US Open  Day 2    June 17, 2016  Friday

A thunder storm overnight only added to the saturation of Oakmont, but the day dawned bright and sunny and the course began to dry out, although it would take two full days to do so.  I checked in with the 19th hole co-captain, Karen, and soon got assigned to the 10th tee, a great assignment with lots of activity and challenges.  The hole captain, Peggy, was a real ''professional'' volunteer, having done so at prior US Opens and also a Ryder Cup.  I was quickly informed that they were referring to this location as a ''four ring circus''.  The tenth tee was located right at the clubhouse where thousands were gathering behind the ropes and in the grandstands.  Additionally, it was located right beside the 12th tee, as well as the 18th green.  If that wasn't enough, we had a crosswalk to manage just feet from the front edge of the 10th tee.  (Hence 4-ring circus).  We were having to marshal situations where there were players on both teeboxes as well as on the 18th green, all playing in a split-second of sequenced choreography.  Then, when there was a relatively quiet moment, we would open the crosswalk to the couple of hundred fans waiting patiently to cross.  There were about 10 marshals involved in this area, all being expertly organized by Peggy.  She would rotate us through various positions every 30 minutes or so.  I even ended up operating the orange paddles at the tee to signal to the marshals at the landing area, which direction each players ball flight was taking.  On a par 4 hole, the marshals need to be aware of any balls landing outside the ropes, but can't see the flight of the ball itself. Thank goodness I had another marshal helping me in spotting ball flights as these old eyes lost 1 or 2 balls after they were blasted 300 yards off the tee!  I stayed at 10 for about 3 hours, until the end of the morning shift, then went back to the west volunteer pavilion for lunch and to see where else I might be needed.  I met with Karen again, who was trying really hard to have me assigned as a walking marshal, if not today, then probably tomorrow.  Very nice lady, even took my cell number to call me once the pairings for Saturday became available later on. I ended up going over to the 6th green grandstand, on the East course, a very long walk from the 12th hole volunteer pavilion, but I was learning my way around, using shortcuts and avoiding the most heavily used paths which had become quagmires after the rains.  The USGA and Oakmont staff are to be commended for how well they managed these saturated areas, laying down tons of wood chips, rather than the straw which had been used at Congressional and Merion. Worked well and didn't end up smelling like a barnyard!

I spent the next two hours having a very pleasant time on the grandstand at the par three 6th hole, chatting with a fellow marshal who was volunteering at her 10th US Open!  Originally from the Netherlands, she and her husband make an annual vacation of volunteering every year, choosing a different assignment each time, so this was her first time marshaling.  I had a few tips for her and she did quite well, managing this grandstand of about 200 seats.  It became fairly crowded but we never had to close it, which meant we had a constant flow of fans entering and exiting.  All very friendly and having a wonderful afternoon in the beautiful western Pennsylvania weather, especially after yesterday's debacle.  We were still getting caught up with Thursday's first day of play, which finally ended around 3pm on Friday.  After my shift ended, I spent some $ at the 50,000 sq ft merchandise tent, unbelievably huge, I can't imagine having to spend 4 days helping customers decide which hat to pick from the 100 or so on display!   

US Open   June 2016     Oakmont Country Club     Oakmont, PA

Just a few comments leading up to the fantastic 116th US Open at Oakmont.  Like all volunteers, I'd anxiously opened my acceptance letter a year ago, informing me of my assignment at the Open.  When I applied in early 2015, I'd indicated my preferences were as either a hole marshal or grandstand marshal.  I was chagrined to read that I'd been assigned to the merchandise tent!  The letter indicated that every effort had been made to assign all volunteers to one of their preferences, but that unfortunately, no changes could be made.  I thought, what have I got to lose by calling the phone number listed for Oakmont.   I spoke with a very polite receptionist who patiently listened to my concern that the Open was not utilizing experienced volunteers effectively.  She transferred me to the USGA official who is onsite for the entire year leading up to the Championship.  I explained my reason for calling, including citing a few examples of the lack of marshals with experience I'd encountered at Congressional and Merion.  He agreed that the grandstand at Merion's 17th hole turned out to be a circus.  I was astonished when he asked if I wanted to be a marshal instead of working the merchandise tent.  As we spoke further, he told me of a new committee, (the ''19th hole'' committee) which had been developed by the USGA to serve as a sort of marshal's bullpen, to fill-in the gaps throughout the course where additional help was needed.  Since I had prior experience in every kind of marshaling, he thought I'd be perfect for the assignment.  I jumped at the chance.  I commend the USGA for responding to the feedback it must have received following the previous Opens and developing the 19th hole concept.  (It needs a better name, however)!

