Tee it up!

Father and son enjoying a great day on Wednesday August 8th at the 94th PGA Championship Practice Round



The 94th PGA Championship was hosted on Kiawah Island August 6th - 12th.  Nearly two years ago, we purchased tickets for a few days.  We were excited that it was finally time to head out for our 1st professional golf tournament.  Allen, our brother-in-law, and his brother Kenny came down to attend with us.

Our first day of tickets was for Wednesday for the last practice round.  Owen will be mad at me one day but we decided to leave him behind with Miss Rachel and head out for the day with the four of us and just Payton.  I hate not being able to include my kids - especially for FREE sporting events - but it was definitely the best decision.  There is no way Owen would have lasted for an hour.  Payton had a great day but he was past the point of exhaustion by the end of the day!

Payton was a little unsure about what to expect and early on that morning he thought we were heading out to watch Chad, Allen and Kenny play golf...now that would have been interesting! The great thing is that Payton is young enough to think that any golfer was a great golfer and was excited to see golfers that we had never seen before as well as a few who are well known to golf fans.  We did not get a chance to see Tiger on Wednesday but that didn't stop Payton from telling a few people that Tiger Woods was his favorite golfer.  This is all influenced by TV...Mommy and Daddy haven't told him that Tiger is the best.  In fact, Mommy would pick Bubba or Rory in her short list of favorites!

We walked A LOT on Wednesday and Payton walked most of it with us.  We had a rain delay and found shelter in the store.  After the rain, we headed back out for more walking.  Other than a quick lunch break we spent the day walking, sweating and watching golf.  It was a great experience and I would do it all over again if given the chance.

Wednesday was the only day I was able to take my camera.  Here are some pictures of us as we enjoyed our day together.

We got an early morning start and watched a few golfers come through on the 8th

Payton is very intense as he catches his first glimpse of the golfers

Kiawah had a few gators join in on the fun as well!

Even if you don't like golf, the Ocean Course at Kiawah is gorgeous!

One of the many groups of golfers we watched throughout the day

To cross over the second hole, you actually had to walk across the fairway.  This is Payton's reaction when he realized he was walking on the real course!

After watching one of the 1st groups play through the 2nd hole, we were able to catch them for some autographs.  Most of the golfers we saw were very nice and willing to sign autographs for the fans.  It is obvious that the golfers are doing their best to excite young people about the game of golf.  Payton didn't get too many autographs but it was fun to see his excitement and the "real" golfers came by and signed his flag.  He was often the youngest child asking for an autograph which led to many of them calling him "the little guy" or asking him his name.  I'm not much on pushing professional (or college) athletes for autographs but this was overall a great experience for Payton.

Jim Furyk signing Payton's flag

Jim Furyk and his caddy, "Fluff", who used to be Tiger's caddy

Nice shot!

David Toms

Steve Stricker and David Toms were among the next group we watched.  Payton got a few autographs out of this group as well. 

We enjoyed watching them tee off.

David Toms

Stewart Cink

Steve Stricker

Steve Stricker's follow through

VJ Singh walking up the 18th green

Looking onto the 18th hole

A few more fans had filled into this space by the time Rory made his way to the 18th hole on Sunday.

The Ocean Course

The cutest little golfer on the course was (of course) Payton!  

Walking from the front nine to the back nine, we walked passed the driving range and the practice greens.  As we walked by the practice green, a nice man showed Payton a golf ball that was rolling away from one of the golfers and towards Payton.  It may have just been a practice ball...from a golfer that we didn't recognize...but, to Payton, it is gold!  His energy had been fading after walking through the 1st 9 holes but this ball gave him a little extra energy and likely brought us about 2 more hours on the course!

Gotta love this little golfer....

Practicing his swing just off the 18th green

(One day, when he becomes a famous golfer, I see this picture being used on ESPN...coupled with a tearful interview with his parents who say they knew from a young age that he was going to be a fabulous athlete one day.....just let a mom dream here.....Rory McElroy had an emotional hug with his Dad after winning the 94th PGA Championship....I think Payton will hug his Mom 1st when he wins the 114th PGA Championship). 

On the back nine, we ran into a few more golfers and added a few more autographs to his collection.

My favorite Japanese golfer, Ryo Ishikawa

He had his own group of photographers follow him around all weekend.  As he signed this autograph, one of them asked if they could take Payton's picture to use for publicity.  If you are even in Japan, keep your eye open for the cute American on the billboards with Ishikawa...it might be Payton.

Adam Scott...in the pink....not nice enough to sign an autograph but I still felt the need to include his picture.

Angel Carballo

Jonathan Bryd, a Clemson alum, and the nicest golfer of the day.  

He talked to Payton the entire time that he was walking through. 

We were excited to see Ernie Els on the 15th hole 

Ernie

Chad and Payton on the back nine.

The boys are calling it a day!  Heading back to catch the shuttle after a long day on the Ocean Course. 

We found Ernie one more time...and he signed Allen's ticket for Carson as well.  Thanks Ernie!  Fans for life!

Allen, Kenny, Chad and I attended on Friday and Sunday as well.  We had great spots and saw some great golf on both days. We enjoyed watching several golfers come through on the 17th on Friday morning and the 9th on Friday afternoon.  On Sunday, we had similar plans and watched the final groups from the 3rd day (due to rain delay from Saturday) come through the 17th hole and then headed to the 2nd hole to watch the top groups come through on Sunday to start the 4th round.  

Definitely happy with our decision to head out for the tournament and looking forward to the chance to attend another one sometime soon.  I think it will be fun once the boys are a little older and we can enjoy it as a family.....with little Owen included too!