We've all been there haven't we?
An occasion crops up on the social calendar that demands a dinner suit yet leaves us guddling and rummaging in the wardrobe for the said attire that has been stuffed so deep into the fusty recesses it may as well be locked in the vaults of Fort Knox. Marc Warren found himself in this very situation on Tuesday as he got suited and booted for the European Tour's annual awards dinner in London. As a winner on the circuit in 2014, the Scot would be part of this shimmering parade of champions. It had been a while since he was last involved in it, of course, and the digging out of the dinner suit acted as a stark reminder of a title drought that had stretched back seven years.
"It made me realise that I really need to go and buy a new dinner suit because the last time I had one on was at the awards dinner in 2008, the year after I last won," said the 34-year-old with a smile. "It still had a business card in it from a guy I met at that dinner too. That was the last time I had it on and I was just delighted with the fact it fitted me more than anything else."
Warren's success in Denmark last summer, his first on the tour since he won the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles in 2007 and his third overall, bridged a sizeable gap and kept the upwardly mobile Scot heading in the right direction again. There had been flirtations with victory over the past couple of years and close shaves in both the Spanish Open and the Scottish Open kept him hammering on the door. Two years ago at Wentworth, the venue for this week's BMW PGA Championship, Warren succumbed in a three-man play-off for the title but he finally brought home the bacon in Denmark last season as he continued to make strides up the world order.
This week, Warren is making his first appearance in a European Tour event since February after a stint competing on the PGA Tour in America. At 57th on the world rankings, there are major goals to aim for and looming on the horizon is next month's US Open at Chambers Bay. Should he safeguard that place in the leading 60 on the world order come Sunday night, he will be assured of a tee-time for the second major championship of the campaign
"The way the rankings work I could have potentially not played this week and stayed inside the top 60," said Warren, who agonisingly missed out on an invitation to April's Masters by just one place after finishing 51st on the world rankings at the cut-off point for qualification. "But when you're inside, it's in your hands and you want to play well and take control of it yourself. The way my game's feeling, and on this golf course that I like, I feel as though I can do that."
Having built up a decent body of work in this neck of the woods, Warren is eager for another strong showing over a West course that clearly suits his eye.
Warren has already been dressed for his success this week. If Rangers can measure up in this play-off palaver with Hibernian over the next few days then it will, well, suit him to a tee.
"If they come through on Saturday night I'll have a massive skip in my step for the final round here," said this avid supporter of the Ibrox outfit.
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