The End of the Road

All good things must come to an end. Even major championships. I awoke Sunday morning with a heavy heart, knowing that my time at the 2007 PGA Championship was drawing to a close. After dinner on Saturday night, I was extremely tired and could not bring myself to finish Saturday's post, electing instead to spend all of Sunday morning frantically editing and posting. I probably should have maximized my final day of the tournament by getting to the course early, watching the non-contenders finish, tying up the loose ends of my previous posts, figuring out what the hell happened to Eric Axley, etc. But I didn't. Deal with it.

It wasn't until about 1:30 in the afternoon that I even left the house. Again I had to struggle with the overwhelmingly crowded parking lots and disorienting bus system before getting to the course at about 2:30. Tiger teed off at 2:00, as he did on Saturday, in the 3rd Round.

This was my first Sunday at a major championship, and I was definitely raring to go. I'd packed two extra bottles of water in my backpack, along with two extra shirts, my camera (in its usual place) and my phone, just in case (of what? I don't know).

I rendezvoused with Tiger at the fifth hole, which is where I started all but one of the rounds to this point, so it only seemed fitting that I do it one more time. For the record, Tiger had a two stroke lead heading into the final round, but wasn't exactly running away with the tournament by the time I got my first glimpse of him, hitting his approach on 5.

Tiger, in his Sunday red, admiring his approach shot.

I won't dole out a whole lot of play-by-play, as I did with the first 3 days. This entry will be mostly a visual extravaganza, consisting mostly of pictures and captions. The reason for this is quite simple: today's date, September 12, is a full month, to the day, after this final Sunday at Southern Hills, and I can't a) remember all the intimate details of that afternoon and b) it's unlikely any one will read this anymore, anyway.

If you, for some reason, don't know, Tiger goes on to win the tournament, finishing a stroke ahead of Woody Austin, who put up a valiant effort, but in the end fell short to his Tigerness. The closest anyone got to Tiger was one stroke back, in the middle of the back nine. Tiger made a birdie on 14 (I think) and then coasted into the clubhouse for his 13th major championship of his career and fourth tournament win of the year.

So, without further ado, pictures!

Tiger putting for birdie on 5.

Tiger and his caddy, Steve Williams, walking up the 6th fairway.

Tiger crushing a drive.

Tiger and Friends.

I took a break when Tiger got to the 10th hole, and scurried on over to the AMEX tent for my free snack, drink, and air conditioning, while Tiger fought the sun on holes 10, 11, and 12. I rejoined him on the tee at #13.

Tiger teeing off on 13.

Tiger from the fairway on 13, you can find the ball streak in this one.

We were all watching the leaderboards.

Tiger from the 16th fairway, you can see the ball in this one, too, but it's really hard.

Everyone waiting for Tiger to come up 18.

Tiger hitting what would be his third-to-last shot of the tournament, the approach on 18.

A hero's welcome at 18 from the crowd.

Tiger tapping in the final putt of the championship.

And then the crowd erupted.

The crowd cheered and cheered as Tiger hugged his caddy and shook hands with his vanquished opponents before heading into the scorer's tent to sign his scorecard. We all waited outside for the awards ceremony. A correspondent from CBS emceed the whole thing, and Tiger thanked the fans (me!) and his family (especially his new daughter, Sam), before hoisting the Wanamaker Trophy high above his head for all to see.

Way to go, Tiger!

After the ceremony, Tiger posed for lots of pictures before trudging back up the hill and into the clubhouse, where he presumably showered, got dressed, picked up his check and went to the airport. This was the last photo I got of him, as he left...it's kind of poignant in a way, isn't it?

The end to a magical week.

So there you have it, Tiger Woods, your 2007 PGA Champion. Go figure, right? It was an amazing week in every single way. I know this wasn't much of a post, but screw you, I'm the author I can do what I want. In all seriousness, this was an experience that I'll remember for the rest of my life. I'd like to thank all of the people I met in Tulsa, from my coworkers in the merchandise tent, to the parking lot attendants, to all the weirdos and golf nerds I met strolling the grounds. Hell, I'll even thank the woman who narced on me for taking pictures. I'd like to thank the golfers, Tiger especially, for being so much fun to watch. I'd like to thank Al Gore for a) global warming, which was in full force this week and b) for inventing the internet so that I might blog. Thanks to all my loyal readers, even if you'll likely never see this final post, since it took me so damn long to finish it. Thanks to my parents for allowing me to follow this whim and for pitching in the gas money (good lookin' out). Finally, I'd like to thank Wendy, Abby, Harper and Chaka for their incredible hospitality in taking me into their home, feeding me and entertaining me. I hope it wasn't too unbearable.

Well, that's all she wrote. See you next year? We'll see.




P.s. Sorry, Vijay.