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Chronicle Special I‘ve wanted to caddy for a PGA player in a tour event for a long time so last week when the opportunity came about to carry the bag for amateur star Gary Cowan in the 77th Canadian Open it was like a dream come true. I wasn‘t the least bit disappointed that I had to settle for an amateur, because I realized that not many of the tour pros could boast the kind of record Cowan can. His biggest accomplishments are his two United States Amateur Championships in 1966 and 1971. He‘s also won the Canadian Amateur in 1961, the 1968 Ontario Open, the 1970 North and South Amateur and a record nine Ontario Amateur Championships, his first in 1964 and most recent in 1984. % Today with the wind blowing so hard, the already demanding Glenn Abbey track became even more difficult. But both Gary and his playing partner for the day, Canadian Danny Mijovic (1985 Blue Light Chamâ€" pion), seemed to have little trouble taming the strong winds. As I was waiting for Gary to come out I had a chance to confer with some of the regular tour caddies. A caddy‘s Cowan has also been low amateur in the prestigious Masters Championship and the Canadian Open. He‘s represented Canada in many international events and was elected to the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame in â€" This is his 19th Canadian Open, and although he did not have exempt status into this years tournament, he had a special reason to try to qualify for the Open. _ _ _ "I was invited to the Masters this spring to play in the four practise rounds. I saw many old friends and they said I‘ll see you up in Canada. So I thought I might as well see them as a player rather than a spectator," explained the 47â€"yearâ€"old insurance executive. After being the low shooter by three shots the week before in a Professional tournament (Labatt‘s Blue Light Championship), Gary shot a sizzling threeâ€"underâ€"par 68 at the Trafalger Golf Course on Monday to qualify for the Open. The following is an account of what it was like to caddy at the Canadian Open and be around some of the greatest golfers the game has to offer. TUESDAY, JUNE 24TH Today was just a practise round. A chance for me to finally experience Glenn Abbey from inside the ropes. Take a moment. To make their day. Once a month. When Waterioo Chronicle carriers like Nicole Proctor ask our readers to contribute $1 to our Voluntary Paid Circulation program the last Wednesday of each month, what they‘re really asking is a show of support for your community newspaper and the friendly, reliable service you receive each week. We believe we‘re an important voice in the community, and through your contribution to Voluntary Paid, you remind us of that fact. Loud and clear. Once a month, you really know how to make our day. Thanks. addying at the Canadian Open â€" Voluntary Paid Circulation $1 per month What a buy â€" Give it a try! life on the tour isn‘t nearly as glamorous as it seems. They receive next to nothing in special privileges and only a few of them make some decent money. Out on the course, Cowan and Mijovic played only twelve holes, the back nine and the first three of the front. They didn‘t keep score and often hit two balls to gain some extra practise. He explained the purpose of a practise round is "to try to get the feel of the course, the feel of the greens and how the ball will react." ' ‘ WEDNESDAY, JUNE 25TH We couldn‘t have a practise round today because of the proâ€"am which occupied the course. Most of the day was spent on the practise tee and around the putting green, both of which can prove to be interesting places. One topic of discussion that seems to be popular is equipment. When you play the calibre of golf these players do, the equipment you use can make the difâ€" ference. The first goal for the tournament is to make the 36â€"hole cut, which is usually a total around 150 (sixâ€"over par). THURSDAY, JUNE 25TH I guess when things go wrong they really go wrong. Today‘s round by Gary, a 15 over par round of 87 was described by himself as "his worst round in over 30 years." _ After playing the 10th hole to perfection (our first hole) it became downhill from there on. It started on the 11th hole in which the tee is elevated 120 feet above the fairâ€" way. ooee â€" s _ The tee shot has to carry about 220 yards just to reach the fairway, and the snap hooked drive that Gary hit caught some heavy bush. Cowan had to hit his sand wedge leftâ€"handed just to get it out, and he still didn‘t have much of a shot for his next attempt. After making a seven on the par four 11th, he went on to score a double bogey, bogey, and another double bogey, to have a total of eightâ€"over par for the first 5 holes. Although Gary didn‘t want to make excuses for his play, I did. For starters, he had strained his back the week before at the Blue Light Tournament and he only Gary feels that if the wind keeps up, a long hitter with a good short game has the edge, such as tour players Greg Norman and Nick Price. WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, JULY 2, 1986 â€" had one practise round of only twelve holes. Not only could Gary have used another practise round, but I could have used another round to get used to the yardage book which is called ‘"‘The Book®". Comhgoflthcm&todaylwcuywuhltdu the ball really well, when I asked him how he felt going to the first hole after, he said, "I didn‘t feel ready, I would have liked to hit some more balls, but felt I couldn‘t," referring to his back injury. make the 148 cutâ€"off, I might as well act like my tour caddy counterparts. â€" s FRIDAY, JUNE 27TH A whole lot better today. Ya, my man shot a smooth 76. A little caddy talk. I thought heck, if we‘re not going to One of the main differences in the two rounds was his putting. The first day he had 38 putts, while today he had only 30. That‘s about the total one should consider a half decent putting round. While Gary‘s game improved greatly, I thought mine was a lot better also. I seemd to have the yardage down better and felt a lot more confident in what I was doing. While other years I‘ve come to the Open to watch the superb shot making ability these players have, today I found myself watching some of the caddies and how they compared to my performance. _ Gary was fourâ€"over par after seven holes, and then proceeded to go even par for the final 11 holes. Yes, that‘s the Gary Cowan that we all know. SATURDAY, JUNE 28TH Well, we were only 15 shots, (the same amount as over par in the first round) from making the 148 cutâ€"off. Today will have to be spent as a spectator with a few friends. But I wondered if maybe I should have said a little more when Gary was selecting his club. I withheld all of my comments for fear of distracting my player‘s concentration and not having much confidence in what I was going to say. _ Caddying is a lot tougher than I anticipated, but it is an extremely rewarding activity to someone who loves the game as much as I do. Who knows? Maybe Jack Nicklaus will ask me for next year‘s Canadian Open. It seemed that I had all the little things down pat, like having his driver ready for the next hole, and having his putter ready when approaching the green. I only attempted to read one putt for Gary, just to satisfy my own curosity, and after looking at the line of that putt I‘m kind of glad I stayed clear of that area.