!      

I broke off from this group eventually in order to rest the legs for my afternoon assignment with Rory, getting an opportunity to speak at length with Karen, my former MM Co-chair, who is now a grandmother, and is likely having orthopedic surgery in the Fall.  No more rappelling down the sides of buildings for charity for this one she said.  I wished her well with her procedure. 

Rory finally appeared at the 10th tee at 4:45 for his 9 holes with three amateurs, all good golfers it turned out. A much larger gallery was in attendance although the later hour probably reduced it somewhat; we didn't finish until 7:30pm.  Sharon joined me as well as a 2nd Marshal, Greg, for this session, which took awhile, especially when Rory stopped at the 13th green to sign autographs for 3 boys who had called out to him, but turned into a marathon session of at least 30 autograph and 6 selfies.  Rory's status in the golfing world was evident in the numerous positive comments he received from the gallery, thanking him for making the trip to Travelers, all the way from the US Open at LACC last week.  I always like marshaling his group.  

Today turned out to be a marathon 13-hour day at TPC River Highlands:
26,653 steps / 10.26 miles!