Scott Martin's Page - March-May 2007 - Archives
Last updated on Tuesday June 26, 2007

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Ft. Worth, Tx. 5-26-07

It's 11:35 on Saturday night and I find myself feeling a little excited. I realized that Peter is at -8 but what I didn't realize is that he was only one shot off of the lead when play was called today. I honestly thought that the leader, or leaders, were going to be at -11 or -12. Time Clarke, who has been playing great recently, was at 11 under par when the third round started late this afternoon. Everyone kind of scrambled when play was called just before 8:00 pm and it was kind of a zoo trying to get out of the club. I wasn't even interested in the scores but I knew Peter was somewhat in the hunt. But not this close.

The weather today was absolutely terrible at times. Even while we were on the course. We were scheduled to start the final three holes of our second round at 8:30 this morning. I got to the course at 7 o'clock for a bite to eat then start our warm up at 7:30. That didn't happen. When I walked out of my hotel this morning at 6:30 the rain was coming down pretty good and only got worse as I got closer to Colonial. It really was a quagmire.

There were a couple of hour long delays so I went back to the hotel to pick up my wife, Sunny, and head back to the course. But the delay got longer and longer. I didn't mind the nap at all. Peter would text me every once in a while to fill me in on the restart. We ended up starting our final three holes at 2:00 pm. A par on the par 3, 16th to start which was followed by a nice birdie on the par 4, 17th hole. After a pretty good tee shot on the 17th he found hilmself a little behind an overhanging branch. We had 123 to the hole and he hit a nice cut pitching wedge around the limb to 7 feet from the hole. It was such a nice shot. Very solid. We're playing lift, clean and place as well seeing as though the place is very wet. The greens are soft and it's like throwing darts for these guys.

I have to tell you a funny story. As we were playing our final three holes of yesterday's round today (does that sound complicated?) the tv crew was out there to follow our group seeing as though Peter had the low round of players still on the course. The network was filing time so they followed us for our final three holes. David Feherty was the the guy walking with our group doing the commentary. He was hilarious. In between shots he would walk with Peter and chat. As he was walking away he let's a fart rip that was so loud. You should have seen the look on his face. He was looiking toward the gallery saying with a very serious look on his face, " Everthing is alright folks. I'll be OK!" I was in tears.

Peter hits a great drive on 18. As we're walking off the tee, here comes Feherty again with another one of his bombs. Peter and I were in stitches. Peter told Feherty that he should fart into the microphone and Feherty said he saves those for commercial breaks. I have to tell you, it kept Peter loose.

We had 140 to the hole 18 and Peter was in attack mode. He tried to go right at the flag but he pushed it a bit and it went into the greenside trap. It was plugged and he wasn't able to get up and down. He made bogey and finished the round at -6.

We were able to play almost 9 holes after the third round started at 3:45. Our tee time was 4:55 but we ended up teeing off at 5:12. We played almost 9 holes and a couple of them were in a downpour. We stood on the 6th green hunkered down under our umbrella as it came down sideways. Fortunately, we waiting for Peter to tap in a 6 inch birdie putt. That was his 2nd birdie of the round and he was at 8 under par. We have a 30 foot birdie putt on #9 tomorrow morning at 8:00 am, weather permitting. The forecast doesn't look good, though.

It's 12:15 and I have to get some sleep. I'm up at 5:30 and will meet Peter for breakfast at 6:45. Unfortunately, I feel like I just drank a cup of coffee. It's great to be excited going into the final round of a tournament. Like I said yesterday, I like Peter's chances.

Ft. Worth, Tx. 5-25-07

The weather has been an issue this week and it looks as though it will continue into the weekend. After yesterday's afternoon groups finished their first round this morning we also had to wait for them to get their second round under way before we could tee off for our second round. We ended up starting our second round at 4:24 and we managed to play 15 holes before the officials blew the horn to end the day.

