It was 28 years ago in my amateur days. Granted, there would be some wonderful happenings later in my career, including winning the Portuguese Open as a professional in 1985. But the first two rounds of the (British) Open at St Andrews in 1970, remains the most precious experience I've ever had on a golf course.
I was 18 at the time and was about to play in my second Open alongside the greatest player in the game. On the morning of the opening day, I remember being on the practice ground when this vision appeared before me. A familiar-looking figure with blond hair and wearing a white roll- neck sweater came across and said "My name is Jack Nicklaus and I think we're playing together this morning."
From the time the draw was made, I had attempted to adjust to the idea of what lay before me. Sure, it was a wonderful honour but I was used to competing at a high level, albeit as an amateur. So I kept telling my- self I would be calm. I would take deep breaths and be totally relaxed by the time we stood on the first tee together.
As things happened, however, it took about six holes of our opening round before I could find the words to actually talk to him. I remember at the fourth, carving a shot onto a green on the adjacent New Course and wondering if I should call for a ruling. But when I put it to Jack, he reassured me that I could play the ball as it lay. So, with some trepidation, I took a divot off the green with a iron shot, got it down there and made par.
Perhaps he didn't want his round interrupted: I couldn't make up my mind about that. Anyway, there were no further problems over the two rounds. Everything went smoothly.
It was such an education that I still marvel at the memory. He spent almost the entire time telling me why he liked St Andrews; the course strategy behind certain holes; how they came to be put together that way and how he tried to play them. All of this while he was trying - quite successfully, as it turned out - to compete in the Open.
A lot of the times he would tell me what he was going to do be- fore he did it. For example at the 14th hole - the par-five with Hell Bunker - he stood on the tee and hit it way out in the Elysian Fields with a big hook, round past the Beardies and out onto the fifth fairway.
After the hole, I went to him and asked if he really needed to play it that way. And he explained to me that it wasn't really prudent to approach the 14th green from the 14th fairway be- cause of the bank protecting the green. From the fifth, however, he could pitch a one iron into the middle of the green and even if it happened to run over the back, it was a pretty simple chip and putt from there for a birdie.
At that time, the Open had two cuts and I shot 73, 73 to make the first one and I also got through to the final round. But I failed to get the medal as leading amateur. Unfortunately, the American Steve Melnyk beat me by three strokes - but I got revenge a year later.
That was in the singles in the Walker Cup at St Andrews where, of course, Britain and Ire- land won. But you would be well aware of that in Ireland because of the marvellous performance by Roddy Carr (who gained a then record three and a half points out of four).
Of course the 1970 Open was the one in which Doug Sanders missed that putt on the 72nd green and it went to a play-off. In common with most of the other competitors, I watched the play- off on television and Nicklaus was my man.
Anything else would have been unthinkable. As far as I was concerned, a special relationship had been established between us during the opening two rounds. And it held good even at the end of my career, 17 or 18 years later. When I stopped playing competitive golf, I asked Jack if I could spend some time in his golf- course design company at Golden Bear.
Instantly, he remembered 1970 and assured me there would be no problem, so I joined Golden Bear on a six-month training course. And our relationship has remained special since then. In our different ways, we had reason to be very grateful for our experience of the Old Course.
