It was a big day yesterday at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, RI.  Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade were in the house to kick-off the 2012 CVS Caremark Charity Classic!

The first surprise of the day was a Skype conference with the legendary Annika Sorenstam confirming from her home in Florida that she will join us for this years event! Brad and Billy had a great time laughing it up with her, telling old golf stories and getting the press excited for this year’s big LPGA lineup. The incredible women joining Annika in the 2012 field include retired phenom Lorena Ochoa, rising young star Lexi Thompson and fan-favorite Juli Inkster!

Brad and Billy Skype with Annika!

The second huge surprise came with the announcement that THE ONE, THE ONLY, THE BEST-IN-THE-WORLD, THE FAMOUS Yani Tseng would also play this year. I got excited just listening to Billy and Brad talk about her! Personally, I can’t wait to see her in action. Her record alone speaks for itself!

The last surprise was, of course, the rest of the first field announcement. We are excited to welcome Champions Tour pro’s Peter Jacobsen, Corey Pavin and Mark Calcavecchia. And we can’t forget our fearless leaders Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade as well!

A true top-rate lineup was unveiled and no one was disappointed. The remaining 12 main field players will be revealed in the next few weeks.

The event went off without a hitch. Here’s a big shout-out to Patty and all the staff at PJS who got it all done without a glitch!

Before the press conference Sean double-checks the stage!

Tournament co-hosts Billy Andrade and Brad Faxon today unveiled some of the top talent comprising the 2012 CVS Caremark Charity Classic field. This year’s event is set for June 17-19 at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, R.I.

Joining the field for the first time is the LPGA’s #1 ranked player Yani Tseng, rising star Lexi Thompson, fan-favorite Juli Inkster and retired phenoms Lorena Ochoa and Annika Sorenstam. Also making appearances are Champions Tour pros Peter Jacobsen, Mark Calcavecchia and Corey Pavin.

Announcements regarding the Charity Classic’s remaining 12 main field players will be made in the coming weeks. Click here for more information on this year’s CVS Caremark Charity Classic.

PJS Staff is on-site with our client – Nolet’s Silver Dry Gin – at this week’s THE PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra!

View from the Nolet’s Silver Lounge!

Entrance to the Nolet’s Silver Lounge at The Oasis

Top-notch bartenders!

Guests enjoy the sunshine… and a cocktail!

PJS Staff from left: Angela, Cameron, Mike and Whitney

It’s been a very busy yet productive month so far down here in Rhode Island as the final preparations are being made for the CVS Caremark Charity Classic. Allie and I recently just finished the 80 page Fan Guide for the event, which features our tournament hosts, sponsors, and working charities. This year, the American Heart Association, The Boys and Girls Club of Providence, Save the Bay, Special Olympics Rhode Island, and the Learning Center for the Deaf are spotlighted as our local charities. We’re extremely excited to see the final product – we hope you all enjoy it!

With the tournament just over a month away, everyone has been gearing up in hopes of making another successful event. Today in the Lincoln office we’re teaming up with volunteers from the Sojourner House to start an exhilarating three day task: credential packing! The volunteers are both energized and eager to be contributing to this year’s CVS Classic. Allie, Meg, Sean, and I are preparing participant and sponsor packages for the exciting events we have coming up over the next couple of weeks.

On Monday, May 14, we’ll be heading to the Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington for the press conference with Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade. We’re all anticipating the announcement of the first round of PGA and LPGA players who will be participating in the Classic this summer!

We spent some time this week in Denver for a site visit in preparation for the Lexus Fleet Program’s participation with the U.S. Amateur at Cherry Hills Country Club this August.  We had a very productive series of meetings with our key operational partners and vendors for the project, including Robbie Zalzneck and Jenny Pritchard from the USGA; the two local Lexus dealerships which will receive the initial shipments of courtesy vehicles for the event; a local valet company, which will likely be assisting us in moving a portion of the vehicles at some point in the process; and the representatives from Cherry Hills Country Club who will be coordinating the volunteer transportation program for the event (in which a portion of the Lexus vehicles will be utilized for shuttling the amateur participants).

Sean Sullivan, Jeff Corbett, and I had a busy but very productive visit to Denver, and we came away confident that PJS is in great shape to execute another fantastic event for our partners at Lexus and the USGA.  We managed to avoid getting altitude sickness, and had some fun in the process as well, even without Tim Tebow!