Since I live on Cape Cod, I was facing an 11-hour ride to Pittsburgh, which I was tackling on my own, as my buddy Jim, who'd been with me at Congressional and Merion, was recovering from major surgery.  I'm so thankful to my wonderful sister Meredith and her husband Tony for putting me up in Connecticut overnight to break-up the trip.  I also want to mention a terrific 1-hour lunch stop in Easton, PA to get together with an old fraternity brother, Rory Morgan, who I hadn't seen in over 30 years.  What a great time we had getting reacquainted.


US Open    Day 1    Oakmont   June 15, 2016

I arrived at Oakmont at 9:30 am and was immediately struck by the look of the place...there was hardly a tree in sight.  You could see the grand old Tudor style clubhouse clearly on the other side of the course; it looked a mile away.  I was also struck by how hilly the course appeared, perched on an old cornfield from which was carved this magnificent golf course in 1903. Then there was the Pennsylvania Turnpike, running right through the middle of the course, but hidden as it ran through a deep walled canyon.  I would later meet an Oakmont member who commented on how much the course had been changed over the last 30 years, with thousands of trees removed.  At first he was against that change, but now feels like Oakmont is a fantastic work of art.  That was my initial impression as well.

The forecast was not good for this first day of competition, intermittent thunder storms predicted throughout the day. I'd been on the property for less than a half hour when the hazardous weather warning was posted on the scoreboard, the suspension of play horn sounded, and the first clap of thunder arrived.  I staked out a perfect spot on the covered porch of the volunteer pavilion and waited out this first of what would be three weather delays throughout the day.  As always happens, every volunteer out on the course made a dash for the nearest cover, as we are directed to do by the USGA.  The pavilion quickly became standing room only, and the seats at my table were immediately taken by my two new best friends, a nice Southern gentleman to my right, and a fellow from Genoa, Italy to my left.  We all got to know each other pretty well as we waited out this 80 minute weather delay.  Its sort of amazing how quickly a friendship between complete strangers can develop at these events.  All volunteers instantly have at least one thing in common, their absolute love of golf, which compels them to give their time and effort to enable this huge production called a US Open to succeed.
After the rain let-up I made my way across the pedestrian footbridge to the 12th hole volunteer pavilion to check-in.  The Oakmont layout is so huge that two volunteer pavilions were created, one each for the east and west course areas.  I met the 19th hole co-captain, Buck, who asked me if I'd be willing to serve as a walking marshal at some point in the tournament.  I told him that was my primary assignment at DBC for the past several years and I'd be glad to.  He explained that the USGA used only 2-man walking crews assigned to the top 4 "vanity pairings", which is far fewer than is utilized at Deutsche Bank.  Evidently their rationale is that there are already enough marshals at every hole, so that only a few extra walking marshals are required.  Unfortunately, he had no such assignment for me at that time. We soon had the 2nd rain delay of the day so I waited in the pavilion with hundreds of other volunteers for this to pass until I was finally assigned to the player practice area at 2:30 pm.  So I headed to the practice area, immediately adjacent to the clubhouse, where the captain greeted me with thanks for the extra help.  My job there was to wait for the arrival of each pro and caddie and place the appropriate name tag on the small placard beside the spot which they select to practice from.  The tricky part can be when a relatively unknown player arrives on the scene and no one knows their name in order to select the correct name card.  We sometimes had to quietly ask the caddie, "who is that?" This generally happened when one of the amateurs or foreign players arrived on the scene, but the caddies always took it well.  We also had to pick up any left over golf balls and tees when they moved on to the chipping or putting areas.  A great moment occurred while I was there when eight Pittsburgh Penguin players walked onto the practice area to rub elbows with the golf pros.  They got a standing ovation from the fans in the grandstand, as well as drawing a small crowd of players, Keegan Bradley being one who posed for a selfie with them. After about 2 hours,  the third suspension of play occurred, players, caddies, and assorted USGA personnel making a dash to the nearby clubhouse.  I followed along, seeking the nearest protective shelter according to USGA protocol, ending up inside the clubhouse locker room area.  A few security officials took note of my 19th hole credential which evidently allowed access.  I spent the next hour waiting out the pouring rain while seated on a locker room bench amongst the players, caddies, PGA dignitaries, wags,  Fox media personalities including Joe Buck, Brad Faxon, Paul Azinger, and various USGA officials.  It was great getting an earful of various player interchanges regarding the hellacious weather we'd been experiencing all day.  Around 5pm the rain let up and the sun came out, so I turned to a USGA official to ask if play would be resumed.  He said there would be no more golf until tomorrow as the course was basically flooded.  We would be playing catch up well into Sunday for these day long weather delays.

