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Montserrat cricket team in 1978.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
After migrating to Antigua in 1995 following the Soufriere Hills volcanic eruption in Montserrat, O\u2019Brien\u2019s game flourished. To date he has won 13 tournaments around the Caribbean, including the Antigua Seniors Open six times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI always ask myself, \u2018Why didn\u2019t someone spot me [early on] and take me to the United States,\u2019 \u201d says O\u2019Brien, who wonders if he could have played on the prestigious PGA Tour. \u201cIf I knew better back then I would have stuck to golf. But it\u2019s gone. It can\u2019t be undone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O\u2019Brien earned the nickname \u201cDougie\u201d during his youth days playing friendly cricket games in Cork Hill. One day a friend told him he bats like Doug Walters, the Australian Test cricketer. Everyone called him \u201cDougie\u201d after that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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Although he didn\u2019t achieve stardom in cricket, O\u2019Brien says the\nfundamentals required to be successful in cricket and golf are similar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYour left hand controls the ball in golf, just like in cricket,\u201d says O\u2019Brien, who swings right-handed. \u201cBut you have to be mentally stronger in golf than cricket because it\u2019s a very hard game. The most bad words you will ever hear is on a golf course. They\u2019re not cursing you, they\u2019re cursing themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
O\u2019Brien says the key to his golf success is his short game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFrom 150 yards to the hole I\u2019m deadly,\u201d he says. \u201cA lot of them can [drive] the ball longer than me, but chipping and putting is my strength.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When O\u2019Brien resumed playing golf in 1985 following his cricket career, he was a 17-handicap. At his peak in 2007, when he won three regional tournaments, he was a plus 1 handicap. He is currently a 4.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201chandicap\u201d is a figure assigned to amateur golfers in order to level the playing field during tournaments. A 17-handicap is typical for a beginner. If that player shoots a round of 90, for instance, his score is adjusted to 73. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“You have to be mentally stronger in golf than cricket because it\u2019s a very hard game. The most bad words you will ever hear is on a golf course.” <\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Despite his success, O\u2019Brien says it’s unfortunate that he has not represented Montserrat for all his victories. When he relocated to Antigua he still played for Montserrat in regional tournaments, and sometimes would even pay his own fare to attend and compete in tournaments in the region. But he later switched to playing for Antigua.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amateur golfers don\u2019t receive cash prizes, and they depend on\nthe countries they represent to provide funding for travel and other expenses.\nO\u2019Brien says that has been a sticking point in his quest to play for\nMontserrat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn 2007 after I won in St. Croix they played the Antigua national anthem and I was standing next to the Antigua flag and I felt bad,\u201d he says. \u201cI really wanted to play for Montserrat. But due to circumstances I have had to play for Antigua.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless which country he represents, it\u2019s the result that counts. O\u2019Brien, who recently competed in a tournament in Barbados, says he’s considering taking a step back from competitive golf. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I believe I’ve done enough,” he says. “I’ve traveled all over and I’ve done it all. Also, playing golf has taken me away from church. I’m a Seventh Day Adventist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I will continue to play golf on Sunday as usual, but just for fun.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Dougie” O’Brien says chipping and putting are the keys to his success. “From 150 yards to the hole I\u2019m deadly.\u201d<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n Lionel O'Brien tournament victories<\/h2>\n\n
\n\n
\n\t Antigua Senior Open (2005, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012)<\/td> Eastern Caribbean Championship, Anguilla (2018)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t St. Lucia Open (2007, 2009)<\/td> St. Kitts Open (two-time winner)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n \n\t Eastern Caribbean Championship, St. Croix (2007)<\/td> St. Thomas Open
\n (2009)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lionel \u201cDougie\u201d O\u2019Brien can\u2019t help but wonder what might have been. He began playing golf in his early teens while working as a caddie at the Belham Valley Golf Club in Montserrat. He learned the game on his own by observing the club members when they played, and he even went on to win a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1861,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,2,84,5,85],"tags":[132,25,296,216,297,26,299,298],"class_list":["post-1830","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-caribbean","category-featured","category-inthespotlight","category-sports","category-top5","tag-antigua","tag-cricket","tag-dougie","tag-golf","tag-herman-cup","tag-montserrat","tag-pga-tour","tag-st-kitts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1830"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2268,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1830\/revisions\/2268"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1830"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1830"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montserratspotlight.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1830"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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