It's been a long day and I just returned home. I was not happy to leave the U.S. Open but I had no choice. To continue as TD would be to compromise my principles and I won't do that. I strenuously objected to Allen Hopkins being put into the field a day after the tournament flow chart had been posted. Barry asked me to find a player we could remove (paying them off if necessary) and insert Allen into his spot on the board. I refused to do this and made it clear to Barry that it was cheating. This went on all day Sunday with Barry making every attempt he could to find someone who would drop out. He posted flyers to that effect by the tournament board and asked me to make announcements, which I wouldn't do.
All the while he continued to send me derogatory text messages, with liberal use of profanity. I ignored them and just hoped he would eventually drop this very bad idea. I was kept busy doing the work of three men, since Barry had not seen fit to hire any of the assistants that I requested. Saving money takes priority with Barry at all times. He was all too anxious to get rid of me when he saw that I would not go along with his unethical program.
I spoke with Allan directly and told him that this was a bad idea. His name had never been on any players list that Pat or I had seen.
I talked to Allan on Sunday morning, explaining to him that the field was full and the board had been posted last night. If I had known about this a day earlier, before we did the draw, then I may have been able to get him in. Allan understood and told me he didn't care if he played or not. I then sent this message to Barry and his response was a mere, "PUT HIM IN! I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT!?" I responded to Barry that I would not put Allan in under any circumstances.
The tournament continued with the day matches and I did my job (under some duress I might add). I started the day at 8 AM and at 5:30 pm I finally had a 45 minute break to eat some dinner. When I returned to the tournament area, I noticed that Lee Steelman's name had been whited out and Allen Hopkins name inserted in his place. For me this was the last straw. I had put up with two days of Barry's incoherent and often abusive ramblings and now he decided to manipulate the tournament board. He had NEVER before touched the tournament flow chart in any Opens that I had previously worked. I let Barry know that I would be withdrawing as TD effective on Monday (today). I finished working the evening rounds, updated the flow charts and scheduled the next two days matches. Hopefully that will be enough for Scott or whoever to finish the event. I assured the players that the money was good and they didn't have to worry about that.
Several people tried to convince me to stay, but I felt that by staying I was tacitly condoning what had just happened. Basically we had cheated as a favor to Allen Hopkins. I couldn't in good conscience overlook this and continue to do my job. In over 30 years directing tournaments I had never allowed anything like this happen and I wasn't about to start now. I had no choice but to withdraw as TD and I did. I gave all my materials to Scott and hopefully he will be able to handle it okay. The U.S. Open is not the easiest tournament to run and it takes some expertise to make the schedule work on time. If they follow my lead for the first three days I think they can do it. I wish them luck. I got to bed at about 1:30 AM, a seventeen hour day, mostly on my own. I was bleary eyed from fatigue and stress, but agreed to wait until the morning to see if cooler heads could prevail. My bottom line was that Allen could not play in the tournament. I awoke at just after 10 AM and walked out of my room just in time to hear them announcing Allen's match with Warren Kiamco, on the TV table no less. I went back inside, packed my bags and left for the airport. I finally got back home at 9 PM California time.
I have no regrets. I feel that I made the right decision for me.
