The other day, playing a few holes with a friend, I gave them ten questions to guess who presented the trophy at the Senior Open at Gleneagles last Sunday.*  It was a bit mean I admit but I didn’t want them working their way to the right answer, unlikely though that was and I thought the traditional Twenty Q too generous.

Today, I’d be tempted to give you all a lot more goes at guessing  the opening topic of this week’s blog.  Admittedly, there’s a substantial visual clue at the top of the piece (providing there’ve been no technical glitches) but tortoises are not really an area of  interest in these parts, let alone an area of expertise.  The expertise is still lacking but thanks to a visit by Ducky (pictured), there’s a lot more interest.

She’s an Eastern Hermann’s tortoise, about four years old, “a medium-sized herbivorous reptile native to the Balkans and southeastern Europe” according to Google’s AI overview.  It also revealed that they can be great pets because “they stay small, have a gentle personality and eat a simple plant-based diet”.  Leafy greens are the food of choice – they’re good for us humans as well – so nothing too exotic is needed on that front.  However, they need fresh food and water daily, heat lamps and sundry other accoutrements and can’t just be left to their own devices.  They’re not an easy pet option.

I read somewhere that they were slow moving but Ducky showed quite a turn of foot (claw?) when given a roam in the garden; a moment of inattention and she would have been in the bushes.  Inquisitive outings and accidents permitting, she’ll outlive her owners, so a tortoise really is for life – and beyond.

This week, at Royal Lytham and St Annes, one of the world’s great golf courses, a couple of golfing anniversaries are being celebrated at the AIG Women’s Open.  It’s the 50th anniversary of the championship, which was won by Jennie Lee Smith, now Lucas, at Fulford in 1976.  She was also a member of the Curtis Cup team that played at Lytham that year.  The Americans, who included future legends Beth Daniel and Nancy Lopez, won, as they usually did but ten years later it was a different, unexpected story, the stuff of legend.

At Prairie Dunes, in the blistering heat of Kansas (100 degrees F in old money, almost too hot even for tortoises), Diane Bailey (née Frearson, then Robb) led her team to a comprehensive victory (13-5) that beggared belief.  At Muirfield, two years earlier, under Bailey, GB and I had come agonisingly close, losing by a single point – 9 1/2 – 8 1/2 and the captain, having proved that the mighty Americans were beatable, made it her mission to do the impossible:  win on US soil.

It was something that no visiting team had done – there’d been a draw at Brae Burn in 1958 (following home wins in 1952 and 1956) – and the Curtis Cuppers weren’t expected to break a run of THIRTEEN consecutive defeats.  “We always win this thing, don’t we?” one of the Americans, Danielle Ammaccapane, said to her captain, the incomparable Judy Bell, a future president of the USGA (the first woman pres), and who could blame her?  They always did win the thing.

Amazingly, I was there, along with Dai, Michael Williams of the Daily Telegraph, Elaine Scott from Golf World (later of the LPGA) and photographer Keith Hailey.  We’d travelled more in hope than expectation and Prairie Dunes, a wonderful golf course in the middle of nowhere, was a big draw.  Anyway, I seem to remember that Dottie Pepper (who’d just become Mrs Mochrie and had been on honeymoon) duffed her opening drive…Blimey…Americans never did that, did they?  (I believe, a few years previously, one American, overcome with nerves on the 1st tee, had to hiss at her foursomes partner:  “Get up here; I can’t do this….” but I digress, as usual.)

It went from bad to worse for the home side:  Ammaccapane was penalised for building a stance in a bunker under the eyes of the USGA’s P.J. Boatrwright,  a formidable figure and undoubtedly the world’s chief rules guru and it wasn’t until the second day that the USA managed to win the first hole.  By then it was too late and I think GB and I only needed half a point from the six singles to win.

It was, not to put too fine a point on it, bloody amazing and paved the way for the Ryder Cup team to win at Muirfield Village the following year and the Walker Cup team to win at Peachtree in 1989.  They really were trailblazers.

All hail to Lillian Behan, Karen Davies, Claire Hourihane, Trish Johnson, Mary McKenna, Belle Robertson, Vicki Thomas and Jill Thornhill.  And, of course, Diane Bailey and her strong right arm and support Elsie Brown.

Two years later, at Royal St George’s, I suggested in my preview for The Times that it might have been the most outrageous fluke and, apparently, Jill Thornhill, incandescent, threw the paper to the floor, leapt out of bed and set off to prove me wrong.

Now, I used to think that that was probably my best, most effective intro in that it certainly caught the attention of the reader but, on reflection, it was a bit pants because that reader never read any further!  She completely missed the bit at the end where I suggested that it wasn’t a fluke and GB and I could win again.

