Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Finding Kelly Slater on the Pebble Beach Golf Course at the 2009 AT&T Pro Am

Tweet This

Scene of the Crime.

When I woke up yesterday I was feeling uninspired. My Aunt had just arrived for her monthly visit, my throat was a bit scratchy and I thought, "I would love to stay in bed all day."

But there were swim lessons to go to, so I made a little breakie for Gio and I, took a shower, and off we went. It's amazing what a little fresh air can do for someone. Once I was out and about, I felt better, well even.

After swim lessons I phoned the pro shop at Pebble Beach Golf Links.

"Did Kelly Slater tee off from there today?" I ask my now standard question.

"No, I didn't see him, but let me double check for you," she says. "I stand corrected he teed off at 9:40."

"Yipppeeee!" I say to myself and, "thank you," to the kind lady at the pro shop for the double check.

My Mom offered to baby sit, again, thank you!, so I dropped Gio off and set sail for the golf course. Amazingly, I did not get lost going to the golf course or leaving it. The GPS angels were with me. Phew!

Words cannot express how comforting it is to know where I'm going. Now if only I can find who I'm looking for, Mr. Kelly Slater, pro surfer extraordinaire.

As I was walking the course, starting at the 18th hole going backwards, doubts of ever finding Kelly Slater, began to creep into my head. Especially after talking to a few spectators.

"No, I haven't seen him," says a guy I saw yesterday. "But everyone is at the fundraiser on hole 1 so he's probably there."

I just passed hole 1 and no one was there. Do I go back or stay the course? By my calculations, if he teed off at 9:40, he should be on hole 14 or 15.

I kept going, sticking to my original plan.

"Have you seen Kelly Slater?" my new mantra spoken to anyone and everyone I passed. I was desperate.

"Yeah, he's on hole six with Michael Bolton," says a young woman with a large camera.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

Nervously, she says, "I think so." "He's wearing the same thing he wore yesterday. White hat, white shirt."

Hmmm. Was he really here, yesterday, wearing white? Isn't Kelly Slater more Eddie Vedder than Michael Bolton? Not good enough. I continue walking the golf course backwards. If he's here, eventually I will run into him. That is, if I see him.

Every time I came across a new group of golfers, I asked their spectators, "Is Kelly Slater in this group?"

They all had the same answer, "No."

I was beginning to believe this was another bust. But I figured I would eventually run into Michael Bolton and snap off a few photos of him for the blog.

Then suddenly I spotted him. Yes, it really was him. Kelly Slater, Nine Time Surfing World Championship Tour Winner. And he was right in front of me.

In fact, I had walked right over his golf ball. Oh my gosh, did I step on and move his golf ball? Had I just committed some sort of golfing crime? Intention is 9/10s of the law, isn't it? Was I going to be banned from the AT&T forever, for moving a golf ball unknowingly?????????????????

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I was gonna say, he might be at Roy's dancing on the table with some groupies. That's what some dude in the water told me today ..that he saw him there last year. But he was actually golfing. :) interview.. whens the interview going to be posted.

wendy@areyoubreathing.com said...

I'm working on the interview. It could be a few days. Maybe tomorrow. Dancing on the table with froupies sounds like a rumor. Besides he has a girlfriend now.

Anonymous said...

We want the INTERVIEW!!!!

 
Hit CountersFree Hit Counter