A seniors moment - final update

By Dave Tindall Last updated: 28th June 2010

Dave Tindall tells the tale of his dodgy performance in The De Vere Collection PGA Seniors Championship pro-am at Slaley Hall and tracks the progress of his pro partner John Harrison:

John Harrison - final update:

John started the day in tied 12th and finished it in tied 12th after a one-over 73 on Sunday.

Playing the first three holes in two over didn't bode well but he finally managed a par at his bogey hole, the eighth, before reeling off three birdies on the spin at 10, 11 and 12.

A bogey at 17 stopped John shooting par for the day but all in all tied 12th must represent a fine week's work.

Only five players broke par for the week (winner David J Russell took the title by shooting five-under) while alongside John on +4 were legends Ian Woosnam and Sandy Lyle.

John played some great stuff off the tee, hitting 13 out of 15 fairways in both rounds one and four but his putter stopped him making a real title push as he averaged 31.75 putts per round.

Or to put it another way, John finished nine shots behind winner David J Russell but took 18 more putts than him.

Once his putter heats up, John could easily bank a win this season and I'll be following his progress closely.

John Harrison - R3:

John slipped two places from tied 12th to tied 14th today after a third round 75 - but that doesn't tell half the story.

After a hat-trick of birdies at 5, 6 and 7 and two more at 11 and 12, John had one of the best rounds of the day going.

But having climbed to -2 for the tournament a disastrous quadruple bogey-bogey finish sent him spiralling down the field.

Had he not dropped those five shots over the closing two holes John would be starting Sunday's final round in tied third. That's golf though. Ifs, buts and maybes.

John's other low point today came at the eighth where he had a double bogey. He's now played it in bogey, triple bogey, double bogey and the hardest hole on the course is certainly catching him out.

Maybe I could sell him the par I made there in the pro-am. Have I mentioned I made a four there?

David J Russell looks to have the tournament at his mercy after moving four clear today and his score of -8 is hugely impressive given that just seven players are under par.

Fingers crossed that John can produce a big finish tomorrow before settling down to watch England v Germany.

John Harrison - R2:

A storming finish by John has put him in tied 12th place going in the weekend.

It looked as if it was slipping away when he treble-bogeyed the 8th (the hole I parred in the pro-am - have I mentioned that?).

But he showed his excellent temperament with a birdie at the next hole and despite a bogey at 10 he birdied 14, 16 and 17 to haul himself back to level par for the tournament.

That's six behind two-shot leader David J Russell but still very much in the hunt.

Organisers have said the final round will start early and off two tees on Sunday. Why? So the players can finish up in time to watch England v Germany.

We discussed the World Cup during our round so John won't be complaining - especially if he settles down to watch the match with a big cheque under his belt or maybe even the trophy.

John Harrison - R1:

When I logged on for the first time on Thursday, I was delighted to see John in fifth place - and that having just made bogey at the fifth, his 14th.

Unfortunately, John also bogeyed two of his next three holes to slip back to +1 where he finished.

But on a day of tough scoring that put him just three off the lead and right in the hunt.

To be honest I was quite glad the scoring was tough as it made me feel a bit better about my round.

And my closing par at the eighth (the final hole I played) is also holding up well as this proved one of the hardest holes on the course on day one.

John took a bogey, as did Ryder Cup shootout winner Des Smyth, who ended the day just one off the lead.

Looking at the stats, John was excellent from tee to green but his putting was a little off - a reflection of how he performed in the pro-am.

John is third in Driving Accuracy after round one and second in Greens In Regulation but his 33 putts was only the 80th best in the field and eight more than joint leader Delroy Cambridge of Jamaica.

If John can just get the flatstick working, he has a genuine chance of winning this. Let's cheer him on.

The pro-am:

It's been 18 months since I took over as editor of Golf365.com but on Tuesday at Slaley Hall I experienced new ground. I took part in my first pro-am.

For various reasons (holiday, working weird hours for the US Open, watching the World Cup) I hadn't picked up a club in over a month and being off 22 the chances of me making a complete arse of myself were high.

After a pedestrian drive up through the roadworks of the A1, I arrived in plenty of time to use the excellent practice facilities which were made available to us but the lure of a sausage sarnie and a cup of tea proved greater after an early alarm call.

My factsheet suggested we should start making our way to the tee for the 1pm shotgun start at 12.30pm and in hindsight I took that a bit literally.

I was there (our group were starting at the ninth) on the dot and spent the next 30 minutes looking awkward, sheltering from the sun and pretending I was taking photos.

When the clock hit 12.55pm a little bit of panic set in. Had I gone to the wrong hole? In fact, was I somehow on the wrong course after taking a bit of a detour through some trees?

To my relief, I could see a group walking towards me and, yes, it was my fourball.

