Barcelona, Spain

Sun, sangria, and self-destruction.

An early morning flight, a frantic dash through passport control, and onto the first tee at El Prat’s infamous Greg Norman designed Yellow course for Round 1 of The Provisional.

A new figure arrived — Sam Taylor. Fresh-faced, bright-eyed, and immediately put under handicap review. Masks still mandatory, though mostly used to hide the smirks of banditry.

Mr A. Stafford took an early lead with an uncontroversial 31 points.

From there, the convoy rolled north to Girona, golf at PGA Catalunya (now Camiral).

Round 2, the Tour Course offered scenic serenity and easier scoring before The Provisional turned serious. Round 3 at the mighty Stadium course (soon to host the Ryder Cup). As beautiful as it was brutal.

Round 4 again at the Stadium course before a dash back to Barcelona. A rooftop swim, drinks in the market, dinner at Bar Cañete, wine flowing like a leaking sprinkler — a meal of Michelin-level mischief. The night escalated quickly. Wells, Taylor, Edwards MIA.

Final round: El Prat Pink. A soft-looking parkland, hiding heartbreak beneath the fairways.

Mr P. Edwards held a commanding lead with 9 to play. His playing companion, Mr O. Mitchell pointed out this fact, and suddenly, the lead was gone.

One to play, Mr A. Stafford found himself on the 18th tee needing a bogey to win.

He opted for out of bounds.

Mr Edwards still had a chip to win; it finished agonisingly short.

And so, from the shadows of the Catalan chaos, a new champion emerged — calm, steady, unflappable….a man who had an early night: Mr R. Hollinshead. A name now etched into Provisional history.