You’ve previously worked the Masters
for quite a number of years, how does it
compare to working the Open?
The Open is a public tournament open to
everyone, and from what I gathered, the ticket
prices are very modest. Unlike Augusta, anyone
can walk up to the ticket office at the Open at
any time during the tournament and simply
buy a ticket. The Masters is held at the same
venue every year, and the number of patrons
is regulated. There are no such restrictions at the Open because
typically the events are held at courses that can hold a great number
of people, and it’s a different venue every year. One of the biggest
differences between the two tournaments is the fact that at the Open,
marshals hold up a “quiet please” paddle whenever a player is about
to hit his ball. No such signs are used at Augusta – after 82 years of
the tournament being held at the same location every year, the signs
simply aren’t needed.
It was a rather close finish to the tournament. Any
particularly exciting moments at the 16th hole?
What made working at the 16th hole so much fun was that it is
considered one of the toughest, if not the toughest hole, in the
tournament. Tiger Woods and Jordan both bogeyed the 16th, and
many players coming to the 16th had good rounds going until they
bogeyed or worse on 16. What really got all of us excited was the
fact that it sure looked like there was going to be a playoff. And the
playoff holes are, in order, 1st, 16th, 17th, and 18th. So, our hole was
going to be in the middle of the playoff, and we started bracing for
the onslaught of fans.
Did you do any other activities while in Scotland and
away from the course? Any sightseeing?
This was not my first trip overseas, but I was excited to see more
of the U.K. on this trip. My brother, Matt, and I got to Edinburgh
a week and half before the Open and drove to Cairnryan on the
west coast of Scotland to take the ferry to Belfast to see Northern
Ireland and Ireland. We covered 2,000 miles throughout Ireland
and Scotland, and we enjoyed the spectacular Cliffs of Moher in
the Republic of Ireland, visited Dublin and Killarney, and played
the seaside courses of Tralee and Lahinch. In Scotland, we stayed
at a good friend’s castle for three days. The day we arrived was spent
exploring the 17th-century structure and its secret passageways,
drinking a dram of whiskey with the estate manager, and having a
specially prepared dinner of salmon steaks. The following day we
explored Loch Ness, visited Urquhart Castle, and swam in the Loch.
During our stay at the castle, I also played two additional seaside golf
courses–Royal Dornoch and Fortrose. After all that, it was back to
Edinburgh. I then took the tram into Edinburgh and hopped onto
one of the frequent trains to Carnoustie via Dundee. Just riding
the trains through the Scottish countryside and cities brought back
great memories of riding in locomotives and cabooses when I was a
brakeman/conductor for the Burlington Northern Railroad some 40
years ago. When I stepped off the train in Carnoustie, I walked to
the golf course to get my security briefing and, following the briefing,
started enjoying my assignment as a marshal on one of the toughest
golf holes in the world.
William J. Brotherton is the principal of the Brotherton Law Firm,
a six-attorney civil litigation firm located in Highland Village.
Brotherton is licensed in both Texas and North Dakota. He taught
environmental law for 12 years at Texas Christian University and
is the author of "Burlington Northern Adventures: Railroading
in the Days of the Caboose" (South Platte Press, 2004). For
more information about the Brotherton Law Firm, go to
brothertonlawfirm.com and for the book, go to bnrailstories.com.
Richard named Fellow of
American College of Trust
and Estate Counsel
The Serkland Law Firm is
proud to announce attorney and
shareholder Timothy G. Richard
has been elected a Fellow of the
American College of Trust and
Estate Counsel (ACTEC).
ACTEC is a professional
organization of approximately
2,600 lawyers who have
demonstrated the highest
level of integrity, commitment
to the profession, competence, and experience as trust and
estate counselors. Individual lawyers meeting the criteria for
membership are nominated by Fellows of the College and
are subjected to careful review by both state and national
membership selection committees prior to consideration by
the regents of the College. Fellows are selected on the basis of
experience, professional reputation and ability in the fields of
trusts and estates, and on the basis of having made substantial
contributions to these fields through lecturing, writing,
teaching, and bar activities.
Richard joined the Serkland Law Firm in 1999 and practices
in the areas of Estate Planning and Probate, Business and
Commercial Law, and Real Estate. He is licensed in North
Dakota and Minnesota and is a member of the Red River
Valley Estate Planning Council.
FALL 2018
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