When I got an email last Sunday afternoon from Visit Scotland’s David Connor saying he would very much like me to join his pro-am team for the Scottish Open at Gullane GC on Wednesday afternoon if I was available, I did a cartwheel in the living room of my cramped NYC apartment and hit my head on the coffee table. Okay, that actually didn’t happen, but I was practically jumping for joy.
I wrote back what was likely an overly enthusiastic response immediately and hoped there wasn’t any “take backs” to the offer. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to play in a pro-am on one of the major tours — it seemed like it would be an intriguing experience and it would be very telling about the character of the tour pro you’re paired with in that kind of intimate setting for five hours (in other words, whether or not he’s a jerk). I had the opportunity to partake in the Hawaii Open pro-am last December, which was a total blast, but it’s not quite the same as, say, the Scottish Open edition.