It was pretty miserable for a good part of our round after it started to rain on the 9th fairway. It came down pretty hard on the 12th, 13th and 14th holes. As it turns out Peter is pretty good at sharing duties in lousy weather. There's a lot to do for a player when the rain is coming down. It's tough to caddy for a guy who doesn't help out when it rains. There's the yardage to get, keep grips dry, clean clubs, keep the player as dry as much as you can, clean the ball, get the pin and so on. And all this while holding an umbrella. Man, it can be a pain in the ass. But Peter helps and it makes it easier for us to keep the equipment dry.

Today's round started off pretty good after Peter birdied the first two holes of the day. He reached the par 5 first hole in two and two putted for the first birdie of the round. On number two he hit a perfect drive and hit a wedge to 10 feet and made the putt. He's putting really good this week and has made some great pars. He rolled in a 12 foot par putt from just off the green on number 7 today after hitting a terrible drive. He had to hack out his second shot, hit a wedge just off the back of the green and still managed to make a par with a great putt. It's amazing how these pros can make great pars. Birdies are exciting for sure but a tough par can get the adrenaline flowing just like a birdie can.

After the two birdies Peter made pars from #3 through #9. There was a three putt bogey on number 10 and the another run of pars from 11 through 15. We'll be on 16 tee at 8:30 tomorrow to finish our second round and it would be nice to make a couple of birdies to get right in the tournament going into the final two rounds.

Weather is supposed to be an issue all weekend but I hope we can manage to get it all in on time. Peter is hitting the ball really nice right now. You should hear the sound of impact when we're on the range while warming up. It's sounds like he's hitting a marshmallow. Especially with blade irons. He's definitely one of the top ball strikers out here. This really could be a good week for us. I feel like he is close to some good things happening out here on tour. I love working for the guy and feel fortunate to be on the bag while his career seems to be on it's way to where it has been in the past when he was ranked as a top 50 player in the world.

Ft. Worth, Tx.    5-24-07

This is week seven of an eight week run. Peter and I are both looking forward to a little time off but in the meantime we have a little work to do.

It was a good start to this week's event at Colonial CC here in Ft. Worth. It's a great, old track. This tournament has been held at the same course for the last 62 years, which is the longest run of any on tour. Technology has changed the game and courses have changed to adapt to the technology. But seeing as though there is very little room for change here a Colonial, this course is pretty much the same as it was 62 years ago. Peter and I both love this place so we're really grinding out there hoping we can have a good week. We grind every round but there are some events and courses that are favorites and you want to do well at them. Peter has played well here in the past and the way he's striking the ball right now it could be a good week.

We really shouldn't have played last week in Georgia. After a good week at The Players, it seems as though Peter has now made enough money to maintain playing privileges for the 2008 season. It would have been a great week to rest with Colonial and Memorial these next two weeks. The Monday following Memorial, we have to try and qualify for the US Open. That will be a 36 hole day with a field of about 120 players. So we have the 8 week stretch followed by the qualifier. To a degree, I'm counting the days.

It was fun out on the course today. Peter struggled with the driver a bit but it is more a confidence thing than anything else. He's hitting his irons great and his swing is rock solid. He's got to trust his swing with the driver and when he does he will only create more chances for himself. Fairly early in the round today he said that he wanted to attack more pins and see where it takes us. That's someone who has confidence in his game right now and it will be fun to see where how it unfolds. With that frame of mind, Peter went out and shot a bogey-free round today. He did miss a couple of greens because of being more aggressive but his short game has been really good lately and he saved a couple of pars from off the green or in a bunker.

We had an interesting pairing today with one of my former bosses, Mark Brooks and Boo Weekly. Boo struggled quite a bit. Since his first tour victory at Hilton Head he has only one week off from the tour schedule and has been making a number of appearances away from the tour. Today I thought he looked really tired and it showed in his play. Mark had a good round going and had it to -4 but he bogeyed number 7, our 16th of the day and finished at -3.

After our round we had a quick bite to eat and headed to the range. We hadn't been there more than 5 minutes when the officials blew the horn to stop play because of a storm headed our way. There had already been a delay earlier when we were on our 12th hole of the day. At that point there was very little rain but there was lightning in the area. But the 2nd delay ended play for the day. The amount of rain that fell in an hour was amazing. There were torrents of rain flowing through some of the streets, literally.

