In today’s world, it’s rare to hear a celebrity revealing a weakness of their own accord. Not George Clooney though, he’s all too happy to draw laughs out of a crowd at his own expense. It’s what makes the 61-year-old all the more likeable because yes, he’s one of the most famous actors on the planet. Yes, he’s renowned for being one of the nicest people in a cutthroat industry, and yes, more recently he’s shown himself to be a wonderful family man and a doting father and husband. But you can’t be good at everything, can you George?
While addressing guests at the Omega celebration that was hosted by CEO Raynald Aeschlimann, and a part of the Omega European Masters tournament in Crans Montana in the Swiss Alps, Clooney spoke of being thoroughly in awe of how good professional golfers are – name dropping Rory McIlroy – while conceding quite how bad he is. Perhaps the altitude got to his head but he self-deprecatingly shared: “I’m a big fan of golf, I’ve watched it a lot and have played it a little bit but it's a very frustrating sport,” he says. “It’s a terrible sport,” he joked, pointing to how unpredictable it is where you can birdie the same hole that a champion can bogey.
George Clooney, who looked dashing in a loosely fitted grey Armani suit and matching grey shirt, was attending the event as a long-standing Omega ambassador and entertained guests further by lightheartedly referring to Aeschlimann as “basically my sugar daddy” after the CEO described Clooney as being a part of the Omega family. Indeed, like a certain secret agent, Clooney's relationship with Omega has spanned over two decades, and on this occasion the silver fox was on hand to provide a sneak preview of his latest campaign, which celebrates the new Speedmaster ‘57 collection. Wearing the vintage-vibes blue-dialled version of the Speedmaster ’57 Co-Axial Master Chronometer Chronograph, it’s an extremely wearable 40.5mm and being stainless steel makes it particularly desirable for a wider audience of watch lovers.
The fact that Gregory Kissling, Omega’s VP of Product (and the brainchild behind the MoonSwatch design), is also a big fan of the latest Speedmaster ’57, and was wearing one, shows us it’s a clear favourite within the Omega stable.
In the mood to joke, Clooney said he wasn’t quite as old as the ’57 (he was born in 1961) but that he loved the watch because “it was just a beautiful watch, the epitome of class” and that he remembers his father always wore an Omega when he was younger.
Other stars in attendance during the course of the week – all seemingly more capable around 18 holes than the Ocean’s 11 star – were Ross Butler, Blake Gray, Top Gun: Maverick’s Glen Powell, Anthony Anderson and Charlie Day, as well as Tiffany Haddish. And in the professional tournament, which concluded in spectacular fashion on Sunday, South African Thriston Lawrence proved to be too strong for the rest of the field as he finished on -18, beating Matt Wallace in a tense playoff decider.
"It’s always fun to bring a new group of celebrity friends to Crans-Montana," said Aeschlimann. “This year’s teams came with such enthusiasm and passion, helping to make the day truly memorable.” As for Clooney, while most men his age are just coming into their golfing prime, it sounds like he'll stick to watching the beautiful game rather than playing it.
