For South African golf fans of the 1980s and 1990s, Mark McNulty was a familiar name on leaderboards and television screens. Week after week, he featured at the sharp end of tournaments, part of a fiercely competitive era that shaped local golf’s golden years.

Now 72, McNulty joins HOT Sport 60 with Betway from Zimbabwe, looking back on a career that delivered remarkable consistency — and one lingering “what if”.

Despite being widely embraced as a South African sporting icon, McNulty was born in Zimbabwe and later took up Irish citizenship in 2003. The decision, he explains, wasn’t about identity or opportunity — but about a moment that forced him to confront how fragile life on tour can be when circumstances shift beyond your control.

It’s a turning point he speaks about carefully. And it’s not something he fully unpacks in print.

McNulty explains, in his own words, why a single concern — one that had nothing to do with golf — led him to trace his ancestry back to Northern Ireland and ultimately play under the Irish flag. It’s a decision rooted in uncertainty, not ambition, and it reframes a chapter many fans assumed they understood.

These days, home is San Lameer on the KZN South Coast, where McNulty has lived for 30 years. Life is built around the sea, wildlife photography, diving and, when the urge strikes, competitive golf. And the swing hasn’t gone anywhere — he recently carded a 70 at the SA Senior Open at Plettenberg Bay.

The career numbers still astonish. Thirty-three Sunshine Tour wins. Sixteen on the DP World Tour. Fifty-nine professional victories overall. Eighty-three weeks inside the world’s top ten between 1987 and 1992.

Yet when the conversation turns reflective, McNulty doesn’t reach for statistics.

“If I was critical of myself, not winning a major is the one thing missing.”

In 1990, he came agonisingly close — finishing second at The Open behind Nick Faldo after a closing round of 65 at St Andrews. It remains the near-miss that defines his competitive edge — and the one moment he still measures himself against.

Still, there’s no regret. Only clarity.

McNulty says that if given the chance, he would do it all again — exactly the same way. And that may be the most telling insight of all.

HOT Sport 60 with Betway airs Friday evenings from 6–7pm on HOT 102.7FM.