CA Course Reporters: Sunday entries

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Editor's note: Courtney Burris, Johnie Freatman and Owais Durrani will be blogging this week at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship. The three are part of the CA Course Reporters program. Check back each day to see what they have to say.

Archive: Wednesday's entries | Thursday morning | Thursday afternoon | Friday morning | Friday afternoon | Saturday morning | Saturday afternoon

Reflecting on a week of memories
By Owais Durrani

Wow! What a week, from sitting down with Retief Goosen to meeting Eddie Carbone, to seeing the humility of players like Boo Weekley, this has been a week I will remember for the rest of my life. Today we watched some more golf and spent some quality time together. All in all I will take a few themes from this tournament that I will share with others all my life

First of all, I truly realized the importance of volunteerism. Volunteering is not a burden and should not be, but is a privilege that makes one more complete and helps others. From seeing the generosity of the volunteers on the course to learning about how whole families volunteered in an event like this championship was amazing. I learned and will pass on to others the importance of volunteering and the joy received from volunteering.

Now to one of the most important things I learned. From Joe Rose to Eddie Carbone to Chris Reimer -- they all said that we should never give up on what we want to do and to always keep pushing during highs and lows. Everyone has low points and high points in their lives -- those are the times that define us most and those are the times we need to live up to our potentials. These few tips are priceless and will travel with me no matter where I go in life.

Finally I will take away the humility of the PGA TOUR. When most people think of the TOUR, there comes to mind the millions of dollars, the paparazzi and plush green courses. Well, this week I learned there are many other things besides those, like Birdies for the Brave, helping out with the Boys and Girls Club and the mass amount of charity dollars raised for The First Tee. The TOUR really helps to give back to the community and affect the lives of those surrounding them in a positive way. By actively helping the community, the contributions of the PGA TOUR to the communities they affect are priceless!

And now to thank the wonderful people who gave us an experience of a lifetime. Thanks to Trish Lange, J.R. Steinbauer, Marc Raiken, Chris Reimer, Helen Ross, Eddie Carbone, Joe Rose and the countless others who helped us navigate through the back allies of this great tournament. A HUGE AMOUNT OF CREDIT GOES TO CA AND THEIR STAFF FOR DOING SUCH A WONDERFUL THING FOR US. They really affected our lives in a positive way and for that I am thankful. I am really appreciative toward all these people. I now want to send a shout out to a few people back home. Thanks to my father, mother, and brother, Kumail, for being supportive of me through this experience. Thanks also to Mr. David and Mr. Tirrel, my First Tee coaches who have also supported me. Thanks to everyone at Golf Smith for being supportive: Thanks Jerry, Michel, Tom, Gilbert, Darren, William, John, Pat, and everyone else (I know I am forgetting someone). Finally A HUGE THANKS A LOT JAKE RICKER AND CHRIS WERLE (the guy with the awesome hair) FOR BEING OUR MENTORS, OUR GUIDES, AND MOST OF ALL OUR FRIENDS. I had the pleasure of enjoying this experience with two great people, Johnny and Courtney -- best of luck to them in all of their future endeavors. Thanks everyone for an experience of a lifetime. One last time -- take care!

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A great week; itching to play
By Courtney Burris

When you are presented with great opportunities always embrace them with open arms. This past week has been one of those great opportunities for me and I sure hate to see it go. Fortunately, I know that I have come away with so much experience and gained a wealth of knowledge. Every single person I met had something a little different to say. Two main things that I heard more than once were to make yourself marketable and not to ever give up. I am most certainly going to do my best to do those things in the next few years since I really want to be in this business.

I realize, however, that I would not have gained this experience without the hard work and contributions from so many companies and individuals. I want to say thank you to CA, Mr. John Swainson and all of his great employees for giving me this wonderful opportunity. Their generosity is truly immeasurable! I also want to thank Jake Ricker and Chris Werle for all of their hard work this week in getting us where we need to go and introducing us to the right people. I would like to thank The First Tee for putting this opportunity in front of me and for all of the other opportunities that I have been a part of in the past. Har-Ber High School -- I am still saluting the beacon of the West while I am here! I hope those souvenir golf balls help with the amount of unexcused absences I have. The list could go on and on forever. I have learned a lot this week about how many people it takes to put on an event like this. I honestly do not think I could name every single person who has helped me this week, but I sincerely thank them all.

After watching and reporting about all this golf, I definitely have that golfing bug. I can't wait to play! Hopefully when I get back to the Natural State it will be reasonably warm and maybe I won't have too much homework. (I am begging!) Thank you all for reading my blog. It has been great fun for me and I really hope you enjoyed reading all about my experiences!

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Putting things into perspective
By John Freatman, Jr.

As devoted golf fans, it is easy for us to lose focus on what is really important in life. The results are often treated like life or death when in reality there are far more important things. For example, as we watch golfers vying for the title on Sunday afternoon, there are American troops fighting for their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. Thankfully, the PGA TOUR has recognized this and is doing an admirable job of keeping the attention where it should be.

This week at the World Golf Championships-CA Championship, there is much being done for the bravest men and women of America. As Tiger Woods has done at his tournament, all military personnel receive free admission. In addition, there is a lounge for military personnel and their families called "Patriots' Outpost," an extension of "Birdies for the Brave." Here, the military can enjoy food and play video games when not enjoying the on-course action.

It is inspiring to see players get behind this cause, as people like Boo Weekley, Davis Love III and others have spent time to interact with America's heroes. Boo provided an unforgettable memory for all involved when playing Xbox live against soldiers stationed in Germany. Boo clearly doesn't have much video game experience, as evidenced by his initial inability to figure out the game controls. He was 4 down through four holes prior to giving up and proclaiming "You guys have too much time on your hands!"

As the last blog of this week, there are many people I am indebted to and need to thank. First off, CA has been absolutely amazing in bringing three course reporters here and providing each one of us with a truly unforgettable experience. The First Tee of Greater Seattle deserves a shout-out, as I would not be here were it not for them. I am fortunate to have met two amazing kids and developed strong friendships with Courtney Burris and Owais Durrani. Most importantly, I would like to thank my mom and the rest of my family for supporting my dreams and being with me every step of my way. And lastly, I would like to thank you, the readers. I hope you have gotten a new perspective on various aspects of the tournament through my blogs. My dream is that you'll eventually be hearing a lot more from me.