Our pro for the day was John Harrison - "a bit of a legend around here", according to Gary from Professional Sports Group, who had kindly invited me to Slaley while the two other amateurs were local freelance journalist Tim Taylor and National Club Golfer's Joe Whitley.

Joe admitted he was really nervous on the first tee and I had every right to feel the same given my lack of practice and general inability to play the game.

I was calm though and lo and behold I... erm, tugged a horrid low drive into some bushes. Seeing Tim slice one sideways into some trees eased the embarrasement while Joe hit a good one if a little left.

As it happened, Joe, Tim and I all lost our balls and I couldn't help but think what must be going through John's head.

But it's not for nothing that John is regarded as one of the nicest men in golf and his gentle encouragement settled us all down.

My second tee-shot cannoned flush into the wall of a water hazard causing another lengthy and ultimately pointless search and my contribution to our better-ball stableford score was zero until six holes in.

At the 11th hole, our third of the day, John made birdie to go to -1 for the day and at that point I made a mental note of putting some money on him to win the event proper.

As a north-east local I reckoned he might have played Slaley loads of times but when I fished for info John said he'd only had a couple of nines there so that put me off a bit (for the record Sky Bet priced John up at 50/1).

For the rest of the round, John struck the ball nicely but missed a few short putts. But who could blame him? Joe and I both struggled horribly to get the pace of the slopey greens and couldn't believe how far past we kept knocking our putts when above the hole.

My woes continued at the par three sixth lake hole (the tee-shot must carry 150 feet of water) where three finalists from Miss Newcastle 2010 were collecting for charity.

So did I impress this trio of Geordie lovelies with my golfing prowess and witty banter?

Let's just say, if they'd seen me in the bar later, the conversation might have gone. "Hey Cheryl, there's that tit who topped his tee-shot into the water and tried to pay for his variety club badge in Euros."

"The same one who dropped his bag on his foot?"

"Yep, that's him."

Although I felt like Woody Allen when I left the 11th tee, thankfully I was a bit more Woody Austin over the later holes and really started to hit my driver well - not as well as young Joe though who smashed his driver 350+ yards on one hole.

Tim and I started registering some points on the second nine after being carried by Joe and John early on and I did manage to finish with a flamboyant four on the 423-yard eighth. Where was Miss Newcastle then eh?! I'll tell you, back on the 11th tee still laughing at me.

Our team score in the mid 60s was never going to be enough although it later emerged that most of the teams had found it tough going - perhaps no surprise given that we were off the green tees which measured in at 7,088 yards. But it didn't really matter on such a fantastic course bathed in glorious sunshine.

A team of locally based football stars including former Premier League players Steve Stone and Steve Watson scooped second prize and there was a chance to put one over them later in a nearest the pin challenge.

First though was a sumptious buffet, spoiled only slightly by one hack making an inappropriate comment about a well cooked sausage to the girls serving.

After polishing off a massive plate of hot and cold meats it was time to watch the 'Ryder Cup shootout' between some of the legends playing in the main event this week.

I'd seen most of them - Sam Torrance, Woosie, Barry Lane, Costantino Rocca - in the flesh before but I couldn't stop looking at Eddie Polland and thinking that he'd come alive and walked out of the pages of an old golf book. In a special effects Disney film. Or something. Check the gallery to see if you know vaguely what I'm on about.

It came down to a shootout between Des Smyth and Eamonn Darcy, with the former prevailing and walking off with some bottles of champagne although his load was lightened when Torrance pinched one.

Then it was time for another challenge - media v footballers.

I was first on the tee - hitting the 98 yards from the terrace in front of Slaley Hall's luxury Edwardian Hotel to the 18th green of the Hunting course.

I plonked the first of my two shots quite close (five metres came the reading) and that looked like winning until, late on, Steve Stone landed one four metres away and stole the champagne off me. I always used to pick him in my Telegraph Fantasy team when I was looking for a cheap midfielder but it might have come across as being bitter if I'd told him that after he'd beaten me.

During the buffet, fourball partner Tim had started telling me about John Harrison's life and times.

John's father, Bob, played on the wing for Carlisle United when Bill Shankly was manager there in the early 1950s while he coached Kenneth Ferrie to his two European Tour wins (in Spain and at the K Club).

Like me, John grew up in Cumbria so, what the heck, I have now decided to back him for glory this week.

I'll update the blog each day of the tournament and chart John's progress.

He has some stiff opposition with such a top-class field on show this week - 11 Ryder Cup stars are taking part - but having won Q-school by three shots and posted a fifth and a ninth in just four starts this season (John has only just turned 50 and hence become eligible for the Seniors Tour) you can't rule him out.

And maybe there's a good omen - John has been paired with Ryder Cup shootout winner Des Smyth in his opening two rounds.