Meeting The Volunteers Of The Bob Hope Classic: Pat Blaugher

Pat Blaugher is set to serve his 14th year as a Bob Hope Classic volunteer. Those who know him are often suprised to learn that considering he was never a golf fan. “I was probably the least interested in golfing of anyone,” Blaugher said. “Golfing was just never my thing.”

However, after coaxing friends and family, he began to serve as a marshal at the Hope, which also led to a love for golf. “It’s been an exciting event for me. I’ve become more interested in golf simply because I watch it now on television more than I had ever before,” said Blaugher.

Each volunteer has a special story about run-ins with celebrities. For Blaugher, his experience was with one of the game’s best. “I have one when Arnold Palmer was out on the green and getting ready to putt,” Blaugher said. “It was a time when cameras and camcorders and cell phones were not allowed. A lady started to tape the event on her camcorder, and I started to walk over, and Arnold turned to me and said ‘Marshal, will you please stand still.’ And I said ‘I’m sorry Arnold but I was going to stop this lady from taking your picture.”

While the story still makes him chuckle, Blaugher is most honored by an encounter with the tournament’s namesake, “To me, knowing Bob Hope, listening to him on the radio, the television and so forth, Bob Hope was a very large icon to me.”

Blaugher is proof that even people who aren’t golf nuts can have a wonderful experience at the Bob Hope Classic.

For more information about becoming a volunteer, go to our ‘Seen on 3’ section.