There’s a fairway to go for Tevez the bag man
IF YOU are going to shoot 82 in the last round of The Open, it’s never advisable to draw unnecessary attention to yourself. That, however, was the situation Argentine Andres Romero brought upon himself yesterday after recruiting perhaps the most famous caddie in major championship history to help him on day four.
Starting early yesterday after playing himself out of contention with a 77 on Saturday, Romero appeared on the first tee at 8am with Carlos Tevez on his bag. What followed for the next four hours was just another peculiar chapter in Tevez’s bizarre life and one of the more peculiar episodes in recent Open history.
Dressed in his caddie’s bib and a blue baseball hat carrying the number 32 — his Manchester City squad number — English football’s most famous renegade g seemed to be having the time of his life as his friend Romero carved and clattered his way to last place of the 83 golfers who played over the weekend.
Romero’s golf was so bad he must have been tempted to ask his friend to have a go himself. Tevez — a 13-handicapper — must have done better than the air shot Romero contributed as he hacked about in the rough to the side of the 16th fairway.
Given that Romero and Chad Campbell were, on the face of it, such a low-profile pairing, there were no marshals out with the group. So the camera phones clicked unchecked from behind the spectator ropes as the attention focused squarely on the man carrying the clubs rather than the one using them.
Heaven knows what Campbell made of it. It wasn’t even clear that the USA Ryder Cup player knew who Tevez was. He could certainly hear him on the 17th, though, as Tevez chattered excitedly away with friends at the side of the fairway oblivious to the fact that Campbell was attempting to line up a shot.
If he has much to learn in terms of his etiquette, then his caddie’s duties were also rudimentary.
Tevez really didn’t do much more than carry the bag and hold the flag stick. Afterwards, though, he couldn’t get to the media area quickly enough.
‘It was my first time at The Open and I enjoyed it but my shoulder is killing me,’ said Tevez. ‘It’s much easier playing fooball than carrying that big bag around.’
Tevez is due to leave with City on a tour of China tomorrow, but he was still at the course late yesterday afternoon.
Having stunned Rickie Fowler by asking him for his autograph on Saturday, he turned up on the driving range as Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and the other contenders practised at 2pm.
‘He did well,’ said Romero, of his friend’s caddying efforts. ‘I would advise him not to give up football, though.’