Small World - WM Phoenix Open Pt.1

The WM Phoenix Open always delivers on every level. It brings excitement and entertainment to Phoenix with some of the best golfers in the world. I’ve gone to the tournament the past four years, but this year was unlike any previous time. First off, my best friend Taylor was coming back into town for the event and we would be working at the media center together. So already I was pumped for the weekend! Secondly, the weather was great, a little windy, but still sunny so no complaints. Third, being able to meet people within the golf and sports media industry allowed me to gain connections and work on my networking skills. And there were many more reasons, but we’ll get into that soon.

Thursday and Friday were like days at any other tournament besides the amount of people. The usual get there, follow a few groups around, shove through the people to watch Jordan Spieth make a putt and walk back to the parking lot reminiscing on the day’s events. Although on Friday, I met a few guys and we watched the next 10 holes of Jordan’s round until the horn blew due to darkness.

It was kind of crazy how me and these guys started talking. One asked me who I was rooting for in the group and of course I answered “Jordan.” All of a sudden we began talking, I met his friends and off we went to watch golf.

I also learned that one of the guys was from Oregon. And not just from Oregon, but ½ mile away from where I lived. He would even get dropped off at my neighbor’s house so she could drive him to school.

Such a small world.

And the third guy was a major Chargers fan like me. Literally gave me the biggest hug when he found out (I was warned this would happen). He also asked me what my ring says and as I explained it to him, we shared our passion for faith and love for God. I saw how God placed people in my life for a short amount of time that I could share moments with and just be in the present watching golf.

I even decided that I liked these guys so much, I sent them media passes to get into the tournament the next day because they were some of the few who weren’t there to be blackout drunk and spend time with friends. I also thought that people who let a random girl into their group for a few hours are deemed worthy of tickets. But seeing their faces light up when I told them, it made sense sending them the tickets. I just hope they had a good time on the loudest, most packed day at the tournament because Saturday is really where things took a turn for the better.