ASAHI RYOKUKEN CHAMPIONSHIP 

MOUNT VINTAGE PLANTATION

AUGUSTA, GA

My player this week is Siew-Ai Lim

Off Week: Beware of the crimes of opportunity. Bully, veteran caddie on the LPGA now working for Fran Quinn on the Nationwide Tour, was on his way to Southern California from the Boise event and stopped for gas in Barstow. While inside the station, someone snatched his cell phone and $250 out of his car. It only takes a few seconds for something like this to ruin your day. Lock it or lose it.

My flight took me through Dallas-Fort Worth airport and I grabbed a bite at Dickey's Barbeque Pit in the food court in Terminal C. I ordered the "giant stuffed baked potato" with all the fixin's. Biggest spud I've ever seen! Added some barbecue beef on top smothered with a light BBQ sauce. For around 6 bucks you can't beat it. Their other menu items looked worth a try also. Give it a go if you have a chance.

Headed for Augusta on Monday and overnighted in Tupelo MS. Needed a few items so I stopped in the local Wal-Mart and, after entering, was greeted by a mechanical 4 foot tall Santa doing the boogaloo and extolling a hearty ho-ho-ho. ENOUGH ALREADY! It's September! By the way, if you wish to possess your very own obnoxious, sawed-off , mechanistic bundle of holiday cheer he may be had for a mere $59.95. Ho-ho my butt!

Jill finally decided on playing Augusta and it was a no go. A wise decision.

Didn't take long to pick up a bag. Found out Siew Ai Lim was available and I dispatched an email without delay. We've worked together before and should be a pleasant week.

Monday: Walked the course yesterday and it's in good condition. A couple of the greens do have a few spots that are suspect and unfortunately, in critical pin position areas.

Siew Ai won't be playing until tomorrow so I used the extra time to finish detailing my car. It's a tedious endeavor but worth the effort.

Tuesday: Teed off at 8:00 with our practice round with Denise Killeen. With a twosome in front and a slow group behind it was perfect. We had plenty of time for chipping and putting without making it too wearisome. I heard that two and a half hour front nines were played later in the day and many players just packed it in.

Siew Ai is quite the technophile and much of our conversation revolved around computers, cell phones, PDA's and wireless plans. Bluetooth, GSM and Wi-Fi were just a few terms bandied about. We had Denise totally flummoxed. 

There wasn't the usual pro-am yesterday and tomorrow's only has 22 teams. Just an indication how much trouble this event is in. Bye-bye Augusta.

Wednesday: An easy day with a little practice all around. Hank Johnson, founder and master instructor of The Hank Johnson School of Golf,  has been on hand this week tutoring a cadre of players including Siew Ai, Lisa DePaulo and Shani Waugh among others.

The final player meeting was held yesterday with Kate Golden and Vicki Getz-Ackerman elected to the Executive Committee. A tentative schedule for next year was released, for internal use only, and the month of August again will be a bugaboo for many players. If you don't go to Evian or The British and not eligible for the new match play event in new Jersey you will have 5 weeks off. Play hard ladies!

Thursday: It was a perfect morning to play but we couldn't take advantage. Siew Ai's ball striking was fine but the short game was lacking. A trifecta of three putts within four holes and two consecutive poor chips on the 11th hole sent us 4 over for the day. Need to bring it tomorrow.

Dina Ammaccapane was a Monday qualifier but almost didn't get to tee it up. Her local caddie, purportedly from the men's tour, failed to show. A replacement was promised but barley showed in time. She even asked Carl, Wendy Ward's looper, to go a few holes until he showed. Carl wasn't need after all and Dina pulled herself together to shoot a respectable one under.

If you notice the driving averages for this week are skewed to the high side it's because both measuring holes are downhill! 

Ya think most men are "gearheads"? Think again. Jackie Gallagher-Smith left her Chevy Tahoe in Tulsa for the West coast swing with the idea of having her caddie, Gary, drive it to Augusta. All was going to plan until Gary encountered the bane of all "over the roaders". While motoring through Arkansas, the lower radiator hose blew and emptied the contents onto I-40. The temperature gauge quickly spiked to hot and the "idiot light of impending doom" lit up the dash. Unfortunately, Gary mistook imminent melt down for a malfunctioning alternator. Major oops! I wonder what a new motor goes for these days? C'est la vie mon Chevy.

Looks like the influx of Korean players is starting to pay off. A Korean broadcasting company has purchased the rights to beam the LPGA into their homeland for a cool 11.5 million dollars over the next five years. It is also reported that the new event in Hawaii has a Korean sponsor.

I had my first chance at perusing the premiere issue of Crush, the latest endeavor to promote the LPGA in magazine form, and I'm pleasantly surprised. They are finally taking advantage of the definitive edge the LPGA has over the PGA, a woman's body. This publication oozes sexuality. T & A sells and it's about time this valuable asset is used to fruition. I may even get around to reading some of the articles. 

Friday: Looked like the course played a little more difficult judging by the scores and the 20 minute delay waiting for the last morning group to turn. We never got the birdies needed nixing our plans for the weekend.

Played with Jamie Hullett and Lorie Kane the past two days and it could not have been a more pleasant experience. Along with Wilksie and Danny, Jamie and Lorie's caddies respectfully, it was a laugh a minute. Jamie was especially amusing with some quick one-liners. One she pulled on Siew Ai, after out driving her, interrelates to the pro-am in Youngstown. So I shall digress and recount that situation. 

She had a good-natured group and plenty of banter was the order of the day. Now, Jamie is a diminutive young lass, 5' 3" and barley 100 lbs, but consistently out drives many of her pro-am partners. This day it was Mario's turn to be humbled. After distancing him for the umpteenth time she asked "Mario, did you get your ticket?" Incognizant of the significance of  Jamie's query he replied "Ticket? Ticket for what?" Jamie promptly rolled up her sleeve, flexed her bicep and quipped "To the gun show!"

For the uninitiated, large arms are referred to as guns which makes Jamie's lilliputian limbs particularly embarrassing for her victims.

Believe it or not, no daily passes were available for this week's event. Weekly passes only at $100 a pop. No wonder the gallery is of mini-tour proportions.