Here’s the highlight roll so far in 2016 and some from previous years. There’s a lot going on behind the scenes at TPC Sawgrass, Home of THE PLAYERS Championship.  2016 will be a monumental year for TPC Sawgrass and THE PLAYERS, quite like the opening of the new Clubhouse with a new May date back in 2008. THE PLAYERS 2016 is fast approaching… stay tuned…

At TPC with going around the circle CW—Cathy, Cathie, Sheryl, Bob, Emerson & yours truly…

Another enjoyable TPC night with my friend Cathy on Tuesday March 1st! Always good to see the other Cathie too and this time meet her husband Emerson. Networking night, meeting Cathy & Cathie’s other friends Sheryl & Bob from Portland, Oregon. Where of course I am heading to visit my son and do this year’s 2-week West Coast USA Golf Journey in the Northwest—Portland—Seattle—Vancouver, BC, Canada. What do you get when you combine two Cathy’s, two Oregon college guy buddies and a couple of golf nuts? A good time and hopefully a round of golf at Riverside CC in Portland. LOL!!!

With golf entrepreneur Quinn Schara, founder of ScoutGolf.

So the PGA Show in Orlando in January kicks off the year in the golf business… but seems like the business of golf continues at TPC Sawgrass all year long… here with golf entrepreneur Quinn Schara, founder of ScoutGolf, a customized scorecard that uses analytics to improve your golf game…   (Facebook Post, Andy Reistetter, 2/26/16)

ScoutGolf, the creation of Quinn Schara.

See I like the golf club in the logo for the ‘L’ in golf… now if Quinn Schara & ScoutGolf can take the ‘L’ shot out if my game I am sold! ‘L’ for that Lateral shot called a Shank! (-:    (Facebook Post, Andy Reistetter, 2/26/16)

Analyze your score and playing habits. Beautifully designed, easy to use, & digitally connected. 100% Customizable Scorecard. Know What The Pro’s Know. Scoutgolf offers EVERY GOLFER the ability to track their playing statistics, just as the PGA TOUR Pro’s do.   www.scoutgolf.com

With my new friends Lucero & Stu… u meet the nicest people at TPC Sawgrass!

Another Saturday night, no date, and I ain’t got nobody, no money either cuz I never get paid… what should one do? Head to TPC Sawgrass & catch the end of Happy Hour in Nineteen… and meet Lucero & Stu, the nicest couple ever… life is good… (-:   (Facebook Post, Andy Reistetter, 2/20/16)

With my friends Cathy, Bill & Robin after coming home from South Africa!

Never really back home until I see my friends at Nineteen for a sundowner… quite the clever fellow to fetch a few mates whether heeeere or theeere in South Africa… only 94 days to THE PLAYERS Championship… can’t wait to see Rickie Fowler defend his title!   (Facebook Post, Andy Reistetter, 2/5/16)

My Farewell visit to Nineteen before leaving for the ‘Golf Journey to South Africa in early December 2015.

Farewell at TPC Sawgrass with friends Kimberly Graham & Dennis Berkholtz, Jarrad Kogos, & Stokes Hill… early Merry Christmas & Happy New Year Celebration… off to South Africa soon! (-:   (Facebook Post 6 Pics, Andy Reistetter, 12/4/15)

Highlights from Previous Years:

Excitement in Nineteen this evening. Andrew Gore aced the par-3 17th on the Stadium Course… estimated bar bill of $1,000 plus… Priceless!(Facebook Post 1 Pic, Andy Reistetter, 10/17/14)

Sadly, I will miss being there in person in Orlando to cover the January 12th through the 17th Diamond Resorts Invitational Benefiting Florida Hospitals for Children. It’s the East Coast version of the summer Celebrity Golf Classic staged in Lake Tahoe. With the season change comes a stronger lineup of celebrities competing, especially the off-season baseball players. Hosted this year by The Bear Club at Keene’s Point with celebrities and Diamond Resorts guests staying at the Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club, this event will come of age on a national and worldwide level. Since I am on the ‘Golf Journey to South Africa,’ I have to miss it but you don’t—either in person in Orlando or televised on The Golf Channel.

Chad Pfeifer, AZ Pierzynski, Brian Gay & Johnny Damon participated in the media interviews.

