Now a Legends Tour player, Gary Evans was in the form of his life having posted the clubhouse lead at the Open at Muirfield just a month or so previously, and missed the resulting play-off by just a single shot. He recalls arriving at Mount Juliet and immediately sensing a good week was in the offing.
“It’s a week I have very fond memories of,” says Evans as he prepares for a sixth season on the Legends Tour. “I remember dropping a ball on the putting green and the ball made this sound and I just knew that the greens would be superb. They were hard and fast, and I thought straight away I’m going to putt really well this week.”
And while Woods – having won both the Masters and US Open already that year – was imperious in opening up with two bogey-free 65s, Evans was doing his level best to keep pace over the first 36 holes.
“Tiger was playing a different game to the rest of us at that time but I got off to a really good start, shooting 67-68. I’d been playing really well and was in a good place mentally. I got paired with Ernie Els in the third round but I’d had a bit of a difficult night and slept poorly because I had a friend of mine staying with me. I’d gone to bed early but he stayed out in Kilkenny and the place was absolutely jumping with people here for the event and to watch Tiger. Ernie, Phil and all these stars.
“My friend had a great night but I didn’t – and the next day I wasn’t quite the same. I was doing ok at two-under through 10 but then I plugged it in the bunker at 11 and then bogeyed two more coming in to shoot 73. And that was a real shame because I was in prime position. If I’d finished the day with 70 I would have felt like I had a chance of finishing top three the next day, but 73 pushed me back. It was just a shame. I was right there.”
Evans did rally to shoot 66 on the Sunday and finish 15th in front of huge galleries at Mount Juliet, capping off an enjoyable week for the Englishman. “The crowds were amazing and it was just such a buzz. It was my first and only World Golf Championships that I ever got to play and it felt a bit like home turf with lots of Irish friends and my mother having been Irish. So I had a lot of support, which was lovely. It was just a thoroughly enjoyable experience.”
Having watched Woods surgically dismantle Jack Nicklaus’ Mount Juliet masterpiece, Evans insists that the same skillsets exhibited by Tiger that memorable week in 2002 will once again be required by any Legends Tour players looking to enter the winner’s circle this week.
“Strategy is a big thing around here, and it’s no surprise that Tiger won around here, because, you know, there’s no one strategically better than him in the world when he was world number one, and this is very much a strategic course, in my opinion. I feel so privileged that I got the opportunity to watch him close up – the way he worked, his work ethic, his ability to never give up on any shot, to be so focused. There are few players capable of maintaining that level of desire and drive.
“At Mount Juliet you’ve also got to drive it well because the fairways narrow at around 300 yards – but you need to be as far up as possible to ensure you have a short iron in your hands going into these tricky greens, otherwise it’s a tough, tough challenge. There are some stunningly beautiful holes out there. The par-3s are all very strong, particularly the third. It’s only 182 yards, but with the water there that early on in the round, and a bunker right of the green, there’s no real bailout, so you’ve got to sort of trust yourself and try and hit the middle of the green.”
The tournament begins on Thursday, following Wednesday’s Luxe Scot Celebrity Pro-Am, with stars of sports, stage and screen ready to hit the fairways, with the likes of Daniel O’Donnell, Brian McFadden and Keith Duffy being joined by football stars including former Liverpool striker Robbie Fowler, and Irish legends Liam Brady, Niall Quinn, Ray Houghton, Shay Given and Steve Staunton. Hurling legends Henry Shefflin and Anthony Nash will also tee it up.
2005 US Open Champion Michael Campbell and 1999 Open Championship winner Paul Lawrie are joined in the tournament proper by leading Legends Tour players such as defending champion Adilson da Silva, who won the OFX Irish Legends in a play-off last year, Scott Hend – fresh from victory in Barbados last time round – and proven Tour winners such as Greg Owen, Simon Khan, James Kingston and Rob Coles.
Ryder Cup players Stephen Gallacher, Niclas Fasth, David Gilford and Philip Price, along with Swedish duo Jarmo Sandelin and Joakim Haeggman, are also in the field. Ireland will also be well represented by David Higgins and local favourite Gary Murphy, who grew up in the area and has decades of experience playing at Mount Juliet.
“I’m blown away by the standard on Legends Tour,” says Evans. “People don’t realise how good the likes of Paul Lawrie, James Kingston, Adilson da Silva, Michael Campbell and so many others really are. They’re seriously good. It’s a lot more competitive and a higher quality of golf than I expected coming out into this Tour. Anyone coming to watch is going to enjoy some quality golf.”
Formerly the European Seniors Tour, the Legends Tour features a global playing schedule and some of the game’s most celebrated players, with Ryder Cup captains and players, Major champions and Tour winners competing.
Tickets are still available for the tournament that will also feature family fun activities all week and under-16s go free.
The OFX Irish Legends takes place on 15th – 17th May 2025 at Mount Juliet Estate
CLICK HERE to get tickets now. (Discounted if purchase online)
