Golf:  ah, that beautiful game……….or cruel mistress, depending on where you are in your relationship with said game.  It’s been described as humbling, irritating, spiritual, character-building, glorious, nerve-shredding and addictive.  And last Saturday the golfing gods turned and smiled down on Richard Bland, a 48-year old Englishman who had never quite made it all the way to the top spot on the podium at a European Tour event despite 477 goes at it.  His 478th go was different.  Life-affirming and life-enhancing, he emerged from a play-off the winner of the 2021 Betfred British Masters at The Belfry.

It’s all worth it now – the multiple returns to Qualifying School and the humble acceptance of dropping down to the Challenge Tour on several occasions (the last time as recently as 2018) to endeavour to secure playing rights again on the main tour.  Two decades of seeing friends and colleagues have their moment in the sun would test any person’s resolve and inner belief and between raw, emotional gulps Bland explained it as follows:-

“I don’t quit,” he said. “Even if I’m having a bad day.  You might be frustrated by it but you never throw the towel in because you never know in this game what’s round the corner.

“I always knew I could do it. Some of my friends out here have won. You think if they can win, surely I can do it.  I’ve left it a little late, but better late than never.”

I’ve never met Richard Bland but I watched his three-footer for the win through the cross-hatching of my fingers over my eyes, which were blurry with emotion.  It was sport at its best and the usually totally impartial Sky Sports golf team were taut with nerves and exhausted with the emotion of watching their pal achieve his lifelong dream.  You could hear their voices wobble, both for Richard and for their colleague, Tim Barter, who has coached Bland for the last twenty years and been with him every step of the way.  The winning interview was tough to negotiate for both Bland and Barter but how lovely to escape sanitised, sterile telly and really see behind the curtain for a change.

It was inspiring stuff.  Even Freddie Couples, self-confessed couch potato, was moved to pick up his phone and take to twitter.

Just goes to show it’s not always the biggest tournaments that provide the most memorable moments.

I will, however, be hoping for a big, and memorable, moment at this week’s PGA, the men’s second major of the year, which is being played over the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island in South Carolina.  There’s a stellar field with only Matthew Wolff from the top 100 in the world absent and the players will need all the tools and skills at their disposal to take on this brute of a creation by Pete and Alice Dye.  A mere 124 yards short of 8000 yards it will obviously favour those who can give the ball a good skelp and with that in mind I have three Europeans I’m looking forward to keeping tabs on.  We all know tipping players is fruitless – and more often than not the kiss of death – but it’s still fun, so here goes.

World No 3 Jon Rahm is searching for his first major victory and I have a feeling this could well be it.  He has the guile to go with his power and since the turn of the year he has quietly recorded seven top tens without ever quite taking centre stage.  Definitely one to watch and potentially Europe’s best chance of bagging the Wanamaker Trophy.

Next, keep a beady eye on Bob MacIntyre, the talented left-hander from Oban.  He has the game through the bag to match anyone but this course will test his strategy to the limit.  It’s not always the right play to choose to be aggressive and if he can rein in that tendency, he’s got a great chance.  Whatever happens he will learn from it and go away better than when he arrived.

And anyone who knows me knows that hope always springs eternal within my heart for Rory McIlroy, winner by a whopping eight shots the last time the PGA was played here in 2012.  A tidy win at Quail Hollow 12 days ago will boost his confidence in his new left-to-right approach to the game but I suspect it’s not yet bedded down well enough to cope at major level.  But, hey, this is Rory and part of the fun of watching him is anything can happen and we may just get treated to a masterclass.

There are so many interesting storylines to look out for – can Jordan Spieth become only the sixth player to achieve the career Grand Slam?  Can Bryson DeChambeau find the fairways with his 400-yard boomers in the difficult Atlantic breezes?  Will the fact that the USGA are for the first time in a major allowing the players to use rangefinders to measure their yardages really help speed up play?

Lots of questions and only one I can answer with certainty.  Rangefinders to speed up play?  Not in a million years.

