My neighbor,who happens to share my name, Mike Green is the golf pro at Del Paso golf club in Sacramento. They hosted the second level qualifying for the US Open at his club this year. It was one of the few qualifiers on the west coast. Mike offered me tickets to the US Open and it turned out to be one of the most amazing events I've ever experienced. From the beauty of Pebble Beach to the opportunity to see master of their craft perform, I was like a child in a candy store. To top it off, it was the week before father's day and I was able to bring my dad along and share this event with him. Below is a sampling of pictures we captured during our two days at this event. We attended Tues and Wed, which were the practice rounds. Great thing about the practice rounds is that you can actually bring a camera, which is not allowed during the actual Open rounds. Also note, there are no cell phones allowed at any part of the event.
This is the "chipping" range. We never walked over to the full driving range, although this area was big enough to hold one of my drives as I think it extended out 250 yards or so. Behind the stands is a chipping green with bunkers and such to practice out of. One thing to note here, the signs designating who is hitting where.
They had these bill boards in a few different places around the course. Players started on either the first or 10th tee, with different start times. It was helpful to know who was in what group and what order they were coming through, if you wanted to see a particular golfer, you can calculate where they may be on the course.
Lexus had a booth setup where they would take your picture with the Open cup. You can see my dad and I here with the cup.
The other photo you get int he Lexus booth is the one with this car. If you look closely, this car exterior is made to look like a golf ball with dimples all over it.
This is Camilo Villegas on the 9th tee box, with Carmel Bay in the background. After he hit this shot, he hit one of the grounds workers in a red coat with the tee shot.
Here's Camilo looking at his yardage book, taking notes for use in the actual round. Maybe he's noting how far out the groundskeeper is standing.
Here's a group of golfers hitting their second shot over on the 8th hole. It's an over the ocean shot onto a tucked in green. Camilo is the golfer swinging here, if you look closely you can see the ball in the air.
Jim Furyk chipping onto the 18th green.
Kenny Perry looking at the yardage book on the 8th green.
Zach Johnson on the 3rd tee.
Zach Johnson taking his tee shot on the 3rd.
Tom Watson examining what he wants to hit on the dog leg left 3rd hole. Note the guy holding the sign in the background. These guy's walked with the groups and if you couldn't recognize the golfer, or see the name on the golf bag, these guys were the other way to help identify who was who.
Tom Watson hitting the tee shot on 3. He hit two shots, one with a driver and one with a hybrid.
I believe this is Ian Poultier, but don't recall.
Angel Cabrera on his second tee shot on the 3rd tee
Kenny Perry looking at the yardage book on the 8th green.
Zach Johnson on the 3rd tee.
Zach Johnson taking his tee shot on the 3rd.
Tom Watson examining what he wants to hit on the dog leg left 3rd hole. Note the guy holding the sign in the background. These guy's walked with the groups and if you couldn't recognize the golfer, or see the name on the golf bag, these guys were the other way to help identify who was who.
Tom Watson hitting the tee shot on 3. He hit two shots, one with a driver and one with a hybrid.
I believe this is Ian Poultier, but don't recall.
Angel Cabrera on his second tee shot on the 3rd tee
This photo was taken from the tee on the 6th green. The picture does not do justice on how high that cliff rises, that the golfers have to hit their second shots up and over to the green.
This phot was taking from the top of the cliff on the 6th hole, looking back towards the 6th tee. Still hard to see how far this hole rises, or falls from this direction.
My dad in the same spot looking back at the 6th tee.
Here's a view from the 17th green side stands, looking at the famous par 3 7th hole which is one of the most spectacular in golf. You can see how much this 100 yard par 3 drops.This phot was taking from the top of the cliff on the 6th hole, looking back towards the 6th tee. Still hard to see how far this hole rises, or falls from this direction.
My dad in the same spot looking back at the 6th tee.
My dad took this photo from the stands overlooking the 7th green, which you see in the background.
This is a shot from in front of the 18th tee, up about 50 yards, looking down the fairway towards the green. One of the most amazing finishing holes in golf. You can see the stands for the 18th green in the background.
This is the 14th green. If you watched the Open, this was the hardest hole on the course. While the green was normal sized, if you hit it towards the back of the green everything rolled off the back and down a hill. If you landed in the front, everything rolled back down and off the front of the green. You can see in this photo, a gray matting up there, which is where any short balls would roll back to.
This is a shot from in front of the 18th tee, up about 50 yards, looking down the fairway towards the green. One of the most amazing finishing holes in golf. You can see the stands for the 18th green in the background.
This is the 14th green. If you watched the Open, this was the hardest hole on the course. While the green was normal sized, if you hit it towards the back of the green everything rolled off the back and down a hill. If you landed in the front, everything rolled back down and off the front of the green. You can see in this photo, a gray matting up there, which is where any short balls would roll back to.
Now I'll begin the onslaught of Phil and Tiger photos. First up is Phil's second shot on the 18th fairway, he hit under the trees and close but short of the green.
Phil hitting a tee shot on #7. In the gray sweater on the left is Dustin Johnson, your 54 hole leader who blew up on day four.
Phil making the determination of what club to hit on the 7th. Swirling winds and a short hole make this an interesting choice.
Tiger's tee shot on 17 was a tad long. Here he is chipping it back on, amazing how short he hit it and how far it rolled.
Phil hitting his tee shot on 7
Tiger hitting tee shot on 18
Tom Watson hitting tee shot on 3
Vijay in 7th
All in all, getting the opportunity to see the practice rounds, take photos and walk the beautiful course was an event I will cherish forever. I can also state that it made watching the open on TV even that much more enjoyable. I was truly able to recognize each shot, the difficulty involved and exactly what they were facing. It helped to draw me in and appreciate this great sport even more. Best part about it, I was able share this event with my dad for Father's day. It just doesn't get any better.
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