Getting two free passes to the BMW Championship (golf tournament) is nice in and of itself, but the real benefits come in the form of the parking pass for a lot that’s a relatively short shuttle ride from the course and access to the corporate tent and all its free food and drink.
I’ve been to golf tournaments before (and frankly I’d rather be playing than watching) but my guest had not, and he was elated at the opportunity, like a little kid in a candy store. The added attraction was that I previously had met one of the players, a young man in his first year on the PGA Tour.
When we arrived at the course, we walked around a little to get our bearings and then headed for the food. We arrived at the tent just in time to get some of the breakfast remains before they were cleared away. Once on the course again, we set our sights on finding the player I knew. We tracked him down about the 13th hole and not unexpectedly he did not have a big following, which made it easy for me to identify his mother, whom I had met years ago, and reintroduce myself. She remembered me (we have a mutual friend) and brought me up to speed on her son’s play that day, which had not been good.
Upon our arrival, however, her son’s game picked up. He started making birdies, finishing strong. My work there being done, my friend and I retreated to the food tent for lunch. Then back onto the course for a while, until we had had enough of the blazing sun, whereupon one last visit to the food tent seemed appropriate before departing, though we were extremely disappointed that the afternoon snack did not include ice cream. I don’t remember who won the tournament.
Once a year one of my almae matres (rarely used form of the plural I had to look up so as to avoid using the mundane alma maters), the University of Illinois, sends its basketball team to Chicago for a nonconference game at the United Center. Today’s game was against New Mexico State.