I’m a bit annoyed – well, much more than annoyed but I’m trying hard to moderate my language and reduce the number of swear words used per sentence, especially in the blog.  There’s a tournament this week at The Belfry, not too far down the road from here and it’s really frustrating not to be able to go – we’re not out of the COVID woods yet, so golf in this neck of the woods is still off limits to spectators.

The Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, in support of Prostate Cancer UK, which started on Wednesday, is one of those events that would be worth watching.  Willett, the Masters champion from Sheffield, is playing; Martin Kaymer, the US PGA and Open champion from  Dusseldorf, who has lost his way, was there for 36 holes; and the talented young Scots Calum Hill and Robert MacIntyre are sharing the halfway lead with Englishman Richard Bland, who is 48 years old, playing in his 478th European Tour event and eyeing up the over-50s tour.

“It would mean everything [to win], especially at my age,” Bland said. “The chances are probably going to come fewer and farther between – that’s not being negative, that’s just being pretty realistic.  I’m going to try and go out there and not think about it too much.  The old cliche, just one shot at a time as best I can.”

The Brabazon course, scene of four compelling Ryder Cups, is still proving a proper test for some of the best, even in these days of smash and gouge. The three leaders are only 7 under par so far and Bland was understandably delighted to have played two days without a bogey.  “That’s extra special,” he said.  “It doesn’t happen very often, especially round here where there are four or five holes that can really catch you out.

“You really have to stand up and hit a proper golf shot even just to make par, so I’m really happy with the way I’ve played.  I think I’ve only missed four fairways in two rounds and they were not by a lot, so my greens in regulation stats are pretty high as well.”

Good to see that a place that started out as a load of old potato fields and was probably too immature a course to deserve its first Ryder Cup or two has matured beautifully and proved a proper test of nerve and shot-making.  It’s a great venue and is full of memories – such laughs with Helen and Colm Smith, who always stayed with us; having an open house for our AGW colleagues, friends and neighbours – there were some memorable encounters and robust exchanges of views; the brother-in-law with me shaking the St Giles Hospice collecting tins on the temporary bridge connecting the car parks with the course (not sure we were quite legal but we did well); great times.

The Sky guys were reminiscing about it all and reminding Ken Brown, who was out on the course, of some of his finest moments.  Ken had a slightly dodgy start to his Ryder Cup career but he won two out of four points, including his singles against the formidable Raymond Floyd, in the near-miss at PGA National in Florida in 1983.  That’s when the incomparable Seve told his downcast teammates that they’d as good as won (it was 14 1/2 – 13 1/2 to the USA and Jack Nicklaus, the US captain, kissed the turf in relief).

“Next time, we beat them,” Seve said, only beat started with an F and ended with a K, with two asterisks in between….

He was right.  Back at the Belfry in 1985 it was Europe 16 1/2 – USA 11 1/2 and in the foursomes on the second afternoon, Ken and Bernhard Langer beat Ray Floyd and Lanny Wadkins, two of the toughest, most dogged competitors ever, by 3 and 2.

It’s ten years since Seve died, far, far too young but he was a force of nature and none of us who met him and knew him will ever forget him.  Dave’s book is a wonderful tribute and brings to life Seve’s charisma, charm and sheer brilliance.  He wasn’t perfect, on or off the course but….

There are lots of Walker Cuppers who go on to become Ryder Cuppers and no doubt there’ll be a few of this year’s stars at Seminole who train on to even greater things as professionals.  I wanted Maureen to get us a game there with Gerry McIlroy, Rory’s father, who’s a member but it didn’t take too long looking at those fearsome greens and bunkers to disabuse us both of that notion.  We’re old enough and wise enough to know when we’re beaten….

It’s a bit harsh to call GB and I’s valiant effort a BBU (brave but unavailing) because both teams did wonderfully well to play such good golf in difficult circumstances – following the pandemic protocols, then having to cope with a nasty gastrointestinal bug that floored almost everyone, then taking on Seminole in a weakened state (the players not the course)…..They were all heroes.

There’s usually nothing remotely heroic about my golf but on Tuesday we were a couple of holes from home when the heavens opened and there was thunder, lightning, hail and torrential rain.  Aaaaagh.  What to do?  What exactly is the correct procedure?  Do we leave the clubs and dive in to the nearest bunker?  Or just trundle in to the clubhouse with all our gear?   After all, most brollies are fibreglass now, aren’t they?

