I grew up in South Carolina a few miles from The Augusta National — Masters Country. (If you’re familiar with the logo, I lived in the hole.) All the local schools lined their Spring Break up with the tournament, a kind of early imprinting if you ask me. That, and the boon to the local economy made Master’s Week a really big deal. The local news would cover the year’s course changes and interview groundskeepers. I remember hearing one man describe packing the ground around the thousands of azalea bushes with ice to ensure timely blooming. Turns out that this was a great way to stress out a 4th grader. To this day I still worry about those dang azaleas. Needless to say, I love golf and was excited when Steve’s dad scored some passes to the Greater Hickory Classic and invited us to come along.
2012 marked the 10th Anniversary of the tournament, which invites 78 players on the Champions Tour to compete for the $1.6 million purse. This year, Fred Funk won shooting a -15, which earned him a $240,000 payday. Not bad for 3 days of work.
We ate lunch near the 18th green and walked around, enjoying the crisp, clear day. On the 17th hole, Lindsay caught the eye of Mark O’Meara’s caddy and was given one of his used golf balls (although her parents would have preferred a chunk of the $31,600 he took home).
Lindsay plays with her new (marked) Titleist 3.
Two hours after lunch, we noticed Lindsay starting to look like Shellfish Hitch. We’d had suspicions before but a corner of a peanut butter cookie confirmed it: Lindsay has a nut allergy. I apologize to all future classmates! We called her pediatrician and were told to go to the hospital to make sure her airways weren’t being constricted (they weren’t). Two hours after getting some Benadryl and steroids she was discharged. She was a trooper through it all!
Lindsay: 1 big rash.
We felt really bad for her and kind of bad for ourselves, with the inconvenience and whatnot. But Steve quickly cheered up when he realized this would mean confiscating all Peanut M&Ms and Snickers from her trick-or-treating bags.
