So having volunteered to be caddy/manager I accompanied our resident Pro to South Wales in time for a practice round at Pyle & Kenfig — an incredibly tough links course right next door to Royal Porthcawl. There were 140 other qualifiers at P&K for about a dozen places in the four-day championship. Miguel played better than the others in his qualifying group but sadly a few putts went astray and he missed out by a few shots.
But we were there, in the clubhouse with all the other Professionals so despite not qualifying for the main event we decided to play the two other qualifying courses — Ashburnham and Southerndown — and both turned out to be considerably easier than Pyle & Kenfig.
After enjoying those courses we went to the main event and met up with some of Miguel's old pals — Miguel Angel Jimenez, Miguel Angel Martin, Pedro Linhart, Santiago Luna and José Carriles. We walked around the course with them and spent time on the range with some of golf's legends — Bernhard Langer, Fred Couples and Jimenez to name a few.
We enjoyed Welsh beer, fish and chips, curry, and TexMex and spent six days in unusually hot weather on the Welsh coast.
All in all an unforgettable experience for both Miguel and me. Next year's event will be at Sunningdale and Miguel is determined to have another try at qualifying. Hopefully I can be his caddy/manager again.