August 2017Golf World 93who’smadeamistake.It’snottheclub’sfault.Youshould
be penalised.
dto
game.TomWeiskopfclearlyknowsthereshouldalwaysbe
arewardandapenaltyinvolvedingoingforapin.
Roger Federer doesn’t bringhis tennis balls to agame.
Ronnie O’Sullivan doesn’t bring his own snooker balls to a
match. You don’t bring your own rugby ball to a game, so
why do you bring your own golf ball? It’s great for amateurs
to have options, but pros should play the same ball.
My swing is slow and rhythmical. It’s almost slow
motion. I’ve always been a regular flex shaft guy. Even now,
I use a shaft with a flex between regular and stiff. On a
scale, if regular is 5.0 and stiff is 6.0, I’m a 5.1. Anybody
can pick my clubs up and use them. They’re very playable.
Completing the backswing is the most important thing
you can do, even with the putter. Another one is – light
hands on the putter. Make sure you can feel the putter
head. If you’re three-putting too often, relax your grip.
My one golden rule for scoring is to never follow one
error with another. If you are in trouble, get out of that
trouble and make a bogey. Bogeys add up slowly on your
scorecard; double bogeys kill you quickly.
I’m a big royalist so receiving my OBE for ‘services to
golf’ in 2004 was a huge honour. The upgrade from
MBE to OBE was very special. Prince Charles was
charming and well-briefed. I was announced immediately
after somebody had been given an OBE for services to the
inland revenue!
I’m very proud that I never lost a Ryder Cup singles
match. I played four away in America and four at home
in Europe. One of the best walks I’ve ever had in golf was
between the 16th green and 17th tee at The K Club in
- I was 2-up against David Toms. I knew I couldn’t
lose and that my record would remain intact.
My finest Ryder Cup match, though, was actually one
I didn’t win. I had a real dog-eat-dog match with Payne
Stewart at Brookline in 1999 when he was the reigning US
Open champion. I was 3-up early on and he pulled it back
to level. Payne epitomised what Ryder Cup competition is
all about. He was patriotic and a ferocious competitor, but
at the same time he was also very gracious.I played with Tiger in the third round of the 1997
Masters. I remember thinking that my experience and his
lack of experience of being in contention would work in my
favour. But he shot 65 and I shot 74. I was just in awe of
what I was witnessing. Nick Faldo was single-minded but
Tiger’s focus was in a different league. I’d never witnessed
golf like that. You won’t see anything of the like again. He
was 50 yards longer than anybody, he was straighter than
anybody, his iron shots were impeccable and his mind was
so strong. He never missed a 10-footer all week.My advice to any player who has just secured their Tour
card is to think long-term, not short-term. Don’t change
anythingthefirstyear.BeforeIturnedpro,Iwasinthe
WalkerCupteamtwiceandregardedasoneofthetop
amateurs. WhenIturnedproIwasofferedlotsofmoney
to endorse clubs. My response was, “I’ll use the clubs I was
using as an amateur, thanks very much”. Looking long-
term has always served me well in my career.unately,Ihadafe years
earrived!Wehada
similar type of game. Lee drove the ball very well, put it in
playanddidn’tgiveyoumuch.Youhadtogooutandbeat
him because you knew he wouldn’t beat himself. Lee was
always tough mentally. He was never the greatest putter
but, like myself, he didn’t really need to be because he was
always on the greens in regulation. He became my ultimate
competitor and eventually the player who broke my
stranglehold on the Order of Merit in 2000.