At last it is Thursday and the final Major of 2015 is set to begin!

The alarm rang at 5.00am as I wanted to catch the 6.00am bus to the course so that I could fully prepare before the first ball was struck at 6.45am. My position today was on hole 8 down by the lake and, although the first group was not due to be there for a while there are always a few things that you have to complete before you head out to you location.

A decent breakfast is always a good start since there is no ducking back to the clubhouse once the day gets underway. Next task is to go to the tournament office and collect all the necessary paperwork, your radio and anything else you may need such as an airhorn. Once loaded up you can then start thinking about making the trek out to your location.

Today’s view was simply outstanding as I was positioned on the left of hole 8 as the players view it from the tee and all I could see in front of me was the beautiful blue waters of Lake Michigan.

I had a constant companion in the form of a coast guard vessel that simply patrolled up and down the course all day.

The days started coolish with a breeze coming from the south, meaning that the players virtually all aimed for the left side of the hole (as I outlined the other day) and watched their ball fade back into the middle of the fairway. I was surprised how few players drifted too far right but when they did it almost always resulted in them having to chunk their ball back on to the safety of the fairway before going for the green. Rory was one such customer as was Phil. The little oddly shaped bunkers make life really tricky for the players, not in the same way as a Scottish pot bunker but just because they are funny shapes and can cause the player to take a strange stance. The little turf islands can also result in an almost impossible lie for the ball.

The wind just continued to grow in strength as did the power of the sun. The morning players definitely gained a significant advantage today because it certainly was blowy all afternoon making ball control difficult.

Rulings were a bit few and far between for me today but I believe that may change tomorrow when I move to hole 5 as plenty of players were visiting the lateral water hazard short and left of the green.

Pace of play was pretty slow today and, as a result of this, it was close to 7.00pm when the last group went through hole 8 and I was able to head back in to return my radio etc. I just managed to squeeze onto the 7.30pm bus and catch a ride back to our hotel which is 20 minutes from the course.

Nothing massively exciting for you today unfortunately but that can almost sum up the days of a Rules Official on Tour. It has often been said that we endure hours of boredom interspersed with moments of terror!!

Just a few more emails to complete tonight before I can snuggle down for a few hours kip. Won’t be long before that 6.00am bus pulls up outside!

Related Links

The 19th / Scotty on Tour: PGA Championship Day 1
The 19th / Scotty on Tour: PGA Championship Day 2