After a few minutes of briefly surveying the scene on the range at TPC River Highlands, the weather horn blew, signaling players to conclude their practice sessions in anticipation of severe weather. I had been talking with fellow Golf Digest/Golf World journalist Jeff Patterson, who was showing me the ropes on how to interview players on the range. Patterson was working on a story for the Golf Digest about the best swing coaches in the game, talking to players to get their opinions.
Plenty of notables and familiar faces were on the range - Andres Gonzales, Mike Weir, Jonas Blixt, to name a few. Didn't get to chance to talk to anyone (the impending storm ruined that), but hopefully I will be able to kick the interviewing into high gear when I return tomorrow.
Before arriving at the range, I checked out the course's noted 15th thru 18th-hole stretch. As a Fred Funk fan growing up, I always closely followed events as TPC River Highlands (Fred always seemed to play them well), and I was impressed by the way the 15th, 16th and 17th are built around a small lake. 17, with water hugging the right side of the fairway and protecting the green in front, cannot be a stress-free hole for players vying for the lead on Sunday afternoon - especially if the wind is blowing.
As I navigated the final four holes, I saw a few players getting some practice in - Jerry Kelly, Robert Allenby, Carl Petterson, Sang Moon Bae - before the rain. I noticed that they weren't really worrying about the hole as they were chipping and putting around the green; they were more focused on playing to spots where they anticipated holes being placed in tournament play.
As I type this, the rain has noticeably started to come down hard above us. This will not be an enjoyable walk to the car.
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