The Courier & Advertiser (Angus and Dundee)
Sharing dream with my brothers will be incredible
Even though I was 99% sure that I would be selected for my third Olympics, it doesn’t make the confirmation any less special.
When the phone call came it was a great feeling and when the official letter comes it will be one to keep, that’s for sure.
Not many people get the chance to go to one Games so to have a third Olympics to look forward to isn’t something I take for granted.
The fact that both my brothers will be sharing the PyeongChang experience with me just adds to the buzz. It’s incredible for us as a family. I’m sure it will be a story that will get plenty of attention when the Games come round next year but I don’t think it has sunk in yet for Thomas and Glen.
European and World Championships are one thing but the Olympics are on a completely different level.
They’ll not want to come to their sister for advice but I’ll be there to help them out if they do!
I guess my team’s selection wasn’t a surprise but the men’s was a threeway battle and plenty of people would have expected the experience of David Murdoch or Tom Brewster to get them the pick.
I think they’ve 100% made the right decision. Kyle Smith’s team are the ones who have shown they can get the better of the top Canadian rinks and they’ve got so much scope for improvement. They’re not even fulltime curlers at the moment. It’s a brave call, but the right one. For us, we’ve set the benchmark with a bronze in Sochi and we’ll be looking to do even better this time around.
Britain don’t have many Winter Olympic medals – it’s 26 in nearly 100 years – and I think that only three ice skaters have won two.
To get into that exclusive club would be incredible for us – not that we’ll be lacking motivation when the Games come round.
Lucky charm?
I think I must be a lucky charm for pro-am golf events.
Two of my partners in recent years both had big wins at the weekend.
Brooke Henderson, who I played with at the Scottish Open, won an LPGA event and, as everybody will know, Brooks Koepka won his first major, the US Open.
The biggest thing that struck me about Brooke was her short change. She chipped everything stone dead and didn’t miss a putt.
It was back in 2015 that I was in Brooks’ team at the BMW PGA pro-am at Wentworth. I know that these rounds can be a bit of a drag for the golfers but he was really good company that day, and so was his Irish caddy.
You could see he had the game to go right to the top. He was ridiculously long off the tee.
American golfers aren’t renowned as being great travellers at the start of their careers so you have to admire the way he started his adventure over here on the Challenge Tour.
It’s nice to say you’ve played with a major winner. I just wish I’d put a bet on him winning one!
We’ve set the benchmark with a bronze in Sochi and we’ll be looking to do even better this time ...