As it happened, we were not far from the greenkeepers’ shed (bigger and posher, so perhaps just a structure), so we legged it to shelter and waited until the weather had calmed down a bit.  Two of us had half decent scores so we finished out on the 17th and played the last with the rain tipping down…….Madness.

 

 

 

 

 

I was doing a bit of tidying the other day and came across an edition of “bunkered”, Scotland’s only golf magazine, left by my sister on a previous visit.  I looked to see how old it was and discovered, rather irritatingly, that as far as I could see there was no date on it.  The cover merely states the issue number.  However, on flicking through it I ascertained that Dustin had already won the November Masters and we hadn’t yet reached the April one.  I rather like “bunkered” – some interesting opinions and in-depth interviews – although it still caters overwhelmingly for the male brigade in golf and is not quite yet embracing the sport in a 21st century manner.

My eye was caught, however, by an article about Blind Golf Scotland which was formed in the 1980s and it reminded me of Jane Connachan, one of Scotland’s best known and most successful golfers, who used to coach a number of blind and partially-sighted players around that time.  Perhaps she still does.  Jane, or JC as she was known to us on tour, was a child prodigy who took Scottish golf by storm as a 12-year old and represented her country at every level before ultimately joining the paid ranks.  At 16 she was the youngest ever Curtis Cup player and setting records was as natural to her as breathing.  She is still imparting her vast knowledge and experience to her devoted clients.

Over the years JC organised a few pro-am events and I signed up to play in one at Gullane.  The week before the event she rang me and asked would I play with a team of three of her pupils, all of them registered blind.  I said I’d be delighted to and she explained that we would be going off at the end of the field as we wouldn’t be too speedy.  I really didn’t give it too much more thought but it turned out to be a life-changing day for me in more ways than one.

On a cold, blustery day we teed off at the end of the field at Gullane No 2 course.  Each of my companions had a guide with them.  Surprisingly the guides weren’t necessarily golfers but they had learned how to steer their players round the course and more importantly how to set them up to aim.  They made all the decisions as regards club selection and when we got near the green they would estimate the length of the pitch or chip shot or putt – whatever it happened to be.

Obviously it was a round devoid of the usual “good shot” congratulations from all members of the group when someone connected really well or hit one close.  That wasn’t something I’d ever considered before and I found it very strange.  The guides had their hands full with their particular player and paid little heed to anyone else and for me it was almost akin to playing on my own because of the lack of interaction.  What it did give me, however, was ample time to study these wonderful players who were determined to try their absolute best on every shot.

As the round progressed I found myself drawn in more and more to helping the guides describe the shot required in greater detail.  Painting a picture of the shot facing the players and giving them a more vivid idea of the terrain facing them, particularly on and around the greens, seemed to help them perform better.  I learned that calling the other senses into play helped compensate for the lack of vision.  I’d get the player to listen and feel the swish of contact with the ground on a practice swing and then just ask him to recreate it.  Listening to the quality of the contact on a chip or putt heightens the sense of touch.  It was thrilling, thrilling stuff to see the joy on the player’s face as I described how a shot was drawing ever closer to the hole.

We ran out of light with three holes left to play and after being on the course for six hours.  Did we stop?  Of course not!  After all, I was the only one inconvenienced by the darkness!  We finally arrived on the last green and I could see the dining room packed with the other pro-am teams enjoying a fine dinner.  We were all frozen by this stage but one of our number (not me!) had a 12-footer for par, a rare beast indeed for a golfer of that handicap never mind one who couldn’t see.  He took on board all the instructions, rehearsed his putting stroke until it was just right and then calmly rolled it into the heart of the cup.  We jumped up and down on the green and hugged each other and those near the windows of the dining room whooped and hollered.  I don’t mind admitting I was misty-eyed, humbled by the never-say-die attitude and the pleasure that lit up the faces of all the players at even the most modest of successes.

When we finally walked into the dining room to join the others, the room rose as one to applaud these wonderfully gritty players.  They asked no quarter.  Once again I was surreptitiously reaching for my hankie.

