I Was Born in the BackSeat of a GreyHound Bus

Lord I was born a ramblin' man.

I wasn't able to live-blog my epic Huntsville-Fredericksburg-Austin-Fredericksburg via Sugar Land roadtrip for the Joe Black Texas Cup matches at Boot Ranch. To make it up, here is a running diary of what happened.

So I drove back from Huntsville straight to St. Laurence to catch the 11 a.m. mass, then back to my condo. There, I spent an hour and a half sorting through mail and packing before hitting I-10 West to Kerrville, where I was planning on spending the night at my grandparents before heading to the tournament in the morning.

All told, it was a good 6 hours of driving. Along the way I had a realization: there is no logic to the fluctuation of gas prices within the State of Texas. Here's an example, I saw a Shell station at $2.65 just off of 59 in Richmond. Despite being off of a major thoroughfare near a big city, pretty reasonable. Well, when I went a back way to I-10 so I could stop in and see my parents I saw that the price at an Eagle Lake Shell was $2.80. Eagle Lake is not exactly a bustling metropolis. Later that week I saw two Shell stations in Dripping Springs a block apart (not kidding) with a difference of 11 cents between them.

We are living in crazy times, folks.

By the way, there is a best gas station in Texas. It's the Buc-ee's in Luling. Anyone who has driven to San Antonio on I-10 knows what I'm talking about. Best restrooms, best fountain drinks, best selection of snacks...you can buy everything from a deer stand to a replica of the Texas Declaration of Independence. And it's a Shell, where I get a rebate. There's no comparision.

I always see signs for Jim's Restaurants. Have you ever eaten there? Me neither.

Going through Live Oak on I-10 I saw an ad for the "New and Improved" Northwest Herald, a local paper. There was a sample of the alleged improved publication, which proudly featured riveting stories such as "ASPCA Rescues Animals" (Really?) and "Area Students Prepare for SATs" (That's never happened before). You would think they would use the edition from a more exciting news day as an example.

In Kerrville I watched the Red Sox win their second title in three years. Think about this: 10 years from now, people my age won't remember the Red Sox as being a cursed franchise. Weird.

And now, the Cup matches. The Joe Black Texas Cup is an annual Ryder Cup-style competition between the PGA pros from North Texas and South Texas. The Cup is named for Black, a native Texan and former PGA of America president. He's the godfather of PGA pros, read more about him in the next edition.

We have a Brad Lardon sighting! Houston Links' friend and Miramont's Director of Golf was playing in his first Cup matches. He's been one of the best playing professionals in Texas for years, but his classification was either touring pro or assistant pro. Now that's he's a director of golf, it's on.

Houston Links has a feature on Boot Ranch, the tournament host, and interview with founder and architect Hal Sutton. Be sure it pick it up. Kenny Hand was telling me how spectacular the course was, and he was right. Here's a picture of No. 17, a par 3.

And here's two of the pros putting on the 10th green.

I talked to native Fredericksburgite (?) and tournament volunteer Bob Henke, who was just blown away by the luxury and the beauty of the course. Bob looks to be in his 70s, and talked about exploring this same land as a kid. He's a member at the other course in Fredericksburg, Lady Bird Johnson Golf Course. I've played it, it's quite nice. Bob's father was the mayor when they built the first nine holes at Lady Bird. He recalls that his dad wanted to build a second nine, but the city fathers objected to fronting the money to buy the land.

"They said, 'Goulf vill nev-are take auff in Fredericks-bourg,'" Bob said.

"Then LBJ became president, tourism went through the roof, and the same land they could've paid $1,300 an acre for ended up costing them $11,000 an acre."

Boot Ranch's whole theme is "Casual Elegance, Texas Style." They have Western art and Texas-style decorations everywhere. As you can see, they even have a statue of my Dad, Joe Blair, checking his e-mail.

More later.

Closing Comments

"Gunga GaLunga."

Uihlein's attempt at a hope-saving birdie chip was juuust a bit outside

I thought they had this thing won. The United States rode Whitsett and Uihlein to the lead after 14 holes at 28-under, but those cheeky Englishmen Gary Boyd and Daniel Willett did what they do: carded six birdies on the back nine to nip the Yanks, 32-under to 30-under.

The number of the day? 71, or 1-under, as in the score for the U.S. gals on Saturday. The English women also shot 71. This after going 8-under yesterday. Everytime I looked up it seemed like T-Joh or Blu was falling to the ground, agonizing over a missed birdie putt.

I guess the carousel goes up and down, and around. The American girls didn't harness the good energy and block out the bad.

Their three bogeys were also tough. They owned it afterwards though, and Joh delivered the quote of the championship.

