All the way inside the ropes with Annika, Chi-Chi and the Black Knight
A couple of weeks ago, three friends attended the Gary Player Invitational, a two-day charity event, at GlenArbor Golf Club, in Bedford Hills, New York. The course was designed by Player, and it's awesome:
The field for the event was awesome, too.
It included Player, Chi-Chi Rodriguez, Annika Sorenstam, Tom Lehman, Retief Goosen, Natalie Gulbis, Ian Woosnam, Jason Dufner, Mark O'Meara, many others.
Bob G. -- an honorary member of the Sunday Morning Group, who also happens to be a member of GlenArbor -- sent me these notes:
"Way better than any golf tournament. No ropes, could walk anywhere. Players were relaxed and easy to engage. Although there was some press around, they weren't in the way. It wasn't like a big media event, so there was no pressure on the pros to be 'on.' Just us and these great golfers hanging out. A bit like having Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera over to play a little baseball in your backyard.
"Chi-Chi, who is 79, looks 65. On the fairway of No. 16, he comes up and says, 'Hi, I'm Chi-Chi. Thins are so bad in Puerto Rico that the Mafia had to lay off three judges.'
"Annika Sorenstam hits a nice draw with about a 250-yard carry. Ian Woosnam looked grumpy. Mark O'Meara told Grant Gregory, who founded the club, that the greens were faster and better than the ones at Augusta during the Masters.
"Lehman drinks beer; Goosen drinks wine. I had a drink with Rich Beem. Nice guy, but called me 'Sir.'
Hacker (real name) was there, too. He followed Player and Sorenstam for several holes, and walked right along with them in the fairway. There were only about 40 people in the entire tournament gallery, so he was able to get plenty close:
Peter A. was also there. "It was better than the last U.S. Open I attended, at Torrey Pines," he told me. "And all the LPGA players are smokin' hot."
I couldn't join them, because my daughter and her family were visiting, and I was busy teaching my granddaughter, who is about to turn two, how to eat goldfish crackers the way the guys in the Sunday Morning Group eat potato chips:
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