I was out the door at 5:45 AM in a driving rain which was forecast to end between 7 and 8 AM. I liked the sound of that even though it forced me to walk directly to the scorers tent so that I could register for bullpen duty within the 6 30–7 a.m. window. Tim was there and said he was happy to see me and that I was third on the list. I told him my option of joining the MA crew later in the day if it turned out my services were not needed as a scorer. He said that my chances of getting out as a scorer were pretty light and that if I didn’t hear from them soon I should check back at 10 AM. So, I cooled my heels with breakfast and a rest until 10 and then headed back to scoring. On my way. I bumped into Greg Hammond and updated him about my situation. He welcomed having my help to marshal with whatever group I wanted. I selected Scheffler-Burns, teeing off at 11:10. We arranged to meet at the first tee
Shades of Tiger Woods days!
Greg and I stayed with the players while our other Marshals went to forward positions. Although the gallery was primarily interested in seeing Scheffler, they also treated Sam Burns with equal respect and tended to hold their positions until both players had completed their shots. More than once, Greg said he was really glad that I had joined him as the crowd was so huge. Hydration became an issue as the heat rose into the mid 80s. We were once again restricted from accessing the water chests at each teebox, instead having to flag down the volunteer support carts outside the ropes or locating the semi-hidden volunteer supplies, which seems sort of like a treasure hunt. I got to witness a funny situation at the 16th hole where Smiley Kaufman had his “Happy Hour”desk set up. Ted Scott, Scotty’s caddy faked a fist bump with Smiley, instead dropping a ball into his outstretched hand. Smiley’s reaction was hysterical, (something you wouldn’t readily see on the TV broadcast I imagine). By the 17th tee it was becoming apparent that Scotty was threatening to shoot a 59, needing only one more birdie during the two remaining holes. Unfortunately, this didn’t happen and he settled for a 60, despite having 11 birdies in the round! I later heard it was his best putting performance in his entire career statistically.
As we walked off after the 18th green, I was completely exhausted. 19,189 steps. Walking as a Marshal is significantly more challenging, up and down the hills of TPC River Highlands, in the thick rough versus negotiating the short grass in the middle of the fairway as a scorer. As it turns out after I got home, I developed a case of heat exhaustion and needed to sleep for 12 hours.
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