ST. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. – Home is where the heart is – and where this week's McGladrey Classic is for nearly a dozen players in the field who live here or have ties to the area.
Zach Johnson's commute to Sea Island Golf Club's Seaside Course is 3 minutes by bicycle if he were to so choose, for instance, while tournament host Davis Love III's needs 10 minutes to get from front door to the range.
Also among the local delegation in the field are former Players champion Matt Kuchar, former U.S. Open champ Lucas Glover, Jonathan Byrd, Harris English, Charles Howell III, Brian Harman, Chris Kirk and Hudson Swafford.
"I get to sleep in my own bed. My kids are going through the same routine day in, day out as we do when we're at home. Dad goes to work and they go to school, that sort of thing. We like maintaining routine," said Johnson, lured to the area in 2006 when he made visits to see his sports psychologist here. "I know all the guys here. I know the pros that work here, and my feet have been on that golf course a number of times. Those would be the benefits.
"And there's the food, by the way."
What's not to like here along the idyllic Georgia coast? Mild year-round temperatures, small-town feel with Mom and Pop shops and Football Friday and Soccer Saturday. And world-class golf facilities and some of the best golf teachers in the world.
But playing in your own backyard does come with its challenges as the event still seeks its first hometown winner. Ticket requests spike, as do expectations to win from your friends. The course is sped up to an unfamiliar feel. And then there is the petting zoo.
Love, who has lived in the area for 35 years and is known as Uncle Dave by his colleagues in these parts, turns his home into an epicenter of entertainment during the week. For starters, he has four house guests this week. He throws barbecues for players and their families. And this year he's added a petting zoo that will feature an assortment of creatures.
During last week's buildup to the tournament, Love, who was the 54-hole leader here in 2013 before finishing fourth, said he, his family and his team had a lot of "sleepless nights."
"Home-field advantage is good and bad," Love said. "You're comfortable with the golf course, but you've also got the pressures of playing at home and expectations. You try a little too hard."
The extracurricular activities can be taxing, too.
"There's so much going on with our event that it just grows and grows every year," said Love, who missed Tuesday night's charity Wiffle Ball game that included St. Louis Cardinals ace Adam Wainwright, 20 PGA Tour players and their significant others, and local kids. "But I'm not going to miss the petting zoo at my house because that's kind of more up my alley. I hear there's a pig, so that's going to be pretty exciting."
Johnson and his three kids will be there. He said he's more comfortable this year playing in his hometown in front of people he mingles with year-round.
"This is everything I grew up accustomed to in Iowa, except for we got an ocean instead of a cornfield," Johnson said. "It is my hometown now, so there is a little bit of added – some people would say pressure – but I would just say there's just added weight. I want to perform well here. I want to perform here because it's where I live, and I want to perform here because I love McGladrey and what they do.
"I think I've gotten over the fact that, you know, I don't have to play well here to make it a successful week. That's not the important thing. I mean that's my goal. But this is going to be a great week because of what the foundation here does, what McGladrey does and what this community has opened its arms to."
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