Reflective Roe refuses to play the victim

IF you expected Mark Roe to arrive in Portmarnock yesterday wearing a long face and shunning the media, you couldn't have been more mistaken.

Instead, the victim of the highly unfortunate card marking debacle in the Open Championship had a smile and a word for everybody and walked into the press tent to give one of the most fascinating and admirable press conferences it has ever been my pleasure to be a part of.

The 40-year-old from Sheffield has long been regarded as one of the characters of the tour, self-deprecating, funny, witty, approachable, and it seems he hasn't changed in spite of the appalling golfing calamity that befell him at Royal St George's last Saturday.