CA Course Reporters: Sunday

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Editor's note: The CA Course Bloggers -- Jennah Romansky and Spencer Golden-Sims -- will be taking PGATOUR.COM fans behind the scenes at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational this week. The bloggers will be filing twice a day over the next four days, so check back frequently to see what they have discovered.

Kids' Blogs: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Long week comes to an end
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
It's been a long week but it is coming to an end. The 80 golfers are set to wrap up their rounds, and their entire tournament, at the Bridgestone Invitational today.

This morning I had the chance to meet another important person who makes the tournament run smoothly. This person, Wesley, is responsible for making sure that all of the golfers and fans watching are safe from hazardous weather. Equipped with a few weather tools, the on-site meteorologist is the person who is in charge of tracking weather patterns and informing PGA TOUR officials when it is necessary to pull players off the course. There is not much to do when the weather shows nothing but clear-blue skies but when there is a threat of thunder and lightning the job of the on-site weatherman is hectic. When the weather seems threatening there is a lot of pressure on the weatherman to know when the right time is to suspend play but, according to Wesley, his equipment has never failed him.

Early morning players are out to rebuild their scores in hopes of placing higher on the leaderboard. Three players are tied at 8 under and set to go off at 2:10 p.m. Phil Mickelson is out for his first win at the Bridgestone Invitational with close competition from Vijay Singh and Lee Westwood. The day is going to be a great day -- cooler than the past three and a great day for golf.

My week here has been full of learning new things and seeing how a tournament this big is run. I had the opportunity to meet important people and see what goes into their day and how their work is done. I also made new friends and had the chance to watch the best of the best play golf. I had one of the best experiences here at the tournament and hope to see a great final round of golf.

A wonderful experience
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
This week has been really cool. Visiting the broadcasting trailer, weather trailer, the head of media, the flash interview area and meeting all the people that make this week work here was interesting. I also had a chance to meet some of the players, which was really fun.

Putting together all the amazements and disappointments of the golfers this week is what has made it a very interesting and suspenseful experience -- such as having a three-way tie between Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, and Lee Westwood. Another great experience here was when Vijay and Sean O'Hair pulled their shots into the same cluster of trees. All these happenings have created a very exciting week of golf.

There also were some disappointments, like the bogey Mickelson made on the last hole when a par would have given him the lead at 9 under. Or when Vijay and Westwood missed their putts on their last two holes. Disappointments like that are hard to overcome but being great golfers like they are, they all made it past and happened to stick in the top three.

All of this, from the highs to the lows, seems so much more intense when you're watching the golfers up-close and personal.

The people behind the scenes
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
Today when Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh, the last pairing of the day, were teeing off, I couldn't even get a spot halfway down the fairway, 30 minutes before they teed off! We had to go to the second hole to get a spot around the fairway. Then Vijay hit his drive out of line and next to a tree. People swarmed over there like bees on a honey trail. When Vijay was lining up his shot, Sean O'Hair smacked his shot right into the same cluster of trees from the third hole. Both of them played out of trouble masterfully, hitting beautiful shots to the green that made the crowds go wild. It was a really cool sight to see.

Watching how differently the players appeared today compared to earlier days in the tournament was very interesting. Some of the top players yesterday were some of the lower or middle players today and vice versa. The pressures and shots of each player determine their game and their rank at the end of the day.

Late this afternoon, we got the chance to visit the broadcast trailer. Being able to see what was going on in there was really cool. I got to see how everything works in terms of broadcasting golf for live television. There were about 50 conversations going on at once just to put a single clip of a player on television. It was cool to see how everyone at home was seeing the tournament and how many different things go into producing that single shot.

Getting an up-close look at the action
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
After dodging a huge gallery to get a spot along the fairway, we found ourselves on the par-5 second hole waiting for Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh. Singh, unfortunately, found the left rough under a tree off the tee. I rushed to the spot with hundreds of other fans to line up on each side of the ball. We saw Vijay hit a spectacular shot that was low enough to stay under the limbs and long enough to creep up just short of the green. During Vijay's backswing leaves were being rattled from the tee shot of Sean O'Hair on the next hole. Fans then shifted from Vijay's last hit and crowded around O'Hair's ball 40 yards left of Vijay's. O'Hair also had an interesting ball placement under a tree and in line with the pond directly in front of the third green. After taking a few practice swings O'Hair went for the green and rolled back into the short rough. O'Hair was able to save par. Vijay made a great chip to 4 feet for an eventual birdie.

