A Player, Politician and Musician (Super Piece on the Viking/Mississippi)

A Player, Politician and Musician (Super Piece on the Viking/Mississippi)

Last Wednesday I played golf with a tour pro, a politician and a musician. Experts in their field, they also birdied the categories: class, camaraderie and sportsmanship.

It was the Wednesday pro-am of the Viking Classic at Annandale Golf Club in Madison, Miss. Designed by Jack Nicklaus, Annandale, which is private, opened in 1981. It’s a par 72 and tips out at 7,177 yards. Like most courses on tour, Annandale featured narrow fairways, long rough and fast greens. I shook like Shakira when I had to hit my first tee shot in front of a gallery.

Considering the event was up against the Ryder Cup, it had a solid field (Daly, Duval and Toms were a decent draw) and for the first time, Commissioner Tim Finchem stopped by. He participated in a cooking demonstration on Wednesday afternoon. He made a delicious Chinese dish, but he served cardboard on the plate of personality. Poor guy, he tried. I wondered if his visit to Mississippi was less about culinary class and more about circling the sponsorship wagons during a turbulent economy.

My pro was Billy Andrade.

golfdigest.com
9/22/08