My feets hurt.

Today began my annual four-day trek to Maryland to see the McDonald's LPGA Championship at Bulle Rock Country Club. It will be my final time, because the tournament is in the last year of a 5-year deal, so next year's Championship will be held elsewhere. In the past, I've added up the total distance I walked during the tournament. Suffice it to say, it's enough to make my feet hurt and my aging knees swell a bit. My love of the LPGA is exceeded only by how much I love complaining.

Wednesday is what they call the practice round, but mostly, it's colleting autographs and photographs of the players while they mill around the putting green, driving range and various parts of the golf course. I collected about a hundred photos and some autographs, most notably Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak.

To the right is Natalie Gulbis, who you may recognize from her recent appearance on Celebrity Apprentice. I think she was fired. She was doing an interview with a local TV station shortly before being mobbed by fans waiting for her to leave the putting green. She posed for photos with about 20 people, smiling and signing autographs. I asked her caddy if "it's like this everywhere she goes." He said, "This is kind of tame." It's a shame she doesn't win more, because she'd be a great representative for the LPGA. Much better than Lorena Ochoa, who has the personality of a six-iron.

I followed Suzann Pettersen around for a little while, but during the practice rounds the play is slow (even slower than normal) and players often hit two or three balls.

Suzann is a great player, but she isn't what you'd call "personable." She's from Norway, which should tell you everything you need to know about how personable she is. I'd like to see her liven it up a little, but not everyone can be Paula Creamer. I followed her until the persistent heat caught up with my enjoyment of watching her stand around.

Speaking of Paula (and I was) I got to the course at 8:00am and somehow missed her completely. She tees off at 9:16 Thursday, so I'll be on the road early to walk the round with her. Maybe I can get in before it gets too hot.

I don't know what it is about the earth south of the Chesapeake, but the heat is different somehow. I think the temperature was around 80 degrees, but the sky was hazy and I'd guess the humidity was about 75%. I've determined that I could never live there because there isn't enough sunscreen and bottled water to keep me going until I die, which is interesting because two of my favorite places are Baltimore and Washington, DC. NOTE TO SELF: Don't forget to take a hand towel with you on Thursday.

I went through most of the day with white specs from napkins on my face from continually wiping my face. The thing that interests me is that I look around and I don't see anyone struggling with the heat the way I do. I drank 36 ounces of water in four hours, so I was hydrated. Of course, part of it was coming out of my body in a different way that it went in, so who knows what's going on.