by DAVID FACEY
There are moments in every golf writers’ career you know will live with you forever.
You know the kind of thing – Nicklaus ushering in a new era by beating Palmer at the 1962 US Open, Seve’s victory salute at St Andrews, Tiger saying ‘ hello world!’ and then winning the 1997 Masters by a ridiculous 12 shots.
There was a similar buzz as Scotland acclaimed a long-overdue new sporting hero, with the 2017 Home Internationals becoming a personal triumph for Tartan Tony McStenson!
The 25th anniversary of the hacks’ annual shoot-out was always likely to be a memorable affair, especially in view of the lavish hospitality provided by both Turkish Airlines and the sttunnng Maxx Royal Belek Golf Resort.
But nobody could have anticipated the fall-out from Welsh captain David Facey’s decision to force McStenson to acknowledge his Scottish ancestry, and turn his back on England to play for the country of his birth.
The victorious Scottish team
The thinking behind that move was that the first five names on the Scotland teamsheet suggested they would be a force to reckon with. So throw Stengun into the mix, and let him scupper their chances.
As cunning plans go, it was one even Baldrick would have been deeply ashamed of….
It was bad enough that Stenson inspired the Scots to victories over Ireland and Wales to be crowned champions – I’ll repeat that for people still rubbing their eyes in disbelief – it was bad enough that Stenson inspired the Scots to victories over Ireland and Wales to be crowned champions.
But the fact that Facey’s own team were the ultimate fall guys, as McStenson and Neil McLeman won both their matches, made the outcome even harder to stomach for the crestfallen Welsh captain.
This really was the same McStenson who has always looked far more at home on courses where you have to roll putts between a fibreglass gorilla’s legs, or avoid the spinning sails of tiny windmills.
You have to wonder what sort of sporting career he might have enjoyed if he had embraced his Scottish roots as a youngster, instead of spending the last ninety-odd years masquerading as a crafty cockney.
Poor McLeman, who celebrated his 49th birthday (sic) on the day Scotland beat Wales 2-1 in the final – is destined to become the answer to one of those killer questions everyone asks when memories have become slightly dulled.
“Who was the writer who played with Tartan Tony when he single-handedly won the 25th anniversary Home Internationals?”
Scotland’s unlikely triumph even elicited a tribute from the man who used to be the greatest Scottish golfer of his generation, Colin Mongtomerie – who designed the excellent course at the Maxx Royal resort.
Montgomerie sent a Twitter message to Scotland captain Martin Dempster and another member of his team, Association of Golf Writers chairman Iain Carter, congratulating them on their victory, saying it was fitting the Scots should win on his course.
To most of the scribes present, it came across as a plaintive plea not to forget Monty, now there is a new Scottish star in the golfing firmament!
Colin Callender and Euan McLean also did their bit for the Scottish cause, while runners-up Wales had the considerable consolation of beating England 2-1 in their semi-final.
As all the Celtic nations observe, as long as you beat England, it’s mission accomplished.
Defending champions Ireland, captained by Greg Allen, adopted the same attitude as they handed Jim Mossop’s English ensemble yet another wooden spoon, winning their third/fourth place play-off 2-1.
That was some reward for Allen’s semi-professional outfit, who spent almost as much time practising as the other three teams spent in the bar!
England’s woes multiplied when Andy Farrell actually mowed down team-mate Bill Elliott with their golfing buggy during the semi-final match against Wales.
Hollywood Elliott was left limping for the remainder of the trip. His team-mates returned to the UK in a similar condition.
There were no murmurs of dissent from the 2017 champions when one of the losing captains pointed out they were not actually the most impressive team involved – that distinction belonged to the joint organisers of our Silver Anniversary event.
The extraordinary generosity of Turkish Airlines in flying the writers out to Antalya, and of the Maxx Royal in throwing open the doors of their luxurious resort, was greatly appreciated by everyone involved.
The AGW enjoys a terrific relationship with Fusun Ilkay and her team at Turkish Airlines, and with Maxx Royal general manager Cahit Sahin and his wonderfully supportive staff.
Discussions about taking the Turkish Airlines Open back to its original home at the Maxx Royal in 2019 went down particularly well with everyone who was lucky enough to attend the tournament when it was held there from 2013-2015.
One of the players making his Home International debut described the package served up by the Turkish Airlines/Maxx Royal combination as “simply mind-blowing”. No-one argued with that verdict.
A rare sobering note came with a toast to recently departed Home International luminaries Peter Corrigan and Bob Cass, and to Colm Smith, who is battling severe health problems.
They would have loved watching McStenson’s exploits. Will the next 25 years of the Home Internationals produce anything to rival that amazing storyline?
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