I did experience it in a way by attending the Media Day in early December. Staying at Mystic Dunes and playing The Bear Club twice I felt like a celebrity or one of those Diamond Resorts guests. All that I missed was the shuttle helicopter ride from the resort to the golf course to insure that the celebrity golfers won’t get caught in Orlando traffic and miss their tee times like the LPGA players did recently in Mexico City!

With the celebrity nature of the event, staying at accommodations like the Mystic Dunes Resort and playing golf courses like The Golden Bear Club, it is easy to miss the main reason for the event—to raise funds for Florida Hospitals for Children. There is no doubt that Brian & Kimberley Gay and the Diamond Resorts International leadership and organization have been focused on the charitable aspect of the tournament and have been for some time.

With professional golfer Brian Gay and his wife Kimberley.

Diamond Resorts International first began working with Florida Hospital for Children in 2012 through volunteer participation at hospital events. In 2013, Diamond Resorts Ambassador and PGA Touring Professional, Brian Gay, offered to lend his name to the Diamond Resorts inaugural golf invitational in efforts to help raise money for the Orlando-based hospital. Raising over $1.2 million to date, the Diamond Resorts sponsored golf event returns in 2016 as the Diamond Resorts Invitational benefiting Florida Hospital for Children and will be a live, nationally televised event on Golf Channel. The 54-hole celebrity tournament will feature a Stableford scoring format with a $500,000 purse and will feature a world-class weekend of golf, entertainment and philanthropy, all to benefit Florida Hospital for Children.

The Brian Gay Invitational Celebrity-Amateur Tournament continues in its fourth year on Wednesday the day before the 3-day celebrity competition. Amateurs will compete for spots in the tournament proper. To finish off the week, on Sunday there will be Family Excursions to Orlando Theme Parks because Diamond Resorts is dedicated to the understanding that taking vacations is vital to people’s health, happiness and relationships with their loved ones, and enables experiences that create memories that last a lifetime.

With American Hero, Three-time Warrior Open Champion, and Golf Channel Big Break contestant Chad Pfeifer. What a great guy, what an honor to meet and play golf with him!

I can vouch for that having attended the Media Day along with regular Diamond Resort guests. I say ‘regular’ because once you are in the club, everyone has the opportunity to participate in the events I did, namely attend the media conference and play The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Point and enjoy an intimate dinner and personal concert performance by Colt Ford and his band.

I hope to catch some of the action on the Sports channel here in Johannesburg (sadly and amazingly South Africa does not have their own Golf Channel) and will be following the tournament. No doubt with Brian & Kimberley Gay, Diamond Resorts International and all the celebrities engaged, it will be a fantastic and memorable event!

With Colt Ford after his amazing performance for Diamond Resorts members!

Diamond Resorts in Orlando in the winter, better than Tahoe in the summer, unless you are a skier…

If you are a Diamond Resorts member I think you should go to this one! If you are not a Diamond Resorts member I think you should look into it!

Don’t Miss the Diamond Resorts Invitational Benefiting Florida Hospitals for Children at The Golden Bear Golf Club at Keene’s Point in Orlando starting January 12th!

Experience this adventure on Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary as it evolved in real time as chronicled with Facebook posts:

Excited to be heading to Orlando for a media preview event for the January 12th-17th Diamond Resorts Invitational Benefiting Florida Hospital for Children which includes the Brian Gay Invitational Celebrity-Amateur Tournament on Tuesday. All to be televised on the Golf Channel. With 60 headline celebrities this is the East Coast version of the Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Wondering if local Ponte Vedra Beach golf celebrity Frank Sausedo is playing too? Staying at the Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club and playing The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Pointe… then off to South Africa on Wednesday… http://diamondresortsinvitational.com/ Any Orlando tips? (-: (FB 12/5/15)

The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Point, a Jack Nicklaus gem!

