Live from Endicott

Here we are. I woke up this morning at 5 a.m., through no credit of my own. (Nick Dauch, who I stayed with the last two nights, woke up to my alarm and proceeded to wake me up). I drove straight through to Endicott to make it in time for the opening tee shot, thinking I would need to stop and sleep at a rest area, but fighting on. Last summer's experiences of driving through the night definitely were beneficial.

So I arrived at media parking, got a very convenient shuttle ride to the course and exchanged my one-day paper pass for credentials. I greeted the tournament staff as well as the Tour's Phil Stambaugh, who remembered me after a bit of reminding. No lavish media buffet like you would see on the PGA Tour, but you won't find me complaining with some great Dunkin Donuts.

I strolled out on the course to see the opening tee shot by Sonny Skinner, who pulled it into the left rough but saved his par on No. 1. Not a huge crowd this early in the morning, but it's sure to pick up this afternoon, especially as the Tim McGraw concert on the 18th green draws closer. It will be interesting to see how the crowd demographics shift as evening comes.

We were also rather lucky to get play underway, as an area of fog passed through around 8 a.m. and it was hard to see for awhile. But just as soon as it came, it went - the sun came up, and the first group was off at 8:45 as scheduled.

As I write this, I am incredibly tired, but it should be a good day.