WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - Playing for the Greenbrier East girls basketball team these days comes with privileges.
WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - Playing for the Greenbrier East girls basketball team these days comes with privileges.
It means hanging out in the VIP box overlooking the No. 18 hole of the Old White, and it means meeting and having lunch alongside Gov. Joe Manchin and Jerry West, as well as Arnold Palmer, Bill Stewart, Frank Beamer, Da'Sean Butler and John Daly.
Autographs are available, too.
"I got autographs from all of them. They were really nice,'' said Brittany Parker, a senior on the Greenbrier East team.
In return for such privileges, the Greenbrier East basketball players worked the 18th green at the Greenbrier Classic this week, wearing their Spartan jerseys and raising the "Quiet please'' signs whenever a PGA professional addressed a putt.
It's been a fun week and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Parker, Gaby Dugan, Kayla Whited, Cassie Ford, Taylor Dowdy, Amanda and Erica McGuire and Chaunte McDowell, all of whom will be returning to school soon and playing another season for the Spartans this winter.
It helps that the girls play for coach Jim Justice, who moonlights as The Greenbrier owner and who orchestrated the inaugural Greenbrier Classic, the greatest sporting event ever on West Virginia soil, making him the most economically viable high school basketball coach in the nation.
But when he's not negotiating million-dollar Greenbrier deals, signing PGA Tour contracts and hiring hundreds of new Greenbrier employees, he's diagramming pick-and-rolls and making fun of Parker's sunglasses.
"He jokes around all the time except in the games,'' said Parker. "He's always cracking jokes about everyone.''
But he teaches more than basketball, said Dugan, a senior point guard who averaged six assists and five points on last year's 16-7 team.
"He starts out with a life lesson,'' said Dugan. "He calls it storytime, and then we go into basketball.''
Of course, mingling with Jerry West at the Old White is old hat for the Spartan girls.
As a longtime friend of Justice's, West makes an occasional appearance at Greenbrier East basketball practices and, in light of his extensive basketball background, tries to pass along some hoops wisdom.
"He's really nice,'' said Parker. "He tells us we're working hard and we have the best coach in the world and he gives us pointers.''
Briefly
Daly has been this week's biggest attraction and has rewarded the fans by averaging 314 yards off the tee on par 4s and par 5s, and scoring three eagles in the final two rounds. He has not scored well, however. He had an 8 on the par-4 399-yard No. 14 hole and finished with a final-round 76, giving him an even 280 for the tournament. He finished last among the 77 players who competed Sunday.To help families of the Upper Big Branch mining disaster, Kenny Perry pledged $2,000 for each of his birdies in this week's Greenbrier Classic but, despite his distinction as the No. 39 player in the world and the availability of birdies on the Old White, he raised no money in Thursday's first round. But the Elizabethton, Ky., native had six birdies on Friday's second round for a $12,000 contribution. He failed to qualify for the final two rounds.Sergio Garcia, a Spaniard, also made a pledge to the mining victims' families, promising $1,000 for each birdie and $5,000 for each eagle. He played the full 72 holes and collected 18 birdies (but no eagles) for an $18,000 donation. Justice offered to match each of those pledges. A total of 41,000 fans walked the course during Saturday's third round and, afterward, Greenbrier County may have suffered its worst traffic jam ever as thousands of fans tried to make their way to the nearby Brad Paisley concert. As it turns out, the concert attracted more people than anyone expected, said Justice."Everybody was supposed to have a badge and a ticket to come to the concert,'' said Justice. "Well, all of a sudden, we've got 20,000 people that show up at the concert and are trying to buy tickets. We've got another 40,000 people that got badges and everything. We didn't expect that.''
The crowd for Sunday's final round was 41,800.
Appleby was the biggest mover in the FedExCup standings, moving 58 places to 24th. D.A. Points moved from 117th to 82nd, probably clinching a spot in the four-tournament FedExCup "playoffs." Several players moved over the magic No. 125, which separates the playoff participants from those effectively sidelined from the tour for a month-plus. They were Chris Stroud, from 132nd to 117th; Woody Austin, from 144th to 121st; and Troy Matteson, from 138th to 125th.The field's average score Sunday was 67.584, a half-stroke higher than the 66.965 posted Saturday. The four-day average was 68.536, a stroke and a half under par. Fourteen rounds went at even-par 70 or above Sunday.
