Oh-Oh! The Kilners and Their Sidekick Have Arrived In Town!

Having now returned to Dubai and the DP World Tour Championship on a number of occasions, I arrived on Sunday last vowing that there could be no Blog this year because in reality, there would be nothing else to write about!  How wrong was I?  I could write a book and the tournament proper hasn't even started.  With four days still to go, I am now anticipating writing my own version of War and Peace!
The topic of war suddenly reminded me about an incident that occurred yesterday involving fellow driver Pete which could have ended in serious bloodshed and the end of a Professional's glorious golfing career!  That golfer was Brandon Grace who I did write about yesterday and him winning the most recent tournament last Sunday, pocketing a cool million pounds in the process.
Well when we transport golfers and their respective entourage from the 9th green to the 10th tee, we have to reverse the two buggies down a narrow path, one behind the other to collect them off the green.  The key is that once the reversing manoeuvre has been completed, you need to switch the buggy back into forward mode!  If you don't do this, there can be serious consequences including whiplash and in the case of young Brandon, double amputation!! Yes, I was parked directly behind Pete and when we loaded everyone up and I gave the instruction to go, Brandon was sitting on the back of Pete's trolley with his legs dangling free.  Yep, foot down and full speed ahead!  Unfortunately, backwards not ahead and straight into the front of my buggy but instead of seeing, nay expecting to see two severed feet, youth won the day and our very expensive cargo had the reactions of a chameleon (trust me, it's fast!) and got his legs out of the way.  He seemed totally unfazed by the experience, readily accepting our apology and we delivered him safely to the next tee.  Since we dropped him off, three of us have laughed incessantly at the thought that we could have made headlines in all today's papers!  Can anybody out there come up with an idea of what The Sun headline might have been?  We three and I include my new mate Alex in this triumvirate need to grow up and start acting like mature adults!
And so another big day today with the arrival of the Skipton mafia in the form of friends Paul, Amanda and Sophie.  There should have been a fourth but I haven't yet found out what happened to Steve!  No questions asked.  However, there is enough trouble with three and in fact all the trouble comes from just two because Sophie, Past Lady Captain at Skipton Golf Club is the serious one amongst the three whilst Amanda spends her time lusting after the veritable array of very young and in many cases gorgeous (her words not mine) golfers.  I think she took on the role of marshaling in order that she could become a stalker!  She is very professional at it but I have to keep reminding her that some of these young men are just out of puberty and she should know better!  This doesn't seem to dissuade her from these activities though!  She is very funny however and her infectious personality captivates most people she meets.
The word funny is not one that I can apply to her husband Paul!  He is absolutely hilarious and has a capacity to make me and others cry with laughter at some of the stories he recounts.  In all my years spent at this tournament, he is the only marshal that I have ever seen being silenced by his fellow marshals when a Professional is playing his shot!  It shouldn't happen but quite simply, he is unable to avoid engaging in conversation with the myriad of spectators that he is trying to keep quiet!
Paul was a star of TV when he was seen working as a paramedic in the series, Helicopter Heroes.  You would appreciate his presence for so many reasons if you had had a catastrophic accident - he might have been very useful yesterday if the tournament had suffered its first industrial accident with Brandon! - and today, his talents appear to have been recognised and he has been added to the list of First Aiders! First Aiders?  This man is a real life saver and if he couldn't save you, at least you would pass to the other side laughing as you took your last breath!  Before we knew it today, Paul was sitting down in the office of the main Doctor at the tournament and we think was actually assessing this medic's capabilities!  I think he gave the Doctor an A* but it wouldn't surprise me to see Paul more in action as a life saver than a marshal!  It's great to have friends here to enjoy the event and no doubt they will feature again over the next few days.
Short and sweet and more visual than verbal.  That had been my motto for this latest Blog but I appear to be failing miserably so enough for tonight and onto some photos!

Tommy Fleetwood.  Leader of The Race to Dubai and Such a Lovely Lad

Ian Finnis,  Tommy Fleetwood's Caddy.  It's a Great Pairing

Ian Poulter - Back In The Mix

Looking Down The 10th Hole

Looking Back Down The 9th Early Morning

The Bunkers Are Enormous!

Paul and His New Medic Friends

But This Isn't a Helicopter!

Such a Look Of Innocence!  Sophie on the Left and Amanda the Right

Spells Trouble!  Coy and Kilner With Sophie, The Quiet One!

The Practice Range