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Ryder Cup 2010 : Tiger Woods 'cigar guy' becomes web hit
The hunt is on for a man who has become an internet star after being pictured smoking a cigar next to Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup.
By Andrew Hough
Published: 10:00AM BST 06 Oct 2010
Who is 'Cigar Man'? Photo: EPA
'Cigar Man' stands in the crowd (right) as Tiger Woods chips his ball out of the crowd at the 18th green on the second day of the Ryder Cup Photo: EPA
Here are a selection of album covers that Cigar Man has appeared on. The Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
Led Zeppelin IV
Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
Tiger Woods hits his ball into the lens of Daily Mail photographer Mark Pain's camera (bottom left) Photo: EPA
The "cigar guy" was photographed standing next to the American golfing champion as he attempted to chip his third shot on the final hole on Saturday. With his Groucho Marx-style moustache and raised eyebrows, the man has become an icon for online sports spectators, who have photoshopped in into pictures of the most dramatic moments of world sport.
Bloggers have even recreated famous album covers featuring the man in his loose brown wig and with his hands in his blue trouser pockets. It appears to be a costume in tribute to Miguel Angel Jimenez, the Spanish golfer. The original picture was taken as the world No 1 was playing with Steve Stricker against Europe's Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher in the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor in south Wales.
As he went to take his shot, a Daily Mail photographer captured the extraordinary image just before Woods' ball hit him and bounced off his chest. Woods was said to be furious about his blunder but neither he nor caddie Steve Williams objected to Pain's position. Some are describing the photograph as one of the best sports pictures ever taken.
The continent's golfers regained in thrilling fashion on Monday, defeating the United States by the narrowest of margins. Colin Montgomerie, the captain, celebrated victory draped in the blue and yellow European flag and with chants of "Eur-ope, Eur-ope, Europe" echoing around the course.
Following a determined fightback by the Americans, it came down to an Ulsterman, Graeme McDowell, to carry Europe over the line, sealing a 14.5 to 13.5-point victory on the 17th hole of the final singles game. Europe has now won four out of the last five Ryder Cups.
Ryder Cup 'cigar guy' is City analyst Rupesh Shingadia
Ryder Cup 'cigar guy' is City analyst Rupesh Shingadia
The mystery "cigar guy" who upstaged Tiger Woods at the Ryder Cup and became an internet sensation is a city analyst from south London called Rupesh Shingadia, it has been disclosed.
By John Bingham
Published: 10:02AM BST 10 Oct 2010
Rupesh Shingadia at the Ryder Cup Photo: EPA
'Cigar Man' Rupesh Shingadia stands in the crowd (right) as Tiger Woods chips his ball out of the crowd at the 18th green on the second day of the Ryder Cup Photo: EPA The 30-year-old, from Wallington, near Croydon, said he was amazed at the response his stunt had attracted around the world after he became an internet sensation. Mr Shingadia, an investment analyst at Threadneedle Asset Management, caught the public's imagination after appearing in the background in one of the most memorable sports photographs of recent times.
It captures the moment a split second before the world No 1 sent a ball smashing into the lens of a Mail on Sunday photographer at Celtic Manor in south Wales last week. But the presence of a man in an orange wig and Groucho Marx-style moustache, standing nonchalantly while chomping on a cigar in the background soon attracted more attention than the main subject of the extraordinary shot.
The image was soon photoshopped in into pictures of the most dramatic moments of world sport a while bloggers posted mock-ups of famous album covers and film posters to feature him. He confirmed at the weekend that the costume was a light-hearted tribute to Miguel Angel Jimenez, the Spanish golfer, as an unusual way to show his support for the European team. In a posting on his Facebook page, he wrote: "Thank you everyone for your support and kind words! I cannot believe the responses I've got in the past few days!"
He also added the image as his profile picture. Mr Shingadia, who is single and lives with his parents, said he was embarrassed by the attention but pleased it he had made people laugh. He told the Mail on Sunday: "I've never done anything like this before, I'm just an ordinary guy who loves golf and follows Arsenal. "If I had known the incredible reaction it would produce, the way that Cigar Guy has snowballed, I would probably never have pout on my costume."
Europe's golfers regained in thrilling fashion last Monday, defeating the United States by the narrowest of margins. Colin Montgomerie, the captain, celebrated victory draped in the blue and yellow European flag and with chants of "Europe, Europe, Europe" echoing around the course. Following a determined fightback by the Americans, it came down to an Ulsterman, Graeme McDowell, to carry Europe over the line, sealing a 14.5 to 13.5-point victory on the 17th hole of the final singles game. Europe has now won four out of the last five Ryder Cups.
Cigar guy unmasked: Global phenomenon is a (rather embarrassed) City analyst
Cigar guy unmasked: Global phenomenon is a (rather embarrassed) City analyst who lives at home with his mum and dad
By Ian Gallagher and Andy Whelan
Last updated at 1:56 PM on 10th October 2010 It all started with an extraordinary photograph, some say one of the best sports pictures ever taken. Captured by The Mail on Sunday’s Mark Pain, it showed Tiger Woods fluffing a chip at the Ryder Cup – his ball heading straight towards the camera lens. If that wasn’t remarkable enough, there was another arresting element to the image. Standing behind Woods was a wide-eyed spectator smoking a fat cigar and wearing a Groucho Marx moustache and ginger wig.