"Today I went off into the woods, built a treehouse, and tried to start a tribe."

She's awesome, and will no doubt make LPGA writers ridiculously happy someday. But Blu is a lot better than her at sumo wrestling, beating her four out of four times at the Carnival Party afterwards.

Incidentally, I think this may be the first time that my lucky Simpsons boxers didn't work, probably because I wore them on the outside of my boxer briefs. Fumble.

As for the American men all I can say is wow. Uihlein dominated the back nine and our man Whitsett played incredible. It's going to be fun to see what heights Cory can reach. My money is on Emperor of Planet Earth. We can say we knew him when.

Well, that wraps up The 2007 Spirit Live-Blog. Tune in next week for me at the Joe Black Cup Matches in Fredericksburg. (I don't remember what home looks like)

Blair Comes From Nowhere to Win Bronze

TRINITY, TEXAS - With a declaration of, "Eff this," journalist Alex Blair left the action at 18 at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship, went to his car and got his sand wedge. Blair stomped to the first tee and proceeded to shoot a course-record 58 in the fading light at Whispering Pines Golf Club.

The feat was so impressive that tournamnet founder awarded Blair the bronze medal out of sheer "awesomeness." This in spite of the fact that Blair had played only 18 holes at the 72-hole championship, and represented no country except a nation he referred to as "Alextopia," adding that "It's near Hallettsville" and "No you cannot see my passport."

The 22-year-old sports journalist maintained that he never thought he was out of the medal hunt, despite covering the tournament's first three rounds instead of playing in them.

"You can't even look at the leaderboard," Blair said. "You've just got to keep your head down and take it one shot at a time."

Tournament director Eric Fredricksen was scratching his head afterwards.

"I don't know that guy, or how he got in here."

England Prevails

TRINITY, TEXAS - Those famous English stiff upper lips came through in the end.

The Americans did all they could to finish off an epic comeback at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship with an 11-under 133 combined best-ball score to finish at 30-under 546, but England successfully defended their gold medal at 32-under. AJGA All-American Peter Uihlein made a two-foot birdie putt on No. 14 to put the United States in the lead at 28-under. But the incredible pair of Gary Boyd and Daniel Willett carded six birdies on the back nine and Elizabeth Bennett made a critical birdie on the par 5 17th to help England finish in first at 32-under. United States and Korea tied for the silver medal two shots back at the championship, held at Whispering Pines Golf Club. France picked up nine shots to win the bronze medal at 22-under.

“It was nail-bating stuff,” said England captain David Basham. “It could’ve gone either way right up until 18.”

For the second consecutive day the United States had the day’s low round. On Friday they rode NCAA All-Americans Tiffany Joh and Amanda Blumenherst’s eight birdies to a 13-under round that vaulted the red, white, and blue into contention. On Saturday it was the American men’s turn to blaze a birdie trail. 2007 Junior Amateur champion Cory Whitsett and No. 1-ranked Peter Uihlein were 5-under after nine holes, while Boyd and Willett were only 1-under.

“Today we finally played the way we should,” Uihlein said.

Uihlein hadn’t really clicked the whole tournament until the back nine on Saturday. Then he showed why he’s a two-time AJGA Player of the Year. He had four birdies in a five-hole stretch from Holes 13 to 17 to give the United States a narrow lead.

Bennett and partner Naomi Edwards were playing in the group behind the American men and knew that they were rocketing up the leaderboard.

“There were a lot of claps,” Bennett said. “I saw their name on the scoreboard going (lower and lower). I would look at our guys and see that they were still 1-under. I was like, ‘What’s going on?’”

Boyd and Willett turned it around in a big way. Willett birdied holes 10, 11, and 12, while Boyd birdied the difficult back-to-back par 3s at 15 and 16 and also the par 5 17th.

“We just stayed patient,” Willett said. “We knew we were hitting it pretty good.”

The United States’ chances would have been better had the men had more help from Joh and Blumenherst. The two agonized over their lack of success on the greens after finishing at 1-under on the day with three bogeys.

“It’s a deep, deep burn,” said the affable Joh. “‘T-Joh’ did not play like a champion. Today I went off into the woods, built a tree-house, and tried to start a tribe.”

“It was painful,” Blumenherst added. “There were so many putts that could’ve dropped. For myself, I hit the ball so much better than I did yesterday and still couldn’t do anything with it.”

One thing that the American girls did do well was bounce back from their bogeys with birdies. After bogeying the difficult par 3 16th, Blumenherst two-putted for a birdie at the par 5 17th. That got the Americans 29-under, tied with England.

“I knew the American girls had birdied 17 because I heard the roar,” Bennett said. “I knew that we had to keep up with them.”

