Woods-Leonard fan club, Daly’s warm-up, Olympic pace

ORLANDO, Fla. – Hello, friends and happy Saturday! The hotel I’m staying at is packed with families here to visit Disney World and I can’t help but wonder if they know the real fun is happening down the road at the PNC Championship this weekend. I made my way to the golf course nice and early this morning (after a quick trip to WaWa) so I could watch some of the bands warm up before they hit Team Woods and Leonard’s Team all day. It was a bitterly cold morning at the Ritz-Carlton Golf Club, but nothing this New Englander couldn’t handle. It got up to 60 degrees by mid-afternoon, which in my humble opinion is the perfect temperature to watch golf.

OK, let’s get into the action.

In verse

The golf world has been blessed with Nelly Korda and Fred Couples warming up next to each other in back-to-back days of competition at the PNC Championship. I looked up “tempo” in the dictionary and this video came up, which is pretty cool.

Best Cheer Team at the PNC Championships

I followed Team Woods and Team Leonard for 18 holes today, and it was a blast. My biggest reason is that Justin Leonard’s son Luke has serious game. I don’t think he hit a bad shot all day. His game is so, so consistent and fun to watch. He will play for Villanova University next year (longtime Rogers Report readers will know I was a Wildcat for a year and a half) and is currently high school teammates with Charlie Woods.

The funniest parts of the day came thanks to friends Luke Leonard and Sam and Charlie Woods. A handful of their friends from school went to Orlando to cheer on their classmates and teammates, and they kept the energy up all day. They would yell, “Go, Lenny!” as Luke Leonard walked by and, “Let’s go, JL!” when the 1999 Ryder Cup hero died. A handful of teenage boys carried pictures of Luke Leonard’s face to carry throughout the round, and they were the most supportive group on the course. Whenever tiger hit a good shot, they’d shout, “Great read, Sam!” and everyone in and out of the ropes loved it. This group of friends was really the highlight of the round and I think they helped keep things loose and fun for the players and players.

Another highlight of my day was hearing a little back-and-forth between the Woods siblings, which you can watch here.