Publications
Partners
Dubai - For more than 200 days, Spanish golfer Sergio Garcia was
the subject of a relentless Twitter campaign from one of his big fans.
Mark Johnson, a 40-year-old Englishman, just wanted one thing: To be Garcia's caddie for a day.
Using the hashtag "Letmecaddieforyou" on each occasion, Johnson sent Garcia a daily tweet — some funny, some informative, some desperate — from July 9 but got no response the first 205 times.
Eventually, on Day 206, Garcia relented.
"OK," the world No. 15 posted to Johnson, "I think I found the perfect day for you to get the taste of carrying my bag & make your dream come true! Are you ready?"
A date was agreed: Wednesday, Sept. 27, the pro-am ahead of the British Masters.
"I noticed him the first time from the first tweet he posted at me," Garcia said on Tuesday, speaking from the Dubai Desert Classic. "I thought it was quite funny and it was very sincere, and obviously I was wondering how long it was going to keep going."
It ended up being nearly seven months.
"He showed a lot of perseverance and a lot of strength and energy and stuff throughout it," Garcia said.
"I'm sure it will be a great experience for him, and you know, also for us."
Johnson gave an insight into his life in many of his creative tweets to Garcia, including his favourite food (chicken pasta bake with garlic bread) and his family (he has been married for 15 years). One of his tweets was a selfie, with Garcia about to play a shot on a TV screen in the background.
Johnson even said he would turn the 37-year-old Garcia into a major champion one day.
It won't be long before they are meeting face to face.
"I guess there will be no more daily tweets," Johnson tweeted at the weekend. "Many thankyous Sergio Garcia for making my dream come true I am feeling very lucky!"
Ok @markjohno6969 I think I found the perfect day for you to get a taste of carrying my bag & make your dream come true! Are you ready? ??
— Sergio Garcia (@TheSergioGarcia) January 28, 2017
I guess there will be no more daily tweets....many thankyou's @TheSergioGarcia for making my dream come true I am feeling very lucky!
— Mark Johnson (@markjohno6969) January 29, 2017
