And speaking of an uncontrollable range of emotions we got the whole gambit at Royal Portrush last week! With the Open Championship returning to the famous Irish Links for the first time in 68 Years the people of ‘The Island of Ireland’ (as we were constantly reminded) were understandably proud and excited about, all the Irish Players who had the opportunity to play in it were clearly proud, excited, emotional and nervous and the TV Broadcasters were gushingly enthusiastic about it.

What I wasn`t prepared for was the emotional rollercoaster I was about to be treated to just by watching it! I`ve been watching the coverage for the Open Championship for over 30 Years and I don`t remember any that put me through the wringer like events from Portrush did!?

From Darren Clarke`s opening Tee Shot (where he clearly went for the biggest Clubhead in the bag!) which reminded me of his other emotional opening Tee Shot back in the 2006 Ryder Cup at the K-Club. Then there was the local boy, Graeme Mc-Dole (as we were again constantly reminded!) having to wipe a tear from his eye before he got his 1st round underway! I`m pretty sure that`s not a normal part of his Pre-Shot Routine!?

But that wasn`t the last of the tears we had to endure. Like a hormonal housewife, we had to take a seat on the Rory-Coaster Ride that was watching Rory McIlroy balance the expectation of a Nation on his shoulder whilst trying to swing a Club over them! Once again his precocious talent put under the microscope. Would he (could he?) stand in the spotlight or would he again be caught in the headlights!? His opening Tee Shot showed it was unfortunately going to be the latter! 8 at the 1st, 7 at the last and a whiff on 16 normally saved for the Saturday Medal accompanied by the cry ‘I`ll just finish’ meant he had stumbled round in 79 biffs! Championship gone, the prospect of even squeaking through the Cut lower than our faith in the UK`s new PM!

Then in typical Rory style, he went from Panel-Beater to World-Beater with a McIlroy Masterclass to get to within 1 stroke of the Cutline with 2 holes to play. Ultimately he couldn`t find the elusive Birdie that would`ve got him into the last 2 rounds, then followed a heart-wrenching post-round interview... man alive! R&A and Sky Sports what are you trying to do to me!? I watch the Open to be entertained and inspired by the world`s best golfers, I wasn`t prepared to need the same emotional strength as when I lost my first pet hamster in an unfortunate ‘Hit & Run’ involving a remote-controlled Batmobile!.....that was a Dark Knight I tell you!

But on top of the ‘blubbin’, we were also treated to the wonderful array of emotions often found on the golfer’s spectrum! Especially when Sunday’s weather closed in on the Players. The raw, unadulterated anger of playing cr*p in cr*ppier weather with a swift shaft snap over the knee, the recoil swipe at the lie where you`ve just sclaffed your shot from – because it was clearly the Earths fault! The eye-roll, shoulder sigh, club lean when your Playing Partner or fellow Competitor is taking soooooooooooooo long! Come on tae.....ye`d think it was the Open Championsh......oh wait!

Perhaps JB Holmes is the most relatable Tour Pro for the Club Golfer because let`s be honest we all know someone that takes forever to play but still shoots 20 over their Handicap!!

Speaking of frustration with your Playing Partner, there was one shining light for us Scots to really get excited about, and that was the performance of Robert MacIntyre! Not just because he finished 6th in his very first Major Championship, but more for the fact he nearly asked Kyle Stanley for a ‘square go’ in the Car Park!! Ok, not quite, but it was impressive to read that Bob had no hesitation pulling up his American counterpart for not having the courtesy to shout ‘Fore’ when it was obvious his wayward Tee Shot on the 17th was heading straight for the Crowd. Instead Kyle waited for other people and the Stewards to do his dirty work for him. MacIntyre was quick to put the knife into Stanley for the incident, and my advice to the American... never mess with a Southpaw... especially one from Oban!!

But undoubtedly the best cheer, and the wettest tear has to go to Shane Lowry – The 2019 Champion Golfer Of The Year! He played well the first 2 days to be in contention, but if his 3rd round 63 blitz wasn`t impressive enough then the way he coped and controlled his round in the truly awful conditions on Sunday, given the enormity of his position and the significance of the event, was simply sensational!

Apparently he paid tribute to Padraig Harrington when he filled the Claret Jug with a bottle of Port & 6 shot glasses of Guinness – He called it the Ladybird!