 |
| |
|
 |
 |
||
 |
 |
||
 |
|||
EVENTS
CENTERS
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|
 |
The British Open at Royal Lytham
Bobby Jones won his first British Open with a two-stroke victory over fellow American Al Watrous, but it was far from easy. It was the first year the Open charged admission. That wasn't a problem for Jones until he left his player's badge in his hotel room and the man at the gate did not recognize him. Jones had to pay seven shillings just to get on the course for the final 36 holes. Then, he faced a two-stroke deficit with five holes to play, one of the toughest closing stretches in golf. He shot 4-3-4-4-4 to win the claret jug with a 291. The turning point was No. 17, where Jones hit a marvelous shot from 175 yards to the green off a sandy lie in the rough. A shot is commemorated by a plaque, one of two awarded in Open history (the other belongs to Arnold Palmer at Royal Birkdale).
More bizarre circumstances followed another Open champion at Royal Lytham, this time Bobby Locke of South Africa. Four strokes behind Fred Daly going into the final 36 holes, Locke put his clubs in the trunk of his car and parked it in a garage. The garage was locked when he awoke, but a local milkman knew where the garage owner lived, and Locke made it to the course with enough time to put on his shoes and walk to the first tee. He made up three strokes on Daly in the first 18, then held off a late charge by Peter Thomson to win by one stroke at 287.
Peter Thomson and Bobby Locke had won seven of the past nine British Opens, and this appeared to be Thomson's turn. The Australian had control of the tournament until he stumbled slightly in the final round and was caught by Dave Thomas of Wales, who joined him at 278 and forced the first 36-hole playoff in nine years. Who didn't make the playoff was just as noteworthy. On the 72nd hole, Eric Brown of Scotland made double bogey, and Christy O'Connor took bogey to finish one stroke behind. Leopoldo Ruiz of Argentina needed par to get in the playoff, but took triple bogey. Thomson built a three-stroke lead after 18 and went on to win by four shots.
Bob Charles of New Zealand became the only left-hander to win a major championship. Peter Thomson was one behind through 54 holes but ballooned to a 78. Masters champion Jack Nicklaus hit into a bunker off the tee on the 72nd hole for bogey that cost him a spot in the playoff between Charles and burly Phil Rodgers. Both finished at 277. Charles built a big lead through 18 holes by one-putting 11 greens, and went on to win by eight strokes.
A British player had not won the Open since 1951 until Tony Jacklin won at Royal Lytham. He became a national hero and sparked a revival of golf among British youth. Jacklin three-putted only once in four days and never made worse than bogey. His shoe came off in the stampede of fans after hitting the final green in two, but he managed to par for a 280 and a two-stroke margin over Bob Charles. It would be another 16 years before a British player won the Open again -- Sandy Lyle, who was in the gallery at Lytham that day watching Jacklin.
The 1.68-inch golf ball used by Americans was required for the first time at the British Open. Masters champion Gary Player won wire-to-wire, joining Harry Vardon and J.H. Taylor as the only men to win the claret jug in three decades. Opening with rounds of 69-68, Player was five strokes clear of Peter Oosterhuis until he stumbled to a 75 in the third round. He responded with two birdies and an eagle on the first six holes of the final round to restore his cushion, and was the only player under par that week at 2-under 282, four strokes ahead of Oosterhuis.
The swashbuckling legend of Seve Ballesteros was born over four thrill-seeking days that included his famous recovery from a parking lot. Eight strokes behind after the first round, Ballesteros clawed his way back and was only two behind Hale Irwin going into the final round. The Spaniard hit driver nine times in the final round and only once found the fairway, but recovered time after time. He hit into a temporary parking lot on the 16th, but his approach reached the edge of the green and he holed the 30-footer for birdie. Ballesteros finished at 283, three ahead of Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw, and became the first continental European to win the claret jug since Arnaud Massy of France in 1907.
After wasting two good chances to win the Masters in 1986 and 1987, Ballesteros returned to the pinnacle of golf on the same course -- and the same hole -- where it all started for him nine years earlier. Heavy rains led to the first Monday finish in the 128-year history of golf's oldest championship. Nick Price and defending champion Nick Faldo were tied going into the final round, but Ballesteros quickly made up the two-stroke deficit as Faldo faltered. The turning point came on No. 16. Instead of hitting into a parking lot, Ballesteros found the fairway with his 1-iron. His 9-iron stopped 3 inches from the cup for a birdie that broke the tie, and he went on to a 65 to finish at 273, two strokes better than Price.
Tom Lehman became the first American professional to win at Royal Lytham, a command performance in which he set a 54-hole record at 198 that left him too far ahead to be caught. Not that Nick Faldo didn't have his chances. The Masters champion, who had come from six down to beat Greg Norman at Augusta, was again six strokes back but lost any hope by missing four putts inside 7 feet. Lehman was challenged briefly by Ernie Els and Mark McCumber, but held on to win by two strokes at 271. Jack Nicklaus, at age 56, was within one stroke of Lehman through 36 holes until a 77 in the third round took him out of the hunt. And then there was Tiger Woods, a 20-year-old player from Stanford who shot 66 in the second round and finished in a tie for 22nd. It was his last major as an amateur. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
