The magic of St Andrews: Bobby Locke, my 15-foot putt, and Seve’s fist pump
WITH the Open, I thought I would take a look back at some of the previous tournaments at the Home of Golf.
The Americans called Bobby Locke “Old Muffin Face”. The British called him a genius on the greens and in South Africa he was simply referred to as Our Champion.
When Locke arrived at the Open Championship in St Andrews in 1957 he had nothing left to prove. The Americans had banned him because he was too good. He had already won eleven tournaments on their Tour in three years. He’d also won three Open Championships, in 1949, 1950 and 1952.
By the time the 72 holes were over, he was again the champion but this time it was controversial. Locke had moved his ball out of the way of his partners line and forgotten to move it back before he putted out. This was only discovered after the end of the Championship and even after he had been presented with the trophy. The R&A did the right thing by not disqualifying him, citing equity and spirit of the game, as he had won by three shots and had gained no advantage from his mistake. Bobby saved the R&A’s letter in his wallet until his death in 1987.
In 1960 Arnold Palmer attended his first Open. This was a major boost for the Championship and was the start of all the top Americans attending the event. Palmer didn’t win that year. The great Australian Kel Nagle beat him, but he did return and won in 1961 and 1962.
In 1964, Tony Lema, who was a late bloomer and only started to win in his late twenties, was as good a golfer as any in the World in the middle sixties. His win was with the assistance of Tip Anderson, a legendary caddie who had been on Palmer’s bag for his two wins. Unfortunately Lema died soon after in a small plane crash. Golf lost a great player and a great character.
The 1970 Open will always be remembered by the short putt that Doug Sanders missed on the 72nd green. After having to pre-qualify he only needed to sink a 3-foot putt to beat Jack Nicklaus by one shot and Harold Henning by two. He stood over the putt, thought he saw a loose impediment on his line, bent over to move it and then struck the putt. It slipped past the edge of the hole and the man that had won more events on the PGA than any that never won a major, was again denied a place in the history books.
1978 was my best Open. I holed a 15-foot putt on the last green to finish 11th. Unfortunately that was one of the few good putts I holed over the four rounds. Jack Nicklaus shot 7172-69-69 (281) to win by 2 over Simon Owen; Ben Crenshaw and Tom Kite and by five over me.
Imprinted on my brain is Seve’s fist pump after he holed his birdie putt at the last in 1984 and Tom Watson’s disappointment when his second shot at the 17th hole went over the right side of the green across the road. Watson was going for his sixth Open title in ten years and that shot was the end of the road. Amazingly he never won another major after that. Seve was the King of Golf in Europe and the British crowds loved him, but they also had huge respect for Watson.
Seve’s fist pump became his logo and has been shown on TV millions of times over, all around the world. It was his unique determination and charisma exhibited action. Brilliant!
Nick Faldo had completed the remodelling of his golf swing with the help of David Leadbetter and was dominating the Tour in 1990. His win that year was planned and perfectly executed. With his precision play from tee to green he distanced himself from the rest of the field.
John Daly and Costantino Rocca ensured that the 1995 Championship would get an extra page or two in the history books. Daly had already won the US PGA but his game always lacked consistency. He was either brilliant or very average. No matter how he scored, the crowds loved Daly. They loved his aggressive style and the enormous distance of his tee shots.
They also enjoyed the unpredictability of his play. However at St Andrews, he got
in one it all together and put together four solid rounds of golf. He was tied at the end of the 72 holes with Italian Rocca. Rocca’s final hole is worth recording as he hit a good drive not far from the green at the short 18th hole.
He miss-hit his chip and wound up in the Valley of Sin, which is normally an impossible putt to hole. Most players are happy to get down in two from this treacherous crater on the front left of the green. Rocca saw a line, stroked the putt and it went into the hole like a rabbit that was being chased by a dog. The four-hole play-off that followed was very one-sided and it was soon Daly who was filling the Trophy with who knows what!
Like Jack Nicklaus had done in the seventies, Tiger completely dominated the next two Opens in 2000 and 2005. It’s a great course for Tiger because you can get away with the odd stray shot, as long as it goes left and not right. During these years there was no golfer who could out-putt Tiger and the double greens at St Andrews seemed to suit his eye.
South Africa had to wait over fifty years for another winner of the Open at St Andrews. Louis Oosthuizen gave one of the modern Championship’s most impressive displays over the four days in 2010. He annihilated the field, winning by seven shots. Both the British and the Americans quickly learnt how to pronounce Oosthuizen!
SHORT PUTT
“St Andrews? I feel like I’m back visiting an old grandmother. She’s crotchety and eccentric but also elegant. Anyone who doesn’t fall in love with her has no imagination.” Tony Lema