Golfstruck

Partly blocked by a bazooka-length photo lens, I watched Tiger tee off on the first at yesterday's finals at The Barclays. I didn't think that the stellar first round was merely blind luck for this fallen golf icon and yet I wasn't sure if he will come out victorious after last week's announcement that he is now officially single. Whatever mess he got himself into, I'm still rooting for him.

I'm no golf junkie and certainly not big on stats or standings in this sport. I was just there for Tiger and for the scenery as usual, nature walk if you will. Watching him tee off up close and later hit some good shots was enough excitement to last me for a long time.

No, I didn't scour the freebie section of Craigslist for tickets to the Playoffs. Our golf nut friend Pachu called our head nut Chong and offered us free tickets to the tournament. It's not every day that such good luck comes along so she grabbed it and since golf is all about friendship, yeah, yeah, yeah - I tagged along.

For the first time The Barclays tourney is being held at The Ridgewood Country Club in Paramus, New Jersey. Paramus isn't such an appealing draw for me since I've known the place to be just another premium outlet shopping district, but to my surprise it's a most desirable upper class neighborhood.

Well, we found the place after following the lousy signs to General Parking which led us circling the area a couple of times. This time Lady Jane was not to blame. It's a given, it's a curse! You are in New Jersey so you MUST spend half your life looking for whatever it is you're going to.

Chairs in tow, we boarded the shuttle at the Bergen Community College parking lot where I felt cheated having to pay $10 for parking. That's ludicrous. Not even at the US Open at Bethpage did they charge for parking.

When we arrived, lo and behold, Tiger was practicing his putting and every putt either went in or just short of the hole. Awesome. Other players strode by. I was golfstruck! (Does the word even exist?)

After wandering the grounds checking out the 18th hole grandstand and the concessions area of course, I told Pachu and Chong to leave me and just go ahead follow their favorites on the course. I have to stay put. I can't ignore this sciatica flare up and risk being incapacitated for the rest of my non-golfing life, ha. Plus it didn't get out of the 90's and I'm allergic to the sun. It was downright hot.

The two ladies took pity on me and for the most part sat by me as I took shelter under the giant London Plane tree by the 18th hole. Perfect spot. I saw a lot of good shots.

What about that Rickie Fowler with his blinding all-orange gear? He said it's a salute to his school color Okie State U and not an endorsement deal with the Florida citrus folks!

And when Tiger and the other top seeds played, fans stood four or five deep. After they finish there's mass exodus. Tiger did not end up with victory at The Barclays but still proved himself to be right there with the leaders and with a huge following. Matt (Kooch) Kuchar won.

Thanks Pachu. I enjoyed The Barclays watching successful golf, not frustrating golf. I hear enough of that from my golf nut friends!