The golfer in the photo above is Sherri Turner. Her caddie, helping her out of the ravine during the McDonald's LPGA Championship, is Ellie Gibson.

Ellie Gibson. That name takes me back a few years, although it's a name I've never forgotten and never will. Because, well ... "How'd Ellie do?"

Ellie Gibson was once an LPGA Tour player. Her rookie season was 1990. And at that time, I was working at a newspaper in the city where Gibson's grandmother, Anna Wosnig, also lived (and golfed - Anna was a regular in the ladies playdays at the local munis).

"How'd Ellie do?" Those were the words that Anna called and asked me after every round of every LPGA event in which Ellie Gibson played, from 1990 through approximately 1997, during which year I left that newspaper.

Anna and I didn't know each other, and Ellie and I didn't know each other. When Gibson first reached the tour, my job at the newspaper was "agate clerk," meaning I was the guy who put together all the small-type statistics in the Sports section.

And it also meant I was the guy who answered the phone, when I was available to do so. And so Anna would dial the Sports line, I would answer, and she'd ask me to look up the LPGA scores to find out how her granddaughter did that day.

When she first started calling, Anna would explain who she was and why she was calling. But over time, that became unnecessary.

I'd answer the phone, Anna would recognize me, and she'd simply say, "How'd Ellie do?" I'd find the LPGA scores for the day and fill her in. I might just give her the score and we'd hang up. Or we might chat for a minute or so about the score - I'd break it down for her, front nine, back nine, how far off the lead Ellie was, who was leading. Anna might offer an "oh, wonderful" for a good round, or an "oh, no" for a poor round.

And so it went. For around seven years. After the first round: "How'd Ellie do?" After the second round: "How'd Ellie do?" After the third round: "How'd Ellie do?" And if there was a fourth round, yep, "How'd Ellie do?"

Ellie did well enough to remain on tour for eight full seasons, and parts of two others, after her rookie year in 1990. Although never good enough to finish higher than 68th on the money list. The highlight of her career was a fourth-place finish at the du Maurier - then a major - in 1992. She last appeared as a player on the LPGA Tour in 2000.

And now, like a handful of former tour players, she caddies.

And so when I saw the photo above, my first thought was, "How'd Ellie do?"

That phrase is burned into my brain. It may well be my final thought as I take my last breath. And as I go towards the light, it wouldn't surprise me to find Anna Wosnig there, waiting, with an urgent question: "How'd Ellie do?"

So, Ellie, nice to see you again. Your grandmother and I enjoyed tracking your scores all those years ago. (Ahem ... except for the rounds in the 80s.)