Birkdale1976 Royal

Severiano Ballesteros

The baking-hot summer of 1976 heralded the arrival of possibly the most naturally-gifted player to ever grace the Open Championship – and he would go on to win three titles.

Very few people had even heard of the 19-year-old Severiano Ballesteros when he ended the first day on the baked-out Birkdale links atop the leaderboard, alongside Christy O’connor Junior and Japan’s Norio Suzuki, on three-under-par

It was the same after day two, the young Spaniard leading Johnny Miller by two on sixunder, and he retained that advantage after 54 holes. However, a final-round two-over-par 74 saw Ballesteros slip back into a tie for second with Jack Nicklaus as Miller lifted the Claret Jug (below).

Playing in The Open as an amateur evokes comparisons with the greats of the game in years gone by, and so it was for 20-year-old Tom Lewis.

Lewis, hailing – like Sir Nick Faldo – from Welwyn Garden City, became the first amateur to lead an Open Championship since Sir Michael Bonallack at Carnoustie in 1968, after an opening five-under-par round of 65.

He would eventually finish in a tie for 30th as Darren Clarke lifted his only Major Championship.

Carnoustie in 1999 was dubbed Car-nasty due to the toughness of the Angus links, with just one man able to record a score of par-71 on the opening day, Queenslander Rod Pampling.

However, Carnoustie exacted a stinging revenge on the Aussie on day two, when he could only manage an 86 to go from leading The Open to missing the cut.

Scot Paul Lawrie would go on to lift the Claret Jug after winning a play-off against Justin Leonard and Frenchman Jean van de Velde, following his infamous implosion.