Final Shot with Don Riddell

CNN’s 'World Sport' anchor tells Alex Jenkins about interviewing Tiger Woods, playing golf with Seve Ballesteros and why he thinks 2014 is going to be Rory McIlroy’s year

CNN's 'World Sport' anchor Don Riddell

When did you start playing and how often are you teeing it up?

I never had any lessons and just hacked it around in my teens. Golf was just a fun thing to do, although I really enjoyed watching it and discussing the Ryder Cup and other events with my Dad. I started taking the game a bit more seriously after I joined CNN and started hosting Living Golf, but it was too late really to make the most of the amazing courses I got to visit. I then slipped a disc in my back when playing at Kauri Cliffs in New Zealand which put me out for a long time. But I’m getting back into it, which being based in Atlanta, where there’s loads of golf, is easy to do.

What was your earliest tournament golf memory?

I remember watching Larry Mize win the Masters [in 1987] after holing that chip to beat Greg Norman vividly. The same goes for [Nick] Faldo when he won The Open with 18 consecutive pars in terrible weather. Sandy Lyle winning the Masters from the bunker in 1988 also stands out. I’m a Scot so that was very memorable for the family.

What’s been the best event you’ve ever covered?

I love the Ryder Cup. In terms of intensity and dynamic competition - the ebb and flow - there’s not a sporting event like it. I covered the K Club [in 2006] and Wales in 2010. Celtic Manor was just unreal. The World Cup [football] is great but it takes a long time. With the Ryder Cup - even when a team wins by nine points it can still be entertaining.

What was your most memorable experience on a golf course?

Playing two holes with Seve Ballesteros on a course he designed in Tenerife was a highlight. It was around the time he was 50, just before he started to get ill, and I got to see all the things that made him great. He hit one shot from an impossible position off an old farm wall to about 10 feet. That was an amazing experience.

After interviewing Michelle Wie in Hawaii I got to play her home course, and I remember birdying one hole from miles off the green. I’m not a great golfer - my handicap would be in the high 20s - but that was a great moment.

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Written by Alex Jenkins

Photography by David Cannon

Click here to see the published article.

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