Bennett chipped to four feet and sank the putt, which gave Boyd and Willett the cushion to play for bogey on the treacherous closing par 4, which has a false front that slopes tremendously into the water. Willett laid up, hit the green, and coolly two-putted for bogey.

With the win England became the first country to defend its gold medal at The Spirit, and the first to win multiple times. They are also the first country to win whose women did not win the women’s team medal. Boyd and Willett also won the men’s team gold at 27-under, while Korea won the women’s team medal at 13-under. Gold medals are given out to who makes the most birdies and eagles, which Korea’s Soo-Jin Yang and Willett captured. Afterwards, Basham couldn’t have been prouder of his team.

“They were nervous about having to defend their title,” Basham said. “They rose to the occasion.”

USA Men Leading Charge

The Americans are 5-under through 9, Whitsett has three birdies. American girls 1-under. GOTTA GO!

Show me the MONEY! Go CK and Chris!

I know people sleep on the PGA Tour after the PGA Championship is over, but bear in mind that some Houston boys are on the bubble to retain their cards...and are in contention this week at the rain-delayed Ginn Sur Mer Classic at Tesoro, the second-to-last official event on the schedule.

Craig Kanada won his card by chipping in for the win on the 71st hole at the Nationwide Tour Championship at the Houstonian last year. Currently he sits at 127 on the money list, and t9 at 8-under.

Nederland native and Lamar Univeristy graduate is 136 on the list and T20 at 6-under.

Let's go boys!

Team USA in Good Spirits

Then again, T.J. seems like the kind of person that is always in good spirits. For all you know, she could be looking someone falling off a ladder. She would have the same reaction.

The American men are clad in victory red shirts.

Hmm...

Bold Predictions for Today's Final Round

The United States Team has four All-Americans, but I think their hopes hinge on the performance of the English Ladies.

Remember how I wrote that no team has won the international medal that hasn't also won the women's team medal?

Consider that England, who leads Korea and the U.S. at 25-under, has gotten 21 of those birdies from the dynamic duo of Daniel Willett and Gary Boyd (who are running away with the men's title at this point) and only four from Namoi Edwards (pictured) and Elizabeth Bennet. If Boyd and Willett come back to Earth, or Edwards and Bennet fail to make clutch par saves like they did yesterday, I think we may have a new leader by the back nine.

Of course, if Edwards and Bennet get hot this thing could be over by the back nine.

It's a fact that the girls carry the team in this championship. Women's amateur golf's international talent pool isn't as deep as the boys. You can't have just one gender go nuts and win this thing.

Then again, the England men are going really nuts.

But that's why I gotta pick the U.S. or Korea in this thing. That 8-under performance by the American girls showed me they've broken out of their funk, and the boys haven't really clicked. They've thrown some strokes away in all three rounds. Korea is just incredible, it's like they're already professionals the way they handle the pressure. Yesterday on 18 I saw Bi-O drain a CLUTCH 12-footer for par when his partner was in the drink, putting for double. They had a sub-standard day yesterday, expect that to change.

In any case it'll be fun to watch.

Spirit-o-Lantern

So every year the Blair family cousins have this pumpkin carving party, and every year I'm pretty paranoid that someone will come along and usurp my title as best artist in the family. I can't have that. Which means that every year I'm continuously trying to outdo myself. The first year it was Vince Young, the next...the UT Tower. So I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do this year, but it's pretty complex. On that note I decided to get some practice in and carve The Spirit logo into a mini-pumpikin.

Prepare to get Jack-o-ruled, rest of Blairs.

Americans Charge Up Leaderboard

TRINITY, TEXAS - Through two rounds at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship the American women’s team was the sleeping giant. On the third day they woke up.

NCAA All-Americans Tiffany Joh and Amanda Blumenherst turned in an 8-under 64 to spur the United States to a 13-under third round, a tournament best. That puts them alone in third entering tomorrow’s final round at 19-under-par for the championship. Team England leads the Americans by six shots and Korea by three. The Spirit is held at Whispering Pines Golf Club.

“We only had one practice round,” Joh said. “We should’ve had four or five.”

Coming into the tournament, Blumenherst and Joh were expected to be one of the most potent combinations at The Spirit. Blumenherst was runner-up at the U.S. Amateur this summer while Joh won the 2006 U.S. Public Links Championship. But instead they had been a bust, shooting 74-70 on the first two days, even par. Not what you’d expect from two USGA finalists. In comparison, Team Korea was leading the women’s competition at 10-under.

Then the dam broke. The girls birdied four out of their first five holes in their third round, including a chip-in by Joh on the par 3 third.

“We paged Dr. Chipinsky,” Joh said.

