Tas-Tee goes to The Players at TPC Sawgrass!

The Tas-Tee Road Trip made its' biggest stop of the year this week at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra, just outside of Jacksonville, Florida.  The Tas-Tee Team arrived on Tuesday via our friends at SW and promptly went straight to the course, driven by a retired Air Force Fighter Pilot so we made incredible time.  Tas-Tee spent the day catching up with "old acquaintances" like Sneds, Hossler and Jordan in the practice area behind the driving range and planned out Wednesday's activities. 

The Tas-Tee Team was able to catch up with our Texas guys as they started their practice round off the 10th tee around 1030am.  The team was invited to walk with "The Texas Group" which included Jordan Spieth, Beau Hossler, Ryan Palmer and Cody Gribble.  As the guys tried to dial in their game, Tas-Tee made several connections and by round's end, we were all set for the upcoming week of tournament play.  While most of the Tas-Tee Team left after the Texas Group finished practicing, Jason stayed on site and was able to join up with Masters Champ, Patrick Reed again.  This was their first meeting since Team Reed won the Masters and Jason was extremely excited to be able to congratulate Pat, Kess and Justine in person.

On Friday, The Tas-Tee Team set up a remote office at the walkway right off the most famous hole in golf; the par 3 17th at TPC Sawgrass.  The infamous island green has been the stage for some of the most dramatic moments in golf but our Tas-Tee moment with David Lingmerth's group was by far our favorite. 

David pulled his tee shot left and quickly disposed of his club on the follow through.  The ball hit the left portion of the green, bounced hard and proceeded to roll down the narrow walkway, right towards our Tas-Tee rep Jason.  As you can see in the video, Jason was able to command the ball to stop before diving into the water.  Great work Jason! See the live video here:

David's next shot wasn't his best effort either and again he got lucky with the favorable bounce on the walkway. David's third shot was probably his most difficult of the hole.  Feet on the bulk head, over water for 90% of the shot to the back pin placement and he almost made it for par! He did tap in for an entertaining bogey but that Tas-Tee moment would prove to be the basis for an even better story.  Watch the video and read "Tas-Tee at the Byron Nelson" for the rest of the Lingmerth tale. 

On Championship Sunday, aka Pay Day for these guys, especially at The Players, the Tas-Tee Team was set up at the 4th tee box and quickly made some friends by handing out some swag.  Our team was able to watch the best golfers in the world tee off mere feet from the impact of the tee shot!  Some great video of the Spieth/Woods pairing and the crowd that followed.  Also got some great footage of eventual winner Webb Simpson, who, after Friday's round where he was literally making EVERYTHING, repeated the great play on Saturday and had to remain stellar as he closed on a star-studded field of pursuers.  

Webb and his family have a great golf story, as most of these professionals do, but I'll encourage you to read an article so you can get a better perspective as to what golf can do for individuals as well as families.  It really is a beautiful thing and Tas-Tee will continue to pursue stories and moments like the ones we witnessed at TPC Sawgrass. 

....now back to Texas for some home games!