On Wednesday the 24th March I was lucky enough to be able to play in the Andalucian Open Pro-Am tournament. I was supposed to play with Miguel Angel Jimenez but when I arrived at the Parador, Miguel Angel told me that I would be playing with Darren Clarke instead. “Was I disappointed” he asked. You can imagine my answer! It turned out to be the best day’s golf of my life. Not so much because of how I played (I was so nervous my driver never came out of the bag until the 18th hole), but who I played with. Mr. Clarke is an absolute gentleman, gregarious, patient and inspirational.
The highlight of the course for me was sinking a 5 meter put on the eighteenth for a net birdie. This got our combined score down to 18 under par, but Darren’s caddie said it was not enough to win the competition. That evening I went to the prize presentation just to take a few photos and rub shoulders with my idols. When Darren Clarke saw me he beckoned me over to the bar and very seriously asked me if I remembered what I did on the eighteenth. A net birdie I replied nervously. He gave me a bear hug and told me that my put had won us the competition by one point. The rest of the evening I spent on cloud nine.
