The last time Woods played in Wales, in the Walker Cup, he did not take kindly to being beaten by a middle-aged man
In 1995 Tiger Woods was at the top of the tree in the amateur game and playing the Walker Cup before turning professional. The way I beat him was to stick to my own game. I played the Porthcawl golf course, not my opponent, and defeated him one up. I was probably a couple under par, which at Porthcawl was a good score. It was windy, the greens were very fast and bumpy and it was a trial for everybody.
If the match had been televised, it would have been a fascinating duel because of the conflicting styles of play. I was a 35-year-old who hit very short, he was 19 and a very long hitter. He would wang it all over the place and make miracle up-and-downs; I was very steady.
I enjoyed the match from start to finish because it was nip and tuck all the way round and I was lucky: I was playing the best amateur in the world, so really I had nothing to lose.
Peter McEvoy came to me after the draw was made on the Friday and said: ‘If there was anybody in the Great Britain team I would have had to play Tiger, it would have been you because you’re not intimidated by what he does.’
Personally I think the reason Tiger has been so successful for such a long period of time is because he intimidates opponents. I never really felt intimidated by anybody. It’s 18 tees and 18 greens and between them you try to get in as few shots as possible. It sounds simple but that was the way I did it.
Tiger could drive the green at the 1st, which is a par-four, and there were at least two other greens he could drive comfortably and other hazards that didn’t come into play because he was so phenomenally long.
He had it all. The ability to hit the ball, his swing probably slightly better than it is now. He had a fabulous short game – I mean phenomenally good. And he was a great putter. We all knew he was going to be good. It was just a matter of how good and within 18 months he’d won the Masters by 12 shots.
How did I win the 18th at Porthcawl and beat him? Tiger teed off and hit a one-iron down the left, I hit a driver down the right. I hit a five-wood with my second shot, just off the right edge of the green, and Tiger hit a seven-iron that he hooked out of bounds left. His re-hit shot found the green and fortunately for me I chipped up to about two and a half feet and he missed the putt, which meant I didn’t have to make my par putt to win the match.
There had been very little conversation between us. I tried to make some but I got the impression that, with the weather, the course and the trip over generally, he didn’t enjoy the atmosphere of the Walker Cup. We shook hands but I don’t think he was very pleased that a lowly, middle‑aged golfer who couldn’t hit it out of his shadow managed to beat him.
It’ll be on my tombstone: “The man who beat Tiger”.
