Helensburgh golfer Gordon Sherry is back on course

Mar 13 2009 by Marc McLean, Lennox Herald (main ed)

A GOLFING sensation who won a wager with Tiger Woods is set to make a comeback to the game after a four-year break.

Gordon Sherry was one of Scotland’s great amateur success stories and once won a £1 bet with the American world number one.

Back in 1995, the 6ft 8ins tall Helensburgh man finished fourth overall in the Scottish Open as an amateur, before lining up at the Open Championship at St Andrew's, where his amateur talents were assessed alongside a pre-professional Tiger Woods.

Sherry and a young Tiger had a bet on – £1 for the highest placed finisher.

And, though one might not believe it now, it was the gentle giant, originally from Kilmarnock, who finished ahead, and beat Tiger again as a member of the British Walker Cup Team.

A run of poor health and injury resulted in Sherry’s career taking a nosedive, however he revealed that his missus is the drive behind his return to the sport.

He said: “My wife Allison and I were sitting watching golf on TV when she turned to me and said, ‘Don’t you wish you were back out there?’, and one thing led to another.

“The truth is I have missed competitive golf, and I’m looking forward to resurrecting my career after a four-year break.

“Ultimately, my aim is to go back on to the European Tour, because when you are a tournament player you want to play on the big stage.

“But I am not daft. I had a long chat with my coach Bob Torrance, and I accept I have a lot of work to do first.”

Turning pro and winning the Mauritius Open in 1997 was as far as it went for Sherry, whose career took a severe downward spiral after failing to gain his tour card, and his career was further blighted by injury and illness.

He turned his focus to corporate golf and set up gingergolf.com – from which he launched a career in coaching. He has also hooked up with fellow ex- Walker Cup player Lorne Kelly’s consultancy Pro- dream USA which helps British golfers obtain scholarships to US Universities.

But now the big man looks set to make a return to the game he has loved from a young age and could become a regular on Scotland’s Tartan Tour as early as this season.

He said: “I want to dip my toe in the water on the Tartan Tour and see where that takes me.

“I’m starting over again, and I have a lot of work to do on all aspects of my game, so my focus is on knuckling down, getting back playing and seeing what happens.

“Although I never managed to get my European Tour card, I played in several events after The Masters in 1996, like the PGA at Wentworth, the Lancome Trophy, and the Scandinavian Masters.

“In fact, I received invites to play in European Tour events up until 1999 and I have also played full seasons on the Challenge Tour.

“Inevitably a lot of people will talk about the past, but at 34, I’m a totally different person than I was when I was 21. My outlook has changed, and I feel I am in a really strong position.

“But it’s not a sprint. I must be realistic, take things a step at a time and stay in control of what I am doing.”