St. Jude Classic, Day 1

A Couple of Returns and Some New Clothes

Today I woke up early to set out to the best yearly sporting event in Memphis. I may have already given this title to the Liberty Bowl in a previous post, I can't remember, but I have just as much fondness for the local golf tournament. I was first introduced as a kid in the late 80's, and then grew to love it as a volunteer for several years through the 90's. I have continued to go for most days during most years since then.

I was out there early today to see the return of Phil Mickelson since it was announced a few weeks ago that his wife has breast cancer. His hat was adorned with a new pink ribbon and his play was pretty good. I caught up with his group on their third hole, after he had already birdied the first two. He gave those back and was up and down all day, before birdieing 2 holes late to finish at 2 under par for the day. Phil, himself a 3 time major winner, was paired with another 3 time major winner, Pardraig Harrington, who struggled most of the day. Struggling for him meant only 2 over though. At this point it was lunch time and I searched the grounds for a Pronto Pup. Although the yellow carts are gone, some concession stands do still have them. I passed two that did not, so I settled for a hot dog. Of course, the next one I passed had them. I will have to get one tomorrow.

In the afternoon I followed Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, and Boo Weekley around the front nine. While Sergio and Stenson are both good players, Boo turned out to be the star of this group. Not only was he playing well, but he had fun with the crowd and the crowd really got behind him. It didn't hurt that this was Memphis and he was sporting his new clothing line, including a camo hat and a polo with a camo stripe on it as well. He also had a large contingent of friends and family in the crowd. It is always fun to see who is following the players, and you can often pick out wives, coaches, parents, etc. In fact, Phil's brother was in the crowd today following his group, and they look almost exactly alike.

After Boo's group I sat on the ninth green to watch John Daly's group come through. Although he knocked it stiff and went on to make his only birdie of the day there, it was disheartening to see that he still had one of the biggest crowds today. He has repeatedly made a mockery of himself and the game, yet the people still seem to love him, especially in Memphis. So this was his first round back on the Tour after a 6 month suspension and he finished 2 over. He also continued to wear the typical hideous outfits he has been sporting on the European Tour. It seems that his intent is to be as gaudy as possible.

I will head back out to the TPC at Southwind tomorrow to catch all of the second round action. And I will get a Pronto Pup.