Unlike baseball, football and hockey, golf is a sport played and televised all year long. One of the reasons I justify tolerating the cost of living in California is the option of being able to play golf 365 days of the year and on PGA Championship courses if I'm lucky.
There's nothing quite like the utter silence and stillness on the course at a live event, and the roar of the crowds after a putt is holed. It's impossible to feel the rumble and the sheer excitement of golf fans through a television tube.
Living in the Bay Area affords plenty of opportunities to witness PGA Tour events. I will never forget marshalling at the 2009 Presidents Cup in San Francisco, standing arm's length from greats like Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Angel Cabrera, Adam Scott and Mike Weir and controlling the crowds so they could make their perfect putts with total focus and control.
As luck would have it, several PGA Tour Events are coming to the Bay Area soon.
Frys.com Open
Along with defending champion Rocco Mediate, Tiger Woods recently announced his participation in the Frys.com Open at Corde Valle in San Martin, CA from 10/3-10/9. Other fan favorites Angel Cabrera, Ricky Barnes, Trevor Immelman and the long absent Mike Weir, still dealing with an ailing arm, will also be in attendance. For more information, player's list and tickets, go to Frys Open Website.
Charles Schwab Cup
Soon after, the Champions Tour will appear at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco for the annual Charles Schwab Cup between 11/3-11/6. Host to the exciting 2009 President’s Cup, Harding Park is a wonderful (and sometimes chilly) venue in which to enjoy great golf among spectacular cypress trees and neighboring Lake Merced, with the Pacific Ocean a stone’s throw away. Charles Schwab Cup brings former President Cup’s USA Team Captain Fred Couples back to this breathtaking course.
U.S. Open
The Olympic Club in Daly City, CA, just on the southern border of San Francisco, will once again host the U.S. Open from June 14 – June 17, 2012. Having lived within walking distance from the private Olympic Club course, it will be very exciting to be able to explore the course grounds and have this highly anticipated tournament right in our backyards. Phenomenal Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Ricky Fowler, Phil Mickelson, Graeme McDowell and Tiger Woods surely won't disappoint. US Open 2012 Tickets are on sale now and will likely go fast.
Lisa Giannone - Lisa is a writer and photographer residing in the San Francisco Bay Area. When not working in the corporate world, she is a frequent ...
