Mark’s Kaddy Korner

First Round Senior PGA Championship

We’ve been around the course twice and feel like we’re ready. The mental preparation is over now it’s time to go out and play. I showed up at the course about 6:30 for our 8:20 time but didn’t see Tom till about forty-five minutes before tee time. Every player has his routine and Tom does a lot of stretching in the fitness trailer before hitting balls. I did all my prep work and waited on the practice tee for about a half hour. There were a lot of questions about Ox’s health, Tom’s regular caddy, and few questions about how I got the job. Players and caddies always like to know what’s going on.

A bucket of balls, some casual conversation, and few putts; we headed for the first tee with Jay Hass and Hal Sutton. There was a nice early morning crowd gathered at the tee and I was quite calm, just the usual butterflies which was good. We birdied the first hole twice this week so the golfing gods decided to even the score. Our tee shot flared right into the trees, bounced back into the fairway, and left us 175 yards to the hole instead of the usual wedge shot.

Tom joked about not having a sprinkler head back this far and casually went about his business. I could tell right then this guy doesn’t get flustered. Golf is played one shot at a time and his focus was always on the shot at hand. The punch four iron under the tree limbs rolled into the bunker, he handed me the club and walked to the next shot, never uttering a word or an emotion. Throughout the day he was always under control; it was a pleasure walking by his side even though we didn’t have our “A game”.

We short sided ourselves with an easy wedge shot on the third hole and were two over through the first three holes. I looked at Tom on the fourth tee, he smiled, and we talked about the weather. The forecast was for birdies, we decided, and he proceeded to birdie the most difficult hole on the front side. A well placed drive and seven iron behind the hole left about a 25 foot birdie putt. He called me in for the read and rolled it right in the middle. I felt like an important part of the team right then and we were going to grind out this round.

It was an up and down day and after the double bogey on 12 we were five over. My buddy Todd and Dave Stockton were three under and had a share of the lead. Tom noticed the scoreboard, mentioned it, and I reminded him the forecast was for more birdies. Tom came right back with a birdie on the par three thirteenth and then birdied both par fives, fifteen and sixteen.

The mark of a great player is that good round without the good game that day. The pitcher that can get by without his good stuff will always win his share of games. The golfer who can get the best out of a mediocre day will finish well on Sunday. Tom turned a 75 or 76 into a 72 and kept us in the ball game. Some guys would have hung their head on the thirteenth tee but I think Tom gave himself a bit of pep talk as he stood by himself on the left side of the tee. The double bogey didn’t bother him he just went about the business of the next shot, a true professional.

After taking care of the scorecard, autograph seekers, and reporters we headed for the putting green for about a half hour. He asked me to take a look; we discussed the putting during the round, and decided the stroke coming in was better than on the front nine. My thought was to get comfortable and go; don’t worry about the mechanics of the stance and let your natural athletic ability take over. You don’t think about mechanics when you’re shooting a free throw, why worry about mechanics when putting. Step up, get comfortable, and putt; they’ll go in.

After the session he gathered his personal items from the bag, smiled and said, “We go at 1:20 tomorrow, we’ll get’em. See you tomorrow.” He gave the round his best, it wasn’t a great score, but it was his best effort. We’re going to be in good shape come Sunday. He shook a little rust off today and the putts will start dropping the rest of the week.