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Golf stars, course share stage
By BRANT JAMES, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- Sue Dockery and Ronald Shields had a good lie. In the shade, backs against the ropes cordoning off the 10th tee, the Brooksville residents would have a prime spot once the throng lining the ninth fairway turned its attention to the next hole at World Woods. Minutes later, more firmly pressed against the barrier, they had their patience rewarded when PGA touring pros David Toms and Phil Mickelson strode under raised ropes and sized up the par 3. "This is just great," Shields said. "This is so great to have something like this here." Nearly six months of planning culminated Tuesday when the northern Hernando County course hosted the made-for-television Shell's Wonderful World of Golf event. Judging by the rapt crowd of more than 2,500 fans, the head-to-head stroke play event, won by a stroke by Mickelson with a 3-under-par 68, was worth it.
The smile on the face of World Woods director of golf Stan Cooke signaled that management, which paid $350,000 to land the event, happily concurred. "We're absolutely ecstatic," he said. "From the condition of the golf course to the weather, everything . . . perfect." Cooke was so happy he chose to disregard a blatant snub of course rules by Toms and Mickelson: use of metal spikes. "I think we'll overlook it," he said, smiling. Dockery, an anthropology student at USF, and Shields, a real estate broker, were enticed into paying the $50 admission because the deal was "just too good," he said. Each ticket was redeemable for one round of golf at World Woods, which is rated annually as one of the best in the southeastern United States by golf publications. Off-season rounds cost from $40 to $65. Spying famous golfers at World Woods was nothing new for Dockery and Shields -- they once let Mark O'Meara and Tiger Woods play through there early one morning -- but "the crush" might have helped seal the decision to attend Tuesday. "I have this mad crush on Phil Mickelson," Dockery said. Sean-Paul VerLee, 28, an aspiring pro golfer and guitarist who lives in Homosassa, also has some strong feelings about Mickelson after helping cater a pre-tournament dinner Monday at Southern Woods. Mickelson left a $5 tip for a soda and a water, then a $100 bill to be split among the servers.
"Everyone was hounding him for autographs, and for him to think to come back and be that generous was great," VerLee said. "For me, trying to be where he is, it lets me know when I get there, that's how you act." World Woods had planned to sell up to 5,000 tickets through general admission and corporate packages, but half that proved to be just about right. The confines of the course made the attendance seem larger and should play well on the event's Oct. 7 broadcast on ESPN. Any more fans might have stressed the course's finite parking resources. Traffic before and after was slow but manageable -- most came off the Suncoast Parkway exit near the course's U.S. 98 entrance. Feeding, and more important, hydrating the crowd on a near 90 degree day was a major task for combined staffs of World Woods, Sugarmill Woods and Southern Woods. Food service workers used about 1,400 cases of soda, water, sports drinks and beer, hundreds of pounds of ice and roughly 500 hamburgers and 1,080 hot dogs. Shawn Rhodes of Homosassa was doing a lot of the burger flipping on a portable grill, but still was able to sneak a peek at some putting because the food stand was centered between three holes. By the time Mickelson and Toms finished the 12th, sending the crowd through the food court en route to the 13th, he sounded more like a company commander than a golf fan. "I think they're coming for a third pass," he said of the crowd. "I can hear them stomping." Mike Beckwith, a deputy with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and Central High's boys golf coach, had one of the better vantage points Tuesday. As part of a four-man detail, he was assigned to protect Toms. With no incidents to quash, he had plenty of time to enjoy the view from within the ropes. "Up and close and personal," he said, waiting for Toms to drive the 10th. "What a tough way to spend a day, huh?" -- Brant James can be reached toll-free at 1-800-333-7505, ext. 1407. Send e-mail to brant@sptimes.com.
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