What does one say to a man who has a putt to retain the Ryder Cup? What does one murmur in the ear of a player who faces a moment that will not only define his career but put the miracle in Medinah? What does one do when five feet separates one's mate, colleague and employer from sporting disaster or glory? The answer is simple: have a wee peek at Seve and take consolation in the advice that was passed on by Neil Lennon
The scene is the 18th green at Medinah, Illinois, on Sunday, September 30, 2012
Martin Kaymer has hit his first putt five feet beyond the hole in his singles match against Steve Stricker
He is one strike of the ball away from retaining the Ryder Cup for the European team
Craig Connelly, caddie, confidant and Clydebank native, is standing on the same patch of severely-mown grass as the German golfer
His boss is facing his greatest test, the Ryder Cup is nearing one of its most dramatic climaxes
So how does the boy from St Columba's High, the graduate of the Loch Lomond caddy shack, remember it all now? 'People ask me: 'How good was it'
To be honest, it was pretty s***,' he says. In truth, Connelly is referring to the wearying weekend rather than the Medinah miracle
He recalls: 'I had just started working with Martin again. He was struggling. If the automatic qualification had gone on for another week, he would have fallen out of the team and he has admitted even he would not have chosen himself as one of the captain's picks
'Form was bad. We played on the Friday with Justin Rose and Martin played poorly
He felt he had let Justin down. He gets dropped on the Saturday. So all you are doing is cheerleading on the course
He understood that. He was not confrontational, he was savvy. He knew how he was playing
It hurt him but he knew.' With Europe 10-6 down, needing eight points from 12 singles just to retain the Ryder Cup, Kaymer was picked as 11th man out
'You can't help but feel you are there to make the numbers up,' says Connelly. 'You can't help but feel a little lost
I remember phoning Neil for a bit of advice.' So on an Illinois Saturday, as his man was given a late, almost forlorn, slot for the next day, as the heat was being turned up on the furnace that is the Ryder Cup, he looked for solace in the shape of Neil Lennon, Celtic manager? 'Aye,' he says
'He is a pal, so I phoned him. I says: "Listen mate, we have been dropped today and we are out 11th tomorrow
Obviously you've been dropped yourself, so what's the best way to react?" The b**** says: "I never got dropped for big games"
' 'I says: 'Come on, I am reaching out here'. He told me: "All you can do is take care of your match and it can all come down to you
This is not on the opposition. It is on you. You just have to be ready. Do your best
" 'As it transpired, it did come down to us. So a disappointing weekend suddenly becomes career-making stuff
' The final moments of Kaymer's resurrection and the European renaissance are easily recalled six years on by Connelly
'Jose Maria (Olazabal, team captain) comes up to us on the 16th and says: "We need this point"
Martin goes: "No s***". 'So, anyway, we are standing on the 18th tee, one up with one to play, the Ryder Cup on the line
'Martin hits into the bunker. No danger, no real danger. Slightly pulls his iron and it kicks right on the green, kicks left and it is an awful shot to have
Stricker has a 50-footer and he doesn't hit a good putt. And now Martin has two putts for it
' The tension is almost tangible as Connelly pauses six years on in a Glasgow restaurant
'He grabbed the putter and was marching quickly as if he just wanted to get it done
Unlike him. I told him: "Relax".' The first effort left him a putt of about five feet
'I wasn't reading the putt,' says Connelly. 'It was as straightforward as anything can be in that situation
I just looked at the figure of Seve on my sleeve and says: '"Any chance of any help here?"' The precise worth of the call to Lenny and the glance at the silhouette of Seve on the shirt sleeve may never be known
The result is celebrated in history. Kaymer sank the putt. It is one of a series of extraordinary moments that Connelly has shared on a golf course
He has been on the bag for a USPGA and a US Open victory for Kaymer. He was Colin Montgomerie's caddie when he and Marc Warren won a World Cup for Scotland in 2007
'Oh, I won a World Cup as a traitor too,' he says referring to caddying for Englishman Paul Casey when he won for his country in tandem with Luke Donald in 2004
