Andy Murray wins first trophy in new sport just months after retiring from tennis

Andy Murray is aiming to get his golf handicap down to scratch in the next few years and has made a fine start, winning his first trophy since retiring from tennis

Andy Murray has bagged his first trophy since hanging up his tennis racquet for golf clubs. After bowing out of professional tennis following a defeat in the men’s doubles at the Olympics on August 1, Murray turned to golf, updating his Twitter bio from "I play tennis" to "I played tennis. I now play golf."

Now 37, the former tennis star has been focusing on lowering his handicap, aiming for scratch level in the coming years.

He recently showcased his burgeoning golf skills alongside celebs at the BMW PGA Championship Pro-Am at Wentworth last month, where he caught the attention of fellow Scot Bob MacIntyre, and has just won his inaugural sports title.

Murray triumphed at the BTJA Mike Dickson Golf Day held at Hanbury Manor Golf Club, Hertfordshire — an event established by the British Tennis Journalists' Association in memory of the late Daily Mail journalist, Mike Dickson, who died this January at 59. A tweet by the BTJA confirmed the victory for Murray, whose handicap is currently seven but who is taking regular lessons.

MacIntyre praised Murray's abilities after playing with him, predicting he'll reach a scratch handicap swiftly: "For someone that's not really played that much, I thought he was good," said MacIntyre, ranked world No. 16, adding, "I was very impressed with his game. He'll be scratch in no time.", reports the Mirror.

Andy Murray is relishing his time away from the tennis court, embracing the challenges of golf. Speaking at Wentworth, he shared his experience: "It's a different sort of nerves, because you are comfortable in the sort of tennis environment. I'm not thinking I'm going to walk out on the tennis court and forget how to hit the ball," and continued, "Whereas here, there's people standing five metres away from where I'm driving, and I'm like, I'm useless at this game. You just want to try and keep the ball in play and don't mess up too much."

He also noted the benefits of regular practice and coaching: "I'm obviously getting to practice a lot more than the average person. I obviously played a bit when I was younger, and if I can get the right sort of lessons and practise the right things, then yeah, I've got a chance of doing that."

Murray highlighted the importance of proper guidance: "The lessons have made a huge difference. That's been the most important thing for me. I used to go down to the range and hit lots of balls, and I could hit a few good ones. But if you have a fundamental flaw in your swing or what you're doing, it doesn't matter how many balls you hit on the range. So, getting lessons and practicing those things is helping."