A 7am start; quick goodbyes to Nick??s parents; breakfast; hotel check out; and straight to Filton Golf Course in Bristol. A ??Shambles Format? encouraged some friendly competition (read: scramble). Michael and JP to take on myself and Doug. Itinerant versus quality golfers. The weather was glorious and the tree lined fairways ensured only the straightest of tee shots would provide a low scoring round. Pars being the bench mark for the first few holes. All four players supporting their partner at some point. After nine, Michael felt the need for a break for the second day running, taking some of the weight off his shoulders, which proved to be the beginning of a succession of birdies. Me and Doug just about clinging on, despite the occasional hairy moment, as we continued to push Michael and Jamie all the way to the 16th. Even with some of my more cunning tactics of distraction, the pretenders finished the round with a combined score of 68, winning by 3 shots. ??Chin up boys. More candles to be lit and jobs to be found!? chirped the skinny one.
Next, a brisk drive to Celtic Manor across the Severn Bridge and into Newport to witness a truly memorable Ryder Cup unfold. We managed to park the car close to the course, evade any problems getting in and sprint our way down to see the Americans make a remarkable recovery. When Ricky Fowler holed his fourth birdie putt in as many holes to half his match, it all came down to ??G-Mac? one up at the time, needing to win his match in order to keep the Cup on European soil. As you all know. The atmosphere more like a football match than a golf match, the crowd chanting ??Europe, Europe? (read: Yoo Rup, Yoo Rup) as 35,000 people gathered between the 16th and 18th holes. And when McDowell holed for his birdie at 16 to go Dormie 2, the whole of Wales erupted. A noise that cannot be described. Monty before the tournament stated the Cup would be won or lost on the 17th; he had it spot on. The four of us stood pin high on the 17th green listening to every fan chanting ??G Mac, G Mac, G Mac? as he made his practice swing. The whole of the tee box and the perimeter of the hole, lined with fans, galleries packed, mud banks swarmed with people and umbrellas propping people on the banks. McDowell hit his tee shot in dead silence and as it hit the green and stuck to the right hand side, the crowd went wild for a few minutes. As Hunter Mahan prepared for his tee shot silence surrounded us again. As he hit his tee shot, there were murmurs from the crowd that it was short, and it was. His next shot, quite remarkable, nerves playing a huge part as his deceleration in swing on impact saw his chip not even make the green three meters away. So a putt from off the green to save the match for Hunter slides by the right edge causing him to concede and the European crowd, including us, to go wild. The scenes that unfolded in front of our eyes will provide life long memories. So a big thanks to Tiger Woods' Caddie, Steve Williams for the tickets. Once in a lifetime stuff.
The scenes of champagne and red wine being sprayed off the balcony; and each player celebrating the fame like a Premier League football star would receive, was a one off experience, as were the speeches of Montgomery and Pavin. Emotional and graceful, Corey??s reminded me of Alan??s (from the movie, The Hangover) speech about his ??Wolf Pack? while on the roof.
??You guys might not know this, but I consider myself a bit of a loner. I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack. But when my sister brought Doug home, I knew he was one of my own. And my wolf pack... it grew by one. So there... there were two of us in the wolf pack... I was alone first in the pack, and then Doug joined in later. And six months ago, when Doug introduced me to you guys, I thought, "Wait a second, could it be?" And now I know for sure, I just added two more guys to my wolf pack. Four of us wolves, running around the desert together, in Las Vegas, looking for strippers and cocaine. So tonight, I make a toast!?
The day was finished with a celebratory curry at the Kings Arms, next to Celtic Manor. Discussing the many memorable moments and laughs of a truly unforgettable three days. Just another chapter during this rewarding adventure across this extraordinary world that is golf.
Nick The Pom
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