Upholding a Standard: Four Days in Naples and a Thank You to Golf

“I must really want that round of golf.” This thought went through my head several times during the course of the four-day CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. As I paraded around the course as a standard bearer in the LPGA’s season-ending tournament at the Tiburon Golf Club, I came to the realization that the reward for my efforts — a round of golf at Tiburon sometime next summer for completing at least three shifts — may not have been worth the toll being exacted on my feet. By my fourth and final round on the course, I realized that I will have walked 72 holes to have the pleasure of one day riding around it for 18.

Volunteer uniform, badge, and golf ball signed by Danielle Kang following Round 3 of the CME Group Tour Championship. Image courtesy of Travis Puterbaugh.

Yes, I was a sucker, but I knew that it had been well worth it. All of it.

My journey in golf began in 2014 when I became the curator of the World Golf Hall of Fame & Museum in St. Augustine, Florida. Along the way I had experiences I never would have thought possible when my museum career began. The possibility of working with a golf collection never entered my mind, but the game grew on me almost immediately, and in particular, I took a liking to the LPGA.

There was something accessible about the women’s tour which made it more enjoyable to watch than the men’s game. The personalities seemed more genuine, the game looked more graceful, and thanks to a scorecard digitization initiative between the Hall of Fame and LPGA, I spent time scanning tournament scorecards every week, slowly but surely learning about the women’s game.

That’s how it got started. A passion for the LPGA that involved attending 11 tournaments in person, including the 2016 International Crown outside of Chicago where I got to walk inside the ropes as an “assistant” to a friend with media credentials. It involved setting up fantasy LPGA leagues with co-workers at the Hall of Fame, arranging my weekend schedule around LPGA broadcasts on the Golf Channel, and working with the museum’s collection to make it more inclusive of its female membership as well as current LPGA stars who would one day join the Hall of Fame ranks. It also included getting to write about legends of the game from Louise Suggs to Judy Rankin to Karrie Webb and contribute these stories for readers of this website (Links to Travis Puterbaugh’s Hall of Fame articles).

When I left the Hall of Fame and the golf industry in October 2021, it seemed like that chapter of my life had closed more permanently than Greg Norman’s chances of ever again captaining in the Presidents Cup. Yet there was still one thing remaining I wanted to accomplish in my golf journey: serve as a standard bearer at an LPGA event.

The CME Group Tour Championship would serve as the logical site of this “Bucket List” experience. I attended the event every year from 2015 through 2019, looking forward to a few days in Naples as the start of a long Thanksgiving holiday week off from work. Over time I became familiar with the layout of the golf course, the rhythms of the tournament, and always enjoyed planning which days I would either walk the back 9 with a group, set up a chair next to a Par 3 hole if I felt tired, or finagle my way into one of the luxury suites on the 18th hole (usually Sunday).

Alison Lee and her caddie patiently wait at the 6th tee for the fairway to clear during the 2nd round of the CME Group Tour Championship. Image courtesy of Travis Puterbaugh.

The idea of volunteering at the CME appealed to me because I would get to see the tournament from the other side. Volunteers are the heart of any golf tournament, and it would be exciting to be part of that effort. Oh, and the chance to eventually play for free on the same course mastered by championship Ko’s Lydia and Jin Young? Sign me up.

My introduction to the role of standard bearer began fortuitously on the first day of the tournament with a dream pairing: Brooke Henderson and Minjee Lee, Major Championship winners and two of the best golfers in the world. “Brooke’s Brigade,” her loyal following of Canadian fans, ensured that it would be a lively gallery, and as the second to last group of the day, it was sure to get ample television coverage. In other words, a great way to start.

The guidelines for a standard bearer are fairly simple, and I learned them quickly: keep up and shut up. There are some others, such as making sure your plastic numbers are organized and easily accessible, conferring with your walking scorer after every hole, and not keeping the golfers waiting when it is time to take a golf cart between holes. An e-mail went out to volunteers on Thursday night reminding standard bearers and scorers that golfers do not like waiting, and least of all for you.

“Dear God,” I thought, “were they talking about me?” I couldn’t remember ever catching side-eye from either Brooke, Minjee, or their caddies, but I took no chances over the next three days. I’d be ready to go before the last putt found the bottom of the cup.

A perk of standard-bearing is having proximity to the golfers and overhearing conversations you never could otherwise. You see how some casually converse with their fellow competitors throughout the round, with conversations ranging from the mundane such as lodging and traffic, to sharp observations about slow play among other groups, other golfers wedding plans, and even whether “House of the Dragon” can be fully enjoyed without having ever seen “Game of Thrones.” Others are more formal, but still polite, and mostly go about their business.

Serving as standard bearer at the CME Group Tour Championship presented the chance to see different LPGA stars every day, with Ally Ewing being the only repeat over the course of the four-day event. Image courtesy of Travis Puterbaugh.

You learn after a few holes where golfers prefer or do not prefer for you to stand and then you adjust accordingly. Thankfully, they take no interest with how you arrange the numbers on the standard, though it took me 15 holes into the final day before I realized how much neater it looks when aligned all the way to right edge. Lesson learned.

Most of all, you just get to see world-class talent on display hole after hole. The CME, a limited-field event, features the top 60 women in the world and everyone is deserving of their place in the field. The consistency, the innovation, and the touch among these golfers is mind-boggling. It is one thing to see it on television, and it certainly can be appreciated even further from the gallery. Yet to stand behind them, see the course as they see it, and watch shot after brilliant shot executed truly is an education.

When the rounds end, the golfers and their caddies shake your hand and thank you by name for walking with them. Sometimes after they finish going over their scorecards, they’ll sign a ball for you as an extra reward for your effort. It’s a classy touch, but one which was unnecessary. I required no extra thanks or acknowledgement. If anything, I wanted to thank them for the experience.

So thank you Alison, Allisen, Ally, Ayaka, Brooke, Danielle, Hinako, and Minjee. Thank you to the LPGA and CME Group for the opportunity to walk inside the ropes. Lastly, thank you to the game of golf for providing in a span of eight years and 72 holes a lifetime worth of memories.

Feature Photo: Brooke Henderson sizes up her second shot from the 18th fairway en route to an opening round 68 (-4) at the CME Group Tour Championship in Naples, Florida. Image courtesy of Travis Puterbaugh.