So that the viewers at home can get a virtually live view of the tournament there are many important people who set up shop and make sure things run smoother. Located behind the 16th tee box there is a lot reserved for large media trucks and generators. I had the chance to get an in-person look at how things work behind the scenes. I was invited into one of the large broadcasting trucks and saw the people who make it possible for the viewers at home to see play-by-play action. In the truck are eight people, each with a certain job that is important to the next person. The truck is made up of 140 small monitors mounted on one wall, showing the 80 players in the field. A director sits in the middle of the monitors directing people when to play certain views. This job is not only intense but the person in charge has a lot to do with making the tournament run smoothly for viewers at home. It was amazing to watch.

Sunday will be one of the best days with great players continuing to play great golf. I'm excited to see how this tournament ends.

Padraig does something nice for a fan
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
Walking with the players this morning, I felt cursed. We walked with Anthony Kim and Colin Montgomerie for the first two holes. It was a nightmare. All the shots were either left, right or in the bunker and most of the time they two-putted or more.

After a while we couldn't take it, so we left and caught up to Boo Weekley's and Angel Cabrera's group. They were playing well until we got there. While we watched they were hitting into bunkers and way to the left or right.

Wow! We were really bringing bad luck. I looked up at the scoreboard and found out that Anthony Kim and Colin Montgomerie were playing better now that we had left them. The same thing happened after we left Weekly and Cabrera's group because it was too hard to watch.

After all the bad playing we caught up with Padraig Harrington and Johnson Wagner on the ninth green. The curse continued, as Padraig barely missed key shots on a couple of holes in a row.

At one point though, Harrington and Wagner were walking to the next hole and a little kid about the age of Padraig's son was sitting on the ground. Padraig reached over and set his ball in the kid's hand. The kid's face lit up with joy, he was so happy. It was nice to see that even deep in concentration and competing, Padraig still had time to do something nice for a fan.

Following several different groups
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
The early morning tee times started out slowly. Players found it hard to hit the fairways but sometimes still managed to save par. The course was not giving players an easy time.

Early today, we walked three holes with the man, Anthony Kim. I found it hard to watch him make mistakes and decided to find a new group to follow. Colin Montgomerie, who was paired with Kim, struggled off the tee, finding the sand traps on the first and second holes.

After leaving the Kim-Montgomerie pair behind, we jumped into the gallery following Boo Weekley and Angel Cabrera. Their laid-back style of play got the two in trouble, leaving them with hard shots to try and make par. Boo had one of the most incredible sand shots I've seen, hitting the pin and leaving him with a two-foot putt for par. This was one of the highlights from this group.

The third group I followed was the Padraig Harrington-Johnson Wagner pairing. Over four holes, I saw Harrington lip-out three crucial shots -- two birdie putts and a chip for par -- that would have put him in a more comfortable position for the remainder of the tournament.

Phil Mickelson and Vijay Singh are set to go off at 2:10 p.m. this afternoon and will draw plenty of fans. It will be a great round with two of the top-10 players competing against each other and focused on winning.

My mistaken identity
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
As I write this, there are still a handful of great golfers waiting to finish their rounds. The left-hander is still on top as the second round is coming to a close. Phil Mickelson started in the first tee time and finished with 4-under 66. Overall, he's 6 under for the tournament. Retief Goosen, Thursday's leader, is not far off at 4 under.

This afternoon I had the opportunity to really find out what goes into the day of a junior volunteer. Following behind one of the more experienced junior volunteers I was able to see the role of a standard bearer. The standard bearer is the person trailing behind the players with the name of the player and his current score. I quickly found out that it was not an easy job. Walking 18 holes and carrying the sign can be exhausting at the end of the day, especially with how hot and humid it's been. Tomorrow I plan on investigating another role of a junior volunteer. I was also in the Vijay Singh pairing and was able to see the precise shot selections made by the big Fijian.

