So that is the first thing that hits one here on LonG (with a hard ‘G’) Island…the accents along with the decibel level. Welcome to New York!
Last night we arrived at NY La Guardia airport – does anyone remember Firoella La Guardia? Anyway, our hotel was in Flushing/Queens. Had a fantastic Thai dinner at the Green Papaya. It was pretty amazing to walk around Queens and realize we were the only Caucasians in sight. The people that spoke English did not do it well. Easily could have been in Hong Kong or Tokyo. We are still the melting pot of the world without a doubt.
This is the first time I have been at the Open on a Monday. It was pretty quiet truth be told. We arrived at a gate at the 15th hole…15 reminds me a lot of 13 at Torrey Pines. Long and a HUGE elevation to the green. Once again scoped a grandstand to hang at when not working which avails a view of 16, 17 and 18. Getting a seat on the top row of that bleacher will be a test of wills that is for sure.
Tomorrow is walk the course day before shift at 3. Will give me a better insight to the course to talk about. This is what I know from today …. The fairways are like walking on a new carpet. Absolutely unbelievable that this is a FAIRWAY! Most greens are not in this condition. (Please keep in mind that this is a public course that residents play for $50. There are six courses at Bethpage – Red, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange (I think) and of course, Black) Doubtless I will not be able to put these dainty little feet on a real green so I will not be able to attest to their wonderfulness – but the fairways – oh my goodness! Truly amazing.
That said – let us discuss the rough. The cut – can’t really call it first and second – is graduated. You really don’t notice that it is rather short at the fairway and suddenly it if 5 inches deep. And if you are there – you are one lucky golfer because next to that is 3’ of fescue. The chances of finding your ball are minimal. The chances of hitting it out of there are slim, none and fat! That fact that thousands of men try to qualify for this punishment is amazing.
The weather is apparently going to be a bit dicey. One would think we were in Seattle! It should be hot and humid and it is in the 60s and 70s and will rain most days. Hopefully no day of competition will be rained out. With rain – softer greens. Could be low scores. Who knows? Still two days until competition.
There were many players out practicing today. No - no Tiger. No Phil. But Paddy and Sean and Steve and lots of qualifiers dreaming the dream. This is IT – the big show for many of these pros and a few amateurs. We’ll try to keep watch on them as well as the usual suspects. Who knows? Maybe there will be a big surprise.
Still trying to recover from jetlag…off to dreamland…more again tomorrow.
Maryel; Great job. You've found your calling, oh, I forgot, you can do almost anything, and do it well. Really, you are an excellent writer and your articles are quite fun to read. I especially like the humorous side bar commentary, and how you describe the course conjures up some ghastly nightmares. By the way, do you recall that Megan Giometti owns a bar located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. You can email her at m_giometti@hotmail.com if interested.
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