Maestros of golf and hurling meet

TOP Cat DJ Carey fears he could be relegated to the subs bench by none other than Tiger Woods himself.

The hero of hurling broke bread with the golf maestro on Thursday night. And in true sporting spirit, the Kilkenny forward presented Tiger with his very own hurley and sliothar after the private dinner hosted by JP McManus.

“It was a great honour to meet such a sportsman. It was the first time I met him in the flesh. I wouldn’t like to meet him as a full-back. I gave him the gifts and told him a bit about the game. He was very interested, right up to the point I told him it was an amateur game.

“He had a bit of a puck around in the carp park afterwards. I’d say he’d make a great centre or full-forward. I told him I was available to give him a lesson, if time permitted. Maybe he could help me to work on my swing in return,” Carey said yesterday as he approached the practice green at Mount Juliet.

Tiger’s girlfriend Elen Nordegren gave the famous golfer another reason to show off his famous grin as she was by his side for his entire round. It was the first time she appeared at his side at Mount Juliet.

However, Tiger’s start was delayed slightly yesterday after an elderly spectator collapsed just inside the barricade on the first tee. An anxious Tiger looked back several times as spectators scrambled to find a doctor. It took several minutes for the resident doctor to arrive and it was almost 10 minutes before a South Eastern Health Board ambulance arrived to take the man to the medical centre.

The mood was a lot more relaxed yesterday for the second day’s play. Funky Fred Funk, who won a lot of acclaim on Thursday, was in rare form as he prepared to tee off. He cracked jokes with Craig Parry and his caddy. At one point, he twigged that there were cameras and microphones nearby.

“I’m busted. You’ve got all the tour goss now. I presume that’ll be on TV,” he quipped.

Anyone travelling to the magnificent Mount Juliet for today and tomorrow’s golf might pack a little something extra. The steps of the public podium on the first tee desperately need a squirt of Three in One or WD40 to stop them squeaking.

While all eyes were on the stars yet again, yesterday was also a special day for one young local man. Nineteen- year-old Thomastown man Danny Shanahan will be the envy of his fellow students when he returns to DIT to continue his Architect Technician course in two weeks time.

He’s been caddying for American Mark Calcevecchia. He’s been doing particularly well so far and is the only local caddy chosen for the event. “Its a great opportunity,” the shy Mountain View Golf Club member said.

“People have been saying I’ll be on telly all over the world. I’ll only feature if my man is doing well. But it is a great opportunity.”

Gardaí in Thomastown have been smiling widely all week. They’re taking it in turns to flank Tiger since his arrival in Kilkenny earlier this week. Superintendent Aidan Roche is giving all his team a chance to rub shoulders with the main man. Tough work, but someone’s got to do it.

While there are still a handful of tickets available for tomorrow’s final day of golf, the invite everyone wants to get their hands on is to a special party at Kilkenny’s exclusive Ormonde Hotel tonight. American Express, the event sponsors, are hosting a drinks and questions session with the main man Tiger Woods.

Unfortunately, the guest list is limited to just 160. But we live in hope.