Walking with the Singh group, I was sometimes confused with being his son. Whispers from the crowd could be heard saying things like, "That's Vijay's son," and one guy shouted out to me, "Your dad is a great golfer." The most memorable was one of the course marshals coming up to me and asking if I would be playing alongside Vijay in the father-son scramble. Instead of explaining who I really was I just shrugged and smiled. Vijay is not far from leader Phil Mickelson at 5 under after 10 holes of his second round. This is a start of a great tournament seeing that most players are not too far from each other. My "dad" is one of many who are in the hunt.

Easy decision to follow Scott
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
I spent this afternoon wearing the yellow shirt of the junior volunteers here at the Bridgestone Invitational. After heading down to the tent where all the volunteers get their job assignments, I went back up to the first tee where I watched about six groups tee off, monitoring the ropes around the hole.

I was told that I could pick any group that I wanted to walk with, and when Justin Leonard, Adam Scott and Craig Parry came up to the tee, it was an easy decision. Of course, I picked this group because Adam Scott was in it. Walking with him and being that close to the action was an amazing experience. It was so much fun. Even though I only got to walk half the round with him it was definitely something that I will never forget.

Seeing what the junior volunteers do up-close made me realize that they contribute a lot to the making of this competition. A junior volunteer is a great way to get kids to help out and to be near the action and suspense of the sport.

Huge crowd watches Phil get off to good start
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio --You could hear the roar of the fans lined up and down the fairway Friday as Phil Mickelson took his run at the lead.

As the day continues and other top players start their rounds, the question will be "Can Phil hold the lead?" We were on the 10th tee this morning when Phil's group teed off to start the day, but we decided to join up with other groups to avoid the crowds that follow Lefty's every move.

There are plenty of interesting players here at the Bridgestone Invitational. There is a big difference from player to player. Boo Weekley has a relaxed mindset, while the other two in his pairing, Paul Casey and Trevor Immelman, have a more serious attitude and are focused on their next shots.

Sticking out of Boo's bag was a white-and orange-stick rounded off at the tip. On the 13th hole, his caddy walked the fairway ahead of him, outside the ropes. I had a chance to ask him about the stick, and he answered," "It's just for alignment."

Another thing I noticed is that there are broken tees thrown out by the players near some of the tee boxes. Walking down the 11th hole, I noticed one of these and picked it up, wondering who might have used it earlier.

Today, I plan to go behind-the-scenes once again and volunteer with the junior volunteers. These are the people responsible for carrying signs, updating scoreboards and running information to various locations around the course.

It's easy to spot the junior volunteers with the bright yellow shirts and hats. Not much credit goes to these volunteers, and I plan on finding out what exactly goes into the work of a junior volunteer.

Meeting an awesome Aussie
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio --Yesterday, I had a chance to meet plenty of important members of the Bridgestone Invitational tournament crew. For me though, the highlight was the chance to meet Adam Scott.

I stood right next to him during his interview after he came off the course. After he finished talking to the reporters, he turned around and looked me straight in the eye and said "hi" in the most amazing accent ever. This wouldn't be such a big deal if it weren't that I had such a huge crush on him.

But for someone who is in love with him, it was a big deal. I was so awestruck. I didn't know what to do, it was awesome.

Being able to have this experience as a youth course reporter is an amazing experience. You get to meet all kinds of people and help out around the course.

Being behind the scenes for this week has been really fun so far and I am looking forward to meeting new people and getting a deeper look into how the millions of things that go into organizing a major event like this are done.

Goosen continues to lead on Day 1
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio -- As the day comes to an end at the Bridgestone Invitational, players are finding cool spots around the course to stand and wait to play their next shots. Retief Goosen is leading the field and is in the clubhouse with a 4-under 66. Tim Clark, another South African player, is one shot behind "Goose" at 3 under. Vijay Singh is also in the clubhouse at three-under 67. Heading into the 18th hole, Vijay had a one-stroke lead, at 5 under on the field, but fell apart with a double bogey.

