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Andy Murray let out a yelp in frustration and then chuckled to himself as his approach at the eighth hole at Wentworth plunged into the water. It was a new, frustrating reality for Murray in his quest to master a second sport in golf, just weeks after retiring from tennis at the Paris Olympics.
“I was pretty nervous,” Murray admitted, having maintained he is not missing tennis since calling time on his career. “I couldn’t really feel my arms and legs and I didn’t really hit any balls on the range beforehand.”
After swiftly turning his attention to golf and a new chapter, Murray took a first-ever lesson and announced his bold ambition to become a scratch golfer on social media. It has become an increasingly popular hobby for elite athletes after retirement, with Gareth Bale notably achieving it since hanging up the boots.
Even those still operating at a high level, such as Murray’s playing partner and cricket legend James Anderson, who has a 1.8 handicap. Murray, already down to a respectable 7.0, joined compatriot and Ryder Cup star Robert MacIntyre and the flamboyant Strictly star Anton Du Beke, playing off 1.0 and eager to waltz across the greens at a compelling BMW Championship Pro-Am.
It is a sign of the sport’s growing appeal, with actor Tom Holland also present on Wednesday, as hundreds flocked to follow Murray’s group. The Scot soaked up every moment, too, obliging with dozens of requests for autographs and selfies between each hole.
“It’s a different sort of nerves [to Wimbledon],” Murray explained after revealing he is already practicing three hours per week. “Different sort of nerves because you are comfortable in the sort of tennis environment. I’m not thinking I’m going to walk out on the tennis court and forget how to hit the ball.
“You just, you want to perform well. Whereas here, you’re sort of nervous about - there’s people standing like five metres away from where I’m driving, and I’m like, I’m useless at this game.”
Murray’s first experience in the game was as a boy in Dunblane, where he still holds a membership, he recalls jumping on the course at the second hole with his parents and grandparents following tennis training or school, squeezing in four or five holes at twilight.
Since his last match at Roland Garros this summer, Murray has been too busy practicing golf to maintain his gym routine, with five weeks since his last session, and the longest he can ever recall, the 37-year-old revealed he has lost 5kg.
From the “low point” of that wedge shot on eight, compounding a frustrating run after topping his tee shot into the gorse on the previous hole, there were glimmers of genuine quality throughout the round.
Murray, playing with a fade due to his slightly over-the-top swing, remains fiercely competitive, and as early as the first hole, his second of the day, that famous clenched fist and roar made an appearance. There was even a quick swing tip from MacIntyre at the ninth as Murray bemoaned: “I feel like I have to come up further [in my backswing than with tennis] but then I have to slow down.”
So how good can Murray become at his second sport? There does appear to be an appetite to test the limit, having also confirmed more frequent visits back home to see family in Scotland and sample its rich collection of links courses.
“A couple years probably,” Murray said when pushed on how long it would take to get down to scratch. “I think so. I mean, I’m obviously getting to practise a lot more than the average person. I obviously played a bit when I was younger, and if I can get the right sort of lessons and practise the right things, then yeah, I’ve got a chance of doing that I think in a couple years.”
And just as MacIntyre skipped off to prepare for his first round tomorrow, looking to build on a stunning year following wins at the Canadian and Scottish Opens, he lauded Murray’s ability and future in the sport.
“He was good. For a guy that’s obviously not played that much golf, he played when he was younger, but then obviously through his tennis career, he didn’t play as much,” MacIntyre said.
“But he did say he was practising a hell of a lot in the lead up to this, and I thought he was good. For someone that’s not really played that much, I thought he was good, and I mean, he did change his clubs yesterday, I think it was. So I was very impressed with his game. He’ll be scratch in no time.”
