Inside the ropes with the people's favourite
- 17 Jul 08, 07:38 PM
It had seemed such a nonchalant idea at the time.
"Go out and follow Sergio Garcia as he starts his Open campaign," Rob and I decided at our high-powered and ultimately decisive early morning meeting. "It will be good to judge his mood after the last two years of heartbreak."
It is a simple request for the grizzled hacks in the media tent that cover this event year-after-year but for me watching from inside the ropes it would be new territory.
The dramatic music on television accompanying pictures of a crestfallen Garcia after his play-off defeat to Padraig Harrington at Carnoustie last year was my cue. El Nino was about to begin his campaign.
As I waited for Garcia's group to arrive at the first tee, I couldn't stop paranoid thoughts from entering my mind.
Would I inadvertently get in the way as Sean O'Hair lined up a putt, or sneeze as Ryuji Imada attempted to splash out of a bunker. Or even worse, would my mobile phone with the "Final Countdown" ringtone go off as Garcia launched his opening drive?
(I'm only joking about the ringtone by the way, before you start talking about me behind my back)
Even though my phone had been turned off before I set out, I checked it just in case, then again, and again. I was nervous.
I felt like you sometimes do on the first tee at a posh club, when you are more likely to top it than place it down the fairway. Like I do every round, actually.
My focus soon changed, though, as the man himself reached the first tee. If there was any doubt that he has become one of the most popular players in the game, then you should have heard the ovation he received.
It was notably louder than the one that Harrington had been given when he arrived at the same tee six-and-a-half hours earlier.
Despite being the focus of attention, the Spaniard seemed at ease as he calmly chatted with his playing companions, before putting his game face on and battering his tee shot down the middle of the fairway.
As the players walked off the tee box, we snapped into action.
Media liaison staff quickly instructed the small huddle of reporters down a path near the ropes on the left-hand side of the fairway.
As we trudged off, I was conscious not to get in the way of the gallery. I had been told how in previous years ripples of disgust had travelled along the lines of viewing public as the mass of media types following Tiger Woods blocked their view of the world number one.
You can't blame them really.
As the players approached the first green, we were told to choose a position and stick to it. We followed the instruction obediently.
Sergio was on the fringe and as he took his time to weigh up his chip, a spectator disrupted his concentration. He glared at the person who was standing just over my shoulder. There was immense relief that he didn't look at me.
His chip left him with a tricky three-footer and despite all the efforts and collective sucking-in of the crowd, the par putt drifted by.
The early slip did not seem to affect him and at the 2nd, he was cheerfully chatting with O'Hair on the fairway as they waited for the group in front to clear the green.
He certainly didn't seem to have the air of a guy struggling to cope with the pressure of being favourite to lift the Claret Jug this year.
With the second shots played, we were off again, scuttling quickly along the side of the fairway, over the bumps and humps, round the back of the green to watch their putts.
I tried to keep my panting silent - I really should be a bit fitter, you know. And Garcia had to settle for a par after an approach that left him around 18ft away.
At the next, as Garcia had another four following a tee shot that found the rough, I started to feel more comfortable. The fears and worries that had inflicted me earlier on had evaporated as I became absorbed in the action.
My only slip-up came at the par-three 4th when I followed the wrong liaison officer, ending up stranded about 50 yards away from my press colleagues and missing the tee shots completely.
When I caught up with play I found Garcia and O'Hair smiling as they had found the same bunker at the front of the green. The hazard obviously didn't faze them that much and they got out of the trap at the first attempt, plonking the ball inches from the hole.
As we followed the players to the 5th, a photographer complained to one of the officials because he hadn't been allowed a clear shot of the players on the previous hole.
"You've got your work cut out," I offered sympathetically to the media officer.
"You should see it when Tiger is here," he said.
With the tee shots played, I decided to say goodbye and headed back to the pavilion - happy in the knowledge that Garcia was looking relaxed, and happy that I had done nothing stupid to darken his mood.
Comments
Sign in or register to comment.