A trip down memory lane with veteran Thompson
NEW DELHI: At 85, Peter Thomson wasn’t expected to stand and address the gathering, yet he chose to do so. Rising slowly, he ensured he was steady before beginning. Age may have made the Aussie drawl even more incomprehensible, but the advancing years have done little to impact his wit.
“Mary would be wondering what I’m going to say next,” he began, shooting a glance at the lady seated in the front row. The wife’s concern wasn’t out of place as clarity of thought often deserts him, but while packing his bags for this trip down memory lane, Thomson had taken care to include a piece of history he’s synonymous with in this part of the world.
One of the architects of the Indian Open, Thomson won in 1964 (the opening edition) and twice more (1966, 1976), and as he spoke, a miniature version of the trophy he received in Kolkata surfaced on the lawns of the Delhi Golf Club (DGC).
Melbourne to Delhi is a long haul but the offer was too hard to resist. It was Thomson who transformed DGC from a “functional course”, to “one functioning at the top level”, via a redesign in 1976-77, and the pride to behold his handiwork was of it as it’s rather late to worry about it (the layout),” he said to guffaws. That he was able to be a part of the centenary celebrations of Dr Bharat Ram, a close friend and founder member of DGC, added to the joy.
It wasn’t as if the twilight years had had a sobering effect. The demeanour going well with the all-cotton attire on Wednesday, Thomson had felt little shame while receiving the Claret Jug in a borrowed jacket after winning The Open Championship in 1956 to compoint to return it to the gentleman, who also hailed from Melbourne, but forgot to take out the winning cheque of 1000 pounds. “That was the kind to prize money we played for,” he said with a laugh.
After the Royal Liverpool Golf Club, two more wins completed his list of Major triumphs and Thomson stays fond of all of them. Asked to narrate his memories, he pointed to a chair in jest, “It’ll take a lifetime.” In the next line he summed it up. “You have five children, you love