Time no friend of Woosnam

THE little fella might have been three decades older than his 53 years the way he struggled up the hill.

“I’m absolutely knackered,” he sighed, having reached his destination before sharing without any fuss or self-pity a litany of ailments that includes pain in his hips and inflamed vertebrae.

Twenty years ago, Ian Woosnam had a very definite spring in his step when he came off the 18th green at Augusta National. The “wee Welshman” became the fourth European in a row to win the Masters, after Sandy Lyle and Nick Faldo (twice), and won his place in the affections of Euro golf fans that would result in him captaining the Ryder Cup team to victory at the K Club in 2006.