Close to the Action at the Puerto Rico Open

By looking at the course and grounds of Trump International Golf Course in Puerto Rico, you would never think that there more than a sprinkle has fallen in the past week.

Mark Stevens at PGA Tour HQ relayed that a total of 6.6 inches of rain fell on Thursday. Five inches of rain fell on the course between Friday, March 5th and Sunday, March 7th. On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week an additional four-tenths of an inch fell. That's a lot of rain and I hear that New York will be suffering while we're here taking in the great weather.

In stark contrast to Nueva York, the sun is shining brightly today in Puerto Rico, the Shining Star of the Caribbean, and the "tan" index is great. With only two days left to our stay, I wonder when we will return but a good golfer knows to always remain "in the present". With that in mind I will look only as far forward as to the fiesta in the hospitality center tonight, the theme being "El Yunque".

Aside from another morning swim at the incredibly large and glamorous Gran Melia Resort pool complex we had a great almuerzo (lunch) at the Wet Bar overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. While eating at the grill we were surrounded by a variety of players who had just finished their first round and many were commenting that they have never stayed at such a large, beautiful resort as the Gran Melia.

Barry and I also viewed great golf action today along the 14th and 18th holes.

By positioning ourselves at the 18th, we were able to easily move to the 14th tee so we saw great drives, approach shots and putts by Tom Kite and Gustafsson. Barry helped untangle Gustafsson's caddie from his caddie bag and I watched as Gustafson carefully entered his score after his round. This was all as close as if you were a part of the foursome!

Tom Kite hit his drive on eighteen near a palm tree just a few feet from me and, after his great approach to the green (Kite thought it wasn't so great), a fan shouted out, "don't look so upset Tom; you designed it!"

All in all, the golfers are happy to finally play golf. Rumblings of a Monday finish may lessen the number of fans at the course but the Golf Channel will cover the Puerto Rico Open through to its finale so stay tuned!