Let the Diamond Resorts Invitational Media Day fun begin at the Golden Bear Club… with Brian Gay, Chad Pfeifer & Colts Ford (FB 12/7/15)

Awesome media conference for the Diamond Resorts Invitational benefiting Florida Hospital for Children with Chad Pfeifer, AZ Pierzynski, Brian Gay & Johnny Damon, then played The Golden Bear Club at Keene’s Pointe… Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club Diamonds Resorts http://diamondresortsinvitational.com/charity (FB 12/8/15)

Magical evening at Mystic Dunes Resort & Golf Club with Diamond Resorts International … intimate, heartfelt & talented performance by Colt Ford and his band… (FB 12/8/15)

Day 2 at Diamond Resorts Invitational Media Day, stay at Mystic Dunes, play The Golden Bear Club… going to be a great Celebrity-Amateur-Hero with Chad Pfiefer… (FB 12/9/15)

Exciting par-3 11th hole on the Gary Koch designed Mystic Dunes Course.

Playing golf on the Gary Koch designed course at Mystic Dunes with lots of character this morning, not your ordinary Florida golf course, Love the 17th green and Golfin Around with my buddy Randy Tantlinger was a lot of fun! (FB 12/9/15)

That concludes another amazing golf and life adventure on Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

The 2015 Web.com Graduating Class being celebrated on the back lawn of the TPC Clubhouse.

No disrespect to the PGA TOUR but can a day of tournament golf ever be more exciting than this day, the final day of the 2015 Web.com season and Finals competition?

Lucas Glover, in the next to last pairing, who is well within the Finals Top 25, bogeys the last hole. Glover, falling from a 3-way tie for 10th place to a 6-way tie for 12th place redistributes the money payout. One of those six in 12th place, Rob Oppenheim, who finished two hours earlier and was on his way home, edges out Eric Axley by $101 to be the final Bubble Boy in 25th place. At the end of the Web.com Tour Championship that bubble never bursts, at least for one year on the PGA TOUR.

Emiliano Grillo stroking his putt and ringing the bell to win the Web.com Tour Championship on the 18th green on Dye’s Valley.

Oppenheim (started 50th and finished at No. 25 after a T12 finish this week with a Sunday 67) was one of five  players to play their way into the Finals Top 25 along with Derek Fathauer (34th, 15th this week with a Sunday 66), Tyrone van Aswegen (44th, 17th, T5 this week with a Sunday 68), Robert Garrigus (33rd, 19th, T12 this week with a Sunday 68), and Thomas Aiken (T95, 23rd, T5 with a Sunday 65 this week). Pushed out of the Finals Top 25 were Eric Axley (started 20th, ended 26th with a Missed Cut (MC) this week), Ryan Spears (21st, 28th, MC), Steve Allan (23rd, 30th, MC), Justin Hicks (24th, 32nd, MC) and Jhonattan Vegas (25th, 33rd, MC).

The sad reality is one needs to make the cut and play well on Sunday to get inside the Finals Top 25 Bubble or it bursts.

Emiliano Grillo (L), Patton Kizzire (C) and Chez Reavie (R) with the hardware they earned this week!

Then in the final pairing Emiliano Grillo and Chez Reavie come to the final hole tied at 13-under. They have been nip-and-tuck all day with Reavie erasing Grillo’s slim 2-stroke lead at the start of the final round of the Finals. If Reavie wins he also edges out Grillo for the Finals Money List and gets a full exemption to the 2015-2016 PGA TOUR and a THE Players Championship invitation. Grillo is 25-feet away for birdie while Reavie is half that distance on the same line. Grillo drains his putt and Reavie misses to win the Web.com Tour Championship. The Finals Money Title goes to Reavie.

The other golden ticket with a full exemption to the 2015-2016 PGA TOUR and a PLAYERS invitation goes to Patton Kizzire who won the combined Regular Season and Finals Money Title. At $567,865.58 in winnings, his lead was never really in jeopardy this week.

A beautiful Florida sunset highlighted the Awards Ceremony after an amazing week at TPC Sawgrass.

All three, Kizzire, Reavie and Grillo,  are heading up to New York City tomorrow to join Web.com Chief Executive Officer David Brown in ringing the bell at the NASDAQ Stock Market. I remember back to high school baseball days when our pitcher Jim Sweeney’s dad who yell out the encouraging words of “Ring that bell Jim, ring that bell!” Evidently ringing the bell on a stock market is the quite an honor and a symbol of a lifetime of achievement. For this threesome and the 47 other Web.com golfers who earned their PGA TOUR card for next season—congratulations for a job well done.

