Spot a star on the tee? Not a Hope!

DUrING the eighties, I went to a pro/am golf tournament. The group I was following had reached the next tee, and alongside it was a small bench which had been placed there for club members.

Sitting on this bench was a spectator, resting, with his eyes closed, taking no interest in his surroundings. his peace was disturbed, however, when someone sat next to him.

he looked across through half-closed eyes at his new neighbour, who greeted him with a cheerful ‘hello’.

he half-smiled back and closed his eyes again. It was clear that he hadn’t recognised his bench companion.

I figured it was only a matter of time before the penny dropped, so I waited for the inevitable. Bang! Like a Disney cartoon, his head shot up, eyes popping out on stalks and, with mouth gaping open, he looked across at . . . Bob hope!

he was dumbstruck. You could see his mind racing to think of something to say. ‘Uh . . .Uh . . . Nice day, isn’t it.’ But the moment had gone: Bob had moved on to the tee.

That spectator had blown it. he had dithered too long, and his only consolation was later being able to say: ‘Guess who I sat next to today?’

It was a case of hope-less judgment on the bench!

Being placed in such circumstances, I wondered what I would have said.

The first thing that came to mind was: ‘I’ve never sat next to a legend before.’ Weak, perhaps, but something I think Bob may have liked. david H. Cox, Kidlington, Oxford.