CA Course Reporters: Sunday

Mar. 23, 2008

Editor's note: The CA Course Bloggers -- Ellie Maniery, Desi Brantley, Stefano Diaz and Philip Spano -- will be taking PGATOUR.COM fans behind the scenes at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship this week. The bloggers will be filing a total of 32 entries over five days, so check back frequently to see what they have discovered.

Video: Ellie Maniery interview | Sr. VP of Corporate Communications for CA

Ready to follow Tiger
By Desi Brantley

I was excited that it wasn't raining when I got to the course today. The players were back out on the course at 9 a.m. and we decided to watch all the players finish their rounds at the 18th hole. We sat down in the stands but I didn't like it very much because more people came and I started to get squished.

Some of the players hit good shots right by the hole. But some hit bad shots into the bunker, and almost into the water. Almost every guy who was in the sand hit an perfect bunker shot to get out. That was pretty cool.

There was a big scoreboard right in front of us, and Philip was helping me track how Tiger was doing. I thought he was in second place, but Phil told me he was in fourth. We were waiting and waiting for Tiger to come up to the 18th. He was wearing his red lucky shirt which he always wears during the final round. I was cheering hard for Tiger but his missed a tough birdie putt. It looked like the ball hit a bump and missed the hole. He finished his round five shots behind the leaders but I think he can come back and win. He needs some nice birdies in the final round to get back to first place.

This is my last blog and I wanted to say "thanks" to CA and everyone who helped give me this opportunity. I'm really looking forward to meeting up with my mom on the course, and we are going to watch every hole with Tiger. Tiger Woods, he's my main man. Every time I saw him this week, I was so excited I thought I was going to pass out.

Well, I had a ton of fun this week and I really enjoyed meeting Ellie, Stefano and Phil. Plus, I liked watching golf with Jake and Brian who helped us write our blogs. Thanks for reading and go Tiger!

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Giving thanks to all that helped
By Stefano Diaz

This has been a very exciting and interesting week.

I finally understand whey the 18th at Doral is so hard. After the weather delay this morning, we went out to the 18th and saw all the groups finish their third round. Out of all the players who came through, only four or so made birdie. I was surprised that the stats about the hole were true -- it definitely is one of the toughest holes in golf.

Before I head out to watch the final round, I'd like to thank Charlie De'lluca from The First Tee Miami for giving me the opportunity to be here and see what it's like behind-the-scenes at a golf tournament. I'd also like to thank Jake Ricker and Brian Israel for being understanding and helpful in running the course reporters program. Also, I'd like to thank Bill Hughes and Keith Turco from CA for supporting this very interesting program and welcoming us to the CA Championship. Finally, I'd like to thank CA for sponsoring this very interesting golf tournament. It has been fun and I'll never forget it but now I've got to go watch some golf. I'll be rooting for Geoff Ogilvy but I hate to say it but I wouldn't be surprised if Tiger Woods wins!

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Great week, but time to head home
By Ellie Maniery

Well, here I am writing the last blog of the week. I leave Doral at 3 p.m., and I land at home in Sacramento sometime tonight. What an experience this week has been. Just today on the way back to the 18th green bleachers, Mr. Carbone and J.R stopped me to have a quick chat. All the way through the week everyone seemed excited about the program and really friendly toward us course reporters. Before I talk about my last day I have to mention Jake Ricker and Brian Israel, the two guys from Weber Shandwick who accompanied us all this week while we were on the job. The two of them spent the time to show us all the components of the tournament and helped us out whenever we had any questions. Thanks so much for everything, you guys.

The members of the media have something special here as they travel with each other from tournament to tournament, getting to know the players and experiencing all these different places. Just like every other job it's probably tedious at times, but all the same I think that there is a sense of camaraderie present here. Everyone behind the scenes, whether they are volunteers, whether they like each other or not, whether they're media or not... they still get to share these big tournaments, and you can't help but have something in common with everyone after all that. It was an honor to be a part of it for this week and I can't thank CA enough.

Third round scores are almost completely off the board right now, and soon it will be plastered with numbers for round four. By the time it's filled up all the way again, I'll be gone from this place. I'm sad to leave, but also excited to be going home. Thanks for reading, everybody!

We just got back from watching several groups finish their third rounds on the 18th hole. We were waiting for the last group to come in and got to see some great golf while we sat there. Tiger Woods' gallery has multiplied today even though he's five strokes off the lead. I wonder if he'll catch up and take the trophy again. Even though I'm rooting for Geoff Ogilvy all the way, it would be something incredible to see. There is a chance of rain today and play might end up finishing on Monday, so I'll have to watch at home just like everybody else! It's funny, but I don't think I will ever watch golf the same way after being here.

In final closing, special thanks to my dad for coming all the way out here from Sac with me. I hope he had as much fun watching the tournament and being at Doral as I did. As for Phil, Stefano, and Desi -- you guys are awesome! It was fun to work with you all!

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A suggestion for Tiger
By Philip Spano

Well, this is the last day that I am going to be blogging. Today I watched a few golfers finish the back nine. I watched Tiger hit a really nice drive and a great shot with one of his irons but miss the putt for birdie. He recently missed a lot of his shorter putts. I think he needs to relax a little, take some time off and go to the spa.

This experience has truly been life-changing. I have done so many things that the average person has never even thought to do. I have witnessed the behind-the-scenes action of a golf tournament. I have been able to have conversations with pro golfers, I had the privilege of being a standard bearer and have my full golf swing analyzed by professionals. I am so happy to have been part of this great program and I hope they continue it so that other kids can have the same great experience that I have had.

I would like to thank Trish Lang and the other people in the First Tee home office for selecting me for this great experience and helping me. I would like to thank Todd Bordonaro and Paul Giordano for being my golf instructors and for writing my letter of recommendation. Also, I would like to thank CA, John Swainson and the PGA TOUR for allowing me to get behind-the-scenes in this World Golf Championships event. I would also like to thank Jake Ricker and Brian Israel for organizing the many things that I have done. You guys were great to be around with and really made this experience spectacular. Thank you to John Steinbauer and J.R. Steinbauer for showing me what it takes to run a golf tournament; Helen Ross, Doug Ferguson and Randy Mell for showing me how to be a great writer, and Nick Faldo and Kelly Tilghman for allowing me to sit in on your live news report. Thank you to Retief Goosen and David Howell for talking to me about what it takes to be on the pro tour.

Finally, I would like to thank my dad for coming with me. You especially made this whole trip more fun and exciting -- if that is even possible. And thank you to anyone that I have not mentioned. This experience will stay with me forever.

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