The week started for me listening to an inspirational 13-year old First Tee participant in the Sunset Room of the clubhouse to kick off the 10th annual ‘Taste of Golf.’ It ended with a beautiful Florida sunset on the back lawn of the Clubhouse with a celebration of what these 50 Web.com golfers achieved this year.

What a perfect and exciting finish this week in the Web.com Tour Championship at TPC Sawgrass!

What an exciting week at the Web.com Tour Championship for Andy’s Golf & Travel Diary!

Emiliano Grillo is atop the Web.com Tour Championship leader board going into Sunday. Who will win and who will finish in the Finals Top 25?

Peak golf season  continues with the Web.com Tour Championship sandwiched in between the PGA TOUR Playoffs and The President’s Cup next week in South Korea. Saturday was as exciting as ever in the fourth and final event in the Finals at Dye’s Valley Course.

Argentina’s 23-year old Emiliano Grillo shot a bogey-free 67 to double his Friday lead to two strokes going into Sunday’s final round. The $180,000 for first place will likely determine the overall money leader for the Finals and who will be fully-exempt on the PGA TOUR in 2015-16 and be invited to THE PLAYERS Championship next door on the Stadium Course.

Chez Reavie who won two weeks ago at the Small Business Connection Championship is in second place after a Saturday 67 to match Grillo’s score and leap frog Lucas Glover who was one stroke behind Grillo to start the day. Glover’s 69 gets him in the next-to-last pairing with Sam Saunders who shot 68. Although it looks like a shootout between Grillo and Reavie for the Finals Money Title, there are eleven players within six strokes of the lead, anything can happen in the final round of the Finals!

Will the winner come out of the final two pairings or be one of eleven players within 6 strokes of the lead?

The other full exemption and PLAYERS invitation goes to the overall money leader for the combined regular season and Finals and will likely go to Patton Kizzire. The only player that can overtake Kizzire is Dawie van der Walt and he needs to win outright to do so. He is currently T30 ten strokes back of Grillo.

On the other end of the spectrum is the fight to just get a PGA TOUR card for next season by being in the Top 25 on the Finals Money List. Five players are projected to make the Top 25 Bubble—Tyrone Van Aswegen (T5 after Round 3), Robert Garrigus (T17), Derek Fathauer (T17), Kevin Tway (T7) and Greg Eason (T12) bumping out five players who started the week inside the Finals Top 25—Eric Axley, Ryan Spears, Steve Allan, Justin Hicks and Jhonny Vegas. Those five players were all ranked within Nos. 20 to 25 and all missed the cut! Only Brian Davis who started at No. 22 and made the cut is still projected to remain inside the Finals Top 25 at No. 25!

But nothing is a done deal yet as the pressure mounts. One good or one bad round tomorrow can trigger wild swings in money distribution and impact the final Bubble outcome.

Should be anther exciting Sunday at TPC Sawgrass!

I can’t wait to see who wins the Web.com Tour Championship and who earns the Finals Top 25 PGA TOUR cards!

Bubbles sometimes reflect many things in our lives. Photo Credit: Google Images

Bubbles can be beautiful, free and floating away soon after we create them in reality, our minds or in our life. They seemingly take on an energy of their own. It is as if when they are getting bigger they become clearer and less dense and are able to go higher and higher, farther and farther than us mere humans. They glisten and sparkle upon creation and relieve our minds of any difficulties at all in life. Perhaps we imagine being safe in that bubble, protected from any worldly issues. Nothing can touch us as we are enveloped in Disneyland as our magical life unfolds.

And then the bubble pops, the bubble bursts and we are left with nothing.

Top 25 performance on teh Web.com Tour or in the Finals is the only ticket to the PGA TOUR.

The PGA Tour, via the Web.com Tour, is a bubble blowing machine cranking out 50 new versions a year. For each one of those 50 golfers who get 2016 PGA TOUR cards there is another golfer who loses his card and privilege to compete on the best and most lucrative professional golf tour in the world. Fortunately then, it is not like the bubble that pops or bursts, there is debris that can easily be patched back together into a successful golfing life. There is the well-padded cushioned landing back on the Web.com Tour where the rebound to the main tour is sometimes quick and permanent. There are mini-tours and the chance to qualify for the Web.com Tour if the bubble shatters completely and falls down through the Web.com safety net.

