The colourful character of 1951 champion

MAX Faulkner’s supreme peacocking would not even ruffle the odd feather today, but back in 1951 that braggadocio had his foes tearing out their hair.

The last man to win The Open at Royal Portrush, Faulkner dressed in bold, brash colours, boasting of his abilities in a fashion deemed disruptive for the time.

Englishman Faulkner took up boxing in the RAF during the Second World War, with a perforated ear drum service wound altering his outlook.

By the time he prevailed in that 1951 Open, Faulkner cared little for public opinion.

His pinks and purples would not even stretch a seam in the modern game, but caused controversy when he landed his solitary Major title.

Post-war Britain did not know how to respond to Faulkner’s ever-rising confidence, especially his famed autograph en route to that Open triumph.

Midway through the tournament, Faulker penned his moniker for a young fan, who told him he would lift the Claret Jug.

So he added the postscript Open champion 1951, in an outrageous flourish that won him few friends on the links.

“I asked him for a pen, I put ‘Max Faulkner, Open Champion 1951’, and then looked at it before giving it back,” said Faulkner.

“As I walked to the tee it kept appearing in front of me: ‘Open champion 1951’.

“It certainly looked good.” So the more he thought about his own tagline, trying it on for size, the more comfortable he became in wearing the title.

When by rights he ought to have been hoisted by his own petard, instead that cocky prediction simply drove him home.

His victory stood as the only Open victory for a Brit between Henry Cotton in 1948 and Tony Jacklin in 1969.

Historic moment: Max Faulkner with the Claret Jug in 1951