Chapter 4

It went without saying that Nik was excited to be participating in the PGA tournament, one of golf’s four major tournaments. What golfer wouldn’t be he thought? Following his pattern, Nik arrived a few days early and played two practice rounds at this immaculately groomed golf course. He played these rounds with two other club professionals. Because of watching golf on television, he recognized most of the touring golf pros. When he had contact with them he said hello and they likewise responded. Most of these touring pros seemed like nice guys but there were a few exceptions.

All of the touring pros came with their caddies and most of the club pros brought a caddy with them. Nik asked the Caddy Master for a recommendation as to a caddy and he recommended Ted Walsh. He said Ted was an older man who had a lot of caddying experience but had recently retired. To caddy in a major golf tournament would cause him to come out of retirement. Nik met with Ted and after a little conversation hired him thinking Ted would be a big help.

At the start of the tournament, Nik was paired with a club professional and a touring pro who wasn’t one of the named players you would normally see on television. There was little conversation during the round between the players but most of the conversation on the course was generally confined to the player and his caddy.

Nik had a good first round of golf and posted a two-under-par score. He repeated that score in the second round. His total two-round score total put him in the sixteenth position, six strokes behind the leader. More importantly, his total two-round score meant he had made the cut.

The television crew along with the reporters who were assigned to this event concentrated their efforts on the touring pros which was fine with Nik. It was interesting for Nik to see the attention that was given to the touring pros by the media.

For the third round of golf, Nik’s position in scoring had him paired with a touring pro who had won two tournaments already this year. This pro was nice enough as they introduce themselves to each other and shook hands at the first tee. After they teed off, however, that was it as to any further conversation between them.

Nik had another good round of golf and posted a three-under-par score which moved him up on the leaderboard. On the sixteenth hole, he caused the large group of spectators to roar when his shot from the rough about one hundred and thirty-five yards away hit the flagstick on its first bounce and dropped to one foot from the hole. He birdied that hole.

In walking off the eighteen green he could see the leaderboard and couldn’t help but smile in noticing he was now in sixth place, five strokes behind the leader. A man wearing a headphone came up to him and asked him to follow him to be interviewed on television by Lisa Thomas. Nik followed the man to the area the television people had set up for this interviewing to take place.

Nik had seen Lisa on television and thought she was one good-looking lady. She had a pretty face and long dark hair that when she wasn’t wearing it in a ponytail it came down to her very ample breasts. Her style of dress with the tailored tight blouses she wore and the short skorts that showed her gorgeous legs made her calendar material. She shook Nik’s hand in meeting him but she was all business.

“When we go live I am going to ask you how it feels to be in your position in being the leading club professional. I will also ask you to comment when we show the video of that shot you made where you hit the flagstick.”

While she was telling him this he was looking at her. He had the thought that while she looks good on television she looks even better in person. She had a presence to her that attracted him and he could only assume it would attract every man that she would meet. Nik in seeing her on television thought she had a nice figure but in seeing her in person he could tell that television didn’t do her justice.

In going live she introduced Nik to the audience and asked him the questions she said she would ask.

“First of all let me say that as a club professional it is a thrill to just be playing in this tournament with the best golfers in the world. As to my round, I felt I was hitting the ball good and a lot of credit for the score I posted goes to my caddy Ted Walsh who knows this course and was giving me advice on the distance and where I needed to hit the ball.”

When asked to comment on that shot that hit the flagstick Nik said, “While the ball was in the rough it was sitting up good so I could get my club on it. I was just hoping I could get the ball to the green and it hitting the flagstick was just blind luck, but I don’t mind being lucky. I wish I was lucky more often.”

That ended the televised interview. With the camera turned off Lisa thanked him for the interview and she momentarily gave him a look that puzzled him a little. She then started talking into a microphone asking who was going to be the next golfer they wanted her to interview.

Nik went to the driving range and hit some balls. There was something he noticed in his swing with his medium irons as to the golf ball’s flight that he wanted to work on.

After spending time on the range he was driven back to the hotel in one of the courtesy vehicles provided for this tournament. He took a shower and for dinner instead of eating at the restaurant in the hotel, he did a two-block walk to the Arby’s he had noticed there and had two roast beef sandwiches. There was something about their sauce that he drenched the sandwiches in that turned him on and made for a fine meal.

On coming back to the hotel he walked into a fairly crowded lounge, took a seat at the bar, and ordered a bottle of beer. He noticed a number of the golfers who were in the tournament in the lounge and then he noticed that there was a little hush in the conversation and they were all looking at him. As it turned out they weren’t looking at Nik but were looking at who sat on the barstool next to him. That person turned out to be Lisa Thomas.

“Be careful with the booze as you have a big day tomorrow,” she said.

“This is my first beer and that is only because I need to keep hydrated,” and Nik laughed after saying that which she joined in.

It was less than a minute later when one of the touring pros came up and started hitting on her. Lisa acknowledged his being there but at the same time politely ignored him and continued talking to Nik. That pro was replaced by another pro but he received the same treatment from her.

After the second pro had left Lisa said, “Most of these pro golfers, especially after they had a few drinks in them seem to think they are “God’s gift to women’” and they start hitting on me. Because of my work, I need to be nice to them but I wish they would just stop doing it. Hell, more than half of them are married.”

“You do know you are an attractive woman and it’s just in our male genes to want to be with a good-looking woman. Unfortunately, that is a curse that all beautiful women have. As soon as I finish this beer I am out of here and will be heading back to my room so you will be on your own.”