Pairings

Question
How are the pairings determined for the first round of play? I do not play golf myself as I am in a wheelchair. But I so enjoy watching the tournaments on TV. In fact before the broadcast begins I follow what is happening on my computer with pgatour.com  I've got the Worldcom tournament on as I write this. Thank you, Gail

Answer
Dear Gail, thanks for the question.  I wish I could tell you that the pairings have some magical way of coming together, but I cannot.  They are truly random in most tournaments.  The tournament officials can do anything from a blind draw to actually pairing the players with friends.  They generally keep certain things in minds such as crowd control, TV coverage, nostalgia, and even weather when pairing.  As an avid fan, you can imagine the problems if they always put Tiger with Davis Love, Greg Norman or Jack himself.  They do the best they can to maximize the experience for those present and those watching on TV. Good luck and remember,

Love the game,
Skipper