Brennans Caddy Report-FBR Open

Steve was a very likable guy who was known as a great caddy on the PGA Tour-anyone he worked for will tell you that. He was known as The Kid to a lot of us, since he was so young when he started caddying on Tour, and he and I got along very well as we were both big hockey fans. He spent many years living in Tampa and was a big Tampa Bay Lightning fan, going to games whenever he could. Over my ten years on tour he and I would go to a lot of NHL games and even minor league games. He was one of the only guys who would love to go to minor league games with me, from Jacksonville to Augusta. I still remember when my father and I spent a few days in Florida at Steve's house playing golf at his course. He was a very generous guy who would give you the last dollar in his wallet.

Last week he was killed when struck by a car in Del Mar on Tuesday night. The entire tour has lost a good person. Steve leaves behind an 11 year-old daughter, Sierra, for whom a trust fund has been set up for. For those of you interested in helping out, please see below for information. It was a tragic death for the entire tour and he will be missed by all of us.
 
This is now a new week, and after Mike had no choice but to withdraw from last week's event because of the flu, he added the FBR Phoenix Open to his schedule. This week has always been one of my favorite weeks of the year ever since I began caddying. I love the city of Scottsdale as I have many friends who live out here in the desert. I also like the course which we play, The TPC Scottsdale, and the weather is usually great. On top of all this, the crowds are more like those that you would find at a football game rather than a golf tournament. If you have never been to this event and are planning on seeing an event in the next few years, this is one you have to see. Most events draw a successful 100,000 people for the week, this event draws four or five times that amount.

This year also happens to be a Super Bowl year with the game being played right down the road in Glendale. The last time the Super Bowl was in town the event was moved from Wed-Sat rather than the usual Thurs-Sun, but this year that change was prohibited. I am willing to bet that on Saturday, which will be the most hectic day, there will be close to 200,000 people in attendance. Because of the Super Bowl, Sunday is usually a little quieter on the course, and golf is more often than not watched on TV.  It is very hard to explain the amount of people that this event draws, but it is something that every golf fan needs to witness at least once in their lifetime! What really stands out about this week over any other week on tour is the additional entertainment provided on top of the golf, an example being the after golf tent, The Birds Nest. Bands play while everyone has a great time socializing, helping to build interest in the event and make it as popular as it has become.
 
Mike and I have been very fortunate over the years to have the opportunity to stay in a friend's condo at Greyhawk, which is nice and close to the TPC Scottsdale. Canadian Dave Dewar, a friend with my good friend, former NHL player Brian Savage, allows us to use his place. With hotels as expensive as they are with the Super Bowl in town, as well as the lack of vacancies, I feel fortunate that Dave allowed us to use his place this year on such short notice. One unfortunate thing for me this week is that the Phoenix Coyotes are out of town on an 8-10 day road trip, meaning we won't be able to see any hockey.
 
The TPC Scottsdale golf course is a stadium course that is perfect for its use. By stadium course I mean there are mounds behind the greens so people can sit and watch the tournament. There is nothing worse that trying to watch golf when all the greens are elevated and there are no viewing spots. There are many more good viewing spots on this course than any other course we play. The 16th has really become the famous hole here ever since Tiger made that hole in one (at which point the place went crazy). Over the last few years, 16, 17, and 18 have been surrounded by corporate boxes, making the atmosphere much mellower. 16 is a short par 3, with people screaming as you walk from the 15 green to the 16 tee. The audience always begins to sing O' Canada when Mike walks to the tee making it very entertaining, especially since half the people singing have no idea what the words are. To add a little pressure to things, everyone screams again once the players hit the ball until it lands, as we hope that it hits the green! It you happen to miss, everyone boos very loudly-the only time during the year golfers get booed by fans for a bad shot. 17 is a drivable par 4 that has a small finger in the back left of the green and is always where the Sunday pin is. It's a hole that has all kinds of options and can be a real difference coming down the stretch on Sunday. 18 is comparatively short, and has a relatively passive hole that has water on the left side, but a fairly wide fairway on the right side. Most of the excitement happens before 18 at the Phoenix Open.
 
This is start of a four week stretch for us and I am really looking forward to some good things. Pebble Beach and LA have been two of Mike's best events over the last ten years, and with his game in very good shape I am very encouraged. I think it is very important to get of to a good start this year so that we can accumulate as many Fed Ex points as possible and cruise into the Tour Championship. I think we have all discovered that it is very difficult to move up or down very much in the four playoff events, so the higher you are going in the better off you are. The last time we were here in Scottsdale we left with a win at the Fry's Championship so this would be a great week to follow that!

Thanks for reading!
Brennan

Sierra Duplantis Trust Fund Information
In lieu of flowers, the Duplantis family has asked that contributions be made to the Sierra Duplantis Trust Fund, established for the benefit of Steve's 11-year-old daughter. Checks should be made payable to the Sierra Duplantis Trust Fund and sent c/o PGA TOUR, P.O. Box 1065, Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., 32082.