Meanwhile, the American men were having a tough time getting any birdie putts to fall, with Cory Whitsett missing makeable chances inside of six feet on the par 4 4th and the par 5 5th. No. 1-ranked junior Peter Uihlein ignited a rally with an 8-foot birdie on the dogleg right par 4 6th. Whitsett answered by bombing in a 20-footer on No. 7. After the front nine, the Americans had made up seven shots on the field and climbed to 13-under for the championship.

The Americans made four more birdies in first four holes of their back nine and news of their run percolated around the golf course.

“We heard they were 11-under on the day and thought, ‘Oh dear,’” said England’s Gary Boyd.

Then the Americans cooled off. Uihlein missed a three-footer on 14, and Whitsett was forced to make a clutch sand save on the island par 3 15th after Whitsett hit his tee shot into Lake Livingston. But Joh birdied two of her last three holes, sticking it inside of four feet on 16 and making a 10-foot putt on the last.

“It’s about time,” Whitsett said of the girls’ performance. “They’re two of the best college players in the country.”

At one point the Americans were only one shot out of the lead after starting 12 shots back of third-round leader South Korea. But both the Koreans and the English teed off after the Americans, and made birdies of their own coming in.

At the start of the round, it looked like Korea would soon put the tournament out of reach, as the men birdied four of their first six holes. But then the duo of Bi-O Kim and Woo-Hyun Kim did something they hadn’t done all tournament: back up. They made three bogies in their next six holes and England seized the lead. England’s Daniel Willet played Holes 11-14 in 4-under, and holed out for eagle from a greenside bunker on the par 5 12th.

Willett and partner Gary Boyd have played the best golf of anyone in the field. Boyd leads the field with 13 birdies, and Willett is a close second at 12.

“We’re both aggressive players,” Willett said. “My guess is that tomorrow the pin positions will be kind of fun. If people start having to come after us it could be tough.”

Spirit gold, silver, and bronze medals are given out to the men and women with the most birdies, as well as lowest men’s team, women’s team, and combined international team. Canada’s Sue Kim and Chinese Taipei Yu-Ling Hsieh lead the women with 12 birdies. England leads the men’s team at 21-under, and Chinese Taipei and Korea leads the women’s team at 10-under.

Miracle on Grass

Okay, maybe not quite. I was just looking for something patriotic.

Team USA went 13-under today, and at one point were only one shot off the lead. No way did I think that was possible. They trail England by 6 going into tomorrow.

Hey Everyone! Look Who It Is!

It's NCAA All-Americans Amanda Blumenherst and Tiffany Joh! Welcome to the party, gals! The American women made the turn in 5-under. While Whitsett and Uihlein...

Resurrected Shake n' Bake for a back-to-back birdies on 6 and 7. The Americans are 7-under on the day after 9 and have chased down the Norwegians for third. They're only three back of England and seven back of Korea.

America Tees Off @ 9:14

H'Okay. It's put up or shut up time for our boys and girls. They all seemed pretty confident after yesterday's second consecutive 141 that they were still in this thing.

"You can't even think about it," Cory said. "You've just got to go out and play your best golf."

Here's a thought. The Americans are playing with Team Canada. Maybe T-Joh and A-Blu will be inspired playing against tournament birdies co-leader Sue Kim and get hot. That's where USA's run will come from if it's coming.

I would think to even have a prayer USA would have to close the gap between them and the Koreans from 12 shots to at least eight after today. Then hope that the Koreans back up at least one of the next two days.

I'm pretty suprised Team USA is this far back at the halfway point, but not as suprised I am at the fact that Tiny House was never made into an actual reality show.

On Second Thought

So you may remember how the other day I decried people freaking out over a little cold. Well when I got to course this morning a volunteer wiped off my cart's seat and sheets of ice came falling off. That, my friends, is called the you-know-what hitting the fan. It's officially pullover time. I heard someone say it got down to 35 degrees this morning.

This is how I felt driving the cart around.

Who Knew They Were Golf Fans?

Sitting in Bed

Listening to the 9th Inning of the Red Sox game on my $10 Wal-Mart radio. Ever notice that John Miller really emphasizes the word "foul"?

"Swingna fFOUL."

"Popped...fFOUL."

Anyway, game over. Papelbon is awesome. My favorite non-Astro. This doesn't have anything to do with The Spirit...just sayin'.

D'oh. D'oh. D'oh. D'OH!!

So I was talkin to Uihlein and Whitsett after their round. They're pretty hilarious the way they needle each other.

Whitsett: "We're getting beaten by 14-year-old Korean girls and we're AJGA All-Americans. How does that make you feel?"

Uihlein: "Like a stud."

