-First, a word on the caddies. When I entered the caddy tent to eat after our round Tuesday, I introduced myself to other caddies, and received a warm welcome. Apparently, Kevin Johnson's name carries a certain clout among the Tour caddying population - with everyone smiling and saying things such as 'great guy' and 'very nice' when I noted that I was caddying for KJ.
But when I talked about my role as a student journalist working on a project, I felt a certain edge come over the caddies I was talking to. They told me that I couldn't quote them, and it seemed like they didn't want to talk anymore.
One of the caddies went on to tell me how he doesn't trust journalism, going so far as to say there's not one good-natured journalist out there. Pretty poignant stuff. When you have that point of view, I can see how you would be hard-pressed to talk to a journalist - you worry that your statements will be taken out of context, which could hurt your reputation (along with your chances of getting a job with another pro).
So is it the caddies, or the players, who are the reason behind the caddies' hesitance to talk to the media? Maybe a little bit of both.
But in regard to the one caddy's harsh view of journalism as a whole: it's a two-way street. Sure, there are plenty of journalists with agendas who mold their news to further a particular message or concept. I wouldn't argue with that for a second. But then again, when potential sources refuse to talk, how does a journalist go about getting the whole story? It's simply not possible if you don't have the ability to talk to all the relevant sources.
Ah, journalism. Sometimes it can drive you crazy.
-When I asked one caddy about what I think makes a good caddy, he told me that different caddies bring different strengths to the table. When I asked him what he was good at, he gave me a long look of distrust before saying, 'reading the greens'.
The look of distrust caught me off-guard. How can this information hurt a caddy if it's in The New York Times, much less a kid's blog with fewer than 800 page views? All I can think of is that there must be something I don't know.
-(Note: If I get in trouble for writing this note, I don't even know what the world is coming to). I was talking to Justin Hicks' caddy, who I know has the respect of Justin from Wichita - when Justin continually talked about 'us' and 'me and my caddy' when answering questions after a second-place finish. Not many players do that.
Anyway, I knew Justin played in the Open Championship a few weeks ago, about two hours north of London. I told him I studied abroad in London last fall, so we talked about the area and how much we enjoyed it. He told me that being over there was a great experience.
I have read that some players use 'local caddies' when playing in the Open Championship, since the style of play in the British Isles differs greatly from the style of play in America. Bringing his 'American' caddy with him to England demonstrates great trust and respect for the caddy's abilities, in my opinion.
I told him that I took the train to Blackpool one day, as the train passes right next to Royal Lytham and St. Anne's, the course where the Open was played. Blackpool is probably less than a 10-minute train ride from the course.
In turn, he asked me if I ever went on Blackpool's gigantic roller coaster on the pier. This quickly brought up a bad memory - I traveled to Blackpool with the full intent of riding the coaster, as I always looked at the coaster's picture in a book I had when I was little. When I got to the park, the coaster was closed due to high winds.
And then when I went to Coney Island to ride the famous Cylone a few weeks ago, it was closed due to weather as well. Guess I need to stop trying to ride coasters near the water - it's not working out too well for me.
Caddies and Coasters. Coming soon to a store near you.
-During the practice round, I was telling Jimmy (Ryan's caddy) about my travels cross-country to get to Springfield. I recounted my trip to Kansas and Indiana, and talked about how I slept in my car for a few nights.
Ryan looked over and retorted, "Been there, done that."
The life of a Triple-A golfer. Imagine Tiger sleeping in his car...
Didn't think so.
-But hey, there is money to be had on the Web.com Tour. First place most weeks nets over 100 grand. Not bad at all. It's when you start missing a bunch of cuts that you start to get in financial trouble.
Take KJ, for instance. He has won six times on the Triple-A circuit, netting him over $1 million in earnings, along with another 300 grand-plus during his occasional time in the big leagues. Along with sponsorships and the like, it adds up to a seemingly comfortable living situation - although travel expenses need to be factored in for sure.
KJ had thought about going home in between last week's event in Omaha (he missed the cut after making triple bogey on his first hole of the tourney) and this week. But when he looked at sky-high prices on flights to Springfield, he thought again.
So he rented a car (they gave him a pickup truck, no less) and made the drive from Omaha to Springfield. Just like most of us non-celebrities would do.
But he has the ability to splurge a little, as well. He's taking next week off from the Tour, and taking the family to Atlantis in the Bahamas. His daughters (ages 12 and 9) are going back to school soon, and he wants to give them a nice vacation before the school year gets underway.
Not bad.
-KJ gets his tournament going bright and early tomorrow, with a 7;40 a.m. tee time. He asked me to be there at 6:30, so needless to say I won't be hitting the town tonight.
I haven't gone out yet in Springfield, despite now being 21. I needed to get up early on Tuesday, and wanted to get a good night's sleep last night to catch up on my rest from the week of Atlantic City/Coldplay/cross-country travel. Maybe I'll go out tomorrow night, since KJ plays late on Friday. It's kind of awkward to roll into bars by yourself, especially in a college town, but at least the caddying aspect gives me a conversation-starter.
KJ plays tomorrow with Brad Elder (3-time champion on the Web.com circuit) and Andres Gonzales (currently in the top 5 on the money list in 2012). KJ told me they're both good guys, so I'm looking forward to it.
Cool thing about Andres - when I worked the U.S. Open for NBC last summer, I radioed in scores from his group on Friday morning. Of the threesome, he was the only one to thank me for my help after he finished the round - even though he missed the cut.
If the time is right tomorrow morning, it would be cool to bring it up.
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