Face in the crowd: Rupesh Shingadia in Mark Pain's astonishing photo in last week's Mail on Sunday
The City analyst as he looks without the wig and fake moustache
Watch and learn: Rupesh, back in costume, shows how Tiger Woods should have chipped that ball
Nicknamed ‘Cigar Guy’ he became an overnight internet phenomenon after the picture appeared in The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline last week. Suddenly millions were obsessed with the moustachioed mystery man. His smiling face was pasted into the backdrop of countless historic photographs which then buzzed around the net. He acquired his own fan club and received marriage proposals.
A reward was offered to anyone who could unmask him. With the story making headlines around the world – it was covered by titles as august as the Wall Street Journal and Time magazine – one question was being asked with growing frequency: just who is Cigar Guy? Last night, The Mail on Sunday tracked down Cigar Guy to a detached house in South London where he is living with his parents, a retired mechanic and a housewife.
We can reveal that Cigar Guy is golf fan Rupesh Shingadia, a 30-year-old investment analyst in the City – and a very reluctant star. ‘I am embarrassed and overwhelmed,’ he said in an exclusive interview. ‘Never in a million years could I have expected anything like this. 'It is truly surreal.’ Rupesh said his costume was a ‘tribute’ to Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez. ‘I wanted to do something to show my support for the European team and I thought of Miguel.
These days sportsmen have become devoid of character. But Miguel does his own thing and I love the way he walks around the course with a cigar clamped between his teeth.’One might imagine Rupesh to be, to put it politely, a bit of an eccentric who revels in the limelight. In fact while he is engaging company, he is also singularly unassuming, not normally given to practical jokes. ‘I’d say he would be the last person you’d think of to do something like this,’ said one of his friends.
Rupesh said his costume was a 'tribute' to Spanish golfer Miguel Angel Jimenez, pictured cigar in hand with Lee Westwood after their Ryder Cup victory Rupesh confirms: ‘I have never done anything like this before. I’m just an ordinary guy who loves golf and follows Arsenal. If I had known the incredible reaction it would produce, the way that Cigar Guy has snowballed, I would probably never have put on my costume. That said, I’m glad it has put a smile on people’s faces.’Currently single, he was unaware of the marriage proposals delivered via Facebook. Perhaps he might wish to trade on that? ‘I’m not so sure,’ he says.
‘I’d want them to love me for who I am – not just Cigar Guy.’ Rupesh, a maths graduate, said the idea came to him at work at Threadneedle Asset Management in the City a week before the Ryder Cup began.‘I was very excited about going. There is a strong fun element to it, and I wanted to enter into that spirit.’He fleetingly considered _donning a pair of garish Union Jack trousers, as worn by English golfer Ian Poulter, but rejected that idea in favour of the Miguel costume.
Making History: Rupesh is magically Photoshopped into this 1862 picture of Abraham Lincoln during the American Civil War
Well hello there: Watching Katherine Jenkins at the Ryder Cup (left) and comparing smokes with a young Fidel Castro in Revolutionary Cuba (right)
Looking drawn: Cigar Guy joins The Simpsons - Rupesh's favourite of all the images on the internet
He ordered the wig and moustache from a website for £15 and bought a £14 Montecristo cigar from a tobacconist. ‘I don’t normally smoke – well, maybe the odd cigar at weddings – so I asked for something mild. To last all day, though, it had to be a big one.’The rest of his ensemble came from his own wardrobe: a Pringle jumper, North Face anorak and Reiss trousers.‘At the course people were nudging each other and pointing at me. But, the costume was secondary to the golf. I wasn’t running around desperately trying to get on TV, far from it.
My friends were keen to get me together with Miguel. I was quite close to him at the 13th. I like to think there was a flicker of a smile when he looked in my direction. His caddie was certainly laughing.’The fateful photograph was taken on the 18th hole. ‘There was a huge crowd,’ he recalls. ‘I was somehow thrust forward in all the jostling. To suddenly find yourself so close to a legend was amazing.’
Roving eye: At the MTV show where Madonna kissed Britney Spears
A nice touch: Taking Maradona's place in the notorious 1986 'Hand of God' incident
As Woods misfires his ball, Rupesh strikes an insouciant pose, but he insists he wasn’t hamming it up for the cameras. ‘If I look goggle-eyed it was because I was stunned at the way he messed up.’ The following day Rupesh was alerted to the picture by a friend who saw it in The Mail on Sunday. ‘I got up and looked at it online, thought it was a bit funny – and then went back to bed.’ Over the next few days the Cigar Guy phenomenon took off in earnest on the internet.
Fab one: Cigar Guy makes it on to the Beatles' most famous album cover
Movie star: He fits seamlessly into this film poster
‘I was absolutely astonished,’ he said. ‘It was incredible. I found it funny but unsettling’. He had become an online icon, Photoshopped into pictures of dramatic moments from history. ‘My favourite is me with The Simpsons,’ said Rupesh. ‘It’s difficult to understand the situation because it has just been thrust upon me. Some people spend years craving this kind of attention but to me it happened by accident. It’s just bizarre. ‘But I’m still expecting to go to work next week. I’m not expecting it to change my life in the long term.’
