The Tiger Protector

We have had complaints, but they’ve mostly been about our positioning and, bizarrely, our dress. After the first day in 2005, we were asked by the organizers not to obstruct the advertising hoardings. It’s difficult – we have to keep put of a player’s line of sight but still be in a protective location – but obviously we understand that we’re big guys and standing in front of the advertisers’ signage, which is projected to millions of viewers across the world, isn’t ideal. One year the mayor of Shanghai rang up late at night complaining that we looked too “paramilitary”. I was amazed, as while we do wear our 511 cargo pants and heavy boots, we also wear an HSBC polo shirt and cap. I’d love to be able to wear shorts, like the caddies do, but we’re not allowed. We do wear lightweight body armour, however, and it can get rather uncomfortable due to the heat. November in Shanghai is normally pretty cool, but the first year we were there it was sweltering. Funnily enough, if you’re constantly sweating it can damage the protective material, so I told the rest of the lads that body armour would be optional for the rest of the week. That excluded the two guys, including myself, who are closest proximity to Tiger. I insisted we wear it.
Would I jump in front of a bullet for Tiger? Ha! It’s a question I’m often asked, but it’s not like it is in the movies. Our preparatory work should prevent that from ever happening, but if someone managed to have the opportunity then they’d have a big ugly mug coming towards him. That, in our experience, creates a lot of indecision and it makes the marksman question his own self preservation, which can give you a few vital seconds. In that situation, our nearest guys would immediately go for the shooter and the others would protect the client. They would “collapse” onto and evacuate the client, which would be immediate and is essentially a result of muscle memory; it’s a reaction. We would surround the VIP tightly, effectively forming a human shield, and evacuate him or her in the opposite direction from the threat; the shooter wouldn’t have a clear line of sight. He’d have to hit the “mass”, which is why we keep the body armour on. But I’ll tell you now: hitting a moving target is incredibly difficult, although Hollywood might have you think otherwise.
I enjoy protecting the golf pros. In our time we’ve also worked with Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia, Vijay Singh and Paul Casey – and they’ve all been great to work with – but Tiger is obviously our main concern. We charge anywhere between US$750-1,500 per man, per day depending on the situation, but I don’t do the HSBC Champions just for the money. It can be hard work walking in the rough for five days straight, but as someone who plays the game on a regular basis it brings me immense satisfaction. If only they’d let me play the course once I’ve seen Tiger off on his private jet. It looks a cracker but I’ve yet to enjoy it myself.