Welsh caddie seeks Olympic gold for Singapore

A Welsh caddie is aiming for glory with Singapore's first Olympic golfer.

Robin Ellis, from Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, is among a group of unusual competitors who are not fighting for their own gold medal in Paris.

The 30-year-old is on the bag for Shannon Tan of Singapore in the women's tournament but, as her assistant, is not eligible for a medal in his own right.

Nevertheless, he said a podium finish would be the highlight of his career.

The pair teed off on Tuesday morning for the first round at Le Golf National course in Versailles.

Robin, who worked as a child psychologist in Pembrokeshire until 2021, said: "Covid really took it out of me and I gave it my best effort to support children, but I had to do something different, so I got into a new profession."

Despite being a promising amateur golfer, Robin admitted he was never talented enough to compete in his own right.

But his combination of golfing knowledge and psychology made him uniquely qualified to become a professional caddie.

"I got talking to Mark Govier, the high performance coach at Machynys Golf Club near Llanelli, and he pointed out that I had a calming influence on the bag, and that I could talk golfers down in the moments of their highest tension," he said.

Shannon added: "Robin has taught me so much, but the most important thing is to play the course and not the leader board.

"He's got it into me that I can't affect what other golfers do, all I can control is my own game."

After caddying for several golfers, Robin and 20-year-old Shannon met in Morocco late last year, when she earned her card to compete on the Ladies' European Tour.

Nearly 10 months later, they have won the Magical Kenya Open and Shannon has risen from 300th in the world rankings to qualify in the top 60 best golfers, eligible to take part in Paris.

Shannon will become the first Singaporean golfer to contest the Olympics.

"Shannon is instinctively an aggressive golfer, her nature is to go for the pin every time," said Robin.

"My job is to talk her through every shot, and to allow her the brain space to decide if the attacking option is necessarily the best.

"There's no right or wrong answer, but a good caddie just puts the question in there, and doesn't let their player's emotions take over."

While Robin and Shannon are currently living it up in the Olympic Village, he said life was not always quite so glamorous.

"I left a stable 9 to 5 job for something where we may only get prize money once or twice a year," said Robin.

"We've been in some really posh places, but equally I've had to share a single room with six other caddies, and sleep on a lilo on an airport floor.

"My partner Becca, and my five-year-old daughter Daisy and her family have been so supportive of me following my dream. I can be abroad for 30 weeks of the year, but at least when I'm home I can honestly say I'm all theirs."

However, Robin believes the sacrifice is well worth it.

"Looking at how far we've already come this year, if Shannon and I bring our A-games, we should be looking at top eight and hopefully fighting for a medal."