So the players that haven't finished their afternoon rounds will have to be in position at 8:30 tomorrow morning. When they get their first round completed they they will then have to play their second round before we can start our second round. The forecast isn't very good for tomorrow afternoon or even the weekend for that matter, so it could be a challenge to get the tournament finished on schedule. I hope we get finished on time. Our next event is in Columbus, Ohio and that is just under 1100 miles from Ft. Worth. That's a 16-17 hour drive so I would like to get it going as soon as I can. But first things first. We'll go out for round two and hope the momentum from today's round will carry over.

Jacksonville, Fla. 5-13-07

What started out as bad round yesterday ended up being Peter's best 
tournament of the year. Even though he had a 3rd place finish in 
Mexico, this was a better tournament to have a good week because of the 
field and the course. It was a great week to be a part of. If only he 
could have sank that 3 or 4 footer on #2 I really think that he could 
have had a shot at a better finish. But he has now made close to 
$800,000 and has his playing privileges locked up for next year. The 
rest of the year is gravy.

I really feel as though Peter can win this year and going to play in 
Atlanta next week is a good idea. It will be our 6th in a row and I 
really think we can both use a week off. Personally, I was coming to 
2Mo if he took the week off but that didn't happen. He's playing with 
confidence right now and is on a roll so going to Atlanta is the right 
thing to do. Apparently, the field is not very strong except for a 
handful of solid players and that only increases Peter's chances for a 
good week.
Last week was exciting from beginning to end. Peter was leading the 
tournament at one point for each of the first three days. That's solid 
golf. He still had a few issues to deal with like the two double bogeys 
on Friday. He started struggling on the back 9 Saturday and lost some 
confidence. The shaky ball striking continued Sunday when he hit a bad 
tee shot on #1 and made a bogey. A short miss for birdie on #2, par on 
3 and another bogey on 4. Now we're 2 over through 4 and the wheels 
were about to really fall off. Peter hit another bad tee shot on #5 but 
managed to muscle a 4 iron onto the green and even gave himself a 
birdie putt.

The birdie on 6 was nice but the bogeys on 8 and 9 really hurt. He 
still struggled for the next few holes but his short game really came 
through this week. He has put hours in practicing his chipping and it 
really paid off when he needed it. On #13 Peter hit great 8 iron into 
the par 3 and made a birdie. Another birdie on 16 got us back into a 
top 10 position. All in all it was a successful week so we're hoping it 
carries over into our week in Atlanta.

Man, there was some big money at stake near the top of the leaderboard. 
With a $9,000,000 purse, the numbers are huge for the first few spots. 
Sergio made over $900,000 for a 2nd place finish! If Peter could have 
shot 2 under yesterday, which really wouldn't have been that difficult 
if his ball striking was sharper, he would have tied Sergio. How about 
Sean O'Hair finishing with quadruple bogey on 17 and a bogey on 18? 
That cost him $747, 000! All those shots cost his caddy about $50,000! 
Ouch. We played with Sean on Saturday and he won't have to worry about 
spending all that money in 2 holes. He's so good and will win 10 times 
that in the next few years. What a gorgeous swing that kid has. With a 
great swing and a strong mind like he has, he'll be a star on tour 
soon.

Now that Peter has made enough money to keep his card for next year , 
he can kind of free wheel from this point. But now I have a goal for 
this year. It's a long shot but it would be great if Peter could 
somehow make the President's Cup team that will play at Royal Montreal 
in September. He will probably have to win a least a tournament to get 
on make the team on points. Another option is to be a captain's pick. 
That means in the weeks leading up to the President's Cup he will have 
to play some really good, consistent golf. The International team's 
captain, Gary Player, picked Peter to be on the last team and he didn't 
let Player down. The two times Peter has played on the team he has not 
lost a singles match. That's a nice record to have. Imagine if he can 
somehow get on that team. To caddy in an event of that magnitude close 
to my hometown would be awesome to say the least. In the meantime, 
we'll grind away. Or as Peter and I tell each other on the course from 
time to time, "Keep throwing punches."
 
