The Round Golf Podcast

Mel Reid: The Experiment, Tragedy, Solheim and Coming Out

The last in the series of the Round Golf Podcast and a great way to bring it to a conclusion, with a golfer who has a fascinating story. When you go through the career of Mel Reid you realise that for a player still only in her early thirties, she has gone through a lifetime of experiences. This interview reveals what she made of the Clive Woodward experiment and the high expectations she felt on turning pro. She speaks candidly about the car crash that so affected her life, and why she is only just coming to terms with losing her mother in such tragic circumstances. Reid gives her thoughts on what it means to play in the Solheim Cup and why missing out will hurt. There’s her opinions on where golf stands with regards to gender equality in sport. And why now was the time she decided to take the leap to live in the United States and to come out publicly and say she was gay. And the culmination of all that change led to the round, this summer, where she achieved her best finish in a major championship... so far. Because if the last decade of Mel’s life and career are anything to go by, there is plenty still to come.

Jeev Milkha Singh: The Flying Sikh, Marathon Man & Scottish Joy

What are the chances of a golfer who grew up in India winning one of the European Tour’s most prestigious events at the home of golf on a links course?   Jeev Milkha Singh has been a ground-breaking golfer for India, and arguably his country’s most successful.  The son of sporting internationals, Jeev tells the story of how his father overcame tragedy in the Indian partition to become one of the country's most famous athletes. And how his father, known as the Flying Sikh, paved the way for his own achievements   The first Indian to make the worlds top 50, conquering the Asian Tour and Japan, and then going on to make his mark in Europe and the USA. There’s the uncle whose generosity set him on his way and how that influenced him to lend a helping hand to some of his peers. He gives his thoughts his own swing, tells us who his golfing idol is and why he still harbours following in his father’s footsteps as an Olympian.

Catriona Matthew: Major Mum and Solheim Skipper

Winning a major championship is a huge achievement for any golfer. Doing so just 11 weeks after giving birth to her second child makes Catriona Matthew's accomplishment of claiming the Women's British Open extraordinary.  Throw in the fact it was just her second tournament back and in the previous one she and husband Graeme had to flee a hotel fire, this is a tale of defying the odds. A decade on from her greatest triumph as a player, Matthew is now about to embark on her highest profile role, as Solheim Cup captain. The Scot looks back at her best moments in taking on Team USA, from the early Solheim snub to the winning putts.

Jazz Janewattananond: The name, the monk, the weird one

From a family of scholars, Jazz Janewattanond calls himself the weird one. They, no doubt, call him the talented one. This is a player, who at the time of release, is the number one player on both the Asian Tour and Japan Golf Tour and is pushing for a spot on the President’s Cup team. He may be in his early twenties but having turned pro just before his 15th birthday, the Thai has gone though some amazing experiences. There’s a glimpse into Thai culture, as Jazz goes into detail of his spell in a monastery and how it helped lift him from his most difficult period as a golfer. Having made his mark in his first major in the USA, Jazz reveals some of the different ways he has heard his name, why meeting coach Pete Cowen has been so important in his rise up the world rankings and there’s the message he has for the President’s Cup captain Ernie Els. Not forgetting the Round at the start of the year, where he took on two Ryder Cup stars in Singapore and walked away with the trophy.

Ryan Fox: Son of a rugby legend, Perth glory and wedding bliss

Ryan Fox was destined to be a professional athlete. It was just a case of which sport. This episode shows how Ryan benefited and was literally hurt by being the son of New Zealand's World Cup winning rugby union legend Grant Fox. Ryan reveals how the hits he took saw him turning to other sports and how, for a while, he looked as if he might follow in the footsteps of his grandfather, former New Zealand test cricketer Merv Wallace. Late by modern standards, Ryan Fox turned to golf. He admits how early in his professional career he thought he was done with the game. But how with the help of his father, he turned it around and is now flourishing. We begin at the start of 2019 with four weeks that proved momentous in so many ways. His first European Tour win and marriage to Annike.