The Golf Watch

Good times at the annual Caddy Competition

The Wednesday Caddy Competition at TPC Sawgrass has blossomed into quite an event, with a great deal of money raised for ALS research and lots of laughs for players and caddies alike.

Arguably the best story on Wednesday was when Ray Farnell, Greg Kraft's looper, caught his 9-iron tee shot too heavy and watched it land short of the green into the water.

Farnell tossed the 9-iron to another caddy waiting to tee off, but put a little bit too much mustard on it, and watched it sail over his head and into the water.

Rex Hoggard wrote:

“That was my 9-iron,” a stunned Kraft said. “It’s the same club I hit on the last hole to win in Puerto Rico (in 2007).”
 
The club – like so many wayward golf balls, 46 of 70 by mid-afternoon – stayed in the water, but the laughs lasted all afternoon.

Geoff Shackelford took this snapshot below of Will MacKenzie carrying his own bag.  MacKenzie was one of the few players to shoulder the weight. 

Uhhh...so there was another tournament

So believe it or not, there was another professional tournament this week other than the Ryder Cup, and not that far away.  The Viking Classic, held in Mississippi, happened to be pretty exciting down the stretch.  Marc Turnesa had a two stroke lead heading into the 17th hole, but put his second shot into the drink, leading to a double bogey.  Will MacKenzie stepped up, and won on the second playoff hole.

Read the recap here.

MacKenzie fires 8-under 64, takes first round lead at Wyndham

Will MacKenzie is one step closer to the second win of his PGA Tour career after firing an opening round 8-under 64 to take the first round lead at the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina.  MacKenzie, who won the Reno-Tahoe Open last year, had nine birdies, one bogey, and a near hole-in-one on Thursday.  Peter Oosterhuis said the following about MacKenzie and the warm weather in Greensboro on the Sprint Post Game: "He can handle any kind of physical conditions.  He’s a talented player.  He won last year in Reno so he’s just going to relish the challenge not only of the golf course and of the competition, but of the weather conditions as well."  MacKenzie tees off at 12:53 p.m. ET tomorrow.