TODAYSGOLFER.CO.UK ISSUE 367 77the same studio in the space of three
hours. That was a bit strange. I don’t
know Rory that well, but we talk a lot
of politics privately through direct
message on Twitter. He’s a very smart
guy and he has a lot of opinions about
the world.I haven’t played golf with Donald
Trump yet, but I’m looking forward
to it. He’s actually quite a good friend
of mine, so I’m hoping we can arrange
something soon. Rory says he’s a good
player, but probably nearer to a five or
six handicap.I’d love to interview Tiger Woods. I
would probably ask whether he thinks
he’d still be the No.1 golfer in the
world if he’d never been caught being a
naughty boy and going to Vegas every
weekend. Clearly it was his release
valve. The moment that all stopped,
everything went wrong.I had a great lunch sitting next to
Colin Montgomerie once. I’d gone in
with a preconception that he was going
to be quite difficult, but I couldn’t have
met a more charming, funny and
entertaining guy. I came away with a
completely different impression of him.
He was great company.I don’t like to lose at anything and I
always like to have a little bet on the
golf course. I remember playing at
Wentworth with JP McManus and we
took on Vinnie Jones and a friend of his.
It went to the 18th hole and Vinnie, who
was standing over his putt, suddenly
looked up and said: ‘If I get this, you
guys lose £200.’ So, we went: ‘Yeah,
alright.’ He turned around, hit it 50
yards the other way, and said: ‘It’s been
a good day lads. Let’s walk away, quits.’
I thought that was pretty cool.O Appointed Editor
of The Mirror in
1995, aged just 29.
He held the post
until 2004, when he
was fired following
the publication of
false photographs
of British soldiers
abusing Iraqi
prisoners.O At the 2004
British Press
Awards, Morgan
was punched three
times by Jeremy
Clarkson over The
Mirror’s coverage of
his private life.O Two years later,
Morgan appeared as
a judge on America’s
Got Talent. He went
on to fulfil the same
role on Britain’s Got
Ta l e n t from 2007-
2010.O Succeeded Larry
King as CNN’s new
talk show host.
Piers Morgan Live
was broadcast from
2011 until 2014.ONamed a co-host
of ITV’s Good
Morning Britain in
November 2015.O The 14th series
of his show Life
Stories was aired in
February 2017.The outspoken presenter on learning from Ernie, debating politics
with Rory and whether Donald Trump really does play off three...
Piers Morgan
WORDS MICHAEL CATLING PICTURES GETTY IMAGESMY LIFE IN GOLF
Morgan’s
controversy-
filled careerove him or hate him, Piers
Morgan can never be accused
of sugar-coating his views.
The former newspaper editor-turned-
TV presenter admits he’d love to grill
Tiger Woods on his past, and even
threatens to give us ‘a whack on the
nose’ as we make a joke at his expense.
It’s all said in jest (we think), and it
soon becomes clear that what he lacks
in golf skills, he makes up for in
sledging. “It’s more of a cricket swing,
but I’m a master at mental
disintegration,” he says, as he proceeds
to duff two chips during the BMW
PGA Championship Pro-Am. He also
loves jousting with the crowds and is
quick to remind everyone in attendance
that he holed a 60ft putt on the 17th last
year. “That was great because it nearly
gave Kevin Pietersen a heart attack in
fury,” he admits. For comedy factor
alone, he’s great value and a world away
from the tough, hard-hitting presenter
we see on screen. But don’t think he
doesn’t take things seriously on the golf
course. He is actually fiercely
competitive, and reckons he deserves an
award for shooting the highest-scoring
round with a hole-in-one...I play at Wimbledon Park in London,
opposite The All-England Tennis
Club. I have been playing there on and
off since I was a late teenager. I became
a member there a few years ago. Ant
and Dec are down there quite a lot, as is
Ben Shephard, my Good Morning
Britain co-host.I play off 16. I once went round St
George’s Hill in level par... up until
the 10th that is (laughs). It was the
greatest 10 holes I’ve ever had. I
think I ended up five- or six-
over, but for me that was
brilliant.I’m a massive cricket fan so playing
with Brian Lara and Kevin Pietersen
in pro-ams is like fantasy golf. It is
nerve-racking when you stand on the
first tee because you don’t want to make
a total arse of yourself. I liked one of
Ernie’s tips: ‘Just smack it as far as you
can down the middle.’ That’s pretty
good advice I thought.I have had one hole-in-one. It was a
par 3 – 170 yards, uphill – at either the
Duke or Duchess course at Woburn
Abbey. I can’t remember which one,
but it was only my second ever round.
It took two bounces and went straight
in. My round should be in the
Guinness World Records book because
I shot 128 with a hole-in-one.When I’m in the States, I play at
Lakeside Golf Club [in LA] with a
few actor friends like Vinnie Jones
and Ioan Gruffudd, who was in
Hornblower. It’s great because you see
people like Joe Pesci, Jack Nicholson
and Justin Timberlake – it’s where
they all play. I also play at Mountain
Gate with a guy called Richard Schiff
who played Toby Ziegler in the West
Wing. It was my favourite drama, so
it’s a real labour of love when I get to
play with him.I’ve never actually been to watch a
big golf tournament live. I would love
to play Augusta or even just walk it.
That’s a bucket list thing, definitely.I’ve interviewed quite a few golfers
on Good Morning Britain. Ian Poulter,
Justin Rose and Rory
McIlroy. The first time
I interviewed Rory was
after he won one of his first
Majors. I was working for
CNN and did Rory and Beyonce inL