Wily Fox has ace up his sleeve

Team GB&I packs plenty of experience both in the ten man team and also among the caddies and backroom staff.

One man with more than most is Lorne Kelly, right, – an ex-Walker Cup winner and caddy for Graham Fox in this week’s 27^th PGA Cup clash at CordeValle, California.

Kelly was part of one of the most celebrated Walker Cup teams of recent times – the 1999 team which contained Paul Casey, Luke Donald and Graeme Storm.

Now involved in setting up golfers on scholarships to the US, Kelly jumped at the chance to head to the Pacific coastal region to take the bag for his old pal, Fox, at CordeValle.

“It is very exciting, I feel very privileged to be part of this having been out of the game so long. It gets the juices going again,” said Kelly who has helped a thousand young golfers to get US scholarships in 12 years through his company Pro Dream America.

The pair know each other inside out having played international golf together for Scotland going up against some household names.

Sergio Garcia was one such opponent while Kelly, also an Eisenhower Trophy winner, claimed the scalp of Henrik Stenson in the St Andrews Trophy.

Kelly meanwhile has nothing but admiration for Fox's abilities as a golfer.

“At 15 he was a top amateur through to 17 and now he is a seasoned veteran. I’ve seen him grow from a talented boy to the complete package and he will thrive here at the PGA Cup.”

Fox was the last man to join Jon Bevan’s team as a captain’s pick but the Scot from Clydeway Golf in Glasgow could well prove to be the ace in the pack not least because of an impressive amateur matchplay record – often in tandem with Kelly.

The 38 year old Fox is a man of many talents, fluent in French not to mention a dab hand at midwife skills having delivered his second child when his wife went into labour early.

But it is golf where he excels and the matchplay format brings out the best in him having learned to take the rough with the smooth.

“I always expected the unexpected,” said Fox.

“If someone holed a 40 footer or holed a bunker shot I almost said I’ve got a putt for a half no matter what so if it went in, I wasn’t storming around the green raging, that was always the attitude and I always thought that was a good way to think.”

CordeValle will be his second PGA Cup experience having represented GB&I back in 2013 when they snatched a dramatic tie at Slaley Hall.

It’s an event he’s come to appreciate – particularly the sense of camaraderie it engenders.

“It’s probably the culture of everybody coming together. You don’t get many opportunities to play a team event like this so everyone is pumped up for it.

“It’s hard to explain, it’s because it’s matchplay, Great Britain & Ireland, and because these events are so few and far between you know they are special from the word go.”

For his part, when the heat of battle reaches its highest in California, Fox will be one of the coolest heads around – helped not least by his old pal.

“Never ever think you are down and out because you never know in this game – momentum can shift very quickly so if you’re five down at the turn you’re not going to try any harder or less but you know that even if you’re not swinging so well you can hole a shot at the right time or pitch in.

“It’s great to have Lorne on the bag, We played a lot together, foursomes and fourballs, he knows my game so we just blather away between shots.

“It takes your mind off it, rather than too much intensity for five and a half hours which is a good thing and really what you want.”