GMT -8:00

I just finished watching the replay of Padraig Harrington winning “The Open”. It was a replay in two senses – one that he also won last year, and two that I had to leave for church just as Norman and Harrington were making the turn to the back nine. I think this is one of the biggest adjustments for me being on Pacific Time (GMT -8:00) – that the All-Star Game starts at 5pm and the leaders tee off for the British Open at 6am. After Joseph woke up at his usual 5:30 this morning, Mandy turned on the TV in our bedroom (a rare, and unnecessary luxury for us) for us to watch Norman try to become the oldest player ever to win a major. What a great wife I have!!!

I am always torn with the The Open as to how to watch the final round. Even out east I miss part of Sunday’s round, but to miss the conclusion of the round was difficult. Though I can honestly say that my excitement to worship this morning at Harbor’s Mira Mesa location easily trumped my desire to watch The Open live.

“The Open”, as the British call it, is my favorite of the majors. The Masters is a close second. I remember watching the Masters when I lived in Ireland and thinking how strange it sounded when the broadcasters called it the “US Masters”. ABC had a great line this year, “the only way to make the British skittish is to call The Open… British”. The Open is my favorite largely because my dad and I played three of the Open courses in 2001 after I finished my seven months in Ireland. I had enough frequent-flyer points to get my dad to Scotland, and we stayed for three nights in St. Andrews and another three in Glasgow. It was a golfer’s paradise.

We had tee-times at Carnoustie and Royal Troon, but the Old Course (St. Andrews) was booked months before we made arrangements. But like most courses, there is usually a way to get on, and we did indeed get to play. We went to the course the first day, put our name on the waiting list, and set out to play “The New Course” (built in 1905). We barely had time to start our sandwich in the clubhouse when they tapped us to tee off in front of the R&A Clubhouse (see the picture above). That tee shot is forever engraved in my memory. I took the picture in the header the day after we played the course. The funny thing is that the owner of the B&B where we stayed put our name on the list for the Old Course for the next day, and we got the nod again. But we passed on the second time to give others the opportunity we enjoyed the day before.

At the time, I remember enjoying the week – golfing with my dad at these historic sites. But I was traveling so much with work that it seemed in some ways like just another vacation. It was no big deal to jump on a plane wherever. I had more airline points than I had time to use them. But now I watch The Open each year and re-live one of the highlights of my life – playing golf with the guy who taught me to play in the place where golf first took place. Here’s to the 137th Open Championship, and to the Irish who now have a back-to-back champion.