players who might attract the attentions of a drunk or a bad actor in the crowd .
When Patrick Reed approached from the practice green we noticed he had two uniforms following him on foot .
As he pulled on his glove , I offered Patrick a pin sheet and asked him if he liked the detail the USGA provided for each hole . This is a guy who is always getting asked questions he doesn ’ t want to answer , so I figured why not lob him an agreeable softball .
“ Oh yes ,” he said quickly , “ These are good . Especially to see exactly where they measure the depth from , what they consider the front and back of an odd--shaped green . The Tour just gives you a circle for every green , and you know in Europe they just give you a little piece of paper with numbers and no diagram .”
The hole-location sheets really were impressive in their detail , not only for replicating the actual shape of each green , but for in- cluding surrounding bunkers , and a grid that could be studied to determine the distance from any edge or nearby hazard .
It was probably just a minute after Patrick and I had established our mutual appreciation of the pin sheet when I announced his name to the crowd . He proceeded to hit the only really bad shot Kevin and I witnessed among several hundred struck over those three days . As the Masters champion ’ s ball sailed far to the right over a fescue-covered hill , Kevin whispered , “ that might provide an unexpected autograph to one of the courtesy cars in the players ’ lot !”
I replied , “ It ’ s probably my fault for distracting him with questions about the damn pin sheet .”
Actually , I ’ m certain Patrick Reed forgot our discussion within a few seconds , but for me it was one of many fun little moments over an unforgettable three days .
The Tiger ’ s Paw — not to be taken lightly
www . csgalinks . org CSGA Links // July 2018 9