Hello. It’s Monday morning, so that means it’s time for another edition of Dialled In where I take you through some of the more offbeat stories I’ve stumbled across in the last few days.
This week we have some cool stuff from Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia, and some not-so cool stuff from Judas Priest. Which is a sentence I thought I’d never write.
But first…
Making Progress
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Now, I made my feelings about this quite clear in last week’s episode of The Slam, so I won’t go into much more detail.
Ignoring the fact his swing looks like a 15-handicapper’s, if seeing Tiger Woods hitting drives on a Sunday in a red shirt doesn’t get you excited, then nothing will.
But, as my colleague James Savage points out…
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We’ve all done it.
The house that built Rory
How would you like to live in a house that has its own putting green…
…and the garage equipped with a swing studio…
…and which Rory McIlroy grew up in?
How do we know? Well, “Former Family Home of World Class Golfer Rory McIlroy” is literally the second selling point on the Property News listing.
The four-bed semi-detached house is, situated in Holywood, near Belfast, is all yours for an offer of around £240,000 – or about a hundred grand less than McIlroy’s pay cheque at the British Masters a couple of weeks ago.
I’m not OKK
Staying on the subject, KK Downing – who you may or may not know as the former guitarist from rock band Judas Priest – has put his stately home and accompanying golf course up for sale.
Downing bought Astbury Hall in Shropshire in 1985 and has since put a top-class 18-hole track in its grounds, and even harboured remarkably ambitious dreams of hosting the Open Championship. Darren Clarke, who lifted the Claret Jug in 2011, was hired as a global ambassador for the resort.
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But now four of the other businesses owned by the heavy metal legend (Downing, not Clarke) have been put into administration, forcing him to put his plans on hold for now.
Astbury Hall is on the market for £10 million – or about the same as what McIlroy has won on Tour in the past two seasons.
Bridget bowled over
Once upon a time Austin Connelly met his idol, Sergio Garcia. Fast forward 18 years and the pair are playing together in the Italian Open.
Cue Connelly’s incredibly proud mother, Bridget…
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Bless.
18 years huh? That means I’m almost a decade behind my target of playing up front for Torquay United alongside Rodney Jack.
Sorry mum.
Masters baby
In other news from Planet Sergio, the Masters champion and new bride Angela Akins are expecting their first child. And look what they have got for when their tiny bundle of joy cause of no sleep and never-ending anxiety arrives…
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I was going to do something similar when my daughter was born, but “I learned from the guy who was once the top scorer in the West Devon League Division 4” didn’t have quite the ring to it.
Shut up and take my money
Speaking of my darling daughter, I spotted this on Twitter this week…
https://twitter.com/ForePlayPod/status/918122591675650050
Now do you want the long number across the front of my credit card first?
Carving pumpkins
Do you follow this kid @Md_18undapar on Twitter? He’s 14 and is already a way better golfer than you – and has been for some time.
Now I don’t know about you, but I love watching videos of people smashing things other than golf balls with their driver.
As Halloween is upon us, here’s Matty taking it to a pumpkin…
https://twitter.com/Md_18undapar/status/919243824051957760
But seriously, check out his various forms of social media – he’s got nearly 25,000 followers on Instagram. Under Armour have already snapped him up and he’s mates with Jordan Spieth.
He’s going to be huge one day.
Heavy metalwood
And finally, there’s time for a quick Understatement of the Week…
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Pavarotti was a little heavy, mate.
Are you ready to have your heart broken by Tiger again?
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