Damon Green was Scott Hoch's caddy for the win at the 2003 Ford Doral Championship on the PGA Tour.  Damon has been caddying on the PGA Tour for the last five years and four of them for Scott Hoch.  He is a former golf playing professional who played the Nike Tour in 1994 and 1995.  Damon once just missed gaining his playing privileges by one shot in the annual year's end PGA Tour qualifying tournament.  His previous win with Scott Hoch was at the Advil Western Open over Davis Love with Damon on the bag there.  This is his second win with Scott Hoch here at the 2003 Ford Championship at Doral's 'Blue Monster'. 

CaddyBytes.com -There was a different wind blowing on #18, our CaddyBytes.com 'Featured Hole' of the week from Doral.  Usually it's blowing right to left and into the players face on the second shot there from the southwest.  On Sunday there a lot of the tee shots were out there past the right hand bunker and well over three hundred yards.  Jim Furyk had just come into the hole and hit it long into the bleachers with their second shot.  (I figured that Jim and Fluff couldn't feel the wind there and I know that we (caddies) often look at those flags left of the green out there in the water for the wind direction)  But you guys made the same mistake on your second, hitting it into the grandstands there right after Jim did.  Of course both of you got it up and down for par.  What do you think happened there with the club selection?

Damon -We had it helping from the right on the tee shot.  Scott pummeled it down there with the tee shot and we had 131 (yards), carry over the left side there and 138 to the hole.  

CaddyBytes.com - Which could be a hard pitching wedge if the wind is helping?

Damon -Yeah, but if you don't carry that left side and get it on top you're dead.  We decided a little nine.  I guess he was jacked up and hit it over the green.  Dropped it in not the best of lies and then he hit a fantastic shot out of the rough and tapped it in.

CaddyBytes.com -So now you come to the playoff.  You go to the first playoff hole #18 again.  And you guys stripe it down the middle again like you had just done in regulation.  And Jim Furyk pulls his tee shot barely carrying the water on the left and into the bunker and amongst the palm trees there. 

Damon -We had nine iron again with 145 into the hole.  Scott walked over to see what kind of lie Furyk had in the bunker to see what kind of shot he would have and then Scott played his second shot hole high and to the right of the hole to about 20 feet.  Furyk gets his ball up and down from the rough from behind the green.  We two putt for par and go to the next playoff hole (the par five 1st hole at Doral).

CaddyBytes.com -So we see that your tee shot on the second playoff hole is hit a little right into the right hand bunkers there and then comes to rest in what looked like a spectators footprint.  Your man didn't seem all that upset about it as I saw it on the television coverage myself.  And he hit a great second shot out of there.  Tell us about that?

Damon -Frank Cavanaugh (PGA Tour official) actually came up to Scott and told him about it before we got to the ball, which I think helped prepare him for that.  We were kind of lucky because it went in to it's plug mark and kind of scooted up on the upper side of it (the footprint) and he was able to get at it.  And he hit a great shot with a six iron low and running up to 90 yards to the hole for our third.  Then Scott hit a great wedge that was all over the hole.  When we got up there I saw that we we're further from the hole than it looked with us about 7 feet, and Furyk about 5 feet.  (for birdie fours).

CaddyBytes.com -Now you come down to where Scott decides that due to darkness, he can't see the putt well enough and elects to wait until the next morning to play the putt.  That was perfectly within his right to do so.  How did all that go from your end as the caddy there? 

Damon -We read the putt as it was getting kind of dark.  And Scott asked me and I told him it was left edge.  Then he said to me, 'Really, I think it's right edge!'.  And that's when he decided to wait until morning.  He's always the final decider and when it's close to dusk he has a little problem.  (Scott Hoch had some problem with Lasik surgery correction a year or so ago)

CaddyBytes.com -So here you are.  Now you've got to wait all night and come back for a 'putt off' to win the tournament with you guys putting first.  How was all that?

Damon -I stayed up all night long wondering how he could have gotten right edge when I had it left edge!  The grain, everything was going to the right!

CaddyBytes.com -So now you come back early in the morning for an 8:00 AM continuation of the playoff.  Did you go back and read the putt together again now in the morning light?

Damon -Scott asked me if I'd go back and look at the putt again in the morning.   So I went and found an official and told me I could do it.  So I went out and looked at it again before we went out.  And came back and told him it was just a left edge putt.  So we practiced that type of putt on the putting green before we went out.  And we went on out for the playoff and he looked at it and told me I was right it was just a left edge putt which he then knocked in hole with Furyk making his.  And on we went to the third playoff hole #18 again.

CaddyBytes.com -Now you played #18 five times prior to this last time coming into our featured hole of the week.  How'd you play it in total those five times?

Damon -We parred it the first day.  And hit it in the water in our second round with 210 for our third and hit it in the right hand bunker there with a front right pin and got it up and down for bogey.  And parred it all the other times.

CaddyBytes.com -So Scott is first to hit again on 18.  How'd that go?

Damon -He pummels his drive again right down the middle.  Same wind -a little bit of help from the right.  Furyk hits the same shot he did the previous night, almost hitting it in the water left and in the sand amongst the palms only this time he has a little better shot to the green.  He was able to go around the tree hitting first he hit it about 20 feet short and right of the pin.  We had 140 something again and hit a nine iron again and hit it about 8 feet to the right of the hole.   Furyk putts first and rolls it up there missing his birdie and tapped it in for par.   Then we had it straight down the hill right center and Scott just pours it in the heart to win the golf tournament!

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