SHAH ALAM, Mar 7 ― Missing her beloved husband and tired of her job in a law firm in England, Hayley Harrison decided to quit and become a full-time golf caddy in May last year.
She’s been caddying for her husband, Jack Harrison, since then and her life has been nothing short of amazing.
“My mom always said ‘Never marry a golfer!’ and that’s what I did,” said Hayley when met by Malay Mail after she and Jack finished their second round of the Bandar Malaysia Open held at Kota Permai Golf and Country Club this weekend where Jack missed the cut by two strokes.
Hayley and Jack are married and have known each other for 10 years.
Hayley hails from Ireland while Jack’s an Englishmen.
Both their dads are former golf professionals and while Jack decided to keep the family tradition going, Hayley can’t stand playing golf.
Hayley’s father, Philip Joseph Walton, was in fact a part of the 1995 European Ryder Cup team that won the competition by a margin of 14½ to 13½ points to win back the Cup.
At the time, it was only Europe’s second victory on US soil; the first was eight years earlier in 1987.
At the time, Philip was an unheralded rookie who was making his first ever Ryder Cup appearance.
Philip proved he was a right pick for the team when he secured victory for Europe by defeating Jay Haas by one hole and cemented his place in golfing folklore.
Fast forward to present time, Hayley and Jack are busy plying their trade in Asia and in South Africa.
When asked why she quit her job she said: “Everytime Jack came back from abroad, especially Asia where he was playing for two years, he’d tell me I would love seeing this place. I would love seeing South Africa, I would love seeing Asia.
“After 10 years that he’s been travelling the world playing golf without me I decided that’s enough, I want to come with you.”
“It is a hard life being a pro golfer. Jack’s missed the cut here and Thailand cancelled their tournament due to the coronavirus outbreak.
“Since we can’t go there, we’re going to stay in KL and hang out this weekend. Maybe try some street food and I want to go see the Petronas Towers with Jack.”
Hayley couldn’t tell Malay Mail what dishes she wanted to try as she said she doesn’t know how to pronounce them properly.
But she has an idea of what’s local and what’s not.
“I heard there’s a park behind the Petronas Towers where you can get a great view of it so we want to find that spot and try some street food. I can’t really pronounce it properly so we will walk around to have a look and wing it,” she said.
In her short time here, Hayley said she loves Malaysia and would definitely come back again. She and Jack are planning to stay in Chow Kit this week and take a walk in the heart of KL.
