US Open

Last Monday, Alex and I were lucky enough to help run the US Open qualifier that was held at the Beechmont Country Club. We were made United States Golf Association marshalls and were ball spotters for the event. We would stand about three hundred and thirty yards from the tee box with little to no cover, and watch professional golfers hit tee shots at us as we pray that they did not hit us. After about six balls landing within seven feet of me, we decided to watch a little further away from where we were supposed to, behind some trees. We got to talk to the golfers and experience the intensity of their focus. They were generally thankful towards us for helping find their tee shots, although a few were in a pissy mood (probably because we were needed to find their shots). We even had the opportunity to talk to and get to know professional golfers. One in particular, Yohaan Benson, was very nice and I was thankful I got to talk with him. We got to talk for about ten minutes because another guy in his group was taking forever to hit his ball. I didn't even know he was a professional golfer until Alex pointed it out to me after the group moved on to the next hole. I also got to talk to Andrew Bieber whom I knew from golf. He's a sixteen year old at Gilmour and actually won the qualifier and moved onto the sectional for a chance to qualify for the US Open. We saw each other because his ball hit the tree I was hiding behind and we got a chance to catch up for a few minutes. It was a great experience to watch professional golfers in action and to get a feel for how tournaments as big as that one actually work.