The second day of the 2010 PGA Championship started with yet another weather delay. The thick fog that greeted fans and players on Thursday returned on Friday morning. Tee times were bumped back two hours and forty minutes on Friday. The running total on weather delays at Whistling Straits is five hours and fifty six minutes through two days. These delays prevented nearly half of the field from finishing the first round on Thursday with the last first round score submitted around 1:00pm today.

Whistling Straits was designed to replicate the Scottish golfing experience. The lake winds knock down a lot of balls and the fog has plenty of places to rest in the morning. The rough patches on the course look familiar to anyone who has seen highlights from the British Open. These images are great but they do not capture the down-to-earth experience of attending a sporting event in a rural area. The 2010 PGA Championship may sound like a high-brow event but Whistling Straits attracts a broad audience.

Reporters and fans alike start out by parking in several farm fields outside of Whistling Straits. The roads and highways leading to Whistling Straits are watched carefully by Wisconsin State Patrol officers. Parking lots are regulated by dedicated volunteers willing to spend hours herding cars and trucks through muddy fields. I have to admit that my thoughts throughout the first two days have been split between tournament action and the prospect of my car sinking into a field. The latter has not occurred yet though the ongoing humidity and nightly rains threaten to ruin the footwear of every fan at the tournament.

The security at Whistling Straits was very effective without using an excessive number of guards and volunteers. Media members and fans arrived by shuttle at their respective gates and have their tickets scanned by security personnel. Fans could not bring cell phones into the event as I found out in a conversation with one crestfallen fan. Compared to other sporting events, the security seemed to get people into the event without long lines or excessive grousing by fans.  

I have noticed that the staid environment usually assigned to golf courses seems to be a myth. Maybe I have seen Caddyshack far too often but I assumed everyone would be more like Judge Smails than Al Czervik. I heard a fair amount of chatter and yelling even as the volunteers raised their hands to quiet the crowd. I was surprised to see and smell cigarette smoke at points throughout the course. Several onlookers within the sight lines of the 10^th hole used umbrellas to keep out the sun but blocked views for many fans. Perhaps these observations stem from naivety on my part but I assumed a bit more decorum from a crowd interested in golf.

My assumption prior to attending the PGA Championship was that there would be little difference between the apparel worn by fans and players. This assumption was based on a perfect world where the temperature did not exceed 90 degrees and fans could float from hole to hole. I am glad that my notions about fan apparel did not come to fruition if only for the health of my fellow observers. I was concerned with fans of all ages that opted for sandals instead of shoes given the long walks between holes.

The players have limited options when it comes to apparel due to sponsorship requirements and PGA rules. Many golfers went with lighter colors to fight the heat. The talk of the first two rounds in terms of apparel was the wild outfit worn by John Daly on Thursday. Fans may have been surprised by Daly’s orange and white patchwork pants but it was a refreshing bit of originality among a field given to bland apparel.