ALASTAIR Forsyth returned home from Portugal yesterday with the Madeira Islands Open trophy, but without the trusted clubs which helped the Scottish golfer win his first event on the European Tour since succeeding at the Malaysian Open in 2002.
Though he stayed at a hotel near Stansted Airport on Sunday evening and only had the final leg of his journey to make to Glasgow yesterday morning, Forsyth arrived in Scotland without his golf bag. He will have to use back-up clubs at the Andalu
cia Open in Spain this week if the airline fail to reunite the golfer with his bag before he leaves for the Aloha Golf Club this morning.
"I got home with no clubs and am waiting to see if they arrive before leaving again tomorrow morning," he said yesterday. "I may have to rustle up a set of back-up clubs from the ones I have in the house. I won't get an identical set to the ones I used in Madeira, but I'll come up with something."
Losing track of his golf bag as he jets around the globe is a hazard Forsyth has learned to live with. "It usually happens to me five or six times a year," he added. "When you are connecting through Heathrow it can be a problem. The odd thing this time was I wasn't in transit. The clubs went missing between Stansted and Glasgow."
Forsyth, 32, hunted down Hennie Otto in Madeira on Sunday with a closing round of 67, which eliminated the five-stroke advantage held by the South African when the fourth round got underway. By the time the tournament went to extra holes, the Scot was in command and made another birdie at the first play-off hole for victory.
The full article contains 301 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
