by Hannah Petrukovich

I am the type of sports fan that normally enjoys hard hits and fast moving plays. So when  asked if I would like to cover the 2011 BMW open at Cog Hill in Lemont IL,  I took the challenge in learning a sport that I never paid much attention to. The most I ever experienced of the sport was a driving range and a putt-putt course with a clown head at the end of it. So you can see this was way out of my element.

Saturday was the third round of a four round tournament. The players and spectators couldn’t have asked for a more perfect weather day to play.

Grabbing a favorite beverage, I proceeded to walk the course. There are two ways to watch a golf tournament.  One being, follow your favorite player from hole to hole supporting them through it all. The second, which seems to be the favorite among the spectators, is to camp out at one hole and then you get to see them all.
I began to follow Y.E. Yang, the 5’9” south Korean pro through the course. He finished the day at one under par. Moving from hole seventeen to the eighteen, I was able to watch as the top three players, Rose, Wilson, and Simpson finish their round. It was obvious the amount of skill and athleticism that is required to play the game of golf.

Each player has his own style in playing this game. Webb Simpson takes a long time to tee off, while Rose and Wilson appear to not think as much and just hit their shots.

At the end of the day, Rose finished two under par, Simpson finished two over par, and Wilson six over for the day.

When all is said and done I was glad I experienced this tournament at Cog Hill because this is the last year it will be played here.

There are so many positives to this sport - great family time, exercise, and beautiful surroundings. However, I am not quite ready to convert. Give me the hard hits and quick play of football or hockey.

For more information on the players and their standings you can visit www.pgatour.com.

Editor’s note: On Sunday, Rose won the tournament by two shots over John Senden.