Left-hander Phil Mickelson is competing in his 10th Bridgestone Invitational and finished the first nine in 1-under 34. Mickelson finished second in the 1999 Bridgestone Invitational.

In order for this tournament to run smoothly, groups of people volunteer their time to making sure things are in order. People are running around and making important deadlines to produce coverage to those who cannot make it to the event.

We had a chance to meet some of the people with PGATOUR.COM and PGA TOUR public relations who make all this happening earlier this morning. This week should be full of great shots and emotions as the 2008 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational continues.

Padraig's amazing escape
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio -- Padraig Harrington shot 1 under for a great opening round. On the ninth hole, he hit his drive outside the ropes and about five feet away from the pavement. He was surrounded by low trees, and the green was about 150 yards from him. After a long pause of silence and suspense, he pulled it through the trees and the ball landed right in front of the green, running up on the putting surface and stopping in the fringe about 20 from the hole.

He then made an amazing comeback for par. Standing within a couple feet of him, it was interesting to see before he hit that incredible shot, how much intensity he was putting into that stroke. He is truly an amazing golfer.

When I arrived here this morning I didn't realize how much effort is put into this competition. I met the head of volunteers, Billie Ferguson, and the head of the media operation, Laura Hill. Getting to talk to Laura was a privilege, taking into consideration that she is about to blow up with so many things on her mind.

She is really an amazing woman handling all the media work, all the meetings and all the workers. We all usually take for granted how much work is put into this competition and other major events. Now I know -- and appreciate -- these events so much more than when I arrived here.

Almost everyone saw it
By Jennah Romansky, Special to PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio -- Hidemasa Hoshino hit a beautiful fade for his second shot on the ninth hole. It landed about 5 feet from the pin and caught a downhill break, rolled passed the hole and stopped about a foot away from the hole. Everyone in the stands went crazy. It was an amazing shot that helped him putt out for a par on that hole.

Hoshino's approach was a great shot that almost everyone saw -- everyone except my chaperone Jake. He was too busy putting mounds of sunscreen on his overly pale, Irish skin. I thought it was ridiculous but he put it as "responsible skin care," Yeah, if you call being drenched in sunscreen responsible skin care. Maybe he will soon realize that his lightly tinted peach forearm is not tan! Nonetheless he is a really cool guy, who is really fun to hang out with.

After running around and meeting tons of folks with the PGA TOUR this morning, I'm looking forward to the rest of the week. I'm sure it'll be crazy.

A colorful start
By Spencer Golden-Sims, Special to PGATOUR.COM
AKRON, Ohio -- Ranked fifth in FedExCup points, Anthony Kim, one of my personal favorites, shot a 3-over 38 on the back nine at the Bridgestone Invitational hosted by Firestone Country Club. Kim was long off the 10th tee, a 410-yard par 4, and went on to make par. Kim is playing alongside Rory Sabbatini and Soren Hansen. Hansen finished the back nine in 1-over 36. Sabbatini was the leader among those with the 9:03 a.m. tee time, shooting a 1-under 34.

Retief Goosen, a popular face to the game, began his tournament shooting 3-under 32 on the first nine. Goosen was able to save par on the ninth green with an amazing putt. Goosen had a 35-foot putt for birdie, but unfortunately the putt went past the hole, leaving the South Africa native with a 7-footer for par. The grandstand was totally silent as Goosen read and approached his next putt. The putt rolled in and fans could be heard across the course.

The red pants, blue shirt, white belt and a bright-colored flag could be seen from the green of the ninth hole all the way back to the tee box. This could only mean one thing -- Sergio Garcia. Sergio finished the first nine with an even-par 35, making a bogey on No. 9. Others in Sergio's pairing were Hidemasa Hoshino from Japan and Johnson Wagner from the United States. Hoshino made a great par on the ninth hole with an incredible approach shot to the green, spinning his shot back across the green, just wide of the hole. Hoshino's birdie putt fell short and he made an easy tap in for par. Other big names plan to go off later in the day starting at 12:15 p.m. and ending with the final tee time of the day at 1:21 p.m. The field is open for a new champion this year and it will prove to be an interesting tournament.