The Presidents Cup Day 4 & Closing Ceremony

While I was waiting for the shuttle at the Crown Towers, there were Samoyeds everywhere I looked, waiting to pull a sleigh. There were probably about 20 of them & a couple were puppies.

Chris, Stan & me on the first tee.

It was REALLY windy!

The Closing Ceremony followed ... about an hour after play was completed.

Ladder please! Surrounded by photographers, Stan tries to get all of the players to look at him.

Chris got up on the front of the ladder.

This was what they were shooting ... the more casual of the two USA's team photos.

The Presidents Cup Day 1

Dustin joked with the fans after he hit his ball into the crowd on the 10th hole.

The gallery stretched from tee to green.

Back at the Crown, while looking for a place to have dinner, I spotted a rare Australian fish ... the Ass Groper (seriously, read the sign on the right)!  ;-)

Opening Ceremony

The Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes were awesome! They performed for over a half hour with lots of stunts & flyovers. Oops! Someone forgot to flip their smoke switch on!

Nice shot by Stan.

The view from my office.

Tiger waves to the crowd.

Strange Fruit performed.

That's me in the lower left talking to Dustin, trying to get both teams lined up for the group shot. I wore black so I'd blend in but I was supposed to be wearing my bronze jacket.

I went to dinner at an Italian restaurant with a bunch of co-workers. I had to get up from the table when I saw the water running down a glass panel in the outdoor dining area.

From Black Tie to Bowling!

When I got to the hotel ballroom where I was going to be shooting a dozen different formal group photos, I saw there were many obstacles to overcome. There were railings around the risers & reflective tape on each them. The steps in the front would also have to go. The worst thing was the highly reflective trophy base (& this pic wasn't even shot with strobes). UGH! This is why I needed to arrive 4+ hours early.

USA vs International

After the groups, Chris & I posed with the cup.

Then it was back to my hotel to change clothes before heading to the Kingpin Bowling Lounge for a caddie party.

Good pix & lots of fun.

The International Team's caddies won.

12 More Hours of Player Portraits

The view from my room.

More bathroom details.

A glass on a coaster by my bathroom sink.

NBC had a studio set up in a room at Crown Towers to shoot player interviews.

I shot each player/captain with & without the cup. I heard SI ran all 26 headshots in their coverage. Phil is the only golfer who has played in every Presidents Cup.

Geoff grew a mustache for Movember.

Since we couldn't leave the NBC studio all day, we ordered room service. Each of us had a $35 mediocre club sandwich.

Sunday ... formerly known as a day off!

Good morning! Rob texted me this nice pic of Stella. Awww! I miss my pup!

Stan, Chris & I took a ride out to Royal Melbourne Golf Club.

Our office for the week was awesome! Plenty of room & even a leather couch!

In our cabin, we had the BEST LOCKERS EVER!!! So spacious!

Hunter & Bubba ... 2 of the 4 Golf Boys are on the US Team.

Chris & his nemesis ... Bill Murray.

 Back at the hotel, Chris came by the NBC studio to check out the lighting for the player portraits. I spent a few hours shooting headshots of the players who arrived early.

After dinner, Stan, Chris & I walked around the neighborhood. Flinders Street railway station looked great all lit up.

Arrival in Melbourne

We left Jacksonville on Thursday afternoon & finally arrived in Melbourne Saturday morning.

Here's the view from Qantas' tail-mounted Skycam on our A380, an insanely gigantic plane that makes a 747 look like a commuter jet.

Hmmm ... Hungry Jack's logo looks suspiciously like Burger King!

We checked into the Crown Promenade, part of Crown's 3 hotel complex with 40 restaurants & apparently the largest casino in the world.

First things first ... a nice shower after a long journey. I was very distracted & had to dry off & shoot some iPhone pix. This might be my favorite photo from Australia.

Everywhere I looked, I saw a potential photo.

Afterward, Chris, Stan & I walked around near our hotel. These street performers were bouncing all over the place.

These giant stainless steel sculptures were on a footbridge across the Yarra River.

Next up was a surprise party for Patty C.

The view from Villa 3818 at the Crown Towers ... a 7000 sq ft palace in the sky.

The Commissioner thanks Patty for her 31 years of service.

The hors d'oeuvres were yummy. Thai marinated beef with noodle salad ...

Tiger prawn with avocado salsa

Tomato, basil & garlic bruschetta

There were some beautiful photographs on the walls. I love this one of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum Bilbao.

The pièce de résistance ... the remote controlled toilet with auto opening lid, heated seat & a slew of other amenities (see remote detail photo). It was insane! See video below.

The toilet's wireless remote!

The "must-see" toilet video!