Scottish Open: That Time David Feherty Lost the Trophy

David Feherty, our beloved broadcaster, has an interesting history with the Scottish Open.

NBC Sports personality and former European Tour member David Feherty won’t be at the Scottish Open this week, but that’s okay. He’s got enough memories from the event to last him a lifetime.

Feherty is largely known for his hilarious dry humor and insightful golf quips. For example, when the man was asked what he thought of Jim Furyk’s golf swing, his response was priceless: “Like an octopus, falling out of a tree.”

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Listening to Feherty as a commentator is one of the most humorous parts of watching a golf broadcast, but people forget that the man could actually play some golf in his heyday. Looking at the Northern Ireland native’s career, the 1986 season stands out as a special one. Feherty got the year off to a successful start by winning the Italian Open at Albarella Golf Course, shooting four consecutive rounds in the 60s en route to the title. Feherty held off the great Seve Ballesteros, who held the lead going into the final round.

Feherty continued his European Tour success later in the year with a win at the 1986 Bell’s Scottish Open. Once again, the 28-year-old shot four rounds in the 60s and managed to beat Ian Baker-Finch and Christy O’Connor, Jr. in a playoff. Perhaps the story about what happened after he won the trophy is a more memorable one among fans. Feherty recounts this as his first memory after waking up from celebrating his Scottish Open win:

"“The oldest trophy in all of sport. I drank all sorts of crap from it. I woke up two days later on the 16th tee at Gleneagles, which makes no sense, because I won the tournament in Glasgow [45 miles away]. I opened my eyes to see blue skies and Peter Gant, the road manager for Led Zeppelin. I hadn’t seen him in ages. He’s saying, ‘You all right?’ And the trophy’s gone. Just f–in’ gone. They never did find it. That was a low point.”"

They never did find the trophy. It remains missing to this day.

Feherty’s battle with addiction is no secret. He recently opened up about his personal struggle in a candid interview with Bryant Gumbel. In it, he explained his struggle with drugs, alcohol and clinical depression dating all the way back to his childhood.

In 2013, Feherty had a emotional chat about the struggles of addiction with three-time major winner Billy Casper. The topic was the tragic story of Casper’s adopted son David, who battled narcotic addiction and made headlines for a 1999 crime spree that included burglarizing his parents’ home and stealing a family car.

When you watch Feherty’s interview with Gumbel, one thing is certain: he is the craziest broadcaster we will ever see the likes of. The man is as humble as he is caring, evidenced by Rory McIlroy’s story about the aftermath of his collapse at the 2011 Masters. Apparently, Feherty’s consolation after the round had McIlroy “laughing so hard.” Well done, Mr. Feherty, well done.

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