A memorable morning at THE PLAYERS

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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. -- A day at a PGA TOUR golf event usually includes catching a little golf and snacking on the goodies sold from the concession stands. Fans don't generally get a chance to tour the locker rooms, the media center or walk on the first tee.

However, 20 special fans received the opportunity on Wednesday because of their devotion and dedication to the Jacksonville community when the PGA TOUR Wives Association (PTWA) recognized them for their outstanding efforts.

The PTWA began the morning by hosting a breakfast recognizing these "Champions", as they were called. The number 20 is fitting since the PTWA celebrates their 20th anniversary this year.

Following the breakfast, the Champions took a behind-the-scenes journey to places even the TOUR Wives had never been before and PGATOUR.COM tagged along.

9:30 a.m. -- Breakfast

Ron Cross, Executive Director of THE PLAYERS Championship, and Amy Wilson, the PTWA Board President and wife of TOUR winner Mark Wilson, kicked off the festivities with speeches.

According to Wilson, in 1987 a group of PGA TOUR wives, TOUR luminaries and First Lady Nancy Reagan began a charity golf tournament at THE PLAYERS Championship. Along with Mrs. Reagan (clad in a pair of snazzy red-and-white striped golf shoes), the TOUR Wives hired special caddies for the event -- their husbands, some of the top golfers in the world. Proceeds from the tournament went to TPC Village, a substance abuse facility for young people in Jacksonville, Fla.

The tournament was so successful that, in 1988, the TOUR wives decided to join together to donate their time and money at nearly every stop on the PGA TOUR.

9:45 a.m. -- Awards ceremony

Holly Finchem, wife of TOUR Commissioner Tim Finchem, emceed the breakfast and introduced each of the honored guests. Many citizens in Jacksonville were nominated for their outstanding service but these 20 stood out for their inspirational and often courageous stories.

Each honoree sat with one or two PGA TOUR wives and chatted before and after the ceremony. Naturally all of the Champions received a healthy dose of applause during the introductions but the heartiest cheers were reserved for three special children.

9:50 a.m. -- Honoring Fast

With his dimples and boyish grin, 10-year-old Alexander Fast charmed the crowd of wives and honorees, many of whom are mothers themselves. He sheepishly stood when Finchem called his name and listed his impressive credentials: honor roll student, student council member, chess club teammate, Children's Miracle Network volunteer. All of this is more impressive since Fast was diagnosed with an auto immune disease at age 2 and received a liver transplant.

10:00 a.m. -- Recognizing the volunteers

Levy/PGA TOUR

Clay Henderson poses in front of his standard bearer.

Working alphabetically down the list, Finchem introduces two other admirable youngsters. Bridget Haines, 16, is a busy high school sophomore who dances, runs cross country and volunteers for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Though she suffers from the disease herself, she doesn't let it stop her from raising awareness and volunteering to combat this scary illness.

Then there's Clay "Trey" Henderson, a young man born with Down Syndrome. Henderson is on his high school's cheerleading squad, was elected homecoming king and stars in his high school's theatre program. He recently earned Eagle Scout honors by coordinating a park remodeling project in Jacksonville.

Other honorees included the "Energizer Bunny" of volunteers Melissa Bianchi, a member of the Junior Woman's Club of St. Augustine; Red Cross volunteer and hero Georgia P. Dahl; and Donna Deegan, a local television anchor who began the nation's only marathon devoted to breast cancer.

10:45 a.m. -- Standard bearers

A parade of standard bearers had each volunteer's name written on a placard. They entered the clubhouse and climbed the grand staircase to greet the Champions in their formal dining room. The Champions, their family members and guests then formed into groups of three and dispersed for a tour of TPC Sawgrass with the PGA TOUR Wives.

11:00 a.m. -- Scoring room

First stop: the television and scoring hut. On the bottom floor each group met John Andrews, an Official Scorekeeper for the TOUR. When players finish their rounds, they must check 21 things on their scorecards -- their name, signature and partner's signature and that all 18 holes have scores marked.

