Harrington holds off Garcia, Curtis to wrap up memorable PGA Championship PGA and Oakland Hills put in time to prepare club for championship

By Christian Davis
C & G Sports Writer

BLOOMFIELD TOWNSHIP — Just before his crew on the 17th hole at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Township made a shift change, hole captain Alan Harvith took a moment for himself.

“We’re here to make sure everyone is having a good time and behaving,” he explained while standing on the tee box Aug. 6 during a practice round of the PGA Championship. “That guy over there, he was thirsty, so we gave him some water.”

“You’re all right,” Jerry Lineman, a Sterling Heights golf fan, yelled back to Harvith, thanking him for the drink.

But for Harvith and the rest of the estimated 3,800 volunteers who gave up their time to help the PGA Championship run smoothly, each swing of the club they witnessed and each spectator they helped made the long hours in the hot sun well worth it.

“I enjoy this because I like being part of the major events,” said Harvith, who was also a marshal at the 2004 Ryder Cup at Oakland Hills. “I love golf. To see professional golfers get up and play golf, just being able to walk on the fairway of the golf course is worth it. That’s really what excites me.”

A passion for golf is also what brought Bloomfield Hills resident and Oakland Hills member Janet Russell back to the PGA.

Russell was the chairperson for the office of volunteers and dedicated time at least once a month since last September sending out newsletters and reminders.

The week leading up to the tournament, Russell said she worked full time.

“We’re golfers,” she said. “We can’t play golf that week, so it seemed like the natural thing to do.”

This year’s PGA marked the eighth tournament in which Russell has volunteered; her first was the 1979 PGA, also hosted by Oakland Hills.

While this major came literally to her backyard — she lives off the fourth hole — she said a number of volunteers made their way to Oakland Hills from around the country.

“I just noticed when we were putting labels on the envelopes all the different states we have volunteers from,” she said, noting the farthest volunteer contingent came from California.

PGA Championship Manager of Finance and Administration Sharon Helbig headed the effort to recruit volunteers. She moved to Bloomfield Hills two years ago to help get things ready for the PGA. Now that it’s over, she’ll move on and tackle the same assignment somewhere else.

She said a public announcement asking for help for the tournament was made in April 2007, and it only took 90 days to fill the positions.

“That’s pretty darn good,” she said. “In some places, I’m still doing it (a month before the event).”

Along with giving up their time to work the tournament, volunteers were required to buy their uniform, at a cost of $190, and agree to make time for the training session, which was held July 31 to Aug. 2.

Tournament Director Ryan Cannon said the volunteers did everything from transporting players to working in the merchandise tent.

“Just about every aspect of the championship, once it starts, has a volunteer involved in it,” he said. “We couldn’t do it without that group.”

Helbig echoed his sentiments.

“They are the backbone of the event,” she said. “Without them, it wouldn’t be successful.”

For marshaling duties, 14 local golf clubs were asked to run one hole each; four holes were reserved for Oakland Hills volunteers.

Harvith, a West Bloomfield resident and the president of Knollwood Country Club in West Bloomfield, said 70 members from his club worked on the par-3 17th hole. The number of volunteers assigned to each hole varied between 70 and 100, depending on its length.

Harvith added that each volunteer was required to work at least three, four-hour shifts during the week. At any given time, he said 11 to 15 volunteers worked the hole. 

Harvith admitted that whether it was the PGA or the Ryder Cup, it’s tempting to lose focus when big names come to the tee.

“When Ernie Els or Phil Mickelson comes up, you the marshal are just as excited (as the fans),” he said. “But they are like any golfers; you have to make sure people are quiet. You’re doing your job whether it’s Ernie or Joe Schmoe.”

For Harvith and the rest of the volunteers, putting in hours on and off the course comes with its own reward.

“We can always say we were part of the PGA in our own little way,” he said.

You can reach Sports Writer Christian Davis at cdavis@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1062.