Lane tells of Hurricane horrors

European Tour golfer Barry Lane today spoke about the experience of Hurricane Charley in Florida.

Lane, still with a chance of returning to Europe’s Ryder Cup side after an 11-year gap, had flown to Orlando to warm up for this week’s NEC World Championship in Ohio.

“There were 105mph winds and I’ll never forget the roar as it went through - it was so loud,” said the 44-year-old.

“We were staying in the clubhouse at Lake Nona and we had to stay in from 3pm on Friday. Six hours later we lost electricity and the phone went dead, but while there were trees down and roads blocked the next morning there was no structural damage where we were.”

Lane was able to travel on to Akron on Sunday for what is his first appearance in any of the World Golf Championships series.

He is, however, a former world champion, having won the Andersen Consulting World Match Play title in Arizona in 1995.

A top-three finish this time would put Lane right into the thick of the Ryder Cup race with only one more week to go.