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By Bobby Hall
Special to PGATOUR.com

MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Duffy Waldorf thoroughly enjoys the sport he plays and the friends he makes along the way. This week is a special one for the big guy in the colorful shirts that would make a Hawaiian florist proud.

"I try to keep golf light-hearted and have fun with it," he said.

Duffy Waldorf's clothes make him one of the most colorful players on TOUR. (Feldman/WireImage)

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

Waldorf in Memphis

Year Finish Score to Par 2006 T-28 +2 2003 78 +10 1999 CUT Even 1997 T-61 -2 1995 T-21 -10 1994 T-10 -13 1991 CUT +1 1990 CUT +1 1989 CUT +7 1988 T-57 +1 1987 CUT +6

AUDIO

• XM Interview:  Duffy Waldorf

Otherwise, why would he allow family and friends to draw personal inscriptions and write messages on the golf balls he uses on the PGA TOUR?

"Things like that show golf is just a game -- enjoy it," Waldorf said.

So when sirens signaled a weather delay Friday at the Stanford St. Jude Championship -- only seconds after the early-starting Waldorf had completed a 1-under-par 69 -- he thrust his right arm skyward in mock celebration.

"I had just signed my scorecard and the horn blows," he said, with a smile. "You can't ask for any more than that. We still could have been stuck out there on the course and have to come back."

The fact that it was his second consecutive 69 in terribly windy conditions at TPC Southwind was worth celebrating. Nevermind that a TV guy's microphone malfunctioned at the start of an interview.

"I love working with pros, huh?" he said, feigning seriousness, as the media guy asked for a brief timeout.

It was all part of a fun moment.

After 36 holes, Waldorf is 2-under par and solidly on the leaderboard, despite getting into the field as the 13th alternate. And he's having a great time, staying with a Memphis family he met 20 years ago when he and his newlywed wife decided to seek private housing during Tournament Week.

"My wife didn't think it was a honeymoon," he said, smiling.

There's only a minor concern about his sleeping arrangements this week -- in a colorful room with posters of Sponge Bob Square Pants, Yoda, Batman, Jerry Seinfeld and other characters from movies and TV.

"I feel kind of badly because I'm using the room, and the kids need to get in there and get stuff," Waldorf said. "But the bed is comfortable and fits me fine."

Waldorf and the Hailey family of Germantown are having a great time this year, as they have for a long time.

"It's been pretty neat, especially seeing how our families change," Waldorf said. "At the start they had two young children -- just babies -- and we had none. It's fun to see them going from toddlers to college."

With a laugh, he said, "I don't feel like I've aged at all, but the kids have."

Waldorf, 44, is a solo boarder this week, but a couple of years ago he and his wife Vicky brought their four kids.

"We brought the whole gang out," he said. "Fortunately, the Haileys have the (size) house for it. There are not many places where you can house nine kids and still be sane."

Of course, such a throng makes it easy to find designer artists for his golf balls.

"In 1992 I started to mark with seven dots of different colors," he said. "We had two kids at that point and we had a nanny traveling with us. She was a pretty good artist, and she drew a few designs and they looked pretty good. We decided this wasn't a bad idea, so my wife and I started doing the designs, too."

Soon his kids were old enough to scribble.

"Kids like to scribble, you know," he said. "So I'd give them a ball and they'd just scribble, scribble... and I'd say, 'That's good.'"

This week he's getting design help from the Haileys.

"They knocked out about 12 balls on Tuesday night," he said. "I've got another dozen for the weekend. I'm in pretty good shape."

And what about those flowery shirts?

Apparently, he has plenty of those, too.

"I've gone through phases with the shirts," he said. "At first I wore very bright vertical stripes, then I went to solid shirts in bright colors, and since 2000, I've been wearing the flowered shirts because I like the Hawaiian style."

Waldorf, who has four TOUR victories but none since 2000, is hoping for a good weekend. He has played in nine events this year and missed the cut in four. He's 156th on the money list with $170,342.

"The first two days have been a survival test," said Waldorf, who chipped in twice for birdies on Thursday. "It's been like playing in a U.S. Open or another major. There are very few birdie holes out there. With the wind, there's nothing easy about it."

Waldorf, who is playing in Memphis for the 12th time, has been baffled by the wind, as has the rest of the field.

"It's really kind of weird," he said, with a puzzled expression. "They changed the greens here three years ago to make them firm and fast, and it seems like the wind has blown ever since. There were years here when the wind didn't blow all.

"With wind and firm greens, it makes a huge difference. Suddenly the greens just shrink and the fairways shrink, and the targets get much smaller."