PREVIOUS JOURNAL ENTRIES
Monday, April 7
Sunday, April 6
 |
|
| Coach Shaw (left), with former Commodore great Brandt Snedeker, at the 2008 Masters in Augusta, Ga. |
Tom Shaw, Vanderbilt’s Head Men’s Golf Coach, is caddying for Michael Thompson at the 2008 Masters. Thompson played for Shaw at Tulane before transferring to the University of Alabama prior to last season. He earned a spot in this week’s event by finishing second at the 2007 U.S. Amateur. Shaw will be contributing exclusive content from Augusta to vucommodores.com all week.
TUESDAY, APRIL 8
Tiger sighting – up close!
Michael was scheduled to play with Phil Mickelson, Adam Scott, and Hunter Mahan today at 7:45 a.m. We arrived on the range at 7:00 sharp and Phil was already there warming up and joking around with his coach, Butch Harmon (who used to be Tiger’s coach). We began to warm up when Steve Williams showed up and planted the Tiger Woods bag in the space right next to us. Now this was what I wanted! Tiger showed up a few minutes later and began his warm-up routine. Now I am no celebrity hound, but I was excited about being 10 feet away from maybe the world’s most popular athlete. A physical specimen, Woods makes the average golfer look like… well… an average golfer. He is ripped, more like a linebacker than anything else. I’m sure he uses that as an intimidation tool.
I learned that the unofficial Masters practice round rule is that Tiger tees off first (by himself), then Mickelson follows in the next group. Mark Calcavecchia and Heath Slocum had other plans and threw a wrench in the works by teeing off first. Tiger split for the #10 tee, probably not happy with the disturbance. It is never a good idea to make a Tiger mad, so I am predicting a victory for Mr. Woods. Big stretch, huh?
I have always been a Phil Mickelson fan, but I am even more so now. He could not have been more helpful to Michael, showing him the do’s and don’ts of the course and spending several minutes on each hole showing him the nuances of the rolling terrain. Even his caddie, Bones, got into the act and pointed out several things to me as well, caddie to caddie. Bones and Phil have been together for the longest time of any player/caddie, approaching 18 years probably. It is very unusual for players to keep caddies that long, but Bones is heavily involved in the decision-making process and Phil trusts him completely.
Mickelson is probably the most adored player in the field. The fans were yelling at him on every hole to smile for pictures, but he stayed focused and remained on task. It must be hard to put up with that every week – after four hours even I was tired of the incessant, “Phil! Phil!” He is definitely the crowd favorite at Augusta National and most everywhere else.
Phil made my day when he (sort of) remembered that we played some college golf together. I actually beat him in a game of pool at one event, so my record against Phil is officially 1-0 in my book! Our careers since college have been really similar. We both have families and are still involved heavily with golf and…. well, that’s about it. The only real difference is that his net worth has about six more zeroes on it.
Not to continue too much on Mickelson, but he is a GENIUS on and around the greens. I have never seen anyone make difficult chips and putts look so easy. He probably eclipses Tiger in the short game department. His overall game looked really sharp – he is very long with his drive (probably 20-25 yards past Michael) and plays a nice fade off the tee. I think Phil will have a good week here.
Michael held up well because this was probably the most people he has played in front of before. He struck the ball well and continues to impress me as to how he is dealing with the spotlight. After the round he was interviewed by several newspapers, the Golf Channel, etc. Pretty heady stuff for a college kid. My only interview was with an Augusta ABC station. Not that I’m complaining. In the end, who wants to hear what the caddie has to say anyway?
Tomorrow is a lighter day (good – because my legs need the rest!) with a short practice in the late morning followed by the annual Par-3 contest, which, for the first time, will be televised on ESPN. It is a light-hearted event with lots of joking around. Players usually have family members (children, parents) or celebrities caddy for them, so Michael will have his dad carry the bag for the 9-hole event. I will gladly let his dad enjoy the experience of walking step for step inside the ropes with his son at The Masters. It does present the traditional Masters Par-3 curse, however – no player who has won the Par-3 contest has ever won the actual Masters tournament. They say that players have purposely hit their last tee shots into the water on the last hole to avoid the Par-3 victory.
And sorry ladies… I did not get Adam Scott’s phone number.
PREVIOUS JOURNAL ENTRIES
Monday, April 7
Sunday, April 6
