REGULAR readers of The Northern Echo will know that the newspaper adopted Henrik Stenson as its favourite Swede following 2005's Seve Trophy at The Wynyard Club.

Stenson played alongside Northern Echo sports reporter Paul Fraser in the pre-event pro-am tournament two years ago, but we've been wondering what the former learned from the latter for quite a while now.

Yesterday, the mystery became clear when a disgusted Stenson was fined £500 for smashing the top off a plastic marker at the side of the eighth tee.

The rest of the Open press pack were wondering where the normally mild-mannered Swede had picked up behaviour like that. Having seen Fraser in action on the links of Seaton Carew, however, we think we might just know the answer.

American golfers have a reputation for shutting themselves off from other cultures, so imagine our surprise when we bumped into Jim Furyk during an unscheduled refuelling break on Thursday night.

After shooting a 70 in the opening round, Furyk was persuaded to nip into Carnoustie's Kinloch Arms with Justin Leonard and Scott Verplank.

We can exclusively reveal that his drink of choice was McEwan's 80/-, and it didn't appear to have done him any harm as he followed up his opening effort with another round of 70.

As if he doesn't have an impressive enough first name, Boo Weekley, who was named after Yogi Bear's sidekick, Boo Boo, also boasts the best claim to fame in golf.

When he was growing up in his native Florida, the American, who is just four shots behind Open leader Garcia, was once knocked to the floor by an orang-utan. And not just any old orang-utan either, but America's leading orange-skinned fighter.

Facing the boxing-gloved orang-utan for a bet, Weekley was on the verge of offloading a punch when he was knocked unceremoniously to the floor. Perhaps he will extract his revenge on the animal kingdom this weekend by damaging the hopes of a Tiger.

Today, Carnoustie is famous only for its golf course, but in years gone by it was also known as the heart of Scotland's jam industry.

The Mackay's jam factory was located in the town, and over half of Carnoustie's population was employed in producing the preserve.

The factory's closure means the jam industry has disappeared, but its legacy lives on in some of the street names in Carnoustie.

Sergio Garcia will no doubt be remembering that as he attempts to preserve his tournament lead later today.

Golfing WAG of the week award goes to Amy Mickelson. Yesterday's get up was white jumper, blue jeans, brown leather boots, Louis Vuitton pashmina, Gucci handbag and black sunglasses - not forgetting the two burly minders.