     

Day 4  September 7, 2015  Monday-Labor Day  DBC

Got assigned to the first group of the day, Rory McIlroy and Brendon Todd, teeing off soon at 8:35am, so I hustled our 3-person crew off to breakfast, Tom, Melinda, and myself.  Later at the first tee I spoke with the hole captain who really appreciated our help every day in adding to the few hole marshals he had at his disposal.  Since Tom and Melinda were veteran marshals, I only had to tell them of my game plan to keep the crowds under control and in place until both golfers had taken their shots.  Everyone in our gallery would be there to see Rory, and would bolt before Todd had also played his shot.  I really wanted to avoid this if possible, meaning we'd have to pay special attention to people holding their positions at the ropes and on the cart paths.

The morning started out very comfortably, with a gallery of a hundred people or so, growing to at least 500 later on.  McIlroy played superb golf, going -5 for the day but not enough to catch the leaders.  He'd recently lost his ranking as the world's #1, and wanted to prove a few things for the remainder of the FedEx Cup series to come.  Our round was made even more interesting when Melinda noticed Rory's girlfriend Erica Stoll walking along with us, so we made sure she wasn't bothered by fans as the day went on.  I got to sit next to Rory in the golf carts for the ride from the 7th green to the 8th tee, a real treat. On the 17th fairway we ran into Notah Begay, doing on-course commentary for the Golf Channel and NBC broadcast.  Since it was still morning, I asked if he was already 'live', he kidded me saying they moved up their broadcast time and why wasn't I paying attention. I said I haven't been watching any golf on tv, I've been too busy watching in person.

Our round went blazing fast, we were done in just under 4 hours.  Tom and I broke for lunch and I tried to convince him to stay for the rest of the day to experience the closing moments of play, which are always fantastic.  Tom's back was barking at him so he had to leave, but said he'd sign-up again next year.  I got comfortable at the volunteer tent, knowing that I'd be needed later in the day for added marshaling support.  I monitored the marshals headset channel, listening to how it was going with the leaders Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson out on the course.  Around 2pm I got word that the 9th hole captain was requesting some help, which is right next to the volunteer village.  Steve, the captain was ecstatic when I approached him, saying he had no marshals on the green.  I positioned myself there as the final 5 pairings came through, then offered to help David,  Karen, and Maureen with the final group as they went through to the back 9.  All three of them looked fatigued and they welcomed some relief coming "off the bench".   They were working an enormous gallery, what we've come to call a "Tiger" gallery in the past, but this time for Fowler and Stenson.  It was barely manageable through holes 10 and 11 until something happened, which none of us had ever witnessed in years of marshaling.  On the 12th fairway the gallery ducked under the ropes as we walked behind the golfers, over a thousand spectators crossing to the opposite side to position themselves at the 13th hole.  We did our best to herd this crowd across and then outside the ropes, all the while saying how unbelievable it all was.  The excitement in the crowd continued to build as the golfers made their way to the 16th par-3 signature hole. Stenson proceeded to hit into the water hazard fronting the green, instantly relinquishing the lead to Fowler.  The atmosphere in the gallery went nuclear.  Now all Rickie had to do was hold on through 17 and 18 to win.  We all instantly went to red-alert in anticipation of a playoff, which would present huge logistical difficulties in keeping the crowd under control.  As I was standing alongside the 18th fairway, waiting for the players to hit their approach shots to the green, I glanced back just in time to see about 100 fans again ducking under the ropes to get out onto the fairway.  They were initially unmoved when I confronted them,

so I radioed Maureen, who had an "OMG" moment.  With the help of Rick and Jim who rushed to my assistance, we were able to convince these folks that we needed the fairway cleared in case the players had to come back to replay 18 if we had a playoff.  David radioed all of us stationed along the 18th to maintain our positions and not come down to the green until we were certain that a playoff wasn't needed.  He referred to seeing my green shoes, visible from over 200 yards away where he was standing.  I replied that now he was actually happy I'd worn something so visible under the circumstances.  The crowd noise was deafening when Rickie held on to win the DBC; he played terrific golf and deserved to win.  We all gathered beside the 18th green for the trophy award ceremony, then said our goodbyes, all of us exhausted after a very long but very rewarding golf experience.   I'd walked a total of 90 holes in four days of volunteering and had a wonderful time doing so.  See you next year.                      

Day 3   September 6, 2015   DBC   Sunday

Met up with my good friend and regular Wednesday golf partner Tom who was volunteering for today and tomorrow's rounds.  He'd also been a mobile marshal in 2013 and really enjoyed it.  We were assigned to Matt Jones and Kevin Chappell, playing in the second to last pairing of the day,   close to the lead and bound to draw a sizable gallery.  We would be positioned immediately in front of Rickie Fowler's group, the DBC leader.

