In Search of Tiger...

Guess where we went today?? We went to the Doral Golf Tournament. Well, it's actually called the World Golf Championships at Doral. Whatever. lol Anyway, a couple weeks ago I noticed a poster at BJ's for discount tickets for this tournament. The tickets are originally $50 per day, but through BJ's, I could get them for $20 per day. And, best of all, Levi was free (all kids 12 and under were free)! I bought a ticket for me and my mom so we could take Levi. They had practice days yesterday and today, but begin the actual competition tomorrow through Sunday. We figured it was best to take Levi on a practice day. Mostly because he wouldn't have to be as still or quiet, but also because of less crowds and the fact that you can take cameras on practice days and get autographs. It was a very relaxed atmosphere and everyone seemed to be in good spirits. It was pretty cool and Levi had a lot of fun, though he was somewhat disappointed that he couldn't actually play. lol

Here's Levi by a sign near the entrance.

This was a practice area we first came upon. There were some pro golfers there practicing, but we had no idea who any of them were! lol Levi sure was enjoying watching them play and he really liked seeing their golf bags and clubs. A lot of them had them set up in this circle around the bags. That was pretty cool.
This was a the driving range. There were a bunch of golfers there and a lot of them had name tag signs right by them, but we still didn't know who was who. This was Dudley Hart from USA, and I think he's the one in blue, but I'm not sure. All the men were dressed the same, so I didn't know who was the actual golfers! We knew the caddies because they were carrying the golf bags! lol

This was another golfer (the one in blue with his back to us with the funky white hat), but again, I don't know who he was. He was just standing real close to us, so we took his picture. His caddy is the guy in yellow. I asked my mom if she thought it was bad manners for me to get a picture with and an autograph of someone, and then ask them who they were!! lol We didn't. Levi didn't really want a picture with anyone, nor an autograph. He was only looking for Tiger Woods. We kept hearing people commenting to each other about where Tiger currently was, so we were trying to figure out where we should go. Especially since he's really the only golfer we knew!! lol

We decided to head over to the 18th hole, since we had been told earlier that Tiger was on his way there and would be there in a short time. As we left the practice area and headed to the 18th hole, we saw this guy giving an interview for the press. We, again, have no idea who he was, but it was neat to see him doing the interview.

Here we are at the 18th hole, waiting for Tiger. Three other golfers got there before him, so we watched them practice. Levi gave commentary for each of their shots. Thank goodness, because I don't know very much about golf, so Levi was telling me what they were doing. Anyway, here's Levi watching some other guy practicing. He really enjoyed watching them all play. As long as he was right up on a green....any green, he was happy and completely occupied watching them practice. But, once we left a green to move to another area, he was complaining that he wanted to go home. I think he just didn't like the walking around. Then we would just find another green where someone was playing and he'd be happy again.

Finally, a man standing next to us told us that Tiger was on his way from the 17th hole. I said, "He is?" and he said,"Yes. He's wearing a blue shirt. He's over there." and pointed. I should have known he was coming because there was a humongous crowd following him. lol I was amazed watching the crowd. That's what it would have been like if we had gone during a competition day. I'm glad we went today! Anyway, Tiger finally made it to the 18th hole and we got to see him up close and personal.

Unfortunately, he was surrounded by his entourage, so Levi didn't get to meet him or take a picture with him or get him to sign the golf ball he brought. But, that's ok. He got to see him play golf and I guess that's what really matters.

This is Tiger's golf bag and we thought the tiger club cover was cute, so we bought one for Levi for his driver. He's so excited to show it to his coach at his next lesson. lol

This was on the big sightseeing tour bus they shuttled us on from the parking to the club. Levi really liked the bus ride. He thought that was a lot of fun! I thought this was a neat picture showing the Doral sign in flowers in the background.

Well, we had a lot of fun and I was very happy that Levi got to see a real tournament environment and even see Tiger Woods. He'll probably never remember this, but who knows. Even if he doesn't, at least I have pictures. lol And, if he's still interested in golf next year, I'll have to see if BJ's sells the tickets discounted again next year. And, we'll be a little better prepared next time. Overall it was a great time and I'm so glad we were able to go! :-)