Words from the master

Closeby the suitably salubrious caddyshack at Valderrama this week, they gathered around the master, listening to his words of…

Closeby the suitably salubrious caddyshack at Valderrama this week, they gathered around the master, listening to his words of wisdom. Mere novices, almost half his age, they knew the chance was unlikely to come again. At 57, Dave Musgrove has announced his retirement as one of the game's leading caddies.

Here in a sort of valedictory appearance with Scott Hoch, he can look back on a distinguished career which involved him in the winning of four "major" championships and two Players' championships. And he recalls with affection the 1992 Volvo Masters at Valderrama, where he caddied for Christy O'Connor Jnr who finished third.

"There's a picture of us in here," he said, guiding me into the bagroom. There on the wall, Musgrove stands over O'Connor who is on his hunkers, lining-up a putt. But he wasn't here in 1997 when his then boss, Lee Janzen, was competing in the Ryder Cup. "He asked me if I'd like to stand down, because of divided loyalties - and I did," said the soft-spoken Englishman.

Musgrove, who retired after seven years with Janzen, had his first "big bag" in 1979, caddying for a triumphant Seve Ballesteros in the British Open at Royal Lytham. "The first prize was £15,000 and I did very well out of it," he said. Then remembering the Spaniard's notorious parsimony, he added with a grin: "I think Seve must have made a mistake."

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Later, he was with Sandy Lyle for his victory in the 1985 British Open at Royal St George's and when the Anglo-Scot became the first British winner of the US Masters in 1988. Finally, he caddied for Janzen on the occasion of his second US Open triumph at the Olympic Club in 1998.

So, which championship provided the most cherished memories? Surprisingly it was none of the four which would have delivered him a handsome pay-off as a percentage of the winnings. "My greatest thrill in golf came in the 1986 US Masters when I caddied for Lyle," he said. "We were in the two-ball with Jack Nicklaus on the final day."

Warming to the memory, Musgrove went on: "Jack was always great company on a golf course, but that occasion was very special, for obvious reasons. I remember him telling us how nervous his son Jackie (Nicklaus's caddie) was as we negotiated those famous, final nine holes. And I remember the extraordinary excitement from the crowd as Jack kept making birdies."

Musgrove concluded: "Most of all, however, I remember the way he carefully took each shot as it came. Not once, even as we neared the finish, did I hear him mention anything about winning."

Quote: "Tiger's lucky that the tour is not one of those reality shows because if it was, he would be the first one voted off the island." - David Feherty on the irrepressible Mr Woods.