'Twas great to see an Irishman win the 136th British Open Championship golf tournament at Carnoustie this year.
Padraig Harrington's win - he became the first Open winner from Ireland since Fred Daly triumphed at Hoylake in 1947 - reminded Stalker of the last time the Open was played at this venue. Not being a huge golfing fan, you can bet it is a mushroom related memory.
David Rickman , the then Rules Secretary of the Royal and Ancient Golf club, the most significant custodian of golf's core values and the ultimate arbitrator of the British Open at Carnoustie in 1999, had to judge on a peculiar shot at previous event.
Rickman was adjudicating on a Swede who thought he'd found his ball in the rough, only to find that he'd hit a perfectly round and dazzlingly white mushroom. He'd played with intent, but even so Rickman decided that there should be no penalty. It was a puffball rather than a no ball. Who ever said that golf was crazy?
Padraig Harrington won't be thinking that with his first major win under his belt and the GBP3/4 million cheque pocketed in his golfing strides!
