By: John Egnot
Communications Intern

Did you ever have one of those mornings where the clock radio starts beeping and there’s still no sunlight poking into your room? You roll over to see that the clock reads 5 a.m., but you’re not really sure if it’s a five, or an eight, or maybe even a 55 because you’re actually seeing double.

Communications intern John Egnot interviews Ashley Knoll (left) and Mallorie Underwood (right) at the 2003 Justin Leonard/Deloitte Junior Team Championship.

Many would quickly throw a closed fist in the general direction of the radio, miss a few times, but finally connect with the snooze button to gain another 10 minutes of precious sleep.

Now, did you ever have one of those mornings where the beeping starts, and after a few short seconds of grogginess, you realize that you are waking up at one of the most storied golf facilities in the world. This isn’t just your typical nine-hole municipal course. . . this is Bay Hill. Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, to be exact. Then, a few seconds later, you finally remember that you’re about to watch the final round of one of the most prestigious junior golf tournaments in the world, the HP Boys Junior Championship.

All of a sudden, jumping out of bed during the wee hours doesn’t seem like such a difficult proposition. In the life of an AJGA intern, this is how it is every day during a three-month whirlwind in which you find yourself in different cities at different golf courses every week.

And, just like Bay Hill, these golf courses are among the best in the country, if not the world. These are incredible facilities that most people could only dream of one day visiting.

But wow. . . getting there is an exeperience all in itself. For most of the intern crew, this entails jumping in a van (mind you, a very well-equipped van with a CD changer, TV, and in some cases a PlayStation and DVD player) and driving cross-country with five other people that you will spend your entire summer with. For other interns, a cross-continental flight is the mode of transportation in most cases. Either way, there’s usually a long way to go and not a lot of time to get there.

Egnot rides along LPGA International at the Rolex Girls Junior Championship.

You finally arrive on site, and think to yourself, “Man, I’ve got a pretty good gig.” This is the feeling you get when you first arrive on the Florida Gulf Coast at Innisbrook, or the Atlantic Ocean at Sea Island, or the wind-swept plains at Oak Tree, or Hiwan Golf Club, nestled in the foothills of the scenic Rocky Mountains.

After taking a few minutes to realize how cool of a place you’re in, it’s time to unpack the trailer, set up headquarters, mark a golf course and prepare to run yet another tournament in which you are responsible for putting on the best show possible for the greatest junior golfers in the world.

After a week of hard, yet incredibly fun work, it’s time to pack up and get back on the road. Time to jump in the van, or catch that 6 a.m. flight, just for the chance to do it all again the very next week. Crazy thing is, you’re a little tired, but just as anxious to get to the next place.

Meanwhile, back at Bay Hill, a second-year intern has the opportunity to watch an incredible finish play out.

This is where Samuel Saunders is competing to win his first AJGA tournament on his grandfather’s golf course.

This is where Ben Leong is lighting up the back nine, shooting 32 to earn a share of the 72-hole lead.

This is where Robert Gates, Jr. is converting one of the most ridiculous sand saves you’ll ever see, buried against the back lip of a greenside bunker on the 17th, with practically no shot whatsoever and water looming on the other side of an already narrow green.

This is where you have a front-row seat to take in a sudden-death playoff on the 18th hole, one of the most famous and recognizable holes in all of championship golf.

This is where you think to yourself, again, “Man, I’ve got a pretty good gig.”