Public figures in tight spots should realise only truth will set them free

I LIKE to think I’m not old enough to play golf but my youngest brother has been fascinated and obsessed with it from an early age, so that excuse won’t wash.

Personally, I find it baffling and when the topic comes up at my parents’ home – seemingly hourly – I head for the nearest metaphorical bunker. Let’s be clear, an eagle is a bird; so is an albatross. A chip is something you eat with steak and a bogey is something unmentionable. But a Tiger? Well, that’s a phenomenon.

Yes, even I have found it hard not to flick to the sports pages to read the latest twists and turns in the sorry tale of the world’s most highly paid sportsman (even if I would ordinarily switch channels if he hove into view).