On the way to see
SPIDERMAN and Mickelson, we saw mile long lines for gas and a dead body in a front lawn. (The cops were there, but no one bothered to cover the guy up. I wanted to stop and take pictures, but the husband was pretty sure that wasn't a good idea- given the neighborhood we were in and the kind of people gathered around the body, yelling at the cops.)
Before we were allowed into the PGA Tournament at East Lake, we had to leave cameras and phones and backpacks in the car. I have to admit to a few moments of Blackberry withdrawal in the hours we were there- and was eager to point out all the people that slipped by security with THEIR phones. Hey. Not fair.
I only wanted a few pictures of my own and maybe some short video of the on the course interactions between players- you can hear their conversations- and the photos would have been great, especially when the pros started hitting people instead of trees.
By the time we followed Mickelson and Villegas to the 9th hole, we had already seen a guy get hit on the arm, another in the shoulder and BAM a minute later, Anthony Kim ( who was a little bit like the bratty spoiled boy you all hated in Junior High?) tee's off and whacks some guy in the temple! It was the loudest sound I have ever heard- louder than a golf ball hitting a hollow tree. We were right across from the guy, and saw him go flying. There's Kim looking on front the left in the white pants and big belt buckle.
The local paper had another shot of the poor guy on the paramedic golf cart, a close up frontal view, though the bandage waas in place. When we saw him, he was gray-white and mumbling. My husband made a joke about the liability clause on the back of the the ticket, and a few people slipped theirs from their pocket to read the fine print. One thing we knew for sure, there would ba a lawyer in the crowd. And a doctor too.
From the AJC:
"There was a scary moment on the ninth hole when Anthony Kim’s errant tee shot struck a spectator in the head.Medical staff attended to 48-year-old David Whitfield of Atlanta, who was OK despite the crater-like abrasion on the side of his head.“Seeing that guy? … I thought I killed him,” Kim said. “It was an awful feeling to look down and see a golf-ball-sized impression in his forehead, and it’s cut open. “It was probably the nastiest thing I’ve ever seen.” Kim said it didn’t affect his game and refused to blame the incident for his back-nine 37, his highest round of the week.“I was hitting it terrible anyway, so I can’t say that threw my game off,” Kim said. “But obviously when you see that, you just feel for him and his family, and I was hoping and praying that he’d be OK.” Kim stood nearby when Whitfield was examined and left behind an autographed golf ball."
That is one expensive golfball.
All the ladies and quite a few Columbians followed Camilo Villegas, waiting for him to get to the green and give us his signature move. Nice.
Even nicer when he went on to win on Sunday. Well deserved. This kid is someone to watch for.