And they did.

 

* The answer:  David, now Lord Cameron, the plonker I hold mainly responsible for the Brexit debacle.  The reason:  he’s an ambassador for ISPS HANDA, the sponsors of  the championship and staunch supporters of all things golf.

Well done Viktor Hovland – a winner for the eighth time on the PGA tour.

Mind you, it took a Monday morning play-off against Scottie Scheffler before he could claim the Travelers Championship title and judging by the number of folk who turned up at TPC River Highlands for the 9am start there weren’t too many at work in Cromwell, Connecticut that morning.  Unfortunately for the crowds all they witnessed was a mere half dozen shots – two perfect drives, side by side, and then a stellar iron by world No 1 Scheffler in to five feet, followed by Viktor in to around twelve feet.  The Norwegian’s putt somehow fell in from the low right-hand side and then, rather unexpectedly, Homer nodded and we witnessed a Scheffler miss.  And that was their lot – six, no, well, five of the best.

The home crowd was naturally supporting Scottie whose fourth runner-up spot this was this season, but Viktor had his own Viking cheerleading group fresh from World Cup duty in Boston and more importantly, his Mum was present to see him win for the first time.  He’s obviously making a decent fist of being kinder to himself on the course and hopefully this result will encourage him to continue with that strategy.

As for Scottie, I don’t see anyone taking his Open title from him at Birkdale in a couple of weeks.  He’s been threatening to move up from his “B” game for a while and his timing looks good for another major.  We shall see.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s Haeran Ryu opened her major account by winning the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship by two shots from fellow countrywoman, Ina Yoon, who notoriously served a two-year suspension from the game a couple of years back for playing the wrong ball in a tournament and not declaring it at the time.

Ryu, however, has had no such glitches in her career, stepping up with ease from being the 2023 Rookie of the Year on the LPGA to now a major champ.  Her coach’s advice, after her first round of 73 left her ten behind Yoon, was to trust herself, her swing and her caddy.  She took that to heart and it worked wonders freeing her up to play her best.

There were a number of very happy players at the conclusion of this major and, aside from the winner, none more so than Dewi Weber of the Netherlands who finished in joint third spot.  Weber joined the LPGA tour in 2022 and last week’s cheque of north of $750,000 just about doubled her career earnings.  It’s probably much too little and too late for her to catch the eye of European Solheim Cup captain, Anna Nordqvist……but the match IS in the Netherlands, so with a couple more good performances……You never know.

Canadian Brooke Henderson, who finished joint third with Weber, was equally happy – but for entirely different reasons.  Her sister, Brittany, who caddied for her on tour for more than a decade, gave birth on Thursday morning to her first child, a daughter, named Sahalee after the venue where Brooke won the  PGA title ten years ago.  That’ll be a very joyful reunion.

While we were sweltering away here in Cheshire with soaring temperatures, it was strange to switch on to the Women’s Amateur at Muirfield and see that occasionally the competitors had to don fleeces and jackets – but that’s Scotland for you.  The final, however, was played in warm but breezy conditions and what a wonderful test of golf these players faced in the changing winds.

France had their first winner of this great title since Celine Boutier in 2015 when Valentine Delon beat Spain’s Andrea Revuelta by 3 and 1 in the 36-hole final.  She is the ninth French player to have her name inscribed on the old trophy.  It is, however, France’s eleventh victory because the redoubtable Brigitte Varangot dominated in the 1960s, with three titles tucked under her belt.

Delon is no stranger to adversity, suffering from scoliosis and undergoing back surgery in 2019.  Her long-term inspiration, however, has always been former US Solheim Cup captain and major winner Stacy Lewis, who faced similar challenges yet carved out a stellar professional career.

Over the years further inspiration for Valentine has come from one of her neighbours in Chantilly, namely the legendary Catherine Lacoste who has her name etched on many trophies worldwide including this one in 1969.  How fitting that France’s newest champion should win on Lacoste’s 81st birthday.

“It’s amazing,” said Delon. “I don’t think it feels real right now but it’s just the best thing ever. I practised every day to be in this situation. It was really hard today. The conditions were really hard, but being the champion and putting my name on this trophy is amazing.”

Exciting times lie ahead for Valentine as she now receives invitations into the final two professional majors of the year, plus the Standard Portland Classic on the LPGA tour and then two further majors in 2027.  If still amateur next April, she can add the Augusta National Women’s Amateur to her list..

Heavy duty appointments for anyone’s diary but I somehow feel she’ll be equal to them.  What a difference a week makes.

