This morning felt a bit like Christmas morning for me when I was little. The day ahead was full of promise and I was anxious to get started. I purchased a Park & Ride pass for all three days of the event. I was admittedly skeptical of how efficient the parking and transportation process would be with so many people expected. It took me about 30 minutes to get to my parking spot as the traffic wasn't bad at all. Once there, we all went through airport security scanners and then loaded up on the double decker buses. Very efficient process! The ride to the course took us through some beautiful sheep filled countryside. Kristen would have loved that for sure. The buses dropped us off by the 16th hole, the par 5 that I remembered well from my round here last year. There were already thousands of folks roaming around the grounds and it wasn't even 8:00 am yet. I made my way up as close to the 1st tee as I could get. The grandstands were jam packed, primarily with the Euro fans singing parody songs they'd made up for each of their golfing heroes. They were very entertaining to say the least. I hung around for all the groups to tee off before venturing out onto the course to secure my spot for the morning.
With so many fans and only four matches going on at one time, I needed to figure out where I could park myself for the morning. I decided on the right side of the par 4 8th hole. I could see the tee shots landing in the fairway as well as the shots into the green. There was also a huge monitor right across the fairway from me. Between that, the radio headphones and the enormous cheers from the galleries around me, I could always tell how things were going. After all the matches came through, the majority of the crowd made its way to the back nine. I, on the other hand, made my way to the facilities and then the bar that just opened. It was very windy and cold so I thought a little whisky would help warm me up. That it did as I made my way back up to the top of the hill by the 1st tee and 18th green. With free WiFi hotspots throughout the course, I was able to catch up with Kristen once she woke up. I was glad to be able to share with her in real time the excitement of it all.
Phil and Keegan's match with Rory and Sergio was the last one of the morning session and it proved to be a barn burner. I made my way over to the par 3 17th. Keegan's eagle 3 on the par 5 16th insured that the match would go to the 18th. I found a good spot right behind the green and watched the mass of humanity come over the hill to the 17th. Incredible atmosphere!
The match was all square going into the 18th. Phil ripped his tee shot down the middle and was able to put himself in the green side bunker, short and right of the pin. The rest of the group missed the fairway and consequently weren't able to go for the green in two. After some of his usual short game magic, Phil's short birdie putt gave him and Keegan a 1 up victory over Rory and Sergio. Because the match went the full 18, the afternoon matches were delayed to allow these guys to grab some food and head back out for the afternoon matches.
Since things were delayed, I decided to head back to St Andrews and catch the afternoon matches at SAGC on Sky Sports. The club was actually having a tournament today so it wasn't too crowded when I first got there. I was able to eat, drink and be merry with a spot right in front of the television. After all of the walking I have done this week, over 100 miles according to my FitBit, my body was tired and hurting. After the matches concluded and I finished my dinner, I went back to the bungalow for a hot shower, a little FaceTime chat with Kristen then off to bed I went. Day 2 of the Ryder Cup was fast approaching. Time for some rest.....
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