Ponte Vedra, Fla. Sunday 5-13-07

Well, it's 95 minutes before the biggest day of my caddying career. I'm 
kind of nervous but I know what I have to do out on the course today. 
It's really exciting. After yesterday's round, I had a number of calls, 
emails and text messages from family and friends. I've always said that 
I'm glad other people are having fun with this whole experience as well 
and I want to thank everyone for the support and words of 
encouragement..

It's pretty quiet around the caddy area right now. Only the caddies for 
the last few groups are around. As I was walking from the parking lot 
to the clubhouse earlier on, I found it to be somewhat eerie. There was 
no one around the lot as I was walking in. There are a number of groups 
that have finished and we haven't even teed off yet. Not a situation 
I'm really familiar with. I've had a chance to be in the hunt with a 
couple of guys at times in the past but this is a big one. All 
victories are career changing but The Players would rank right up there 
near the majors.

But the bottom line is Peter just has to go out there and play against 
the course. I thought our focus was really good yesterday. I very 
rarely found myself looking at a scoreboard. We had a job to do and we 
grinded away. As I said, we have to play the course and not worry about 
anyone else. Peter and Scott against TPC Sawgrass. Weather permitting, 
by 7:00 pm today, we'll know where we stand.

The double eagle on #2 yesterday was crazy. To hit a golf ball 233 
yards with a 5 iron and have it roll into a hole 3 1/2 inches wide is 
nuts. It was great to listen to the crowd's rumble build into a roar as 
the ball went in. We couldn't see what was happening after the ball 
bounced the first time but the gallery let us know. As we were walking 
up to the green Peter said, "I don't know what to do." I told him to 
give them a wave and dig his ball out of the hole. As he walked to the 
hole the crowd gave him a good round of applause and cheers and a 
standing ovation as he took the ball out and gave it a kiss.

Peter just showed up. Gotta run. Enjoy!
Ponte Vedra, Fla.    Thursday 5-10-07

If shooting -3 in Thursday's opening round of The Player's doesn't get 
me motivated to write, I don't know what will.

Yesterday was one of the most thorough rounds of golf I have had a 
chance to be a part of. Peter's ball striking was almost flawless and 
he managed to hole a few putts to put himself in good position going 
into today's 2nd round. We have a good pairing this week with Masters 
champ Zach Johnson and winner of this year's event at Hilton Head, Boo 
Weekly.

It's hard not to think ahead but there is a ton of golf yet to be 
played here this week. The weather is touch and go but we managed to 
get our round in yesterday even though they were calling for scattered 
thundershowers. There could be some rain this weekend as well.

Yesterday's round started out rough with a bogey on #1. The hole has 
been lengthened by 30 yards and was also playing into a 30 mile per 
hour wind. It's funny. Some rounds start out with a bogey and you have 
a good round and some rounds start off with a birdie and the end result 
isn't always good. Last week at Wachovia, Peter birdied the first hole, 
was -3 through 15 hole and was in 4th place. By the the time we walked 
off #18 30 minutes later we were at plus 1. We ended up missing the cut 
by a few shots. What I'm getting at is that when the round starts off 
with a bogey a player will really focus or it could be a long day. When 
it starts with a birdie it seems things might come easy. Nothing is 
easy out here, especially at this course.

This week  the caddies got to hit a shot on the island green #17 on 
Wednesday. Even though we didn't play a practice round that day because 
of a great short game practice session, Peter told me to grab a couple 
of clubs and head out to 17 to hit my shot. I took a 7 and 8 iron for 
the 142 yard shot. When I got out to the tee the only player out there 
was former US Open champ, Tom Lehman. I don't get as nervous as I used 
to but this guy was also the Ryder Cup captain so my palms were sweaty 
to say the least. I hit first. I hit a 7 iron since the wind was into 
us. I hit it a bit thin but it still managed to land on the front of 
the green. It was tracking towards the hole like a putt. When it 
stopped, it looked like it was 3 or 4 feet from the hole. It ended up 
being 6' 1". The winner was 5'4". I'll take 2nd place against all of 
these other caddies any day. A very memorable experience indeed. Even 
Lehman was impressed. By the way, I lipped out the birdie putt.

