Julie's Journal

A local radio station has been running a contest for the past several weeks and ask a trivia question each day about golf. Last week, one of Grant's workers, Todd Upchurch, was listening to the station and dialed the number before they asked the question. When the question was announced, he asked Grant if he knew the answer. The question was "what golfer in the top 10 is not from the US or Europe?" Grant did know the answer and it was Ernie Els from South Africa. Todd put Grant on the line and they took his information and said he would be in a drawing that would take place the next day. The next morning about 8 a.m., Grant started receiving calls from friends telling him he had won the contest. He called the station and found out he had won 2 tickets to play with a pro and 2 radio announcers in the Station Athens Classic at UGA for the practice round on Wednesday, April 28th.

Grant called me to tell me the good news and I asked him if I could go watch him play. He said he would check. He did call to ask if his mother could come out and watch and they asked him if I was in a wheelchair! Since I can still walk, they let me come. So, I invited my friend, Bette McNeely, to go with me. Grant invited his friend, Vern Strickland, to play in his group.

As part of the winnings, Grant and Jami attended a very nice banquet on Tuesday night and there were more than 100 people there. Shrimp and Grits were on the buffet. After dinner, they lit up and opened up the stadium and everyone got to go on the field.

Vern and Grant arrived at the course by 6:30 a.m. and were each given goody bags and each received a coupon worth $300 to spend in the pro shop. They put all of their prizes in the car and teed off at 7:40 a.m. on the 10th hole. They played with Fabian Gomez (Pro), and Jeff Dantzler and David Johnston (radio announcers).

Bette and I arrived about 9 a.m. and parked in the designated parking area and took the shuttle over to the course. The tournament actually started the next day, so there were very few spectators. We were escorted out on to the course by the man who was in charge of 500 volunteers. He told us that all of the concession stands would be open and we could get anything we wanted to eat or drink for free. He also told us about where to look for Grant. We headed for the 17th green and waited there until Grant's group arrived. Grant was playing really well. We followed them for 3 holes, then left and settled on the 13th green. It was a beautiful setting and we sat in bleachers where we could see the 12th, 13th and 14th holes.

We were pretty much the only ones there until two men came up and asked us to participate in the wave when the president of Stadion, Jud Doherty, came to the 13th. One of the men was Tim Chapman, Portfolio Manager for Stadion and the other was was with Mutual of Omaha. We enjoyed visiting with them and learning about the tournament.

Bette and I watched several groups come and go and stayed until about 2 p.m. It was a beautiful day and the course is gorgeous. I personally think it is as pretty as the Augusta National.

Grant plans to use his weekly passes this weekend to watch the finals. His pro, Fabian, is playing great and is in the top 10 for this tournament, so far.

I have beautiful pictures in the gallery.