Tiny tot tees up with the stars

A month after partnering golden oldies Tommy Aaron and Charles Coody in the Masters Sandy Lyle had somewhat different company at the Forest of Arden in England today.

Lyle was partnering 11-year-old fellow Scot Carly Booth in the curtain-raising pro-am for the British Masters at the Forest of Arden near Coventry.

Booth is the tiny tot who has already made a name for herself in golf, becoming Britain’s youngest-ever club champion at Dunblane on her 11th birthday last June.

Following that she was invited along to the driving range at Gleneagles to practise alongside European tour stars. Now she gets to play alongside them, albeit not in the tournament proper.

Not even six months old when Lyle had his last victory at the 1992 Volvo Masters, Booth is from a real sporting family.

Her brother is a Scottish international as well and her father Wallie was a medallist in wrestling at the 1966 Commonwealth Games. He was also a bouncer for The Beatles in their early days – “four scruffy, horrible kids”, he called them.

Less than seven stones and just 5ft 2in, Booth is not in the Michelle Wie league in terms of physique, but she too has professional aspirations and has already got her handicap down to four.

The biggest danger for her today could be star-gazing. As well as golfing stars like Darren Clarke, Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey celebrities taking part include Ronan Keating, Gary Lineker and Kenny Dalglish.

Colin Montgomerie was due to be involved as well, but less than a week after announcing that he and wife Eimear are splitting and planning to divorce he sought and was given a release from the pro-am.

Montgomerie’s manager Guy Kinnings has said it is still the 40-year-old’s intention to tee off in the first round tomorrow in what will be his first appearance since missing the halfway cut in the Masters a month ago.

The seven-time European number one, who did pull out of a tournament in China last week, does not really need to see the Forest of Arden lay-out in advance.

It is where he not only won the British Masters – now sponsored by the Daily Telegraph and Damovo – in 1998, but also the English Open in 1994.

Last June, however, he missed the halfway cut there and was embroiled in rows first with a press photographer during his first round and then in the car park with a journalist.

The tournament is earlier this season because of the loss of the Benson and Hedges International Open from the schedule because of the Government ban on tobacco sponsorship.

It is the start of an important run which Montgomerie hopes will end with him earning exemptions for both next month’s US Open and the Open in July at his home club Royal Troon.

His name does not appear on the exempt list for either at the moment, but if he is in the top 50 in the world rankings at the end of the month he does not have to worry about qualifying.

Montgomerie currently stands 45th and also has the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open in Germany and Volvo PGA Championship at Wentworth coming up.