May 11 to 17
May 11 to 17 |
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Videos
It was a long road for Garrett Sapp to get to the 2026 PGA Championship. Over 3,500 PGA of America Golf "Professionals" from all 41 PGA Sections attempted to earn a spot in the 312-player field at the PGA Professionals Championship at Bandon Dunes. By the way, Golf "Professionals" are the golfers who work at golf courses across the country as head pros, assistant pros, or teaching pros; not to be confused with Touring Professionals who attempt to earn a living traveling around the world playing golf. The "Professionals" tournament and subsequent sponsorship of the best 20 was courtesy of the Corebridge Financial Corporation
In late April, June and I started paying attention when he traveled to Bandon Dunes Golf Course in Oregon. The 312-player field was cut to 70 players after 3 rounds. Only the top 20 golfers from that tournament would go on to play at Aronimink. We intently followed the final two rounds, along with other family and friends, with TV coverage and online "live" scoring. The conditions were very cold and windy, but he weathered the storm, and in the end he tied with 3 other players for fourth place. We started making plans to travel to Pennsylvania for the PGA Championship.
The PGA Championship was held at Aronimink (a-RON-i-mink) Country Club in Pennsylvania. Garrett, Alicia, and their two girls were already there when we arrived on Monday May 11. We all stayed in a hotel about 30 minutes from the course. Steve (June's brother) flew in the following day and was staying at a different hotel. Garrett rode to the course everyday with his caddy (Adam) who he played golf with when they were both very young in the LA area. Adam happened to live in Ohio about a 6 hour drive from Philly. Alicia, the girls, and June and myself rode to the course, hours after Garrett and Adam, in the car that Corebridge provided for each of the 20 players. We were waved into the onsite player parking lot at the course. In addition, we were given free grounds passes each day, and also allowed to eat and drink in the players clubhouse.
Tues. (May 12) Our first day there we wandered around the grounds. Then we drove to Independence square in Philadelphia to do tourist stuff.
Wed. We went to the course to follow Garrett's final practice round. I think we also went to an Escape Room that day. An escape room is a live, interactive game where you and a team work together to find hidden clues, solve puzzles, and complete a mission before time runs out.
Thursday - We followed Garrett's first round starting on the 10th hole in the afternoon. He played the first two rounds with Jayden Schaper (South Africa) and Sam Stevens. Garrett finished the day at 75 (+5). The conditions were very tough; cold and windy, very fast greens and tough pin placements. Even Scottie Scheffler said they were the toughest conditions he has ever played in. One of the golfers in front of Garrett's 3-some was Aaron Rai, the eventual winner of the tournament. He was unusual in that he wore 2 black gloves. He was also very slow and deliberate.
Friday - Garrett's 2nd round, this time starting on the 1st hole and in the morning. It was still windy and the pin placements were still tough. He finished at 74 (+4) for a total of 9 over par. He was certainly not the worst; 27 other players were cut with a higher score. Schaper was +10. Only one of the Corebridge 20 made the cut.
FYI: Sam Stevens was +2 and finished +6. The following month at the US Open he tied for 7th place.
Saturday - Garrett and his family decided to head home and flew out fairly early. June, myself, and Steve decided we would stay for the remainder of the tournament since we had free tickets and had return flights already booked for Monday. We lost the car and preferred parking but we kept the pass to the players dining room.
We knew that there was no parking in or around the golf course, but a shuttle service was available from two large parking lots about a 20 minute bus ride from the course. So we bought tickets for each day. The first day we got a late start and ran into a huge line of cars going into the parking lot, then a huge line boarding the buses.
Both weekend days warmed up a lot, and remained fairly windy. But the pin placements were much friendlier. We waded through the very crowded course, heading down the viewing area between holes 10 and 9. Right away, we watched Jordan Speith from a few yards away hit a beautiful shot out of the very wooded area and onto the green about 200 yards away.
Sun. - We decided to get an earlier start on Sunday morning. Everything went very smoothly to and from Aronimink. I think we had breakfast in the clubhouse which was a treat for me. I loved chatting with the very friendly chef while he made me a custom omelettes almost every day.
We wandered around the course, staying near the greens watching golfers hit up and putt. After several hours, we decided to get out of the very crowded and hot conditions and go back to the clubhouse to watch the proceedings on a TV while we had lunch snacks and adult beverages. We were sitting at a table in the dining room drinking, snacking, and watching the final hour of the tournament. While I was returning to the table with more snacks, I noticed an old guy wearing a red sports coat sitting with his family just behind our table. I continued to look at him when he turned his head to look at me. I held his gaze for a second or so while my brain tried to process who it was. I am pretty sure he saw my jaw drop when I recognized his face as belonging to Gary Player. I quickly looked away. But I sat down and whispered to both June and Steve, "Don't turn around, but Gary Player is sitting right behind us!"
Over the next several minutes, they both had to sneak a peak or two.
Although we were under strict orders from Alicia NOT to approach any of
the players, I said to June that I had to do SOMETHING! Maybe a discrete
pic from the adjacent hallway? She quickly urged me NOT to do anything.
Just then from behind us we hear, "Who do you think is going to win?" I
don't think he finished the sentence before I was out of my chair and
shaking his hand, telling him that he was my childhood golfing hero. And
he was! His daughter (I think) offered to take our picture with him.
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We later learned that he had won the PGA Championship in 1962, the last time it was played at Aronimink Country Club. He was there to help present the awards. The also named the bar after him this year.
Here are the other guys that I saw in and around the clubhouse:
The first day we were there, I was in the buffet room and went into the hallway where they had a coffee station. I turned the corner and Tommy Fleetwood was coming the other way. We were about two feet apart when we both stopped and looked eye-to-eye. We both smiled and continued to pass.
A bit later, I spotted a guy walking through the buffet room while I was fiddling with a toaster that wasn't working. He looked very familiar but I couldn't think of his name. A guy who worked there came up and turned the toaster speed up so I fed in my bread. A minute later, the golfer who I spotted earlier walked up to my right and fed in a couple of pieces of bread. Just as I turned to face him I remembered: Martin Kaymer. So I stupidly said, "I just remembered your name." He acknowledged me with a nod. I gathered my toast and said to him as I walked off, "Have a nice tournament Martin." Here's an interview he did with the press after his first round.
After breakfast, I walked outside the private entrance to wait for the girls who went to the bathroom. While standing there, Rory McIlroy and another guy walked out, chatting about something very seriously. Just after that, Jason Dufner walked up and into the private entrance. Then the girls came out.
After the second round, we were all in the clubhouse having lunch. Scottie Scheffler and his family sat at a table near the entrance to the buffet room. They seemed to be having lots of fun even though I don't think he had a noteworthy round.
The last morning, I saw a guy in the buffet room who I didn't recognize but was clearly a golfer. He checked out the omelette ingredients while I was waiting for mine to cook. He was young, very thin, and dressed immaculately, complete with white sleeves. I later learned his name was Alex Smalley who tied for 2nd.
After the final round, Steve, June and I were getting a drink at the bar. Shane Lowry had just left the bar with a beer in his hands and joined some other guys.
In the end, I had a great time watching Garrett in the mix with the world's best golfers.