Andy Murray was very, very good at tennis.
He won two Wimbledon men’s championships, one US Open, one ATP Final, two Olympic gold medals and a total of 46 career titles worldwide.
His ability to withstand pressure was never in doubt.
But on Wednesday of Wentworth week at the BMW PGA Championship he found himself under a different sort of stress, playing in the tournament pro-am alongside his fellow Scotsman Robert MacIntyre.
“I was pretty nervous,” he admitted afterwards, remembering in particular a duffed approach to the eighth that ended up in water. “I couldn’t really feel my arms and legs, and I didn’t really hit any balls on the range beforehand.”
He plays to a handicap of 7.0 so he’s pretty good with clubs instead of rackets in his hand and two holes after his error at the eighth he spoke to Nick Dougherty on Sky Sports.
Once the formalities were over, Murray was asked if there is any tennis skill set that crosses over into golf.
“Oh, I think definitely,” he said.
“It’s the mental side of it because, you know, in a tennis match we play – what is it? – a hundred or a hundred and fifty points and they all matter but what you cannot do is compound your errors.
“When I started playing golf I’d hit it in the rough and I’d be thinking that I’ve got to make the green but I’d only end up duffing it 20 feet in front of me.
“And, just as in tennis, you can’t afford to do that. Your mistakes can’t bleed into three, four, five in a row.
“I hope that’s something I’m doing okay on the golf course having learned it on the court.”
After his experience of playing 18 holes with MacIntyre – winner of this year’s Canadian and Scottish Opens – Murray knew there was something the professionals have that he will cannot replicate however.
“The biggest difference for me is that they swing so hard at the ball and yet stay so still and in control,” he said.
