Old friends, Louisiana cooking and a shootout

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Mar. 25, 2009
By Bill Calfee, Nationwide Tour President

During our recent Policy Board meetings in Orlando, I was able to reconnect with some old friends at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard. It was a pleasure to catch up with Zach Johnson, Brandt Snedeker, Stewart Cink, David Toms and other Nationwide Tour alumni from throughout the years.

Calfee

They all seem to be excited for the alumni reunion our team will host at THE PLAYERS as part of our 20th celebration. In the true spirit of the Nationwide Tour, the party will be an informal barbeque with the Nationwide Tour Ops truck serving as the backdrop. It should be fun to hear the alumni across the generations reflect on their time on the Nationwide Tour and share stories with the members of the Nationwide Tour team.

I also had the opportunity to chat with Arnold at a dinner he hosted for the Board of Directors and our executive team. It is always a treat to spend some time with him and take the opportunity to thank him for his support of the Nationwide Tour. He has said many kind things over the years with respect to the Tour and how it uniquely prepares players to compete and win on the PGA TOUR relative to other avenues.

It's an exciting week on the Nationwide Tour with the launch of our domestic season at the Chitimacha Louisiana Open presented by Dynamic Industries. After four events abroad in Panama, Australia and New Zealand, it will be exciting to see who makes an early season statement. Reports are that the golf course is in fabulous condition and the players are ready. Travel schedules will prevent me from being there, but Louisiana will be at the top of my mind all week. In particular, I won't be able to forget missing out on all that great down-home Louisiana cooking, including pork chop sandwiches, crawfish and jambalaya! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

The forecast calls for some possible showers during the week which will keep the course relatively soft. As a result, look for lots of birdies and low scoring. It should be a real shootout!