TV Spotter for the 4-day/72 hole PGA Tournament- the CIMB Classic at The Mines Golf Club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
There are hardly any words worthy of describing the phenomenal experience of the CIMB Classic I just had the privilege of being a part of at the Mines Golf Club here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Wow, what a truly unforgettable memory of 6 days volunteering for this newly exciting SE Asia PGA Tour event. I feel so fortunate, especially as a fan of the sport as well as a golfer myself :)!
I made it into the local newspaper- the New Straights Times here in KL standing just behind Tiger Woods to his right….and looking very serious I might add :)!
The Mines Golf Club was a stunning backdrop for the 48 players that showed up in this October’s tournament, comprised of some of the biggest names from the PGA Tour as well as top seeds from the Asean Tour. From Tiger Woods & Bo Van Pelt (2011 CIMB Classic winner) to Nick Watney & Jason Dufner, the playing field was ripe with competition and all the guys showed up to put their best foot forward. This exclusive course was in pristine condition…..and I’m sure it helped tremendously to have closed it down for a month prior in order to get the grass “just so”. The golfers also dodged a bullet as the rain held off every day until about 10 minutes after all players finished their rounds….talk about perfect timing! The workers at The Mines did a stand up job as well preparing for the possibility of rain- every morning following the storms the course was as dry as it could be with everything draining downhill extremely well, given the afternoon downpours here in Malaysia :). The hospitality tents, media center, spectator pathways and concessions were all well thought out and held everything together in unison. Truly, the preparation for this years CIMB Classic paid off big time and I know that next year will be even more amazing.
The Leader-board after Day 3
As far as the tournament itself, the obvious excitement of some of the lesser known names from the Asean Tour being paired with top ranked American PGA players made for some interesting and surprising rounds. I can only imagine how nervous some of those guys were who were paired with the likes of Woods, Van Pelt, Dufner, and Watney but every player was a gentleman and some big upsets made for some great “come from behind” stories throughout the 4-day tourney :).
Picture of the driving range from the First Tee Box
You may be asking yourself- “how did she get so involved”? Well, let me tell you that it was a combination of hearing about it through my Ladies Expat Golfing Society (LEGS), as well as through my friend Emma at our local gym who was actually the “head honcho” for amassing the volunteers from the expat community. I was 1 of over 400 hundred volunteers signed up to help out. The nationalities of the volunteers ranged from British, Irish, Scottish, Australian, Canadian, Malaysia…and about a handful of Americans. The volunteers could not have been any friendlier. I had such a positive experience with them all and I swear haven’t laughed that much in a long time. I know that I walked away from this experience having made some amazing new friends out of it!
Nick Watney receiving his trophy for winning the 2012 CIMB Classic after a stellar round of 61 on Sunday to finish 22 under par for the tournament!
Luckily due to the fact that I know golf, speak english, and am a naturally active participant, I was given some pretty hefty jobs to carry out. Tuesday I helped with player services- meaning I signed the players & their caddies in & had them sign various memorabilia used throughout the week. Wednesday while the ProAm was going on, I was with media and assisted in the Van Pelt, Woods, Crane, Dufner, and Watney TV interviews. To cap that off, Thursday through Sunday I was a TV Spotter for the Golf Channel!! All of my duties throughout the week were absoltuely thrilling but the TV spotter duty was far and away the most exciting thing I have done in a very long time!! I walked with the players “inside the ropes” & radioed in to the producers where each ball landed & what shot they were hitting next so that the TV’s scattered along the course could zero in on their next shot. For a golf enthusiast….this was a once in a lifetime opportunity!!I worked with Tiger Woods & Marcus Fraiser Thursday, Tiger Woods & JBe Kruger Friday, JBe Kruger & Robert Garrigus Saturday, and Robert Garrigus & Bo Van Pelt on Sunday. Walking with Phil Parsons from The Golf Channel, chatting it up with Joe (Tiger’s Caddy), and spending time with some of the wives as we walked was simply astounding. I feel so very fortunate and cannot wait to do this again next year!
My sister back in the states scored some great sightings of me via The Golf Channel- so fun!
Although I had such a blast, I will say that my one disappointment was the lack of other fellow American volunteers. The PGA is an American association and the majority of the players, caddies, and PGA staff were Americans themselves (at this particular tournament), flying all the way out to Malaysia from their respective home states. I’m a bit surprised at how this happened so I’m going to make it my goal to find out details from the lead volunteers early next year and plan to spread the word as much as I can. For those of you who are interested in donating your time next year, please comment below with your email address or email me at intlnabers@gmail.com and I will make sure to put you on the list for 2013!!
Happy Golfing :):)!
Kimbra
PS- I am sorry for the lack of pictures….I wish I could have gathered more but there was a strict policy against the use of cameras, especially for the volunteers, which is understandable. Those players need to stay focused!
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