And then there was the subject of the four-jack...from five feet, which Uihlein did on No. 3. Richard Dean of the Houston Chroncile told him that at least he seemed upbeat about it.

"I'm about to go hang myself," he replied.

He also said he never had four-putted in a tournament before. I told him he should've saved the ball.

Luau Party Tonight

As Rodney Dangerfield said in Caddyshack, "Hey everybody, we're all gonna get lei'd." Then Bushwood threw a giant Luau. It was a deleted scene.

Korea Rolling at The Spirit

TRINITY, TEX. -- The South Korean team has done everything they can to pull away after two rounds at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship, but those pesky English keep hanging around. Not many other teams can say the same.

The Korean men’s and women’s team shot a combined 7-under 137 to climb to 18-under par for the championship at Whispering Pines Golf Club. Team England, the defending champion, shot a 6-under 138 and sit only two shots back. The Spirit is scored by totaling the combined best-ball for each two-man and two-woman teams representing 24 countries. England leads all men’s teams at 14-under, while Korea leads the women at 10-under. South Africa climbed up the leader board by matching the Korean’s 137 and sit alone in third, a full six shots back of England.

The secret to Korea’s success has been two talented young girls. Soo-Jin Yang, 16, and Sei-Young Kim, only 14, are running away with the women’s team medal: they hold a 5-shot lead at 10-under for the championship. The Spirit was held at a later date this year, which has made it possible for the Korean golf federation to bring some of their elite players. Yang and Kim are in that class. Both won the Korean Women’s Amateur Championship, Yang this year and Kim in 2006 at age 13. Despite their small size, both are long off the tee. Barry Smith, Yang’s caddie, has been blown away by the power display.

“I’ve seen (Yang) hit golf balls further than most grown men,” said Smith, a caddy at Redstone Golf Club in Humble, Texas. “On the par 4 13th hole she hit a drive I didn’t see her ball land. I told her she might want to hit a provisional. We got up there and she had a 30-foot chip. It was at least a 280, 290 yard drive.”

The duo has known each other for five years, both went to the same school. Familiarity breeds the chemistry that is critical in best-ball format.

“I don’t know how (the girls) are playing so well,” Korean men’s team member Bi-O Kim said, smiling.

The Spirit has been held every other year since 2001, and the international team gold medal has gone to the same country that won the women’s team gold medal at each playing.

For awhile on Thursday it looked like the United State was about to insert itself right in the thick of things. They had climbed to 8-under for the championship with 5 birdies on the day. Then they made the turn. The Americans dropped two shots to fall back to 6-under, 12 shots back.

AJGA Player of the Year Peter Uihlein would probably like to forget the par 3 third hole. It was his and partner Cory Whitsett’s twelfth of the day. Uihlein stuck his approach inside of 5 feet, so Whitsett picked up, thinking par was assured.

Uihlein four-putted for double bogey.

“I just got lazy,” Uihlein said. “I ran it by, then lipped out, and by then I was so rattled. I’ve never four-putted in a tournament before.”

“I shouldn’t have picked up,” Whitsett needled. “I didn’t think you’d three-putt.”

NCAA All-American Tiffany Joh remains upbeat about Team USA’s chances despite the gulf between them and Korea.

“We were making some investments today,” Joh said. “Hopefully we’ll cash in our chips tomorrow. Day three is moving day.”
The Spirit also awards individual medals based on how many birdies a golfer cards in best-ball play. England’s Daniel Willet leads the men’s field with nine, while Sue Kim and Yang lead the women with eight. The Spirit is a 72-hole event and concludes play on Saturday. Of the 96 golfers participating 77 are national champions. Spectators are encouraged. Admission and parking are free and concessions are available for purchase.

Hey Sista, Go Sista, Seoul Sistah, Flow Sistah

So I started out following the home team, and boy were they rolling. Uihlein Hit a 4-iron 238 yards out of the par 5 12th and stuck it about four feet from the hole. Made it. Then drained a 15-footer for birdie on the 14th. Nice little 3-3 there.

That's when I heard that the Koreans were 16-under. WAH?! So I had to catch up with them to take some pictures and figure out why the hell they were making all these birdies.

You'll love this. The girls team is really what's separating them. They're 10-under, leading all other women's teams by 5 shots. Soo-Jin Yang (right), who's 16, hit a 290-yard drive today. She's under 5 feet tall and can't weigh that much more than 100 pounds. 290 yards, geeze. A halway-decent shot-putter could hurl her that distance.

An observation: Every women's team that has captured the gold medal at The Spirit has also led their team to the international medal. Think about that.

