3M Championship Day One - July 10, 2009

I didn’t think I’d have the chance to return to the 3M Championship golf tournament as a member of the media this soon. After the last two summers of working as a sports intern with the Blaine Sun Focus, I figured my time in the media tent was done, unless I ended up with a media job.

Since I’ve been working as an intern at North American Membership Group in Minnetonka after my graduation last December, I have been doing web work for the fishing, hunting and handyman magazines. But our company also has a golf magazine, the PGA Tour Partners Club.

I decided to come out to the tournament at TPC Twin Cities in Blaine kind of at the last minute after I had a lunch conversation with the Handyman Web editor, Gary. He talked to me about doing some freelancing, or maybe writing an article for the golf magazine to be posted on the Web site.

I couldn’t pass up another chance to have an experience as part of the media, so I called in for some press credentials and ended up at the tournament.

Friday was a beautiful day to be outdoors watching some of golf’s greats. And a beautiful day in Minnesota is pretty hard to come by. The crowds were pretty decent, at least from what I noticed when I wandered over to the first tee box, the ninth green and simply walking around the grounds.

The good numbers had to be due to this year’s free admission for the public. Tournament director Hollis Cavner decided to give back to the fans in light of all the support throughout the past 17 years of the event, and with the current economic situation. It was a gesture that fans seemed to take advantage of in earnest.

“I did it ‘cuz I could,” Cavner said. “I’ve been wanting to do it for years, and I just never could.”

I took it pretty easy on the first day of the 54-hole tourney. I mostly just got my feet wet again with the lovely media accomodations and putting on my reporter’s hat. But the highlight of the day would have to be when I came out of my “shy-bubble” a bit and chit-chatted with Star Tribune sports writer, Brian Stensaas.

We were both standing off the edge of the 18th green, and I asked him something about a previously hit ball. I countered later with, “Who do you write for?”

He asked the same of me, and then we did introductions and handshakes. I also asked him if he had a specific beat, then I mumbled something about how I would like to do that: write sports.

I didn’t stick around the whole afternoon to interview any of the first-round leaders. I knew I still had two days left, and it wasn’t like I needed to get a ton of information since I would be writing more of a feature piece instead of a recap.

Day one was a good day to get reaquainted with my media roots.