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On the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge
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By Natalie Gulbis
Recently, I participated in the Wendy's 3-Tour Challenge, my first event back after an almost two-month hiatus from competition, so it was very exciting! The Wendy’s 3-Tour is a very special event for me. It is the only Professional event that held in Las Vegas. Previously the event was held in Lake Las Vegas and has since moved to Rio Secco Golf Club, home of the Butch Harmon School of Golf. Butch is my instructor, so I spend a lot of time at the school. Even so, I was not very familiar with the course.
Since I was invited to represent the LPGA at this event a few months ago, I took every chance I had to chart the course. It has a great layout, winding through the canyons and providing an amazing view of the valley and the Las Vegas strip (My accommodations for the event were at Caesar's Palace on the famous Las Vegas strip. What an incredible hotel!). It is so pretty at the end of the day when you can see the city lights.
I got home on Thursday, four days before the tournament, and had a 3:00 am call time for a media day. We did 45 interviews from 3:00 to 8:00 and I started practice at 9:00 am. I was nervous and excited to compete again and had no idea what my game would be like. Butch was incredible and assured me that during the break I would forget most of my bad mechanics…of course he was right! The first day of practice was a little rusty, but my game progressed every day. I would spend at least two hours a day working on just my short game, in addition to my regular practice, which hits every aspect of my game. I played Sunday afternoon with Cristie Kerr and her coach. Cristie and I both were very excited about this event, where we would play against PGA tour players and Champions tour players, making it even more competitive and fun.
On Sunday all the pros were practicing together. It was fun to be around Nick Price and Bill Haas. They are such incredible ball strikers. Butch works with Stewart Cink, one of the nicest people you ever could meet. I don’t think Kenny Perry has touched the ground since America’s Ryder Cup victory. He was sharing so many stories from the cup, which was in his home state of Kentucky.
Monday was the Pro-Am for the event and also the skills challenge, broadcast on The Golf Channel. Butch hosted a Big Break style event. It was fun and light. My challenge was to break the glass, which I did on my fourth and final attempt... phew! What made the day special was that Butch was out there before, during and after the pro am. It’s special for me to have him at the event, coaching me through practice and how to play the course.
And, of course, the Pro-Am participants where surprised and thrilled to see Butch Harmon giving tips and cracking jokes all day. Matt Kilgariff, another one of the instructors at Butch’s school, caddied for me for the event. He knew the golf course and my game very well. I was excited to have him inside the ropes with me to read greens and help manage the course.
Monday night, my mom came in from Sacramento. It was so wonderful to see her. I had not seen her in almost three months so we had much to catch up on! My mom and I are really close. It does not matter where I am in the world; we talk every day. We had a great dinner at Palm Steakhouse. I love it there. I must; I had been there the previous three nights, too!
The Wendy’s event started early. The first tee time was 8:30 and I was in the second group with Rocco Mediate and Fred Funk. I was very nervous playing with guys... and at home... and with a microphone on for the round. I want to thank everyone from the Las Vegas community and all my friends who came out watch and cheer. The event was very intimate because the fans could walk on the fairways and we could interact with them in between shots. Thankfully, both Fred and Rocco were very fun and easy to play with. I can’t tell you who won, but I can tell you that he event will be broadcast on December 13 and 14 on ABC. I can also tell you that I shot 67 and was thrilled!
Go onto wendys3tour.com for more information. |
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