Also the Korean coach, Mr. Oh, totally owned me today. He noticed that we were using the same camera, and I mentioned that the Nikon I use is great because it's pretty user-friendly, seeing as I'm not a professionally trained photographer.

"Yes," he said. "I noticed you were on 'Automatic."

Ouch.

I will post my press release momentarily.

Team USA Dads vs. Joh's Mom and Alli Jarrett in Foosball

Alli is pretty intense.

It's Gettin' Cold in Here, So Put on All Your Clothes

So for the second consecutive morning I arrive at Whispering Pines to find everyone bundled up as if nuclear winter is upon us. Every morning everyone seems taken aback that I'm wearing shorts. The answer?

Because I like to party.

We're at that time in Texas where all of the sudden it goes from 80 degrees to 50 degrees overnight. Every year, we all freak out and overeagerly dust off our winter attire. Relax people, as soon as the sun comes up it's going to be warm again.

Besides, we all longed for winter all summer. Now that it's here, drink it in.

Headed to Karaoke Night

I'm back at the lodge right now unwinding by listening to Stairway to Heaven for probably the 87th time in the last week. Over-under until I get sick of it: 12,423.

About to head over to Camp O for dinner and to laugh at Karaoke Night. If they have any Journey on that machine, look out.

"Shesaid Hooooooooold OOoooOOON!!! HOLD ON! HOLD ON!! Hooo-oooo-old oooon!!!"

UPDATE:

It's 8 p.m. I just got back from Camp and there was nothing jumping except a Whitsett-Blumenherst v. Uihlein-Joh ping-pong match. After that it was Ali Jarret and Mrs. Joh vs. Mr Joh and Mr. Blumenherst. Pretty fun to watch, but no horrible singing involved. I realize I may have come before things got started but dang, I could've gone to the Huntsville Wal-Mart and been back by now! Curses!

Korea leads after Day 1

TRINITY, TEXAS - The golfers at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship at Whispering Pines Golf Club didn’t mind a little breeze, or a gale for that matter. The wind huffed and puffed, but could not blow the scores up.

After round one, Team Korea leads the 72-hole team best-ball tournament at 11-under par. Defending champion England trails by one. Korea is also tied with Canada for the women’s gold at 6-under, while on the men’s side England leads Australia by three after a 9-under par effort. England’s Gary Boyd and Canada’s Sue Kim lead the field in birdies with seven and five, respectively.

The course is called “Whispering Pines” because of the sound the wind makes as it blows through the trees. Today it was Screaming Pines. The wind blew at a steady 25 miles-per-hour with occasional gusts as strong as 37 mph. Not a problem, said England’s Daniel Willett.

“We said before the tournament that if it was windy it would be good for us,” Willett said. “We play in this all year round.”

What’s more, the fast and hard links courses that the English play in the summer are good preparation for the speedy greens at Whispering Pines. That England went low in these conditions is no surprise, but Korea isn’t exactly known for its wind.

“A couple weeks ago we played the course (at our school) and it was twice as windy as this,” Bi-O Kim said with a smile. “We didn’t do anything different out there.”

Lurking three shots back of Korea are the Canadians, thanks in large part to Sue Kim, who despite being only 16 was runner-up at the Canadian Women’s Amateur this year. Kim has some harsh words for those who don’t think Canada can take home The Spirit medal.

“No one thinks Canada is a big deal,” she said. “But we’ll show them.”

And then there’s the United States. The women’s team of NCAA All-Americans Amanda Blumenherst and Tiffany Joh struggled with the wind and the slick greens and shot a 2-over 74. Afterwards both were kicking themselves for their performance on the par 4 ninth hole: both took three shots to get on and then three-putted.

“That (hole) was just a nasty, long, ugly blur,” Joh said.

Fortunately the young American men’s team, 2007 Junior Amateur champion Cory Whitsett and No. 1-ranked junior Peter Uihlein picked up the slack, shooting a 5-under 67, tied for third-best among all 24 men’s teams. Whitsett, a 16-year-old Houston native, trails only Boyd and Germany’s Maximilian Kieffer in total birdies. Whitsett is confident that despite trailing by eight, the United States is not out of it.

“They’re not going to play that good everyday, and our girls are not going to play that bad every day,” Whitsett said.

U.S. Team Captain Ali Jarrett said it’s just a matter of the girl’s team shaking off an uncharacteristically bad round.

“(The girls) are going to be fine,” Jarrett said. “Some of the putts just didn’t fall, but Tiffany had a lot of good looks at birdie. They finished strong (with two birdies), and that’s going to lead to a good morning. No worries.”

The Spirit is scored by adding the best-ball scores of each of the 24 countries’ men’s and women’s teams. There are also medals given for low men and low women, as well as individual medals for the male and female golfer leading the field in birdies and eagles. Play continues tomorrow and concludes on Saturday.

