Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup teams have thrown up some great characters over the years. Ireland’s Jimmy Bruen and his famous loop. A future knight of the realm and golf statesman in Sir Michael Bonallack. England’s Russell Claydon, he of the three finger overlapping grip. The list is endless.
Stiggy Hodgson more than deserves mention in that company. Ten years ago, the diminutive player realised a dream that was literally created in a rubbish dump.
The Englishman made his second consecutive appearance in the biennial match in 2011, lining up at Royal Aberdeen under GB&I captain Nigel Edwards. Hodgson was the only returning player from the team that lost at Merion in 2009.
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GB&I might have lost the Walker Cup for the second match in a row in 2009, but Hodgson stirred the imaginations of almost every fan who took in the action over the U.S. Open venue in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Arguably no one signed more autographs than the five foot, four inch English player.
No wonder. Hodgson’s story was a true rags to riches tale.
Hodgson grew up in Chester, England in surroundings looked nothing like Merion. “It was a million miles from this,” Hodgson said as he glanced at the fine trimmed lawns and neat houses lining Merion’s famous fairways.
Christened Eamonn, Hodgson became Stiggy thanks to a less than salubrious introduction to the Royal & Ancient game. He found his calling in a rubbish dump.
Aged two and half, Stiggy accompanied his father to the dump after dad forgot to put out the weekly collection.
“I was messing around trying to help out and I fell into the skip,” Hodgson said. “I was rolling around and I found a golf club. My Dad thought it was a putter. It turned out it was a mashie niblick – a 7-iron. That’s how I started golf. I went from there.”
It’s also how his nickname came about.
“There used to be a cartoon in England called ‘Stig of the Dump.’ My dad just started calling me Stiggy from then on and the name stuck.”
Stiggy took the club home and bugged his father to let him use it.
“I used to go down to Chester Golf Centre and I started playing a municipal course called Westminster Park nearby.”
As his passion for the game grew, so did his skills.
Hodgson was one of the shining lights in a 16½–9½ defeat to the USA in 2009. He recorded two points out of two, winning both his Saturday matches.
The disappointment of that loss was assuaged two years later when he played in the victorious 2011 GB&I team that overcame a strong USA side containing future PGA Tour and European Tour winners in Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay, Russell Henley, Harris English, and Peter Uihlein to prevail, 14-12.
“I grew up in a pretty underprivileged area,” he said. “Ever since I’ve known what golf’s about, I’ve realised what the rewards can be. It’s always been sort of a dream of mine to be a winner, in whatever possible way. Whether it’s being part of a winning team or winning a European Tour event.”
Stig of the Dump realised that dream on the links of Royal Aberdeen.
Alistair Tait is an English-based writer who has been covering the game across Europe for more than 30 years. Email him at alistair.tait@btinterent.com
