Ruud Gullit will not be pressed on whose result he looks for first among his starry list of old clubs. According to the former AC Milan, Feyenoord and Chelsea player, he holds them all in equal affection.
He is sure, though, about which were the most challenging. “A set of Jack Nicklaus MacGregor Persimmons. Most difficult ever,” he says.
Gullit had never played golf before arriving in Milan, when he joined a side that would become one of the greatest in the history of European football.
Home stars like Daniele Massaro and Roberto Donadoni were avid golfers, and he and his Dutch compatriot Marco van Basten started playing to help them fit in.
“They gave me a bag of golf clubs,” Gullit told The National, before pointing out his first set were tricky to handle. “So therefore, I didn't do anything much in the beginning.
“Then all of a sudden, I went on a holiday which was on a golf course. I went to visit it, then I had a lesson there, and then you are hooked.”
Over three decades later, Gullit remains besotted by the sport, to the point that he is now the ambassador for his former club’s new range of golf clothing – the AC Milan Collection.
He played in the Pro-Am ahead of the DP World Tour Championship last week, winning the nearest the pin prize.
He mused on who he would like to play with in a dream four-ball. Two were perfectly conventional selections – Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods – with the third rather more niche. “Freddie Couples,” he said. “It's the smoothness of his swing. I would like to see it from up close.”
And he eulogised about the greatness of Rory McIlroy. “Funny thing is I met Rory when he was young at the Dunhill Links Championship,” Gullit said.
“We used to watch Champions League together on Tues
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