THE US Women's Open Golf Championship is going to be this week. It will start on July 8 (early morning of July 9, Friday, our time) up to July 11, 2010. The venue is at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania is on the East Coast of the United States, therefore, there is a 12-hour difference. This means, we have to wake up very early in the morning if we want to watch it live. Or, we stay up very late the night before. Here we go again-4 days of not having enough sleep! I better make sure I have enough supply of coffee beans.
There will be 23 teenagers joining the open. Three of the teenagers are only 14 years old. I remember Chihiro Ikeda when she was still playing at Apo Golf Club. I met her when she was around 14 years old. Speaking of Chichang, she prefers to be called Hiro now. Hiro Ikeda is on her way to Hawaii for the qualifying round of the US Womens Amateur Golf Tournament. Good luck Hiro!
I would like to share something with you. It is the list of items that cannot be brought into the US Women's Open Golf Championship. I added some comments-enclosed in parenthesis.
Prohibited Items
No Cell Phones, including any cell phones with photographic capabilities. (seriously, no calls, no jejemon text messages and no wifi for about 6 hours? What a sacrifice!)
No PDAs and/or other Portable Email Devices. (FYI, PDA means personal digital assistant, not public display of affection. And no, you cannot kiss the participants. And no streaking!)
No Noise Producing Electronic Devices. (I cannot think of one electronic device that does not make a sound. BTW, is "music" considered noise? What about mp3 players with headphones?)
No Cameras and/or Camcorders, other than Monday through Wednesday for personal photographic use only and without their cases. (I wonder why the cases are not allowed to be brought there)
No Bags or backpacks larger than 8"W x 8"H x 8"D in its natural state. (solution-wear a vest with huge pockets)
No Cases and/or Covers, such as chair or umbrella covers. (because instead of the original contents, you can hide weapons? Perhaps)
No Signs, Posters and/or Banners. (solution-wear a white t-shirt and print your sign there, or a huge white towel)
No Televisions and/or Radios. (disadvantage-you don't know how the other players are doing)
No Food and/or Beverage. (huh? Not even water bottles?)
No Containers and/or Coolers. (yes, I will not bring my ice box)
No Pets, other than service animals. (yes! a seeing eye dog is allowed. A blind man can now enjoy the tournament.)
No Lawn and/or Folding Armchairs. (solution-bring a folding wheelchair!)
No Bicycles. (understandable, it might leave marks on the fairways)
No Ladders. (oh that's too bad. I cannot bring my favorite ladder to the tournament!)
No Metal-spiked Golf Shoes. (are metal-spiked golf shoes still in circulation?)
No Weapons, regardless of permit, including but not limited to firearms or knives. (I wonder if you're allowed to bring a golf club to the tournament)
Any other items deemed unlawful or dangerous by the USGA and/or Championship Security Personnel, in their sole discretion. (yes, I agree)
Please be reminded that The Open Championship is next week. FYI, it is the British Open Golf Championship, but it is more popularly known as The Open Championship. The tournament is going to be on July 15-18, 2010 and the venue is at The Old Course at St. Andrews, Scotland. Just so you know, we are ahead by 7 hours.
That means-we will be watching the tournament live in the evening, unlike the US Women's Open, which is very early in the morning.
I am looking forward to the 2 major tournaments this coming couple of weeks. I hope you are too.