OOR esteemed leader was spotted visiting The Open yesterday. And the diarist is talking about Nicola Sturgeon here, not the sports editor. With a second independence referendum on the table, the polls are apparently tighter than some of the Old Course lies.
Miss Sturgeon was set to pop into one of the SwingZones in the tented village where hard-working PGA professionals pass on pearls of wisdom to all walks of golfing life. The tireless John Mulgrew, that well-kent 75-year-old who ran the famed Normandy Driving Range in Renfrew back in ye day, is manning one of the practice bays. Given that the Scottish independence vote hangs in the balance, the diarist is wondering if the First Minister asked the redoubtable John to cast his keen eye over her marginal swing?
*Friday was cut day at The Open with the top 70 and ties progressing to the closing 36-holes. Like a bad end of the pier comedian, meanwhile, the diarist is here all week. Peering through the tee-times ahead of round two, I noticed the name of Sadom Kaewkanjana from Thailand on the drawsheet and was reminded of that hoary press centre gag about players from Thailand never missing a cut in The Open … because the qualifying mark is 70 and Thais. Dear me.
*There can be some odd questions asked at an Open Championship. Here’s one, for instance, aimed at Oban’s Robert MacIntyre. “You are Scottish and you’re playing in the home of golf so what makes you believe Scotland is the home of golf?” said the reporter. “It just is,” replied young Robert with a mystified gaze. As far as hardline questioning goes, it wasn’t quite the Spanish Inquisition.
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