DJ Rob Rocks The House

I had a small but different djing job at the closing night of the Volvo Masters Amateur World Final held at La Quinta Golf Resort earlier this month.

I was very pleased to get this testimonial from Sofie Van Reusel, Volvo Masters Amateur Project Manager, “You have got the mood exactly right and you have a flair for this. Thank you for your contribution.”

I was asked to play a mix of Chillout, Jazz and Lounge as quiet, background music during the closing dinner of the event. Then, much louder, I provided the soundtrack for the Awards Ceremony. As each competitor went up onto the stage to get their award I played some ‘stirring’ music and, surprise, surprise, I played Queen’s ‘We are the champions’ as the overal winner, Choul Hee Lee from Korea, collected his trophy. I played some more music as hundreds of photos were taken and finally a couple of tunes while the diners were led into the bar next door for the next stage of the evening. The dining hall at La Quinta looked fabulous.

The bar area at La Quinta had been transformed into a Jazz Cafe and a fantastic duo led the partying well into the early hours. I’d guess there were some sore heads the next day, because everyone had to head for home the next morning But my cue to pack up and go home was the last person leaving the dining room. I finished nice and early, which suited me fine, because it was midweek and I had to be back at work at the radio station at 7.30 the next morning!

Volvo’s involvement in sponsoring golf events, both amateur and professional, goes back many years and they are very proud of what they do. The Volvo Masters Amateur World Final followed the day after the Volvo World Matchplay Championship ended. It was played on the same course at Finca Cortesin, so the amateur finalists could follow in the footsteps of professionals like Ross Fisher, Angel Cabrera and Sergio Garcia.

The road to the final of the Volvo Masters Amateur World Final was long for each of the 48 competitors. who’d battled through local, regional and national qualifiers to play in this tournament. Almost 50,000 golfers from 15 different countries took part in earlier rounds. That makes the 16 profesionals’ qualification for the Volvo World Match Play Championship look like a stroll in the park. Nearly 200,000 rounds of golf were played and almost 20 million shots struck!

Volvo’s intention was to give the 40 men and 8 women finalists the sporting experience of a lifetime, on and off the golf course. Before the first ball was struck they met up with the two Ryder Cup captains, Colin Montgomerie and Corey Pavin.

I am pleased to have done my bit to help Volvo achieve that aim, even though I’m not a golfer.

More information about the event is available at

http://final.volvomastersamateur.com/

There is a Facebook group for the golfers

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=63455227805

Next year the event takes place at the same venues at the same time. I really hope to be involved again.