Other than a greeting when I picked them up and a "have a good day/evening," when I dropped them off, I spoke only when spoken to while volunteering as a player shuttle during the 2010 U.S. Open Championship at Pebble Beach.
I figured the players, their family or other members of their entourage should not have to put up with a chatty Kathy while being shuttled to and from the 1st or 10th tees. The players, in particular, had more important things to talk and think about ... like how to win what is arguably the biggest major championship in golf on what is one of the most beautiful courses in the world. Another thing that helped me keep my mouth shut was the risk of sounding stupid. Many times I wanted to ask, "So, who are you," but I did not think that would go over well.
I regretted my lack of initiative one time - when Erik Compton climbed into the backseat.
Compton is a heart recipient twice over. He was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy at the age of nine. He received his first heart transplant at 12 from a teen donor who had been killed by a drunken driver, then a second just two years ago. His second heart came from Isaac Klosterman, a volleyball player for the University of Dayton, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident.
Klosterman's family was with Compton at the championship. It was the first time Compton had played Pebble.
I did not know who Compton was until I watched a profile segment on him on the Golf Channel the week of the U.S. Open, and I hoped I would get to see him.
I looked at him in the rearview mirror several times as I took him, his father and several others from the 10th tee to the shuttle staging area. My brain was screaming at me to say something - something like, "You are an inspiration" - but I never did. I was sure he had heard those words many times before. Maybe he would have liked hearing them again; I'll never know.
He missed the halfway cut by nine strokes. To me, the more important thing was that he was there.
I kept missing other "big name" players by mere minutes.
Tiger Woods, Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Tom Watson, Lee Westwood. They all slipped through my fingers, I am sorry to say. Instead, more often than not, I would be driving standard bearers, members of a player's entourage or other volunteers. And, back in line at either the 1st or 10th tee or the shuttle staging area, loaders would smile at me in consolation and say what I grew accustomed to hearing:
"You just missed (insert a famous player name here)."
On my second day of volunteering, I watched a young man walk up to the car I was driving and hop in the backseat. We both wondered aloud why volunteers were closing the gate in front of us, blocking the exit, then a few minutes later, the young man realized he needed to be in a different car to get to the 1st tee.
He climbed out and seconds later, another driver stuck his head through my driver's side window.
"Do you know who that is?" he asked, his eyes wide.
"No," I replied.
"Rory McIlroy."
"Who's that?" I asked.
McIlroy has been called the "next big thing." Ernie Els had said the young professional could be the next No. 1, and Trevor Immelman predicted the 21-year-old could slip on a green jacket in the near future. He's one of the longest hitters in the game and was paired with Tom Watson and Ryo Ishikawa on the first day of tournament play.
Ishikawa, also known as the "Bashful Prince," is another rising star. He posted the first 58 on a major tour when he won The Crowns tournament in Nagoya in May. I found him in my car last week in a stunning outfit - Pepto Bismol pink clothes from head to toe.
Would I volunteer at another U.S. Open Championship? You bet I would, especially if I get to drive around in a Lexus LX like I did at Pebble.
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