Who is popular today?

FIFTEEN years after his death, the memory of national golfer George “Brothers” Phillip lives on.
Phillip died on February 16, 2006, after suffering from a heart condition. He was 63.
Newsday recently caught up with many of Phillip’s family and friends to reflect on his decorated life.
Growing up next to the old St Andrew’s Golf Course in La Seiva, Maraval, Phillip fell in love with the sport that allowed him to travel the world, and he was adored by many.
Phillip even rubbed shoulders with Hollywood film stars Sammy Davis Jnr and Frank Sinatra of the “Rat Pack.” They would lay bets on games Phillip played in.
When Phillip was in his prime, in the 1960s and 1970s, Twitter was not around, but he had thousands of local and regional followers. His talent and skill were admired by even West Indies cricket greats Brian Lara and Sir Gary Sobers. Phillip and Sobers became friends and the pair would play golf together. Phillip named his son Gary after the cricketer.
Gary Phillip also recalled his father’s relationship with Lara, saying the West Indies legend would seek advice from his dad on how to improve his golf game. Phillip, who stopped playing competitively in the mid-90s, was a coach in his later years and the Prime Minister was one of his students.
Bernard Benny, also a former TT golfer and a friend of Phillip’s, said, “He taught (Dr) Keith Rowley the game of golf. He taught him as well. I have never seen Keith Rowley go to anyone else to say he having a lesson. I have always seen him with George. But that was in George’s last year or two, before he actually passed.”
Nigel Slinger, a three-time TT golf champion, was Phillip’s friend. Hesaid Phillip, who was of East Indian descent, had to face adversity in his early days.
“In those days they did not welcome coloured players. Golf was an old white man’s game.” Slinger, who is of mixed descent, was instrumental in turning golf into a sport for everybody.
Benny said Slinger would bring Phillip along to play golf when cricketers were in Trinidad, including Sobers.
“Through Nigel Slinger, George made good friends with the likes of Gary Sobers...because when these guys come in and they want to play a game of golf, the best thing that we had and the best thing then, was George ‘Brothers’ Phillip. We used to love to put him on show.”
Phillip’s sister Violet Roopchand’s husband Roland described him as an “extremely gifted player.”
Violet, herself a former national player, recalled when Philip set off in pursuit of his golf dreams.
Phillip left Trinidad in 1964 for England, where he played professionally against the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, before returning home in the early 70s.
Slinger said when Phillip left for England he was already an established player.
“He was a natural player. He played terrific golf in Trinidad. He learned a lot of his golf from the better players in Trinidad. He learned it from Roy Rudder...I think Brothers learnt a lot from Roy Rudder.”
“He left for England and when he came back...everybody was anxious to play with him.” Slinger said Phillip’s talent was out of this world.
“I could tell you, George ‘Brothers’ Phillip was an extraordinary golfer. His short game, his chipping and putting was second to none anywhere in the world. He was an international expert at chipping and putting.”
Like many athletes, Phillip had a unique habit while playing: he would pull up his left pants leg before taking a swing.
Another friend, Bernard Benny, also a former TT golfer, got a front-row view of Phillip’s talent.
“When he came back in from England and he was playing golf at the old St Andrew’s (club), I was his caddie.”
Phillip was also a dear friend. “Until he passed we were very close. He used to come by me, I used to go by him. We used to spend a lot of days together outside of the golf course.”
They would also go to horse racing.
“I could safely say that I have never seen George make an enemy,” Benny added.
Violet said her brother became a celebrity. “When he was coming back to Trinidad (from England) people were waiting outside the house. The man was a star.”
Phillip won the TT Open multiple times, including back-to-back titles in 1972 and 1973. His achievements did not end there, as he won the Dunlop tournament in 1969, 1970, 1971 and 1972 and snatched the Barclays tournament in 1975. In 1974 he copped the Windshore PGA Tournament held in Chaguaramas. Phillip also won tournaments overseas, capturing the Maracaibo Pro Am in Venezuela in 1972.
He was one of this country’s most accomplished athletes in the 1970s. Phillip only lost to TT’s first Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford in the race for the 1976 Sportsman of the Year award.
Despite Phillip’s brilliance and popularity in the sport, his son Gary recalled his humility. “I remember him always out the country. In 1989, ‘90, I remember all my neighbours shaking his hand and congratulating him for qualifying for some tournament abroad and he was like ‘Small thing, man.’”
Gary, who was in his late twenties when Phillip died, recently took up golf himself, and has been reminded that his father was larger than life.
“I went to Pointe-a-Pierre recently (to play golf). I kept it quiet because I did not want anybody to come and see me (play).”
But he couldn’t keep it a secret, as some of the golfers connected the dots and discovered he was Phillip’s son.
“The fella disappeared (who realised who my dad was) – the next minute, the whole clubhouse came out to meet me. This was like a month ago or two months ago.
“They started to talk about stories and shots he made under pressure in tournaments against foreign players where the level is high, it is competitive golf. They started to speak (and) I was in awe, I was dumbstruck.”
Asked if his father would have been proud of his son’s golf prowess, Gary laughed and said, “At all. He would be proud of me playing, but not the shots.”
The rest of the family has an impressive record in golf: several members have played for TT or competitively over the decades, including Violet’s and Roland’s children Hanna and Asa. Many of their grandchildren also play.
Hanna, Phillip’s niece, was on the national team as a junior. She said when her uncle died she realised how much it meant to him that they were all playing.
“One of the memories I have with Uncle Brothers is when he actually passed away. He had a clipping from the newspapers when I probably won a tournament. I did not really recognise how much he appreciated that we were playing the game.”
Benny, who highlighted Phillip’s sister Violet, also spoke highly of his brothers.
“He had a lot of brothers who were brilliant players as well...but in the whole history of the old St Andrew’s there was never ever a player with the calibre of George ‘Brothers’ Phillip.” Golfers would travel to Trinidad from all corners of the world, but the race was for second place.
“They brought in foreign pros to try to dethrone him, and they couldn’t do it. He used to send them all back with second or third spot.” Benny said his friend was a rare talent.
“It is a sad thing to see talent such as that leave us. We need talent like that. We don’t have that.”
The post George ‘Brothers’ Phillip: legendary TT golfer remembered appeared first on Trinidad and Tobago Newsday.