I had a lot to ponder that evening as I thought back over the events of the day.  I learned so, so much but it was another decade at least before I realised that it was on that very day that I started honing my commentary skills for eventually covering golf on the radio – something I’ve now done for almost 24 years.  So, thanks JC for organising that pro-am;  thanks for fixing me up with such an inspiring team;  and thanks for the life lessons learned in that one round of golf.

What the ‘L’ to write about this week?   I didn’t have to pause long in my deliberations.  There’s one ‘L’ this particular Irishwoman wishes to celebrate and that’s Leona, Leona, Leona!  Leona Maguire, one of only two Irish players on the LPGA tour, recorded her highest finish on that circuit, finishing runner-up in the Lotte Championship played at Kapolei in Oahu, Hawaii.  She pocketed just under a cool $126,000 for her 21-under par effort, a lovely boost for any bank balance but particularly for a player still technically in her rookie season.

Leona’s early introduction to the game and speedy rise through the amateur ranks to the No 1 position in the world has been well documented.  She attended Duke University in North Carolina along with her twin sister Lisa.  Both were very academic, as well as being talented golfers and while those four years cemented Leona’s desire to stay in the playing arena, Lisa, shortly after turning pro, decided it was not for her.  Now 26 years old, Leona has matured from a shy, home-loving Co Cavan girl into an articulate, confident athlete who is inspiring others with her exploits.

Just take a look at the company she is keeping.  Last week, alongside her in second place were three other players, Inbee Park, Sei Young Kim and Nelly Korda, respectively the second, third and fourth ranked players in the world.  Out in front in Hawaii, and by some distance, was the former world No 1 Lydia Ko, who won for the first time in three years.  These women have ten majors between them as well as a gold and a silver Olympic medal.  Leona is not out of place and I think she has the confidence to know she has the game to take her where she wants to go.

We all have heroes who have inspired and motivated us.  For inspirational, mind-blowing achievements Leona need not raise her eyes from her own Emerald Isle.  Katie Taylor took the boxing world by storm, winning gold at the London Olympics and becoming world champion at two different weights.  This sport takes a special type of courage as you can be seriously, physically hurt any time you take to the ring.  Ditto for Rachel Blackmore who a week or so ago became the first female jockey to win the Grand National – and this only a couple of weeks after being leading jockey at Cheltenham.  Phew!  What ever made me think golf was hard?  There’s definitely another dimension to those two sports.  And I tremble at a three-footer – what a wimp!

Ireland has a great deal of good golf to look forward to over the coming months.  Excitement is already mounting at the opportunity to see, not just home-grown players but some of the best internationals from both the men’s and the women’s games compete in the ISPS HANDA World Invitational presented by Modest! Golf Management  (phew, a bit of a mouthful!) at the end of July.  The event is tri-sanctioned by the European Tour, the LPGA and the LET and will be held over the Galgorm Castle and Massereene courses.  We have seen men’s and women’s events run alongside each other before but this is a first for the northern hemisphere.  The 144 men and 144 women will split a total purse of $2.35 million, competing for two equal prize funds.

Fingers crossed that Covid restrictions will have eased enough to allow the golf fans to pour in through the gates.  This tournament really matters, with world ranking points, Ryder Cup points and Solheim Cup points on the line and we already know the magic that can be created on a golf course by the presence of a vast, knowledgeable (and partisan) Irish golf crowd.

Golf in Ireland is in a good place when we have the likes of Niall Horan, the founder of Modest! Golf Management, at the helm.  He is passionate about “providing opportunities for all and ensuring golf is a game for everyone”.  Superstars from other industries who fall in love with our game increase the reach of our sport massively and we are so lucky to have him driving the equality ship and keeping Ireland in the global golf conversation.

A parting shot, however.  Don’t think that it’s necessary to have a Rachel, Katie, Leona or Niall to light a fire in someone’s life.  Of course they’re invaluable but we can all do our part, however humble, to inspire others.  Let’s just start with a welcoming attitude, a few kind words and inclusion for all.  That way we can help lots of others enjoy this great game.