CA Course Reporters: Friday afternoon entries

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Editor's note: Courtney Burris, Johnie Freatman and Owais Durrani will be blogging this week at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. The three are part of the CA Course Reporters program. Check back each day to see what they have to say.

Archive: Wednesday's entries | Thursday morning | Thursday afternoon | Friday morning

An incredibly busy afternoon
By Owais Durrani

What an afternoon! After a slow morning we were all over the place observing world-class teachers instructing kids of the Boys and Girls Club, being a standard bearer for a couple of holes, working the ShotLink lasers, meeting with Jimmy Roberts of NBC and even meeting with the CEO of CA.

Jon and Todd, the two instructors who analyzed our swing yesterday, generously gave lessons to juniors of the Boys and Girls Club of America. Furthermore, CA donated a number of Tiger Woods starter sets to these kids to help them get a good start to golf. The incredible amount of generosity displayed by CA and the instructors truly demonstrates the positive outcomes that come out of the CA Championship. By occupying children, such as those of the Boys and Girls Club, with activities, CA and all the other contributors remove these children from the possibility of becoming victims of crime and drugs -- which to me is a priceless gift.

After visiting with members of the Boys and Girls Club of America, it was time to do some hands-on work! Our first activity was to be a standard bearer for a group. After getting decked out with the uniform, we were ready to roll. I was paired with Ryuji Imada, Henrik Stenson, and Ben Curtis and literally was walking next to them over the three -hole adventure. It was really amazing to see the concentration with which these players played. Each shot was treated as if it was the shot to win the tournament. The great amount of care that the caddies showed was astounding. They scanned the crowd like the Secret Service to make sure no one was moving or talking too loudly. That's true dedication. Walking next to the players was really a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Once I was done with walking with the players, I was off to the ShotLlink tower behind the fifth hole. Man, these guys have a great view! You could see everything from the green to the tee. Operating the ShotLink laser was quite interesting. You would point the laser at the ball, then magnify it, shoot the laser, and bam -- the data would be registered to the player, all over the course scoreboards and the Internet within 8-10 seconds. It was an amazing experience to go around the course and see what volunteers did at different locations. Speaking of volunteers, I was once again amazed at the sheer number of volunteers. I just want to thank these individual s for their generosity in putting these events together.

We concluded the day with a meeting with the CEO of CA, John Swainson -- an enjoyable man to be around. After we watched him being interviewed by NBC's Jimmy Roberts (who we also met), Mr. Swainson sat down with us in the CA hospitality area. He discussed everything from his vision for the future of CA to why CA sponsored this tournament. Mr. Swainson explained to us that sponsoring a tournament of such magnitude provided exposure of the CA brand, gave CA time to meet and get to know their customers and provided CA a chance to give back to the community. Furthermore Mr. Swainson explained to us that CA actually breaks even plus profits after all their expenses at this tournament. That shows the efficiency and great planning that the leaders of CA display. After some intellectual discussion Mr. Swainson jokingly told us that he was not a typical CEO golfer and that he got out only a few times a year -- but he enjoyed those few times, and that's what is important. Mr. Swainson has even played with Tiger Woods -- he said he embarrassed himself (LOL). Most importantly, Mr. Swainson explained to us the importance of setting goals for yourself and then meeting them.

Well, today was quite an eventful and busy day. I will talk to you all tomorrow morning. Until then take care.

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Some memorable volunteering
By Courtney Burris

I have certainly put in a few hours of volunteer work in my lifetime; however, the volunteering I did this afternoon was some of the most memorable hours so far. At 12:45 p.m. I took my place at the first tee of this gorgeous golf course to be a standard bearer for K.J. Choi, Hunter Mahan and Retief Goosen.

If you were wondering, yes, I did introduce myself and shake their hands. Hunter is unfortunately not available for dinner tonight, but maybe tomorrow? Just kidding, everybody. I will admit that I would have been lost if it weren't for my co-standard bearer, Marcus Pickett. Lucky for me, Marcus is a veteran in the standard bearing business. He is a mentor for The First Tee of Broward and a scratch golfer. How awesome is that? Mr. Mahan got off to a great start, birdieing the first two holes. Unfortunately, the par-4 third hole got the best of him. I will not go into all of the nasty details; I sure don't want to ruin any chances on dinner plans. Mr. Goosen struggled as I watched him. It was painful for me. But I have great faith in him. He will come back, I just know it! Mr. Choi was the standout of the group with consecutive birdies on Nos. 3 and 4. I had an absolutely wonderful time standard bearing this afternoon. Next time I'm going to consider lifting some weights before I take on that challenge, that sign gets crazy in this wind!

After my work was finished, I had the absolute pleasure of meeting the CEO of CA, Mr. John Swainson. As an accomplished businessman, engineer, and communicator, he had some wonderful advice for us. I let Johnnie and Owais take over the serious questions and I just asked him about his golf game. He claims he is just a hacker on the course, although I'm not sure I believe that yet. CA sponsors Retief, so Mr. Swainson is clearly a fan. He has had the pleasure of playing with Tiger Woods and claims that it was completely embarrassing, although he is a huge fan of Tiger's and enjoyed the round. Mr. Swainson also wanted to clarify that people in his home country of Canada do play golf, contrary to what most people think. Mr. Swainson claims the ponds do melt long enough to get a few rounds in every once in awhile. Mr. Swainson is certainly an extremely intelligent, hardworking man who should be admired by many. I would like to sincerely thank him and the whole company of CA for providing this unforgettable experience to me. Oh, look at the time, I am going to have to go grab some of this seafood, but I can't wait to report my experiences to you again tomorrow morning!

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Tiger's '15th club' up close
By John Freatman, Jr.

The aura and incessant attention surrounding Tiger Woods was adequately described by Retief Goosen in an interview on Wednesday as being a "15th club." I got to view this advantage today, serving as a standard bearer for the first six holes of Tiger's round. Along with being shown the dos and don'ts of standard bearer by a seasoned veteran named Brent, I was able to get a better idea of what some of the sources for Tiger's intimidation factor are.

Despite a nine-month absence from stroke play, the so-called "Tiger Factor" is alive and well. Standing inside the ropes on the first tee, the first thought that came into my head is that if I were a TOUR player I would not want to be paired with Tiger. The crowds lined the fairways and were not afraid to yell all sorts of random things in Tiger's direction, often times to the chagrin of the marshals who were demanding quiet. Although Tiger is indeed accustomed to this daily attention, the TOUR rank-and-file surely is not. Over the years, numerous players have wilted under this pressure.

Or maybe the aura of Tiger has more to do with the man himself. Seeing him up close just reinforced his reputation as a fitness machine with the muscles to match. In addition to entertaining the thought that they are less physically prepared for the rigors of the golf course, it is disconcerting for others to constantly be out-driven and to be the one having to apply the pressure with a close approach shot. Post-surgery, Tiger has certainly not lost much distance off the tee, as was evidenced by him crushing his opening drive so far that he had merely 175 yards into the par 5!

It also must be quite intimidating to be playing with somebody who has their own flavor of Gatorade. Tiger is constantly sipping from a water bottle emblazoned with the "Gatorade Tiger" insignia. One can envision a scene where one of Tiger's competitors goes to the beverage cooler looking for a drink, only to see "Gatorade Tiger." What a dejected feeling it must be to know you are drinking the customized beverage of your competitor.

It is difficult to pinpoint which component drives the "Tiger Factor" most. Nonetheless, it does function as a 15th club. It can be thought of that the only difference between Tiger and the rest of the field is that other players would get DQed if they physically had a 15th club, while Tiger's perceived one is perfectly within the rules.