Tour Life - Burhill...So Close

Well another week on the Euro Pro Tour caddying for Stuart and we return to where he tasted victory last year... Burhill Golf Club in Surrey.

Now for me this is the perfect week, I live 10 minutes from the club and have played the course more times than I care to remember... I know it like the back of my hand... So no need for me to get involved in any practice round this week... I left Stu to have a match with his buddies instead... Matty, Paul Reedy and Steve Uzzell.

The weather forecast for the week was eerrr shocking to say the least.. If the rain doesn't get to you... the 50mph gusts of wind will!!! It's a case of battening down the hatches.. makes sure you're warm and dry and you keep everything in the bag dry too... It goes without saying that not only is it my job to help keep Stu dry, but all his clubs, gloves, food etc.. as well as myself.


This week is a little different in terms of playing days due to the Queens Diamond Jubilee week, normally we have practice round Monday, pro am Tuesday and then Wednesday Thursday Friday for the tournament. But this week the pro am was Thursday and the tournament was played Friday to Sunday... A true 'tour' type finishing day with 'Sunday pins'!!!

The players get a text late afternoon the day before the tourney starts with their group and tee times...we've been given the early/late tee time slots and looking at the forecast, the organisers had been kind to us.. The best of the bad weather. we've also been grouped with 2 very interesting characters.

Euro Pro order of merit leader Martin Lemesurier... a one time winner on the European Tour... and 2 time European Tour winner, Anton Haig!!! Wow... a real star studded group and to say I was excited was an understatement... to be in the company of two great players that know how to get it done at the highest level!

Now Martin is a very quiet, methodical player that plods along and makes his score where he can..but shot +3 for day one... I have no doubts he can claw it back on day two because everyone struggled today...

Anton... hhmmm firstly... he is tall, has a strong physique and a wicked South African sense of humour... Secondly... he's been out of the game for a while and only just getting back into it... which kind of explains why he wasn't exactly consistent and really struggled out there in the bad weather... hitting it both left and right... A long way in both directions I might add.. boy can he knock it out there... more on that in rd2... so he finished rd1 +4 and scratching his head feeling he shot way more than that... It's understanding when you've hit about a dozen provisional balls in one round.

Stuart on the other hand managed to keep a reasonably good card going and copes with the conditions a little better, playing within himself and knowing his limits... and shoots a +2 first round...still in the tourney by a long way considering that most of the field are over par.. some as much as +14!!!

Rd2 and we get a mid day tee time and the driest part of the day... still horrendous winds plague us but at least we're dry... more of the same for Anton I'm afraid .. Including his great sense of fun... and he managed to get Martin to smile when he made birdies!!! I mentioned his ability to send it out there... and he gave us a demonstration of this on the 2nd hole... Par 5... straight into the teeth of the wind.. a ditch at around 293... he absolutely crushed his drive and flew the ditch.. flying it 330... did I mention it was into a 30mph wind???? Insane... but great to watch.

Stuart has a solid round and shoots -1 and we find ourselves just 4 shots off the lead sat in 14th place on -1... and we're right in the tournament... a good nights rest is needed after 2 days of these conditions!!!

So here we are... the final day... Stu feels confident... and thank god he's put the short putter back in the bag... we've been using the belly putter the first two days and not made any putt of significance...

We greet our playing partner, Kevin Harper... nice lad... very chatty, good fun, hits it a long way... but even he might struggle as the winds just won't go away... not quite as bad as day 2 but still strong enough to cause everyone trouble... with the odd 50mph gust thrown in.. balls wobbling on the green.

Stuey nails his opening tee shot down the middle an we're sitting pretty inthe middle of the fairway... 154 to go .. wind heavy off the right.. Stu pulls out the iron and chooses to hit a baby one to try and keep it down... pulls it a little and we're pin high, 30 left of the pin... 2 putts and par is secured... we're on our way.. time to settle down...

2nd tee shot, driver...and we find ourselves in the right rough with over 250 to the stick... into a stiff 2 club strong wind... 3wood and he hits it a bit right into the heavy stuff... but luckily we find it right on the edge of some bushes.. we have a back swing... and Stu pulls off a miracle shot and puts it to within 10 feet... by his own admission... one of the best wedge shots he's ever played!!! And then boom... the short putter heats up to sink the putt... an incredible birdie!!! We're now level par for the tournament and just 3 shots off the pace... I'm praying that the short stick stays hot and we can just find fairways and greens and whole a few putts.

We negotiate 3 and 4 safely... and then the par 5 5th hole.. a dog leg left... bunkers at the run out on the corner... a tall tree on the near side corner and out of bounds all down the left... to say this is my nemesis hole would e an understatement.. I detest this hole.. I've put more balls in that OOB than I have any other hazard or otherwise on this course... but these guys aren't a hacker like me lol they do this for a living .. They're pro's..

But even they get caught out... and they did ... badly... Stu hits his first and immediately turns and says.. 'that hasn't cleared the corner'... Kev steps up.. crushes one... we all say it has to have cleared... Stu hits another.. buttons it and we walk up the fairway... turn the corner... and shock.. we don't see any signs of either of their balls... not even kevs who crushed it.. we spend the allocated 5 minutes searching for both balls, with the help of Stuart's parents and my gf Viki but still no luck... and the inevitable... they both make the dreaded walk back to the tee...

Kevs drive finds the bunker and he ends up making a double bogey 7!! Stu though has now played 5 having already hit two other balls off the tee... and we walk off the 5th having taken a devastating 9!!! But here is where I have to explain just how mentally strong Stu is... he has a fantastic ability to put things behind him... to deal with what's in front of him.. to make the best of what he can influence... making birdie on the very next hole by sinking a 50ft, 3ft of right to left breaking putt and we all laugh... what a silly game golf can be a times... our 9 now becomes an 8... and stu says 'im gonna try to get back to level for the day and see where we end up'...

God loves a trier and boy did he try but nothing was going our way... Putts just wouldn't drop ..

So close... but we finish on +6 and 5 over for the day and in 46th place.. gutted... for Stu.. his game is so close.. in practice rounds and pro and he's flushing it.. I have no doubts that it will all come together pretty soon and a top 3 finish isn't far away.

A week off and it's time for me to go back to normal life.. well... If you call caddying at Queenwood normal that is.. It's not exactly what you would call a typical 9-5 job... far from it...

Stu and I play a friendly match mid week and he stuffs me 6&5.. all of the damage was done on the front 9 as I came back in just 3 over.. he played pretty solid and shot -4 for the round!!

Time for some family stuff and I head to York for the weekend.. Viki and Layla in tow... a peaceful weekend this is not going to be lol Layla 7... Evie.. 7... Sam... 5... And Harry..4!!! And uncle Leebo the climbing frame... Happy times.

Monday see's us head to Northampton for Collingtree Park for the Euro Pro event... so positive thoughts ahead... our standard ritual... practice Monday, pro am Tuesday ... Tourney wed-fri... come on Stuey lad... I've even had a bet on him this week!!!

What ever it is you do to occupy your days... I hope you're having fun... Smile a bit.. It helps...