Champion golfer tells of knock-out punch

A champion woman golfer yesterday told how she "froze" when she punched a fellow club member from his bar stool with a single right hook.

Philomena Vaughan, 42, struck out and floored 6ft-tall John Price, 49, after, she claimed, he rubbed her thigh at a trophy presentation evening.

"He fell off the stool and I just froze. I just went numb," she told an industrial tribunal. "It wasn't a violent blow. I think he more or less fell off because he lost his balance."

Mrs Vaughan, three times club champion at Dewstow Golf Club, Gwent, claims she was later sacked unfairly from her job as the golf shop manageress. The Cardiff tribunal has heard how she was dubbed "Muhammad Ali", or "Rocky" as news of the incident spread.

Giving evidence, Mrs Vaughan, a Welsh Gold Medal winner and Dewstow's Golfer of the Year, described how she was helping out at the awards night when the blow was struck. She said that as she walked past Mr Price in her long dress she felt his hand go under her waistcoat on to her thigh. "I said, 'Take your hand away from me,' and pushed his hand. When he moved his hand towards me, I said, 'I have told you take your hand away from me.' "

She claimed Mr Price made a joke out of the situation and was smiling and laughing. As she walked away, he made a remark and she turned back to him and asked what he had said. "He cupped his hand and flicked it across my face, touching the tip of my nose. As he did that I put my left hand up and then hit him with my right hand on the side of his face."

Mrs Vaughan, of Rogiet, near Newport, said other ladies in the bar laughed as Mr Price fell to the floor. She then went to find her husband Peter, a company sales manager, who was also attending the event as a prize winner. She told him: "John Price touched me up and I have hit him. He's on the floor."

Mr Price, from Caldicot, Gwent, denies touching Mrs Vaughan and a club investigation could find no witnesses to the alleged assault. The tribunal was also told of events which led to her suspension and sacking two months later.

Mrs Vaughan, whose case is backed by the Equal Opportunities Commission, claims that the club is guilty of sexual discrimination because Mr Price was not treated in the same way. The tribunal was adjourned until March.