IT?WAS history in the making and I had the best seat in the house!
Does that sound a bit self-fladulation? Sorry, I cant help it - I'm too excited!
Last week at Oatlands Golf Course in Sydney, a 14 year old kid I have been talking about over the past couple of weeks, became the youngest golfer, male or female, to win a professional golf tournament.
New Zealand's Lydia Ko held off some of the best women golfers in the world to take the Women's NSW Open, shooting 14 under around the tree lined layout to win by four shots.
The final margin doesn't reflect how close it was during the final nine holes with my player, Lyndsey Wright getting to within a couple of shots with just four holes to play.
At this point it's probably appropriate I explain a few terms I might be using over the next few paragraphs.
"My Player" - means I was caddying for her.
"We" - is a term caddies use when everything is going well: example "We hit a 6 iron to 5 feet and We made the putt for a birdie".
"She" is an expression we utilize when things aren't going quite so well: example - "She came up short on the 9th hole and She missed a short putt for par".
If we caddies use the word "We" more than "She" in a sentence, then our player is having a good tournament and in the case of Lyndsey Wright, that was definitely the case.
On the par 4 15th, we hit yet another pin splitting iron shot to within 10 feet of the hole and Ko was bunkered on the left side of the green.
The Kiwi wiz kid had a tough shot with only a few feet of green to work with and downhill all the way. With the difference being only two shots, it looked for all intents and purpose to be a two shot swing and a massive momentum shift in favour of "My Player".
The Young Kiwi Wiz kid played an amazing bunker shot to with 12 feet, then calmly made the putt for a par.
Wright ("She") missed the 10 footer and the two shot swing didn't eventuate.
Ko birdied the next hole and after Lyndsey ("She") bogied the 16th and 17th holes and actually dropped out of second into a tie for third, it was a four shot victory for Lydia over a fast finishing Becky Morgan from Wales.
I know I have said it so many times its now annoying but yet again I was reminded how fine a line it is between success and failure in the world of professional golf.
With Lyndsey dropping from 11 under to 9 under over the last three holes, she cost herself somewhere around $12,000 and I felt very one of those dollars dripping from her account like they were my own.
It was fantastic to be right there in the thick of it and I loved every minute of the experience.
Lydia Ko is an absolute superstar and the sky is the limit for this happy seemingly care free teenager.
Just a quick note before I go?. Keep an eye out for "My Player" in the very near future.
She will be competing in the Ladies Masters in Queensland and The Australian open next week at Royal Melbourne.
After that Lynds will be returning to the US to play the LPGA Tour.
The former World Number 12 is hitting her pill as well as anyone on the planet and I have no doubt a win is just around the corner.
Good golfing.. or caddying.
Email a friend