(deltamike/Flickr)
I’M IN PINEHURST, NORTH CAROLINA, for The McGladrey Team Championship, a national best-ball amateur tournament conducted by the PGA of America. The amateur teams at Pinehurst have already advanced through a local qualifying event and a section championship. The finals are this week at the Pinehurst courses, and each amateur team will be playing with their local PGA golf pro.
I’ve known I was coming for a few weeks, but I don’t think it really sunk in until I exited onto NC-211 and covered the last 17 miles to the famous resort. I’m the guest of RSM McGladrey, with special thanks to Jake Rosen at Sports Media Challenge. Pinehurst is southern hospitality at its best. And the golf courses aren’t too bad either. This wasn’t a hard decision for me.
Also present are RSM McGladrey tour professionals Natalie Gulbis, Zach Johnson and Chris DiMarco. They will perform in a skills challenge on Monday and spend the day as event ambassadors.
On Sunday night I attended a reception that included silent and live auctions. The event’s official charity is the Special Olympics golf program. Judging from hefty bids on live auction items such as a Sheryl Crow-autographed guitar and a two-day outing with Natalie (who stands close to 7 feet tall in heels), I would say they raised a tidy sum.
−The Armchair Golfer