Shag Bag - 2009 PGA Championship Recap

I'm fortunate because I have the privilege of covering the great game of golf for the PGA TOUR Network on Sirius 209 and XM 146. As a rover for example, I'm inside the ropes calling the play by play action of a group or groups for the duration of our broadcast. As host, I set the table as to the story lines for the moment, day and week as well as playing traffic cop, directing the action and running the show.

This past week I was part of our broadcast team that covered the 91st PGA Championship at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minnesota. Also on the broadcast was Bob Stevens as host, former PGA TOUR player John Maginnes as lead analyst, former PGA TOUR player Mark Carnevale as our lead rover (i.e. he had Tiger all week), former PGA TOUR player Larry Rinker (whose brother Lee was in the field as one of the low 20 club pro's that qualified at the Club Professionals Championship), also in as a rover, as well as myself and broadcast veteran Fred Albers. It's a great group to work with.

Our Broadcast location was just to the player's left of the ninth fairway, near the green, directly next to the Golf Channel location. Golf Channel actually had two locales, one of which was next to our tower off of nine green, the second one was just off the player's right of the 18th fairway.
Early in the week, prior to the actual tournament, we'll all go around and try to get interviews that can be used on a variety of shows that we air on Sirius and XM. One or two questions, a few thoughts, some hole and course descriptions, whatever we can nudge out of a player who agrees to come on for a few moments. It is a subtle art to read the body language of a player and know when and if you should ask for a minute or two. Some are cool about it, others not so much, still most realize that it's part of the deal and will find time.

Once the tournament gets rolling, each of the rovers get a group to cover, however, nothing is set in stone. As the tournament goes, so goes the coverage. If you're on a group and nothing is happening, it's not uncommon to be moved to another group that has some fireworks going. This works mostly two ways. If you don't have Tiger, and it was determined early in the week that Mark Carnevale would have Tiger all week long, that way, good or bad, it would be the same face he would be seeing and the same people that we would have to deal with, you have a 50-50 chance of getting on the air. If the group that you have has a guy that's going crazy good on the golf course, you'll get more air time and more calls aired. If not, you're in for a long walk watching championship caliber golf with not much to add to the broadcast.

At the PGA Championship, I had it both ways. On Thursday and Friday I had Vijay Singh and his group for most of each day and Vijay played decent enough to get a Saturday pairing with Tiger, which means that Carney would have both he and Tiger on Moving Day. So on Thursday and Friday following the round it was part of my deal to get a few comments from Vijay on the rounds played. Vijay, who's been known to be a little prickly when it comes to the media, was great with me. We just kept moving while I asked questions on both days and on Friday he even stopped to answer a couple more. It worked out great and he was true pro. On Saturday with Vijay going off with Tiger and Carney having that group, I moved to Padraig Harrington's group on a day where Paddy played very well and almost into the final group on Sunday with Tiger. On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, lots of action, lots of calls, lots of air time. On Sunday I was "to be determined" which can be a great thing, because you can get a "hot" player in the middle of a "hot" round. Unfortunately, I had Vijay again and while he had his moments, it was nothing like Thursday or Friday. I stayed with them most of the day, moved around a little bit, but the main focus of the day was going to be Tiger and Y.E. Yang as the day progressed, with Carney making the calls.

This was my first major with Sirius and XM and as much of a thrill as it is covering the PGA TOUR, it is even more fun at an event like a major and the 91st PGA Championship did not disappoint.
Tiger off and running with a 5-under par 67 on Thursday, then solid rounds to back it up on Friday and Saturday. Then on Sunday, you still had this belief that Tiger would pull it off, even on the 72nd hole when nothing seemed to really go "right" all day for the best player currently on the planet. And as a finale, we got history as Y.E. Yang became the first player from South Korea to notch a major on the men's side. Ironic that we would get a victory from a global player at the same site at the same time that the Olympic committee recommended golf as an Olympic sport in 2016.

In the end, Tiger didn't play well, putted worse and Y.E. Yang rose to the occasion. As he stated at his press conference on Saturday following his round that got him into the final group with Tiger on Sunday, "What have I got to lose..." It turns out nothing and everything to gain, for himself, for his country and for the global game of golf.

Notes: Remember 2nd Swing, the golf resale shop that at one time had a number of stores across the country? Well, they originated in Minnesota and the same group that started it all has two stores going again, one in Mankato and the other in Minneapolis. Unfortunately, I experienced much of the same sales schlock that I encountered when they had a Wisconsin location. Long story short, I stopped in, looked around, found some putters that were drastically overpriced for their desirability, condition and age and after haggling for a few minutes received a token discount. Look, I wasn't buying anything worth anything, except to me and ended up leaving empty handed. One of the flat sticks even had dust on it. You would think that something is better than nothing, especially in this economy. I fully believe in a business making a profit, but you have to be realistic, especially when it comes to used golf equipment. There is a ton of out there at far better prices than what I encountered. What the "new" 2nd Swing could have going for it is the ability to have desirable used equipment available in one place, making it a destination for those who are looking to get into the game, add to their collection or just to come in knock around and maybe pick up a piece or two.

The dinner destination of the week was a place called Wild Fire Restaurant in Eden Prairie. In our Media kits we each received a discount coupon good for $25 off of each dinner. The place was amazing. Set in a 30's kind of a speakeasy tone, it had a wonderful atmosphere, exceptional food and great service. And we knew it was good when we walked in and spotted several TOUR players already enjoying their entrees. In speaking with the manager, it is a chain of restaurants out of the Chicago area. With the BMW Championship coming up at Cog Hill in Lemont, Illinois in mid-September another great dining experience is on the horizon.