WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN

Gary Evans came so close to Major glory at Muirfield in 2002, but he’s focused on the future after returning to pro golf last year

- Jeremy Ellwood

Remember Gary Evans? Of course, you do. The Englishman played on tour for 15 years without winning despite going close several times, most famously in 2002 Open at Muirfield, when he came within a hair’s breadth of claiming golf’s greatest prize. Who can forget Evans mouthing “That one’s for you, mum!” into the TV camera after holing a 40-footer on the 71st for an unlikely par that kept him in front heading down the last?

Sadly, it wasn’t to be, with Evans zig-zagging to bogey down 18 as he struggled to suppress the adrenalin surge of the previous hole, finishing one shy of the four-man play-off won by Ernie Els. Four years later, his main tour career was over, with Evans only returning to serious competitive action last year for his maiden season on the Staysure Tour.

In the interim, Evans has become known for his forthright views on social media, which those who follow his Twitter account will be all too aware of. We won’t be revisiting that old ground here in an interview that was a first for me in many ways – my first chat with Evans; a rare one-to-one laced with raw honesty; and, without doubt, the first interview I have ever conducted live from a poolside bar in The Seychelles, with both participants donned only in swimming shorts!