A GIANT OF A MANWHOBEAT GOLDEN BEAR
BRIAN BARNES was not just a giant of a man – he was larger than life on the golf course.
The popular former Ryder Cup star, who died on Monday aged 74 after a short illness, transformed fairway fashion from plus fours to Bermuda shorts.
And he regularly had golf chiefs tut-tutting.
Like the time he marked his ball with a beer can at the 1982 Scottish Professional Championship and ended up being fined for having a laugh.
But he always refused to conform and liked to remind the stuffed shirts that golfers were not there to thrill fans with just their sporting prowess, they were well-paid entertainers.
Barnes, who regularly teed off with a bottle of vodka and orange juice in his bag, engaged easily with the crowds.
And it was his willingness to make them feel part of the game that endeared him to golf fans worldwide.
A winner of 23 events as a pro, nine on the European Tour, the Surrey-born son of Scots was one of the more colourful characters.
But it was a measure of his talent that he achieved three top-10 finishes at The Open, including tied fifth at Muirfield in 1972.
The charismatic pipe smoker enjoyed the social side and was often seen holding court at the bar post-match. Although he later became an abstainer for health reasons, he never lost his ability to captivate an audience.
But there was a serious side to the 6ft 2in big hitter BY JIM BLACK when it came to the Ryder Cup, in which he made six consecutive appearances between 1969 and 1979.
Beating Jack Nicklaus twice in one day at Laurel Valley is the stuff of legend.
The USA won 21-11 but Barnes left Pennsylvania with the plaudits in 1975.
“After the morning round everybody acted as if I’d beaten Jesus Christ,” he recalled. “He was as far as golf was concerned but he was still beatable.”
Having been taught by his father, the secretary at Burnham and Berrow Golf Club, Barnes won the British Youths Open Amateur Championship in 1964.
Although he represented England at first, after joining the Scottish PGA in 1971 he starred for Scotland internationally.
Barnes can lay claim to one of the most atrocious putting performances ever seen at a pro tournament.
Playing in the 1968 French Open he fluffed a putt at the par-three 8th and, angry with his miss, tried to rake the ball into the cup only to miss again.
He then hit the ball back and forth while it was still moving and, once all the putts and penalties were tallied up, signed for a 15.
But the incident did nothing to diminish Barnes’ legend and in 1996 he went on to become the first man to defend the Senior British Open. He played on the Champions Tour, winning the Canada Senior Open, before arthritis forced him to quit tournament golf in 2000.