A SELF-CONFESSED golf nut, Alex Salmond was happy to converse with a coterie of golf writers in St Andrews yesterday whose jottings are perused more assiduously by Scotland's First Minister than some of the more salient work of their political colleagues.
According to one observer of the Holyrood scene on a rare field trip to the Auld Toun, Salmond was far more relaxed and at ease in the company of sportswriters than he usually is with journalists whose columns appear at the front of the book.
All
golfers, of course, like nothing better than to recall those blissful moments on the links when they glimpse redemption and play a few half decent shots. While many think Salmond fulfilled a dream when he became First Minister, the truth is the 53-year-old still hankers to become Scotland's first golfer.
A former economics student at St Andrews University, who paid £10 for his annual ticket, Salmond played the Eden so often in summer evenings he could still navigate the links blindfold today. "Golf wasn't the only reason I came to St Andrews," he smiled, " but it was one of them."
The First Minister admits he's a fool for new technology. The removal of a disc and a half means he doesn't have much of a body turn these days and describes his action as "a gentle sweep."
Even so, thanks to advances in equipment, he hits the ball further than ever. "I'm a total sucker for new drivers," he reported. "When I was in America, I bought another new one which is shaped like a triangle.
Every time I see Butch Harmon on TV, I think: 'I'll have that.'"
But is this serial winner of elections any good at winning golf events? "As a golfer, with me it's more about trying than succeeding. I play off a handicap of 18 and I'm a member at Inverallochy. I'm also an honorary member of Fraserburgh which we're trying to save from extinction.
"I actually won a tournament, my first for 17 years, last October when I was part of the four strong team which won the Inch pro-am. I'll be defending the title this October. I just had one of those days where everything turned to gold. The rest of the team also played well and we won by six or seven strokes.
"It was the first golf tournament I'd won since becoming leader of the SNP in 1990. That was when I won the Colonsay international open – it was international because someone from Skye turned up. Most of the golfing experience in my life has been about not winning."
There was no mention of politics in this chat with the First Minister, at least not much. With a twinkle in his eye, the SNP leader could not resist aiming a parting four iron at the soul of the Prime Minister.
"The honorary president of the Inch golf club, whose father was a minister in the North-east of Scotland, is Gordon Brown. I haven't had the heart to tell him. With so many woes, troubles and trials, I thought if I'd told him I'd won a tournament where he was the honorary president, well, that might have been the end…"
• Krystle Caithness was Scotland's lone success at the Ricoh Women's British Open Final Qualifying event over the Blue Course at The Berkshire.
The 19-year-old Curtis Cup player from Cellardyke carded a fine two under par 70 to earn one of the 19 places available, but it was a different story for Michele Thomson (73), Clare Queen (74), Carly Booth (76), Kathryn Imrie (77), Lynn Kenny (77) and Emily Ogilvie (78), who all missed out on a place in the final women's major of the year which starts over the Old Course at Sunningdale on Thursday.
The Final Qualifier was headed by Ireland's Martina Gillen, Italy's Stefania Croce, Holland's Marjet van der Graaf and Lydia Hall from Wales who returned a four-under 68.