Franklin Square

I am enjoying my week in Savannah on behalf of Nolet Spirits at the Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf for many reasons; the beautiful and historic city of Savannah, the southern hospitality, the good weather, the amazing variety of restaurants in a city of this size but mainly because I am reunited with the traveling “family” that is the Champions Tour.

Nolet Silver Lounge

More than the PGA TOUR, the Champions Tour has a real sense of being one big family that just happens to get together every few weeks in a different golf course location.  From the Tour Operations and Scoring Staff, to Rules Officials, to player wives and especially Tournament Director (and former PJS employee) Joe Rotellini, this week has been like a reunion for me. I worked with so many of these people on the Constellation Energy Classic and the JELD-WEN Tradition.

Good friends and Tournament Director, Joe Rotellini and myself

People outside of the event business rarely realize the time and effort it takes to create and run an event of this magnitude and the closeness that working as hard as we do creates amongst everyone in the “family” so this has become a special week for me.

Liberty Mutual Insurance Legends of Golf

Click HERE to read about the newest Umpqua Bank Challenge commit, Kyle Stanley, in the May 2012 issue of Golf Digest.

Our very own Sean Sullivan completed the Boston Marathon with the stellar time of 4:40:40! The sun and heat made conditions a little difficult but he pushed through and beat last year’s champ Geoffrey Mutai and former Pats LB Tedy Bruschi. Outstanding!

Congrats to Sean on an incredible feat!

We are at Chelsea Piers in New York City today launching Guinness Black Lager media day
with Graeme McDowell!

Whether you’ve been there or not, every golf fan has vivid memories of The Masters. Whether it’s Jack’s back-nine charge in ‘86, Tiger’s first major win by 12 strokes in ‘97 or Bubba’s 155-yard snap hook pitching wedge off the pine straw just last week, The Masters has a way of producing memories that last a lifetime.

One such memory for me is when my dad got a call from his good friend D.A. Weibring, inviting he, my brother and I to attend The Masters as his guests. I am not sure the three of us ever came down from Cloud-9 during the entire trip. Having seen the tournament on TV growing up, I knew the course was beautiful. But stepping foot onto Augusta National for the first time, I was in awe of how much undulation there was and how big the bunkers were.

I recall my dad, brother and I following D.A. for a couple of practice rounds and watching him play in the Par-3 Contest. I never knew watching practice rounds could be so much fun. Then Thursday came and the tournament officially started. I felt like I was playing in the event, I was so nervous for D.A as he teed off. He didn’t have the best start on Thursday, but was making a nice comeback on Friday and in position to make the cut as he made his way to the 12^th tee – the short par-3 over Rae’s Creek. Unfortunately, D.A. hit two balls in the water and made an eight. My brother and I were very upset because now there was no chance for D.A. to make the cut and our trip would be coming to a premature end. I remember vividly my dad saying to my brother and I as we walked over to the 13^th fairway that “golf is a crazy game, but you watch – D.A. will handle this like a pro and finish strong.” As he putted out on 18, we knew it was all over and headed over to the house D.A. and his family had rented for the week for dinner. It was a little somber as everyone felt bad for D.A. and the unfortunate run in he had with Amen Corner. The chatter started to pick up as everyone enjoyed some drinks and appetizers when I recall my dad saying in front of everyone “D.A., I can’t thank you enough for inviting us on this trip. It was a dream come true.  But I need to ask you one question… Which one of those eight shots on No. 12 did you hit the best today?” For a split second, I was terrified. But as the entire group (including D.A.) burst into laughter, I quickly realized how good of friends my dad and D.A. were. All of the tension in the room was lifted and a good time was had by all on the last night we would spend in Augusta, GA.

In watching Bubba win this year’s event, and knowing he lost his father a short time ago, I found myself remembering this experience from 24 years ago. Unfortunately, my dad passed away in 1991 (three years after this trip) but each year The Masters comes around I find myself thinking about my first experience. And I really don’t think the memories would have been a whole lot different if D.A. had made the cut or won the tournament!

The Masters is a special event and whether you were there this year in person or watching it on television with friends and family, I’m sure there were a few more memories like mine made last week. I know I’ll look forward to reliving it again next year when Bubba defends his title!