The PGA Championship Experience
This has been an exciting year in Myrtle Beach, especially in the golf world! We are almost into full swing booking fall golf, and this week our lovely state is host to the final major of the 2012 year: The PGA Championship. It’s not being played in Myrtle Beach, but about 100 miles down the coast line in Kiawah Island, SC- at the famous Ocean Course. This course has been host to many PGA tour events and majors and always is an exciting course to be at and experience.
I had the opportunity to travel down Tuesday with the PGA Junior League kiddos. This is the first year for the Myrtle Beach junior league, and my good friend Meredith Kirk headed it up this year! In their first year they won districts, and finished 2nd at the Regional tournament in Atlanta. If they would have won they would have traveled to Chicago for the National Tournament in September (pretty good golfers I would say)
We left Myrtle Beach around 4:50am Tuesday morning, and had to meet our bus at the Hilton Garden Inn in Charleston! There is no easy way to get onto Kiawah for the tournament. Everyone had to take a 45 min motor coach from your respected parking lots to get to the tournament groups or campus as everyone at the PGA calls it! When we arrived at our hotel we meet Will Reily who is the Director of junior development on the PGA tour.
We hopped on our bus and took of the tournament grounds. The bus ride was right about an hour, and we we're driving through torential downpour (not fun when you have NO jacket or umbrella: Good planning on my part) when we arrived we got to go straight to the media tent which was the place to be! Each player arrived at that tent and ended their day there for media/press conferences. Next we head to the merchandise tent where the kids got a behind the scences tour of everything going on merchandise wise: They got to to see what Tiger was going to wear for the tournament days, along with receiving their very own 2012 Ryder Cup Hats, and Pins! Little did they know they we're going to be doing a photo shop with the Ryder Cup Captain that afternoon!
(Kids infront of Tiger's Clothing for the week)
We also meet 2009 PGA Championship Member Y.E. Yang:
We got a chance to get out on the course and see some golfers too, inbetween the storms that came through! Here's Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler:
For lunch we got to head to the clubhouse (Miss the raindrops) and enjoy a wonderful meal! By this time I was really starting to slow down and get tired! We all had been up since 3:45am! While we we're finishing lunch we ran into 2011 PGA Championship Champion and 2012 WGC champion Keegan Bradley! He was so awesome and stopped to sign autographs for all of us!
Lastly the BIG event for the day! We had a photoshoot with the 2012 Ryder Cup Captain Davis Love III. He was so kind and fun with the kids! Spent time talking to them and answering any questions! What a cool experience!
Can't wait to see how the weekned unfolds and who will take home the wanamaker trophy this year!
See you all next week!