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Winning on the Challenge Tour made me feel like I was ready to go onto the European Tour. There’s nothing quite like winning.

I was lucky enough to win twice in my first two years on the European Tour. It’s a pretty cool feeling and helped me settle in and feel like I belonged.

***

The Entercard Scandinavian Masters 2006 Round Four

There’s one shot I’ve hit that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

It was my second shot on 72nd at the Scandinavian Masters when I won my first event.

My drive was good but had run through the fairway and behind a tree. I couldn’t see the green. All I could see was a tree in the distance to the left of the grandstand.

There was a tree straight in front of me so I knew there was a chance the ball could rebound and hit me. I turned away as soon as I hit it.

I never saw the ball in flight and I never saw it land. All I heard were cheers from the green. It finished six feet away and I holed the putt.

***

Omega Mission Hill World Cup - Rd4

Winning the World Cup with Monty remains my favourite moment in golf.

Winning as an individual is great but being the first to win the World Cup for Scotland was brilliant and it’s something I’ll cherish forever.

***

Scott Jamieson and Stevie Gallacher are my two really good friends on tour. We go out for dinner a lot. I get on really well with Shane Lowry and Jamie Donaldson as well.

We all have similar personalities and we enjoy being at tournaments. We have a bite to eat, chill out, have a bit of a laugh then go again the next day.

***

Commercialbank Qatar Masters - Day Four

I played with John Daly for the first two days at the Turkish Airlines Open and I was actually hoping the first round would keep going on for another two or three holes.

The stories were starting to flow and he was talking a bit more about his history. He’s a fascinating character.

***

Away from golf, I love to spend time with my son, Archie. He’s three now and he understands a lot more.

He’s playing a bit of golf and is able to hit a ball. He seems to love it. We travel so much that, when you get home, there’s nothing quite like being with the family.

***

The Irish Open

The Irish Open is one of the best events of the year. The tournaments in Scotland are the ones I most look forward to but after that it’s Ireland.

We’re lucky we get to go to so many great places and are treated so well. Dubai is perfect for us, too, because our family comes out and there’s plenty for them to do.

***

There are loads of sporting events I’d like to go see. I went to Wimbledon last year and I’ve been to a Champions League final which was pretty cool.

Going to a World Cup final, watching Ronnie O’Sullivan playing snooker and Roger Federer playing tennis are definitely on my wish list.

In golf, I’ve been lucky enough to play with Rory McIlroy when he’s been world No.1. It’s great to see other sportsmen at the top of the tree doing what they do best.

***

DP World Tour Championship - Day Four

Wayne Riley and Richard Boxall are the two funniest guys on tour. They’re a real double act.

Richard Boxall always tells the story about him and Monty playing together in the third round of the Open in 1991 when ‘Boxer’ broke his leg.

He collapsed on the ground but apparently Monty just kept on walking. When you get those two guys together, it can be absolutely hilarious.

***

Brad Pitt is obviously my twin but I’d have to say Tom Hardy would be best suited to play me in a film.

I’d say, from the neck down, we’re pretty similar. I love a lot of his stuff at the minute so he’d definitely be top of the list.

***

Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open - Day One

Ernie Els was always my hero growing up. I loved everything about him and spent hours as a kid trying to copy his routine.

It’s amazing to be able to play alongside him now. I got drawn with him in the first two rounds of the Scottish Open one year.

That was a big moment for me playing in Scotland with my boyhood hero. They say never meet your heroes, but he’s an exception.

***

I always have to have two 10p coins in my pocket when I play. They have to be pretty shiny, too, so I suppose that counts as a ‘good luck’ ritual.

I’ve got about ten or twenty 10p coins in my bag and as they start to dull down a bit I’ll take out a new one.

That’s one of my caddie Ken’s main jobs, to keep replacing the stack with fresh 10p coins. First world problems, indeed!

***

BEN HOGAN

I’d love to have played with Ben Hogan. He was one of the best ball-strikers of all time.

I once actually got to hit his 7-iron from his last set of clubs at Shady Oaks in Fort Worth. I hit three shots with it and, without a word of a lie, they finished within three feet of each other.

Maybe it was the set-up of his clubs that made him so good. That’s definitely a special memory.

***

I dread to think what I’d be doing if golf hadn’t worked out. I started playing golf when I was 13 and decided it was what I wanted to do when I was 14.

Everything else was put on the back-burner and I have been really lucky that I’ve been able to make a career and earn a living from it.

It’s definitely not an attitude I would advise but the thought of not doing it now is pretty scary, to be honest.

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