Golf stories from journalist Peter Stone

Stonehaven Cup

Donald and Hiliary Bowser were watching the Centenary Australian Open telecast in 2004 in the lounge room of their English home – and were stunned as Peter Lonard was crowned the champion.

Lonard held the Stonehaven Cup aloft on the 18^th green of The Australian Golf Club – and the Bowsers looked at each other and then looked at the mantlepiece.

There was a replica of that very same trophy.

They knew what is was called obviously, but not its true significance in the history of not just Australian golf, but also world golf as it among just a handful of the oldest championships in the world.

The Spirit of Seve

The passing of Seve Ballesteros in May last year was inevitable. He’d been dying a slow and painful death for several years with a cancerous brain tumour and not even the magic he displayed in getting out of seemingly impossible situations on the golf course could save him.

As a three-times British Open champion, he so desperately wanted to attend the 150^th anniversary of the world’s oldest champion but was so ill he couldn’t make the trip. He sent a video message to his fellow past champions to be played at their annual dinner and, from all reports, even the toughest nut among them was reduced to tears.

Perusing the Headlines

You arrive in London in the most spectacular fashion 45 years after the first time – and umpteen times since. Land of Hope and Glory, Rule Britannia and more British patriotic anthems blare over the cruise ship’s loudspeakers as The Thames is lined with thousands waving the Union Jack and cheering as it passes through the raised Tower Bridge to dock.

It’s a rare sight not just for the passengers but the locals as well.

The wireless Internet on the boat has been on a go-slow, the four-page daily newsletter contains only the bare bones. The outside world almost ceases to exist for 12 days.