It is a career of raised arms of celebration and nifty feet and nimble mind in both enduring in a post and finding another when the partnership almost inevitably comes to an end
Connelly, 41, parted amicably with Kaymer last week and his cheery reminiscence of a life in golf are marked with anecdotes of how a girlfriend once silenced Monty, how difficult it can be to celebrate a major victory, particularly in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, how he auditioned for Kaymer by falling into a bunker and how his first big break came at a stag do on Islay
It is, perhaps, best to start at the beginning. Connelly was considering further education when he learned an important lesson as a schoolboy
'I caddied at Loch Lomond and it became obvious to me that earning a potential £100-plus a day was better than trying to get into university,' he says
He took his first pro job in Chepstow, carrying Myra McKinlay's bag at the Ladies Welsh Open in 1996 and posts with other women golfers followed
'My life changed when I went to a buddy's stag do on Islay in 2004,' says Connelly
'Paul Casey was there and I got to know him then. 'A couple of weeks later I was at Sunningdale and someone asked would I work for Paul at the BMW in Munich? I said yes and we finished third
Two weeks later I got a call saying: "Get your ass to Detroit, you are going to Oakland Hills for the Ryder Cup"
' It was the first of seven successive Ryder Cups for him on the bags of Casey or Kaymer
When he broke with Casey in 2007, he had a one-year gig with Colin Montgomerie. 'I remember one thing most of all
My girlfriend at the time had just failed her driving test again and Monty told her: "F*** it
There's always next time. Just move on". 'She wasn't overly pleased. On the Sunday, Monty finishes badly in a tournament he should have won
Me and the girlfriend are walking with him to his car. 'He asks me what I think of the day
My girlfriend bursts in with: "F*** it. There's always next time. Just move on".' Connelly waited for an explosion that never came
'He just got into his car but he told me the next week at the European Open that he admired her honesty,' he says
'And he went on to win the tournament so she kind of proved her point.' A brief return to Casey's bag was followed by a stumbling step towards the world of winning majors
'I started with Martin Kaymer at Wentworth in 2010. We missed the cut and I fell in a bunker,' he says
Better days followed quickly. The USPGA was won the same year. The US Open followed four years later but Connelly was left to celebrate on his own
'Martin was flying off on holiday straight away so I was left on my own in Sheboygan, Illinois,' he explains
'Not the greatest place to have a good time. But I managed.' The celebrations at Ryder Cup victories were much more convivial
This togetherness, he emphasises, was what distinguished the European team but that may no longer apply
'The US have become more of a team,' he says. 'The younger players vacation together, hang out together and they all live in West Palm Beach area so they share aeroplanes to get to destinations
They are close.' The European team crucially contains five rookies. What advice would a veteran of seven successive Ryder Cups give to a debutant? 'When you walk into the team room, leave your ego at the door
It's not about you. Just be ready to play. But don't take it personally when you are left out of the matches
'This is a team event in an individual sport. That makes it different. You can pick up the ego on the golf course but in the team environment be part of the team
' He ponders just what makes a great Ryder Cup player. 'Is it just desire? Is it that fear of not letting your team down, a huge motivating factor for certain players but not so much for others?' he says
The best USA Ryder Cup players? 'I would take someone like Corey Pavin from the past
An absolute scrapper. I would go for Patrick Reed now. Great player, no chance of intimidating him
' And for Europe? 'Monty is in the past and Ian Poulter now.' The event itself remains the star for him, Connelly declares
'Nothing prepares you for it, player or caddie,' he says. 'It can all be a bit of blur but the great moments always stand out
'My favourites? Gleneagles because being at home was special. The K Club was hard to beat for many different reasons, especially with the circumstances of Darren (Clarke) losing his wife
' He adds with an smile: 'But I will always take Medinah. We had only two matches over the weekend
But the second one was all right.'
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