The British is coming, the British is coming
AYR, Scotland - The British Open is the rare tournament that requires a red-eye flight, a passport, and endless patience. The Open Championship, as it is known on these shores, is easily my favorite tournament of the year, but it is not always easy getting settled into a new environment. There are driving rules to re-learn and money to exchange and a long flight across the pond.
My journey began on Sunday evening, when I arrived at Newark Airport and met up with two golf scribes (Mark Cannizzaro of the New York Post and Hank Gola of the New York Daily News) and one PGA Tour caddie (Ron Levin, Fredrik Jacobson's looper) for an early dinner. We talked golf, watched the Angels hammer the Yankees for the umpteenth time, and raced over to our gate.
Joe LaCava, Fred Couples's long-time caddie, was already on board. He was with me in coach, preparing to loop for Davis Love III.
"Who won the Deere?" I asked him. "I missed the finish."
"Stricker, I think," LaCava said (he was right).
"Cool, good guy," I said.
I settled into my window seat on Continental (I counted more than 20 golf bags being loaded onto the plane) and quickly browsed the movie selections. Ferris Bueller's Day Off? For old time's sake. The Wedding Singer? Who doesn't love Sandler and Barrymore? Big? Can't go wrong with Tom Hanks.
On the six-hour-plus flight, I ended up watching all three movies and, later, got lured into a computer game of blackjack. At customs, I bumped into ESPN's Mike Tirico, who was sporting a Detroit Tigers cap, and met up with Gola, who was driving our group to our flat about 30 minutes from Turnberry.
I was working on an hour sleep. When I finally arrived at our house, I was pleasantly surprised to find wireless internet and a comfortable bed. I logged onto my computer and spied a stack of new email messages. One said that Tiger had already made an appearance at Turnberry. Another said Padraig Harrington would be in the interview room Tuesday morning. Open Championship week had begun.
Posted by: JT | Jul 15, 2009 12:55:28 AM
Rob/Jay: Actually, Hack gets paid to write high-quality articles for the two magazines. That's his forte. Now in the effort to entice online readers like you (and me), his editors ask him to blog a little of his experiences across the pond. It's all part of the industry's new business model, whatever that is. I'm sure he'd just as soon dive straight into covering the Open without having to recap his travelogue. You don't have to read it; feel free to skip his blog the rest of the week and go straight to his good stuff when the event's over on Sunday.
Posted by: ron lutz | Jul 14, 2009 3:56:55 PM
tiger will win the open
Posted by: Harry | Jul 14, 2009 3:36:39 PM
Wow what a tough trip - non stop flight and someone else driving you to your flat. I feel really sorry for you having to go to the Open Championship. I wish I could go there. Thanks to Barack sucking all the money out of the private sector that won't be happening anytime soon.
Posted by: Noel | Jul 14, 2009 1:58:08 PM
Hey Damon, good article and hope you settle in for a comfortable week. Look forward to more from you.
Posted by: Jay | Jul 14, 2009 1:55:48 PM
agree with Rob, what's the use of posting this??
Posted by: G | Jul 14, 2009 1:31:05 PM
He's just giving an inside look at what it's like to arrive there during the Open week. This isn't an article. It's called a blog or commentary. He writes articles that a very good. You must be a big fellow to come on the internet and criticize someone you don't know. Damon is a good writer. You get paid to read golf.com at work?
Posted by: Rob | Jul 14, 2009 12:23:22 PM
This is an article?
More importantly this guy gets paid for this?