Dye’s Valley determines the fate of many professional golfers!

There is also the realization that competitive professional golf is only the tiny lucrative green bulls-eye in a huge golfing world, business, and industry. There are club pro positions, instructing positions, even broadcast positions available and many, many more business positions that mean a person can be around the game they love and still make a living even if not any longer via their golfing skills.

But the reality of the final event of the PGA TOUR season is upon us. The Web.com Tour Championship, the fourth and final event of the Web.com Tour Finals is being competed this week on the difficult Dye’s Valley  Course at TPC Sawgrass. In the last two years, six golfers have gone safely into the PGA TOUR bubble while six have been extracted. Who knows how many will create their bubble this week and ride it to the 2015-2016 PGA TOUR?

The ultimate bubble is actually three bubbles this week as the winner of the Regular Season 25 (Patton Kizzire), the winner of the Finals 25 (TBD) and the winner of the Tour Championship (TBD) who will be invited to join Web.com Chief Executive Officer in ringing the bell at the NASDAQ in New York City on Monday, October 5th.

Here we go with a round-by-round Bubble Watch:

Round 1 on Thursday, October 1st, 2015

The beautiful 499-yard par-4 17th on Dye;s Valley.

The pairings are so designed to present the players around the bubble in the television window to follow the tour card seeking drama. To progress the dream, you have to make money this week which means you have to make the cut on Friday. Like any bubble, what happens in the environment, outside the bubble, what other players do can be as crucial as to what happens inside the bubble, inside any one player’s mind and posted scores. Other players rocketing up or down the leader board impact the money distribution and therefore your bubble too.

I followed the 12:42 pm group of Eric Axley (No. 20), Ryan Spears (No. 21) and Brian Davis (No. 22) on the back nine. Remember the Top 25 in the Finals get their cards. The Regular Season Top 25 are already in and just trying to improve their ranking to be eligible for more tournaments next season.

On a day when the field pretty much averaged an even par of 70 (actually 70.112) and the low score was a 7-under par 63 by Rhen Gibson who rocketed up to No. 2 after starting the day safely at No. 18 on the list of Top 25 to earn a card in the Finals.

It’s complicated even with billboards to help explain how the system works to determine the Finals Top 25.

Axley started at No. 20, birdied the 2nd and double bogeyed the difficult 503-yard par-4 8th hole making the turn at 1-over 36. On the 408-yard par-4 10th, with water all the way down the right side, his tee ball was left in the trees and close to the out-of bounds. The ball finished out-of-bounds and evidently the marshal signaled a no-good shot by waving and crossing his arms below his knees which in reality is the official caddie signal for a ball in play. After the other guys teed off and Axley apparently wasn’t going to play another tee shot I signaled that the ball was indeed out-of-bounds. My caddie training by Mr. Donald Cross at TPC Sawgrass during the winter of 2009/2010 came in handy but not for Mr. Axley as he was upset with the initial signal and that he hit the next one out-of-bounds. After playing his 6th shot from the fairway he recorded a quadruple bogey 8. To his credit he rebounded with three birides before bogeying the last two and posting a 4-over par 74 for the day. For us it would have been a double mulligan par on the 10th and a 90 on a good day.

Ryan Spears in orange putting out on the 18th as Eric Axley (black) and Brian Davis (blue shirt) and their caddies look on.

Spears started at No. 21, was even on the front before making four bogeys with a lone bogey on the par-5 16th on the back and posting a 3-over par 73 for Round One. With the normal par-5 8th and 17th playing as long par-4s it must seem like forever after playing the par-5 first hole for another reachable par-5 to appear. Spears was frustrated with the slowness of the greens leaving downhill, down-grain putts short and having it feel like 4 less feet on Stimp Meter versus a week ago on the Scarlet Course at The Ohio State University in the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. We have experienced the opposite effect from slow to fast if you have ever played a firm-and-fast golf course the day after a professional tournament. The fairways do get narrower and the greens, well beyond this golfer’s capability!

