Day 2B: Same Places, New Faces

Above the main putting green I found the hub where the 1st and 10th tees and the 9th and 18th greens intersect. With most of the players playing practice rounds, this was certainly a great place to catch a glimpse of some players I hadn't seen Monday afternoon. Sure enough, down the ninth fairway, being followed by a substantial group of spectators, was none other than the Big Easy himself, Ernie Els.

Ernie Els, nicknamed "the Big Easy" for his stature and the long smooth nature of his swing.

One of the great golfers of the 1990s, and still a household name in the golf world, Ernie has struggled lately thru nagging injuries, but played well at the British Open in July. He was playing with fellow South African and former N.C. State golfer Tim Clark.

Tim Clark, some of you will recognize the N.C. State headcover in the foreground.


I thought this was just a great action picture of Ernie's swing.



Ernie and Tim walking (with caddies) off the 10th tee and down the fairway.

After Ernie plodded off (he kind of walks like a thoroughbred), I turned to see who else was approaching my little area. While watching Ernie, Shingo Katayama had arrived on the 18th green, finishing up his practice round, putting alone.

Shingo might look familiar to you, Mr. Golf Fan, as he's known for the white cowboy hat he always wears while playing. This is noteworthy at most tournaments, but not so much in Oklahoma, where donning a cowboy hat is somewhat akin to putting on pants.

The fashionable foreigner...his belt was shiny, and his pants very white.

Shingo putted for a while, then made his way to the 10th tee to hit a couple of drives, but nothing more, just wanting to tweak something from earlier in the round I suppose. This was great because I got to see him swing and not just putt (which is really boring). He has a great swing and hits it a long way for a smallish guy.

Shingo's swing. I also really like this picture.

Shingo signed a couple of autographs, but not very many, and was kind of a jerk, taking outstretched memorabilia, signing them, and tossing them back in the general direction of the kid to whom it belonged. Whatever, he had a purple shirt he can do what he wants.

After Shingo, former amateur and college badass Ryan Moore came to the 10th tee. In 2004, Ryan won the U.S. Amateur Championship, the Western Amateur, the U.S. Public Links Championship and the Individual NCAA Division 1 Title at UNLV. Since turning pro in 2005, Ryan has steadily improved, but is still looking for his first professional win, and is only playing in his third major as a pro. He was really nice and had a really pretty swing (I guess they all kind do, huh?)

Ryan Moore teeing off on 10. If you look hard you can see his ball in flight...can you find it?

I watched Ryan head down the fairway before turning once more to the 18th green, where I saw Ben Curtis, who you might remember as the guy who came out of nowhere to win the 2003 British Open at Royal St. George's. His career didn't exactly explode after that, but he's won a major and you and I haven't, so we can't really be too critical, can we? He is evidently a big Indianapolis Colts fan, or is endorsed by them, because he was wearing a Colts polo while playing.

Ben Curtis putting. That's probably the lamest caption ever.

After the thrill of watching B golfers miss putts, I decided to stroll on down the 18th fairway, where I caught a fleeting glimpse of Todd Hamilton, who you might remember as the other nobody who won a British Open recently (in fact right after Ben Curtis did, at Royal Troon).

Hot Toddy hitting from the fairway on 18.

To be honest, all these one-hit wonders were pissing me off. The thrill of seeing Ernie had worn off in the oppressive heat, and I needed to see some more stars. I consulted myLeaderboard and it told me to go to hole 17 where (God bless technology) I found the friendly Fijian Vijay Singh. A workhorse who needs no introduction to golf fans, Vijay is always in the "best golfer not named Tiger" conversation, and is the only person other than Tiger to win Player of the Year honors (in 2004) in the last 8 years. He also won this very PGA Championship in 1998 and 2004. Sorry I said he needed no introduction, so I'll shut up. He was playing with Lee Westwood, and they were practicing chipping from over the green.

Lee and Vij.


Vijay deftly chipping from behind the green. Surely you can find this ball in flight...

Vijay and Lee teed off on 18 and I headed back to the main entrance area, having to return myLeaderboard by 6:00. It was 5:40, so I had little time to spare. Along the way, I did manage to snap pics of David Howell, an Englishman...

David Howell teeing off in the fading sunlight.

...and Daniel Chopra (who?) I have no idea, I just called him Mr. Pineapplehead.

Mr. Pineapplehead signing autographs.

Mr. Pineapplehead teeing off.

10 minutes to go, and it was time to book it on over to the American Express tent to return myLeaderboard, which I used one last time to confirm that I'd seen all of the notable players still left on site. On the way, I ran into who I'm calling Lil' Tiger. I hope I don't have to explain that nickname. It was kind of like those old Anfernee Hardaway commercials with Lil Penny. This kid looked just like Tiger only, well, lil'er.

See for yourself.

He's the kid in the polo with the white TW hat. I know it's not the best pic, but you try taking a picture of someone else's child who you don't know in a public place with his large father next to him. Go ahead, try it. You'll just have to trust me I guess, maybe it was just the hat, who knows. His brother looked like Elian Gonzales...guess you had to be there.

I passed under the arched entryway around 6:10 Tuesday afternoon, leaving, for the second time in two days, completely satisfied with my day at the 2007 PGA Championship.

Tomorrow...Tiger Hunting. Stay tuned.