There are many qualities in sport and life that high achievers tend to share.  They are usually skilful, hard-working, resilient and possessed of indefatigable perseverance but one of the things that I truly love about golf is that the very best also come in a variety of shapes and sizes and it’s possible to list as many differences between major champions as it is similarities.  Add in to the mix the wide array of golf courses and conditions that would-be major winners face and you begin to understand there is no blueprint for a major golf champion.  As I’m always fond of pointing out – you can’t film what makes a player great.  It’s lodged deep in his or her soul or psyche.

It’s a rare Englishman (Justin Rose is one) that can have every Celtic golfer I know rooting for him.  Historically, the Irish, Scots and Welsh (the Celts) are collectively known to support ABEs – Anyone But the English – all stemming from years of a deep-seated sense of inferiority, I suspect.  Well, that rarest of Englishmen, Wolverhampton’s Aaron Rai, joined the major champion club last Sunday when he bested the field in the 108th PGA Championship at Aronimink just outside Philadelphia – and it says such a lot about the man when his victory was greeted with near-universal delight by his fellow competitors and peers.

Xander Schauffele, winner of this championship in 2024, summed him up beautifully with the phrase, “all-world gentleman, no doubt”.  Rory McIlroy opined, “There won’t be one person on this property who won’t be happy for him,” and Jon Rahm said,  “I have heard consistently there’s very few people that are nicer and kinder human beings than Aaron Rai.”

Quite the validation for the 31-year old who first swung a club at 3 Hammers Golf Complex as a four-year old and joined Patshull Park as a five-year old.  Incidentally, the Ladies’ European Tour held a tournament back in the day at Patshull Park which was won by Anne Rollo (nee Jones) and around that time I used the facility a great deal as I worked with a physical trainer who was attached there.  I think we just missed overlapping with the young Aaron.

It’s well documented how Aaron’s father scraped and saved to manage to buy the youngster his first set of clubs and Rai junior lovingly cleaned those clubs protecting, not only the woods with covers, but the irons as well – a habit he employs to this day to ensure, as he says, that he never loses his perspective or sight of where he has come from.

There was early evidence of the discipline he would bring to his game when, as a fifteen-year old he set a world record in holing 207 consecutive 10 footers. and this same discipline was much in evidence last week as he wore down his opposition.  A strategist and tactician, Aaron’s thoughtful, studied approach was the perfect foil to Aronimink, a course with deceptive difficulty off the tee and ferocious green complexes.  He stayed in his own bubble and when the pressure was at its height he covered the last ten holes of the championship in six under par.

No one could live with him.  He won by three, adding his first major to his list of victories as a professional which had hitherto read:  three wins on the HotelPlanner tour, three on the DP World tour and one on the PGA tour.

I wonder if we’ll now see a proliferation of players playing with two gloves, a habit the young Aaron acquired to combat the cold of all those winter rounds as a youngster.  When the summer came he found himself unable to discard the right-hand glove as the grip didn’t feel so secure.

Sean Foley, who coaches many of the top players, has always said he doesn’t understand why golfers mostly only play with a glove on their lead hand.  He points out that baseball players use two gloves and that traction and force applied down the bat provides more power.  I don’t pretend to understand the physics of it all but it does seem that the one-glove option may be more of an affectation than anything truly useful……..and the manufacturers could earn a good deal more selling gloves in pairs!

The new champion gives a great deal of credit for his performance inside the ropes to the support he receives outside the ropes from his wife, Gaurika Bishnoi, who is also a professional golfer.  Bishnoi, originally from Gurugram in India has won eight times on the Hero Women’s Pro Golf Tour, twice finishing as the number one player.  She has caddied for him in the past, as has he for her on the Ladies’ European tour and they spend many hours practising together and having chipping, putting and wedge contests.

Outside the ropes she lives and dies every shot with her husband and on Sunday, when watching his composure and attitude under the severest pressure, she knew that if he didn’t win then he assuredly would in the future.  Aaron certainly doesn’t underestimate how much she helps him – “I’m not exaggerating when I say I wouldn’t be here without her.

“Her mindset, her advice, her thoughts, whether it’s technique or the way I’m holding myself is absolutely invaluable,” Rai said of his wife. “She encompasses so many different sides in her opinions.”

They’re quite a team, a popular team – and now they’re a major team.  The sky’s the limit.

It’s been a different sort of week with a quick little trip back to the homeland, – not for golf-related things, but to attend the North West 200, one of the world’s great motorbike road races.  I haven’t been to the North West, as it is called, since my student days and the race course is slightly different from then but it’s as thrilling and bonkers as ever.  My better half was, of course, in seventh heaven, albeit a little cross with me that it has taken me twenty-plus years to organise this trip. All other jaunts were heavily weighted in the direction of golf, you see – and well, the dates never really suited.