Davis started at No. 22, was 1-over on the front, bogeyed the 10th but birdied the 12th and 16th on the way to the big Clubhouse at TPC Sawgrass. Even with an even par 70, Davis was projected to fall to No. 25 and become the Bubble Boy for Round Two while Axley (No. 26) and Spears (No. 28) fell out of the desired Top 25 in the Finals competition.

Round 2 on Friday, October 2nd, 2015

Round 2 at the Web.com Tour Championship is no ordinary Cut Day on the Web.com. For those on the bubble, missing a cut today means missing out on the opportunity to make money and advance up the Money List and solidify the chance to be in the Top 25 of the Finals and earn a PGA TOUR card for next year. With six players entering the Finals Top 25 in the last week since the inception of this new format, a player just inside the bubble can be a sitting duck. That being said, there are mathematical probabilites where even though a player is not playing his position can be improved. Usually because a non-Top 25 player is playing well and is projected to win a lot of money and end up as one of the Top 25 at the end of the tournament. So if you are not playing, you can’t help yourself and can only hope for some quirky nature of fate to give you buoyancy into the Finals Top 25.

Today I joined the 12:31 pm group of Steve Allan, Justin Hicks, and Jhonattan Vegas, respectively Nos. 23, 24, and 25 at the start of the week on the 10th hole. With some 30 inches of rain in the last 45 days, Dye’s Valley was still a bit soggy with Life, Clean & Place in effect for the second day in a row. Like yesterday, today would be rain-free. Play golf, earn a card to the 2015-2016 PGA TOUR.

The 11th hole was wide open for play after the Hicks delay on No. 11.

I watched this group for only three holes but it seemed like a lot longer time as it took a while for Hicks to determine where his golf ball last crossed the water hazard on the difficult 229-yard par 3 11th hole. By the time he took his drop and made bogey there were two groups on the tee and a wide open 12th hole waiting to be played. Maybe there should be a 5-minute time limit of making a decision on where to drop!

Allan’s lone birdie in Round 2 would come at the first on his way to a 38-40=78 and a missed cut by nine strokes. Hicks would shoot a 70 with two closing birdies on Nos. 15 and 16 but his 143 would miss the cut by three strokes. Vegas needed a good back nine to follow a good front nine of 1-under 34. He found water right on the 10th and took a double bogey. Later, so focused on his target on the par-5 16th, knowing he needed an eagle to make the weekend, he inadvertently pulled a 3-iron instead of a 4-iron and found the water hazard long. Though recovering with a par and then birdieing the long par-4 17th he missed the cut by two strokes.

Of the six Bubble Boys I watched, Nos. 20 to 25, only one, Brian Davis made the cut that came at Even Par 140 and he made it right on the number with an opening pair of 70s.

I caught up with the 12:20 Smylie Kaufman, Bill Lunde and Brad Fritsch group on the 14th green and followed them in. Lunde at No. 29 and Fritsch at No. 30 were outside the bubble looking in at the start of the week. Kaufman, true to his first name, was all smiles as he had already earned a card by finishing No. 13, well within the Regular Season Top 25 to earn his card for next season. The 23-year old LSA graduate who won the United Leasing Championship in May double bogeyed the par-5 16th and missed the cut by one strokes.

It all came down to the 18th for Lunde and Fritsch to make the cut on Friday.

Lunde and Fritsch hopes of playing the weekend all came down to a potential short chip-in on the last green. Lunde, with three birdies in the last six holes, needed another one at the 18th to make the cut. He missed the green just long and had a makeable chip. I remember seeing Lunde chip in on the final green to win the 2008 Nationwide Children’s Hospital Classic. Could he do it again. Close but no, missed cut.

Fritsch, needing a par to make the cut, made it interesting as his ball nearly found the water hazard left off the tee. With an awkward stance he was forced to chip out and then missed the green. His makeable chip was more difficult and came out heavy. As fate would have it he knocked in the 15-footer for bogey, also missing the cut by one stroke.

On Friday the field average score was 69.860 and the cut to 72 players came at even par.

Amidst the Bubble Watch a golf tournament is breaking out.  Argentina’s Emiliano Grillo shot 66-64 to take a one-stroke lead over 2009 U.S. Open Champion Lucas Glover heading into the weekend of what surely will be an exciting finish to the 2015 Web.com season!