I'd decided to wear my fluorescent green Nike Airmax running shoes, making a serious fashion statement, for which I was prepared to take a lot of grief.  The reaction was over-whelmingly positive from my fellow marshals as well as spectators throughout the day.  Our Mobile Marshals Co-leader David kiddingly told me at one point the he'd received word from a few players who said the shoes were a distraction on the golf course; Phil Michelson asked that I remove them.  Way more comfortable than my walking boots.

I introduced Tom to some of my marshal friends over breakfast, then afterwards we headed up to the range to hang out until our teetime.  We ran into our friends Mike and Chris who were there for the day as spectators; Mike was a mobile marshal in 2013.  Back at the volunteer tent for our 2nd breakfast we ran into Jim, a former mobile marshal who now works the DBC as an NBC TV spotter.  Very interesting assignment, inside the ropes, providing info to the broadcast crew throughout the round.

Our round with Chappell and Jones went very well, starting out at the first tee with about 100 fans, building gradually during the afternoon to a couple hundred, very manageable by Tom, Darin, and myself.  It was a fairly hot day, with varying amounts of fatigue as the round wore on.  I've learned I have to keep an eye on Tom to hydrate.  We had a few instances of errant balls going outside of the ropes but we made a good team working with the hole marshals to drop the ropes, move the crowd, and try to keep everyone still while they stood so close to the player.  Thankfully, the fans are always on their best behavior when standing less than 10 feet away.  The 18th hole was packed as usual, people crowding 10-deep along the ropes, as were the hospitality pavilions and grandstand at this time of day.  We smoothly escorted our players through all this, to the scoring area, no autographs, so we were done for the day.

We went directly to the volunteer appreciation dinner held on the grounds of TPC Boston.  It was set-up with a buffet and bar, plenty of seating, which was nice since we'd just walked at least 6 miles.  After dinner, a surprise guest appeared, Brandt Sneaker, who gave a very gracious speech, thanking us volunteers.  Its nice to hear that the players recognize all of our combined efforts in making the DBC come to life each and every year.  He then posed for photos with us all, another nice gesture.

Day 2  September 5, 2015   Saturday   DBC

At the assignment meeting, met up with my old friend Pat from Connecticut, as well as Melinda, Queen of the autograph signing area, and Rick who's been doing this forever, at DBC and the Traveler's in CT.  All great people.  I got assigned as the lead marshal for Rickie Fowler's group, including Jason Bohn and Sangmoon Bae, teeing off at 9:30am.  This was ideal as it allowed us a leisurely breakfast and didn't involve lots of waiting around.
At the first tee, I checked with the hole captain to see where he might need some extra help in crowd control.  He directed us toward a group of about six guys standing directly behind the tee and up in the grandstand, all with breakfast beers in hand, loudly calling out to the golfers and their caddies standing at the tee.  Melinda and I took up positions nearby, inside the rope, whereupon one of the guys said, "Uh-oh, here comes the no-talking police", which drew a laugh from everyone.  We gave them our best smiles just so they knew we were there to keep it respectable for the players without getting too serious about it all.  They kept up their give-and-take with Rickie & Co., but quieted down when play began, which was great.  The fans at DBC are almost always aware of the need to allow the golfers to play without interference.
We had a pretty good size morning gallery, around 200 people to start, which grew throughout the round to over 500.   Our round went very smoothly, my crew of 4 veteran mobile marshals working well together, spacing ourselves correctly and always adjusting our positions to where we were needed the most, hole-by-hole.  Thankfully the weather was great, 80 degrees, unlike the pro-am oven.  We did our best to minimize the use of cellphone cameras, in accordance with PGA TOUR regulations, especially Melinda, who engaged lots of fans in a good-natured way.  To be honest, I saw over 50% of the fans holding phones as we walked along inside the ropes, which means we're fighting a losing battle in attempting to enforce the no-picture policy.  We do our best under the circumstances.

We eventually accompanied our players from the 18th green, to the scoring and interview areas beneath the TPC clubhouse, then waited at the autograph area for Rickie to return.  In the meantime, Jim Furyk emerged from the clubhouse to do some signing, so we bracketed him as he made his way down the line, fans standing 5-6 deep, to have him sign hats, flags, programs, balls, etc.  At one point a small boy asked him, "Mr. Furyk, if you could have any super power, what would it be?"  Without missing a beat, he replied, "Invisible", which drew lots of laughs from the crowd.  I told him that was the quote of the day.  Rickie eventually emerged, the crowd reacting as if a rock-star was in their midst.  It was a challenge for Melinda and I to manage this frenzy, thankfully we were reinforced by 2 security staff and well as a Norton police officer.  Melinda is at her absolute best in this environment, I can only take so much of it.  It always reinforces my belief that the pros don't get enough acknowledgement about their work with the fans, to be so gracious under these trying circumstances.
 

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.            

Day 4   September 1, 2014    DBC   Labor Day

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.