Fun with Phil...Oh, and Those Other Players - Day Two

We couldn't get out of the house fast enough Thursday. Mr. Liu had found a quicker way to Sheshan and we arrived in an hour, but traffic was much heavier and the guards didn't allow him to drive to the entrance of the club. Katie and I trekked our way, picked up a pairings sheet and made it to the tenth tee serendipitously as Phil's name was being announced. We hurried up to the green and Katie was there cheering him on as he birdied his first hole. He beamed at her and said "Nice to see you again!" If I wasn't so giddy I might have been embarrassed by the attention. I even managed to capture the moment.

Since we had good luck at the 7th green the previous day, we parked ourselves in the same spot and waited to see what the day would bring. It brought plenty. During the Pro-Am the players were pretty relaxed, but usually in a tournament, the players don't socialize so much with the crowd or at least that's what I thought. Katie wasn't aware of that and spoke to every single player as they passed by. She cheered and congratulated them if they did well and consoled and encouraged them if they bogied. Paul Casey told her he would take every cheer he could get. Nine players tossed her their ball, including Tiger. He birdied the hole and as he passed, the crowd was completely quiet except Katie as she cheered, "Nice birdie, Tiger!" He looked right at her, smiled widely, said "Thank you", reached into his pocket and tossed his golf ball to her. The crowd collectively gasped. How much longer could this go on?

Phil came through and birdied. He was getting ready to toss his ball to her, when he asked if she already had one. She said "Yes, sir. Your caddie gave me one yesterday. Great birdie!" Another beaming smile and thanks. One of the marshalls who helped Katie get autographs the day before was with Phil's group told her she was the most polite child he'd seen. She responded "I just love golf!"

We saw all but two groups before we had to leave. On our way out we watched Phil par his last hole and as he came off the green on his way to the clubhouse, Katie told him, "Nice round. We won't be here tomorrow, but we'll be back Saturday". He chuckled and said "Ok".

Phil Mickelson is the epitome of what a professional athlete should be. He is attentive to the fans who cheer for him. I'd like to think he and Katie are best buddies, but I imagine he is like that with all of his fans. Let's see what the weekend has in store...