Despite forecasts of rain the weather was predominantly sunny, but chillingly cold, rarely staggering up to double figures Centigrade.  With the bikes reaching speeds of up to 212mph there’s no earthly use positioning yourself on a straight bit of the circuit, so we sensibly tucked ourselves in at selected hairpins and got a first-class view.  Only then could you begin to appreciate the incredible skill level of the riders – and their fearlessness.  It’s a potent mix to witness.

I did manage to pop in to Portstewart golf club, my old stomping ground and found the members relieved and pleased that recent renovations to the two courses are coming to an end.  There’s still some work on the practice ground to be completed but it looks like it’s well on the way.  The 16th hole on the Strand course has been altered and the distinctive plateau that gave the hole its name is no more, therefore a request has gone out for suggestions for a new name.  I decided I’d put in my two pennies worth.

My suggestion for the new name is “Red Sails” as in the “Red Sails in the Sunset” song.

The well-known Irish lyricist Jimmy Kennedy was inspired by the sight of the yacht “Kitty of Coleraine” with her red sails out in the bay off Portstewart strand and penned the words to the famous song.  You can just see a portion of the bay in the poster to the left of the clubhouse.   The song has subsequently been covered by numerous well known artists including Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, Nat King Cole, Fats Domino and Dean Martin.  You can see this bay as you play up towards the green.

So, that’s my modest submission but I did rather like the idea of another member – “Thank God, we’re almost finished.”  Possibly a tad too long and potentially tricky for the printing of the scorecards, I fear.  It’s a pity Patricia wasn’t with us – she has a great knack for coming up with just the right name or phrase on these occasions.

We got back home on Sunday just in time for me to settle down to see if the Alex Fitzpatrick fairy tale was set to continue.  He had a one stroke lead going into the final round of the Truist Championship at Quail Hollow in Charlotte but lots of contenders were snapping and snarling at his heels.

He fought hard but a late double bogey at the 17th ultimately put paid to his chances and he finished solo fourth, “settling” for a cheque of $960,000.  As he left the final green his Mum and Dad were there to congratulate him with sage advice – “Don’t forget to sign your card.”  Can’t imagine they’d have felt the need to say that to older brother, Matt.

The last twelve rounds of golf have yielded Alex a tad over $2.8 million and it’s fair to say his life has changed beyond recognition.  He now has a two-year exemption on the PGA tour, he’s eligible for the limited field, big money events and he’s teeing it up this week at Aronimink in the men’s second major, the PGA Championship.

The only time I’ve met Alex was when in the company of former Curtis Cup player Maureen Richmond (nee Walker).  The week before the 2023 Open Championship Mo and I had arranged to walk the course at Hoylake.  I was on commentating duty and Mo, a long-time member was kindly giving me the benefit of her extensive inside knowledge.

Alex and his caddy arrived on the first tee at exactly the same time as us and Mo and Alex soon renewed their acquaintance from the 2019 Walker Cup which had been held at the club to celebrate its 15oth year.  Mo had been lady captain and Alex was making the first of his two appearances for the GB&I Walker Cup team.  He was outgoing, friendly and charming and here he was, four years later, back at Hoylake to tee it up in his first major.  I’ll be watching him closely this week in this, his second major, as he rides this incredible streak of results – and I will be hoping he doesn’t wake up any time soon.

Kudos, too, to Kristoffer Reitan (picture at top), from Oslo who won the Truist Championship, a signature event, on his 15th start on the PGA tour.  Eighteen months ago he was on the HotelPlanner tour, the second tier of the DP World tour.  Now the world is his oyster as he follows in the footsteps of close friend Viktor Hovland in becoming the second Norwegian to win on the toughest tour in the world.

Like Fitzpatrick he will be making his debut this week in the PGA Championship and thus will complete the goal of teeing it up in all four majors.  He made his Masters debut last month and his first appearance at the Open was in 2025 but you’ve to go all the way back to 2018 when he was still an amateur to find his name on the start sheet for a US Open.  He qualified at Walton Heath and so became the first Norwegian to play in that championship – one of the few times he’s beaten Viktor to anything.

It’ll be interesting watching how these young Europeans fare this week, but don’t forget we’re on Grand Slam watch with Jordan Spieth who “only” needs this title to complete the set.

Oh, and, of course, there’s Rory, Xander, Scottie, Tommy, Cam, Rosey, Bobby Mac et al………….

Should be quite a watch.