“He used call me ‘Ivor, my amigo’. A wonderful man.”

THE sing-song introductions have become as familiar as the wind and rain at British Opens since 1975, but there’s something a lot more warming and comfortable than the weather listening to veteran tournament starter Ivor Robson announce: “On the tee ...”

The Scotsman has just completed his 37th Open Championship, getting golfers’ rounds under way in a tournament that is both his favourite and most demanding tournament on a European Tour schedule that takes him to 27 or more tournaments a year, depending on his employer, Rolex’s, requirements.

“A lot of people think ‘I could do that’,” Robson says of his under-appreciated art. “Yes, I’m sure you can. After a few hours it is easy to get blasé and ‘oops!’ You have to concentrate.