PO‘IPU — The stage was set and the curtain came up this morning as Tiger Woods made his eighth appearance at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf. While gates at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course officially opened yesterday for the
PO‘IPU — The stage was set and the curtain came up this morning as Tiger Woods made his eighth appearance at the PGA Grand Slam of Golf.
While gates at the Po‘ipu Bay Golf Course officially opened yesterday for the Champions Clinic and the Pro-Am, today is the first day of competition for the four golfers — Woods, Jim Furyk, Geoff Ogilvy and Mike Weir.
Though the four golfers tee off at noon, preparation for the event has been a long time coming, and volunteers have been hard at work under the island sun.
On Sunday, Jim Trainor and Derek Hileman of Iowa were putting the finishing touches on the fleet of PGA cars in the Grand Hyatt Kaua‘i Resort and Spa parking lot.
“Seven years ago, we were part of the volunteer force from Schofield Barracks,” Trainor said. “Since then, we’ve moved back to the Mainland, but we come back to volunteer each year.”
“This is a reunion for us,” Mike Withrow said. “We started volunteering about seven years ago, and we come back every year.”
Of the four volunteers, Jay Miller is the sole Hawai‘i resident, living on O‘ahu.
“I never get to see them otherwise,” Miller said. “This event gives me a chance to see all the guys again.”
PGA.com announced Thursday that it will employ its Pipeline broadband technology to deliver four hours of exclusive live, streaming footage of the 2006 Grand Slam.
PGA.com’s exclusive broadband viewer, powered by CNN’s Pipeline, will consist of three distinct video streams. The first, “Greenside Live,” will provide a total of four hours of live online access to the tournament today (noon to 2 p.m., HST) and Wednesday (11 a.m. to 1 p.m., HST).
The second and third streams, “Inside the Ropes” and “Exclusive Analysis and Tips,” will deliver fans 24/7 access to press conferences, aerial course views and player profiles as well as stroke analysis and tips from golf professionals, states a Turner Sports news release.
TNT will televise live coverage of the two-day event each day immediately following PGA.com’s online coverage, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. today and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. tomorrow.
Woods, the world’s No. 1 ranked player and this year’s PGA Player of the year, is seeking his sixth title and a share of the $1.25 million purse.
Last year, Woods closed with a 64 to win by seven strokes over Phil Mickelson. Woods’ best performance came in 2002 when he finished with a 61 for a 36-hole scoring record of 127 that was matched by Mickelson in 2004.
Furyk and Weir, who finished 1-2 in the 2003 event, will have the luxury of course knowledge in their return.
This will be Ogilvy’s first trip to Po‘ipu after earning his berth with a one-stroke win at the U.S. Open at Winged Foot last June.
Gates open at 10 a.m. today and tomorrow and will remain open until 6 p.m.
Cameras and autographs were permitted on Monday only.
The PGA is asking spectators to stay behind gallery ropes and cooperate with marshals at all times.
Tickets should be worn where they can be seen at all times while on the grounds at the Grand Slam.
