As Thomas Jefferson once mused, “a walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of life,” writes Nick Rodger.
It’s just like a meander along the esplanade at Prestwick Bay to be honest. For Scottish caddie Mark Crane, a native of that Ayrshire town, there’s not been much time to explore the sweeping boulevards or absorb the intoxicating sights, sounds and smells of the French capital.
Making sure his boss, Tyrrell Hatton, doesn’t go down the tourist route at Le Golf National and instead sticks to the straight and narrow of this rigorous stretch of golfing terrain has been at the forefront of Crane’s mind over the past few days.
“The course is different to what it’s like at the French Open,” said Crane of the stage for this weekend’s transatlantic tussle. “It’s so much firmer in the summer and the rough is dry then and not as thick down below.
“But the rough is brutal out there now. We were hitting 9-irons out of there the other day and getting nowhere. It is sand wedges and gap wedges out of there.”
The course can be as dangerous as a wonky steak tartare but Crane remains a safe pair of guiding hands. In the absence of any Scottish players or backroom team members at the 42nd Ryder Cup, the 36-year-old is providing the Caledonian connection in this chain of golfing events.
Crane has been on this stage before, of course. Two years ago, he was at Hazeltine on the bag of Englishman Chris Wood as Europe lost their grip on the little gold chalice after three successive wins. This week, it’s Hatton who will be benefitting from Crane’s pearls of wisdom.
With the kind of temper that would make Napoleon look like a meditating monk, Hatton is well known for his occasional bouts of hissing self-flagellation but Crane is convinced that his 26-year-old employer will revel in the Ryder Cup rumpus.
“Tyrrell just wants to win so badly and sometimes he lets it get the better of him,” he added. “But he’ll be fine this week, he understands it’s not just about him, he’s playing for the captain and the team. I’ve got to stay cool, don’t I? He’s a bit crackers at times which he’ll admit but there’s no point in us both being crackers so I try to be a calming influence on him.
“He’s got a good heart and he wants the best. He’s not been on tour so long, he’s maturing and he’s still a young guy. But he is what he is and that’s what got him here so you can’t take that fire out of his belly. He goes through his routine and that gets his best golf. So who cares how he does it, so long as we win that trophy on Sunday.”
Crane has savoured plenty of highs in the fickle business that caddies operate in. European Tour wins alongside his fellow Scot, Richie Ramsay, and Wood, who Crane helped steer to the circuit’s BMW PGA Championship title a couple of years ago, have burnished his resume.
Having started heaving the bags in his native Prestwick, it’s not been a bad old life and Crane is keen to savour every ounce of the experiences when they come along.
In this game of fluctuating form and fortune, it can be a hazardous occupation. “I always felt I would be able to get here and I always wanted to get here,” Crane added of his involvement in golf’s biggest team contest. “But you can’t take it for granted. A lot of my friends are still caddying at Prestwick and I’ve come this far. I’m lucky.
“I got my start with Lloyd [Saltman], then Richie and I’ll never forget that. At the end of the day you make your own luck, you put the hard work in, and I think I’m a pretty good caddie.
“I’m always working to get better and learning and I think I deserve to be here. I jumped in a car the other night with Rory McIlroy and he was showing me things on his phone and I’m showing him stuff.
“You sometimes don’t believe it and my mates back home wouldn’t believe it either. I walked into the hotel and Dermot Desmond said ‘hello’. It’s these things that show how far I’ve come. I’m just a wee caddie from Prestwick and you can’t forget that. You’ve got to be humble because you might never get back to something like this. This could be the last … but hopefully not.”
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