My brother asked me last week if I’d be interested in going to the PGA Tour Championship golf tournament at East Lake Golf Course for the upcoming weekend. With it being Labor Day weekend, a PGA event and great weather predicted, this was a no-brainer for us to attend. This was a wonderful option for us with such a prestigious event happening so close to home. East Lake Golf Course is the home course of legendary golfer Bobby Jones.
We’re 2 amateur golfers that enjoy playing golf and have tried for the past 12 years to get tickets to The Masters with no luck. We both text each other when we receive the annual rejection email. We try to get tickets to the practice rounds and any of the 4 days of the tournament. Some day hopefully we’ll get there.
We purchased a parking pass with our tickets so it cost us about $110 each to attend on Sunday, the final round of the 30 top players on the FedEx Cup points list. East Lake has been hosting this tournament since 2005. Dustin Johnson won it in 2020. He was there again this year and finished 8th with a payday of $1.1 million. Jon Rahm and Patrick Cantlay had a 1 stroke difference most of the day, Cantlay leading, going into the 18th hole. They both birdied 18 giving the Championship to Cantlay with a $15 million payday. Rahm finishing second allowed him to walk away with $5 million.
We started the day with parking in Forest Park and getting on a chartered bus with mandatory face mask policy. The drive was about 20-25 minutes. It was spacious and air-conditioned to our liking. We exited the bus and entered a large tent to present our mobile tickets for entry. We took pictures of maps and signs to help us navigate the golf course. We were there in plenty of time to walk the course and get familiar with it before the tournament started. We found the driving range and putting greens so we could watch these amazing golfers warm up for the day. We decided to go to the merchandise tent and see what might strike our interest. We both found a couple of shirts and some golf accessories. We then thought it might be a good idea to go ahead and get something to eat and drink. We started off with turkey wraps($10), bottled water($4) and a Michelob Ultra ($9). We did this again later except we had to settle for a $7 hot dog. We both thought this was a bit pricey compared to other professional and collegiate sports events that we have attended.
Again, the biggest thing for us was to watch world class golfers play and how they would swing the club. We got to watch all of the players tee off from the number 1 tee from a distance about 300 yards away under a huge shady tree with a gentle breeze blowing most of the day. After the final pairing, we chose to follow Bryson DeChambeau because of his power and distance off of the tee.
There was not very much interaction of players with fans with a few exceptions. I’m sure the main reason for this would be COVID concerns. Most of the players would tip their hats or give a polite wave. However, on numerous occasions we witnessed how Tony Finau and Bryson DeChambeau would fist bump younger kids and a few of the adults. We loved these guys for doing that.
It was a Championship experience for us to remember. Looking forward to a future trip to Augusta and back to East Lake. Anyone care to help me with the trip to Augusta?
Be blessed and safe travels!!!
