A Week in Rio
I had always heard about guys going down and playing the Latin American Tour, and all the “stories” they brought back with them. From food poisoning to losing golf clubs to getting robbed in a country where English won’t get you very far; it all seemed so complicated.
In my two years of playing professional golf, the journey has been mainly about golf. It is about the desire for low scores, the course you’re playing that week, and the competition you hope to beat. But also in these two years, I've learned that most of the coolest moments haven’t happened inside the ropes during a tournament. They occur on the planes, trains, and automobiles nature of this lifestyle, and I sure experienced some of it in my first two weeks in South America.
I stepped onto my United flight headed from Houston to Rio de Janeiro for week 1 on PGA Tour Americas with eyes wide open. Well, I actually wanted them to be closed so I could get some sleep on the 10 hour trip. But eyes wide open in the sense of really focusing on savoring this first trip of the tour. It continues to be such a blessing to travel the world, chasing a white ball around, and yet, it has been easy to stress about things that aren’t in my control.
My goal when visiting new places is always to see or experience at least one thing the city has to offer. Any sightseeing I do occurs early in the week, so I can focus entirely on golf once the pre tournament rounds begin. As one of the Seven Wonders of the World, it felt like a no-brainer to visit Christ the Redeemer! So yes, my eyes were wide open as I sat in 37F on the overnight flight.
After touchdown in Rio, we were met with dozens of taxi drivers shouting in our face, offering rides. One of the golfers ahead of me says, “Don’t listen to them. Never trust the taxi drivers down here.” It was my first introduction into the potential safety hazards a foreign country provides, but nonetheless, I got in an Uber and headed for the host hotel.
Once at the hotel, everything felt somewhat normal! Except when I tried to order lunch and had to rely solely on Google Translate; Obrigado quickly became a common word in my vocabulary.
Besides the Portuguese language barrier, we were off and running! A solid day of practice Tuesday led to an afternoon trip to the famed Christ the Redeemer. Standing almost 100 feet tall, it was breathtaking. From the top, I could see the beauty of Rio, where the mountains and ocean collided, forming an image I have yet to erase from my mind.
I was lucky enough to tag along with my good buddy, Will Holan. Will, myself and several other golfers spent about an hour taking in the scenery. “The places golf will take you,” said one of the players. “Pretty wild,” I replied.
I truly savored that moment on what felt like the top of the world. To be fair, there were literally clouds blowing through us!
Wednesday through Sunday of the tournament went like any other week. I was fortunate to play my nine hole Pro-Am with the current president of the Brazil Golf Federation, who provided amazing hospitality and insight into both Rio and Brazil’s golf communities.
The tournament was played on Rio’s Olympic Golf Course, which hosted the 2016 Olympic Games and produced Justin Rose as the Olympic Golf Gold Medalist. The design and routing was sensational, but unfortunately has had trouble staying in good condition since those games 10 years ago.
I played really nicely for the first 63 holes of the event, finding myself at -13 and climbing up the leaderboard. Then all of a sudden, much like the waves crashing just outside the golf course, my round crashed in on me, surrendering several bogeys and a double on the closing 9 holes to fall well back of the pace, leaving a sour taste in my mouth and signing for a closing 74.
It was an interesting experience. Traveling 5,000 miles, seeing a part of the world I would have never thought about seeing in my lifetime - it was all so special. But on that golf course, feeling good and then not finishing the tournament the way I wanted, it didn’t matter if I was in Rio or Reno - I just wanted to play better golf.
It was a frustrating afternoon, but I made the cut and there were lots of positives to take away from my first week down in South America. The week felt long. Ubering to and from the golf course each day and continuing to overuse “Obrigado” (thank you in Portuguese).
But with obstacles, the show must go on! And it sure did. I slept for only 3 hours that night as I had to catch my ride to the airport for my 5am flight. Another lesson I learned was to get to the airport WAY earlier than you think, and it paid dividends this time.
On the way down Rio’s main highway, the midnight traffic slowed to a crawl. I wasn’t sure what the hold up was as I was still groggy from the long day on the course. My Uber driver began to roll down my window on the rear passenger side when I was met with a flashlight from a policeman, armed with an assault rifle across his chest. No words were exchanged, just a head nod. The driver and I continued.
I later learned that there were multiple shootings that stranded tourists in the hours after our flight took off for Argentina. Just another reminder of where we were in the world.
Still out of it and blowing off steam from my poor finish on the course, I arrived at the airport and handed my passport to the service desk. “There is a problem,” the man said in broken English.
It turned out that my ticket was booked under Danny, not Daniel. Two different people in the airline’s eyes. A process of booking another ticket under the correct name began, taking around an hour. Now I was thankful for the early wake-up call. I made the flight with plenty of time to spare as two dozen of us golfers boarded the 5am flight headed Cordoba, Argentina for week 2.
So what did I learn during my first week in South America? Well here’s a little cheat sheet if you ever find yourself in the Vogue Mall in Rio de Janeiro and playing the Olympic Course.
Don’t wear a hat walking around, you will look like an American.
You want agua sin gas, not con gas.
Order the steak medium well, unless you like it still breathing.
Uber rides are cheaper than you think.
Take the adventure to go see something new.
Don’t forget to look around and remember where you are.