Get Used to Hearing it

In my last post I gave Whitsett and Uihlein a nickname in keeping with the D2 theme. But after making a clutch 7-footer for par on No. 7, Whitsett revealed that the duo have their own nickname, derived from a far funnier movie.

"A little bit of shake, and a little bit of bake."

So to the other golfers: if you smell a delicious crispy smell after The Spirit, it's not your 4-iron...

AMERICA!!!

The Bash Brothers

So it's almost 10 a.m. and I'm sitting in the clubhouse waiting for some photos to finish uploading. "Team America" (as starter John Semander referred to them, he's never seen the movie, trust me) teed off a little while ago. I just got word that Whitsett birdied the monster par 5 second hole. He hit a 7-iron and reached in two.


"Back 'em up!" Corby Robertson just shouted.

Heading out there now.

On Bagpipe-ery

So I'm sitting by the driving range cursing myself for wearing shorts and drinking my 37th cup of coffee, when BAM! A guy in full Highland regalia appears out of nowhere wailing on a wicked set of bagpipes...calling golfers to the tee. Naturally, I had to talk to this fellow.

Turns out, he's a Texas. Name is Peter Kosmaski. He's been piping since 1999 when he was entranced by their haunting sounds at the Texas Renassiance Festival (And really, who hasn't?)

He signed up for lessons with a guy named Lars over at American Bagpipes on Westheimer. Pete does a lot of funerals and pub openings.

"I did play in a nightclub once," he said. "That was pretty strange."

So now that I know where to get bagpipe lessons. I may bust out with them without warning. Probably in the middle of your backswing when I'm dormie in a money match.

Uihlein defeats Whitsett, 2-Down

So I would be remiss if first I didn't recap the EPIC bull-riding deul that happened between two U.S. Team Members last night at the BBQ. In one corner, there's World No. 1 Peter Uihlein, in the other, Houston's own, 2007 U.S. Junior Amateur Champion Cory Whitsett.

Uihlein started impressivly...a full 5 seconds.

Whitsett was ready to defend the honor of his home state, who's official sport is rodeo, mind you.

And....

Down goes Whitsett!! Down goes Whitsett!!

Uihlein has committed to OSU.

Good ride, Cowboy.

But since no one stayed on for 8, the score of this match remains 2-Down. Fortunately, the two "buried the hatchet" by owning at table tennis.

All's well that ends well. Tee off is in 25 minutes.

Mornin'. And It Is a Beaut.

"Just thought you'd like to see what a golf writer's body really looks like. Go ahead, drink it in. Don't be shy. Looking is for free. Touching is gonna cost you something."

So all joking aside, this is the scene I woke up to this morning.

My job isn't that cool or anything. Sigh.

We'll Always Have Huntsville

So I got good news for anyone who happens to be in Paris and can't stop topping the ball. I know a guy. Here's his website:

http://www.marc-pendaries.com/





"Just in case you need a quick fix," says Marc Pendaries, 1985 NCAA Champion, Parisian golf instructor, former European Tour player, French Spirit Team captain, and my roomate for this week.

Marc and I are sharing in a two-bedroom garage apartment on a palatial estate on the shores of Lake Livingston near Whispering Pines. Whoever owns this place is loaded.

Oddly enough, Marc, a native Parisian, has a Houston connection. He was one of the first French golfers to hop the pond and get an American scholarship...with none other than the Dave Williams-coached Houston Cougars. Playing on the same team as Steve Elkington and Billy Ray Brown, Marc helped the Coogs win the 1985 NCAA Championship. This is the first time he's been back to town since graduating in 1988.

Marc also thinks that when you come to his home country you should be thinking about lob wedges as much as the Louvre.

"If somone from Houston goes to Paris for sight-seeing," Pendaries is telling me. "But they never think about golf. When you come to Paris, it's actually a good idea to play golf."

Marc tells me that English architect Tom Simpson made a name for himself in the early 1900s with superb French courses such as Chantilly and Morfontaine.


But Marc's favorite course in France is a new course, Les Bordes. He says Whispering Pines reminds him a lot of it.

Currently Crashing a Captain's Meeting

I'm sitting in the back of the Whispering Pines clubhouse right now finishing my press release while rules official-in-charge Jeff Morton is addressing all 24 team captains. There's no way I can access the much-needed bathroom without walking in front of (and likely tripping over) all of them. Crap.

Whispering Pines lookes amazing, as usual. And even better...I get free housing in an on-site garage apartment! *air guitar*

More later.

