“You Never Lose It, Do You Dai?” Lee Westwood’s Memorable Singapore Comment

1 month ago by Comments Off on “You Never Lose It, Do You Dai?” Lee Westwood’s Memorable Singapore Comment

This week’s hosting of the Porsche Singapore Classic is yet another Tour destination bringing back fond memories.

I was in attendance at the then named Caltex Singapore Masters in the mid 2000s and when the event was jointly hosted by the Asian Tour and then European Tour, and when both Tours were a lot closer in talking to each other than they sadly are now.

The tournament, as it is this week, was also played on the Laguna National course.

It was 2005 and the handful of overseas media in attendance were afforded the opportunity to compete in the pro-am.  My partner was the famed Dai Davies, golf writer initially for the Birmingham Post before moving to The Guardian and becoming the renowned world traveller in reporting on the game.

However, Dai was very much an acquired taste (smiling) and sadly when I say ‘was’, he passed away in May 2008 aged just 69.

I got to know Dai and his wife Patricia well as all three of us travelled to those early co-sanctioned European Tour events that included Australia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.  I would welcome seeing him each day with a ‘Good morning, Dai’ and he would respond: “Guud day” and trying to sound Australian.

Now the 2005 Caltex Singapore Masters Pro-Am

Dai and I were playing this particular hole at Laguna National there is an adjoining hole on our right running in the opposite direction, and also higher-up so that it overlooked the hole below that we were tackling.

There was one person on this upper hole at the time who had stopped and was looking down awaiting the outcome of Dai’s fairway shot.

Dai played a miserable shot and displayed his disappointment, and as as most of us may do, by slamming his golf club into the turf and letting out a cry of disgust … words you can imagine.

No sooner had Dai done this and there was a comment from this player awaiting to see Dai play his shot, who sang out: “You never lose it, do you Dai?”

The golfer was Lee Westwood.

Lee knew Dai very well and could comfortably take the ‘micky’ out of the Welshman but as for this golfer?   Well , we were becoming friendier even if it meant losing the odd £20 whenever his beloved England cricket team beat my just as loved Aussie cricketers (smiling).

Westwood finished fifth that week behind an up-and-coming fellow English golfer and now well-respected TV presenter – Nick Dougherty.

Dai was one the real characters in the golf reporting businees but moreso when it came to playing the game rather than writing about it.

And he had other moments on the course and there was a few including at Royal Troon during an Open Championship media outing and also when, and again as a playing partner of mine, when he walked off a Johnnie Walker Classic hosted outing on the course the day after the tournament.

It was late in the round when Dai walked some distance past his own ball and up to what he thought was his ball, only to be advised his ball was one of those he’d passed way back down the fairway.

For Dai it was enough golfing heartache for the day and he duly walked off in a huff, ignoring all in the group and making a bee-line straight to the clubhouse.

As mentioned above, Westwood’s comments has stuck with me all this time, and also remembering dear Dai in writing this piece.

RIP Dai

 

 

 

 



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