Putting Tiger, Happy Toddler

Tiger Woods once said of his late father, Earl [quote] "...you know, having your best friend be your father is a very unique thing." And while it might be sort of weird for Claire to someday select Stew as her best friend, the two grew a step closer to it today while attending the Monday practice round at the PGA Championship Tournament that's being held at Hazeltine National Golf Club right here in glamorous Chaska (and about one mile from our house). The goal of the day was simple: Claire wanted to see Tiger Woods (or, rather, Stew wanted Claire to see Tiger Woods... and pose for a picture with him... and have Tiger give her his autograph before inviting Stew to join him for beers after the round... where he presents Stew with a $1M check from the Tiger Woods Foundation for the local Chaska Early Childhood & Family Education Program for which Stew advocates). Anyway, Chaska residence got access to free practice round tickets on a first-come first-served basis, so Stew was able to hook up a couple Monday passes.

Less than 12 hours after winning the World Golf Championship-Bridgestone Invitational in Ohio, Tiger Woods was back on the course... this time in Chaska (he had a 6:45am tee time). Fortunately, Claire and Stew arrived around 8:30am and in time to head to the 11th green to wait to catch a glimpse of Tiger. About 10 minutes before Tiger appeared, Claire saw Spiderman. For those not interested in the Professional Golf Association, you might think Spiderman is a superhero. But in the PGA world, Spiderman is Camilo Villegas, a professional golfer from Columbia known for his "Spiderman" stance when he lines up a putt (see photo at right). He's also known as somewhat of a heartthrob with the ladies, but I wouldn't know anything about that.

As soon as spectators started gathering alongside the empty 11th Hole fairway, Stew knew Tiger was making his way off the tee box. Claire and Stew had a nice spot just behind the rope barrier next to the 11th green... and also next to the rope line where the players would pass by while walking from the 11th green to the 12th tee box. There was a nice fella standing next to them who offered to take a picture of Claire with her Papa. Don't let the glare coming off Stew's legs blind you. His legs are whiter than the audience at a Sean Hannity Freedom Concert (as if that's actually possible). Following is a brief pictorial of the 17 minutes spent with Tiger Woods on the course today...

Crouching Claire... awaiting the arrival of Tiger Woods to the 11th green (behind Claire).
The gathering storm... spectators begin to line the 11th Hole fairway just minutes before Tiger Woods appears (the fairway was empty just a minute earlier). Tiger should be rounding the corner from behind the trees on the left any second...

Tiger, just before he knocks his second shot to within 12 feet of the flag pin. Notice the people following him around the course... the entire fairway was full at this point (and this is just Day #1 of the practice rounds).
Tiger approaching the green after his second shot...
Tiger on the green. Stew immediately notices that he and Tiger obviously share the same workout routine. Yea, I don't know why Stew thinks that either?
Claire made the gallery chuckle from time to time with her "Look, Papa! It's Tiger Woods!" outbursts (followed by Stew's blathering, "I know, I know! Can ya believe it? It's just so exciting!").

Tiger and his playing partners (Bubba Watson and Nick Watney) walking down the 12th fairway after hitting their tee shots. You can't see it, but Claire is waving at Tiger.

All in all, Claire lasted about two hours before her legs stopped working (which is what Momma and Stew call it when Claire decides she's no longer interested in walking). Note to Mike and Marin: I'm sure Stew would've enjoyed watching someone else trying to keep their daughter from having a meltdown just outside the Golf Shop, but he totally understands why you didn't make the trip! Along those same lines, here's a funny story -- while in line to catch the bus from the parking lot to the golf course, Stew realized he forgot to pack Claire's little stroller, which would've come in handy during the 2.9 miles he had to carry her. Claire also grew [quote] "very tired" and kept asking, "Where's my school bus?" (referring to the bus that brought them from the lot to the course). Unfortunately, Stew's only answer could be, "oh... it's about another mile from here" as he trudged along carrying a very tired Claire back to the bus stop.

Claire with her PGA bounty - a baseball cap and a commemorative rubber golf ball.

BREAKING NEWS! Below is video from the Hazeltine National Golf Club blog. If you watch closely, you just might see the cutest little girl in the world (yes... with a nuk in her mouth)!

UPDATE... The video has been removed from YouTube, no doubt due to the fact the videographer does not have authority to produce and distribute a video that shows a cute little toddler as cute as Claire. Let's face it, she outshines Tiger, and that's not good for PGA or Nike business. Bummer...