Boo finished day one at -1.  Good luck in Charlotte this weekend Boo!

By Bob Verdi

Boo Weekley’s caddie has a real appreciation for life inside the ropes. Time in Iraq will do that .

Sure, Joe LaCava has fun working for Fred Couples, but Joe Pyland’s job as Boo Weekley’s bag man is a blast, too–although it’s not his most important job ever.

Grillroom: How did you and Boo hook up?
Pyland: He was three years ahead of me at Milton (Fla.) High School. I looked up to him because he was a great golfer. I dreamed of doing what he does. Wasn’t good enough.

When did you start together?
At a Hooters Tour event, early ’06. After I got back from the service. He was just on the outside of the Nationwide Tour, which he finally made, and he’s never looked back.

Did you ever imagine Boo would make it big?
Yes, sir. Just a matter of time till he got his confidence. And after a few tournaments, I said to myself, “This is what I want to do … this is my career.”

It wasn’t easy climbing the ladder.
No. We roomed together for a while. He’s a good roomy. Very neat, doesn’t iron. But I snore. So he kicked me out.

You went to Iraq?
Twice. Enlisted in the Army, then went back as a civilian contractor. PGA Tour is almost like the Army. Players are like the officers, caddies are like the enlisted men.

Dream job?
For me, yeah. You can see why people like Boo. And he’s great with soldiers. He did a clinic for them at the Masters. I was at a bar in Augusta and a couple of them came up to me saying Boo was unbelievable. Good heart.

Ryder Cup?
You know, when Boo wants something like he wanted that, he really plays hard. I didn’t know about his Happy Gilmore thing, though, until later that Sunday night. I was walking ahead on the first fairway.

You don’t talk much about Iraq.
It’s tough. People over here don’t understand how tough. Wouldn’t wish it on anybody. But people also don’t hear about good things we’ve done over there.

You probably appreciate the golf life more than most.
Absolutely. When people think winning the Ryder Cup was big, that’s true. But the proudest thing I’ve done is enlist in the Army and wear that uniform, serving my country.

Boo is -5 going into Sunday.   Keep up the great work Boo!  Continue to check www.booweekley.com for updates.

That is a given now that Ryder Cup star Boo Weekley has committed to play the week of April 20-26 at TPC Louisiana. Weekley last played in New Orleans in 2007, one week after scoring his first win on the PGA Tour at the Verizon Heritage.

“I love coming to New Orleans, ” Weekley said Wednesday while preparing for today’s opening round of the WGC-CA Championship at Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami. “First thing, it’s close to the house (Milton, Fla.). New Orleans is only three hours from my house to there, so it’s an easy drive. I get my family to come down and watch me play, who don’t get a chance to watch me play, except on TV.

“I love coming over there, just ’cause a lot of the people over there are like the people I’m used to. It feels like home, the same atmosphere; you can party there a little bit on Bourbon Street.”