Dougherty answers critics today

Nick Dougherty answered critics of his ‘playboy’ lifestyle in the perfect fashion in the Scandic Carlsberg Scandinavian Masters.

Dougherty added a second-round 69 to his opening 67 for an eight-under-par halfway total of 136 in Malmo, three shots ahead of former Walker Cup team-mate Luke Donald, ex-Ryder Cup captain Mark James and Holland’s Maarten Lafeber.

The 21-year-old has been suffering from glandular fever since May and the debilitating illness has seen him struggle on the course and sleep for more than 17 hours at a time off it.

But the protégé of six-time Major winner Nick Faldo, who lists one of his interests as ‘socialising’, has also had to cope with comments about his lifestyle, in particular one article quoting current Amateur champion Gary Wolstenholme.

Asked to comment on the prospects of the five young British hopes on the eve of the Open championship, Wolstenholme said of Dougherty: “He’s got it all, I’d hate to see him waste it.

“You don’t see Justin Rose going out to a disco every night and trying to knock off every girl he sees. I don’t see a lot of dedication to be world number one which is what he says he wants.”

Dougherty candidly admits he enjoys “partying hard” away from tournaments but insisted he had matured immensely since playing alongside Wolstenholme in the 2001 Walker Cup triumph, the first time Great Britain and Ireland had ever retained the trophy and only the second win on American soil.

“A lot of the stuff that is said about me is blown way out of proportion and the truth of the matter is that I think I have struggled this year because I’ve stayed in so much,” said Dougherty, who fired four birdies and one dropped shot at his opening hole on Friday.

“Because I’ve been knackered (with the glandular fever) I stay in and have room service and then when I go home I have a massive blowout. I have been partying hard when I’ve had time off but when I’ve been on tour it hasn’t been that way and Monday and Tuesday this week is the first time I’ve been out for a couple of drinks.

“There are worse things to be written about you and if it’s not true it doesn’t bother me. If it was true then it would bother me because I’d be wasting it (my talent), but what other people think doesn’t bother me.”

Dougherty, who finished 36th on the Order of Merit last year to win the Rookie of the Year award, added: “I have a lot of respect for Gary Wolstenholme but I’m not sure womaniser is a fair word for an 18 or 19-year-old.

“I was quite upset at the time. I left a note for Gary wanting to know why he had thrown his two-pence in, especially when he’s going off an image of me when I was an amateur golfer.

“It’s a long time since I’ve seen Gary at the Walker Cup in 2001 and I’ve changed a lot since then. I don’t particularly care what people think about me, apart from my sponsors and my family, but I felt bad for my girlfriend Vicky, especially when it’s not true.”

Ironically, Dougherty’s mentor Faldo could not be a better example of a player who had an almost monkish devotion to his game.

But that has not stopped the 46-year-old from being sympathetic to Dougherty’s plight and offering plenty of help to the player nicknamed ’Little Nick.’

“He’s been great because I think he understands I’ve been getting quite down with my golf,” Dougherty added.

“It’s been quite depressing how poorly I’ve been playing and I couldn’t see the reason for it.

“He guided me through it and said ‘you’re going to get times like this and to appreciate the highs you’ve got to also go through the lows, that’s the nature of the beast’.

“He understood also I couldn’t really stop playing and made a real effort to help me look at my lifestyle to get as much energy as I can, which meant changing my diet – certain foods are really bad when you have glandular fever - he took a real interest which made me feel pretty good and gave me a bit of a boost.

“People think Tiger Woods was the guy with the fitness but Nick was first, especially with the diet. He is very strict, unlike me, but he knows what I’m like.

“He was quite strict with me, it was like my dad telling me, it makes me have to do it. I have slipped a few times but I have been feeling better so it’s maybe helped a lot.”

At the opposite end of the age spectrum, James will be 50 in October and therefore eligible for the Seniors Tour.

“I’m hope to build towards 50 because I have been sliding inexorably towards it,” said James, who is 165th on the Order of Merit after making four cuts in 11 events this season.

“I started working with Ewen Murray a couple of months ago and immediately started playing better.

"I’ve had trouble taking it from the range to the course but it definitely feels promising.”