Talking with PGA TOUR Players, 'Tour' Being the Key Word, at The Northern Trust Open

This past weekend, the gorgeous grounds of the Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades played host to THE PGA TOUR with the Northern Trust Open. While on paper, it may seem like the Northern Trust is just one of 48 stops along the 45 week schedule that is the PGA tour, but this weekend's event was actually quite significant.

For one, the Northern Trust was the last event in the Tiger-less tour. On Thursday, Tiger Woods announced that he would be returning to the sport at this weekend's WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship. Secondly, the game's next biggest name Phil Mickelson took home the trophy at Riviera, giving the Southern California native back-to-back Northern Trust Open championships.

Also, this past weekend marked the PGA Tour debut of Ryo Ishikawa, a 17 year-old phenom from Japan. Although he did not make the cut, shooting 73 and 71 on Thursday and Friday, Ishikawa definitely stood out from the crowded field. The youngster in the lime green pants drew an army of photographers that would crush the Roberston Boulevard clan of paparazzi like Godzilla.

This weekend also is very significant because it's the lone Los Angeles stop on the PGA Tour. If that upsets you, you are not alone. The players we spoke with, none of which could tell us how many nights a year they get to spend in their own bed, were not at all afraid to admit that very much look forward to spending a week in LA.

Brendon de Jonge, who tied for 10th at the Northern Trust tells us "this is definitely a favorite stop on the tour." The Zimbabwe native who currently resides on the east coast adds, "The weather wasn't warm enough to enjoy the beach, but I got to check it out and I went into Beverly Hills for a bit. Those are things I definitely don't get to do back East."

PGA tour veteran, Jerry Kelly who chose staying in a friend's place in Bel Air over a hotel, admits "it's all about food and wine for me, and I've got to say LA is pretty awesome in that respect." Kelly adds, "we ate at il Pastaio in Beverly Hills last night, looking forward to going to Chinois on Main tonight for dinner."

Charley Hoffman, a golfer with hockey hair who tied for 30th at the Riviera, tells us "this city offers much more than some of the other stops on the tour." Hoffman, best known for his blonde mullet tells us, "you've got the pro sports teams, the entertainment, we definitely look forward to coming to LA."

The 45 week "traveling circus," as Kelly calls it, that is the PGA Tour begins in Hawaii and the West Coast and works it's way East, meaning the next time the greatest golfers in the world will not be returning to LA for another year.

With so many frequent flyer miles under their belts, these guys are more than just the greatest golfers in the world, they may also be considered the greatest travelers in the world. These road warriors gave us some insight into their life on the road, when they aren't enjoying all that LA has to offer.

"When you get in on Monday, you're asking the guy who picks you up from the airport, 'What are the local hole in the wall joints? Where can I get the best meal possible without having to wear a tie?' if he tells me a franchise type of place that I can get anywhere I move on and ask someone else," says Kelly. "I try to find someone who really knows the food in the area, all of time on the road really centers around food."

Hoffman says, "we usually don't get to enjoy the cities we travel to all that often because we're spending our days out on the golf course but the one thing I always try to do to get some local flavor is enjoy a meal at one of the local restaurants."

de Jonge, says he will do some research prior to getting in town. "I'll check out some stuff online ahead of time to see what the next stop on the tour has to offer." Brendon says he also goes online and uses social networks to keep in touch with his friends, "since I'm from Zimbabwe and I've lived in quite a few places, my friends are scattered throughout the world I definitely go online to keep track of what everyone is up to."

Hoffman and Kelly, however, are not up on their social networks though. "I will not be on Facebook any time soon. My caddy bit the bullet and just got on Facebook, he tells me 'You would not believe the people who are coming out of the woodwork.' He's only 36, I'm 42. I would not want those people finding me."

Ironically, the people that these guys spend the most time while on the road are the guys that they are competing with on a weekly basis. de Jonge says, "I've made some great friends with the guys on tour." Kelly, who says his best friend on the tour is Steve Stricker, adds, "There's a lot of great guys on the tour, we definitely go out together. When your family's not with you, you can't just sit in your hotel room and order room service. You've got to get out there."