One of the TOUR's three full-time scorekeepers or one part-timer adds up the total, which is also compared with ShotLink data and the live leaderboard. Occasionally they find mistakes and save the players several thousands of dollars and a lot of embarrassment by fixing it before the scorecard is signed.

11:15 a.m. -- NBC Perch

It's up the stairs to the NBC booth, where Dan Hicks and Johnny Miller sit for the weekend to conduct the television broadcast. Here's an interesting fact: the window behind them overlooks the magnificent clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass. But last year, when the camera focused on Hicks and Miller interviewing a player or offering live commentary, the clubhouse backdrop looked fake.

So, when you are watching THE PLAYERS Championship from 2-7 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday, pay attention to THE PLAYERS flag blowing over Miller's right shoulder. It was added so the background didn't look like a still photo.

11:35 a.m. -- Media Center

THE PLAYERS Championship credentialed 650 media for the event this week. The media center is a huge, one-story building about the width of a football field with rows and rows of computer monitors and a gigantic leaderboard in the front of the room. One of the Champions noted that the media center was her favorite spot with its bustling activity and ability to send information all over the world.

11:40 a.m. -- ShotLink trailer

Did you know that there are two tractor trailer-sized trucks that travel to each event on the PGA TOUR to gather the leaderboard data and stats you see on PGATOUR.COM and on TV? The inside of one of these ShotLink trucks is enough to confuse even the most technologically savvy -- laptops, wires, internet connection ports and a television screen fill the space. While one truck is at a tournament, the other is on its way to the next week's event and usually arrives on Wednesday before the tournament.

Golf courses, unlike football stadiums and basketball arenas, cover huge tracts of land. When the ShotLink employees need to lay cable, they have to do it over nearly the entire course. Just imagine how long this takes! But most of them love their jobs and say they wouldn't trade it for anything despite being on the road about 200 days a year.

11:45 a.m. -- Volunteer building

Approximately 2,200 people volunteer at THE PLAYERS, doing everything from being a standard bearer to a walking scorer. Standard bearers are usually between ages 13 and 18 and have their own special loft to kill time in before their rounds. The best standard bearer from the year before gets a gold standard and accompanies the final pairings on Saturday and Sunday.

Last year THE PLAYERS Championship raised over $2.8 million for charities in Jacksonville. This year their goal is $3 million. Volunteers are needed to run nearly every aspect of the tournament because, if the TOUR had to pay workers, they wouldn't have enough to give back.

12:00 p.m. -- No. 1 Tee

"Ladies and Gentleman, from the United States, please welcome..." Those familiar words are spoken before each player tees off on the 1st and 10th tees. A Rolex clock sits to the right of the tee and the starters are responsible for handing them scorecards and pencils and getting them off at their exact tee time. Absolutely no exceptions if a player is late. The "My alarm didn't go off" or "My dog ate my cellphone" won't work on the PGA TOUR.

12:15 p.m. -- Clubhouse

Schlipp/PGA TOUR

A storyteller in the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse weaves a tale.

At any point throughout the year (not just THE PLAYERS), 60 volunteers sit in the TPC Sawgrass clubhouse from 10 a.m. -- 4 p.m. and wait for guests to open the big wooden doors and ask to take a tour. These storytellers walk guests around the property and share tidbits on the course and past champions. For instance, one fun fact the groups heard -- the original TPC Sawgrass property was sold to the PGA TOUR for just $1.

12:30 p.m. -- Champions Tunnel

The coolest part -- both metaphorically and literally since the temperatures soared into the 80s on Wednesday -- of the journey. This is the tunnel that the players take from the locker room to the practice facilities and first tee. Along the walls are pictures of the past champions. While the volunteers were in the tunnel, Matt Kuchar, Geoff Ogilvy and Aaron Baddeley walk by and say hello. Of course they were all excited to see players up close.

That concluded the day for the PGA TOUR Wives and their Champions. The exceptional Champions have the rest of the afternoon to watch golf, while the PGA TOUR wives head to watch their husbands or back to the ho