I'm sitting in the caddy lounge using the wireless hook up and have to 
get the bag ready for today. We're off in 90 minutes. I will do my best 
to have an update soon.

Placentia, Ca. 4-5-07

I'm sitting at home in California watching the Masters on TV. Hearing
the commentators talk about how wonderful a place Augusta is makes me
appreciate even more, how lucky I was to have had the opportunity to
caddy in that event, even if it was only one time. I would love to go
back and caddy in the Masters for years to come but I would have no
problem with going there to caddy only once in my caddy career. I mean,
as I watch this on TV I can see the huge galleries that line the
fairways. I remember looking at the crowds from the fairways when I
caddied there and thinking that the experience seemed surreal, almost
dreamlike.

Like a lot of golf fans everywhere, I remember getting together to watch
the tournament on TV with a few guys every year. I never imagined that
I would be one of the caddies in the Masters some day. Never. It may
sound weird but there are a lot of veteran caddies that are tired of
going there for the week. I still don't understand why they feel that
way. It can be an expensive week to stay, traffic is really bad because
Augusta is such a small town and the people who run Augusta are
somewhat stuffy. On top of that, it can be a long week. Some players
come in early and they will play and practice quite a bit. I know a
caddy (whose name I won't mention) who was on the bag for a victory at
Augusta and he can't stand going there. Personally, I'll never really
understand why some guys feel that way.

I know one caddy this week who has waited almost a lifetime to have the
opportunity to fulfill his dream to caddy in the Masters some day. Back
in the late 90's when I caddied on the Nike Tour, I became friends with
a guy named Jody Keepers who is from Augusta. At the time, he caddied
for a player named Sam Randolph. Sam had once played on the PGA Tour
but at that point of his career he was on the Nike Tour after losing
his card. Sam was once the low amateur at the Masters which is a huge
accomplishment for a young player. Jody caddied for Sam for a number of
years and was making no money. But he was loyal and stayed with him.
Jody grew up in Augusta but didn't caddy at Augusta National for
members until he was in his 20's. He was one of the first, if not the
first, white caddy at the National. At one time all the caddies were
black that caddied there. When the Masters was being played, the tour
players couldn't bring their own caddies. They had to use one of the
local black caddies. When that rule changed years ago, Jody started
caddying at the National.

Jody had been going to the Masters for his whole life, literally. There
have been Masters tickets in his family for years. They are now an
almost impossible ticket to get. That's unless money isn't an object.
Growing up, Jody was and still is a huge Jack Nicklaus fan. Every year,
he would follow Nicklaus for every hole, every day. A few years ago,
Steve Tutt and I were lucky enough to go to the Masters for the first
time. While in Augusta, Jody put us up at his place. On Friday evening
after Nicklaus had missed the cut, a few guys got together at Jody's
place. I remember Jody crying knowing he wasn't going to get to see
Jack play on the weekend.

For the last 3 or 4 years Jody has been caddying on the LPGA Tour and
working at the National in the off season. While working at Augusta a
few weeks ago, he was asked if he would caddy for an amateur player
that was in town who had been invited to play at the Masters. He was in
town a few weeks before the tournament for some practice rounds seeing
as though he had never played there. He also didn't have a caddy and
wanted to try a few Augusta caddies to see if he could find a good one
for his Masters week. Well, after trying 5 or 6 caddies, Jody was given
a chance at the job. After their round, the kid took Jody's phone
number and said he would call if he wanted him to caddy at the Masters.
Three weeks before the tournament he got the call. He got the job for
the week. For someone who grew up in Augusta and had gone to the
tournament his whole life, it was a dream come true. I'm really looking
forward to talking to him about this week.