It's GOOD To Be A Winner!

Imagine my surprise when I boarded the bus Sunday morning, only to find out that Trevor Immelman would NOT be making an appearance at the Greenbrier Classic.  Poor thing.  He was cut.  I was devastated, of course, and decided I need to select another player to cheer for.  I chose Stuart Appleby. 

Stuart has been a fave of mine ever since Payne Stewart died in that horrible plane crash.  Payne Stewart was the epitome of a proper golfer.  For heaven's sake...he still carried on the tradition of wearing knickers!

And he had fun!

When my dad asked me, years ago, who my favorite golfer was...I said "Payne Stewart of course!"  When he asked why I chose Stewart, I replied "because of his outfits".  Imagine that :)

Anyway, Stuart Appleby and Payne Stewart were next door neighbors.  When Stuart Appleby's wife was killed in a tragic car accident, Payne Stewart and his family were there to support him.  The very next year Payne Stewart was killed, and it was Stuart Appleby's turn to step in and support Payne's family.  Stuart Appleby is remarried now, and he has 3 children of his own. However, he is still the father figure for Payne Stewart's two children.  How could I not pick Stuart as my choice to win the Greenbrier Classic?  And he did.  And I clapped my hands raw.  Because not only did he win, he shot a 59.  He is the 5th person in history to ever shoot a 59.  And I was there.  And it was amazing!

Babbo Natale and I boarded the chartered bus at the country club at 8am (yawn...).  We enjoyed mimosas and sausage biscuits on the drive up, while playing a bout of trivia with the country club GM.  We all won prizes.  Lots of prizes :)  Prizes that could be used throughout the day (ie. $5 of your lunch, 15% off any Greenbrier items, etc.).  Somehow my girlfriend Megs (who organized this whole shebang) got the royal treatment for us.  We received "Benefactor" passes, which allowed us to basically pull right up to the course (called Old White) on the bus.  AND...we had full access to everything!!  Air conditioned dining, bathrooms, etc.  It was FANCY to say the least. 

We were feeling rather full of ourselves, and I dare say this is most likely what prompted Babbo Natale to shout to little Matt Every (as we were 2 feet away from him) "I LIKE YOUR SHIRT MATT!". 

 

Well, don't you just know that Matt smiled and said "thank you".  He blushed a little bit too.  But, that was probably due to residual embarrassment from his arrest for smoking pot last month.  I'm just sayin.....

Babbo Natale decided that she was going to cheer for Jeff Overton. 

 

He was cute, I'll give him that...and a pretty good golfer to boot!  Shame he only came in second :-o  (just kidding Babbo Natale!!)  He was paired with D.A. Points, who I thought was very handsome.

 

We followed Jeff & D.A. for a good bit of the day, but then I promptly remembered my loyalty was to Stuart, and we had to hurry along to support him.  

Finally we planted ourselves at the 16th and watched a few pairs play through.  We had excellent spots.  About 20 yards from the green, and apparently directly in front of the TV camera.  Who knew?  We sure didn't....until we got back home.  I hope they got me giving Stuart a kiss on the cheek!  (just kidding..that didn't really happen.  booo...)

All in all it was a most lovely day!  There were a group of guys on our bus that we knew, and then a few that we didn't.  We friended them immediately, of course, and spent the day wandering the course with them.  I need to start attending more golf tournies, obvi.

And why are there no pictures you want to know?  How can you believe that we even went to this lovely event?  Well, I'll tell you why.  We were not allowed to bring our cameras or cell phones in.  And some people snuck them in.  But I didn't.  Because I'm a chicken.  I did, however, sneak in vodka.  So that kindove makes me a little bit badass, right?  But Megs broke the rules, and this is what she scored as a result of her efforts:

(a pair of John Daly's tacky pants)

(Stuart's winning put)

I'm still recovering from all of the excitement, and have a full week!!  Lots of fun and festivities, as well as preparation for Louis' Birthday Party on Saturday :)  All of his birthday gifts have arrived, and I'll be sure to share them with you tomorrow on Westie Wednesday.

T