Furyk's a Mudder and so am I

The Wachovia finished in the rain Sunday and so did my weekend competition. Jim Furyk outdueled Trevor Immelman over the course of a 6 hour round Sunday, amidst the deluge. But holy cow did you see (no, you couldn't because CBS didn't show it) or hear about Goosen's big, fat nine on the closing par-4 18th? My pick for the tournament hit 3 shots in the creek, fell from 3rd place into a tie for 10th and blew over $250,000 on one hole with that disaster. Wow...

Saturday was the day to watch, though. I went in the afternoon and they had everyone on the course in threesomes. The weather and golfing conditions were perfect. I got around to about half the holes -- walking past 11 just in time for Adam Scott to hole out from the fairway for an eagle and the lead. We planted at 14 for awhile. Great spot. You get to see some guys go for this short, dogleg left par-4 with their tee shots and see the rest of them lay up and try to spin one close. You can also see the 17th green (peninsula par 3) across the pond.

We also spent 45 minutes in the shade behind the par-5 15th, watching several of the contenders go at it in 2. Most came up short and had to scramble for bird. We finished at 18, watching the last 6 groups or so finish from the grandstand. All-in-all, a pretty good tour of the 3rd round of play.

In my own competition, I ended it after two rounds basically, with good rounds Friday and Saturday. Good for me is 89, 87. That got me a Wachovia Championship branded shirt on Saturday afternoon and made Sunday a just-for-fun round (which doesn't sound right, considering the rain). After a brutal front-nine 50, I mudded out a 42 and closing birdie on the back. 92 in the rain is pretty good for me.

How to be a mudder: bring several towels (the beach towel variety), an umbrella (duh), an extra glove, and extra patience. We had to stop for about 30 minutes at one point to let the heavy rain blow through. We waited it out under some trees that blocked most of it. Take a towel with you to your shots -- you'll be walking to your ball because of the cart rule -- so you can keep the clubs you don't use dry while you hit. And have fun. You must love golf to be playing in the rain, right?