Icelandic Golf Team

One of the teams I have to talk to is the Icelandic team. What's golf like in that country? I mean, I have some ideas but....




Also, if they're anything like the Icelandic Junior Hockey team that played the Mighty Ducks in D2 the U.S. better watch out. Although I'm pretty sure 2006 PubLinks Champ Tiffany Joh could serve as their Julie "The Cat" Gaffney equivalent.

The Spirit Official Site (With Live Scoring!)

World Ice Golf Championship Official Site

Headed up to Trinity for The Spirit

After running a few errands today I'll be headed up I-45 to Whispering Pines Golf Club for The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship.

For those not in the know, The Spirit is a biennial Olympic-style golf championship. Four-person teams (two men, two women) from 24 countries compete for five medals: men's team, women's team, overall team, and men's and women's individual golds.

Off the course, it's basically Hogwarts for golfers. There's a Luau, a karaoke night, a BBQ, a campfire party, AND they all get to stay in an Olympic village!

I'll try to do as much mooching as I can. Made easier since the World Health and Golf Association, who run the event (and Whispering Pines) are paying me to write press releases. Sweet.

I'll also be live-blogging whenever I can.

Top 10 Most Hilarious Things About the Administaff Small Business Classic

10) The two ladies who randomly got past the gallery rope when we were interviewing Arnold Palmer. Arnie said "I'm pretty tired," and they interjected, "YOU ARE?! ON SUCH A NICE DAY?!!" in the most bubbly way possible. Resultant working press stinkeye...priceless.

9) Jack Ingram being reuinited with former babysitter Melanie Hauser.

8) To hear Arnold Freaking Palmer, The King, say after a pro-am partner hit an impressive drive: "You tore the ass off of that one!"

7) While interviewing Fuzzy Zoeller remarking that Augusta Pines was made as a replica of Augusta National. His reply: "Really?! Hadn't noticed!"

6) Tom Kite's glee at Texas Tech beating A&M 35-7 and his laughing at Javorskie Lane's guarantee.

5) Me telling Ben Crenshaw that Dad cried when he won the 1995 Masters.

4) Melanie Hauser: "I'm not criticizing you, I'm improving you."

3) The 7-year-old girl who reacted to Tom Kite's autograph as if he were Hannah Montana. Then she pounded a pack of Skittles and ran around the press tent. Not kidding.

2) Me analyzing Jeff Bagwell's golf swing to his face.

1) "Ladies and Gentlemee, you're 2007 Administaff Small Business Classic champion...Longhard Banger."

The Mustachioed One

So I interviewed Gary McCord the other day, he's as goofy as advertised. Wackiness always makes for a great interview. But he's more than just a funnyman, he's one of the most approachable guys out there. When I walked to him and started firing off questions he interrupted with "Name?" See, that tells you a lot when a pro cares about who is interviewing him. With too many it seems like they don't care who's interviewing them, as long as it's over quickly.

Easily the most impressive moustache in professional sports. Moustache wax must be one of the most entertaining things to purchase. If I needed some, I would always find the most inexperienced looking store employee and ask them where it was. Think McCord uses Dapper Dan or Fop?

Yesterday was a banner day. I got to interview one of the "freakings." As is Jack freaking Nicklaus, Tiger freaking Woods, or Arnold freaking Palmer. In this case, Arnie. The King showed up to play in the pro-am with pal and business partner Administaff CEO Paul Sarvadi. What's amazing to me about Arnie is how popular he remains. It was Wednesday morning and he still had a sizable gallery. Palmer is the most accommodating golfer in history, which is why he's the game's greatest ambassador. He never hesitated to sign a ton of autographs and pose for pictures throughout his round. He's not a tenth of what he was in his golfing prime, and you can tell it bugs him. I admire that. If anyone has deserved to let it all hang out and play some below-average golf it's Palmer. But the competitor in him can't help but be a little cheesed at the state of his game. Deep down, he's still the golfer who reigned at Cherry Hills in 1960.

I also had a good conversation with Ben Crenshaw, my dad's idol growing up. I had to embarrass Dad by telling been how Dad cried in front of the TV when the final putt dropped in the 1995 Masters.

The Administaff has been blessed by one of the best fields this season. 29 of the Top 30 money-winners are at Augusta Pines this week. It seems like there is a past major champion in every other group. There are a lot of Champions Tour rookies who could be a threat: John Crook, Jeff Sluman, and Fred Funk to name a few.

More to come later, plus pictures!

-Alex

Thursday at the Administaff Small Business Classic

It's 7:00, I'm still at the Media Center here at Augusta Pines. Had an exciting day and promise to update more when I get home. Right now I'm going to try to squeeze in one more interview before I leave. More to come, promise!

-Alex