European Tour stars bid fond farewell to tee-time tones of Ivor Robson

It’s not just the members of the European Tour but the thousands of fans who follow the exploits of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and all the other stars who will miss official starter Ivor Robson, who hung up the microphone for the last time in Dubai on Sunday.

Robson’s distinctive tone has been described as “a cultured Scottish brogue”, and he has been doing the job since 1975 and completed his 41st stint at the Open Championship at St Andrews last July.

Given that he insisted on staying on the first tee in the Open from when the first ball was struck from shortly before 7am until the last match went off at 4.30pm, he was often asked how this was physically possible!