Tour rookie Harkins on playing alongside Tiger: 'It was so cool'

Last Saturday, Brandon Harkins' phone was blowing up.

The 31-year-old PGA Tour rookie was pretty much out of the Wells Fargo Championship, but his friends weren't as interested in his score as they were his playing partner for Sunday's final round.

He was going to be paired with Tiger Woods.

Although Harkins and Woods had Sundays to forget on the course (Woods shot 74 while Harkins shot 76 to drop into a tie for 55th), once Harkins got off the course, he realized it was going to be a round to remember.

While Woods' longtime contemporaries have either moved on to PGA Tour Champions, restricted their scheduling, or retired fully from competition, there is a fresh crop of Tour players who have been bred in his golfing image - who spent Sundays at home as teenagers watching Woods dominate the sport like no one had before.

"It was cool because I've grown up watching him, looking up to him, like everyone else in the world has," Harkins told theScore on Wednesday. "To be able to play with him, in a twosome, when he's wearing a red shirt, it was really cool."

With golf fans champing at the bit to get a glimpse of Woods, the crowds around him are more aggressive than ever - especially in the age of the smartphone, which wasn't as prevalent when Woods was climbing into the upper echelon of sports superstardom.

Harkins acknowledged the crowd Woods drew on Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship was "really interesting" to play in front of, but still says he was lucky enough to be able to witness it in person.

"It was so cool," he said. "He was honestly the nicest guy. He couldn't have been nicer to me. He and I talked all day, all around the golf course. He was as down to earth to me and my caddie as I could have ever imagined."

And Harkins is just one of the PGA Tour upstarts who is getting the opportunity to play with his childhood idol.

Rory McIlroy said earlier this year the crowds must cost Woods "half a shot a day," and Justin Thomas - who went on to win the Honda Classic earlier this season and played in some sparse crowds in the final group - said he didn't blame the crowds for wanting to see Woods. In fact, he said he'd go watch Woods as well.

That Sunday at the Honda Classic, Woods played with 21-year-old Sam Burns in the final round - who beat him by two shots after opening with one of the quips of the year: "I looked over at him and said, 'Man, it's crazy all these people came out to watch me today isn't it?'" Woods was asked by reporters this week at The Players Championship what it was like to be paired with guys who were starting their PGA Tour careers after paying their dues in golf's minor leagues, many of whom idolized Woods growing up.

"One of the things that Brandon and I were talking about on Sunday was he had a philosophy going into the year, and that was to be as aggressive - play as aggressively as he possibly could on every tee shot," said Woods. "Just trying to be as aggressive and trying to make as many birdies as possible, and that's how he played the whole year (on the Web.com Tour), which is very different than sometimes on some events out here where you have to grind it out and try and make pars."

Harkins said when he first qualified for Mackenzie Tour - PGA Tour Canada (akin to Double-A baseball, with the Web.com Tour being Triple-A), he was "nowhere near ready" to play professional golf, but playing in the minor leagues for upwards of a decade got him feeling more comfortable.

"I think my grind, getting out to (the PGA Tour), has helped me as far as I can see where I can take myself on the golf course," he said. "I wouldn't trade it at all. It helped me feel comfortable out here."

Harkins earned a spot in this week's Players Championship thanks to his solid rookie campaign so far - he's notched seven top-25 finishes - but said the plan was actually to go home to Scottsdale, Ariz., where he and his wife Rachel bought a home, just minutes from fellow PGA Tour pros and longtime friends Joel Dahmen and Nick Taylor, for a deserved week off.

He said he spoke with Woods Sunday at the Wells Fargo Championship about TPC Sawgrass' Stadium Course, long known as a layout that punishes the best in the world year in and year out.

The plans for a week off changed, but for the better. And now Harkins has the opportunity for another weekend pairing with his childhood idol.

"The Tour came out with a field list early last week at the Wells Fargo and I was in the field, and I had no clue I was anywhere near the field," he said, laughing. "I changed my plans and I couldn't be happier … It's really, really cool."

Adam Stanley has written about golf since 2011 for PGATOUR.com, LPGA.com, and the Canadian Press, among other organizations. He's also a frequent contributor to The Globe and Mail. Find him on Twitter @adam_stanley.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)